Postgame Notes: #23/20 Tennessee 45, UTSA 14

September 23, 2023 | Football

TENNESSEE FOOTBALL POSTGAME NOTES
Sept. 23, 2023 | Knoxville, Tenn. | Neyland Stadium
FINAL SCORE: No. 23/20 Tennessee 45, UTSA 14

General Notes

Saturday's attendance at Neyland Stadium: 101,915
- Tennessee has now sold out eight consecutive home games, a streak dating to Sept. 17, 2022, vs. Akron.
Tennessee's all-time on-field record improved to 870-411-53 with Saturday's win (NCAA record: 859-411-53).
Saturday marked the first meeting between Tennessee and UTSA.
With Saturday's victory, the Vols have now won eight consecutive games against non-conference foes with seven of those wins coming by double-digits.
The Vols are 14-3 at home under Heupel, outscoring opponents 783-353. Tennessee has won 11 consecutive games in Neyland Stadium, a streak that dates to Nov. 20, 2021 vs. South Alabama.
- Tennessee's 11-game home winning streak is its longest since winning 23 straight in Neyland Stadium from 1996-2000.

Vol Captains/Coin Toss

Tennessee's team captains for Saturday's game: LB Aaron Beasley, WR Bru McCoy, LS Matthew Salansky, DL Omari Thomas
UTSA won the toss and elected to defer, defending the north end zone. Tennessee received the opening kickoff.

Big Orange Debuts

Redshirt freshman long snapper Bennett Brady, freshman defensive back Cristian Conyer, freshman linebacker Jalen Smith and freshman defensive back Jordan Matthews made their collegiate debuts for the Vols.

QB Joe Milton III finished Saturday's game completing 18-of-31 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns.
- On Tennessee's first offensive play, Milton kept the ball on a read option and dashed 81 yards to the checkerboards. It was the longest run by a quarterback in Tennessee history and tied the 10th-longest rush by any player in program annals. (of note: halfback Hank Lauricella also had an 81-yarder vs. Tennessee Tech on Nov. 11, 1950. Lauricella threw 65 passes that same season).
- Dating to the 2022 Orange Bowl, Milton has multiple touchdown passes in five consecutive games. He has at least one passing touchdown in eight-straight contests.

Team Offensive Notes

Josh Heupel-led teams have scored 30 or more points in 57 games (33 at UCF, 24 at Tennessee) and own a 49-8 record when doing so.
Heupel's teams have scored 40 points 37 times (17 times at Tennessee).
The Vols finished Saturday's game with 512 yards of total offense (303 rushing, 209 passing). Heupel's teams have put up 500 yards of total offense in a game 34 times (13 times at Tennessee.
UT's 303 rushing yards were a season-high and the most for the Vols since racking up 362 at Vanderbilt on Nov. 26, 2022.
- Heupel's Vols have posted 300-plus rushing yards four times since 2021.

Individual Offensive Notes

RB Dylan Sampson had a career day, taking 11 carries for a career-high 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He added a 20-yard catch to finish the game with 159 all-purpose yards.
- Sampson entered the checkerboards on his first touch of the game, a 10-yard rushing touchdown with 10:03 left in the first quarter. With 10:17 left In the fourth quarter, he weaved through defenders, broke tackles in the secondary and rushed for 41 yards for his second touchdown of the night.
- The sophomore has six touchdowns (five rushing, one receiving) scored in three games played this season, tying his total of six from the entire 2022 season (10 games played).
WR Kaleb Webb reeled in his first career touchdown with 14:23 remaining in the second quarter with an 18-yard grab over the middle to put the Vols ahead 21-0.
- The sophomore entered Saturday's contest with two career catches for 11 yards.

Team Defensive Notes

The Vols limited their opponent to less than 100 yards rushing for the third time in four games this season (UTSA 88, Austin Peay 79, Virginia 95).

Individual Defensive Notes

DB Tamarion McDonald nabbed his fourth-career interception and first of the 2023 campaign in the second quarter, stepping in front of a slant route over the middle.
- McDonald also finished the contest with a game-high 2.0 tackles for loss.
DB Warren Burrell recorded his first-career interception in the fourth quarter with 7:31 on the clock. UTSA quarterback Owen McCown coughed it up after Andre Turrentine pressured on a scramble.

Special Teams Notes

P Jackson Ross booted a career-high six punts for 266 yards (44.3 avg), including a career-long 52 yarder and downing three punts inside the 20.

Career Highs

The following players set or tied career highs in the respective statistical categories listed below:

Offense

TE McCallan Castles
- 2 receptions (FBS career-high)
QB Joe Milton III
- 89 rushing yards
- 81-yard long rush
RB Dylan Sampson
- 139 rushing yards
- 20 receiving yards
- 20-yard long reception
WR Kaleb Webb
- 1 receiving touchdown (first of career)

Defense/Special Teams

DL Tyler Baron
- 3 quarterback hurries
LB Ben Bolton
- 3 tackles
DB Warren Burrell
- 1 interception (first of career)
DL Caleb Herring
- 2 tackles
- 1.0 tackle for loss
- 1.0 sack
- 1 forced fumble
LB Elijah Herring
- 8 tackles
DL Austin Lewis
- 1 fumble recovery (ties career-high)
DL Omarr Norman-Lott
- 1.0 sack (ties career-high)
DB Tamarion McDonald
- 2.0 tackles for loss
- 1.0 sack (first of career)
- 1 interception (ties career-high)
DL Omari Thomas
- 5 tackles (ties career-high)
DB Andre Turrentine
- 4 tackles (ties career-high)
DL Tyre West
- 6 tackles