UT at SC Halftime Notes

Nov. 1, 2014

HALFTIME NOTES

TENNESSEE TIDBITS

At the half, Tennessee leads South Carolina, 21-14, at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Teams coached by Butch Jones are 47-3 all-time when leading at the half.
With a lost coin toss against South Carolina, the Vols have now lost 14 of their last 15 flips.
Tonight's attendance: 81,891

TENNESSEE CAPTAINS

#11 Joshua Dobbs, #45 A.J. Johnson and #56 Curt Maggitt represented the Vols for the pregame coin toss.

DOBBS UNDER CENTER

#11 Joshua Dobbs made his first start for the Vols since Nov. 30, 2013 at Kentucky, when he ran for his first career touchdown (40 yards) to establish the longest rushing touchdown by a Vol quarterback since Alan Cockrell in 1983.
In the first half, Dobbs completed 14-of-22 pass attempts for 198 yards.
Dobbs rushed for a team-leading 93 yards in the first half, including two touchdown rushes. Dobbs became the second Tennessee quarterback to rush for two touchdowns in a game this season (also, #14 Justin Worley vs. Chattanooga on Oct. 11)..

FOR STARTERS

#65 Jacob Gilliam made his second consecutive start tonight against the Gamecocks at right tackle. The start marked his third of the year and second since suffering an injury in the Vols season opener against Utah State (Aug. 31).
#3 Josh Malone started at wide receiver in place of #2 Pig Howard.
#77 Kyler Kerbyson started at left tackle, making his sixth start of the season, while #75 Marcus Jackson returned to starting left guard.

OFFENSE

#11 Joshua Dobbs connected with wide receiver #9 Von Pearson for a 42-yard pass completion, one yard shy of a career-long pass for Dobbs (43 yards on Nov. 30, 2013 at Kentucky). The pass marked the second-longest completion for Pearson and the Vols this the season (also, 56 yard catch from #14 Justin Worley against Arkansas State on Sept. 6).
Dobbs connected with #48 Alex Ellis for a 24-yard pass in the second quarter, putting UT on South Carolina's 43-yard line..

HOW THEY SCORED

#2 Pig Howard ran for a one yard touchdown on an executed reverse play in the first quarter. The touchdown marked Howard's third of the season and his second rushing touchdown this year (also, vs. Utah State on Aug. 31).
#11 Joshua Dobbs ran for a seven-yard touchdown in the second quarter, putting UT ahead 13-7. The touchdown was Dobbs' second career rushing touchdown (also, Nov. 30, 2013 at Kentucky).
Dobbs ran for a 36-yard touchdown with less than one minute left in the first half, his longest rushing touchdown of the season and longest since he ran for a 40-yard touchdown on Nov. 30, 2013 at Kentucky.
#25 Aaron Medley made his three PATs in the first half. On the season, Medley is now 24-of-24 for PATs.

JOHNSON FOR THE RECORD

With four tackles in the first half, #45 A.J. Johnson passed Jamie Rotella's 413 mark (1970-72) and moved into second place on the all-time total tackles list for Tennessee with 414.
Johnson's 200 career assisted tackles are the most all-time by a Volunteer, while his 76 assisted tackles so far this season rank third-best all-time for Tennessee. .

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

At the half, #37 Brian Randolph leads the Vols defense with ten total tackles, establishing his fifth-career double-digit tackle game and second of the season (also, 13 vs. Florida on Oct. 4.
The Vols defense held the Gamecocks to 31 offensive yards on their first possession of the game, including two PBUs credited to #54 Jordan Williams and #27 Justin Coleman.
#27 Justin Coleman intercepted South Carolina quarterback #17 Dylan Thompson's pass in the first quarter for a return of five yards. The pick marked Coleman's second of the season and the third of his career.
#9 Derek Barnett recorded his fifth sack of the season, 12th rackle for loss, on South Carolina quarterback #17 Dylan Thompson in the second quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS

#43 Matt Darr punted twice in the first half. On the season, Darr has 20 punts inside the 20-yard line and 11 punts of 50-plus yards in his last five games.

ODDS AND ENDS

UT donned all white uniforms against an all-black uniformed South Carolina team. The Vols look to snap an eight-game losing streak in all white uniforms "Stormtroopers," dating to the 2009 road finale at Kentucky on Nov. 28, 2009.
The Gamecocks are currently on a five-game losing streak when wearing black jerseys.

VOLS TRENDING

The Vols were trending nationally on Twitter with the topics: "Pig Howard", "Darr" and "Justin Coleman".

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Originally ruled a fumble in the end zone by #11 Joshua Dobbs resulting in a touchback for South Carolina, the ruling on the field was reversed to give UT third down.

University of Tennessee Athletics