University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Notes: #25/24 Vols 42, Georgia Tech 41
September 04, 2017 | Football
Tennessee Tidbits
- Tennessee's all-time record is now 830-375-53. UT ranks ninth all-time in program wins.
- UT is now 2-0 all-time in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game. The Vols took a 35-21 win over NC State in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, which was played in the Georgia Dome.
- Honorary Captains: Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech), Chuck Smith (Tennessee)
- Attendance: 75,107 (fourth-highest in Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game history)
Red Cross Check Presentation
- University of Tennessee Chancellor Dr. Beverly Davenport, University of Tennessee Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics John Currie, Georgia Tech University President Bud Peterson and Georgia Tech University Athletic Director Todd Stansbury joined Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Chairman Percy Vaughn, CEO Gary Stokan and Bill Maddox of the American Red Cross before the game to announce that Tennessee, Georgia Tech and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will donate $100,000 from the proceeds of tonight's game to benefit the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.
UT In Overtime
- Tennessee's all-time record in overtime games is now 13-7, the most OT wins all-time in NCAA history.
- UT was previously tied with Arkansas, who is 12-6 in OT games.
- The Volunteers are 3-3 in overtime games under Butch Jones, including a 20-13 win over Appalachian State in last year's season opener.
Tennessee, Jones In Season Openers
- UT is 91-24-6 (.775) all-time in 121 season openers.
- Tennessee has won nine-straight season openers, dating back to 2009.
- Head coach Butch Jones is 8-3 in his career in season openers and 5-0 in UT season openers.
Vols Making Their First Start
- Seven Vols made their first career starts on Monday with five on offense and two on defense. Trey Smith, Marcus Tatum, Brandon Johnson, Eli Wolf, Quinten Dormady, Darrell Taylor and Daniel Bituli made their first starts. Smith is the only true freshman of that group.
- Junior Quinten Dormady started the game at quarterback. Entering 2017, Dormady had 10 games of playing experience but no starts.
- Freshman offensive lineman and ESPN.com's No. 1 overall recruit of the 2017 class Trey Smith earned the first start of his career at right guard.
- Sophomore offensive lineman Marcus Tatum, who played in two games in 2016 as a reserve, made the first start of his career at right tackle.
- Sophomore receiver Brandon Johnson made first start after seeing action in nine games as a freshman in 2016.
- Redshirt sophomore Eli Wolf, who received a scholarship in fall camp, made the first start of his career as the second tight end alongside his older brother, senior Ethan Wolf. For Ethan, it marked his 35th career start. It's the second straight season brothers have started on one side of the ball as safety Evan Berry and linebacker Elliott Berry both started on defense against Tennessee Tech in 2016.
- Sophomore linebacker Daniel Bituli, who played in nine games in 2016, started at the SAM linebacker spot.
- Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Darrell Taylor started at defensive end. He played in eight games in 2016 as a reserve.
- Redshirt junior Jonathan Kongbo made his first NCAA DI start at defensive end. In 2016, Kongbo started two games at defensive tackle.
Vol Captains/Coin Toss
- The Tennessee team captains for Monday's game against Georgia Tech were redshirt senior defensive lineman Kendal Vickers, senior linebackers Cortez McDowell, senior offensive lineman Jashon Robertson and junior running back John Kelly.
- Georgia Tech won the toss (HEADS) and elected to defer and receive in the second half.
- 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-Georgia Tech Notes
- Tennessee is 25-17-2 all-time against Georgia Tech. The Vols are 12-12 all-time against the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta.
- Monday's game marked UT's first game against Georgia Tech since the Vols took a 29-15 win over the Yellow Jackets on Oct. 24, 1987.Â
Offensive Highlights
- In the second quarter, freshman Ty Chandler had a seven-yard gain on the first carry of his collegiate career.
- John Kelly's one-yard touchdown run with 8:11 left in the second quarter gave Tennessee its 29th-straight game with a rushing touchdown.
- Tennessee's first scoring drive of the game was eight plays that covered 46 yards over 2:30 in the second quarter.
- With under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, junior running back John Kelly ran for 30 yards down the left sideline.
- With 42 seconds left in the third quarter, Dormady found sophomor receiver Marquez Callaway in the right corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass, which was Callaway's first receiving touchdown of his career.
- Dormady was 5-for-6 for 41 yards and one touchdown in the third quarter. He was 8-for-20 for 52 yards in the first half.
- Dormady found Callaway again for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Dormady hit Callaway down the left sideline for a 50-yard touchdown with 11:49 remaining in the game. The touchdown completed a five-play, 61-yard drive that lasted 1:15.
Defensive Highlights
- Bituli Career-High Tackles: Sophomore linebacker Daniel Bituli posted a career-high 23 tackles. In the first quarter alone, Bituli tallied six tackles, topping his previous personal game high of five tackles, which he logged at Vanderbilt on Nov. 26, 2016.
- Bituli's 23 tackles were more than any Vol had in any game in 2016. Jalen Reeves-Maybin had a UT season-high 13 tackles against Virginia Tech in the Battle at Bristol on Sept. 10, 2016, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Reeves-Maybin was the last Vol to record 20 tackles in a game as he tallied 21 total stops against Oklahoma on Sept. 12, 2015.
- Jumper Matches Career High: Colton Jumper collected 11 tackles in the first half, matching his career best of 11, which he recorded against Georgia on Oct. 1, 2016. He finished the game with 18.
- Vickers has started 27-straight games. That is the longest streak of any current Vol on offense or defense.
- Tennessee's defense held up on Georgia Tech's first two offensive series. The Yellow Jackets attempted three running plays on their first drive that totaled eight yards. Georgia Tech managed just three yards on its second possession.
- Bituli's First Career Forced Fumble Leads To Vols' First TD: Sophomore linebacker Daniel Bituli made his presence felt in his first career start, forcing a fumble at the Georgia Tech 46-yard line with just under 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Senior linebacker Cortez McDowell recovered the fumble – his second fumble recovery of his career. Just under three minutes later, junior running back John Kelly plunged into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown - his seventh career rushing score.
- Senir cornerback Emmanuel Moseley recorded Tennessee's first pass breakup of the season with under four minutes remaining in the fourht quarter, swatting away a 3rd-and-7 pass from GT quarterback TaQuon Marshall intended for Ricky Jeune near the left sideline.
- Senior linebacker Cortez McDowell logged a career-high 13 tackles. His previous career best was nine stops against Appalachian State on Sept. 9, 2016.
Special Teams Highlights
- Trevor Daniel tied his career best with a 70-yard punt midway through the first quarter. Daniel also had a 70-yard punt at South Carolina on Oct. 29, 2016. Daniel's career average increased to 45.1, which ranks No. 1 in Tennessee history.
- Just before the end of the second quarter, Evan Berry returned a Georgia Tech kickoff 51 yards to the Yellow Jackets' 45-yard line. It marked the longest special teams play and kickoff return by a Vol since Tyler Byrd's 67-yard kickoff return against Vanderbilt on Nov. 26, 2016.
Upon Further Review
- On the first play of the second quarter, Quinten Dormady threw a pass down the middle of the field to Ethan Wolf inside the 20-yard line. After a review, the play was reversed as officials said that Wolf did not have control of the ball as he went to the ground.
- On Georgia Tech's final drive of the first half, running back KirVonte Benson was initially ruled down at the nine yard line after a run. Upon further review, it was determined that he gained only five yards on the carry and was down at the 15-yard line where his knee touched the ground.
- On Tennessee's first overtime drive, John Kelly was initially ruled down at the one yard line. After review, officials overtuned the call and ruled the play as a one-yard rushing touchdown, saying the ball crossed the scoring plane.
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