2015 TaxSlayer Bowl Halftime Notes

Jan. 2, 2015

2015_TaxSlayer_Bowl_Halftime 

HALFTIME NOTES

TENNESSEE TIDBITS & BOWL RECORDS

At the half, Tennessee leads Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl by a score of 35-7.
With a won coin toss to Iowa, the Vols chose to defer to the second half.
In its 118th season of football, UT's all-time bowl record stands at 25-24.
With 50 total bowl game appearances, Tennessee is tied for the fourth-most bowl appearances in college football history.
With a score of 35-7, the Vols have recorded their most points in the first half of a bowl game since 1994, when Tennessee led Virginia Tech, 35-10, in the Gator Bowl (Gainesville, Fla.).
On the season, the Vols have had four different players through touchdown passes: #11 Joshua Dobbs, #13 Patrick Ashford, #14 Justin Worley and #15 Marlin Lane. It marks the first time for UT to have four players throw touchdown passes since 1994, with a combination of Peyton Manning, Brandon Stewart, Todd Helton and James Stewart.
Through the first half, Tennessee scored in the first four drive for the first time since the 2013 season opener against Austin Peay, when the team scored on its first seven drives.

TENNESSEE CAPTAINS

#11 Joshua Dobbs, #54 Jordan Williams and #56 Curt Maggitt represented the Vols for the pregame coin toss.
NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. assisted with the pregame coin toss.

VOLS VS. HAWKEYES ALL-TIME

The TaxSlayer Bowl represents the third all-time meeting between Tennessee and Iowa, with the teams splitting the first two meetings. The Vols won the last meeting in the 1987 Kickoff Classic, a 23-22 win. The Hawkeyes won the inaugural meeting in the 1982 Peach Bowl, a 28-22 decision.

FOR STARTERS

Tennessee started five true freshmen against Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl: #1 Jalen Hurd (TB), #4 Vic Wharton (WR), #9 Derek Barnett (DE), #73 Jashon Robertson (RG) and #82 Ethan Wolf (TE).
On the year, Tennessee has started at least three true freshmen in every game, with the freshman class having accumulated 60 total starts this season.
#51 Kenny Bynum started at middle linebacker for UT against Iowa, marking his first career start with the Vols.

OFFENSE

Through the first half, Tennessee scored in the first four drives for the first time since the 2013 season opener against Austin Peay, when the team scored on its first seven drives.
#11 Joshua Dobbs was 11-of-12 with 81 yards passing and one touchdown in the first half. The starting quarterback also recorded 51 rushing yards on five attempts and one rushing touchdown.
#1 Jalen Hurd rushed for 97 yards with two touchdowns on 10 attempts in the first half, establishing his first career multi-touchdown game for Tennessee.
Senior #19 Devrin Young returned to action for the first time since Oct. 11 vs. Chattanooga, rushing for 13 yards on two carries in the first half.  #9 Von Pearson led the Vols' receiver core through the first half with six catches for 59 yards with one touchdown reception. His six catches mark a career high.

HOW THEY SCORED

Freshman running back #1 Jalen Hurd rushed for a three-yard touchdown on Tennessee's first possession of the game, putting the Vols on the board first in the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl.
Hurd ran for a 29-yard touchdown on UT's second possession of the game, marking his first career multi-touchdown game. His two rushing TDs also mark the first time for a UT player to record multiple touchdowns in a bowl game since Casey Clausen had three rushing TDs in 2002.
#15 Marlin Lane threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to freshman #4 Vic Wharton. The pass marked a first career touchdown reception for Wharton, as well as a first career touchdown pass for the senior Lane.
#11 Joshua Dobbs ran for an eight-yard touchdown to start the second quarter for the Vols, putting Tennessee ahead, 27-0.
With less than two minutes left in the half, Dobbs completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to #9 Von Pearson, extending the Vols' first-half lead to 34-7.
#25 Aaron Medley made his five PATs in the first half. On the season, the true freshman kicker is 41-of-42 in PATs for UT.

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

Tennessee's defense put up a big stop in the first quarter, forcing an Iowa turnover on downs to receive the ball on the 33-yard line, marking the Vols' second possession of the game.
#34 Jalen Reeves-Maybin lead the Vols through the first half, with seven total tackles.
Through the first half, UT held Iowa to 2-of-7 on third down conversions.

SPECIAL TEAMS

#43 Matt Darr punted one time for 35 yards in the first half. On the season, Darr has 29 punts inside the 20-yard line and 21 punts of 50 or more yards.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Originally ruled Iowa's ball at the three-yard line following an out-of-bonds spot, the play was reviewed and ruled an illegal forward pass resulting in a penalty of half the distance to the goal for Iowa.
Originally ruled an Iowa touchdown in the second quarter, the ruling on the field was confirmed following review.

VOLS TRENDING

The Vols were trending worldwide on Twitter with the following topics: "Jalen Hurd", "Touchdown Vols", "Brian Randolph" and "Vic Wharton".
 The Vols were trending nationally on Twitter with the topics: "Pig Howard", "Dobbs", "#IowaVsTenn", "#TennVsIowa", "Josh Dobbs", "Justin Coleman", "TouchdownTennessee", "Hurd" and "Marlin Lane".

University of Tennessee Athletics