Why Kent State Declined A Running Clock In Blowout Loss Against Tennessee

Tennessee football was just five points away from breaking its program record for most points scored in a single game in modern history at halftime. The Vols scored nine touchdowns in nine possessions and added a safety in the first half against Kent State as they took a 65-0 lead into the half at Neyland Stadium.

With the game decided and Tennessee already working in a plethora of backups in the first half, the Vols offered Kent State to play with either shortened quarters or a running clock in the second half.

Kent State declined. Why?

“Because that’s not who we are,” Kent State head coach Kenni Burns said postgame. “That’s now who we are as a football team. That’s not who we are as a culture. There are a lot of teams that lost today in lump sums; they’re not getting running clocks. A football game is a football game. I talked to our captains about it, and they said absolutely not. I said absolutely not. It’s just not who we are at all as a football program. No way.”

Tennessee called off the dogs as much as they ever have under Josh Heupel in the second half. The Vols went straight to third string quarterback Jake Merklinger to open the half and also played quarterbacks Navy Shuler and Ryan Damron.

The Vols huddled in the second half and only had three total drives thanks to a drive that last 6:59 and another that lasted 7:26.

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But credit Kent State for forcing a pair of field goals and then turning Tennessee over on downs in the red zone. After the Vols outscored the Golden Flashes 65-0 in the first half, the number was just 6-0 in the second half.

“I think the second half you saw their response to it,” Burns said. “They (the players) came back, they fought from it, and that is what their coach (Josh Heupel) said to us after the game that our fight in the second half was impressive.”

Still, the numbers were jarring from Tennessee’s third win of the season. They broke a program record for most points and total yards gained in the modern era. Dylan Sampson’s four rushing touchdowns tied the single-game program record in the modern era.

Tennessee out gained Kent State 740-112 over the course of the game and that number was 541-23 in the first half. The Vols not only could have scored 100 points but likely could have scored 125+ points if they never called off the dogs.

Life will get much more difficult for Tennessee next week when they travel to Norman for its SEC opener at Oklahoma. Life doesn’t get much easier for Kent State who travels to Penn State.