KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The tone was set early.
Tennessee, a borderline Top 25 team, was a heavy favorite in its season opener against Ball State. It showed why Thursday night inside Neyland Stadium.
The Volunteers took all of 23 seconds to get on the scoreboard despite the Cardinals receiving the opening kick. Ball State (0-1) didn't help itself with the amount of mistakes it made throughout the night and Tennessee (1-0) kept on scoring en route to a dominating 59-10 victory.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Ball State took its shots early... and it backfired
When you’re a heavy underdog playing a Power Five opponent, you need to get a little creative with your play-calling.