No. 22 Tennessee sets program scoring record in win vs. East Tennessee State

Field Level Media|published: Sat 6th September, 19:43 2025

NCAA Football: East Tennessee State at Tennessee

Sep 6, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Star Thomas (9) runs with the ball against East Tennessee State Buccaneers defensive back Jivon Oggs (6) during the second quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Joey Aguilar passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns as No. 22 Tennessee set a single-game program scoring record in a 72-17 win over visiting East Tennessee State on Saturday at Knoxville, Tennessee.

Aguilar, in his Neyland Stadium debut, played the first half and completed 23 of 31 passes.

Tennessee (2-0) finished with 717 yards to 216 yards for ETSU (1-1).

Chris Brazzell II caught nine passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns for Tennessee, while Mike Matthews had six catches for 111 yards and one score.

Star Thomas carried 12 times for 69 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, scoring on runs of 2, 2 and 7 yards.

The Volunteers bullied their way to a 48-7 halftime lead, outgaining the Buccaneers 427 to 72 yards.

Cade McNamara completed 11-of-18 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown for the FCS Buccaneers, members of the Southern Conference.

Tennessee went 82 yards on the game's opening drive. DeSean Bishop started it off with a 50-yard run before Aguilar eventually passed to Brazzell for a 21-yard touchdown.

On the ensuing drive, McNamara hit Ephraim Floyd for 45 yards to the Tennessee 30, but the play was nullified by a penalty.

Later in the quarter, Boo Carter returned a punt 34 yards to the Buccaneer 27. Thomas soon carried the ball three straight times, scoring from the 2-yard line to build the lead to 17-0.

Carter later returned another punt 40 yards to the five. Peyton Lewis scored from the 1-yard line to give Tennessee a 24-0 lead with 46 seconds left in the quarter.

Tennessee outgained ETSU 205-7 in the quarter.

The Volunteers started their next drive on their 42. Thomas had a 19-yard run to the 7-yard line and scored from the 2.

Late in the second quarter, Aguilar found Matthews on a 53-yard bomb to give the Volunteers a 41-0 lead.

The Buccaneers scored just before halftime after a bad snap resulted in a Tennessee turnover. On the next play, Taharin Sudderth took a shovel pass and scored from the 5-yard line with 1:55 left.

Aguilar quickly passed the Volunteers down the field before a seven-yard Thomas run made it 48-7 with 22 seconds remaining.

Jake Merklinger tossed a pair of touchdown passes, and Max Gilbert hit a career-long 53-yard field goal for Tennessee in the second half.

--Field Level Media