A pump fake and a lost defender later, Chris Brazzell II strutted into the end zone with 124 seconds shed from the clock.
The redshirt junior receiver scored his sixth touchdown of the season, making it the third consecutive game that Tennessee football found the end zone on its opening drive — and the fourth occasion that it scored points. It has scored in two-and-a-half minutes or fewer on all four drives to open the game.
Tennessee is utilizing fast starts in 2025, and it is has led to a 3-1 record through the first four games.
“Early, I thought for the majority of it, handled themselves really well,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “Made some big plays on the perimeter, hit some runs offensively. Defensively, did a pretty good job against the run and we were able to get off the field on third downs. So it was a good fast start, certainly early in the football game.”
The Vols scored 21 first-quarter points on Saturday. That came a week after it scored 21 in the opening frame against Georgia. In the first four games, Tennessee is outscoring its opponents 83-7 in the stanza.
Entering the weekend, the Vols averaged 19 points per first quarter, which served as a nation’s best. With another week down, Tennessee upped its average to 20.75 points per first quarter — up from an abysmal 6.5 in 2024.
It is due in part to the ability to finish drives. Tennessee has scored on 12 of its 15 first-quarter drives. That includes 10 touchdowns with a pair of field goals. The three drives it hasn’t come away with points were via fumble, punt and interception in separate games.
And it has come against viable competition, too. While the Vols do have outings against ETSU and UAB that help up the average, Tennessee’s other performances have come against 3-1 Syracuse, who dominated Clemson on Saturday, and No. 5 Georgia, who needed an overtime period to overcome the Vols’ hot start.
“To me, offensive football a lot of the times is doing the ordinary things at a really high level when it’s going good,” Heupel said on Wednesday during the SEC coaches teleconference. “And when it’s not, one or two things may be off.”
Tennessee’s quarterback play has been the ordinary thing that is competing at a really high level. Joey Aguilar has accumulated 572 passing yards in first quarters this season — good for 50.8% of his season passing yards total.
“I just learned how to play fast,” Aguilar said. “That was a big adjustment for me and I’m honestly still learning. We could be faster, but we’re still growing week by week, but I’m super excited where this offense is at right now. I’m excited where I’m at right now, but I mean, we can still be better.”
As a team, Tennessee has added 813 yards of total offense in the first quarter. By comparison, the Vols have contributed 561 yards in the second quarter, 394 yards in third quarter and 447 yards in the fourth quarter.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Vols aided in quick-start efforts. Tim Banks’ unit allowed zero rushing yards in the opening frame and surrendered 44 total yards in the first quarter.
“Definitely after the game like last week, we wanted to be able to start fast, start physical,” defensive back Jalen McMurray said. “And that was something that we going into practice that we harped on — start fast, start physical, playing smart and I feel like we definitely did that.”
Tennessee will need a fast start when SEC play continues on the road. The Vols’ first road test of the year comes in a “whiteout” environment where cowbells ring, heading to Davis Wade Stadium for a battle with Mississippi State on Sept. 27.
