Vols Race Past Indians, 48-27
September 22, 2007 | Football
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Erik Ainge threw for a career-high 334 yards and tied his top mark with four touchdowns in leading the Tennessee Volunteers to a commanding 48-27 win over the Arkansas State Indians in non-conference action from Neyland Stadium.
Ainge connected on 27-of-39 passing for the Volunteers (2-2) as they bounced back from a disappointing loss to Florida last weekend in Gainesville. LaMarcus Coker (101 yards) and Arian Foster (57 yards) both scored on the ground for the home team as well.
"I thought we played good," Ainge noted after the game. "With the exception of that turnover (interception for a touchdown), I thought we did a good job on offense. It wasn't perfect. Our biggest problem so far has been just giving teams things. We gave them seven more (points) tonight, but they earned everything else."
The Indians (1-2) were paced by Reggie Arnold who gained a game-high 130 yards and scored once on 16 carries for the visitors. Corey Leonard converted 18- of-35 for 199 yards and a touchdown, but he was sacked four times and was guilty of a pair of interceptions on the night.
In addition to a couple of turnovers the Indians also cost themselves field position with six penalties.
"I think we learned in a game like this that you can't beat yourself by having turnovers and penalties in critical situations," was how Arnold described the contest. "You have to go out there and execute and play near perfect football to beat a team like this."
Needing less than three minutes to put the first points on the board, Tennessee took a 7-0 advantage when Ainge hit Lucas Taylor with a 17-yard scoring strike.
Leonard responded for the visitors when he found Chris Miller with a six-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes later to knot the score at 7-7.
A 15-yard TD pass from Ainge to Chris Brown was followed by a 29-yard field goal by UT kicker Daniel Lincoln to give the Volunteers a 17-7 advantage after one period of play.
The lone interception thrown by Ainge came at the 9:13 mark of the second quarter, with Tyrell Johnson bringing it back 54 yards to cut the ASU deficit to 17-14.
Capping a 10-play, 80-yard drive later in the frame, Ainge and Coker combined for a 25-yard TD pass. Just over a minute later Foster found his way into the end zone for Tennessee on a five-yard scamper to make the score 31-14.
Before the end of the half the Indians maneuvered 30 yards down the field, enough to give Josh Arauco a shot at a 44-yard field goal, which made the score 31-17 at the break.
Arauco opened the third period scoring as well with a 37-yard field goal, but at the 6:26 mark of the frame Coker took the ball two yards into the end zone to extend the UT advantage to 38-20.
Just six seconds into the fourth the Indians scored their final points of the game on a one-yard TD run by Arnold.
The Vols then proceeded to use up the clock, but not before Ainge and Taylor combined for yet another touchdown, this one from 24 yards away, and Lincoln knocked through a 39-yard field goal to provide for the 21-point margin of victory.
Tennessee gained 523 total yards on the night, compared to 377 for the Indians in their first-ever meeting.
Ainge, who surpassed 6,000 yards passing for his career, now has 1,130 yards and 10 touchdowns, against just two interceptions, through four games this season.
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