University of Tennessee Athletics
Game Preview: UT vs. Alabama
October 15, 2007 | Football
Tennessee-Alabama Series History/Notes
Tennessee trails the all-time series with Alabama 44-38-7, dating to 1901. The two teams have played every season since 1944, and the Vols have won eight of their last 10 games against the Crimson Tide.
UT head coach Phillip Fulmer boasts an 11-3 career mark against Alabama, including a 3-1 record in Tuscaloosa.
Last year in Knoxville, the Vols rebounded from a rough first half to score 10 points in the fourth quarter and pull out a 16-13 win. The Big Orange fell by a score of 6-3 in their last trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium (Oct. 22, 2005).
Alabama is coached by Nick Saban, who is 5-2 in his first season in Tuscaloosa. Saban has a 2-1 career record against Tennessee from his tenure at LSU from 2000-04. Saban is 53-18 as a head coach in the SEC.
Three players on Tennessee???s 2007 roster???Wes Brown (Athens), Stephen Dorning (Florence) and Emmanuel Allen (Muscle Shoals)???hail from the state of Alabama. Tennessee assistant head coach/offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe is from Birmingham, Ala., and graduated from the University of Alabama in 1976. Condredge Holloway, UT???s assistant AD for player relations is a native of Huntsville, Ala.
Ainge Virtually Unscathed Thanks To O-Line Play
Tennessee???s offensive line has allowed just two sacks this season, both of which have come in separate road games.
With the Vols having attempted 228 passes, that means UT opponents are averaging one sack in every 114 attempts.
The Big Orange lead the nation (FBS) in sacks allowed, giving up a third of a sack per game (0.33). And interestingly, only four of Tennessee???s remaining opponents currently rank among the top 75 nationally in sacks; Kentucky ranks 44th with 2.29 sacks per game; Vanderbilt ranks 47th with 2.17 sacks per game; and Alabama and South Carolina are tied for 55th nationally with 2.0 sacks per game.
The Vols??? outstanding pass protection???a credit to offensive line coach Greg Adkins and the depth of his unit???has given quarterback Erik Ainge plenty of time to make good decisions when throwing the football. Ainge has thrown just three interceptions in 221 attempts this year. For his career, Ainge is averaging one interception every 32.6 pass attempts.
Ainge has amazingly attempted 218 straight passes without being sacked.
Lucas Taylor Enjoying Breakout Season
Tennessee wideout Lucas Taylor leads the Southeastern Conference and is 12th natinoally (FBS) with an average of 103.0 receiving yards per game midway through the season.
The Carencro, La., native has left defensive backs in the dust as he has caught 41 passes for 618 yards and three touchdowns in the first six games of the season. He has at least five receptions in every game and has eclipsed the century mark in receiving yardage four times. Taylor averages nearly 15 more receiving yards per game than the closest man in the SEC.
Taylor???s 11-catch, 186-yard performance against Mississippi State last Saturday marked the most receptions by a Vol in a game since 2001 and the most yards in a game since 2002. UT has had 22 passing plays of 20 yards or longer this season, and Taylor is accountable for half of those plays???more than half, incidentally, when you consider the former high school quarterback also threw a 56-yard touchdown pass against Georgia on Oct. 6.
With six games remaining in the regular season, if Taylor remains on his current pace, he will finish with 82 receptions for 1,236 yards???numbers that would break UT???s single-season receptions mark (76 by Marcus Nash in 1997) and place him second in school annals in terms of single-season receiving yardage (1,298 yards by Robert Meachem in 2006).
Vols Seeking Another Four-Game Win Streak Under Fulmer
Tennessee has put together win streaks of at least four straight games in 12 of head coach Phillip Fulmer???s 14 full seasons. A win over the Crimson Tide on Saturday would give Fulmer a 13th season with such a streak.
The only years in which the Vols under their native son have not managed to author a four-game win streak were 2002 and 2005.
In 1992, Fulmer was only credited with the first three games of the season and the postseason bowl game, but all four of those contests were Volunteer victories.
Ainge Tied For 19th On SEC's Career TD Passes List
Senior quarterback Erik Ainge is on track to hold a prominent place on the SEC???s all-time chart for career touchdown passes.
Ainge is tied with former Auburn signal caller Pat Sullivan for 19th place in SEC history with 53.
Ainge joins a pair of former Volunteers on the SEC???s top-20 list. Peyton Manning (1994-97) ranks second in SEC history with 89 touchdown passes, and Casey Clausen (2000-03) ranks seventh with 75.
2005 Wide Receivers Signees Coming of Age
Tennessee wideouts Josh Briscoe, Austin Rogers and Lucas Taylor were all members of UT???s 2005 signing class. Their collective impact on the Vols??? offense had been minimal prior to this season, but they have been clutch thus far in 2007.
- All three players have already set new career-highs for catches and yards.
- Taylor has 41 catches for 618 yards and three touchdowns this season. The Carencro, La., native is currently leading the SEC with 103.0 receiving yards per game and is second in the SEC averaging 6.8 receptions per game.
- Rogers has 28 catches for 340 yards and one touchdown this season. The Nashville, Tenn., native is 10th in the SEC with 56.7 receiving yards per game and seventh in the SEC with 4.7 receptions per game.
- Briscoe has 28 catches for 207 yards and one touchdown this season. The Shelby, N.C., native is seventh in the SEC with 4.7 receptions per game.
Through six games, this year???s trio can be compared favorably to last season???s top three receivers of Robert Meachem, Jayson Swain and Bret Smith. At this point last season, the 2006 receivers had accounted for 76 catches for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns. This year, Taylor, Rogers and Briscoe have accounted for 97 catches for 1,165 yards and five touchdowns.
Defense Stepping Up In SEC Play
In Tennessee???s last two SEC games, the defense has made great improvements defending both the run and the pass.
After allowing an average of 188 yards per game and seven touchdowns on the ground through the first four games, Tennessee has held SEC foes Georgia and Mississippi State to 69 and 135 yards on the ground, respectively, and just one touchdown.
After surrendering 89 yards and a score on the ground in the first half at Mississippi State, Tennessee adjusted and held the Bulldogs to just 36 yards rushing in the second half.
The Vols allowed an average of 250 yards through the air in their first four games, but have dropped that number down to 188 in their last two contests.
Big plays (20 or more yards) have also decreased in the last two games. Tennessee gave up 24 big plays for an average of 34.5 yards per play in its first four games. In the last two games, the Vols have given up just five big plays for an average of 25.6 yards.
Foster Climbing UT's All-Time Rushing List
Junior tailback Arian Foster???s 139-yard performance against Mississippi State last weekend propelled him into the top 20 on UT???s all-time rushing list.
He currently ranks 17th in school history with 1,735 career rushing yards and needs just 355 yards to break into Tennessee???s all time top 10.
Foster is on pace to net 1,068 rushing yards this season. That would give him the 12th-best single-season total in school history.
And should his career average of 62.0 rushing yards hold steady throughout his career, Foster could make a serious run at Travis Henry???s school record of 3,078 career yards (1997-2000).
Mayo Honored This Week For Community Service
Junior linebacker Jerod Mayo is this week???s SEC Community Service Team Player of the Week. The Hampton, Va., native has logged more than 150 community service hours during his career at Tennessee, beginning with his freshman campaign.
The list of his participation not only includes a number of local hospitals and schools, but also reaches Habitat for Humanity as well as the Second Harvest Food Bank. He also volunteered considerable time for the East Tennessee Children???s Miracle Network telethon this past January.
