University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. Kentucky - Game Preview
November 22, 2004 | Football
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| Kentucky (2-8, 1-6 SEC) at Tennessee (8-2, 6-1 SEC)
RADIO TV LIVE STATS RANKINGS THE COACHES: Kentucky Wildcats | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FEATURES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SERIES HISTORY This year's clash marks the 100th meeting between the two border rivals. Tennessee has played Kentucky more than any other opponent. The Vols' 67 wins over the UK are also more than they have over any other school. Tennessee has won the last 19 meetings in the series dating to 1985, with the current win streak marking the longest in the storied history of the series. In five of the last eight games vs. the Wildcats, Tennessee has scored more than 50 points. During that stretch, the Vols have outscored Kentucky 371-145. Kentucky's last win over UT came at Knoxville in 1984 by a score of 17-12. Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks coached linebackers at UCLA in 1970. Tennessee defeated the Bruins that year 28-17 in Knoxville. UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart served as a senior associate AD at Tennessee from 1986-98. TENNESSEE EARNS SPOT IN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Tennessee's previous appearances in the league title game took place in 1997, 1998 and 2001. The Vols won back-to-back SEC crowns in 1997 and 1998 but were defeated by LSU in 2001. Tennessee's 1997 championship-game victory came against Auburn by a score of 30-29. When the two schools met earlier this year in Knoxville, the Tigers posted a 34-10 win (UT's only SEC loss of the season). BALANCED PASSING ATTACK - NO WRs HIT CENTURY MARK However, in a testament to the depth of the Vols' receiving corps, seven UT players have posted at least 50 receiving yards in a game a combined 10 times this year. Additionally, five Vols have caught for at least 75 yards in a game this season. Despite not having a 100-yard receiver, the 1987 Vols went 10-2-1 and defeated Indiana 27-22 in the Peach Bowl. The quarterbacks who lettered that season were Jeff Francis, Sterling Henton and Randy Sanders. VOLS' ROSTER INCLUDES TWO FROM KENTUCKY Smith, a junior, is the Vols' only offensive lineman to start every game this season. Hostetter, a redshirt freshman, missed the first half of the season due to an injury but played last month at South Carolina. ALLEN LEADING SEC IN TACKLES The junior co-captain's 102 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 semifinalist for the 2004 Jim Thorpe Award and a strong candidate for All-SEC honors, Allen has 164 career tackles, four interceptions, 20 passes defensed and eight double-digit tackles games (including six this season). NOVEMBERS TO REMEMBER The rare November losses came in: 1990 and 2004 vs. Notre Dame; 1996 at Memphis; 1999 at Arkansas; and 2002 vs. Miami (Fla.). 15 SENIORS TO PLAY FINAL GAME IN NEYLAND The players bidding farewell to Rocky Top include Tony Brown, Kevin Burnett, Dustin Colquitt, Jabari Davis, John Henderson, Cedric Houston, Corey Larkins, C.J. Leak, Victor McClure, Michael Munoz, Karlton Neal, Chuck Prugh, Jason Respert, Derrick Tinsley and Tyler Williams. HOUSTON UT's No. 6 ALL-TIME RUSHER
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Travis Henry (1997-2000) sits atop the rushing list with 3,078 yards, 670 ahead of Houston.
Houston is the 11th Vol to gain more than 2,000 career rushing yards, and he also ranks in eighth place on UT's all-time rushing attempts list with 453.
The 2003 second team All-SEC selection has nine 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 5.3 yards per carry in his career.
The Clarendon, Ark., native is trying to be the first UT running back since Watson to lead the Vols in rushing three consecutive seasons.
MAHELONA CLIMBING UT DEFENSIVE CHARTS
| SINGLE-SEASON BALL-CARRIER LOSS TFLs excluding sacks) | ||
| 1. | Leonard Little, 1995 | 14 |
| 2. | Greg Jones, 1976 | 13 |
| 3. | Marion Hobby, 1989 | 12 |
| 4. | Jesse Mahelona, 2004 | 11.5 |
| SINGLE-SEASON TOTAL TFLs | ||
| 1. | Leonard Little, 1995 | 25 |
| 2. | Reggie White, 1983 | 24 |
| 3t. | Todd Kelly, 1992 | 21 |
| 3t. | John Henderson, 2000 | 21 |
| 5. | Shaun Ellis, 1999 | 19.5 |
| 6. | Anthony Sessions, 2000 | 17.5 |
| 7. | Jesse Mahelona, 2004 | 16.5 |
Through 10 career games as a Vol, Mahelona has 16.5 total TFLs. That places him in seventh place on UT's single-season TFL chart. Leonard Little's 25 total TFLs in 1995 is the most of any Vols defender in a single season.
Mahelona's 11.5 tackles behind the line (tackles for loss that do not include sacks) are enough to place the juco transfer in fourth place on Tennessee's single-season chart for ball-carrier loss tackles. Little also tops that chart, courtesy of his 14 tackles behind the line in 1995.
Mahelona has recorded multiple TFLs in five games this season. His five TFLs vs. Notre Dame Nov. 6 helped him earn SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors.
RIGGS REACHES 1,000 CAREER RUSHING YARDS
Junior tailback Gerald Riggs Jr.'s career-high 149 rushing yards last weekend at Vanderbilt put him over the 1,000 career rushing-yardage mark.
Riggs has 771 yards on the ground and has also posted four 100-yard games this season. Prior to this year, the Chattanooga native rushed for 207 yards as a sophomore in 2003 and 49 yards as a freshman in 2002.
QUARTERBACKS
Junior QB Rick Clausen made his first career start as a Tennessee Vol Saturday at Vanderbilt, completing 19-of-30 passes for 189 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions as he led UT to a 38-33 victory ... Both of Clausen's TDs went to WR Jayson Swain ... Prior to the Vanderbilt game, Clausen's only other collegiate start came in 2002 when he led LSU to a 14-13 win over Mississippi (the left-handed signal caller is 2-0 in collegiate starts) ... Freshman QBs Brent Schaeffer (collarbone) and Erik Ainge (shoulder) are currently out with injuries ... Sixth-year senior C.J. Leak and freshman Bo Hardegree are listed Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, on the Vols' QB depth chart.
TAIL BACKS
Senior TB Cedric Houston needs 202 rushing yards to pass Jay Graham (2,609 yards from 1993-96) and break into the top five on the Vols' all-time rushing list ... Houston had 19 carries for 97 yards and three TDs at Vanderbilt last Saturday ... Houston leads the team with 779 rushing yards (6th in the SEC) and a 5.9 average per carry this season ... Junior TB Gerald Riggs Jr. ran for a career-high 149 yards vs. the Commodores and has 771 yards on the year ... The Vanderbilt game marked Riggs' fourth 100-yard game this year (and the fourth of his career) ... Senior TB Jabari Davis leads the team with seven special-teams tackles this season.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Sophomore WR Jayson Swain enjoyed his first career multi-TD outing last weekend as he caught a pair of Rick Clausen TD passes at Vanderbilt ... Swain boasts a team-high 24 catches and 338 receiving yards this year with four TDs ... Senior WR Tony Brown is the only Vol with a catch in every game this season ... Sophomore WR Bret Smith has six TDs on 15 touches this season ... Oddly, no Tennessee wideout has had a 100-yard receiving game all season.
OFFENSIVE LINE
A plague of injuries has forced Tennessee to field makeshift offensive lines in recent weeks ... Eight lineman have started between the tackles the last three weeks, and the left-guard spot is the only line position that has had the same starter (Rob Smith) during that span ... The center and right-guard positions have each had three different starters in the last three games ... An Outland Trophy and All-America candidate, senior LT Michael Munoz has started all 46 games in which he has played during his career ... Normal starters C Jason Respert (hand) and OG Cody Douglas (foot) both missed the Vanderbilt game due to injuries ... Backup OG David Ligon saw significant playing time vs. the Commodores last weekend ... Smith's 10 knockdown blocks vs. Vandy earned him SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors for the second time this season.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Junior DE Parys Haralson was a one-man wrecking crew at Vanderbilt, recording four tackles, including two sacks, and forcing and recovering a fumble ... Haralson is tied for the SEC lead in sacks with 0.75 per game, and his team-high seven sacks this year are the most by a Vol since 2000, when Anthony Sessions had 9.5 and John Henderson had 12 ... DT Jesse Mahelona (1.65 per game) and Haralson (1.35 per game) rank first and second, respectively, on the SEC's TFL chart ... Sophomore DT Turk McBride had two TFLs at Vanderbilt and junior DE Jason Hall emerged to make five tackles.
LINEBACKERS
Senior Kevin Burnett made six tackles at Vanderbilt and ranks third in the SEC with 9.1 tackles per game ... Burnett is a semifinalist for the Butkus and Bednarik awards and an All-America candidate; he has 91 tackles (67 solo), five TFLs, one sack, one interception and two fumble recoveries this season ... Junior Omar Gaither ranks third on the squad in tackles (63) and 15th in the SEC in tackles per game (6.3) ... Burnett's six special-teams tackles are second-most on the team.
SECONDARY
Junior FS Jason Allen leads the SEC with 10.2 tackles per game and has 20 more tackles than any other league DB ... Allen is the Vols' leading tackler this season with 102 stops, including a team-high 73 solo ... Allen is also the only UT player in the Fulmer era (1993-present) to record at least six double-digit tackle games in a season ... Freshman CB Jonathan Hefney is the Vols' fourth leading tackler with 49 on the season ... CB Roshaun Fellows is the team leader in passes defensed with 13, and his INT at Vanderbilt gave him a team-leading three picks on the year.
SPECIAL TEAMS
All-America P Dustin Colquitt is averaged 41.6 yards on 45 punts this season ... Sophomore PK James Wilhoit leads the Vols in scoring with 57 points this season (8-for-13 on FGs and 33-for-34 on XPs) ... PR Jonathan Hefney's 5.9-yard punt-return average ranks eighth in the conference.
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 41-11 (.789) 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 makes it fourth all-time appearance in the SEC Championship Game Dec. 4 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Volunteers face Western Division Champion Auburn, which defeated Tennessee 34-10 in Knoxville Oct. 2.
Tennessee is 2-1 all-time in the conference championship game, which has been contested annually since the league expanded to 12 teams in 1992. The Vols beat Auburn 30-29 in 1997 and then claimed back-to-back SEC titles by dispatching Mississippi State 24-14 on the way to the national championship in 1998. In 2001, the Vols dropped a 31-20 decision to LSU in the SEC Championship Game.
Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer owns a 3-2 record vs. Auburn, but the Tigers have won the last two meetings.
Pat Washington, the Vols' wide receivers coach since 1995, played quarterback at Auburn from 1982-1985.
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 4-2 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 |
