University of Tennessee Athletics
2002 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Preview
December 19, 2002 | Football
| QUICK FACTS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland (10-3) vs. Tennessee (8-4)
RADIO RANKINGS THE COACHES: Maryland Terrapins
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FEATURES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GAME NOTES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE SERIES These teams first met in the 1952 Sugar Bowl where No. 3 Maryland handed the No. 1 Volunteers their only loss of the season, 28-13. Tennessee entered the game as national champions, but fell victim to an undefeated Maryland team that scored 21 points in a 16-minute span and never looked back. The next two meetings were home-and-home tilts in 1956 and 1957. No. 4 Tennessee thumped the Terps in Knoxville in 1956, 34-7, and then shutout Maryland 7-0 in College Park the following year. It would be 17 years before the next meeting in the 1974 Liberty Bowl in Memphis. There, a late touchdown pass from Randy Wallace to Larry Seivers subdued Maryland, 7-3. Led by All-America defensive tackle Randy White, the Terp defense kept the Vols bottled up and almost made a second quarter field goal stand. After ending the 1974 season with Maryland, Tennessee opened the 1975 campaign with the Terps. It is the only time in school history that has happened. Tennessee took the battle of ranked teams, 26-8, in Knoxville. The Vols closed their finest season since 1972 by scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns to defeat Maryland 30-23 in the 1983 Citrus Bowl. Johnnie Jones posted those two late tallies while gaining 154 yards rushing. In the 1984 Sun Bowl, Maryland trailed 21-0 at the half, before exploding for 22 consecutive third quarter points. Pete Panuska gave the Vols their last lead of the game, returning a Terp kickoff 100 yards for the go-ahead score. Maryland?s Rick Badjanek scored the game-winner with 2:38, but it was a hit by defensive back Keeta Covington that jarred the ball loose from the Vols? Tony Thompson that secured the victory, 28-27. VOLS IN THE PEACH BOWL With the clock winding down, the outcome hinged on two short yardage plays the Hawkeyes stopped at their own 7. On third-and-2, Cockrell?s pass was deflected. On fourth down, the Vol signal-caller was stopped short on a counter-option. Cockrell was named the game?s Most Valuable Player. Tennessee closed out the 1987 season by posting a come-from-behind win over Indiana, 27-22, in the 1988 Peach Bowl. The Vols exploded to a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter as quarterback Jeff Francis led three scoring drives and threw touchdown passes to Anthony Miller and Terence Cleveland. Indiana rallied in the second half and led 22-21 late in the fourth quarter. But the Vol defense stiffened and Francis and his offensive mates got the ball at the Hoosier 40. Tennessee took it for the winning score as Francis scrambled for a crucial first down and Reggie Cobb got the game-winner from 9 yards out. Charles Kimbrough?s interception sealed the Vols? first Peach Bowl win.
AGAINST THE ACC UT?s last game against an ACC team came in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl when they defeated Florida State, 23-16, for the first-ever Bowl Championship Series National Championship. One would have to go back to 1993 to find the last time Tennessee played a team from the ACC in the regular season. That year, it defeated Duke 52-19. The Blue Devils are scheduled to be the 2003 Homecoming opponent on Nov. 1. The Vols are 4-2 against teams that make up the ACC in bowl games. Four of those meetings have come versus Maryland in four different bowl games. UT beat Virginia in 1991 Sugar Bowl and defeated Florida State in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, securing the 1998 national championship. TENNESSEE?S BOWL HISTORY This will be the 14th consecutive bowl game for the the Vols, which is a school record. UT has appeared in a bowl game in 20 of the last 21 years. It is the first time since the 1994 Gator Bowl against Virginia Tech that Tennessee will not be playing in a New Year?s bowl. In snaps UT?s string of seven consecutive New Years bowl appearances. Tennessee has made 15 bowl appearances in December compiling a 10-5 record. Overall, the Vols are 41-9-1 in the month of December. Under Phillip Fulmer?s direction, the Vols will be appearing in their 11th bowl game compiling a 6-4 mark.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS AT A GLANCE All four losses came to ranked teams, with two coming against BCS teams Miami and Georgia. Only two of the eight victories came against teams that finished with a winning record (Arkansas and Kentucky). Tennessee has now won at least eight games and five conference tilts for 14 consecutive seasons. The Vols are seeking their 34th nine-win season in their 106th year of competition. Of course, only 93 times have they had the opportunity to win at least nine games. Since 1989, UT has amassed a 49-10-1 (.825) mark in games against foes from outside the SEC. Head coach Phillip Fulmer picked up his 100th career victory. The milestone win came at South Carolina in his 123rd game. He also moved into sixth place on the SEC?s all-time conference game victory list with 68. Fulmer is 68-17 (.800) all-time against conference foes. The back-to-back shutouts to finish the season marked the first time since 1994 that UT had accomplished the feat. It also happened against Kentucky and Vanderbilt that year to end the campaign. The 1995 Volunteers were the last team to have two shutouts in the same season, blanking Oklahoma State and Southern Miss. Fulmer has posted 11 shutouts in his career. Tennessee won a six-overtime affair with Arkansas, 41-38. It was the second longest overtime game in NCAA Division I history. The Vols improved to 2-1 in overtime games. Tennessee is a plus seven in turnover margin in its eight wins and a minus four in its four losses. The Vols have been on the plus side in turnovers five times (Wyoming +4, Rutgers +1, S. Carolina +1, Vanderbilt +2, Kentucky +1), while being even five times (MTSU, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Mississippi State). DOME RECORD Previous games inside have included the 1972 and 1979 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowls in the Houston Astrodome (against LSU-W and Purdue-L ), the 1986 and 1991 Sugar Bowls in the New Orleans Superdome (against Miami-W and Virginia-W), the 1997, 1998 and 2001 SEC Championship games in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta (against Auburn-W, Mississippi State-W, LSU-L) and the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. (against Syracuse-W). ACADEMIC ALL-SEC HONOREES The list includes: Kevin Burnett (3.07-Sport Management); Andrew Crossley *** (3.03-Biochemistry); Guillaume Dumont (3.66-Arts & Sciences); Matt Gurdak (3.04-Sport Management); Dusty Ishii** (3.60-Public Relations); Andy Kerr** (3.07-Animal Science); Michael Munoz (3.61-Political Science); Philip Newman (3.30-Sport Management); Seth Reagan *** (3.46-Finance); Jason Witten (3.09-Sport Management); Brian Word** (3.94-Speech Communications). ** - Two-time honoree, *** - Three-time honoree Munoz was also named to the Verizon Academic All-District IV second team. ALL-SEC HONOREES Tight end Jason Witten was a consensus pick by both groups, while the Coaches selected defensive backs Rashad Baker and Julian Battle to their first team. The AP selected them to its second team. Offensive tackle Will Ofenheusle was also selected first team by the AP and second team by the Coaches. Linebacker Eddie Moore earned second team accolades from the Coaches, while punter Dustin Colquitt picked up second team honors from the AP. Defensive end Parys Haralson was named to the Knoxville News-Sentinel Freshman All-SEC squad. He made 24 tackles with two tackles for loss while playing mainly on special teams. Baker received Freshman All-SEC honors in 2000, while the rest earned their first recognitions. Witten led the Vols in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns, while Baker led the team and ranked second in the SEC with five interceptions despite missing the final two games due to injury. Battle was third on the team in tackles with 68. Moore was second with 101 tackles and tied for second on the squad with three sacks. Ofenheusle started every game at right tackle for the second straight year. Colquitt averaged 43.2 yards per punt. FULMER GETS 100TH CAREER COACHING VICTORY IN 2002 Fulmer is the only active coach with a minimum of 10 years as a head coach who ranks in top 15 all-time winning percentage list among Division I-A coaches. His .811 winning percentage is 11th. He is one of only 12 Division I-A coaches with an .800 winning percentage under that standard. Fulmer is the 14th SEC coach to reach 100 wins and ranks 14th on the league?s all-time coaching victories list. He needs one win to tie current Tennessee Athletics Director Doug Dickey (Tennessee/Florida) for 13th. VOL DEFENSE RANKS 7TH NATIONALLY But it?s the passing game where Tennessee has excelled, holding eight opponents to under 200 yards passing and three to under 100 (South Carolina - 45, Vanderbilt - 79, Kentucky 83). Nine times they held opponents under the passing average in which they entered the game. One would have to go back to 1996 to find a pass defense that has put up such defensive numbers. * The 159 completions is the fewest since 134 in 1996 The nine touchdown passes allowed is tied for fifth nationally and first in SEC with Auburn. It is the fewest scoring aerials Tennessee has allowed since eight in 1994. Nine times Tennessee held opponents to 300 or fewer yards of total offense. Over the last three games, the Vols stifling defense gave up an average of 216.3 ypg and just 3.7 yards per play. Opponents are averaging 270.6 ypg and just 4.4 ypp over the last seven games. In UT?s eight wins, the Vols held their opponents to an average of 11.1 points per game, while yielding 17 points or less in regulation. Arkansas scored 21 points in six overtime periods. They also allowed 249.4 total ypg and nine offensive scores. In the four losses, they gave up 27.0 ppg, 358.5 total ypg and 10 offensive scores. NOTING THE DEFENSE The Vols have 12 interceptions on the season which is eighth in the SEC ... UT has intercepted six passes over the last seven games ... The Vols had two games with three picks (South Carolina and Wyoming) ... UT also had two against Florida. Tennessee leads the SEC in third down conversions against at 28.1 percent (47-of-167). No other team in the league has allowed less than 30 percent. The Vols held opponents to three or fewer third down conversions seven times, and no team converted 50 percent. In fact, over the last three games, opponents have converted just 8-of-40 attempts for 20.0 percent.
CLAUSEN RANKS AS TENNESSEE?S NO. 2 CAREER PASSER Clausen, who has 48 scoring strikes, trails only UT?s all-time passing leader, Peyton Manning, who threw for 11,201 yards, 863 completions and 89 touchdown passes. He ranks third all-time in completion percentage among SEC signal-callers with 300 completions at 63.2 percent (519-821). He trails former Kentucky quarterbacks Tim Couch at 67.1 and Dusty Bonner at 65.3. In addition, Clausen is 18th on the SEC?s career touchdown passes list with 48. He needs just two more TD passes to become one of 18 league quarterbacks with at least 50 scoring strikes, while 10 have at least 60. Clausen has accounted for 52 touchdowns in his career which is 20th in the SEC. CLAUSEN RATES AMONG SEC?S TOP SIGNAL CALLERS NOTING CLAUSEN... Has three touchdown pass in his last five games ... No interceptions in his last four (85 attempts) ... Been sacked 14 times in last six games ... Has not thrown for over 200 yards in his last five games, after opening season with with five straight 200-yard games ... Has completed 50 percent or better of his passes in 21 of his last 22 games and in 27 of 30 career starts ... His string of nine consecutive games with a 60 percent completion rate or better was snapped against Rutgers when he completed 53.6 percent (15-of-28) ... Over his last 16 games, he has completed 303-of-469 for 64.6 percent ... Had a string of 112 passes without an interception snapped with a third quarter pick against Arkansas. He fell shy of the the school record of 132 set by Peyton Manning in 1995 ... Clausen?s string of consecutive games with a touchdown pass ended at 12 against Alabama. It was the third longest streak in school history ... Against Florida, he established career-bests for completions and attempts, going 30-of-44 for 285 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. His previous best for completions was 27 versus LSU in the 2001 SEC Championship game ... In the first three games, he completed no fewer than 22 passes in each contest, while connecting with at least eight different receivers (Wyoming - 11, Middle Tennessee - 9, Florida - 8) ... His 82.8 completion percentage (24-of-29) versus MTSU was a career-best, bettering his 79.2 percent (19-of-24) game against Kentucky in 2000.
HOUSTON EMERGES AS UT?S LEADING RUSHER Houston posted five 100-yard rushing games on the season, including four straight against South Carolina (108), Miami (111), Mississippi State (149) and Vanderbilt (140). Not since Travis Henry in 2000 had a Tennessee back posted four straight 100-yard rushing games. He also rushed for 106 yards in the season opener versus Wyoming. His five 100-yard rushing games is the most since Travis Stephens has seven last year. Over the last five games he has carried the ball 115 times for 549 yards (109.8 ypg) with three touchdowns and a 4.8 average per carry. Houston posted a career-best 149 yards against Mississippi State on a career-high 32 carries and two scoring runs of 34 and 10 yards. He topped 100 yards rushing with the second-best rushing game of his career, a 140-yard effort against Vanderbilt with one touchdown. He gained 111 yards against Miami which bettered the 108 yards on 30 carries against South Carolina. His 30 rushing attempts against the Gamecocks more than doubled his season total of 29 carries he had entering the contest. It was the most significant action he had seen since rushing 13 times for 74 yards against Middle Tennessee. Over the next five games he was limited to just three carries for 16 yards. He has five runs over 20 yards this season, scoring on three of them (28 & 46 vs. Wyoming, 34 vs. MSU).His career-long run of 74 yards came versus Miami on the game?s second play.
WITTEN SETS TIGHT END RECEIVING MARK He is the only Vol to make at least one catch in every game. Over the last eight games he has 19 catches for 286 yards (15.1 ypc) and three scores. Witten has made at least three catches in six of the 12 games, with a season-high six against Florida and South Carolina. He led UT with 72 yards receiving versus the Gamecocks and recorded 78 yards in receiving, including the game-winning touchdown against Arkansas. He had registered a TD catch in three straight games (Rutgers, Arkansas, Georgia), with his first coming versus Middle Tennessee. He ranks third on UT?s career tight end catches list with 63 and fourth with 756 yards. DAVIS LEADS VOLS IN SCORING Davis was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week after posting a career-high 135 yards rushing on 25 attempts while scoring three touchdowns in UT?s six overtime victory against Arkansas. He started five games at tailback for the injured Cedric Houston, rushing 64 times for 352 yards (5.5 ypr / 70.4 ypg) in those games. He scored seven TDs in first five games. Three times in his career he has run for at least two touchdowns in a game (2001-Florida, 2002-Wyoming, Arkansas). His longest scoring run was a 58-yarder to give UT a 17-3 lead in the fourth quarter versus the Razorbacks. Davis contributed his second-best rushing effort of the season at South Carolina by running for 86 yards on 10 carries with a career-long 62 yarder. He plunged over from 1-yard out against Mississippi State while rushing for 40 yards and had 65 yards versus Georgia. WALLS RANKS FOURTH ON UT?S SCORING LIST His 289 career points ranks 14th in the SEC annals and 10th among kickers. He is tops at Tennessee and eighth in career field goal percentage in SEC history at 78.8. Earlier this season he tied Tennessee?s single-game mark for points scored by a kicker with 17 against Wyoming. He was perfect on all four placements (34, 19, 44, 40) while going 5-for-5 in PATs. He joined Reveiz (Memphis 1982) and Alan Duncan (Kentucky 1978) as the only Vol kickers to score 17 points. Both Reveiz and Duncan kicked five field goals in those games. Walls? previous best was 15 points set against Florida in 2000 when he booted five field goals. Walls has connected on seven of his last eight field goal attempts after suffering through a quad injury most of the season. He is tied with John Becksvoort for third in career field goals at UT with 52, trailing Fuad Reveiz (71) and Jeff Hall (61). He is the 14th player in SEC history with 50 or more field goals and ranks tied for 13th on the list.
COLQUITT RAY GUY AWARD FINALIST He was named one of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award which is given to the nation?s top punter. He is one of five punters in the SEC and 14 nationally to average 43.0 yards per punt. Colquitt ranks 11th nationally and fourth in the SEC with his booming average of 43.2 yards per kick. He has averaged over 41 yards per punt 10 times, including a career-best 47.8 yard average against Alabama with a 62 yarder. He had a career-long 68-yarder versus Miami, while punting 10 times for a 42.8 yard average with three 50-yard kicks. He has 15 punts of 50 yards or better, including 10 in the last six games. In fact, Colquitt has had at least one 50-yard punt in nine of the last 10 games. Twenty-two times his punts have landed inside the opponent?s 20-yard line and 13 times inside the 10. He ranks second in the SEC in punts inside the 20-yard line at 37.3 percent (22-of-59). In addition, the Vols rank fifth in the NCAA and third in the SEC in net punting at 38.7 yards. 2002 PEACH BOWL SQUAD SPORTS 18 SENIORS VOLS RANK THIRD IN ATTENDANCE The total attendance of 746,936 is the second-highest, trailing the 747,870 in 1999 coming off a national championship season. Tennessee has finished among the top three in average attendance for 27 straight years. UT led the nation in attendance in 1997 with an average of 106,839. ORANGE ZONE EFFICIENCY Over the last nine games, Tennessee has scored on 25 of its last 30 possessions (16 TDs, 9-10 FGs). The Vols made five trips into the orange zone seven times. They entered just once against Georgia and Miami, twice versus Miss. State and three times versus Alabama and Kentucky.They have missed five field goals, turned it over twice on downs, thrown one interception, lost one fumble and once at the half. The Vols were perfect in orange zone opportunities against Wyoming (5-for-5), Arkansas (5-for-5), Georgia (1-for-1), Miami (1-for-1), Mississippi State (2-for-2) and Vanderbilt (5-for-5). Of the 33 offensive touchdowns Tennessee has scored, 23 have come from inside the orange zone.
MOORE AND WHITESIDE REACH 100 TACKLES It is the first time the Vols have had anyone reach 100 tackles since linebacker Tyrone Hines had 110 total stops in 1996. Moore led the Vols with four 10-plus tackle games, making at least eight tackles eight times. He has six 10-tackle games in his career, with a career-high 15 against Arkansas in 2002. Whiteside finished with three 10-plus tackle games this season, including a career-high 18 versus Arkansas. He finished the season strong by recording at least eight tackles in the last eight games. Whiteside and Moore ranked 1-2 in tackles for loss and sacks this year. NATIONAL SACK LEADERS The Vols are led by Keyon Whiteside?s five sacks, followed by Eddie Moore and Demetrin Veal?s three, while Gibril Wilson has 2.5 and Rashad Moore, Aubrayo Franklin, Omari Hand, Mondre Dickerson and Julian Battle have two apiece. Four others have been credited with at least a half sack. Whiteside and Veal are the active sack leaders with seven apiece, while Eddie Moore is third with six. VOLS EXCELLING IN KICKOFF RETURNS Leading the way is Corey Larkins who ranks fifth in the SEC and 24th nationally with his 24.4 yard per return average. He has 15 returns for at least 20 yards, including five for over 30. Getting in on kickoff returns late was Leonard Scott, who was Tennessee?s leading kickoff returner over the last three years.He replaced an injured Larkins in the Miami game and has returned two kickoffs for 31 yards. Scott ranks second behind Gault in both returns and yards on UT?s career list. He needs five returns and 126 yards to pass Gault?s marks of 78 and 1854 yards. He is averaging 23.4 yards per return, which ranks sixth on UT?s career list. Scott?s 74 returns ranks 11th on the SEC all-time kickoff return list, while his 1729 yards is seventh. The Vols got a big boost to their kickoff return average against Alabama when Mark Jones returned a pooch kick 82 yards for a touchdown just before the half. Jones became the first Vol to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Scott accomplished the feat versus Georgia in 1999. 18 STARTERS MISS TIME DUE TO INJURY |
