Tennessee football's Dylan Sampson sets the single-season program record

Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson tied the Vols' single-season program record for rushing touchdowns Saturday night against Kentucky.

Sampson's seven-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Kentucky was his 18th of the season, tying Gene McEver's record set in 1929. Tennessee's junior running back is having an incredible season, rushing for 838 yards in the first seven games of the season.

The touchdown gave Tennessee a 14-10 lead, its first of the night against the Wildcats.

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native has rushed for 100 yards in all but one Tennessee game this season and has had an incredible start to the season from a touchdown standpoint, throwing three touchdowns against Chattanooga, two touchdowns against NC State and four touchdowns against scored Kent State.

It felt inevitable that Sampson's pace would slow down after that start, and it did, but not to an insane extent. Sampson's scored more than two touchdowns in every game except the Oklahoma game, including a total of five touchdowns against Florida and Alabama.

More from RTI: Tennessee Football vs. Kentucky Final Injury Report

Sampson was easily the best player in a Tennessee offense that struggled for much of the season. In fact, Sampson's 18 touchdowns are more than the rest of the Vols' offense combined (16).

The Tennessee star running back now has 31 career rushing touchdowns, which puts him fourth all-time in program history behind Josh Dobbs (32), James Stewart (35) and Gene McEver (37).

If Sampson totals 100 yards or more against Kentucky, he will be tied for the most 100-yard rushing games in a single season in Tennessee football history. Sampson's seven would be on par with Travis Stephens, Travis Henry, Jamal Lewis and Chuck Webb, but still well behind Jay Graham's 11 rushing touchdowns in the 1995 season.

Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider throughout the night for complete coverage of Tennessee football's SEC game against Kentucky at Neyland Stadium.