University of Tennessee Athletics
UT-ASU Postgame Notes
September 22, 2007 | Football
Noting Tennessee
Tennessee improves to 2-2. Arkansas State falls to 1-2.
The Vols and Arkansas State entered the game unranked in both polls.
Tennessee returns to action Oct. 6 when it hosts Georgia at Neyland Stadium. Kickoff time and television have yet to be announced.
Tennessee-Arkansas State Series
Today???s contest marked the first meeting between UT and Arkansas State.
The Vols now own a 4-0 mark against teams from the Sun Belt Conference.
Phillip Fulmer???s Record
Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer???s record now stands at 139-43 (.764) in 16 seasons with the Vols.
Fulmer owns a 50-13 record against Non-Conference opponents.
Ainge Has Career Night; Eclipses 6,000 Yard Career-Passing Mark and Sets New Career-High For Passing Yards In A Game
Senior quarterback Erik Ainge finished the game 27-of-39 for 334 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. The 334 passing yards sets a new career-high and the four touchdown passes ties his career-high.
This marks the fourth time Ainge has passed for over 300 yards in his career and his third four-touchdown game of his career.
Ainge???s 25-yard touchdown pass to LaMarcus Coker in the second quarter marked Ainge???s 50th career touchdown pass.
Ainge???s second-quarter interception was the 27th of his career and the third returned for a touchdown. In addition to Tyrell Johnson???s 54-yard touchdown tonight, Bryan Brown returned an interception 34 yards on Oct. 16, 2004 and Tom Zbikowski of Notre Dame ran an interception 33 yards for a touchdown on Nov. 5, 2005.
Ainge threw for 267 yards in the first half, almost matching his season-best output for a game this season of 276
yards against Southern Mississippi.
Noting the Offense
Lucas Taylor caught his first career touchdown pass on UT???s opening drive of the game on a 17-yard strike from Ainge. Taylor caught all three of UT???s passes for 45 yards on the first drive of the game. The junior finished with seven receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor has now had over 100 yards receiving in both of UT???s home games this season. Taylor now has 24 receptions this season for 382 yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore running back LaMarcus Coker had 15 carries for 101 yards and one touchdown. He also had two receptions for 49 yards and one touchdown. This is Coker???s
first 100-yard rushing game since rushing for 126 yards at Vanderbilt last season.
Tennessee???s second drive of the game went 89 yards for a touchdown. It is the longest drive for UT this season.
The Vols had 12 first downs in the first quarter after only having 14 the entire game against Florida. UT finished with 30 first downs which is the most since they had 34 against Kentucky in 2004.
Tight End Chris Brown???s touchdown catch at the 6:29 mark of the first quarter was his team-high fourth of the season and the sixth of his career.
Wide receiver Kenny O???Neal and tight end Luke Stocker caught their first career passes in the fourth quarter.
Kicker Lincoln Sets Mark For Best Career Start
Freshman Daniel Lincoln???s 29-yard field goal in the first quarter improved him to a perfect 7-for-7 on field-goal attempts this season. The seven consecutive makes to start his career is the best start in UT history. The previous bests of 6-for-6 were done by Ricky Townsend in 1972 and Carlos Reveiz in 1985.
Lincoln added a 39-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to improve to 8-for-8. The freshman from Ocala, Fla., has been flawless on all his kick attempts this year, going 16-for-16 on extra-point tries as well.
Noting the Defense
Robert Ayres recorded two sacks in the first half to give him three on the season. He leads the team in sacks. The junior from South Carolina led the team in tackles Saturday night with six which is a career-high.
Sophomore linebacker Dorian Davis and freshman linebacker Nevin McKenzie set new career-highs with five tackles apiece.
Brent Vinson recorded his first career interception in the second quarter. The freshman played his second game on defense after coming to Tennessee as a wide receiver.
The Virginia native finished with four tackles.
Sophomore defensive back Marsalous Johnson had his first career interception in the third quarter.
Junior linebacker Ellix Wilson recorded his first career sack in the fourth quarter. Wilson finished with four tackles.
Senior defensive tackle J.T. Mapu forced and recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.
Miscellaneous Notes
Today???s attendance was 102,368. The Vols have now played 72 consecutive games at Neyland Stadium in front of more than 100,000.
Today???s game was the first September game since Sept. 2, 1989 (vs. Colorado State) where neither UT or its opponent was ranked (65 games).
Tennessee???s game captains today were seniors Erik Ainge, Chris Brown, Xavier Mitchell and Eric Young and junior Jerod Mayo.
Junior cornerback DeAngelo Willingham made his first career start. He finished with one tackle and one pass breakup.
Freshman linebacker Savion Frazier and sophomore offensive lineman Cody Sullins saw their first action of the season.
Tennessee???s 31 first-half points are the most in a half by the Vols since scoring 37 points in the second half during their comeback victory at Georgia on Oct. 7, 2006. It is the most points UT has had at halftime since the Vols had a 41-0 lead over Vanderbilt on Nov. 22, 2003
Tennessee???s 48 points are the most scored in a home game since a 59-21 win over Mississippi State on Nov. 15, 2003.
