UT vs. ASU Postgame Notes

Sept. 6, 2014

Postgame Notes - ASU vs. UT

HALFTIME NOTES & QUOTES

Tennessee Tidbits

In its 118th season of football, UT's all-time record now stands at 806-361-53.
UT stands at 2-0 after its second-ever meeting against Arkansas State, while Head Coach Butch Jones is now 1-0 against the Red Wolves.
Tennessee is now 8-0 all-time vs. current Sun Belt Conference schools.
UT is 136-66-9 all-time in September and 4-1 on Sept. 6.
The program has now won 14 straight games played against a non-conference opponent at Neyland Stadium.
Butch Jones now owns a 57-34 all-time coaching record, 7-7 with UT.
UT is 0-0 when winning the coin flip and 2-0 when losing the toss.
Today's attendance is 99,538.

VFL Legend Of The Game

VFL Bill Bates (1979-83) was honored in a pregame ceremony before the Arkansas State-Tennessee game as Vols Legend of the Game.
Bates was a second-team All-SEC player during his time at Rocky Top.
He played 43 games racking up 255 tackles in his career before going on to play three Super Bowls with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.
A 1984 NFL Pro Bowl player, Bates enjoyed a 15-year career in Dallas and was inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame (2005) as well as named a member of the 100-Year All-Tennessee Team.

Tennessee Captains

#14 Justin Worley, #56 Curt Maggitt, #57 Mack Crowder represented the Vols for the pregame coin toss.

Left Tackle Starter

#63 Brett Kendrick made his first-career start for the Vols at left tackle today, in place of the injured Jacob Gilliam.

Tennessee Debuts Continue

A total of 34 newcomers have now seen action for the Vols in 2014.
#44 Jakob Johnson made his first-career appearance for the Vols on special teams in the first quarter, marking the 22nd true freshman to play for Tennessee this year.
Among the 22 true freshmen to make debuts this season: #1 Jalen Hurd, #3 Josh Malone, #6 Todd Kelly Jr., #7 Rashaan Gaulden, #9 Derek Barnett, #12 Emmanuel Moseley, #17 Dillon Bates, #20 Cortez McDowell, #25 Aaron Medley, #29 Evan Berry, #41 Elliott Berry, #44 Jakob Johnson, #53 Colton Jumper, #55 Coleman Thomas, #8 Dewayne Hendrix, #73 Jashon Robertson, #40 Dimarya Mixon, #4 Vic Wharton, #2 D'Andre Payne, #80 Daniel Helm, #72 Michael Sawyers and #82 Ethan Wolf.
Twelve other newcomers have made their Vol debuts this year: #5 Ryan Jenkins, #5 George Bullock, #9 Von Pearson, #13 Patrick Ashford, #24 Michael Williams, #60 Austin Sanders, #31 Justus Pickett, #42 Chris Weatherd, #58 Owen Williams, #48 Alex Ellis, #59 Matt Giampapa & #63 Brett Kendrick.

Vols Trending

The Vols had the following topics trending on Twitter through the first half: Von Pearson, Josh Smith, Lee Greenwood, Tennessee.
In the second half, the following were trending worldwide and nationally: Marquez North, Touchdown Tennessee.

Upon Further Review

Worley's pass attempt in the third quarter, originally ruled an interception, was reviewed and confirmed.
Arkansas State's on-side kick attempt was recovered by #48 Alex Ellis, giving his team possession at UT's 45-yard line. The Red Wolves challenged the ruling, which was upheld.

OFFENSE

Generally Speaking

UT had 415 total yards on offense, compared to Arkansas State's 331.
#14 Justin Worley connected with #9 Von Pearson for the longest completion of his career (56 yards) in the first quarter. His previous career-long completion was in 2013 at Oregon (51 yards). Pearson's previous long reception was 27 yards vs. Utah State on Aug. 31.
Worley began the game 9-of-9 on completions and finished the first quarter 9-of-10 for 94 yards. Last week vs. Utah State, he also had a streak of 13 consecutive pass completions.
Today, Worley was 22-38 for 247 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He is now 49-76 for 520 yards with five touchdown passes and one interception on the season. He has completed 64.5 percent of his passes in 2014.
UT ran 23 plays against the Red Wolves in the first quarter today, and 45 plays by the half. Last week, the Vols ran 49 total plays in the first half vs. Utah State. Tennessee finished the game with 83 total plays compared to 78 for Arkansas State.
#25 Josh Smith hurdled ASU's #3 Rocky Hayes for a 12-yard gain, a key play en route to Tennessee's scoring TD just before the half.
The Vols had four scoring drives of 70-or-more yards today against the Red Wolves. UT also had two scoring drives of 70-or-more yards last week. The last time UT had four scoring drives of 70+ yards was against Akron on Sept. 22, 2012.
Worley's first interception of the season (third quarter) marked the first interception in his last 70 pass attempts and was the first turnover for the Vols this season.

How They Scored

#25 Aaron Medley made a 20-yard field goal on the Vols' second possession of the game, narrowing Tennessee's deficit to 6-3 against Arkansas State in the first quarter.
#1 Jalen Hurd recorded his second-career touchdown (first rushing) on a four-yard carry in the first quarter, putting the Vols on top, 10-6.
Worley connected for a 10-yard touchdown pass to #8 Marquez North in the second quarter. The pass was North's second-career touchdown catch, his first of the season.
With less than three minutes left before the half, Worley ran for his first-career rushing touchdown (five yards), giving the Vols a 23-12 lead.
Worley's 14-yard pass to #8 Marquez North in the third quarter gave Tennessee a 31-12 lead. The catch marked North's first-career multi-touchdown game and the third of his career at UT. The touchdown capped off a 64-yard offensive drive for Tennessee.

Spreading It Around

#14 Justin Worley completed passes to nine different receivers in the first half, connecting with: #2 Pig Howard, #3 Josh Malone, #8 Marquez North, #9 Von Pearson, #15 Marlin Lane, #18 Jason Croom, #25 Josh Smith, #81 Johnathon Johnson, #82 Ethan Wolf.

Seeing Red

After going 6-of-6 in scoring opportunities in the red zone last week, the Vols were 6-for-7 today.

DEFENSE

Highlights

#6 Todd Kelly Jr. made his first-career start at strong safety today, in place of #13 Devaun Swafford. Kelly has five tackles on the day.
#42 Chris Weatherd made his first-career start at linebacker against Arkansas State. Weatherd had two tackles and one PBU.
#34 Jalen Reeves-Maybin recorded his first-career sack for a three-yard loss on Arkansas State quarterback #9 Fredi Knighten in the first quarter.
#45 A.J. Johnson led Tennessee with nine tackles against Arkansas State.
#58 Owen Williams recorded his first-career sack on Arkansas State's Knighten in the third quarter. On the Red Wolves' next possession in the third quarter, Williams recorded his second sack, also on Knighten. On the day, Williams had five tackles.

Third Down For What?

UT held Arkansas State to 4-for-17 on third down conversions.
Conversely, Tennesse was 9-for-18 on third down conversions vs. the Red Wolves.
Last week, Tennessee held Utah State to 3-for-14 on third down conversions, while 8-for-18 on offensive third down conversions.
On the year, UT is 17-for-36 in third down conversions and has held opponents to 7-for-31.

SPECIAL TEAMS

#19 Devrin Young gained 19 yards on the opening kickoff, moving past Corey Larkins (1,307) into third place on the all-time kick return list at Tennessee. He finished the game with 48 yards for a new career yardage mark of 1.346.
#43 Matt Darr punted six times today: 37 yards, 36 yards, 33 yards, 38 yards, 51 yards and 48 yards. The 51- and 48-yarders gave him six punts inside the 20 this season and 22 for his career. His 48-yarder was also his second punt inside the 10 this season.
#25 Aaron Medley made a 20-yard field goal in the first quarter, while his 35-yard attempt in the fourth quarter was no good. His final attempt of the day, a 38-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, was good and gave UT a 34-19 advantage. Medley is now 3-5 on attempts this season.
Darr's 33-yard punt in the third quarter was fumbled by ASU and recovered by #33 LaDarrell McNeil, his third-career fumble recovery.
Medley is 4-4 today in PATs and improved to 9-9 on the season.
#5 George Bullock started with kickoff duties, making his first-career appearance for Tennessee. He had two touchbacks today, including his first-ever kick as a Vol.
#24 Michael Williams tackled ASU return man 23 #J.D. McKissic in the open field for a big stop in the first quarter, following Bullock's second kickoff.
UT stopped ASU's two-point conversion attempt late in the second quarter. The Red Wolves also missed their extra-point following their first TD.
Arkansas State's on-side kick attempt was recovered by #48 Alex Ellis, giving his team possession at UT's 45-yard line.
#87 Jacob Carter recorded UT's first punt return of the year, a 21-yard gain. The run marks the longest punt return of Carter's career.

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