Tennessee vs. Utah State final score: Volunteers, defense dominate Aggies 38-7

Well, it appears as if the plan for head coach Butch Jones, in his second year in charge of the Tennessee Football program, to get the Volunteers back to the top of the SEC with a plethora of top talent from around the nation is right on track, as the Volunteers had no problem with the Utah State Aggies and star QB Chuckie Keeton on Sunday night. When it was all said and done, the Vols walked out of Neyland Stadium with a 38-7 win.

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Having just been named the starting quarterback just a few weeks ago, senior Justin Worley was outstanding in his first start of the season Sunday night, completing 27 of his 38 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns.

But what may have been more telling in this one is the wealth of talent that Worley has at his disposal, as the Volunteers did a masterful job of spreading the ball around to the athletes they have on the field.

Eight players caught more than two passes from Worley Sunday night, with such star recruits as wide receivers Josh Malone and Von Pearson, and tight end Ethan Wolf all making plays for the offense on Sunday night.

But, the most glaring part of this effort Sunday night from the Volunteers was how amazing the defensive effort was from Tennessee in this one as they faced off against one of the more potent offenses in the nation, led by one of the dark horse Heisman candidates in Keeton.

The Volunteers defense let Keeton do absolutely nothing on Sunday night in his first game back since suffering a knee injury last year that cut his season short. They limited the dual-threat star to just 12 rushing yards on eight attempts, and they picked him off twice, with both A.J. Johnson and Cameron Sutton getting in the way of one of his passes.

From start to finish, this was a stern message from Jones and his entire team that they’re ready to put the dark past behind them, and reach for that SEC brass ring once again some time in the very near future.

Next up for the Vols is a date with Arkansas State from the Sun Belt, while Utah State will take on Idaho State.