University of Tennessee Athletics
South Carolina-Tennessee Post Game Notes
October 27, 2007 | Football
Noting Tennessee
- Tennessee improves to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the SEC. South Carolina falls to 6-3 and 3-3 in the SEC.
- The Vols entered the game receiving votes in both polls; South Carolina was ranked 15th by the Associated Press and 17th in the USA Today Coaches poll.
- Tennessee returns to action Nov. 3 when it hosts Louisiana-Lafayette. The homecoming game will begin at 4 p.m. ET and will not be televised.
- Today???s contest marked the 26th meeting between Tennessee and South Carolina. The Vols now lead the all-time series 21-3-2 (.846).
- UT now leads the series in Knoxville 13-1. The last four meetings in Neyland Stadium have been night games.
- The last three meetings between the two teams in Knoxville have been decided by a field goal or less. (2003, UT wins 23-20 in overtime; 2005, SC wins 16-15; 2007, UT wins 27-24 in overtime.)
- Today marked the 13th all-time head-to-head meeting between UT head coach Phillip Fulmer and South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, with Spurrier holding an 8-5 edge. This was their third meeting with Spurrier guiding the Gamecocks, Fulmer has won two of the three matchups.
- Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer???s record now stands at 142-44 (.763) in 16 seasons with the Vols.
- Fulmer owns an 90-29 regular-season record against SEC opponents.
- Senior quarterback Erik Ainge finished the game 26-of-44 for 216 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
- Ainge???s first eight completions went to eight different receivers. For the game, Ainge connected with ten different Vols.
- Junior wide receiver Josh Briscoe caught his second touchdown pass of the season in the second quarter. The North Carolina native finished with 4 receptions for 48 yards.
- With a 3-yard reception today in the first quarter, senior tight end Chris Brown extended his streak of games with at least one catch to 11. That is the second-longest streak by a Vols tight end during the Fulmer era (1992-present). Current Dallas Cowboys All-Pro tight end Jason Witten caught a pass in 17 consecutive games from 2001-02. Brown finished with five receptions for 19 yards.
- Foster rushed 19 times for 75 yards and one touchdown. The junior running back is now in 13th place on Tennessee???s career rushing list with 1,901 yards.
- Junior tailback Arian Foster scored the opening touchdown of the game with a one-yard plunge in the first quarter. The San Diego native has scored the Vols first touchdown in four of seven games this season.
- Foster???s 10-yard rush in the second quarter moved him into 15th place on Tennessee???s career rushing list passing Andy Kozar (1,850; 1950-52) with 1,850. Foster also passed Beattie Feathers (1,888; 1931-33) and Gerald Riggs Jr. (1,893; 2002-05).
- Tennessee allowed its first quarterback sack in the fourth quarter since the second game of the season and has allowed just three on the year. The Vols lead the FBS in sacks allowed.
- Starting quarterback Erik Ainge has been sacked just twice this year in 300 pass attempts.
- The Vols average one sack allowed for every 102.7 pass attempt this season.
- Sophomore running back LaMarcus Coker returned three kickoffs for 99 yards tonight. The Antioch native has now returned 21 kicks this season for 560 yards. The 560 yards is ninth on UT???s single season return yardage chart.
- Coker has 30 kickoff returns for 740 yards for his career. The 740 yards puts him in ninth place in career return yardage.
- The Vols had six different players record double-digit tackles.
- Sophomore linebacker Rico McCoy had 14 tackles to lead the Vols and go over 100 tackles for his career.
- Freshman safety Eric Berry (12), junior cornerback DeAngelo Willingham (10) and senior linebacker Ryan Karl (12) also posted career-highs in tackles today. The other Vols in double-figures were junior linebacker Jerod Mayo (11) and senior safety Jonathan Hefney (11).
- Junior linebacker Jerod Mayo stopped South Carolina???s first drive of the game when he sacked Gamecock quarterback Chris Smelley for his first sack of the season and first since last season???s Alabama game.
- Willingham forced the first fumble of his career on South Carolina???s third drive. Berry picked up the fumble and returned it 52 yards to the South Carolina 4-yard line, helping set-up Tennessee???s first touchdown.
- Willingham forced his second fumble of the game stopping a Gamecocks fourth quarter drive. The South Carolina native is the first Vol since Parys Haralson (vs. Kentucky in 2005) to force two fumbles.
- Berry intercepted a Chris Smelley pass on SC???s fourth drive and returned it 13 yards. Berry has two interceptions on the season, his first he returned 96 yards for a touchdown at Florida.
- South Carolina did not put points on the board until the 5:41 mark of the third quarter. That is the longest UT has held an opponent without a score this season. Georgia scored with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter.
- Tennessee???s four forced turnovers was a season-high. The Vols also had a season-high 10 TFLs (previous-high 7 vs. Arkansas State) Dan Williams led the team with three TFLs.
- Today???s attendance was 105,962. The Vols have now played 74 consecutive games at Neyland Stadium in front of more than 100,000.
- Tennessee???s game captains today were seniors Erik Ainge, Chris Brown, Xavier Mitchell and South Carolina natives Jonathan Hefney and Eric Young. Inky Johnson, missing the season due to injury, was also a captain.
- In Tennessee???s last two SEC home games the Vols have outscored its opponents 49-0 in the first half.. UT led Georgia 28-0 at the half and led tonight 21-0 at halftime.
- Freshman kicker Daniel Lincoln???s 48-yard field goal to send the game to overtime was a career-long.
- South Carolina wide receiver Kenny McKinley had 14 receptions one short of a UT opponent record. (15; Eric Moulds, Mississippi State 1995)
Wednesday, May 27
Saturday, April 11
Saturday, April 11
Saturday, April 11
