Tennessee vs. South Carolina Game Notes

Oct. 30, 2004

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TENNESSEE POSTGAME NOTES
Tennessee vs. South Carolina -- Oct. 30, 2004
Williams-Brice Stadium -- Columbia, S.C.

Noting Tennessee

Tennessee improved to 7-1 (5-1 SEC); South Carolina fell to 5-3 (3-3 SEC)
The Vols entered the game ranked: Associated Press No. 11, USA Today/ESPN No. 12; South Carolina was not ranked.
Tennessee returns to action Saturday against Notre Dame at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville (3:30 p.m. ET on. CBS). Notre Dame (5-3) was off this week.

Tennessee-South Carolina Series

Tennessee leads the all-time series vs. South Carolina 19-2-2, including a 7-2-2 mark in Columbia. Prior to today, the Vols' last win in Williams-Brice Stadium came in 2002, when UT triumphed 18-10 to give Phillip Fulmer his 100th career coaching victory.
The Vols have won their last 12 meetings with the Gamecocks, dating to 1993.
Today's contest marked the sixth meeting between UT head coach Phillip Fulmer and SC head coach Lou Holtz (with Fulmer holding a 6-0 edge).

Phillip Fulmer's Record

Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer improved his record to 120-29 (.805) in 13 years with the Vols.
Fulmer now has a 12-0 record against South Carolina and a 48-12 record vs. SEC Eastern Division teams.

Houston Sustains Success vs. South Carolina

Today's 190-yard rushing performance by TB Cedric Houston (his best career single-game total) was his second 100-yard game vs. South Carolina (and ninth overall). Houston carried the ball 30 times for 108 yards against the Gamecocks in 2002 (in Columbia), and he ran for 86 yards on 24 carries vs. South Carolina last year in Knoxville.
With today's 190-yards on 15 carries, Houston has 384 rushing yards and two TDs on 69 career carries in three games vs. South Carolina
Houston's 65-yard burst on the last play of the third quarter was his longest rush this season.

Houston Becomes Tennessee's No. 10 All-Time Rusher

By rushing for 190 yards today, senior tailback Cedric Houston moved past former Vols Aaron Hayden (2,061 yards from 1991-94) and Charlie Garner (2,089 from 1992-93) into 9th place on Tennessee's all-time rushing-yardage list. Houston has 2,246 rushing yards for his career and 617 on the season.

Freshmen Under Center

Freshman QB Erik Ainge's third TD pass of the game (a 20-yard completion to TE Chris Brown) was his 16th of the season, giving him more TD passes than any other freshman QB in Tennessee history (Casey Clausen had 15 in 2000).
Ainge completed 9-of-16 passes for 109 yards, three TDs and one interception. Today marked his third career three-TD outing (he also had three scores vs. Florida and La. Tech).
Ainge owns a 4-1 record as a starter, including a 3-0 mark on the road.
Freshman QB Brent Schaeffer completed 2-of-4 passes for 57 yards and also rushed six times for 14 yards.

Dual QBs Spark Game-Tying Second-Quarter Scoring Drive

Freshmen QBs Ainge and Schaeffer shared time under center during the Vols' eight-play, 80-yard second-quarter scoring drive. During that game-tying march, Schaeffer completed two passes for 66 yards (including a career-long 55-yard throw to WR C.J. Fayton) and Ainge connected on two passes for 25 yards (including the 30-yard scoring strike to FB David Holbert).
Tennessee's second drive of the second quarter -- during which Ainge came onto the field for a third-and-17 play -- marked the first time this season that the Vols played two different QBs on the same drive. Tennessee punted on that drive, but the two signal callers continued to split drives throughout the game.

Volunteer Career Firsts/Longs

Cedric Houston's 190 rushing yards was the highest single-game total of his career (previous best was 161 vs. Fresno State in 2003).
Sophomore WR Bret Smith scored a TD on his first career kickoff return.
Sophomore TB David Yancey scored his first career touchdown on his longest career rush (23 yards) in the fourth quarter.
Freshman FB David Holbert's 30-yard TD catch was the first score of his career (and his longest career reception).
Freshman TE Chris Brown's 20-yard TD reception in the third quarter was the first catch and touchdown of his career.
Brent Schaeffer's 55-yard pass to C.J. Fayton in the second quarter was the longest completion of Schaeffer's career.
Freshman DB Jonathan Hefney made his first career interception.
Senior TE Victor McClure made his first start of the season and the eighth of his career.
Sophomore Ryan West made his first career appearance as Tennessee's deep snapper (for punts).

Happy Home-State Returns

Junior offensive lineman Richie Gandy made his first career start today (in his 16th game played). A native of Darlington, S.C., Gandy stepped in at right guard after Arron Sears was moved to left tackle in place of injured captain Michael Munoz.
Rock Hill, S.C., native Jonathan Hefney posted one tackle and also made his first career interception.
Sophomore DT Tony McDaniel, who hails from Columbia, S.C., recorded three tackles, including two for loss and a sack.

Smith Scores Sixth TD This Season

Sophomore WR Bret Smith continues to produce points for the Big Orange this season. His 44-yard TD on an onside kick return gave him his team-best sixth TD of the year.
Smith has touched the ball 11 times this season.

Daunting Defense

Fumbles: DE Parys Haralson forced a fumble while sacking Gamecocks' QB Dondrial Pinkins in the second quarter. FS Jason Allen forced a fumble in the fourth quarter.
Interceptions (3): Rock Hill, S.C., native Jonathan Hefney made his first career interception in the third quarter. Roshaun Fellows also made an interception in the SC end zone late in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, LB Omar Gaither intercepted a Dondrial Pinkins pass and returned it 20 yards.
Sacks (3): Haralson (-17), (-8); Mahelona (-4); McDaniel (-9)
Tackles for Loss (13): Haralson (-6), (-17), (-8); Harrell (-11), (-1), (-3); Mahelona (-5), (-5), (-1); McDaniel (-2), (-9); Burnett (-5); Gaither (-2)
Passes Defensed (7): Fellows 3; Campbell 2; Haralson 1; Gaither 1
FS Jason Allen led the Vols with 15 tackles. It was his fifth 10-tackle game this season. LB Kevin Burnett had 11 stops.
Tennessee's 13 TFLs today are the most the Vols have had in a game this season. The previous high was 10 TFLs at Georgia.
The Vols' three quarterback sacks tonight give them 25 for the season. Tennessee entered this weekend leading the SEC with 3.1 sacks per game.

Miscellaneous Notes

Tennessee's 43 points this afternoon is the highest scoring total for the Vols since they posted 48 points vs. Mississippi State last season (Nov. 15, 2003)
Tennessee's first touchdown drive of the game went for 80 yards, marking UT's 15th scoring drive of at least that distance this season.
UT's nine plays of 20 yards or longer are the most the Vols have posted this season; Tennessee had eight such plays in the season opener vs. UNLV.
Through eight games this season, the Vols have had 17 different players score touchdowns. Last season, only 13 Vols found the end zone all year.
Tennessee was victorious despite a 37:39 to 22:21 disadvantage in time of possession. The last time the Vols won time of possession was Oct. 9 at Georgia (35:23 to 24:37).
Sophomore Arron Sears' start at left tackle marked the third offensive-line position at which he has started this season (Sears also has four starts at right tackle and two at right guard).
This afternoon's attendance at Williams-Brice Stadium was 81,400.
The 12:30 p.m. kickoff for this afternoon's contest marked the earliest start time for a Tennessee game this season.

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