Postgame Notes: Tennessee 24, Southern Miss 10

Tennessee Tidbits

Tennessee's all-time record is 833-380-53. UT ranks ninth all-time in wins among NCAA Division I programs.
Tennessee is 72-19-3 all-time in Homecoming games. The Vols are 4-1 in homecoming games under head coach Butch Jones with wins in each of the last four years.
With the win, Tennessee has now won 12-straight games against non-conference opponents.
Tennessee has won 28-straight games against non-conference, non-Power 5 teams since a 13-7 loss to Wyoming on Nov. 8, 2008, at Neyland Stadium.
The UT win marked the second time this season that the Vols have held an opponent to 10 points or fewer. Tennessee took a 42-7 win over Indiana State on Sept. 9. It also marked the Vols' fourth time holding an opponent to under 20 points.
Kickoff was at 7:39 p.m. ET.
Attendance: 95,551

Berry's Back, Alright

Senior Evan Berry needs only 35 yards to break the Tennessee record for career kick return yardage held by Willie Gault (1,854).
Berry returned the opening kickoff 46 yards to the Southern Miss 49-yard-line – his first kick return since the season-opener against Georgia Tech.
Berry's 46-yard return against the Golden Eagles moved him into second-place all-time in kick return yardage in Tennessee history, and after an 11-yard return in the second quarter, Berry has 1,820 career kick return yards. He moved past Leonard Scott (1999-2002; 1,788 yards) and is behind only Willie Gault (1979-82; 1,854) in the Big Orange record books.
Today's appearance is only the third game for Berry this season. He had two kick returns for 86 yards against the Yellow Jackets and missed the next six games with an injury before appearing in the Kentucky game.
For the season he has four kick returns for 142 yards (35.5 average).
For his career, Berry has returned 53 kickoffs for 1,820 yards and a 34.3-yard average.

Several Firsts For UT O-Linemen

Four UT freshmen offensive lineman experienced firsts on Saturday. Redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson made his first start at right guard and redshirt freshman Devante Brooks made his first start and first-ever appearance at right tackle.
True freshman Riley Locklear also entered the game off the bench at right guard, making his first career appearance.

Smith Starts at LT

Trey Smith made his ninth consecutive start of his freshman season on the offensive line and first at left tackle after starting the first eight games at right guard.
Tennessee records show that Smith is likely the first Vols' true freshman to start at left tackle since at least 1988.

Kelly Rushes For 2 TDs

Junior running back John Kelly finished with 79 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 20 carries. He had a 20-yard rushing score with 5:15 left in the third and added a three-yard score at the 3:17 mark of the third.
For the season, Kelly now has two games with two rushing touchdowns.

Vol Captains/Coin Toss

The Tennessee team captains for Saturday's game against Southern Miss are redshirt senior punter Trevor Daniel, redshirt defensive lineman Kendal Vickers and senior tight end Ethan Wolf.
Southern Miss won coin toss and chose to defer to receive in the second half. Tennessee will defend the south end zone.
UT is 5-5 on coin tosses this season (4-5 on pregame coin tosses and 1-0 in overtime).
In 2016, Tennessee won six out of 15 coin tosses, including six out of 13 pregame. The Vols did not win either of their two coin tosses in overtime. UT was 3-3 in 2016 when winning the pregame coin toss.

Tennessee-Southern Miss Notes

Saturday's game marked the sixth all-time meeting between Tennessee and Southern Miss.
Tennessee won its previous five matchups against Southern Miss. The teams' first-ever meeting was UT's 1997 homecoming game on Nov. 8, 1997. The Vols took a 44-20 win over the Golden Eagles in that game.

Offensive Notes

FIRST HALF STATS: Tennessee posted 140 yards of offense (102 passing, 38 rushing) in the first half. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Guarantano went 9-for-13 for 102 yards. Junior running back John Kelly led the Vols with eight carries for 33 yards. Sophomore receiver Marquez Callaway had two receptions for 53 yards.
Four UT freshmen offensive lineman experienced firsts on Saturday. Redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson made his first start at right guard and redshirt freshman Devante Brooks made his first start and first-ever appearance at right tackle. True freshman Riley Locklear also entered the game off the bench at right guard, making his first career appearance. True freshman Trey Smith, who started the previous eight games at right guard, made his first start at left tackle.
Guarantano capped a nine-play, 49-yard opening drive with a three-yard touchdown run with 10:59 left in the first quarter. After an Aaron Medley extra point, UT led 7-0. The score marked Tennessee's first rushing touchdown by a quarterback since Joshua Dobbs had a three-yard score against Nebraska in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.
On Tennessee's second possession, Jarrett Guarantano completed a 42-yard pass to Marquez Callaway to advance the Vols to the 50-yard line. The 42-yard pass was the second-longest of both Guarantano's career and Callaway's career.
Junior running back John Kelly scored on a 20-yard touchdown run with 5:15 left in the third quarter to grow UT's lead to 17-3.
With 3:17 remaining in the third quarter, Kelly punched in a three-yard score to cap a four-play, 19-yard drive. After an extra point, UT's lead was 24-3.

Defensive Notes

FIRST HALF STATS: UT's defense limited Southern Miss to 155 yards (94 passing, 61 rushing). Redshirt junior defensive back Rashaan Gaulden, redshirt sophomore linebacker Quarte Sapp and sophomore safety Nigel Warrior led the Vols with four tackles each.
UT's defense forced a 3-and-out on Southern Miss' second possession, limiting USM to eight yards on three plays.
The Vols led 10-3 at the half, marking the fourth time this season UT has not allowed a first-half touchdown (Indiana State, Florida, South Carolina) and the fifth time it has held an opponent to under 10 points in the first half (Indiana State, Florida, UMass, South Carolina)
The Tennessee defense forced its second 3-and-out of the night on USM's first possession of the second half. The Golden Eagles had negative six yards on three plays.
UT held Southern Miss to another 3-and-out on USM's sixth possession of the game and its second of the third quarter. The Golden Eagles managed only five yards on three plays.
With 5:22 remaining in the third quarter, senior cornerback Emmanuel Moseley intercepted a pass from USM's Keon Harris and returned the ball 19 yards to the USM 20. It was Moseley's first interception of the season and his first since Jan. 1, 2016, when he picked off Northwestern's Zach Oliver in the Outback Bowl.
With 4:24 remaining in the third quarter, redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Darrell Taylor strip sacked Keon Howard and Rashaan Gaulden recovered the ball at the USM 19, marking UT's 10th recovered fumble of the season. Gaulden has now recovered a fumble in three-consecutive games (Alabama, Kentucky, Southern Miss).
On USM's 10th possession, Tennessee held Southern Miss to three yards on three plays.

Special Teams Highlights

Senior Evan Berry returned the opening kickoff 46 yards, marking UT's third-longest kickoff return of 2017.
Entering Saturday's game, redshirt senior punter and Ray Guy Award nominee Trevor Daniel ranked second in the SEC and fourth nationally among FBS punters with an average of 47.0 yards per punt.
On his first punt of the evening vs. Southern Miss, Daniel booted the ball 52-yards to USM's 21-yard line.
Daniel dropped his second punt of the night, a 56-yarder, inside the Golden Eagles' five-yard line in the third and a 50-yard punt to the USM 11 in the fourth quarter. He has now placed 21 punts inside the 20 and nine inside the 10 this season.
The Tennessee native punted another 56-yarder in the fourth quarter that was fair caught at the Southern Miss 35-yard line.
The Burlsworth Trophy nominee has punted 67 punts of 50 yards or more during his career and 24 this season.
Prior to Saturday's game vs. Southern Miss, Daniel had placed 19 punts inside opponents' 20 and had 21 punts of 50 or more yards to lead the SEC. His 19 punts inside the 20 also ranked fourth among Power Five schools.
Senior placekicker Aaron Medley made a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter, marking his first made field goal since make a 40-yarder against UMass on Sept. 23.

Upon Further Review

With 9:25 remaining in the first quarter, Tennessee safety Nigel Warrior was called for targeting when tackling Southern Miss quarterback Keon Howard. After an official review, it was ruled that the tackle was not targeting as Warrior led with his shoulder. REVERSED. Tennessee is now 7-5 on video reviews this season.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Tidbits

Berry's Back, Alright

Several Firsts For UT O-Linemen

Smith Starts at LT

Kelly Rushes For 2 TDs

Vol Captains/Coin Toss

Tennessee-Southern Miss Notes

Offensive Notes

Defensive Notes

Special Teams Highlights

Upon Further Review

Players Mentioned

Evan Berry

Devante Brooks

Marquez Callaway

Trevor Daniel

Joshua Dobbs

Rashaan Gaulden

Jarrett Guarantano

Ryan Johnson

John Kelly

Riley Locklear

Aaron Medley

Emmanuel Moseley

Trey Smith

Darrell Taylor

Kendal Vickers

Nigel Warrior

Ethan Wolf

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