Gameday
Vol Audio
- UT vs. MSU post-game interview: Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe
- UT vs. MSU post-game interview: WR coach Trooper Taylor about Lucas Taylor">
- UT vs. MSU post-game interview: QB Erik Ainge
- UT vs. MSU post-game interview: TB Arian Foster
- UT vs. MSU post-game interview: WR Austin Rogers
Links
- Vol Report: Published Oct. 14, 2007
- PostGame audio slide show: UT vs. Mississippi St.
- Box Score: UT vs. Miss. St.
- Watching with Ward: Review the game, play-by-play
- Check out game video from WVLT
Articles
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Daniel Lincoln doesn't do the math. He has no use for the scoreboard or the clock.
His world is one thing and one thing only: Just kick the football.
Fortunately for Tennessee he was good at it Saturday.
With rough, tough Mississippi State bringing the fight, Lincoln legged the 25th-ranked Vols out of harm's way.
UT (4-2, 2-1 SEC) got out of Scott Field with a 33-21 win, as Lincoln booted four field goals to complement the passing of Erik Ainge and some hard running from Arian Foster.
"I'm proud of our kicker,'' said UT coach Phillip Fulmer. "He did a heckuva job today.
"We don't want to be kicking it that much, obviously.''
But you rarely get everything you want in a tough SEC road game.
What was perceived as a challenging outing - falling on the schedule between Georgia and Alabama - turned out to be just that.
Cheered on by a cowbell-clanging crowd of 50,217, the Bulldogs (4-3, 1-3) gave the Vols everything they wanted.
"We knew Mississippi State, reputation-wise, they we're going to be physical,'' said UT's Mississippi-born center Josh McNeil.
"It was like a fight in there. We were slugging it out and the toughest son of a gun was going to win.''
Who was going to win was in doubt midway through the third quarter.
The Bulldogs were too close for Tennessee's comfort, trailing only 24-21 after freshman quarterback Wesley Carroll threw his second touchdown pass.
The Vols toughed it out from there, moving the ball enough to get Lincoln in position for field goals of 29, 26 and 43 yards, while the defense produced three fourth-down stops to keep the Bulldogs chained up.
Lincoln's 29-yarder made it 27-21 with 3:41 left in the third quarter.
He hit from 26 to pad the lead to 30-21 with 5:45 left. That meant State would have to score twice.
His 43-yarder with 2:32 left was icing on the cake.
"I don't ever think about the situation or where we're at,'' said the freshman from Ocala, Fla.
"I just visualize the kick before I take it and then make the kick.''
Well, there was the kick he didn't make.
Lincoln's perfect season ended at 8-of-8 when he missed from 26 yards trying to break a 14-14 deadlock late in the first half.
"Just a freshman mistake,'' he said. "It was a short kick, I took it for granted and looked up.''
A defensive stand, judicious use of timeouts and a 26-yard pass from Ainge to Lucas Taylor gave Lincoln a chance to start a new streak less than two minutes later.
He made good on his reprieve, hitting from 47 yards on the final play of the first half to send the Vols into the locker room with a 17-14 lead.
A 1-yard TD run from Foster made it 24-14 early in the third quarter, but any thoughts of Tennessee pulling away were dashed when State came right back to score.
Ultimately, it would be up to Lincoln and the defense.
"We need to do a better job of getting the ball in the end zone,'' said Ainge, "but it's a good safety valve anytime you know if it's close, you can throw it away and know you're going to get the three points.''
Ainge finished 22-of-36 passing for 259 yards. That included a 51-yard TD bomb to Taylor and a 4-yard scoring dink to tight end Chris Brown in the first half.
Taylor had a career day, 11 catches for 186 yards.
"I'll go to war with No. 12 (Taylor) any day,'' said Ainge.
In this war, Foster was the infantry, rushing for 139 of Tennessee's 211 yards on the ground.
Mississippi State virtually challenged Tennessee's manhood to stop the run. The Vols didn't stop the Bulldogs cold, but they did contain them to 135 yards on the ground.
Anthony Dixon, a 240-pound bruiser, accounted for 108 yards on 26 carries. Other than a 30-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter, Dixon found Vols in his path at every turn.
"He's a heckuva load to try to bring down,'' said defensive end Xavier Mitchell.
Carroll was 18-of-33 passing for 203 yards. He passed 38 yards to Tony Burks for a first-quarter score and then 14 yards to Jamayel Smith for a TD in the third period.
All told, UT outgained State 470 yards to 338.
"We got 'em stopped when we had to,'' said defensive coordinator John Chavis.
"There were times when it wasn't pretty because they did some really good things.''
Tennessee's first possession didn't miss a beat from the tour de force over Georgia last week.
The Vols covered 78 yards in nine plays. Most of it came through the air as Ainge was 4-of-4 for 61 yards in the drive, including the 4-yard flip to Brown for the score.
Then it was Mississippi State's turn at the wheel.
Third-and-long was UT's undoing on both of State's back-to-back touchdown drives.
Facing third-and-10 at the 38, Carroll lobbed a short pass to Burks across the middle and there was no Tennessee defender to stop him from turning up the sideline and sprinting all the way to the end zone.
On its next possession, State made a good call on third-and-11 as Carroll caught UT napping with a shovel pass to Justin Williams for 14 yards.
Dixon took over from there. He got the go-ahead score from 30 yards out on the first snap of the second quarter.
Down 14-7, Tennessee's defense showed some backbone. State ran 12 plays the rest of the quarter for a combined 18 yards and zero first downs.
The Vols got even on Ainge's 51-yard TD fling to Taylor, his longest scoring pass of the season.
Lincoln's second-chance kick at the end of the half put UT ahead to stay.
"I'm glad to get the miss out of the way before a crucial time,'' said Fulmer.
"I don't think it bothered him. He's pretty good about letting things roll off his back.''
Evidently. His new streak is 4-of-4 heading to Alabama.
"It felt really good to contribute like that in this environment,'' Lincoln said. "The way the game went, that was huge.''
Not that he noticed how the game was going at the time.
He was just visualizing the next kick.
Oregon sends Lady Vols home from…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 75
utmdm writes:
Solid Sandwich win! Go Vols!!
Anyone else get tired of hearing the pay per view clowns call wrong names on plays, lose track of field goals and continue to refer to the game as "tonight". You would think if they were the Vol network they would have some memory of jersey numbers.
justingh1 writes:
Overall good performance,still some tackling issues in the first half and Austin Rogers' drop in the endzone should've never happened. Good balance running and passing Lucas Taylor's 187 is outstanding. Where was Caker? 2 touches?
lamigravol writes:
It can't be worse than that old drunk Verne Lundquist. All this guy has to do is watch one college football game a week, and he can't do enough research to get the names right. I would rather watch a game called by a blind mute, than him.
justingh1 writes:
Utmdm I sure did and they kept saying 16yd field goal which is impossible what a moron.
jdoane1964#593067 writes:
a couple of big drops really jumps out at me
good to see dennis r on kick returns today
bama week go vols
utmdm writes:
Well at least the clowns were in the announcing both and not the coaching booth :)
volfaninchattanooga writes:
Nothing special, un-inspired play. Very un-imaginative on offence, kind of played not to lose. Good play by Foster and Hardesty. Austin Rogers is terrible. Why is he still on the field? How many passes can you drop and still start. Decent game, won without emotion or passion.
72vol writes:
I think Coker was hurt on a kick off return. He is probably o.k. and will be ready next week.
Basketball_Jones writes:
Any word on why Coker only carried it 2 times? Didn't watch the game so really can't comment but a win is a win, now on to a Bama team thats doesn't look very good....Go Arizona beat USC
ThurmondEppy writes:
Volfaninchatt, I'll be the first to say Austin Rogers is no Peerless Price, but he is solid. In fact, he's downright reliable. Would you be man enough to go over the middle like he did today and take that shot and get right back in the game, or did you even see the game? That kid plays with heart and does it well. Think before you diss.
ksteelescvol writes:
Great to see us throwing the ball down the field...Looks like Hardesty might step into the #2 spot, he ran hard today. Didn't State have the 3rd or 4th best run D in the conference coming into today's game?? Big props to Chris Brown, he's playing a less glamorous role but he had some great blocks today.
Still some missed tackles and Heff got beat in the endzone, Rogers has to make that TD grab.
When is the last time we had a direct snap to a running back???
movol77 writes:
"Nothing special, un-inspired play. Very un-imaginative on offence, kind of played not to lose."
The strategy before Bama is "play to win but don't show your hand completely." Good game plan. Good W.
volfaninchattanooga writes:
I played wide receiver thank you, and I NEVER dropped a pass. You tell me, how many passes has he dropped this year? tell me! Thurmond Eppy, tell me, how many?
volfaninchattanooga writes:
Kesling is the worst football anouncer I've ever heard. Funny though, he is really good at basketball. Go figure.
movol77 writes:
VfaninChatt
If you NEVER dropped a pass, you either didn't have many thrown in your era or you didn't play very much. Your claim is unheard of for a modern game or a starter.
volfaninchattanooga writes:
You can say what you want. Good game, won without emotion. Only negatives, Austin Rogers cannot catch, and the D-line plays without intensity too often. Good SEC win on the road though against a pretty good MSU team. GO Vols!
civilianvol_formerly_marinevol writes:
I didn't get to watch the game. Did the defense seem to have a significant decline after the Georgia game, or was the Miss. State offense better than advertised?
k0605#241765 writes:
I agree with utmdm about the pay-per-view guys. Pretty weak and even admitted they didn't know who returned the 2nd half kickoff. Surely Tenn can do better.
ThurmondEppy writes:
Volfanninchatt: "I played wide receiver and I never dropped a pass." Outstanding. Well, since you clearly never played college ball, or you were thrown one pass in pee wee ball, I'm sure you have plenty of eligibility left. And since you're so "All World" I'm sure the Vols would love to have you. So go out next week and walk on and take the college world by storm. Putz.
volfaninchattanooga writes:
Wow, never thought I would meet someone who would get so angy. All I said was is that Rogers has a lot of dropped passes this year. Never said he doesn't play hard, he has had his moments. Just commenting on how many drops he has had. At least 8 drops this year easily. Surely we could get someone on the field who can catch the football. I never said I am a great football player, but I did play, and I did not drop passes. Go Vols. .. geez, get over yourself.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Tough call... I know I should pull for LSU, but I hope UK wins!
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
TD UK!!
ellisonfamily writes:
This is definitely not the team we saw last week against Georgia. I can only hope this was a letdown after an emotional win last week against a team that beat Auburn in Auburn. Miss. St. is NOT a bad team. Alabama looms. I don't care how we win the games, as long as we do. If we win every game from here on out, but each win is by 1 point, I'll take it. I'm a little scared of Kentucky as much as anyone.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
TD LSU.... NUTS!!!
creepykev#228270 writes:
What are all of you complaining about? We did great. I didn't fork over the money for the game so I listened to it, but I think going on the road and beating a decent Mississippi State game deserves praise not belly aching. Personally I'm rooting for KY. If TN takes care of business, that will be a great game on down the road. Might even have Game Day crew there.
ThurmondEppy writes:
VolfanChatt, I do get angry with people who never played at the collegiate level who sit back in their middle age and dump on these kids. You have no idea what it takes to compete at this level. Moreover, it's not like we have a stable of receivers to choose from. Read back over your post. You're the one who took it to an adversarial level and then tried to compare your "reception record" with a D-I football player. That was silly. I'm done with you.
bigorangesob writes:
I agree it was a good win against a solid defense and a freshman QB with a big set of B#@#$ and pretty talented on top of that, now let's get ready for St. Nick Saban and the roll over and play dead tide..GO VOLS
99gator writes:
i've stopped trying to figure out the SEC this year.
it's so cliche. but, that's why they play the game.
the lesson that should be learned this year is never mind how ugly or pretty the game was. if you win, be happy, quickly wipe the smile off your face and get ready for the next week.
volfaninchattanooga writes:
How many passes has he dropped? Your an idiot, and not worth my time.
IR4UT2 writes:
99gator- your next up for the big blue! THEY LOOKED PRETTY GOOD TODAY. SEC beats up on each other. There might be a one loss team playing for the Nat. Champ. this year. Guess we'll get our shot at KY too. Glad to get the win today at Miss. St. GBO! Go Get The Tide!! The big blue fan was right, they beat the LSU!
koamalina writes:
After the debacle in Gainesville it seemed that Tennessee was done, but in a year in which Kentucky can knock off #1 LSU the Vols just may have a chance to win the SEC. Today's goal was accomplished by winning in Starkville. Now the goal is to win in Tuscaloosa. Take them one week at a time and don't worry about anything else.
asand211#361548 writes:
Lami, that was the funniest post I've read. I'm not sure that Lundquist was drunk though. His problem could be that he sat next to Moses in school. I think he died two years ago.
ibvolman writes:
UGA's struggles against Vandy kinda puts a different light on last week's win. I know any win is good, but just how bad is UGA? For everyone touting that UT will win out in the SEC, and certainly I hope they can, perhaps there needs to be a little thought placed into the process before making such a comment.
UK just downed the #1 LSU Tigers. Seeing the potential of how bad UGA is, it would be a stretch to think we will waltz past UK, USCe, or ARK for that matter. Lets keep it real, and go Vols.
vanvol writes:
The Fulmer haters here may need to remember that Rich Brooks came within a couple of games of getting fired here in Lexington.
Short memories, the demand for instant results and parity in the SEC may come to haunt the Vols if they ignore tradition.
I was sitting in the Ole Miss stadium in 1982(?) watching another game when the guy next to me, who was listening to a radio, said the the Vols might beat Bama. Anyone want to guess how long that losing streak lasted?
andy112382#209793 writes:
Good win for Tennessee.
Solid numbers, what a leader Ainge has become after look so lost a couple of years ago. Taylor with 186 yards receiving? Geesh, so much for the WR 'problem' we were suppose to have. And Foster looks as good as ever......211 yards rushing for Tennessee, nice, very nice to see.
Keep it up! GO VOLS!!!
TNWOLFPUP writes:
okay ....here's the crying shame. Tennessee is playing well or well better anyway. S. Carolina and Kentucky are ahead of us - Okay correct me if I'm wrong fellow vols....but we don't ever do so hot against a Spurrier coached team and Kentucky is surely going to kick the !@#$%^ out of us. So let me throw it over to you guys - am I really wrong at the possibilities of not getting to Atlanta.
troubleinc writes:
vanvol: "I was sitting in the Ole Miss stadium in 1982(?) watching another game when the guy next to me, who was listening to a radio, said the the Vols might beat Bama. Anyone want to guess how long that losing streak lasted?"
Yes ... it was 11 sad games of Bama over UT. But in 1982 we won 35-28 ... Mike Terry intercepted a pass in the North endzone with 17 seconds left ... the goalposts are torn down (by UT students) for the first time (UTC fans tore 'em down when they beat us in 1958 at Neyland) ...
Go Vols!
DSaVol writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
jweaver3#395614 writes:
Dsavol the VOLS will rollup Bama next week, I think they did call a vanilla game. Last week was the best called game of year for Coach Cut and think next week will rival the GA. game. You will see the VOLS play a game similar to GA at ALA.
GO VOLS
support your team or shut the heck up
TXVOLSFAN
Ralph_Crampton writes:
I was a little wary of the Volunteers big win over Georgia...things are becoming clearer to many fans....Georgia is not as good as we thought, The Vols struggle against Miss. St., left smething to be desired...and compare the Bulldogs game against Vandy that despite the last second field goal that gave Georgia the win> This year, Georgia appeared to be slow and sluggish and could be the big bust of the SEC this year. Surely, the Bulldogs recruiting has dropped off lately. Of course, Vandy has a better than average team. The Kentucky Wildcats are foaming at the mouth awaiting the game with the Vols on their home field. They intend to give the Vols a good spanking according to reports. Oh well! Its exciting this year in the SEC.
mjohnsonvols writes:
DS did Miss ST beat the Auburn team at Auburn? Did Auburn beat Florida at Florida? Just wondering.
Go Vols keep winning I won't complain any if you just keep winning I guess some people just don't care what we do they just want Fulmer fired.
Go Vols beat Bama.
I guess if we beat Bama they are a bottom BCS team as well.
Volfan1 writes:
Uh, those who dis MSU might remember that they BEAT AUBURN (at Auburn)....who BEAT Florida. They were not the Indy Colts, but they were no pushover, catching us at their home between two big games for us.
We won...by 12...on the road in the SEC in a topsy turvy year. I'll gladly take it.
99gator writes:
i will echo the sentiments of what i wrote at 8:08.
if you win... be happy and shut up.
what are some of you complaining about. have you seen the madness across the country this season. if the cal-oregon state score holds up, boston college will be #2 and south florida will be #3.
don't worry about "style points". it's hard enough to get wins this season. i don' think the SEC has ever been this good. no one is bad. no one. two or three teams were always horrible. not this year. kentucky is ranked. vandy is decent. mississippit and miss state are much better than they have been the last couple of years.
take the win. be happy.
Vol43 writes:
Dsavol sounds constipated.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
Bad day for the SEC. No diss to UK, but I'd rather LSU be No. 1 than Cal or that damned Ohio State.
Is anybody besides me sick and tired of seeing OSU from the 'Big TIN' ranked so high??? The Big Tin is a joke anymore. They backdoor into the BCS title games by having such a weak conferenece that it's easy for a team to roll through.
Bring OSU to the SEC and let them find out what it's like to face d-linemen with 4-6 speed every week.
movol77 writes:
DSaVol,
You are full of commentary. Unfortunately, it is far more blind that your loss of objectivity.
MSU has been a weak team in recent years. However, they were 4-2 coming into this game (one win short of their highest win total for a season this decade). MSU beat AU.
Be careful, you might choke on your foul mouth or blow a gasket over your obvious hatred.
Your kind of CRITICISM is not credible for a Vol fan.
MillisaAnn writes:
Glad we won, still have alot to work on.
thevol writes:
Go back in hiding DSA and take your loser friends with you. An SEC road game is always tough(ask LSU). Nice win today over a "decent Miss. St. team". Good to see us throw deep, Lucas Taylor played really well. Running game is looking good. Now on to Bama. Winning is all that matters. Go Big Orange!
ksteelescvol writes:
Great win on the road in the sec... Just ask LSU how tuff it is to win on the road.
I don't get some of our fans complaining about play calling. Last month we weren't throwing down field enough, or calling enough run plays or showing anything new. New wrinkles in the run game last week, 51 yard TD bomb today and a direct snap to the tail back, going back to the screen pass when it just failed the play before. I guess we want be happy to we see the Statue of Liberty...
Lets support our team and beat the Tide
newtonrail writes:
Rogers and Taylor have turned into reliable receivers. Yes, Rogers dropped one in the end zone he should have had, and so does TO every week. Will Overstreet praised Rogers for being tough enough to go over the middle, and he wasn't being paid to tint everything orange. We do need a more reliable third receiver. I'm not sold on Briscoe. DS go back to the bowels of TB and help put in the Black Seats. You are long past boring.
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