Vols Blast Catamounts, 55-10

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley

Tennessee used great defense and exceptional special teams to dismantle the Catamounts on Saturday night. The Tennessee defense used pressure and coverage to crush any Western Carolina confidence that they might be able to muster up, holding the Catamounts to just 279 total yards on the evening, including just 90 passing.

“It started in our week of preparation,” Jones added. “I thought we had a very good week of preparation, so I was really, really proud of them and their approach all week long.”

The Vols returned a kickoff and a punt in the same game for the first time since 1950. Yes, it’s been nearly 65 years since it had been done. Evan Berry, who returned a kickoff 88-yards for a touchdown, did so in front of his brother and legendary former Vol, Eric Berry. “It was obviously amazing,” the younger Berry said of how special the moment was with Eric there. “I give my best every game, but knowing he was coming I just tried to make something happen, and it did.”

Alvin Kamara returned a punt for 50-yards and a touchdown and joked that doing so wasn’t initially part of the plan. “Just catch it first, that’s all I was really worried about,” he added. “Just catching the ball first and getting my eyes downfield really helped me.”

Joshua Dobbs led the offense with poise and command on the night, not needing to do too much against a much lesser foe. He was 15-21 144 yards and 2 touchdowns on the night, but true freshman, Quinten Dormady, really shined on the night. “I was really, really excited about the play of Quinten Dormady,” Butch Jones said. “I thought Quinten did some very, very good things.”

Tennessee returns to action on Saturday afternoon against arch-nemesis, Florida, in a showdown to see where each team ranks in the SEC East this season. Tennessee has not beaten Florida in 10 years, and the Gators will look to extend it to 11 on Saturday at 3:30 EST on CBS.

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley