University of Tennessee Athletics
FLASHBACK: Vols Win 1st Game With Ark St.
September 06, 2014 | Football
Tennessee 48, Arkansas State 27 - September 22, 2007
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
Erik Ainge had many stellar nights in Neyland Stadium during his Tennessee career. On pure numbers, his effort against Arkansas State was his finest.
Ainge threw for a then-career-high 344 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-27 win over ASU in front of the largest crowd to ever witness an Arkansas State football game. Ainge was 27-39 passing including a late TD pass to Lucas Taylor that helped put the game finally out of reach against a scrappy ASU team that refused to go away.
"It was an important football game," head coach Phillip Fulmer said. "It was important to get a win and bounce back. I really want to give a special thank you to the fans. They were incredible on the Vol Walk and in the stadium tonight, and they were a great encouragement to our football team."
Taylor caught the first Ainge touchdown of the game just three minutes in, a 17-yard strike to give Tennessee the 7-0 lead. It marked the first time in four games that the Volunteers scored the opening points after initially falling behind California, Southern Miss and Florida.
Ainge answered a game-tying ASU touchdown pass from Corey Leonard to Chris Miller with a 15-yard strike to Chris Brown to go back up 14-7. A Daniel Lincoln field goal upped the lead to 17-7 at the end of the first quarter.
It wasn't all roses for Ainge, however. On Tennessee's next drive, Tyrell Johnson intercepted an Ainge pass and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown that pulled ASU within 17-14.
"I thought we played good," Ainge said. "With the exception of that turnover, 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 tonight, but they earned everything else."
The Vols thought they had put the game away in the second quarter with the third Ainge TD, this one to LaMarcus Coker, and an Arian Foster run to extend the lead to 31-14 with a minute left in the opening half. But Arkansas St. put together a quick drive for a Josh Arauco field goal on the final play of the half to cut the lead back to 31-17.
ASU drove down the field on the opening possession of the third quarter for another Arauco FG, and the teams traded touchdowns to again cut the Volunteer lead to 11 at 38-27.
An efficient five play, 57-yard drive capped by Taylor's 24 reception from Ainge put the game out of reach with 13:37 to go. Lincoln added a field goal on the next possession for the final 48-27 score.
Ainge would break his own career passing mark later in 2007 with an eye-popping 397 yards and seven touchdown passes in a 4OT win at Kentucky. His senior season would be his best at UT, completing 325 of 519 passes for 31 touchdowns in leading the Vols to the SEC Eastern Division Championship and a win over Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.
