Tennessee Postgame Notes

Nov. 22, 2008

Noting Tennessee

Tennessee's record improves to 4-7 (2-5 SEC); Vanderbilt falls to 6-5 (4-4 SEC) on the year.
The Vols entered the game unranked in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls; The Commodores were also unranked in both polls.
Tennessee returns to action Nov. 29 when it hosts Kentucky. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN2.

Tennessee-Vanderbilt Series

Tennessee now leads the all-time series with Vanderbilt 70-27-5, dating to 1892.
UT now holds a 35-17-4 advantage in Nashville.
Fulmer is 15-1 against the Commodores and 8-0 in Nashville.

Phillip Fulmer's Record

Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer's record now stands at 151-52 (.744) in 17 seasons with the Vols.
Fulmer now owns a 97-37 record in the SEC and is 47-18 in SEC road games.

Berry Now Holds SEC Single Season Interception Return Yardage Record

Eric Berry intercepted a Chris Nickson pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. It was Berry's 12th career interception and the third interception return for a touchdown of his career.
The sophomore from Fairburn, Ga., now has seven interceptions this season and 265 return yards. The 265 return yards is an SEC record. (previously held by Florida's Joe Brodsky who had 244 interception return yards in 1956). The NCAA record is 302 yards and was set by Southern California's Charles Phillips in 1974.
UT now has four interception returns for a touchdown this season. That is the most in the Fulmer era. The previous high was three, which UT accomplished last season.
Berry finished the game with three tackles, including two TFLs.

Foster Moves Into Second on UT's Career Rushing List

Senior tailback Arian Foster rushed 11 times 53 yards Saturday to move into second place on UT's career rushing list. The San Diego native has 2,905 yards on 629 carries. He passed James Stewart (2,890) to move into second place.
Foster needs 174 yards in his final career game Saturday vs. Kentucky to take over first place from Travis Henry (3,078).

Hardesty and Creer Also Move Ball on Ground

Junior tailback Montario Hardesty started today for the first time since the Outback Bowl vs. Penn State at the end of the 2006 season.
Hardesty had the game's first touchdown as he broke through the line for a nine-yard touchdown in the second quarter. It was Hardesty's team-leading sixth touchdown of the season. The drive went 65 yards on nine plays and all 65 yards were on the ground.
Hardesty went over 1,000 yards for his career on UT's next possession as he ran 27 yards to the Vanderbilt 8.
Hardesty's 27-yard run in the third quarter was the longest rush by a UT tailback since Creer's 45-yard rush for a touchdown against UAB. The New Bern, N.C. native finished the game with 41 yards on seven carries.
Sophomore Lennon Creer led the team with 80 rushing yards on 13 carries.
The Vols finished with 222 rushing yards on a season-high 51 attempts.

Noting The Offense

Sophomore defensive back Eric Berry played at quarterback on UT's second possession rushing seven yards for a first down on his first carry and then gaining one yard on his next rush.
The Vols only attempted nine passes today and had four completions.
Redshirt-freshman quarterback B.J. Coleman made the second appearance of his career and completed 4-of-8 passes for 21 yards.

Noting The Defense

Sophomore defensive end Chris Walker ended Vanderbilt's second drive of the game as he forced a fumble that senior linebacker Ellix Wilson recovered. It was Walker's team-leading second forced fumble of the season.
Sophomore defensive back Brent Vinson grabbed his second career interception and raced 69 yards to the Vanderbilt 14 in the second quarter. It was Vinson's second career interception.
Vanderbilt only had 25 yards of total offense at halftime.
Junior linebacker Rico McCoy had 11 tackles to lead the team for the fourth consecutive game.
Senior defensive end Robert Ayers was credited with three TFLs today. He now has 14.5 on the season and 12.5 if you don't include sacks. The 12.5 TFLs not including sacks is the fourth highest single season total in Tennessee history.

Rogan Sets UT Single Season Kick Return Record

Dennis Rogan returned three kickoffs for 79 yards. He now has 28 kickoff returns this season for 698 yards (24.9 avg. KOR). The 28 returns is tied for first on UT's season list with Willie Gault who had 28 kickoff returns in 1981 and the 698 return yards is a new school record besting the previous mark of 662 set by Gault in 1980.
Rogan's career kickoff return yardage is 1,081 which is fifth all-time.

Miscellaneous Notes

Attendance: 38,725
Tennessee's captains today were defensive end Robert Ayers, offensive tackle Ramon Foster, wide receiver Lucas Taylor, linebacker Ellix Wilson, tailback Montario Hardesty and safety Eric Berry. They were named permanent team captains in the week leading up to the Mississippi State game (Oct. 18).
Neither team completed a pass in the first quarter.
UT scored 20 points in the second quarter. It was the Vols second highest scoring quarter of the season (21 in the fourth quarter against Mississippi State)
Lincoln hit both of his field goal attempts today, knocking home a 24-yarder and 25-yarder in the second quarter. The sophomore from Ocala, Fla., is now 10-of-17 this season on FGs.

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