Postgame Notes: #7 Tennessee 17, #12 Georgia 31

TENNESSEE FOOTBALL POSTGAME NOTES
Nov. 16, 2024 | Athens, Ga. | Sanford Stadium
FINAL SCORE: No. 6/4/7 Tennessee 17, No. 11/10/12 Georgia 31

General Notes

Saturday's attendance at Sanford Stadium: 93,033 (sold out)
Tennessee's all-time on-field record fell to 884-416-53 with Saturday's loss (NCAA record: 873-416-53).

Vol Captains/Coin Toss

Tennessee's team captains for Saturday's game: DL Bryson Eason, OL Cooper Mays, WR Bru McCoy, LS Matthew Salansky, DL Omari Thomas
Tennessee won the toss and deferred to the second half. Georgia received the opening kickoff and Tennessee defended the east end zone.

Team Offensive Notes

Tennessee marched right down the field on its opening drive for a touchdown. The drive lasted 12 plays and went 78 yards before TE Miles Kitselman leaped into the end zone on a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line to open the scoring.
- The Vols have scored a touchdown of their opening drive four times this season and have now done it two games in a row after also finding the end zone on their opening drive against Mississippi State on Nov. 9.
The Vols outscored the Bulldogs 10-0 in the first quarter Saturday night. UT has outscored its opponents 95-16 in the opening stanza this season and 536-185 in the Josh Heupel era.
Tennessee finished with 313 yards of total offense, eclipsing 300 yards for the 47th time in 49 games of the Heupel era – including all 10 contests this season.

Individual Offensive Notes

Maxwell Award semifinalist and Doak Walker candidate Dylan Sampson headlined the Tennessee offense once again, finishing with 19 carries for 101 yards and his 21st rushing touchdown of the season.
- Sampson moved into a tie with Gene McEver for the single-season program record for touchdowns scored with 21 after finding pay dirt on a 27-yard rush late in the second quarter to give UT a 17-14 lead after the PAT.
- Sampson's 27-yard rushing score improved his single-season school record for rushing touchdowns to 21 and also moved him into a tie for sixth in SEC history with Alabama's Trent Richardson (2011) and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel (2012).
- Saturday's performance was the 12th 100-yard game of Sampson's career, moving into sole posession of the fifth-most in Tennessee history.
  - Sampson's nine 100-yard games in 2024 are the second-most by a Vol in a single season, trailing Jay Graham's program record of 11 set in 1995.
- The junior running back has rushed for 1,230 yards this season and 2,231 for his career. Those marks rank 10th and 14th in program annals, respectively.
- Sampson's 2024 season tally for rushing attempts now stands at 220, the 10th most in UT history.
- Sampson has at least one rushing touchdown in 10 consecutive games – all 10 of the 2024 campaign – extending his own school record.
Senior TE Miles Kitselman notched his first career rushing touchdown with 10:09 remaining in the first quarter, capping Tennessee's opening possession with a one-yard plunge into the end zone. It marked his fourth touchdown scored this season and the sixth in 2024 by a Vol tight end.
- In the Josh Heupel era (since 2021), tight ends have accounted for 27 touchdowns – 21 receiving and six rushing. From 2018-20, UT tight ends combined for six scores.
Junior WR Squirrel White moved into Tennessee's top-10 list for career receptions after pulling in a game-high six catches for 45 yards on Saturday. His 128 career receptions rank seventh all-time at UT as he passed four players on Saturday in Tim McGee (123), Thomas Woods (124), Robert Meachem (125) and Jayson Swain (126).
RS-Senior WR Bru McCoy notched his 100th reception as a Vol with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with four catches for 38 yards. He has at least one catch in 31 of 32 career games played.

Team Defensive Notes

Tennessee equaled its season-high with six pass breakups. The six PBUs were recorded by six different players.
Tennessee had its streak of holding opponents under 20 points snapped on Saturday. Entering the game, the Vols had held 10 their opponents to 19 or fewer points in 10 straight games, dating back to the 35-0 shutout win over Iowa in the 2024 Citrus Bowl.

Individual Defensive Notes

Senior DL Omari Thomas cemented a three-and-out for UGA with a pass breakup at the line of scrimmage late in the first quarter, notching the 12th PBU of his career.
Junior EDGE James Pearce Jr. extended his streak of recording at least a half-tackle for loss to seven consecutive games – all in SEC play – after logging one TFL for a one-yard loss in the second quarter.

Special Teams Notes

Redshirt freshman PK Max Gilbert connected on his lone field goal attempt Saturday night with a career-long 52-yarder in the first quarter to give the Vols an early 10-0 lead.
- Gilbert has made his last two 50-plus yard field goal attempts and has connected from 50-plus in back-to-back games after hitting from 51 yards in a win over Mississippi State on Nov. 9.
- Gilbert is the seventh placekicker in UT history with multiple 50-plus yard field goals in a single season and the first since Brent Cimaglia in 2019.
  - Gilbert is the first to make two 50-plus yarders in consecutive weeks since Fuad Reveiz did so in four straight games during the 1982 season.

Career Highs

The following players set or tied career highs in the respective statistical categories listed below:

Offense

TE Miles Kitselman
- 1 rushing touchdown (first of career)

Defense/Special Teams

DB Rickey Gibson III
- 1 pass breakup (ties career high)
DL Joshua Josephs
- 1 pass breakup (ties career high)
DL Omari Thomas
- 1 pass breakup (ties career high)

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Bryson Eason

Rickey Gibson III

Max Gilbert

Joshua Josephs

Miles Kitselman

Cooper Mays

Bru McCoy

James Pearce Jr.

Matthew Salansky

Dylan Sampson

Omari Thomas

Squirrel White

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