Tennessee welcomed back former assistant coach Randy Sanders to Neyland Stadium in the best way possible: a resounding 59-3 win against his East Tennessee State Buccaneers.
A slow start on offense for the Vols was remedied by a special teams score. Marquill Osborne blocked a punt in the first quarter, picked it up and took it to the house for Tennessee's first touchdown of the season in Neyland. It's the first time the Vols have scored off of a blocked punt since October of 2013.
After a second weather delay in back to back weeks, the offense kicked it into high gear. Freshman Jeremy Banks got the first score of his UT career with a 1-yard run. Fellow freshman Bryce Thompson followed it up with an interception returned to the 1-yard line, where Banks added his second score of the day. Follow it up with a Darrin Kirkland Jr. pick-six, and Tennessee had a 38-0 halftime lead.
The second half was more of the same for UT. Michigan State grad transfer Madre London picked up his second touchdown of the game and Stanford grad transfer Keller Chryst threw his first touchdown at Tennessee, a 50-yard strike to wide receiver Jordan Murphy.
The Vols would ride it out for a 59-3 win, the first for head coach Jeremy Pruitt as the man in charge on Rocky Top.
Here's a look at some of the stats that stand out:
-Jarrett Guarantano - 8/13 154 yards
-Keller Chryst - 3/3 70 yards, 1 TD
-Marquez Callaway - 5 receptions, 78 yards
-Jordan Murphy - 3 receptions, 75 yards, 1 TD
-Tim Jordan - 15 carries, 65 yards
-Jeremy Banks - 13 carries, 62 yards, 2 TDs
-Madre London - 8 carries, 47 yards 2 TDs