Dr. Danny solved one Saturday problem at Neyland Stadium. There was no postgame congestion. Half the house went away at halftime. Others soon followed.

That caused a different problem. Concession sales took a hit. I’m told there was leftover popcorn.

The game wasn’t very good but a lot of young people got to play. There was minimum excitement. Joey Aguilar had an OK performance — 15 of 22 passes for 218 and three more touchdowns. He lost another interception on a deflected pass. UAB interference should have been flagged.

Aguilar again was not sacked. Credit the big uglies and Joey’s quick mind and feet.

I think Tennessee scored eight touchdowns. There was a time I lost count. I do recall the Vols had 42 points, 352 yards and 21 first downs at intermission.

WR Mike Matthews #4 sprints toward the endzone during the game between the UAB Blazers and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 20, 2025. (Photo by Kate Luffman/ Tennessee Athletics)

Tennessee scoring summary …

First quarter: Chris Brazzell 19-yard pass from Aguilar (Max Gilbert kick); Mike Matthews 39 pass from Aguilar (Gilbert kick); DeSean Bishop 3 rush (Gilbert kick).

Second quarter: Star Thomas 1 rush (Gilbert kick); Peyton Lewis 32 rush (Gilbert kick); Bishop 2 rush (Gilbert kick).

Third quarter: Thomas 17 shovel pass from Aguilar (Gilbert kick); Kaleb Beasley 23 fumble return (Gilbert kick).

Boo Carter had an up and down day. He caused the Blazer fumble that became Beasley’s touchdown. He separated the visitors from another football. He had a 34-yard punt return. He made nine tackles, including a QB sack. He fumbled a punt. He gave up too many yards in his segment of Shields Watkins Field (preserved by Pilot).

Others on defense made mistakes. Looked exactly like communication and assignment issues in the secondary. Tennessee gave up five more completions of 20 yards or more.

Andre Turrentine jumped a route and picked off a pass. Freshman running back Duane Morris contributed. Freshman defensive tackle Isaiah Campbell is improving. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Merklinger seemed jumpy and insecure. Freshman defensive back Timothy Merritt was left far behind a 61-yard UAB touchdown conversion.

That was Jalen Kitna’s big play. He completed 38 of 51 for 364 yards and another TD. UAB scored 24 points. UAB netted 23 yards rushing.

There was one disturbance, in the first quarter. After the Vols’ third TD, after Gilbert’s third extra point, UAB safety Sirad Bryant went out of his way to step on the kicker’s right foot.

A more accurate description of the foul might be “stomped.”

Jackson Ross, punter by profession, holder for place kicks, went after Bryant with mayhem in mind. Other Vols got him stopped. Bryant was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. Sirad apologized to everybody after the game. Coach Trent Dilfer said “he will be disciplined.”

***

A significant segment of the season is now upon us.

A month ago, Mississippi State looked like no problem, maybe the easiest of five or six projected Southeastern Conference victories for Tennessee.

First real road game, possible trap? No way. The only legal distractions in Starkpatch are those darned cowbells. That racket will be a new experience for Aguilar but he will handle it.

Come to think of it, another possible problem exists – too much ice cream. I hear muscadine ripple has moved aside to make room for premium blueberry and sweet potato flavors.

The famous MSU campus creamery is much too close to the press box and the 50-yard line. Been there and done that.

Other things have recently changed. The Bulldogs are 4-0 and asking each other how many upsets they need to qualify for the playoffs. Can you believe they believe they might make the playoffs?

Instead of dreading Tennessee, they are allegedly looking forward to Saturday. Opportunity knocks. Come on in.

Enthusiasm at Mississippi State is rooted in the 24-20 triumph over Arizona State, 12th ranked at the time. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 17-0 lead, fell behind in the fourth quarter and won with a 58-yard Blake Shapen pass to Brenen Thompson with 30 seconds remaining.

Fans stormed the field. School maintenance employees beat them to the goal posts, quickly took them down and carried them to safe storage – with police escorts.

Something else different happened in the Alcorn State game. Shapen hit a 75-yard TD pass 17 seconds after kickoff. The Bulldogs romped, 63-0. To avoid a hundred, the teams agreed to shorten the third and fourth quarters.

Jeff Lebby

So, that’s more than you wanted to know? It’s part of what is new at Mississippi State in coach Jeff Lebby’s second season.

Lebby, 41, has offensive credentials. He coached quarterbacks for Josh Heupel at Central Florida, served as offensive coordinator for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss and, before that, was an assistant to Art Briles at Baylor.

State will play with tempo and will spread receivers all around. It would be good if the Vol secondary is better organized than it has been.

If you are interested in numbers, Pro Football Focus grades ranged from Thomas’ 86.6 to a record low of 32.2 but I’ll never tell who did that because his mother might read westwords.

Part two on numbers, the early betting line favors Tennessee by 10.5 points.

Part three, the Bulldogs are two wins away from bowl eligibility.

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com