Tennessee vs. Auburn Notes

Dec. 4, 2004

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TENNESSEE POSTGAME NOTES
2004 SEC Championship Game
Tennessee vs. Auburn
Dec. 4, 2004 - Georgia Dome - Atlanta, Ga.

Noting Tennessee

Tennessee fell to 9-3 (7-1 SEC); Auburn improved to 12-0 (8-0 SEC)
The Vols entered the game ranked No. 15 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls. Auburn was ranked No. 3 in both polls.
Tennessee will play in its school-record 16th consecutive postseason bowl game this season.

Tennessee-Auburn Series

Tennessee trails Auburn 21-25-3 in the all-time series between the two programs. The teams are 1-1 in neutral-site contests (both SEC title games).
Tonight's game marked the second time Tennessee and Auburn have clashed in the SEC Championship Game. In their first league title game appearance, the Vols posted a 30-29 victory over Auburn in 1997.

Phillip Fulmer's Record

Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer's record is 122-31 (.797) in 13 years with the Vols.
Fulmer now has a 3-3 record against Auburn and a 31-9 record vs. SEC Western Division teams.

Tennessee's SEC Championship Game History

The Vols are now 2-2 in the SEC Championship Game, with victories in 1997 (Auburn) and 1998 (Mississippi State) and losses in 2001 (LSU) and 2004.
This year, Tennessee captured at least a share of the SEC Eastern Division championship for the sixth time under head coach Phillip Fulmer
Tennessee's four appearances in the SEC Championship Game are the most in the conference since 1997. Auburn is next with three appearances. The Vols' two conference crowns are also the most in the league during that span.

Houston Scores Again

Senior tailback Cedric Houston's 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was his seventh rushing score of the season, marking the most TDs he has scored via the ground in a single season in his career (he scored six rushing touchdowns in 2002).
Houston gained 37 yards on 11 carries in tonight's game and also scored a touchdown.

Riggs Revs Up Running Game

Junior TB Gerald Riggs Jr. rushed for a career-high 182 yards on 11 carries. Tonight's game marked his fifth career 100-yard outing (all this season).
Tonight's 182-yard effort gave Riggs his first career 1,000-yard season (1,005 yards).
Riggs' 16.5-yard average per carry tonight fell just one yard shy of the UT single-game record, set by George Canale vs. Chattanooga Oct. 27, 1962 (165 yards on 10 carries for a 17.5-yard average per rush).
Riggs' 80-yard touchdown run in the third quarter marked the longest run of his career and the second-longest rush in SEC Championship Game history. His 182 total rushing yards is also the second-most ever in the league title game.

Clausen Under Center

In his second trip to the SEC Championship Game, junior quarterback Rick Clausen completed 8-of-20 passes for 69 yards and one touchdown.
Clausen transferred to UT from LSU, which represented the SEC Western Division in the 2001 league title game and defeated the Vols 31-20 (Clausen did not play in that game).

Big Orange Milestone Watch

As a team, Tennessee has reached the 2,000 rushing-yard mark this season (2,181).
The Vols have also surpassed the 2,500 passing-yard mark on the year (2,542).
With a pair of QB hurries tonight, junior DE Parys Haralson tied the UT single-season record with 21 on the year (Steve White also had 21 hurries in 1995).

Vols-Tigers Backfield Comparison

This season, Auburn's highly-touted backfield duo of Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown has combined to rush for 1,949 yards. Interestingly however, Tennessee tailbacks Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs Jr. have quietly combined to net 1,948 yards on the ground. The Tigers tandem has outrushed the Vols duo by only one yard all season.

Defensive Notebook

Fumbles: DB Jonathan Wade forced a Carnell Williams fumble on Auburn's first possession of the game. LB Kevin Burnett forced a Jason Campbell fumble on Auburn's first drive of the second half; the fumble was recovered by DT Turk McBride.
Interceptions (1): SS Corey Campbell intercepted a Jason Campbell pass in the end zone with seven seconds to play in the second quarter. The play marked Corey Campbell's team-leading fourth interception of the season.
Sacks (1): Gaither (-5)
Tackles for Loss (5): Mahelona (-1), (-2); Gaither (-6), (-5), (-1)
Passes Defensed (2): Gaither (1), Campbell (1)
Junior LB Omar Gaither led the Vols with a career-high 18 tackles. Senior LB Kevin Burnett posted 13 stops.
Gaither's 18 tackles is the highest single-game total by a Vol this season.

Miscellaneous Notes

With 243 punting yards tonight, senior All-America punter Dustin Colquitt became the first Vol ever to accumulate 10,000 career punting yards (10,080).
Senior WR Tony Brown is the only Vol with at least one catch in every game this season.
Junior DT Jesse Mahelona's 17.5 TFLs are tied for sixth-most by a Vol in a single season (he had one TFL tonight).
Mahelona's 13.5 tackles for ball-carrier loss (TFLs excluding QB sacks) are the second-most ever by a Vol in a single season. Leonard Little tops UT's single-season list with 14 such tackles in 1995.
Redshirt freshman DE Jared Hostetter was in on his first career tackle tonight in the second quarter.
Tennessee's 39 yards of first-half total offense were its lowest output before halftime this season (the previous low was 53 yards vs. Alabama Oct. 23).
The Vols have trailed in every game this season except vs. Georgia (Oct. 9) and Vanderbilt (Nov. 20).
Tennessee's 12 penalties for 95 yards were both season highs.
Former Vol Casey Clausen, who quarterbacked the Big Orange from 2000-03, was in attendance tonight. The older brother of current Vols' starting QB Rick Clausen, Casey was UT's starting signal caller in 2001 when it made its last SEC Championship Game appearance.
Tonight's attendance at the Georgia Dome was 74,892.

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