Tennessee Stat Book
Lane Kiffin finally has a winning streak. An emphatic one at that.
Tennessee overwhelmed Memphis 56-28 Saturday night before a Neyland Stadium homecoming crowd of 94,636 to put together back-to-back wins for the first time under its first-year head coach.
The final score was deceptive. The Vols (5-4) led 42-7 at the half and Kiffin pulled most of his starters early in the third quarter.
A week ago, Tennessee wore black jerseys in a dominating win over South Carolina.
For Memphis (2-7), the Vols were back in orange. But they were in a black-hearted mood, at least for the first half when they took no prisoners.
Tennessee scored on six of seven first-half possessions, gambled on fourth down three times and even attempted an onside kick.
“We talked about that all week,’’ Kiffin said. “We had to make sure (the players) felt the coaches being aggressive so we didn’t come out and have a letdown after a big game last week.
“We wanted to make a statement that we’ll come out and play well no matter who the opponent is.’’
The next opponent is Ole Miss. The Vols will try to make it three wins in a row when they visit the Rebels on Saturday.
Memphis remains winless in Knoxville in 12 tries and clings to its 1996 upset as the only victory in 22 meetings with the Vols.
The Tigers finished with 403 yards of offense but only 104 came in the first half — and 88 of that on a TD drive just before the half.
“Our front-line guys played a great game,’’ Kiffin said.
“I’m a little down after the game because we didn’t finish well. It doesn’t matter who’s in there.’’
Senior quarterback Jonathan Crompton certainly played well. He had a career game — almost a career game in half a game.
Crompton threw four touchdown passes in the first half and returned for the first possession of the third quarter to throw a fifth.
At 49-7, Crompton was done, with a career-high 331 passing yards on 21-of-27. His five TD passes matched his career-high from the Western Kentucky game.
The tone was set when freshman David Oku returned the opening kickoff 69 yards to the Memphis 24. Two minutes later Bryce Brown was plunging into the end zone and the rout was on.
At one point in the second quarter the carnage was:
n Tennessee, 35 points.
n Memphis, one first down.
The only first-half possession on which UT didn’t score came when Memphis stopped Montario Hardesty on fourth-and-2 with the score 14-0.
A minor inconvenience. The beatdown resumed on the next drive.
Crompton’s four first-half TD passes were distributed among four receivers — 17 yards to Gerald Jones, 23 yards to Luke Stocker, 4 yards to Quintin Hancock and 14 yards to Nu’Keese Richardson.
Eric Berry even worked in an interception, his second of the season.
The crowd was breathless for a long return but the Tigers tackled Berry after 8 yards, leaving him still 7 short of the NCAA career interception-return-yardage record.
Kiffin kept his foot on the gas. He gambled on fourth down three times in the half, including once at Tennessee’s 35 with a 14-0 lead.
That was shortly after attempting an onsides kickoff after the second touchdown.
Art Evans recovered — thanks to a head start. Evans was offsides and the Vols had to re-kick.
When no one expected it, Memphis, down 35-0, abruptly awoke for a hurry-up scoring drive late in the half.
Marcus Hightower’s first career carry was a 36-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left in the half.
That was just enough time for Crompton to hit three quick completions and then dive in from the 1 to make it 42-7 with 4 seconds to spare.
After Crompton and Denarius Moore hooked up to open the second-half scoring on a 16-yard touchdown, Nick Stephens took over.
Following a three-and-out start, Stephens led a scoring drive that ended with a 14-yard completion to Moore and UT led 56-21 as the fourth quarter began.
Offensively, the Tigers had virtually no luck against Tennessee’s first-string defense.
Their second touchdown, which came in the third quarter, was against a mixture of UT starters and reserves.
The third and fourth were exclusively against reserves.
Curtis Steele, who rushed for 144 yards, scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards. Quarterback Will Hudgens scored from the 1 to make it 56-28 with 11:36 to play.
The Tigers dodged a late Tennessee score by intercepting Stephens at the Memphis 4.
UT dodged a late Memphis score when cornerback C.J. Fleming made an open-field tackle at the Tennessee 8 on third down and broke up a fourth-and-7 pass in the end zone with 2:01 on the clock.
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Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group intercepts a pass from Memphis quarterback Will Hudgens (7) and is one interception and 8 yards away from breaking an NCAA record on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 at Neyland Stadium.){kind=link}
Comments » 161
volzcrushm writes:
UT (1st team)42 Memphis(1st team)7......
UT (2nd team)14 Memphis(1st team)21.....
Statement made to new recruits of Memphis
lomas98 writes:
No chance for a SEC championship this year, but next weeks game will help in at least getting fourth in the conference and a decent bowl game. This team is hot and the national media is noticing. A bowl game will take TN over any other team besides the big 2 and LSU right now if we win out.
dwa7#337691 writes:
1st..............great game. NOW prediction
UT 30
Ole Mistake 24
rockytopatl writes:
Weighing in from Jamaica, Witchdoctor country. Love to read this story, glad it was this decisive, POed that this resort did not have ESPNU. GBO!!
Vol_in_Mich writes:
That's the way you do it! You gotta love these guys. Bring on Ole Miss.
GO VOLS!!!
xvolx writes:
Don't see any pro Stevens posters here. Second team stinks.
Souther writes:
Fear the Kiffin. Rebellion is futile.
the10sevol writes:
we have heard for months that depth was an issue, i think we just saw it. good effort, can't wait to whup on some rebs!
GBO
VolinCalif writes:
Did the Vols clear the bench tonight? It appeared everyone played.
bigorangeguy writes:
Now UT needs to win out so we can get a good bowl. Great to be a Tennessee Vol!!!!!
Southland writes:
Liked the fact we showed class and did not keep the starters in and act stupid. Secondly, so proud of Crompton for turning around his career. THIRDLY, lets start a national campaign to ban Notre Dame from being in the top 25. It is time the media stops sticking them up there when clearly they are a wanna be team and their coach is a wanna be big time college coach. He and they are both over rated and shouldnt be mentioned as a contender for anything.
Souther writes:
Good to see seconds and thirds getting playing time..SOMETHING ELSE we haven't seen from a coaching staff in a awhile.
jman33163 writes:
Great job Vols!! Now on to Ole Miss! Go Big Orange!!
RJ_Vol writes:
Purely incorrect. We played five QBs last year.
bamavol97 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
sig4ever writes:
Same can be said about Ohio State. Old Yankee media bias dies hard.
DennisVols writes:
This team continues to improve in almost every phase of the game. Beating Memphis the way they did was an improvement on how UT plays against teams they should dominate.
All we heard this week was how Memphis played UT tough every time and even upset UT in '96.
Kiffin showed today why he is a good coach. He got the team up for this game following 2 games against SEC rivals in which years past there would have been a let down in this game.
Things are looking up on the hill. Next weeks game against Ol Miss is another important step in getting back to the place UT should be. The excitement has returned, the respect has returned.
Keeping it Real
Go Vols!!!
volcycle writes:
Great game Big Orange! I thought Stephens played well for a second teamer. In fact the 2nd team offense wasn't bad at all. The 2nd team defense was another story, but if you consider that a lot of the 2nd teamers are now 1st teamers because of injuries,...we were watching 3rd teamers at the end on defense. Take the negative stuff elsewhere. This was a great game for all!
straightshooter writes:
Great game. Didn't see the game but the statistics at half time said it all. Hated to see the D get so many yards put on it but it was with the 2nd and 3rd stringers playing mostly. My 28 point predicted spread still held after all. So now its on to Ole Miss the biggest obstacle in running the table on the remaining 3 game schedule. Glad to see Crompton turn his game around.
You know stranger things have happened than if the guy were to keep improving and make a backup QB in the NFL. He has the tall frame that is the prototype standard. Still think it a long shot but way closer than he was at season's start. And speaking of QB's, Mallet of Arkansas is going to be a super stud at QB before he goes pro. Already looks impressive.
volfan8#549730 writes:
I knew Jonathan was a good QB. He had the right coach! My prediction.... Bryce Brown will win the Heisman by his Jr. yr!
sig4ever writes:
Second team defense clearly needs work. Nothing like real playing time to give the lads some film to study. Keep up the good work Monte!
TommyJack writes:
Is Tauren Poole in the doghouse?
CRFVols writes:
Can't say enough about our awesome coaching staff and player development.
Glad out starters got some rest to get ready for Ole Miss. If we win that one....we should win out.
Mobbdeep4life writes:
Glad to see Nukeese make some plays tonight. Practice hard and it should translate to the games.
rich182x writes:
You could've watched it on Justin.tv ...I did from Korea :)
volfan8#549730 writes:
Glad to have you aboard!:)
Razzle writes:
Doesn't the state government make Tennessee play Memphis?
VolFan1012 writes:
With so many of the lower end Top 25 teams losing tonight, can we break into the polls tomorrow???? Any thoughts from the Vol Faithful?
Gator_Hater (Inactive) writes:
Other than forcing the throw that got picked, I think Stephens looked good. That boy has a cannon for an arm! If we can patch together a decent o-line next year with all of those backs, wideouts, fullbacks and Stocker, I think Stephens could actually take us to ten wins.
BTW, Crompton now leads the SEC in TD passes with 21. Tebow has 11. Add Tebow's 9 TD runs, and he still doesn't touch Crompton (without factoring in HIS TD runs). Only downfall are the picks. All I have to say is HEISMAN MY A__!
RFB121554 writes:
Good tune up for Ole Miss next week. Practice hard and get ready, we need to continue our winning streak. Great game tonight. GBO.
Mobbdeep4life writes:
Holtz has made me root against Notre Shame. They have been hyped up the past few years and always fail to do anything.
Crompton looks like a different QB. I think the improved health of our receiving corps has also helped.
SEAL_9821 writes:
I'll second that!!!!! Notre Dame is a joke and it shows how much power the media has in these teams getting in the top 25.
CoverOrange writes:
Was wondering the same thing, TJ. And it seemed like Hardesty barely touched the ball (so much for him getting the rushing record). Kiffin was determined to show off the passing game again, I guess.
Razzle writes:
Notre Dame sucks. GO VOLS!
RFB121554 writes:
Great game tonight and a great tuneup for Ole Miss next week. Practice hard and get ready to extend the winning streak! GBO
Gator_Hater (Inactive) writes:
It was smart to limit Hardesty's touches. He'll be fresh for next week. No need to risk him getting injured before we face an actual defense.
CRFVols writes:
Lane Kiffin really made those of us eat our words who were fussing about Jonathan Crompton. Just goes to show....that's why he's the coach and we're not. lol
volfan8#549730 writes:
ND seems to get good bowl games even when they have bad seasons. Hope they don't get one this yr.
bobbytodd writes:
Cut them a little slack. Half the second team is playing with the first team right now due to injuries. The "second" team you are talking about has a lot of 3rd string guys mixed in.
CRFVols writes:
I didn't think we were running the ball very well. Looked like our run blocking wasn't cutting it.
Razzle writes:
Notre Dame needs to spend some money on some decent helmets. Did they get those at KMart or Walmart?
RJ_Vol writes:
After the Navy game, the Urban rumors ought to be getting warmed up.
rich182x writes:
Well, I'm glad you notice greatness when you see it. Surely you're not an idiot. We got room for one more. Get on the train! (or short bus.. whatever you prefer)
TommyJack writes:
Here's one. Stephens has the tools, tool. He will be your starter next year and will do fine
bamahater writes:
Man I love CLK. He is not happy with this win. He just said that the second half was terrible and the subs have to watch more film. Fulmer would have said "shucks we played a great game."
Gator_Hater (Inactive) writes:
Seemed to me Memphis was calling alot of run blitzes. Best way to counter that is to pass. Notice how often they were in man-to-man? Crompton completely punished them when they were playing man. Don't sweat it.
Clevername writes:
You might want to check your facts ... Tennessee has played and continues to play the most difficult OOC schedule year after year of any SEC team. In the past 10 years Tennessee has played Notre Dame 4 times, Miami 2 times, California 2 times, UCLA 2 times. In the next 12 years Tennessee will play Oregon 2 times, Oklahoma 2 times, Nebraska 2 times, Ohio State 2 times and Southern California 2 times. Now compare those opponents to every other team in the SEC and you will realize that no other SEC team even comes close to the playing schedules as difficult as Tennessee. You should also remember that Tennessee plays Alabama EVERY year ... the only SEC-East team to do so. So chill out and let Tennessee enjoy an easy game every once in a while.
Go Vols !!!
volfan8#549730 writes:
Dollar Tree maybe?
Gator_Hater (Inactive) writes:
So true! While watching the game I saw him smile once while talking to Bryce Brown. I had to ask my buddies if I had actually just seen him smile without ripping Urban in front of the press. They said yes, but that they were probably poking fun on the sideline about how Crompton has 10 more passing TD's than Tebow and how it must eat up Urban.
rich182x writes:
Absofukinlutely. I never lost faith.
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