Photo by Saul Young
Southern Miss wide receiver Chris Johnson gets past Tennessee safety Eric Barry for a touch down on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
Game info
- Box Score
- Audio slide show of the game
- Dave Hooker audio with DE Xavier Mitchell, OL Jacques McClendon, K Daniel Lincoln, S Jonathan Hefney, DT Demonte' Bolden, DB coach Larry Slade, RB coach Kurt Roper, and OL coach Greg Adkins.
- Sept. 9, 2007 Vol Report
- Video: Tennessee postgame highlights, comments
Call it a step in the right direction.
As Saturday night wore on at Neyland Stadium, Tennessee gradually looked less like the team that was out of sync last week at California and more like one that has a fighting chance next week at Florida.
The 24th-ranked Vols pulled away from a tentative first half to notch a convincing 39-19 win over Southern Mississippi before a home-opener crowd of 106,311.
With Erik Ainge throwing two touchdowns and Arian Foster rushing for a pair, Tennessee (1-1) was able to spot Southern Miss (1-1) leads of 13-7 and 16-10 and still win comfortably.
The defense bent but broke only once, a busted coverage in the secondary that resulted in a 69-yard Jeremy Young touchdown bomb to Chris Johnson in the first quarter.
Otherwise, the Golden Eagles moved the ball but had to settle for a school record-tying four field goals.
The missed tackles that plagued the Vols at Cal were few and far between.
They notched two quarterback sacks - their first two of the season - and produced three turnovers, one a fumble resulting in a fourth-quarter safety.
"Chief (defensive coordinator John Chavis) called the plays and put us in position to make plays,'' said defensive end Robert Ayers.
"We did a little of everything. That was just good play-calling that set us up.''
Even the kicking game that had fatal flaws last week showed promise, despite Britton Colquitt staying on the sideline to rest his injured leg.
Daniel Lincoln was perfect on three field-goal tries, hitting from 36, 38 and 47 yards. Chad Cunningham kicked off and averaged 40.7 yards punting and had none returned.
All things considered, it was something to build on as Tennessee heads to Florida next Saturday to begin the SEC East title race (3:30 p.m. TV: WVLT).
Ainge finished 23-of-36 for 276 yards passing with no interceptions.
"Erik Ainge is a heckuva football player,'' said UT head coach Phillip Fulmer.
"He understands, he sees, he throws.''
And his receivers catch.
Austin Rogers and Josh Briscoe had the touchdown receptions. Rogers had seven catches for 112 yards, all in the first half. Lucas Taylor had five for 118.
Foster, meanwhile, ground out 125 yards on 23 carries.
"It was good to see Arian Foster with 100-plus yards and two receivers over 100, that's fun,'' said Fulmer.
"You've got the offense going pretty good when that happens.''
It took a bit of slipping and sliding to get the offense going good.
Southern Miss led all but 11 seconds of the first half, up until Ainge's touchdown pass to Briscoe put the Vols ahead to stay, 17-16, with 4:29 to play in the half.
The Vols then expanded that lead to 27-16 in the third quarter, sandwiching a Lincoln field goal and a Foster touchdown around a Southern Miss turnover.
Lincoln's 36-yarder made it 20-16. The Golden Eagles' first possession of the second half ended when Jarod Parrish recovered a Southern Miss fumble at the UT 46.
It took a mere 82 seconds for the Vols to convert. A 35-yard pass to Taylor set up Foster's 9-yard scoring run.
"I was really pleased to see the defense come out with that kind of drive and get the ball back,'' said Ainge.
Southern Miss tightened the margin to 27-19 with its fourth field goal with 12:19 to play.
It could have been even tighter. The Golden Eagles had second-and-goal at the 3 when Tennessee's defense made two big plays.
Ayers and Jerod Mayo threw Young for a loss at the 7. On third-and-goal, McCoy blasted a receiver to break up a pass and force the field goal.
An onside-kickoff try failed, leaving UT only 45 yards to go for another touchdown, a 1-yard Foster run.
It was 34-19 with 8:32 left and momentum was all in Tennessee's corner.
"We knew (being ahead) three scores would put the game away the way the defense was playing,'' said Ainge.
UT's special teams made a contribution that maintained the momentum.
On the kickoff after Foster's score, Southern Miss fumbled the return and Nick Reveiz recovered to put the Vols back in business at the Golden Eagles' 45.
UT settled for a 47-yard field goal from Lincoln - he's 4-of-4 on the year - and a 37-19 lead.
The safety came with 5:29 left after Nevin McKenzie sacked backup quarterback Stephen Reaves, who fumbled and then intentionally kicked the ball through the end zone.
The second half was by far UT's best defensive half of the young season.
The Golden Eagles managed a modest 108 yards in the second half after rolling up 246 in the first half.
While Southern Miss moved the chains in the first half, the Vols limited the damage to field goals on all but one occasion.
Justin Estes hit from 30 on the game's opening drive and later from 40. In between, Britt Barefoot hit a 51-yarder.
After spotting Southern Miss a 3-0 lead, Ainge marched the Vols for a touchdown, a 26-yard strike to a wide-open Rogers for a 7-3 lead.
It lasted 11 seconds.
Young heaved the 69-yard touchdown on the first play after the kickoff, taking advantage of a busted coverage in UT's secondary.
An exchange of field goals left it 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Another Southern Miss field goal made it 16-10 with 5:18 left in the half, but that was the high-water mark for the visitors.
Tennessee began its march to victory with a 10-play, 73-yard drive that culminated in Ainge's 5-yard touchdown strike to Briscoe.
The Vols needed a clutch fourth-down conversion to keep the drive alive and Ainge delivered.
Facing fourth-and-7 at the Southern Miss 32 with 1:43 to play, Ainge found Rogers for a 24-yard gain to the 8.
Two plays later, on third-and-goal, Ainge fired a bullet to Briscoe for the score.
Sophomore linebacker Rico McCoy then ended the first half with an interception off Young.
"I felt myself getting comfortable tonight,'' said McCoy, "and when you get comfortable you can make plays.''
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Comments » 55
gaVOLman writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
milldw02#366865 writes:
Cutcliffe said when he came here he wanted us to put at least 30 on the board every game. He's holding up his end of the bargain. May need more against Florida, but it's nice to see us scoring again.
gaVOLman writes:
I know we will need more than 30, probably 45. Even though our D played lights out in the 2nd half we still have trouble with spread/option plays and formations. Plays right into their hands.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Play defense like the second half... we'll be fine in Gainesville.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
It was great to see (or hear) the defense come up with big plays as well as on special teams.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Looks like we need to avoid 3rd and short if at all possible.
gaVOLman writes:
I'm not real sure why we abandon the run on 3rd and short so much. I'd much rather give it to Foster instead of a swing pass that may lose 3 or 4 yards. Time for the offense to man up.
CoverOrange writes:
Robert Ayers showed up tonight, so did McCoy. Impressed by Austin Rogers and Lennon Creer. It's going to take a while for Coker to get back in the flow of things.
gaVOLman writes:
I thought Dan Williams had a good game as well and McCoy was all over the place. He had some highlight reel hits. The body slam of USM's QB was my favorite.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Sounded like the receivers had a lot of YACs.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Sounded like the receivers had a lot of YACs.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Sorry, i don't usually double post
budd#207344 writes:
What game did you watch?
Missed tackles.
A secoondary with no clue.
Line backers playing 10 yards off the ball.
No push up front.
With this kind of effort we will be lucky to stop FLA once.
Somebody needs to understand that So. Miss as good as they are does not play in the SEC.
thevol writes:
I watched a game that we won by 20 over a tough opponent. We showed good improvement on defense. Not a spectacular game but a good solid WIN. Bring on Teabag and the Gators. Go Big Orange!
agentorange writes:
rogers, my friends. better than faulkner (sp). if we can take a lead, we can run and keep it.
thevol writes:
Let's hear all the talk now about how great of coaches Tuberville, Richt, Weiss, Peterson, etc. are. The cyclical and upset nature of college football is what makes college football so great and exciting.
FWBVol writes:
Yes, Auburn looked impressive tonight against South Florida. Whoops, the Tigers lost...Weiss is 0-2 with the Irish this year, and Miami coach Randy Shannon got a taste of reality. Florida State trailed UAB most of the game, but pulled away in the forth quarter. I like UT's chances going into the Swamp. Florida has wins over Troy and Western Kentucky. Tennessee has played a team that is now in the Top 10, and another that received votes in both polls last week. I hate losing any game, but the tough games, even the losses will prepare UT for the run in the SEC. The Vols are battle tested going into Gainesville and the Gators haven't even had a real scrimmage yet. GO VOLS!!!
andy112382#209793 writes:
Good job Vols! Much better second half and yes, I agree that it is promising seeing Troy put up 31 at the swamp. This Southern Miss team returned 9 of their 10 top tacklers and Florida scored 37 on them last season, we were able to put 39 up on a defense with one more year experience. I love the lack of turnover (by our first teamers at least, last part was for footage to practice on...) and I think we are in much better shape headed to the swamp than Florida based on the experience we have picked up based on who we have played versus Floridas opponents this season. GO VOLS!!!
threehundredbowler writes:
we say the same thing each year about Fla. and you know what happens.Fla. will be tough regardless what they do before they play us.They will pin our ears to the ground if we do not play much better than we have these first two games .
vol4jesus writes:
HEY BUDD.. be happy we won . Enjoy the moment if you will allow yourself to do so. Florida is going to be a huge obstacle to overcome for sure. Enjoy a W and pull for the VOLS instead of over analyzing a BIG ORANGE victory.GO VOLS!!
TNvolunteer writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
waterskier3#226480 writes:
yes it was great to win but this is the same phooey... we'll win 7 or 8 games and it looks like ga is worse than we are.... the d better get a whole lot better or fla will RUN us out of the swamp next week... D still has way to many issue to be considered a real team... O will get their points but D and special teams will get us beat... love a win but still see we're JUST AN AVERAGE TEAM.....
gaVOLman writes:
We're not average. We're good. (most of us can't realize that because we've set our standards as excellent) At any rate I didn't see nearly as many missed tackles or players being out of position as the week before. Also Budd... if you saw the QB pressures in the 2nd half you would have noticed how long they took which is indicative of the WRs being covered well by our secondary. Not sure if its because Gaines was taken out with a injury?
hueypilot writes:
Dogs lose to Steve. Next week will tell a lot about the toughest division in the toughest conference in college football. I'm 2-3 against the Gators in Gainesville since I've been living down here in Florida. Sure hope we can even the record next week. It's almost always a dogfight (With apologies to Michael Vick) and I'm looking for the same kind of game Saturday. Meyer's scheming with the spread worries me. We don't defend well against running qb's in an option type offense, if you'll remember Air Force from last year. Go Vols.
BleedOrange writes:
1. Stick with Foster.
2. Get some push out of the offensive line.
3. Stick with Foster
4. Keep blitzing to make up for the lack of push out of the D-line
5. Stick with Foster.
rainman916#207652 writes:
Tebow has killed us in the past and I see no reason whey he won't Saturday....WE need to get our gamefaces on for once and show the nationally televised audience and the SEC we are for real....Can that happen? We shall see.
Southland writes:
I am so happy. I know the lack of posts indicates that almost everyone went to church this morning. We are not good but we are not Michigan or Notre Dame. So good to see them getting beat. Maybe we don't have to listen to people talk about Weiss walking on water. Why don't all you folks that talk childish talk about Fulmer being fat stay on the big boy at Dame
IR4UT2 writes:
Hooray for the win! Glad to be playing somebody this week without "Golden" in their names, although Tebow is their "Golden" Boy. Hope someone gets in his earhole Sat. Thats more like it is right, at least on the right track! Go getum Vols! Good Luck at swamp. :)
FWBVol writes:
Tebow's past against us amounted to running the ball a few times as a freshman last year. I believe Tebow has potential to be a great player, but he has yet to play a full game against a SEC team. Hopefully he won't have his coming out party against UT next week. The kid that scares me is a freashman running back they have by the name of Chris Rainey. He played at Lakeland, the top school in the state of Florida. I saw him play a couple of years ago and he's small, but quick, the kind of back that will be dangerous if Tennessee overpursues. I still think UT will be ready and will win in the Swamp on Saturday.
FWBVol writes:
Tebow's past against us amounted to running the ball a few times as a freshman last year. I believe Tebow has potential to be a great player, but he has yet to play a full game against a SEC team. Hopefully he won't have his coming out party against UT next week. The kid that scares me is a freashman running back they have by the name of Chris Rainey. He played at Lakeland, the top school in the state of Florida. I saw him play a couple of years ago and he's small, but quick, the kind of back that will be dangerous if Tennessee overpursues. I still think UT will be ready and will win in the Swamp on Saturday.
andy112382#209793 writes:
Well, I guess the 'sky is falling' group this week would say the following coaches need to be fired going by their guidelines I staying a head coach that are picked up on here, here are the top 5 for this week:
1)Tommy Tuberville
2)Frank Beamer
3)Mark Richt
4)Llyod Carr (well, ok he may be a legit pick)
5)Charlie Weiss
This, of course, is going by the 'lose or look bad and your head is ours' guidelines.
Florida hasn't had a test this season, just a couple of pop quizzes, so we can go down there and hopefully introduce to them the difference between playing western kentuck and troy compared to SEC play. I see plenty of offense in this game for sure from both sides. GO VOLS!!! Make it 3 out of the last 4 at the swamp!
tnfanincali writes:
western kentucky put up and 87-0 outing yesterday and cal won by a touchdown.. not saying the sky is falling.. just stating the facts. more running (and maybe try using a fullback) and a defensive performance like we got in the second half, and i think we have a decent chance at the swamp next week. go vols!!!
72vol writes:
Tebow is tougher then anybody we have on our defence? I think Rico McCoy might have something to say about that! Tim meet Rico light's out McCoy! VOLS 35 gators 31! Uh oh I think Im going to have to clean these darn orange shade's. GOVOLS!
andy112382#209793 writes:
mmeletiou, whats your point about Western Kentucky putting up a 87-0 victory? They played West Virginia Tech, I didn't even know there was a West Virginia Tech. Troy lost to Arkansas 47-26, so they couldn't score as much against Arkansas and Arkansas scored a bunch, you can't really go by that, because I am willing to put anything on Arkansas not having an offense quite like Floridas. Ainge can pick apart the Florida defense, I have no doubts about that, the biggest reason we lost last year was Reggie Nelson who had two picks, he is still in Florida, but with the Jacksonville Jaguars, so there goes one headache. We can very well make it 3 out of 4 at the swamp, we are indeed the first test for Florida. GO VOLS!!!
andy112382#209793 writes:
Oh, and here is how good W Virginia Tech is, they don't even have a page on ESPN to see their previous scores, etc. They turned the ball over 7 times, Western Kentucky 'only' had 431 yards total and only 100 yards passing, they apparenly rely heavily on rushing, which the big weakness for Floridas defense is the secondary which is very, very young. Got to look at the box scores when breaking down different teams and their games, not just the scoreboard.
mrgatorman writes:
All I can say is head down to Gainesville boys were waiting for you...Its tennessee week. And all our focus and all our efforts are on you.
Were waiting...can your team handle the Mighty Gators???
mrgatorman writes:
All I can say is head down to Gainesville boys were waiting for you...Its tennessee week. And all our focus and all our efforts are on you.
Were waiting...can your team handle the Mighty Gators???
joebomb writes:
Hey Budd...how's that Dickel? You mispelled secondary, linebacker is one word and that last sentence makes no sense. Nice work
vol4jesus writes:
Some people just won't be satisfied til.......Southern Miss is no ordinary team. Ask prior SEC teams who lost to said school. Also the said(sad) part is the inability to even remotely enjoy the VOL victory. Again look at the poster at 6:08 and his/her post name. Not an apparent happy camper by design. I choose to pull for the VOLS in the good and the bad. Swamp will be tough, but not undoable with sound execution and discipline. GO BIG ORANGE!!!
Basketball_Jones writes:
I see were back to being world beaters again. Has anyone booked rooms in Atlanta and New Orleans yet? People we did what we were supposed to do, win a game against an under matched opp. on our home field. Whoopidy Doo! This team has shown us nothing except the fact we can score points against teams with no defense and really can't stop asnyone for a whole game. Florida 45 UT 24, we have no answer for Floridas speed
mtnvol writes:
A win is like bug spray...gets rid of the Fulmer haters and other vermin.
So. Miss won their conference last year and are picked to win again this year. How many SEC teams have fallen to them? Overlooked them? Our defense played (at least in the second half) like we have come to expect a UT defense to play. Johnson got beat once and they tried to beat him again and again, but it didn't happen. LBs played really tough and tackling got better as the game went on. The offense looked good for a QB less than 100%. 100 yard rusher and two 100 yard receivers. Very nice at spreading the wealth!
Overall, beating the spread by 10 points is a great night. BTW, for you "experts" that aren't satisfied with a 20 point win, the oddsmakers in Vegas make a living with the point spread and when you pay attention, they are usually right on the money....no pun intended.
vol4good#206163 writes:
I've been guilty of expecting more myself, however, the facts are not going away. Yes, the D had great strides as compared to California. However, that didnt occur until the 2nd half, After Fullmer and Chief planted several size 12 boots in the backsides of a D that should never give up the yardage or points they have. I saw some heart in the second half. The boys will need that in the first quarter against the Gators. If they wait until the 2nd half, it may be 40-0. I am proud of an awsome 2nd half, but I want TN to be great again, that is not too much to ask.
vol4jesus writes:
lazilutdelt we have smelt the breath of unfresh air you have dealt. The pessimist must have a very sad life when all one can see or enjoy(it appears) is the glass is half empty. I referred to this earlier as the grumpy old man syndrome(no disrespect to my elders in life). The man who has one gear only that runs on complain...complain...etc. Yes, I'm realistic from an optimistic outlook on life. I have no ulcers, drinking habit,wife beating,_______ fill in the blank problem other than fighting sin daily. That is enough I don't need to create more dirt.I only would like to see those who are disrespectful of Coach Fulmer clean that up. You can criticize his coaching til the cows come home , but try leaving the personal attacks on his girth or intentions alone. If you want to do that go do it to his face and not in a blogish type setting which we all could be called cowards for in this setting with no or little accountability. Go VOLS beat the Gators!!!
utnutt writes:
GREAT WIN! BUT WE WILL NOT BE GREAT AGAIN UNTIL WE FIRE FULMER AND HIRE SOMEONE THAT CAN RECRUIT AND COACH. FLORIDA WILL HAND US OUR BUTTS NEXT WEEK AND IT ISNT GOING TO GET ANY EASIER AFTER THAT. THE ONLY BRIGHT SPOT IS WE DONT PLAY LSU.
Southland writes:
mtnvol-some of us love Coach Fulmer and love what he has done in the past but when a coach or anyone in a leadership position reaches a point where he or she is totally predictable and seems unwilling to change then it becomes time to change. That is the nature of things. Wished he could change but... Several years ago when the Titans were doing so good the UT staff went to study how the Titans used good Tight Ends. Basically they wasted gas because we have two very talented tight ends but will we ever use them as we should? No We didn't even make use of Witten as we should. No one really has to watch film on us if they have seen us play in the last 10 years. We out talent people-we never out coach people
thevol writes:
The point a-hole LazyUTDork is to not complain after a solid win. You want Fulmer fired, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Not going to happen right now. We heard all you loud mouths ALL off season, wasn't going to happen. Enjoy the Fn win. It was a nice showing against a very good bowl team. At least we haven't feasted on JV teams and Western whatever ST. Defense was improved, Williams was a difference maker. Ainge and Foster look really good. Despite the bias, Lucas Taylor has been a playmaker. Secondary, tackling, special teams coverage still need work, but this is college football, every team is a work in progress. Enjoy the win. Kill the Gators. Go Big Orange!
wkjq#213863 writes:
I used to be like some of you guys, but I figured out a few years ago that it's only a game. Don't get me wrong, i'd love to win'em all, but when you realize that's not reality you can enjoy the whole thing more. The world won't end if we lose to Florida. I'll be screaming at the tv Sat. just like a lot of you, but when it's over, win or lose life goes on. Get a life and enjoy football, GO VOLS!!!!
tnfanincali writes:
andy112382. my point earlier (3:54pm) was that ok yeah western kentucky played w va tech (whose mascot is the golden bears) but they are a Div-1A school and 87-0 is a major but kicking no matter who it is. i am comparing that score (florida's first opponent) to cal's results (tennessee's first opponent) which they beat colorado state 34-28. longshore threw for 139 yards. this is a six point victory over an unranked opponent..
maybe cal isn't as good as we hoped they were..
wkjq#213863 writes:
I think this game was a very good sign, last year we started wide open and didn't get better. This time we saw improvement from game 1 to 2. If we can take another step this week, we'll be ok. Until some of you grow up and get a real job, you should stop calling for the heads of coaches. If they need a new AD, I'm sure they'll check here for the most knowlegeable and give you a call. Until then enjoy the win.
wkjq#213863 writes:
Some of you need to study the divisions before posting. The bcs schools are div 1-a, the lower schools are 1-aa.
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