Tennessee pulls away from turnover-prone Virginia Tech in front of nearly 157,000

A majority of the record-setting crowd at the Battle at Bristol were Tennessee supporters. And unlike in Week 1, those fans were able to breathe easy in the fourth quarter.

The Volunteers capitalized on five Virginia Tech fumbles at Bristol Motor Speedway and won 45-24 in a game that set a college football attendance mark that’s not likely to be broken at anywhere other than Bristol. The announced attendance of 156,990 boke the old record, set in 2013 at Michigan Stadium, by more than 41,000.

Tennessee led 24-14 at halftime and made the game a rout in the second half thanks to those fumbles. The Hokies turned the ball over on three-straight possessions in the fourth quarter including a disastrous-looking attempt at a punt return.

The fumbles, which started with the Hokies down 31-17, led to a 45-17 for the Volunteers and a clearing out of Bristol’s massive grandstands. Many of those fans undoubtedly wanted to beat the traffic congestion that awaited them outside the stadium. Bristol officials warned earlier in the week it could take four hours for all traffic to clear after the game.

Fans were even sitting on the turns at the half-mile concrete oval that hosted a Sprint Cup Series race less than three weeks ago.

Virginia Tech lost four fumbles in its Week 1 win over Liberty, so if you’re good at math that’s nine fumbles through two weeks of 2016. The Hokies had seven lost fumbles in all of 2015 and there’s also this:

The fumble luck isn’t going new coach Justin Fuente’s way and put a damper on what was quite the bright start at Bristol. Virginia Tech led 14-0 before giving up 24-straight points to end the first half.

The turnovers sure helped Tennessee, but a big difference between the Vols in Week 1 vs. Appalachian State and against Virginia Tech on Saturday was the running game. Tennessee struggled rushing the ball in Week 1, notching just 127 yards on 43 carries.

UT had 46 carries for 239 yards vs. Tech and a big chunk of that came courtesy of quarterback Josh Dobbs, who had -4 yards against App State. Dobbs ran for 106 yards on 14 carries against Virginia Tech, including a 40-yard scamper on a read-option play.

The running power of Dobbs and running backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara was a big reason why UT was favored by many to win the SEC East in Week 1. And while it’s incredibly premature to make the conclusion after two weeks, Tennessee will have a lot less trouble living up to that favorite status if it runs the ball the way it did Saturday.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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