UT at Ole Miss Postgame Notes

Oct. 18, 2014

POSTGAME NOTES

TENNESSEE TIDBITS

In its 118th season of football, UT's all-time record now stands at 807-365-53.
UT stands at 44-20-1 in their 65 overall meetings with Ole Miss.
Tonight's game marked just the fifth time UT has made the trip to Oxford, going 3-2 during that span (2014, 2009, 2004, 1988, 1951).
The Vols have won 13 of their last 15 meetings against the Rebels.
UT is 295-143-21 all-time in October and 6-9 on October 18.
The Vols lost the coin toss tonight to the Rebels, who chose to receive at kickoff. On the season, Tennessee has now lost six of their seven coin tosses.
UT is 1-0 when winning the coin flip and 2-4 when losing the toss in 2014.
Tonight's attendance: 62,081. The attendance mark stands as the third-largest crowd in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium history.

TENNESSEE CAPTAINS

#14 Justin Worley, #45 A.J. Johnson and #56 Curt Maggitt represented the Vols for the pregame coin toss.

JOHNSON FOR THE RECORD

#45 A.J. Johnson recorded eight tackles in the first half, reaching 400 career tackles on an assisted tackle (also, #50 Corey Vereen) in the second quarter. On the same play, Johnson claimed the all-time assisted tackle record for the Vols with 194, passing Andy Spiva's previous 193 number (1973-76).
Johnson finished the night with 10 tackles, improving to 402 career tackles. He is now just the fourth player in Tennessee history to record 400 career tackles. He also recorded his 22nd career double-digit tackle game in 42 career games.
In the second quarter, Johnson recorded a half sack on Ole Miss quarterback #14 Bo Wallace. Prior to his half-sack, Johnson only had one other sack in his 42 previous career games (2012).
With a solo sack in the third quarter, Johnson established a career-high with 1.5 sacks in a single game.

GILLIAM RETURNS TO ACTION

#65 Jacob Gilliam returned to game action in the second quarter at right tackle tonight. The appearance marks Gilliam's first in game action since August 31 against Utah State, when he suffered a knee injury.

OFFENSE

FRESH BEATS AND STARTS

The Vols started five true freshmen on offense for the third week in a row: #1 Jalen Hurd (RB), #3 Josh Malone (WR), #55 Coleman Thomas (RT), #73 Jashon Robertson (RG) and #82 Ethan Wolf (TE).
#9 Von Pearson made his first start at wide receiver tonight since Sept. 6 against Arkansas State at Neyland Stadium. His 26 receiving yards on five catches are his most in the single game this season.

HOW THEY SCORED

#25 Aaron Medley made a 27-yard field goal attempt to put the Vols on the board in the second quarter. On the year, Medley is 10-of-13 in field goal attempts and has at least one field goal made in each of his seven games.

ON OFFENSE

To end the first quarter, #14 Justin Worley completed a 24-yard pass to #8 Marquez North, putting the Vols on the Ole Miss 30-yard line.
#48 Alex Ellis made his first career catch in the second quarter, a nine yard reception for the Vols.
#3 Josh Malone led the Vols with five catches for 75 yards against Ole Miss.
Worley connected with nine different receivers, completing 19 of his 34 pass attempts for 191 yards.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

The Vols held the Rebels to 7-for-20 on third downs. The Vols are now 30-for-107 on the season. Entering tonight's matchup in Oxford, UT led the SEC and ranked fifth in the nation for defensive third down conversions with a 26.4 percentage rate (23-for-87).
#50 Corey Vereen recorded his first sack of the year on Rebels quarterback #14 Bo Wallace with less than one minute left in the first quarter.
True freshman #9 Derek Barnett recorded his second career sack, establishing a new career high with 10 tackles tonight against the Rebels.
Entering tonight's game, Ole Miss had a collective 55 points in the first quarter over their six previous games. The Vols held the Rebels to zero points in the first quarter tonight, marking the first time for Ole Miss to be shut out in the first quarter this year.

SPECIAL TEAMS

PUNTS BY DARR

#43 Matt Darr punted nine times, including a 55-yard punt on the Vols' first possession of the game. On the year, Darr has four inside the 10-yard line, 18 inside the 20-yard line and 10 punts of 50-plus yards in the last four games. His nine punts established a career high for punts in a single game.

ODDS AND ENDS

CURRENT TRENDS

The Vols were trending worldwide on Twitter with the topics: "AJ Johnson", "Corey Vereen" and "Coleman Thomas".
Nationally, the following topics were trending for the Vols: "Worley", "Corey Vereen", "AJ Johnson" and "Coleman Thomas".

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

An Ole Miss fumble, originally ruled a recovery by Tennessee, was reviewed. The ruling on the field was overturned, giving Ole Miss a first down.

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