University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Focus on VU, Understand the Stakes
November 11, 2007 | Football
Tennessee cleared the first of its three November SEC hurdles with Saturday???s comfortable win over Arkansas.
Knowing that, UT head coach Phillip Fulmer meant for Sunday???s team meeting and brief workout inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center to serve as a refocus. An eyes-on-the-prize session, if you will.
???I told them you can be smart or you can be stupid; you can be mature or you can be immature,??? Fulmer said. ???It???s very important that we are smart and we are mature in how we approach this. They have been a pretty good listening football team for most of the year.???
Tennessee understands loud and clear what a win this Saturday over Vanderbilt means. It???s been a playoff-type atmosphere in the complex since October???s loss at Alabama and so far, Tennessee keeps surviving and advancing toward the SEC Eastern Division championship and a trip to Atlanta.
???We are playing solid, tough, sound football now,??? Fulmer said. ???I think they understand and can see the difference, even though there is still some youth out there and everyday???s a challenge, everyday???s a thrill. Even in the game Saturday, there were things that didn???t hurt us but certainly could have.???
Wins Saturday night by Georgia and Florida also did no damage to the Vols, who remain the only SEC East team in control of its destiny. Fulmer and crew know that victories over Vanderbilt on Senior Day and the following week at Kentucky are the necessary ingredients.
???I think the leadership on this football team understands all that???s at stake and they will see that things get in line,??? the coach said.
InSIDe the Vols
- Linebacker Jerod Mayo???s interception and 34-yard return for a touchdown was Tennessee???s third such runback for six points this season. That???s the most interception returns for a score since the 1990 Vols had four.
- Freshman sensation Eric Berry snapped a 37-year-old Tennessee record during Saturday???s win. Berry now has four interceptions this season for 207 return yards, breaking the old mark of 177 yards set by Bobby Majors in 1970. And Majors accomplished his feat with 10 interceptions. Berry???s return total already stands third in SEC history behind only Joe Brodsky of Florida, who had five interceptions for 244 yards in 1956, and Greg Jackson of LSU, who had seven interceptions for 219 yards in 1988. Berry finished with 98 yards on his two Saturday picks.
- Another first-year player, Daniel Lincoln, etched his name into the UT records book with his 18th made field goal of the season. Lincoln was 2-of-3 against the Razorbacks, raising his season total to 18-of-21 and breaking the school freshman record of 17 set by James Wilhoit in 2003. Lincoln???s total stands sixth on the UT season mark for all players and, amazingly enough, he already is in a tie for 11th on Tennessee???s career list. In addition, Lincoln???s 95 points tie Jeff Hall (1995) for best kick-scoring total by a UT freshman and trail only Reggie Cobb???s 120 points scored in 1987 on the Big Orange freshman charts.
- Tailback Arian Foster is on the cusp of cracking Tennessee???s top-10 career rushing chart. Foster stands at 2,084 yards, just six away from moving past Charlie Garner (1992-93) into 10th on the list. Foster also now has 22 career rushing touchdowns. His 12 this season are the most by a Vols tailback since Jay Graham had a dozen back in 1995. One more TD on the ground and Foster will have the most at Tennessee since Tony Thompson finished with 16 in 1990.
- Tennessee leads the SEC in kickoff returns and is seventh nationally with a 25.1-yard average. Saturday, the freshman duo of Dennis Rogan (78-yarder) and Lennon Creer (32-yarder) made the most of UT???s only two opportunities.
- UT???s win over Arkansas lifted the Vols to 2-1 against the SEC Western Division this season and continued Tennessee???s mastery during interdivision play. The Vols are 34-13-1 (.719) versus the West for the top mark of any league school against their cross-division rivals. Georgia won all three this season to improve to 32-15-1 (.677), second-best on the list, while third-place Florida was 1-2 to fall to 31-17 (.646). Top team from the West is Auburn, which finished 2-1 against the East to improve to 30-17-1 (.635). Since expansion in 1992, the Western Division holds a 147-136-3 advantage (.516) over the Eastern Division.
