TENNESSEE POSTGAME NOTES

Nov. 11, 2006

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Noting Tennessee

Tennessee fell to 7-3 (3-3 SEC); Arkansas improved to 9-1 (6-0 SEC).
The Vols entered the game ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the USA Today rankings; Arkansas was ranked No. 11 in both polls.
Tennessee returns to action Nov. 18 when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt for the 100th time. Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m. CT, and the game will be televised regionally on the Lincoln Financial Network. Arkansas travels to Mississippi State.

Tennessee-Arkansas Series

Tennessee leads the all-time series vs. Arkansas 12-3 (.800) dating to 1907. That record includes a 2-2 (.500) mark for the Vols in Fayetteville and a 5-2 (.714) record against the Razorbacks in the state of Arkansas.
Today's contest marked the sixth meeting between UT head coach Phillip Fulmer and Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt, with Fulmer boasting a 4-2 advantage.

Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer's record now stands at 135-40 (.771) in 15 seasons with the Vols. Today's game was Fulmer's 175th contest as UT's head coach.
Fulmer now owns a 9-2 record against Arkansas, an 87-29 mark against SEC teams, and a 34-12 record against the SEC Western Division.

Crompton Makes First Career Start

Redshirt freshman quarterback Jonathan Crompton made his first career start for the Vols.
Crompton completed 16 of 34 passes for 174 yards two touchdowns and one interception. His second-quarter touchdown pass to Robert Meachem was his third career scoring strike, and all three to that point had been to Meachem.
Crompton added a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to senior wideout Bret Smith.

Meachem Becomes Fourth Vol Ever to Log 1,000 Receiving Yards in a Season

With his first catch tonight (11 yards), junior wide receiver Robert Meachem -- a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist and All-America candidate -- became the fourth Vol ever to record 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. Three former Vol wideouts (Marcus Nash in 1997, Joey Kent in 1995 and 1996 and Kelley Washington in 2001) have pulled off the feat four times.
Meachem needed just 51 catches this season to reach (exactly) 1,000 yards.
Meachem's second catch of the day was a 27-yard touchdown from Jonathan Crompton. It was Meachem's ninth touchdown this season and the 15th of his career.
Meachem is the only Vol with a catch in every game this season.

Smith Reaches 1,000 Career Receiving Yards in Home State

Senior wide receiver Bret Smith -- a native of Warren, Ark., caught a 39-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown pass that put him over the 1,000-yard receiving mark for his career. The touchdown was the 14th of his career and his fifth this season.
Smith finished the day with four catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Hardesty, Coker Split Carries at Tailback

Redshirt freshman tailback LaMarcus Coker played tonight after missing the previous two games with a knee injury suffered against Alabama Oct. 21. Coker rushed nine times for 51 yards.
Redshirt freshman tailback Montario Hardesty made his third career start tonight, finishing with 52 yards on 12 carries.

Noting the Defense

Junior free safety Jonathan Hefney reached a career milestone tonight, logging his 200th career tackle with his first stop of the game. Hefney entered the game ranked seventh in the SEC with 7.7 tackles per game this year.
Hefney recovered a fumble on Arkansas' first possession of the third quarter. Redshirt freshman defensive tackle forced the fumble by UA running back Darren McFadden. It was Bolden's first career forced fumble and Hefney's first career recovery.
After allowing opponent scores in each of their first 13 trips inside the orange zone this season, Tennessee has come up with an orange-zone stop in each of the last three games. The Vols had orange-zone interceptions against South Carolina and LSU before coming up with a fumble recovery tonight.
Senior defensive tackle Turk McBride led the Vols with nine tackles tonight (tied with Hefney and Marvin Mitchell) and reached the 100-career tackle milstone. McBride also forced a fumble tonight that was recovered by Arkansas. It was his third career forced fumble and his first this season.

Miscellaneous Notes

Tonight's attendance was 76,728. The crowd was a Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium record, breaking the mark of 76,564 set earlier this season when the Razorbacks hosted Southern California Sept. 2.
Tennessee's game captains tonight were seniors Turk McBride, Marvin Mitchell, Arron Sears, Bret Smith and James Wilhoit.
Senior placekicker James Wilhoit tallied two points tonight and remains the SEC's second active career scoring leader with 301 points (Auburn's John Vaughn scored one point today vs. Georgia and now has 305 career points).
Wilhoit is just the fourth Vol ever to record 300 career points, and he ranks fourth on UT's all-time career scoring chart.
This was the 17th Tennessee game for which ESPN College Gameday was on site. The Vols are 7-10 with the Gameday crew in town, including a 5-5 mark away from Knoxville.

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