After Vanderbilt forged a 10-10 tie, Jonathan Crompton threw two touchdown passes in the final four minutes of the half to give the Vols a 24-10 lead at the break.
An 11-yarder to Denarius Moore gave Tennessee a 17-10 lead.
UT stopped Vandy on fourth down with less than a minute to play and drove 61 yards in four plays, Crompton hitting Luke Stocker from 16 yards with only 5 seconds left on the clock.
The Vols eased out to a 10-0 lead, scoring on their first two possessions.
Then they lost their momentum as Vandy scored on its next two possessions.
Montario Hardesty’s 5-yard touchdown made it 7-0, after which UT was stopped in the red zone and had to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Devin Mathis.
Mathis, a junior, was subbing for Daniel Lincoln, who has battled a leg injury.
The Commodores then staged a nine-play drive for a Ryan Fowler field goal.
Next, they chewed up 92 yards on 11 plays and tied it up on Mackenzi Adams’ 2-yard pass to Ryan van Rensburg.
Tennessee lost another defensive starter in the half. Cornerback Art Evans was hurt and replaced by Stephaun Raines.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 18
heyitsme writes:
I could have sworn it was 24-10...
Another "cold one" please....
volpreacher writes:
That's what I thought too.
DownTheField writes:
hmmm...
volnbig11land writes:
Come on Vols, crank it up in the second half and make a statement!
EB, finish it!
volpreacher writes:
The commodores can't stop the Vols but my goodness I know there are a lot of second and third teamers playing for UT but guys you know what is expected. Do it. Come on Eric, set the record tonight.
appalachianvol writes:
Scoring is not our problem tonight. I hope we heal physicaly this week. Kentucky will be tougher.
volnbig11land writes:
Obviously not a coach, or else I would be down in the motherland giving a half time speech versus posting on here, but our D just seems to be a little out of sorts since last week.
volnbig11land writes:
p.s. sorry Ms. Lincoln, but I don't miss your Son tonight....
daniellovesutfootball writes:
That was a nice catch by Stocker! Great to see our offense moving the ball this week. Hope our D steps up and we shut Vandy out in the 2nd half!
volnbig11land writes:
Agree, Stocker "got vertical" for that one!
Our D needs to get the bama smackdown mentality going!
Come on Monte, kick some @$$.
cooper65#432178 writes:
With the injuries, suspensions, and dismissals our defense is in sad shape. The best D coordinator in the world couldn't do much. The old proverb, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" applies to our defense. This is a great opportunity for some of the young guys to step up. I look for great improvement next year, when Monte has more to work with. Berry didn't help much with his bonehead, thug personal foul. Go Vols!
et_vol_fan writes:
I feel like I am watching JP coverage of the game. It's on TV but no HD. The announcers are terrible.
tdvol1989 writes:
Wow, our tackling is soft. They are getting at least 3 yds after contact. Thank goodness for a dropped pass. We got to get this fixed before Ky. All we are going to hear is "it's been since '84". And, they have a speed guy and it's on the road.
Score and put it away so we can save the few good defensive players we have healthy.
ncvol17 writes:
pitiful tackling...no knock backs..arm tackles missing... 36 and 34 do not have technique....they may not be starters but they have a lot of work to do in the off season...
this game is still a toss up..next week looks more and more bleak....
walter1998 writes:
Vandy is a better team than their record indicates.
tdvol1989 writes:
I don't think Vandy is better than their record since their record shows several relatively close losses. They are playing inspired football, but our penalties and missed tackles have given them hope. Rivalries don't always follow form.
And, we look like a team just hoping to get out of this alive. We are not making some plays that we have been making. There have been 2 critical receiver miscues (G. Jones and Q. Hancock) and this game has the setup for the wrong kind of thriller.
However, all we have to do is go score on offense and banged up defense or not, this thing will be out of hand.
CRFVols writes:
I'm not impressed with our D. I know we've had a ton of injuries and are adjusting for that.....but I'm seeing starters missing tackles too. Again this week EB needs to stop throwing shoulders and start wrapping up....and he's not the only one.
tdvol1989 writes:
Well, our program may be on the right track, but it is what it is. This is a moral loss, not just because of the score. We just look pitiful and flat. We could finish 8-5 (with a bowl win) and a great recruiting class. That would be a good year.
I know about the injuries but what about the guy yawning on TV in the first half. Heck, I am an old has been, but if I was on the field, you would see emotion.
That penalty was just disastrous!!!
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