Postgame Notes: #22/17 Tennessee 72, ETSU 17

KNOXVILLE, TN - September 06, 2025 - \fb during the game between the ETSU Buccaneers and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Tennessee Athletics

September 06, 2025 | Football

TENNESSEE FOOTBALL POSTGAME NOTES
Sept. 6, 2025 | Knoxville, Tenn. | Neyland Stadium
FINAL SCORE: No. 22/17 Tennessee 72, ETSU 17

General Notes

Saturday's attendance at Neyland Stadium: 101,915 (sold out)
- Neyland Stadium was sold out for the 21st consecutive contest.
Tennessee's all-time on-field record improved to 888-417-53 with Saturday's win (NCAA record: 877-417-53).
Saturday's victory marked UT's 500th on-field win on Shields-Watkins Field. Since the historic property's inception in 1921, the Vols own a 500-141-17 (.773) on-field record at home. Tennessee's overall NCAA record on Shields-Watkins Field is now 493-142-17 (six wins were vacated from 2019-20).
- The Vols own a 26-4 record in Neyland Stadium under head coach Josh Heupel, including nine home wins in a row.
Saturday marked the second meeting between the Vols and the Buccaneers, with Tennessee winning both matchups against the in-state foe.
- In two games, UT has outscored ETSU by an average margin of 55.5 points.
- The previous meeting came on Sept. 8, 2018, which Tennessee won 59-3.
- The Vols own a 9-0 record vs. in-state opponents under Heupel. All nine wins have come by double digits, with an average victory margin of 39.1 points.
Under Heupel, the Vols improved to 19-3 against non-conference opponents since 2021, including 17-1 in the regular season. UT has scored at least 30 points in all 18 regular season games against non-league foes.
- Tennessee has won 16 consecutive non-SEC regular season games, a streak that dates to a 56-0 victory over Tennessee Tech on Sept. 18, 2021.
Tennessee set a program modern-era record with 72 points in the victory, surpassing the prior high of 71 set just under one year ago on Sept. 14, 2024, against Kent State.
- The Volunteers also broke the modern-era record for first downs, notching 41. The previous high of 36 came just over one year ago on Aug. 31, 2024, versus Chattanooga. Their 25 first downs by pass also set a Tennessee modern-era record.
- Tennessee's 38 passing completions tied the program's modern-era record, with the prior mark coming on three additional attempts.

Vol Captains/Coin Toss

Tennessee's team captains for Saturday's game: DL Dominic Bailey, RB DeSean Bishop, LB Edwin Spillman, DB William Wright
ETSU won the toss and deferred to the second half. Tennessee received the opening kickoff, and ETSU defended the south end zone.

Tennessee Debuts

Tennessee had 13 players make their debuts for the Volunteers during Saturday's game. The complete list is below.
- DL Isaiah Campbell
- DL Joakim Dodson
- DL Herb Gray
- DL Charles House III
- WR Amari Jefferson (transfer)
- DB Steele Katina
- DB Dylan Lewis
- QB George MacIntyre
- TE Seamus Meagher
- OL Nic Moore
- OL Antoni Ogumoro
- DL Emmanuel Okoye
- QB Mason Phillips
- OL Charlie Powell III

First-Time Starters

Two Vols made their first career starts in Saturday's game: true freshman CB Ty Redmond and redshirt sophomore TE Ethan Davis.
- Thirteen Vols have made their first starts for Tennessee this season, including nine on offense and four on defense.
Sixth-year senior DL Dominic Bailey made his 14th career start and his first at defensive tackle.

Team Offensive Notes

The Volunteers scored 60-plus points for the eighth time in the Josh Heupel era. They reached 65 points for the fifth time and 70-plus for the third time.
- Five of the eight 65-point performances by the Volunteers in the modern era are in the last four years under Heupel.
- Two of the three 70-point showings by Tennessee in the modern era are in the last two seasons under Heupel. The 72 points against Saturday broke the record of 71 set on Sept. 14, 2024, versus Kent State.
With 41 first downs in the win, Tennessee shattered the program record of 36, which came on Aug. 31, 2024, versus Chattanooga.
- The Volunteers' 25 first downs via passing also set a program modern-era record. The previous high of 23 came twice previously, both on Nov. 3, 2012, against Troy and on Jan. 1, 1997, in the Citrus Bowl against Northwestern.
The Volunteers recorded 100 plays, a single-game modern-era record for both the regular season and in a regulation game. The prior high in both categories was 99 at Texas A&M on Oct. 8, 2016.
- Tennessee's top total in any game in the modern era is 105, which it amassed on Dec. 30, 2021, versus Purdue in an overtime contest in the Music City Bowl.
The 717 yards for Tennessee marked their fifth time reaching 700-plus in the modern era.
- Five of the top six single-game totals in the modern era are in the last four seasons under Josh Heupel, including four of the five with 700-plus yards.
Three Tennessee quarterbacks combined to throw for 458 yards in the victory. It marked the sixth-highest single-game total for the Volunteers in the modern era.
- Four of the top seven such marks are in the last four season during the Josh Heupel era.
The Volunteers' three quarterbacks amassed 38 completions to tie the program's modern-era single-game record. They achieved the feat on 52 attempts, which ranks ninth on the modern-era leaderboard.
- The only other 38-completion game by Tennessee in the modern era came on Nov. 10, 2012, in a four-overtime game against Missouri in which it had 55 passing attempts.
Tennessee produced multiple 100-yard receivers in Saturday's contest, with WR Chris Brazzell II and WR Mike Matthews notching career-bests of 125 and 111, respectively.
- This is the fourth time in the Josh Heupel era two Volunteers reached triple digits in receiving yards. The four instances have come in four different seasons, with no players repeating in any duo. The prior three occurrences are listed below.
  - Nov. 20, 2021, against South Alabama: Velus Jones Jr. (103) and Cedric Tillman (100)
  - Nov. 12, 2022, against Missouri: Jalin Hyatt (146) and Bru McCoy (111)
  - Nov. 25, 2023, against Vanderbilt: Ramel Keyton (122) and Squirrel White (110)
Before Saturday, Volunteers last had a 50-yard reception and a 50-yard rush in the same game on Sept. 14, 2024, when WR Dont'e Thornton Jr., and WR Chris Brazzell II both had 53-yard catches and RB DeSean Bishop had a 53-yard carry.
- Sophomore WR Mike Matthews had a 53-yard touchdown catch against the Buccaneers, while redshirt sophomore RB DeSean Bishop had a 50-yard gainer on the ground.
Tennessee had 12 players record at least one reception in the victory. That tied the program's most in a game this century, as it previously had a dozen players catch a ball three times since 2000.
- Of the four times this century 12 Volunteers have logged a reception in a game, three are in the last four seasons under Josh Heupel. The other three occurrences are listed below.
  - Nov. 4, 2023, versus Connecticut
  - Sept. 17, 2022, versus Akron
  - Nov. 22, 2003, versus Vanderbilt
Tennessee finished Saturday's contest with 259 rushing yards as a team, to go along with the 458 yards through the air to reach the 717 total.
- Josh Heupel's Tennessee teams have put up 400 yards of total offense 39 times.
- The Vols have produced 200 rushing yards 32 times under Heupel and own a 30-2 record when doing so, including 24 wins in a row when reaching that threshold.
After putting up 24 points each in the first and second quarter on Saturday, Tennessee has scored at least 24 points in a quarter in two of its last five games – dating to the third-to-last contest of the 2024 season. The Volunteers tallied 28 points in the second quarter on Nov. 23, 2024, versus UTEP.
Tennessee's 48 first-half points marked its third-most in a half in the modern era, with two of the top three marks coming under Josh Heupel.
- The Volunteers' 65 first-half points on Sept. 14, 2024, against Kent State stand as the program record, while the 49 before the break on Sept. 23, 2000, versus UL Monroe rank second.
- The last time Tennessee scored 40-plus points in a half was Sept. 14, 2024, when it notched 65 before the break against Kent State in a game it went on to win, 71-0.
Tennessee held a 24-0 lead over ETSU at the end of the first quarter. During the Josh Heupel era, the Vols have outscored their opponents 584-202 in the opening stanza, and UT has scored a first-quarter touchdown in 42 of 54 games under Heupel.
- The Volunteers outgained the Buccaneers by 198 yards, 205-7, in the first 15 minutes of Saturday's game. The Tennessee defense held ETSU to -17 rushing yards in the first stanza.
- In addition, Tennessee recorded eight first downs and conceded none in the opening quarter.

Individual Offensive Notes

The Volunteers opened the scoring after just 1:52 of action on a 21-yard touchdown grab from redshirt junior WR Chris Brazzell II from senior QB Joey Aguilar, who notched his first passing score at Neyland Stadium.
Redshirt sophomore RB DeSean Bishop's 50-yard carry on the opening snap of the game marked the first 50-yard carry by a Volunteer since Dylan Sampson had a 53-yard rush on Oct. 5, 2024, at Arkansas.
Senior RB Star Thomas carded his first multi-touchdown game for the Vols with a career-best three rushing scores in the first half alone. He owns two previous outings with two rushing touchdowns in his career, accomplishing the feat once in each of the last two seasons.
- Thomas scored two rushing touchdowns against MTSU on Sept. 21, 2024, while playing for Duke and against Western Illinois on Sept. 2, 2023, while playing for New Mexico State.
- The last time a Tennessee player had three rushing touchdowns in a game was on Oct. 12, 2024, when Dylan Sampson notched three in an overtime victory over Florida. The last time it happened in a regulation game was on Sept. 14, 2024, when Sampson had four against Kent State.
Sophomore WR Mike Matthews, who finished with 111 receiving yards, eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the first time as a collegian. He logged all his yardage during a first half in which he caught six balls, also a career high.
In just one half of action, senior QB Joey Aguilar went 23-of-31 for 288 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions.
Redshirt junior WR Chris Brazzell II had his most productive game as a collegian, setting career bests with nine catches for 125 yards. He also tied his career high with two touchdown catches.
- His prior top tally in catches was seven on Nov. 18, 2023, at Florida Atlantic, while at Tulane.
- Brazzell's previous best yardage total was 103, recorded twice during his Tulane tenure, both in the aforementioned game at Florida Atlantic and on Oct. 13, 2023, at Memphis.
  - Brazzell was one yard shy of doubling his prior high as a Volunteer, which was 63 yards on Sept. 14, 2024, versus Kent State.
- The lone prior game in which Brazzell had two receiving scores was Nov. 24, 2023, versus UTSA, while at Tulane.
Redshirt freshman QB Jake Merklinger had a career-high 118 passing yards, as well as tossed the first two touchdown passes of his career. He went 9-of-14 through the air to break his career highs in both completions and attempts.
Freshman quarterback QB George MacIntyre made his collegiate debut and went 6-of-7 for 52 yards.

Team Defensive Notes

The Volunteers did not allow a third-down conversion in the first half, holding ETSU to a 0-of-9 mark in the opening 30 minutes.
- The Buccaneers, who finished the half with just three first downs to Tennessee's 23, were also 0-of-1 on fourth down.
A total of 27 different Volunteers recorded at least one tackle in the victory.
- Of those 27 players, 17 had multiple takedowns on the day.
Tennessee forced a turnover on downs on the lone fourth-down attempt of the day for either team.
The Volunteers finished the day by holding the Buccaneers to a 2-of-15 mark on third downs, as well as limiting them to 10 first downs.

Individual Defensive Notes

Junior LB Arion Carter and redshirt senior DL Bryson Eason co-led the Volunteers with four tackles apiece.
Freshman DL Charles House III paced Tennessee with 1.5 tackles for loss in his first collegiate action.

Special Teams Notes

With a 53-yard field goal at the 10:43 mark of the fourth quarter, redshirt sophomore PK Max Gilbert set a new career high. He bested his previous high by one yard, as he knocked through a 52-yarder on Nov. 16, 2024, at Georgia.
- Gilbert's 53-yarder tied for the eighth-longest make in program history. It matched the longest make by a Volunteer in the last 30 seasons (1996-2025), equaling the kick from Brent Cimaglia on Nov. 2, 2019, against UAB.
- Gilbert was perfect on the day, hitting all six of his extra points and all three of his field goals. He also recorded the first kickoffs of his career
Gilbert now owns four makes from 50-plus as a Volunteer, as he hit from 50, 51 and 52 during the 2024 season.
Sophomore DB Boo Carter's 40-yard punt return in the first quarter marked the longest such return since Dee Williams' 55-yarder on Sept. 2, 2023, against Virginia in Nashville, Tenn.
Redshirt junior P/PK Josh Turbyville went 3-of-3 on extra points, matching his prior complete line as a collegian.

Career Highs

The following players set or tied career highs in the respective statistical categories listed below:

Offense

RB Star Thomas
- 3 rushing touchdowns
WR Braylon Staley
- 5 receptions
WR Chris Brazzell II
- 125 receiving yards
- 9 receptions
- 2 touchdown receptions (tied career high)
WR Mike Matthews
- 111 receiving yards
- 6 receptions
- 1 touchdown reception (tied career high)
- 53-yard long reception
QB Jake Merklinger
- 9 completions
- 14 attempts
- 118 passing yards
- 2 passing touchdowns