Tennessee beat Kennesaw State 42-9 on Saturday night in Knoxville to improve to 3-0 on the season.

The outcome of the game was never really in doubt — the Vols were in complete control from the start — but Tennessee clearly still has some things to clean up.

And it seems most fans left the game thinking, “Man, we can’t play that way against Texas next weekend and expect to get a win.”

While I agree that Tennessee certainly has to play better against Texas, I don’t think it’s fair to assume that they won’t just because of what we saw on Saturday night against Kennesaw State.

For starters, there were some good things from the Vols despite some of the uneven possessions.

Sophomore running back Daune Morris was forced to carry the load (due to a banged-up running back room) and he had a great night, totaling 116 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Running back depth will be important for the Vols moving forward with DeSean Bishop, Javin Gordon, and Justin Baker all banged up to varying degrees.

Tennessee was also better when it comes to penalties, committing just three for 20 yards after committing nine for 114 yards last week.

As for the things that need to be cleaned up, the right side of the offensive line still needs to take a step forward — specifically at right guard. The Vols also need to be better on third down (4-of-1o) and in the red zone (though Tennessee was better in the second half against Kennesaw State).

Defensively, the Vols looked solid, but we still haven’t seen the secondary really tested yet. We’ll learn a lot about that group against Texas next weekend.

Overall, I think Vols fans should be pleased with what happened on Saturday night. There’s plenty to correct — which means Tennessee won’t be “feeling themselves” too much going into the Texas game. It should be an intense week at practice. And that means the Vols’ focus should be on point next Saturday (that shouldn’t just be considered a given — take a look around the league each week).

Also, Kennesaw State played hard on Saturday night. They played with an edge. Jerry Mack, a former Vols assistant, had his team prepared and motivated. Kennesaw State has a talented quarterback in Rickie Collins and good skill position players. No, this wasn’t anything compared to the competition that Tennessee will face next weekend against Texas, but it was a step up in competition from playing Furman in the season opener.

Running the score up on an opponent is fun for fans, but Tennessee will be a better team moving forward because Kennesaw State played them hard and had a good game plan. Those are the types of games where you can experience real growth.

The energy will be different next weekend in Knoxville. It’ll be a different type of game. Just because the Vols didn’t execute on a few plays against Kennesaw State — plays where they were just a block away or a finished catch away — doesn’t mean they won’t against Texas.