 | | Brent Schaeffer recorded his first collegiate rushing and passing TD against UNLV. | SERIES HISTORY
The Vols and Gators will be meeting for the 34th time with the Vols holding an 18-15 series advantage. Tennessee has won two of the last three meetings with Florida, but has not won in Knoxville since 1998. Tennessee holds a 10-7 lead in games played in Knoxville and 3-1 at neutral sites, while the Gators are 7-5 in Gainesville. This will be the eighth time in the last nine years that Tennessee has opened conference play with Florida. The exception was 2001 when the game was pushed back to the end of the season due to the September 11 tragedy in New York. UT is 12-7 in league openers since 1985. In the last five games, the cumulative score is Florida 139, Tennessee 135. Four of the last six games have been decided by four points or less and 14 of the 33 contests have been decided by seven points or less. It's come down to the running game in the last 14 meetings with the team winning the battle on the ground coming out the victor 12 times. The squad committing the fewest turnovers is 8-3 (tied in 1994, 2002 & 2003). UP NEXT
Tennessee steps out of conference play for the second time this season when it plays host to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. ET for Homecoming. The Vols defeated La. Tech 50-0 to open the 1993 season. It was the first shutout of the Phillip Fulmer era. The game will air on a pay-per-view basis only. UT owns a 61-16-3 record in Homecoming games. This is the first September Homecoming game since 2000 when the Vols routed Louisiana-Monroe, 70-3, and only the fifth ever. In the other September contests, Tennessee blanked Cincinnati 40-0 in 1992, shut out Oklahoma State 31-0 in 1995 and edged Memphis 17-16 in 1999. DEAN OF SEC COACHES
With the retirement of Mississippi State's Jackie Sherrill at the end of last season, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer became the dean of the league coaches as he works his 13th season with the Volunteers. Auburn's Tommy Tubervile is next as he begins his 10th year in the league and his sixth at Auburn. Houston Nutt of Arkansas is third as he starts his seventh season, while South Carolina's Lou Holtz and Mississippi's David Cutcliffe embark on their sixth campaigns to round out the top five. FULMER MOVES UP SEC COACHING CHART
Head coach Phillip Fulmer needs two victories to pass former Tennessee coach Johnny Majors and long time Alabama coach Frank Thomas for 11th place on the SEC's all-time coaching victories list. Fulmer, who has 114 wins, has a shot to move into ninth place past Steve Spurrier (Florida) and Mike Donahue (Auburn/LSU), who recorded 122 wins apiece. Charlie McClendon (LSU) is eighth with 137 victories. The Dean of SEC coaches has 74 wins over league teams (including SEC Championship games), which ranks sixth on the conference's chart. RESPERT SEC OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF WEEK
Tennessee's strong offensive showing in its 42-17 victory over UNLV was thanks in no small part to the play of senior center Jason Respert, who was named Southeastern Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week. A Warner Robins, Ga., native and Vol captain, Respert made his first career start at the center position in front of freshman quarterbacks Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge. The QB duo took 72 offensive snaps -- only three of which resulted in lost yardage for the Big Orange. For the game, Tennessee tallied 513 yards of total offense. The Vols rushed for 272 yards, passed for 241 yards and all six touchdown drives were of 80 yards or more. DIALING LONG DISTANCE
Tennessee had to travel a long way to get its six touchdowns against UNLV. All six scores were on drives of 80 or more yards. The Vols began five of their 12 drives inside the 20 and had an average starting field position of the 22 yard line. Three of those scoring drives were at least 10 or more plays with four lasting at least four minutes. The previous best showing 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. Oddly, UT's only starting possession inside UNLV territory resulted in a missed field goal -- and that possession would not have happened except for a penalty that disallowed a punt return touchdown by Jonathan Hefney. THIRD LARGEST CROWD
The UNLV game saw the third largest crowd of 108,625 pack into Neyland Stadium. It was the most since 108,722 saw the UT-Florida game in 2002 and the fifth crowd of over 108,000. The record is 108,768 set in the 2000 UT-UF game. FIRST TIMERS
Eight Vols made their first career starts in the opener. They were TE Justin Reed, OF Rob Smith, QB Brent Schaeffer, FB Cory Anderson, DT Jesse Mahelona, DT Justin Harrell, DB Roshaun Fellows and DB Brandon Johnson. Other Vols making their debuts in the orange and white were QB Erik Ainge, QB Rick Clausen, TE Chris Brown, FB David Holbert, DB Jonathan Hefney, DB Antonio Gaines, DB Ellix Wilson, TE Brad Cottam, DE Antonio Reynolds, OG David Ligon, WR Robert Meachem, OG Michael Frogg and WR Casey Woods. QUARTERBACKS
Co-starting quarterbacks Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge were impressive in their debuts ... Schaeffer (1-0) started the game and directed the Vols on six drives, while Ainge was in on five drives and junior transfer Rick Clausen was in on the final drive of the game ... Schaeffer accounted for 152 yards of total offense (123 pass, 29 rush) and two touchdowns (1 pass, 1 rush) ... He completed 7-of-10 passes while rushing seven times ... His long passing play of 35 yards was a touchdown to Robert Meachem ... Ainge completed 10-of-17 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns with a 42-yard touchdown strike to C.J. Fayton and a 3-yard toss to Tony Brown. RUNNING BACKS
Six Vols touched the ball out of the backfield against UNLV ... The backs had four runs of more than 20 yards and were stopped just one time behind the line of scrimmage ... Starting tailback Cedric Houston rushed for 97 yards on 12 carries before leaving the game with an injury on UT's first possession of the third quarter ... He reeled off two big runs of 23 and 28 yards while averaging 8.1 yards per rush ... Houston moved into 16th place on UT's career rushing list with 1726 yards ... Needs 74 yards to become the 14th UT rusher with 1800 yards ... Gerald Riggs picked up the load after that, rushing for 59 yards on seven carries in the second half to boost his game total to a career-best 79 yards on 13 carries and one score ... Corey Larkins scored his third career touchdown while rushing for 49 yards on nine carries with a long of 23 yards ... Jabari Davis added 16 yards while David Yancey had one carry for two yards ... In addition to paving the way for the tailbacks, fullback Cory Anderson had two catches for 22 yards. WIDE RECEIVERS
The two freshman quarterbacks made good use of their personnel by hooking up with nine different receivers ... No player caught more than three passes, while three made their first-ever receptions (FB Cory Anderson, TE Brad Cottam, WR Robert Meachem) ... Meachem's first catch was a 35-yard touchdown from Brent Schaeffer ... C.J. Fayton led all receivers with 51 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown ... It was his third career touchdown ... Starting wideouts Tony Brown and Chris Hannon each pulled down three passes for 35 and 33 yards, respectively ... Brown recorded his fifth career touchdown. OFFENSIVE LINE
The offensive line featured three veterans joined by two relative newcomers ... LT Michael Munoz made his 38th career start in 38 games ... C Jason Respert made his first start at center after 10 starts at guard the previous three seasons ... Respert was given the first-ever SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week award ... RG Cody Douglas made his 10th start ... RT Arron Sears made his second start and LG Rob Smith his first. DEFENSIVE LINE
A revamped defensive front four saw tackles Jesse Mahelona and Justin Harrell make their first career starts, while ends Parys Haralson and Karlton Neal made their 11th and eighth respective starts ... The line accounted for all three sacks in the game as starters Mahelona and Haralson were joined by reserve Jason Hall in the sack attack ... Mahelona, who forced a fumble, and Haralson each made four tackles. LINEBACKERS
Tennessee's veteran linebacking corps of Kevin Burnett, Kevin Simon and Jason Mitchell all had solid openers ... Burnett led the group with eight tackles (six solo) while Mitchell added six and Simon had five ... Simon recorded a tackle for loss and broke up a pass ... Burnett recovered a UNLV fumble at the Tennessee 5 to thwart a Rebel scoring threat in the second quarter ... Mitchell led the club with two TFLs. SECONDARY
UT's defensive backs had a big game in the opener as Brandon Johnson led all tacklers with nine stops (eight solo) and two forced fumbles ... It was Johnson's first start ... Corey Campbell, making his fourth career start, picked off his third career pass while making four tackles ... Jason Allen, the veteran of the secondary with nine starts, made five solo tackles ... Redshirt freshman Roshaun Fellows added five tackles in his first start. SPECIAL TEAMS
All-America punter Dustin Colquitt picked up where he off last season with the second-highest average of his career at 51.3 yards on three punts with a long of 61 ... He placed two inside the 20 ... Placekicker James Wilhoit was impressive on his kickoffs, booting four of his seven into the end zone for touchbacks ... He missed his only field goal attempt of 44 yards ... True freshman Jonathan Hefney was officially credited with one punt return for 27 yards, but had a touchdown called back by a penalty ... Corey Larkins and Gerald Riggs each returned one kickoff for 13 yards. LARKINS MOVES UP KICKOFF RETURN CHART
Senior Corey Larkins has quietly etched his name in UT's record book as he ranks third in career kickoff returns with 50 and fourth in return yardage with 1079. He is averaging 21.6 yards per return in his career. Larkins has led the team in kickoff returns the past two seasons and was just two returns shy of the school record 28 in 2002. COLQUITT CHASES PUNTING RECORDS
All-America punter Dustin Colquitt returns for his final season. The two-time Ray Guy Award finalist led the SEC and ranked sixth nationally with a 45.3-yard punting average in 2003. He ranks second on UT's punting list with a 43.3-yard average that trails his cousin Jimmy Colquitt (43.9) and ahead of his third-place father, Craig (42.5). Colquitt ranks third in career punts (187) and yards (8088). Craig holds the record with 204 punts and Jimmy has the yardage mark at 8816. He has 46 punts of 50 yards or more and has placed 31.0 percent of his punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. VOLS IN THE PRESEASON RANKINGS PRESEASON AWARDS WATCH LIST
Kevin Burnett -- Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Top defensive player), Butkus Award (Top linebacker)
Cedric Houston -- Doak Walker Award (Top running back)
Michael Munoz -- Outland Trophy (Top lineman), Lombardi Award (Top lineman/linebacker)
Karlton Neal -- Ted Hendricks Award (Top defensive end)
Jason Respert -- Dave Rimington Trophy (Top center)
Kevin Simon -- Butkus Award (Top linebacker)
James Wilhoit -- Lou Groza Award (Top placekicker) TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS
No. 10 - Lindy's, NationalChamps.net, Southeastern Football Saturdays
No. 13 - PHIPPS
No. 14 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches, Associated Press
No. 16 - Playboy, FWAA
No. 18 - Athlon TEAM SEC RANKINGS
No. 2 - Birmingham News, Southeastern Football Saturdays
No. 3 - SEC Media PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA
(First team unless noted) Kevin Burnett, LB (Playboy)
Dustin Colquitt, P (Athlon, Blue Ribbon, NationalChamps.net, Lindy's-2nd)
Michael Munoz, OT (NationalChamps.net-3rd) PRESEASON ALL-SEC
(First team unless noted) Jason Allen, DB (SEC Coaches-2nd, Athlon-2nd)
James Banks, WR (PHIPPS, SEC Coaches-2nd)
Kevin Burnett, LB (SEC Coaches, SEC Media, Birmingham News, Athlon, PHIPPS)
Corey Campbell, DB (Athlon-3rd)
Dustin Colquitt, P (SEC Coaches, SEC Media, Birmingham News, Athlon)
Cody Douglas, OG (SEC Coaches-3rd)
Chris Hannon, WR (Athlon-3rd)
Parys Haralson, DE (Athlon-2nd, SEC Coaches-3rd)
Cedric Houston, TB (SEC Coaches-2nd, SEC Media-2nd, Athlon-3rd)
Jesse Mahelona, DT (Athlon-3rd)
Michael Munoz, OT (SEC Coaches, SEC Media, Birmingham News, Athlon, PHIPPS)
Jason Respert, C (Athlon-3rd)
Kevin Simon, LB (PHIPPS, SEC Coaches-2nd, SEC Media-2nd, Birmingham News-2nd, Athlon-2nd)
Albert Toeaina, OT (Athlon-3rd)
James Wilhoit, PK (SEC Coaches-3rd) NATIONAL PLAYER RANKINGS
Michael Munoz is listed as the No. 4 offensive tackle by NationalChamps.net
Athlon ranked UT's linebackers No. 1 in the SEC and No. 6 nationally
Athlon ranked UT's running backs No. 2 in the SEC
Athlon ranked UT's wide receivers No. 2 in the SEC 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 37-11 (.771) 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 27-8-1 (.764) 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? FIRST SUNDAY GAME AT NEYLAND STADIUM
The lidlifter for the 2004 season was the first Sunday game played at Neyland Stadium and the fifth Sunday contest for the Vols. The most recent Sunday game was Jan. 2, 2000, against Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl. Other Sunday outings were Aug. 26, 1990, in the Pigskin Classic in Anaheim, Calif., versus Colorado, Aug. 30, 1987, in the Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands against Iowa and Dec. 13, 1981, against Wisconsin in the Garden State Bowl, also at the Meadowlands. HISTORY IN THE MAKING
History was made when the Vols opened up against the 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 five quarterbacks start games during their true freshman seasons. 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.
Brent Schaeffer (2004) - Is 1-0 as a starter. HOUSTON POISED FOR RUN AT 2000 YARDS
Cedric Houston is poised to make a run at 2,000 career rushing yards and possibly a shot at the all-time Tennessee rushing mark. With 1,726 yards he sits 14th, just 274 yards shy of becoming the 11th Vol to reach 2,000 yards in a career. Travis Henry sits atop the rushing list with 3,078 yards, 1,352 ahead of Houston. The 2003 second team All-SEC selection has seven 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 5.1 yards per carry in his career. Houston has 332 rushing attempts, 68 shy of cracking Tennessee's top 10. The Clarendon, Ark., native also is trying to be the first UT running back since Curt Watson (1969-71) to lead the Vols in rushing three consecutive seasons. WILHOIT ANCHORS KICKING GAME
James Wilhoit, who garnered Freshman All-America honors last season, returns to anchor the placekicking duties. He has made 17-of-25 career field goal placements while connecting on 47 PATs in a row. He has made 12 of his last 15 placements. SUSTAINED DOMINANCE
Over the last 10 years (1994-2003), head coach Phillip Fulmer has kept the Volunteers among the nation's top programs. Tennessee boasted the top winning percentage in the league during that span at .792 while posting a 99-26 mark. Nationally, the Vols ranked fourth behind Nebraska .837 (108-21), Florida State .828 (130-21-1) and Miami .793 (96-25) over the last decade. NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Since 1989, Tennessee has a 57-12-1 (.821) record in non-conference games. Coach Phillip Fulmer owns a 40-9 non-conference record, including a 28-1 mark at home. Only four of those defeats have been in the regular season (Notre Dame 1990, at UCLA 1994, at Memphis 1996, Miami 2002) with the other eight coming in the post season (SEC Championship and bowl games). SCORING STREAK
Tennessee has scored in 123 consecutive games dating back to a 31-0 shutout by Florida in Knoxville in 1994. It is the second-longest streak in the SEC, trailing Florida's 192. UT's home scoring streak is at 64, while it has scored in 130 straight games away from Neyland Stadium. The last road shutout was handed down by Georgia in 1981, 44-0. The Vols had scored a touchdown in 104 straight games until the streak was snapped in a 26-3 loss to Miami, Nov. 9, 2002. 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). Coin Final Date Opponent OTs Toss Game Winning Play 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 | MEDICAL UPDATE
OUT FOR SEASON -- LB Marvin Mitchell (knee), WR James Banks (knee).
Injury update announced Monday Sept. 13. | 
