 | | Michael Munoz was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week after recording nine pancake blocks against Louisiana Tech. | SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game marks the 48th meeting between Tennessee and Auburn since the two schools first met in 1900. The Tigers lead the all-time series 23-21-3, while the Vols hold a 14-7-2 edge in games that take place in Knoxville. Tennessee has won five of the last seven games in this series dating to 1989, but Auburn held off a late UT charge to win last season in Jordan-Hare Stadium 28-21 and snap a four-game UT winning streak in the series. The Tigers have not won back-to-back games against Tennessee since winning three straight from 1982-84. The last time Auburn visited Knoxville, Tennessee won the meeting 24-0 in 1999. Auburn's last win at Neyland Stadium came in 1983. The Vols are 4-0-0 vs. Auburn in Knoxville since 1985. Tennessee wide receivers coach Pat Washington played quarterback at Auburn from 1982-85, serving as co-captain his senior year. Washington also worked as an assistant with the Tigers from 1987-88. Auburn defensive tackles coach Don Dunn served as a graduate assistant at UT from 1983-84. ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY TO MAKE SEVENTH VISIT
ESPN College Gameday will broadcast live from the University of Tennessee campus for the seventh time this Saturday. Gameday hosts Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit most recently visited Knoxville in 2002 when the Vols hosted Miami (Fla.) for homecoming. Tennessee owns a 2-4 all-time record when Gameday is in Knoxville, and a 6-7 overall mark in contests for which Gameday is on-site. Auburn is 1-3 all-time when playing with Gameday on-site, including an 0-2 mark on the road. This week's game marks the 32nd time that an SEC team has hosted the show (the most among all conferences). GROUND GAME HITS HIGH GEAR
Tennessee's rushing attack last weekend was as potent as it's been in five seasons. The Vols racked up 347 yards on the ground, led by Cedric Houston (160 yards on 11 carries) and Gerald Riggs (116 carries on 16 attempts). That output marks the Vols' highest single-game rushing total since they ran for 406 yards in a 65-0 win over Vanderbilt in 1994. Prior to last weekend's win over Louisiana Tech, Tennessee hadn't rushed for more than 300 yards in a single game since 1999 (325 yards vs. Vanderbilt). And the last time two Vols eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a single game was in 1994 (121 yards by both James Stewart and Jay Graham vs. Vanderbilt). SHARING THE WEALTH
Tennessee has had 11 different players combine to score 16 touchdowns this season. Five players have reached the end zone via the ground and six different Vols have caught touchdown passes. Last season, it took eight games for 11 different Vols players to post touchdowns (Gerald Riggs became the 11th Vol to score a touchdown that year when he found the end zone against Duke). FULMER PASSES MAJORS ON SEC COACHING CHART
With last Saturday's 42-17 win over Louisiana Tech, UT head coach Phillip Fulmer passed former Tennessee coach Johnny Majors and longtime Alabama coach Frank Thomas to move into 11th place on the SEC's all-time coaching victories list. Fulmer, who has 116 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 75 wins over league teams (including SEC Championship games), which ranks sixth on the conference's all-time chart. BURNETT, ALLEN LEAD SEC IN TACKLES
The Volunteers currently boast the top-two tacklers in the SEC, as co-captains Jason Allen and Kevin Burnett sit atop the league's chart with 9.7 tackles per game. Allen has posted one more solo tackle (21) than Burnett (20), while Burnett has one more assist than Allen. Allen has had two 10-tackle games this season (vs. Florida and La. Tech), while Burnett's lone 10-tackle outing this year marks the highest single-game tackle total for a Vol this season (16 vs. Florida). VOLS CONTINUE LONG SCORING DRIVES
Through three contests this season, Tennessee has posted 12 scoring drives of at least 80 yards (with 11 different players reaching the end zone on all such drives). In the season opener vs. UNLV, all six of UT's scores were on drives of 80 or more yards. Prior to the win over the Rebels, 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). The Vols have only had two drives this season that have begun inside their opponents' territory. Those drives resulted in a missed field goal (vs. UNLV) and a punt (vs. La. Tech). MUNOZ EARNS SEC HONORS
Senior OT Michael Munoz garnered SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors after helping to pave the way for Tennessee's 347 rushing yards vs. La. Tech. Munoz graded at 85 percent and had nine pancake blocks against the Bulldogs. The two-time co-captain has started all 40 games in which he has played, including the Vols' last 20 contests. Thanks in part to solid line play, Tennessee currently leads the SEC in total offense, rushing offense and pass efficiency. COLQUITT LEADS SEC IN PUNTING
All-America punter Dustin Colquitt currently stands atop the SEC's punting statistics. The senior has averaged 44.0 yards per punt and has placed six kicks (more than half of his attempts) inside the opponents' 20-yard line. The two-time Ray Guy Award finalist led the SEC and ranked sixth nationally with a 45.3-yard punting average a season ago. 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 (195) and yards (8,418). Craig holds the record with 204 punts and Jimmy has the yardage mark at 8,816. Tennessee's current Colquitt has 47 career punts of 50 yards or more and has placed 31.8 percent of his punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. HOUSTON ONLY 61 AWAY FROM 2,000 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 1,939 career rushing yards, he sits 12th, just 61 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, 1,139 ahead of Houston. 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 6.1 yards per carry in his career. Houston has 357 rushing attempts, 43 shy of cracking UT's top 10. The Clarendon, Ark., native is also trying to be the first UT running back since Curt Watson (1969-71) to lead the Vols in rushing three consecutive seasons. QUARTERBACKS
Co-starting quarterbacks Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge led Tennessee to its third consecutive victory last weekend, a 42-17 win over Louisiana Tech ... Schaeffer (3-0) started the game, directed four drives and accounted for 40 yards of total offense (50 pass, -10 rush) including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Robert Meachem ... Ainge completed 10-of-15 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns, including touchdown strikes to C.J. Fayton (13 yards) and Bret Smith (60 and 4 yards) ... Ainge led the Vols' first five scoring drives ... Ainge now leads the SEC and ranks 4th nationally with a 184.1 passing efficiency rating. TAIL BACKS
Tennessee's tailbacks accounted for 322 net rushing yards last weekend ... Starting tailback Cedric Houston rushed for 160 yards on 16 carries ... He is now averaging 8.4 yards per carry and 103.3 yards per game this season (3rd in SEC) ... Houston needs 61 yards to become the 11th UT rusher with 2,000 career yards ... Gerald Riggs Jr. netted a career-high 116 yards on 16 carries vs. the Bulldogs and owns a season rushing average of 5.9 yards per rush and 86.0 yards per game (7th in SEC) ... Corey Larkins added 12 yards on three carries vs. La. Tech ... Fullback Cory Anderson had a career-high two catches for 26 yards, while rookie fullback David Holbert had his first career rush (a 1-yard gain) ... David Yancey racked up 32 yards on six fourth-quarter carries. WIDE RECEIVERS
Seven different receivers had receptions vs. Louisiana Tech ... Bret Smith led the Vols in catches (3) and yards (78) while hauling in a pair of touchdown passes from QB Erik Ainge ... Jayson Swain caught one pass for 42 yards ... Junior wideout C.J. Fayton's lone catch of the game was a 13-yard scoring strike from Ainge ... Freshman Robert Meachem made a nice adjustment to haul in a Brent Schaeffer touchdown pass. OFFENSIVE LINE
Tennessee currently ranks first in the SEC and 10th nationally with 263.3 yards of rushing offense per game ... The Vols gained 347 yards rushing (the highest singles-game rushing output since 1994) ... Against Louisiana Tech, LT Michael Munoz made his 40th start in 40 career games and earned SEC O-Lineman of the Week honors ... C Jason Respert made his third start at center after 10 starts at guard the previous three seasons ... RG Cody Douglas made his 12th start ... RT Arron Sears made his fourth start and LG Rob Smith his third ... Newcomer Albert Toeaina saw his first game-action as a Vol in the second half vs. La. Tech. DEFENSIVE LINE
Solid defensive play in the trenches helped Tennessee hold La. Tech's rushing attack in check last weekend, as TB Ryan Moats (the nation's leading rusher entering the week) was held under 100 yards rushing ... Sophomore Turk McBride enjoyed his best outing as a Vol last weekend, tallying two tackles (including one sack) and causing three quarterback hurries ... DE Antonio Reynolds and DE Xavier Mitchell also recorded their first career sacks. LINEBACKERS
Omar Gaither had a breakout performance while making his first career start last weekend, as he totaled 11 tackles (including one for loss) and made his first career interception ... Kevin Burnett also had an interception for Tennessee while posting five stops ... Burnett currently ranks tied for first in the SEC with 9.7 tackles per game ... Junior Jason Mitchell shifted to MLB in place of the injured Kevin Simon and made four tackles ... Junior Jon Poe pitched in four stops while sophomore Daniel Brooks logged two solo tackles and drew postgame praise from Coach Fulmer. SECONDARY
Jason Allen's fine play continued vs. La. Tech, as the junior co-captain posted 10 tackles, including two for loss ... Allen is currently tied with LB Kevin Burnett for the top spot on the SEC tackles list with 9.7 per game ... Corey Campbell returned to the starting lineup vs. La. Tech and after coming off the bench against Florida ... Sophomore Jonathan Wade and freshman Jonathan Hefney both made their second consecutive starts at DB, while backup DB Roshaun Fellows contributed seven tackles. SPECIAL TEAMS
PK James Wilhoit missed his lone field-goal attempt vs. La. Tech, but was impressive on kickoff duty, sending three kicks into the endzone for touchbacks ... All-America P Dustin Colquitt averaged 40.0 yards on six punts against the Bulldogs, with three punts landing inside the La. Tech red zone ... Colquitt has the Vols ranking first in the SEC and second nationally in net punting with a 43.8-yard average ... Gerald Riggs returned one kickoff for a career-high 19 yards last weekend. FIRST-TIME PLAYERS/STARTERS
Thus far in 2004, eleven Vols have made their first career starts. Eight Vols made their starting debuts in the season opener vs. UNLV. 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. Then against Florida, CB Jonathan Hefney took to the field with the first-teamers (DB Jonathan Wade also made his first start as a defensive player after starting three games as a freshman WR in 2002) LB Omar Gaither made his first start when the Vols played host to La. Tech. Players who made their debuts in orange and white this season are QB Erik Ainge, QB Rick Clausen, TE Chris Brown, FB David Holbert, DB Antonio Gaines, DB Ellix Wilson, TE Brad Cottam, DE Antonio Reynolds, OG David Ligon, WR Robert Meachem, OG Michael Frogg, WR Casey Woods, DB Ben Greene, LB James Turner, DB Inquoris Johnson, OG Eric Young, LB Ryan Karl, WR Bill Grimes, DE Xavier Mitchell and OT Albert Toeaina. 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 returns to SEC Eastern Division action when it visits Georgia for its first road contest and third league game of the season. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on CBS. The Vols lead the closely contested series 17-14-2. Tennessee also owns an 8-7-1 series lead in games contested in Athens. Nine of the last 13 meetings in the series have ended in the Vols' favor, but the Bulldogs have enjoyed victories in each of the last four meetings. In fact, two of UT's last three road losses took place at UGA's Sanford Stadium. Tennessee, Georgia and Florida are the only three schools to represent the SEC's Eastern Division in the SEC Championship Game. Last season, the Bulldogs fell to LSU 34-13 in the conference championship game. 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 | | 
