University of Tennessee Athletics
FOOTBALL CENTRAL: Tennessee vs. North Texas
November 10, 2015 | Football
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee will host its 92nd Homecoming Game on Saturday against North Texas. Kickoff is slated for noon ET on SEC Network.
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Gameday Times & Broadcast Info
- Opponent: North Texas Mean Green
- Kickoff: Noon ET
- TV: SEC Network
- Radio: Vol Network
- Online: Live Audio , Live Stats
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Tennessee
Roster Schedule Stats Game Notes
North Texas
Roster Schedule Stats Game Notes
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Saturday's SEC Network broadcast will feature Dave Neal and Matt Stinchcomb in the booth and Kayce Smith reporting from the sidelines. Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate with Bob Kesling, Tim Priest and Brent Hubbs in the booth and John Brice on the sidelines. Satellite radio listeners can also tune in to Sirius Channel 113 or XM Channel 191.
Tickets for the game can be purchased online via UTTIX.com.
Tennessee (5-4, 3-3 SEC) and North Texas (1-8, 1-5 Conference USA) will square off for the first time in 40 years. The Mean Green won the only previous meeting between the teams, 21-14, on Oct. 25, 1975 in Knoxville. UT is 69-19-3 in Homecoming games, which started in 1916. Tennessee did not have Homecoming in 1917 and 1918 due to World War I nor did it celebrate Homecoming in 1943 due to World War II. The Vols also did not have Homecoming from 1920-24.
UT is coming off of a 27-24 home win over South Carolina this past Saturday. The Vols sealed the win when Malik Foreman forced a fumble on the Gamecocks' drive into the red zone with under one minute left and Jalen Reeves-Maybin recovered the ball. Von Pearson enjoyed a career performance with eight catches for 121 yards and a 37-yard touchdown reception.
North Texas fell on the road to Louisiana Tech, 56-13, on Saturday. The Mean Green were unable to recover from a slow start as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. DaMarcus Smith threw for 234 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the loss.
#ExtraSpecialTeams
Tennessee leads the NCAA in kickoff return average (38.8). Evan Berry is the nation's top kickoff returner with an average of 40.6.
Berry is one of two players in the nation with three kickoff returns for touchdown (vs. Western Carolina, Arkansas and Kentucky) His 35.7 career kickoff return average is No. 1 in UT history. With three kickoff return touchdowns, Berry has tied Willie Gault's 1980 Tennessee record for most kickoff returns for scores in a season.
Cameron Sutton is second in the NCAA punt return average (19.5).
After not accomplishing the feat of having a kickoff return and punt return for TD in the same game since 1950, UT has done it twice this season (vs. WCU and at Kentucky).
The Vols have a modern program history record five special teams touchdowns (three kickoff-return TDs, two punt-return TDs).
Trevor Daniel is fifth in the NCAA and second in the SEC in punting average at 46.3. Of Daniel's 44 punts, 17 went 50-plus yards and 15 have landed inside the 20-yard line.
#NeedToKnow
With a victory against North Texas, the Vols would become bowl eligible for the second year in a row since going to back-to-back bowls in 2009 and 2010.
In Joshua Dobbs' last 15 starts, the Vols are 10-5, averaging 35.2 points and 425 yards per game.
Led by Jalen Hurd (90.6 yards per game), UT is third in rushing yards per game in the SEC (207.3) with five games of 200-plus yards.
The Vols are 10th in the NCAA and second in the SEC in third-down percentage defense, allowing just 30.1 percent.
Tennessee is 10th in the NCAA and third in the SEC in fewest penalty yards per game (39.6).
The Vols have played 40 true freshmen over the last two seasons (nation-high 23 in 2014 and 17 in 2015) for the most of any program over the last two years.
The Vols are averaging 101,913 fans per game at Neyland Stadium, fourth in the nation. For the first time since 2007, Neyland Stadium has drawn five or more crowds of 100,000, following 101,253 for the SC game.
Tennessee-North Texas Quick Notes
• North Texas won the only previous meeting with Tennessee, a 21-14 victory on Oct. 25, 1975.
• Tennessee is 69-19-3 all-time in homecoming games. The Vols have won 28 of their last 31 homecoming games dating to 1984, including last season's 45-10 win over Chattanooga.
• Tennessee has never played a team from Texas on homecoming. Against teams from Texas, the Vols are 13-7 all-time. UT's last regular-season game vs. a team from Texas was a 42-7 win over Houston on Sept. 26, 1998. The Vols' last game vs. a team from Texas was in the 2005 Cotton Bowl, a 38-7 win over Texas A&M.
• Tennessee won its first homecoming game on Nov. 11, 1916, defeating Vanderbilt, 10-6.
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