Western Kentucky 7, Tennessee 63

1234T
WKU (0-1)00707
TENN (1-0)02872863

Final

12:21 PM ET, September 5, 2009
Neyland Stadium
KNOXVILLE, TN

Kiffin wins coaching debut as Crompton's 5 TDs power Vols

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs634
Total Yards83657
Passing49277
Rushing34380
Penalties9-746-45
3rd Down Conversions1-117-9
4th Down Conversions0-10-1
Turnovers33
Possession27:0132:59
Air/Ground Leaders
Western Kentucky Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Smith8/134400
Jakes1/3501
Tennessee Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Crompton21/2823352
Stephens4/44400
Western Kentucky Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Rainey841119
Hayden71508
Tennessee Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Hardesty18160143
Brown11104134
Western Kentucky Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Cooper221012
Vasquez217012
Tennessee Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Teague686124
Hancock565128
Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTERWKUTENN
TD13:41Bryce Brown 2 Yd Run (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 07
TD13:22Luke Stocker 17 Yd Pass From Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 014
TD09:08Quintin Hancock 9 Yd Pass From Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 021
TD01:14Brandon Warren 4 Yd Pass From Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 028
THIRD QUARTERWKUTENN
TD07:28Montario Hardesty 43 Yd Run (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 035
TD02:41Bobby Rainey 19 Yd Run (Casey Tinius Kick) 735
FOURTH QUARTERWKUTENN
TD14:55Luke Stocker 6 Yd Pass From Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 742
TD13:21Marsalis Teague 5 Yd Pass From Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 749
TD09:51David Oku 2 Yd Run (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 756
TD03:43David Oku 1 Yd Run (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 763
Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's tenure on Rocky Top is off to a smooth start.

Jonathan Crompton threw five touchdown passes Saturday, leading the Volunteers to a 63-7 rout of Football Bowl Subdivision newcomers Western Kentucky and their largest margin of victory in nine years.

Kiffin On Point

Tennessee earned its largest margin of victory since a 70-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe in 2000. Its 63 points was also the most points scored in a coach's debut in Vols history.

Most Points Scored
Tennessee Head Coach Debut
2009 Lane Kiffin W, 63-7
1993 Phillip Fulmer W, 50-0
1963 Jim McDonald W, 34-6
1916 John Bender W, 33-0
1941 John Barnhill W, 32-6
1907 George Levene W, 30-0

"This is the way that we expect to play," Kiffin said. "We have high expectations here. I just talked to them about understanding that was one game and it's over. We've got to find a way to play better next week."

In its first two drives, Tennessee looked as if it hadn't learned much under Kiffin, the youngest active coach in the division. Crompton threw a pass over the middle that was easily tipped by Thomas Majors and intercepted by Jamal Forrest, and Montario Hardesty fumbled after a hard hit.

The Vols settled down after the first quarter, and Hardesty carried for 18 and 22 yards to help set up a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman Bryce Brown early in the second quarter.

Low: Kiffin Era Begins

The Lane Kiffin era kicked off Saturday with a 63-7 massacre that produced more fireworks over the Tennessee River than were shot off all of last season, writes Chris Low. Blog
• SEC blog

Bobby Rainey fumbled on the Hilltoppers' next play, and LaMarcus Thompson recovered for Tennessee. Crompton connected with Luke Stocker on his first of two TD catches to make it 14-0 only 7 seconds later.

"We played one quarter of decent football, and then I think for the next three quarters were physically dominated," Western Kentucky coach Dave Elson said.

Tennessee's defense looked every bit the stalwart it was in 2008, while the offense found the composure it was missing in last year's 5-7 season. Running backs broke through the line of scrimmage, wide receivers ran sound routes and Crompton threw accurately.

"We really just tried to get our personality as a team on film. We wanted to be physical but smart. The game we just played is part of our resume, and we want to build that resume and send it out to our opponents," Vols safety Eric Berry said.

The receiving corps hardly looked depleted by injuries, with Stocker, Marsalis Teague, Quintin Hancock and Brandon Warren each catching scoring strikes.

Crompton, who was pulled with 12:26 left in the game, finished 21 of 28 with two picks, and his five TD passes was one more than his output last season. Hardesty finished with 160 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and Brown had 104 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 attempts.

The Hilltoppers couldn't capitalize on the early turnovers and had minus-21 yards after their first 19 plays. Tennessee finished with 657 yards compared to Western Kentucky's 83.

Rainey had the Hilltoppers' only score on a 19-yard run with 2:41 in the third quarter that made it 35-7.

The win was the Vols' easiest since a 70-3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe in 2000. Their 380 yards rushing were the most since 2004.

The Vols were also joined by former Vols and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who before the game announced a $1 million gift for a new athletic training center.

Though the attendance in the 100,011-capacity Neyland Stadium only reached 98,761, the fans turned out in droves as Kiffin and the Vols made the traditional "Vol Walk" from their buses to the stadium before the game.

"I really had to make sure that I did not go up and down today, because that's what I talked about with our team a long time last night -- dealing with the emotions of a wonderful scene like the Vol Walk, a wonderful event like running through the 'T' and playing in front of 100,000 people," Kiffin said.

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Thursday, September 3rd
South Carolina 7 Final
North Carolina State 3
Saturday, September 5th
Charleston Southern 3 Final
1 Florida 62
5 Alabama 34 Final
7 Virginia Tech 24
13 Georgia 10 Final
9 Oklahoma State 24
11 LSU 31 Final
Washington 23
Kentucky 42 Final
Miami (OH) 0
Western Kentucky 7 Final
Tennessee 63
Jackson State 7 Final
Mississippi State 45
Louisiana Tech 13 Final
Auburn 37
Missouri State 10 Final
Arkansas 48
Western Carolina 0 Final
Vanderbilt 45
Sunday, September 6th
8 Mississippi 45 Final
Memphis 14