University of Tennessee Athletics
TWENTY-SEVEN VOLS PLAYING LAST HOME GAME
November 17, 2005 | Football
Nov. 17, 2005
Tennessee bids farewell to 27 seniors playing their last game Saturday in Neyland Stadium. The Vols host Vanderbilt in a 12:30 p.m. Eastern time kickoff.
Head coach Phillip Fulmer says this group is fighting for school pride and setting the stage for brighter days ahead.
"We began 1988 0-6," Fulmer said. "But that group of seniors wouldn't let the season end like that and we won our last five games. The next two years, we were conference champions."
Tennessee stands 4-5 this season with two games remaining. UT needs to win both to extend its current bowl streak to 17 years -- or every year since that 5-6 finish in 1988.
"We're a better football team - I still believe that - than our record shows," Fulmer said. "We've played an extremely tough schedule during the course of the year. We've been our own worst enemies at times, but we've continued to practice and play hard, and that's a plus."
Seniors making their final home appearances are:
DB Jason Allen, DB Jon Catanzano, DB Peter Chang, QB Rick Clausen, OG Cody Douglas, WR C.J. Fayton, TE Jake Finlayson, PK Ryan Fusco, LB Omar Gaither, C Richie Gandy, DE Jason Hall, WR Chris Hannon, DE Parys Haralson, DT Jesse Mahelona, DS Bill Martin, DS Adam Miles, LB Jason Mitchell, LB Jon Poe, DB Lester Ransom, TE Justin Reed, TB Gerald Riggs Jr., TE Kevin Shipley, LB Kevin Simon, OT Albert Toeaina, OG Sam Wantland, FB Robert Williams and LB Nick Wilson.
INJURY REPORT (Vanderbilt Week): Probable -- OG Cody Douglas (knee), LB Omar Gaither (knee), DT Turk McBride (ankle); Questionable -- LB James Turner (hamstring); Doubtful -- DE Xavier Mitchell (shoulder); Out -- LB Jerod Mayo (knee), TB Ja'Kouri Williams (knee).
VOLS' RALLY FROM 25 DOWN NIPPED COMMODORES IN 1987
Headlines were made Sept. 26 when Tennessee rallied from a 21-point, third-quarter deficit for a 30-27 overtime win at LSU. But while the comeback was the Vols' largest second-half margin overcome to win a game, it didn't quite result in the best overall come from behind showing in school history.
That belongs to Tennessee's Nov. 28, 1987, triumph over Vanderbilt by a 38-36 count. The temperature at kickoff was a balmy 71 degrees, but it was the Commodores on fire from the start as Vandy raced to a 28-3 lead behind a wishbone attack less than 20 minutes into the game.
"I do remember throwing an interception that helped them get that lead," said then-UT quarterback Jeff Francis with a laugh. "We struggled a little offensively coming out of the box and they scored the first four times they had the ball."
The Vols sliced the deficit to 28-18 by halftime, took the lead for good in the third quarter and held on for what at the time was UT's fourth consecutive victory over the Commodores. Today, that winning streak stands at 22.
"We got our legs under us offensively, but Keith DeLong and our defense turned the tide of the game," Francis recalled. From his inside linebacker position, DeLong finished with 19 tackles -- or 12 more than any other Volunteer. "He was causing turnovers and making tackles; he was all over the field."
Several UT comebacks of note still seem to be hot topics of conversation -- the 1991 "Miracle at South Bend," Clint Sterner's 1998 stumble and this September's special edition of Monday Night Football, Baton Rouge-style.
Yet none can top what the Vols pulled off that Thanksgiving weekend 18 years ago. Just ask Vanderbilt.
`TOUCHDOWN FOR TURKEYS' SLATED FOR MONDAY DELIVERY
Several members of the Tennessee football team will travel to Second Harvest Food Bank Monday at 11:30 a.m. to deliver turkeys earned through the "Touchdown for Turkeys" project.
For the 2005 football season, UT and Second Harvest along with Food City, Butterball and Action Sports Media joined forces for "Touchdown for Turkeys." For each touchdown scored at a UT home football game, seven butterball turkeys have been donated to Second Harvest.
