TENNESSEE POSTGAME NOTES

Sept. 30, 2006

Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery

Noting Tennessee

Tennessee improved to 4-1 (0-1 SEC); Memphis fell to 1-3 (0-1 C-USA)
The Vols entered the game ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and No. 18 in the USA Today rankings; Memphis was unranked.
Tennessee returns to action Saturday at Georgia (Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.). Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. ET on ESPN. It will be UT's first game outside the state of Tennessee this season.

Tennessee-Memphis Series

Tennessee leads the all-time series vs. Memphis 20-1 dating to 1968. The Vols have won their last five games vs. the Tigers.
The Vols are 9-1 in games in this series that have taken place in Memphis.
Today's contest marked the third meeting between UT head coach Phillip Fulmer and Memphis head coach Tommy West. Both men are UT graduates.

Phillip Fulmer's Record

Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer improved his record to 132-38 (.776) in 15 seasons with the Vols.
Fulmer now owns a 6-1 record against Memphis and a 15-1 record vs. current members of Conference USA.
Today's win gives Fulmer a 63-14-1 (.814) record against non-conference opponents.
The Vols under Fulmer are 104-8 when leading at halftime and 55-5 when gaining at least 200 rushing yards.

Vols Enjoy Success at Liberty Bowl

Tennessee owns a 22-7 (.759) all-time record at the Liberty Bowl, dating to 1965. The Vols' list of recurring Liberty Bowl opponents includes Memphis (9-1), Mississippi (4-4) and Mississippi State (1-2). UT is 5-0 vs. other non-conference foes during the regular season at the Liberty Bowl, with wins over Army, The Citadel, Kansas, UCLA and Wake Forest. The Vols also own three bowl wins at the Liberty Bowl, with triumphs over Arkansas, Maryland and Minnesota.

Ainge Triggers Aerial Assault

In terms of total passing yardage, today's game was the second best of Ainge's career. He tied his career high with four TD passes (originally set in the season-opener vs. California).
With 324 yards of passing yards today, Ainge moved into eighth place on UT's all-time career list with 3,578 yards through the air.
Junior quarterback Erik Ainge's fifth completion of the day (a 10-yard toss to Bret Smith in the first quarter) marked the 250th completion of Ainge's career. He is the 10th signal-caller in UT history to complete at least 250 passes during his career.
Ainge threw a 51-yard TD pass to Jayson Swain on UT's first possession of the second half. Ainge later hit Robert Meachem for an 84-yard TD toss. In the fourth quarter, Ainge added a 7-yard scoring strike to Bret Smith.
Ainge's 84-yard TD to Robert Meachem was the longest completion of both players' careers, and it tied for the fifth-longest pass play in UT history.

Meachem, Swain Continue Torrid Pace

Tennessee wide receivers Robert Meachem and Jayson Swain entered the weekend as the top receiving duo -- in terms of total yardage -- in NCAA Division I-A. Meachem totaled 157 yards on four catches today, while Swain added 64 yards on three receptions. The tandem has now combined for 955 total receiving yards on the year.
Swain's first catch of the day was a 5-yard TD reception from Erik Ainge. It extended Swain's streak of consecutive games with a reception to 17. It is tied for the eighth-longest such streak in UT history.

Defense Denies

Today's game marked the lowest amount of total offense allowed by Tennessee since Aug. 30, 2003, when UT limited Fresno State to 117 offensive yards (-1 rushing, 118 passing) during a 24-6 UT win in Knoxville. Memphis had 121 offensive yards today (42 rushing, 79 passing).
Memphis did not make a first down until the 11:24 mark of the second quarter. The Tigers had two first downs and 44 yards of total offense in the first half.
Senior linebacker Marvin Mitchell logged his 100th career tackle today. He finished with a team-high six stops in the game and has 103 tackles for his career.
Jonathan Hefney intercepted a Martin Hankins pass at the UT 45-yard line in the third quarter (no return). It was Hefney's second INT of the year and the sixth of his career.

Miscellaneous Notes

Today's game was UT's biggest road win -- in terms of margin of victory -- since a 56-21 victory (35-point margin) at Kentucky in 1998.
Tennessee's captains for the pregame coin toss were seniors David Ligon, Turk McBride, Marvin Mitchell, Arron Sears, Antwan Stewart and James Wilhoit.
Today's attendance was 61,783.
Today's game was the first on artificial turf for Tennessee since the 2004 SEC Championship Game vs. Auburn in the Georgia Dome.
Tight end Brad Cottam's first-quarter catch was the third of his career and his first since the 2004 season. Tennessee started the game in a double tight end formation with Cottam and Chris Brown. Both players caught passes on UT's opening drive.
Prior to today, Tennessee had not completed passes to multiple tight ends in a single game since the 2001 Alabama game (Jason Witten and John Finlayson).
Wide Receiver Josh Briscoe's first-quarter rush for 11 yards was the first rushing attempt of his career.
At 17 plays, Tennessee's first scoring drive of the day (second quarter, Swain TD) was UT's longest scoring drive in terms of number of plays since the Vols strung together a 17-play scoring drive in the 2002 Vanderbilt game.
Senior placekicker James Wilhoit logged 11 points on the day, giving him 267 for his career and keeping him atop the SEC's active career scoring list.
The following Vols set new career-highs on the day: LaMarcus Coker, 26 carries; Chris Brown, five receptions; Lucas Taylor, four receptions; and Jonathan Crompton, two completions and two pass attempts.
Redshirt freshman center Josh McNeil made his first career start today, as did redshirt freshman tailback LaMarcus Coker.

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