Vols Open Kiffin Era with Offense
The first game of the Lane Kiffin era sent many feverishly thumbing through the history books to find the last time a Tennessee team produced as much offense.
The Vols exploded for 657 yards of total offense and 380 rushing yards in their season opener vs. Western Kentucky. Tennessee has not had such a prolific day offensively since a 1997 contest at Kentucky (695 yards) and could not boast such rushing numbers since tallying 406 yards vs. Vanderbilt in 1994.
Seven different Vols scored touchdowns and two of those seven scored two touchdowns. No Tennessee offense has spread the wealth to as many players since a 65-0 win at Vanderbilt in 1994 in which eight different Vols scored offensive touchdowns. Tennessee did put seven different players in the end zone vs. Louisana-Lafayette in 2007, but two of those scores were defensive touchdowns.
The Vols, thanks in large part to their 657 yards of total offense, set a school record for largest discrepancy between yards gained and yards allowed at 574. The UT defense allowed just 83 total yards to Western Kentucky.
Tennessee's 63 points was the Vols' highest point total since Nov. 11, 2000, vs. Arkansas (63 points). The Vols scored 70 points on Sept. 23 of the same season vs. Louisiana-Monroe.
