 | | Cedric Houston rushed for a career-high 190 yards against South Carolina. It was his second 100-yard rushing game this season. | SERIES HISTORY
Tennessee leads the all-time series with the Fighting Irish 4-2, including a 2-1 mark in Knoxville. Three of the last four games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less. The last meeting between these storied programs came in 2001, when Tennessee's 28-18 victory gave the Vols three straight wins in the series. The last time Notre Dame visited Knoxville (Nov. 6, 1999), Tee Martin threw three touchdown passes, and Travis Henry ran for 132 yards and a score to lead the Vols to a 38-14 win. BURNETT A SEMIFINALIST FOR CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD
The Maxwell Club announced Tennessee linebacker Kevin Burnett as a semifinalist for the 2004 Chuck Bednarik Award Tuesday. The award is presented annually to the collegiate defensive player of the year. Burnett, a senior from Carson, Calif., ranks second on the team with 74 tackles this season. He ranks fourth in the SEC with 9.2 tackles per game. The two-time Tennessee team captain is also a semifinalist for the 2004 Butkus Award, presented annually to the nation's top college linebacker by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc. Off the field, Burnett received his sport management undergraduate degree in May 2003 and was also named to the 2003 AFCA and SEC Good Works teams. He has logged more than 150 community service hours and is currently working towards his master's degree in sports studies. NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION HONORS MUNOZ
Tennessee offensive tackle Michael Munoz has been named one of eight Division 1-A 2004 national scholar-athletes as selected by the National Football Foundation. He will be honored at the Foundation's 47th annual awards dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City Dec. 7. Each scholar-athlete receives an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, and on Dec. 7, one of them will receive the Draddy Trophy as the top scholar-athlete in the nation, increasing the scholarship to $25,000. Munoz joins five other Vols who have been named national scholar-athletes by the College Football Hall of Fame: Neyle Sollee (1959), Bob Johnson (1967), Don Denbo (1970), Mike Mauck (1976) and Peyton Manning (1997). NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Since 1989, Tennessee has a 58-12-1 (.824) record in non-conference games. Only four of those defeats have been in the regular season (Notre Dame in 1990, at UCLA in 1994, at Memphis in 1996, Miami [Fla.] in 2002). The other eight losses came in bowl games. Under head coach Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee is 41-9 (.820) against non-conference foes. Fulmer's home record against non-conference teams is a daunting 30-2, including a 38-14 victory over Notre Dame in Neyland Stadium in 1999. FULMER 24-0 vs. REMAINING 2004 OPPONENTS
Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer boasts a career coaching record of 24-0 against UT's three remaining 2004 opponents. Fulmer is 2-0 vs. Notre Dame, 11-0 vs. Vanderbilt and 11-0 vs. Kentucky. The Vols' winning streaks against each of the remaining SEC foes is equally impressive. Tennessee has beaten Notre Dame in each of the last three meetings between the storied programs; the Vols own a 21-game win streak in the series with Vanderbilt; and Tennessee's streak over Kentucky stands at 19 games. HOUSTON UT's No. 9 ALL-TIME RUSHER
Last Saturday vs. South Carolina, Cedric Houston's career-best 190 rushing yards gave him 2,246 for his career to move him past former Vols Aaron Hayden (2,061 yards from 1991-94) and Charlie Garner (2,089 yards from 1992-93) into ninth place on Tennessee's all-time rushing-yardage list. Travis Henry (1997-2000) sits atop the rushing list with 3,078 yards, 832 ahead of Houston, who needs only 91 yards to pass Travis Stephens for eighth place. Houston is the 11th Vol to gain more than 2,000 career rushing yards, and he also ranks in 10th place on UT's all-time rushing attempts list. The 2003 second team All-SEC selection has eight 100-yard rushing games in his career. He has rushed for more than 700 yards in each of the last two seasons and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry in his career. The Clarendon, Ark., native is trying to be the first UT running back since Curt Watson (1969-71) to lead the Vols in rushing three consecutive seasons. 17 PLAYERS TALLY TDs FOR TENNESSEE
Tennessee has had 17 different players combine to score 30 touchdowns this season. Six players have reached the end zone via the ground, 10 different Vols have caught touchdown passes and one UT defender has found paydirt. Last year, Tennessee had only 13 players score touchdowns all season. LONG DISTANCE DRIVES
Through eight contests this season, Tennessee has posted 17 scoring drives of at least 80 yards. The Vols only had 13 such drives all of last season (all resulting in touchdowns). In this year's season opener vs. UNLV, all six of UT's scores were on drives of 80 or more yards. Prior to that win, the best showing in a game for a Fulmer-coached team was three scoring drives of 80 yards or more, which has happened seven times (including last year in a 59-21 win over Mississippi State). ALLEN LEADING SEC IN TACKLES
Tennessee free safety Jason Allen leads the SEC with an impressive 10.4 tackles per game this season. Allen averages 2.1 more tackles per game than any other league defensive back, and he also has 33 more total tackles than any conference DB. The junior co-captain's 83 total stops is tops among all UT defenders, and he is tied for the team lead with two forced fumbles. As a starting sophomore cornerback last season, Allen tallied 57 tackles to rank seventh on the team. A strong candidate for All-SEC honors, Allen has 145 career tackles, three interceptions, 18 passes defensed and seven double-digit tackles games (including five this season). NOVEMBERS TO REMEMBER
Tennessee has a 73-4 (.948) mark in the month of November since 1985. Since that season, the Vols are 42-2 at home and 31-2 on the road in November. Interestingly, one of those four losses came at the hands of Notre Dame on Nov. 10, 1990. The Fighting Irish arrived in Knoxville as the top-ranked team in the nation that year and defeated the Vols 34-29. The other three November losses came in: 1996 at Memphis 21-17; 1999 at Arkansas 28-24; and 2002 vs. Miami (Fla.) 26-3. QUARTERBACKS
Freshman signal caller Erik Ainge made his fifth career start and notched his fourth career win last weekend when the Vols beat South Carolina ... Ainge ranks eighth in the SEC with a 134.58 passing-efficiency rating while ranking seventh in passing with 162.9 yards per game ... Boasting great pocket awareness, he has been sacked only twice all season ... Among UT's all-time freshman quarterbacks, Ainge ranks first in TDs thrown (16) and trails only Casey Clausen (1,473 yards in 2000) in passing yards ... Fellow rookie QB Brent Schaeffer provided a huge offensive boost off the bench vs. South Carolina ... Schaeffer's well-placed 55-yard completion to C.J. Fayton in the second quarter extended UT's lone first-half scoring drive ... Schaeffer rushed for 14 yards and completed 2-of-4 passes for 57 yards before suffering a collarbone injury in the second half. TAIL BACKS
Last Saturday, senior TB Cedric Houston moved into ninth place on Tennessee's all-time rushing-yardage list (2,246), and he needs only 91 yards to pass Travis Stephens (1997-2001) for eighth on the Vols' all-time list ... Houston's 190-yard effort vs. the Gamecocks was a career-high ... Junior TB Gerald Riggs Jr. rushed for 25 yards before suffering a hip injury ... Sophomore TB David Yancey scored his first career TD last Saturday on a 23-yards scurry up the middle ... Freshman FB David Holbert also recorded his first career TD, catching a 21-yard scoring strike late in the second quarter. WIDE RECEIVERS
Junior WR C.J. Fayton posted a personal season-high 60 receiving yards on two catches vs. South Carolina ... Fellow junior Chris Hannon scored his second TD of the season last weekend when he hauled in a 24-yard strike from Erik Ainge ... Freshman TE Chris Brown scored his first career TD on his first career catch ... Senior WR Tony Brown is the Vols' leading receiver this year with 19 catches for 253 yards ... Brown is the only Vol with a catch in every game this season ... Sophomore WR Bret Smith scored on his first career kickoff return when he fielded an onside kick at South Carolina and took it 44 yards to the end zone ... Smith has six TDs on 12 touches this season. OFFENSIVE LINE
Tennessee's O-line led the way as the Vols racked up 246 yards rushing last weekend in Columbia ... The Vols were without the services of senior LT Michael Munoz for the first time in 25 straight games (head injury) ... Versatile sophomore Arron Sears' start at left tackle at South Carolina marked the third offensive-line position at which he has started this season (he also started four games at right tackle and two at right guard) ... Junior lineman Richie Gandy returned to his home state and made his first career start last weekend (right guard). DEFENSIVE LINE
Junior DE Parys Haralson leads all of UT's D-linemen with 30 total tackles, including 11.5 TFLs ... Junior DT Jesse Mahelona (4) and Haralson (5) are among the SEC sack leaders ... Mahelona and Haralson are tied for the SEC lead in TFLs with 1.44 per game ... Playing in his hometown of Columbia, S.C., Saturday, sophomore DT Tony McDaniel posted career-highs in tackles (3) and TFLs (2) ... DT Justin Harrell also made a career-high four stops. LINEBACKERS
Senior Kevin Burnett made 11 tackles vs. South Carolina and now ranks fourth in the SEC with 9.2 tackles per game ... Burnett is a semifinalist for the Butkus and Bednarik awards and an All-America candidate; he has 74 tackles (54 solo), five TFLs, one sack, one interception and two fumble recoveries this season ... Junior Omar Gaither has started six straight games this season and ranks third on the squad in tackles (53) and 11th in the SEC in tackles per game (6.6) ... Gaither made his second interception of the year Saturday ... True freshmen LBs Ryan Karl and Ellix Wilson posted career-highs for tackles with three and two, respectively, against South Carolina. SECONDARY
Junior FS Jason Allen leads the SEC with 10.4 tackles per game following a 15-tackle effort at South Carolina ... Allen is the Vols' leading tackler this season with 83 stops, including a team-high 60 solo ... CB Jonathan Hefney made his first career interception last Saturday, and CB Roshaun Fellows made his second pick ... Sophomore Corey Campbell was given the starting nod at free safety and made five tackles (all solo). SPECIAL TEAMS
All-America P Dustin Colquitt averaged 41.1 yards on seven punts against SC ... Bret Smith's 44-yard onside-kick return for a TD was Tennessee's first special-teams TD of the season ... Sophomore PK James Wilhoit leads the Vols in scoring with 42 points this season ... KR Corey Larkins ranks third in the SEC with a 19.2 kick-return average. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Since 1992, no SEC team has pitched more shutouts than Tennessee's 13. The Vols have recorded at least one shutout in each of the last three years, the longest current streak of any league team. Four times in the last 12 years UT has registered two shutouts in a season. Since 1992, the Vols have been a successful road team posting a 40-11 (.784) mark away from Neyland Stadium. Tennessee has not had a losing road record (including neutral sites) since 1982. The Vols own the best interdivision record among SEC teams, going 29-9-1 (.756) against the Western Division since the league split in 1992. Did you know that at least one former Vol has played in each of the last 13 Super Bowls? NFL ROSTERS INCLUDE 38 FORMER VOLS
Tennessee led all Southeastern Conference schools with 38 former players on 2004 National Football League opening day rosters, according to an NFL release. The Vols tied Notre Dame for third overall, trailing only Miami (43) and Florida State (39). The most popular position for former Vols is defensive tackle with five, tying for top honors at that playing spot with Texas and Texas A&M. A total of 251 schools were represented on 2004 NFL opening-day rosters. The top-10 schools were: Miami 43, Florida State 39, Tennessee 38, Notre Dame 38, Florida 36, Georgia 36, Ohio State 36, Michigan 35, Penn State 32 and LSU 31. UP NEXT
Tennessee heads to Nashville to face longtime rival Vanderbilt Nov. 20. The Volunteers lead the all-time series 66-26-5 dating to 1892 and also hold a 32-17-4 edge in games played in Nashville. This season's game marks the 98th time Tennessee and Vanderbilt will meet. It is the second-longest rivalry for the Vols behind Kentucky (99 meetings). The Vols have won the last 21 meetings in the series dating to 1983. The winning streak for the Vols is the longest for either team in the series. It is the third-longest current streak over a major opponent in Division I-A. Only Notre Dame over Navy (41) and Nebraska over Kansas (36) have longer running streaks. Vanderbilt's last win vs. UT came in 1982, as it toppled the Vols 28-22 in Nashville. Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer served as an assistant at Vanderbilt in 1979. FRESHMAN QBs
History was made when the Vols opened the season against UNLV. For the first time in Tennessee history, a true freshman quarterback directly out of high school started his first career game in the opener. In the SEC, former Georgia All-America quarterback John Rauch started every game for four years (1945-48), becoming the first player in league history to start as a true freshman directly out of high school. Since freshmen became eligible in 1973, Tennessee has had six quarterbacks start games during their true freshman seasons, but only Brent Schaeffer started the season opener. Listed below are the freshmen quarterbacks who have started. - Alan Cockrell (1981) - Went 2-0 as a starter. Vols finished 8-4.
- Peyton Manning (1994) - Went 7-1 as a starter. Vols finished 8-4.
- Casey Clausen (2000) - Went 6-1 as a starter. Vols finished 8-4.
- James Banks (2002) - Went 1-0 as starter. Vols finished 8-5.
- Erik Ainge (2004) - Is 4-1 as a starter.
- Brent Schaeffer (2004) - Is 3-0 as a starter.
WORKING OVERTIME
Since the NCAA established a tiebreaker system for Division I in 1996, Tennessee is 4-1 overtime contests. The Vols have won the coin toss three times and chosen to play defense twice. The only time UT chose offense after winning the toss was against Florida in 1998. Tennessee has played the second and third-longest overtime games in NCAA history at six (Arkansas 2002) and five periods (Alabama 2003). | Date | Opponent | OTs | Coin Toss | Game Winning Play | Final Score | | 9/19/1998 | Florida | 1 | W (off) | Hall 41 field goal | 20-17 W | | 9/30/2000 | at LSU | 1 | W (def) | Royal 25 pass from Davey | 31-38 L | | 10/5/2002 | Arkansas | 6 | L (off) | Witten 25 pass from Clausen | 41-38 W | | 9/27/2003 | S. Carolina | 1 | W (def) | Banks 4 pass from Clausen | 23-20 W | | 10/25/2003 | at Alabama | 5 | L (off) | Clausen 1 run (2pt conv.) | 51-43 W | QUARTERBACK EXCELLENCE UNDER FULMER
Three regular starting quarterbacks under head coach Phillip Fulmer -- Heath Shuler (1992-93), Peyton Manning (1994-97) and Tee Martin (1998-99) -- have all proceeded to play in the National Football League. Manning is the all-time Division I-A leader with 39 career victories as a starting signal-caller, and Clausen just moved into the top 10 with 34. Martin's 22-3 record -- including 13-0 all-time at Neyland Stadium -- marked the best winning percentage (.880) in UT history. And during Fulmer's days as UT offensive coordinator, Andy Kelly was 24-5-2 as a Vol starter and will conclude his pro playing days as one of arena football's all-time greats. Most Wins by UT Starting Quarterbacks Since 1964
(Quarterback not listed as position prior to 1964) | Name (years lettered) | at Neyland
Stadium | Neutral | Road | Overall | Pct. | | Peyton Manning (1994-97) | 22-2-0 | 4-1-0 | 13-3-0 | 39-6-0 | .867 | | Casey Clausen (2000-03) | 18-5-0 | 2-4-0 | 14-1-0 | 34-10 | .773 | | Andy Kelly (1988-91) | 14-2-0 | 2-1-1 | 8-2-1 | 24-5-2 | .790 | | Condredge Holloway (1972-74) | 13-3-1 | 4-1-0 | 6-5-1 | 23-9-2 | .705 | | Tee Martin (1996-99) | 13-0-0 | 2-1-0 | 7-2-0 | 22-3-0 | .880 | | Bobby Scott (1968-70) | 11-0-0 | 2-1-0 | 7-2-0 | 20-3-0 | .869 | | Jeff Francis (1985-88) | 10-7-1 | 3-0-0 | 7-5-0 | 20-12-1 | .621 | | Heath Shuler (1991-93) | 11-2-0 | 1-1-0 | 7-2-0 | 19-5-0 | .792 | | Dewey Warren (1965-67) | 9-2-0 | 4-1-0 | 6-3-0 | 19-6-0 | .760 | | Tony Robinson (1983-85) | 6-2-1 | 0-1-0 | 4-2-0 | 10-5-1 | .656 | | Alan Cockrell (1981-83) | 11-4-0 | 2-1-0 | 4-3-1 | 17-8-1 | .673 | | Jimmy Streater (1977-79) | 11-5-1 | 0-1-0 | 2-7-0 | 13-12-2 | .646 | | Randy Wallace (1974-76) | 8-6-0 | 0-0-0 | 4-4-0 | 12-10-0 | .545 | | Bubba Wyche (1967-68) | 6-0-1 | 0-1-0 | 4-1-0 | 10-2-1 | .807 | | 
