Tennessee at Ole Miss Postgame Notes

Oct. 17, 2004

Recap | Final Stats

TENNESSEE POSTGAME NOTES
Noting Tennessee

Tennessee improved to 5-1 (3-1 SEC); Mississippi fell to 3-4 (2-2 SEC)
The Vols entered the game ranked: Associated Press No. 13, USA Today/ESPN No. 14; Mississippi was not ranked.
Tennessee returns to action Saturday against Alabama at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville (3:30 p.m. ET on. CBS). Alabama defeated Southern Miss 27-3 today.

Tennessee-Mississippi Series

Tennessee leads the all-time series vs. Mississippi 42-18-1, including a perfect 3-0 mark in Oxford. The Vols' other wins in Oxford took place in 1988 (20-12) and 1951 (46-21).
The Vols have also won their last 11 meetings with the Rebels, dating to 1984.
Today's contest marked the first meeting between UT head coach Phillip Fulmer and UM head coach David Cutcliffe. Cutcliffe served as an assistant coach at Tennessee for 17 seasons before accepting the reins at Mississippi at the end of the 1998 regular season.

Phillip Fulmer's Record

Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer improved his record to 118-29 (.803) in 13 years with the Vols.
Fulmer now has a 3-0 record against Mississippi and a 30-8 record vs. SEC Western Division teams.

Tennessee Flawless on Fourth Down

By converting on its only fourth-down try, Tennessee is now a perfect 6-for-6 on fourth-down conversion attempts to lead the SEC. The Vols are the league's only team to boast a perfect mark on fourth-down attempts.

Ainge Reaches 1,000-Yard Passing Mark

Freshman QB Erik Ainge threw for 231 yards, one touchdown and one interception while completing 14-of-30 passes. Ainge has 1,062 yards passing and 12 touchdowns this season.

Smith Sports Stellar Catch-TD Ratio

Sophomore WR Bret Smith's lone catch of the game was a 30-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter. Smith has five touchdowns in only 10 catches this season - one touchdown every two receptions. His five touchdowns are the most of any Vol this season.

Riggs Runs Wild in First Career Start

Junior TB Gerald Riggs Jr. made his first career start tonight.
Riggs rushed for 118 yards on 26 carries and also scored a touchdown on a 21-yard scamper. Tonight's game marked Riggs' second-straight 100-yard game and his third of the season.

Haralson Shines in Home State

In an outstanding defensive effort, junior DE Parys Haralson established career highs for tackles (10) TFLs (five) and tied his career high for sacks (two).
Haralson, a native of Flora, Miss., is a co-captain for the Vols and has 22 tackles this season.

Burnett Reaches 200 Career-Tackle Mark

Senior linebacker Kevin Burnett's tackle of Mississippi RB Vashon Pearson with just less than five minutes remaining in the first-quarter marked the 200th tackle of Burnett's career. Prior to that, Burnett sacked QB Ethan Flatt for a 13-yard loss for career tackle No. 199.
On the season, Burnett has 51 tackles (37 solo). His career tackle total stands at 205.

Defense Denies

Fumbles: FS Jason Allen forced a Bill Flowers fumble on Mississippi's first drive of the third quarter. Allen also recovered the fumble (the first of his career).
Sacks (4): Burnett (-13); Haralson (-7), (-2); J. Mitchell (-8)
Tackles for Loss (9): Burnett (-13); Haralson (-1), (-3), (-7), (-3), (-2); Mahelona (-2); Gaither (-1); J. Mitchell (-8)
Passes Defensed (4): B. Johnson (2); Gaither (1); Allen (1)
Brandon Johnson's two interceptions were the second and third of his career. Tennessee has eight interceptions by seven different players this season.
DE Parys Haralson led the Vols with 10 tackles, including five TFLs and a pair of QB sacks. Co-Captains Jason Allen and Kevin Burnett each posted seven stops to tie for second on the team.
Mississippi's 168 total passing yards is the lowest passing output allowed by the Vols this season.
The Vols' four quarterback sacks tonight give them 20 for the season. Tennessee entered this weekend leading the SEC with 3.1 sacks per game.

Miscellaneous Notes

Tennessee's game-winning drive covered 83 yards and ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Erik Ainge to Bret Smith. The drive marked UT's 14th scoring drive of at least 80 yards this season - one more than it had all of last season.
Tennessee had possession of the ball for 11:28 in the fourth quarter, while Mississippi's fourth-quarter time of possession was only 3:32.
Senior TB Jabari Davis' 1-yard scoring plunge in the first quarter was his 22nd career touchdown - the most of any current Vol.
Tennessee's first fake punt of the season resulted in a 19-yard first-down completion from P Dustin Colquitt to WR Chris Hannon. The play marked Colquitt's first career pass attempt and extended the Vols' second touchdown drive of the night.
Senior WR Derrick Tinsley returned his first punt of the season tonight (the third of his career).
Sophomore Arron Sears started at right guard tonight, marking the first time he has ever played guard in a game (high school or college).
Tonight's kickoff was moved back 10 minutes to 8:10 p.m. CT to allow for ESPN2 to broadcast the end of the Wisconsin-Purdue game.
Former Tennessee QB Peyton Manning and former Mississippi QB Eli Manning were present on their respective alma maters' sidelines tonight. The Manning brothers both stand atop their respective schools' all-time passing charts.
Tonight's game marked the Vols' fifth night kickoff in six starts this season.
Tonight's attendance of 62,028 was the second-largest crowd in the history of Mississippi's Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Vols Tabbed for 3:30 Start on CBS Next Saturday

Tennessee's game vs. Alabama next Saturday will be televised nationally on CBS. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET.
The Vols own a 30-19 all-time record in games broadcast on CBS.

OLE MISS POSTGAME NOTES
SERIES NOTES

Tonight's game marked the 61st meeting between the Rebels and Volunteers dating back to 1902.
Tennessee now leads the series 42-18-1.
Tonight's 21-17 victory was the Volunteers' 11th straight in the series, dating back to a 41-17 win in 1984.
Tonight's game was the first visit to Oxford by the Volunteers since 1988 and just their third overall in the series.
Tennessee is now 3-0 all-time in Oxford, having also posted wins in 1951 (45-21) and 1988 (20-12).

KEY STATS

Ole Miss was 0-of-6 on third downs in the second half.

REBEL NOTEBOOK

Tonight's attendance of 62,028 was the second largest in stadium history, behind the crowd of 62,552 last year against LSU.
Ole Miss has now trailed at halftime in 6-of-7 games this season, as Tennessee led 14-7 at halftime tonight. Last week against South Carolina was the only time the Rebels have led at the break, as they held a 21-14 lead en route to a 31-28 victory.
Tonight's 21-17 loss, snapped Ole Miss' five-game win streak versus SEC Eastern Division opponents. Prior to tonight, Georgia was the last SEC East team to beat the Rebels, posting a 31-17 win in Athens on Nov. 9, 2002.
This evening's loss also snapped the Rebels' six-game win streak during the month of October, that dated back to Ole Miss' 20-17 win at Florida last year on Oct. 4.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

Redshirt freshman QB Robert Lane recorded his first career completion with a 13-yard connection with junior WR Mario Hill in the first quarter.
Junior RB Brandon Jacobs scored a rushing TD for the fourth straight game when he scored from one-yard out in the second quarter. He is the first Ole Miss back to score a rushing TD in four consecutive games since Joe Gunn in 2001.
The 257 yards of total offense marked the first time in four games that Ole Miss failed to record at least 300 yards of total offense.
Senior WR Bill Flowers had two receptions tonight to move into a tie with Ta'Boris Fisher (1993-1996) for third place on the Ole Miss career list for receptions with 139.
Ole Miss allowed a season-high four sacks tonight after having not allowed a sack in its last two games against Arkansas State and South Carolina.
The four sacks was the most allowed by the Rebels since allowing four last year against Auburn on Nov. 8, 2003.

QUARTERBACK ROTATION: Ole Miss used all three of its quarterbacks in tonight's game, with sophomore Ethan Flatt drawing the start and recording 42 snaps. Redshirt freshman Robert Lane took 16 snaps and junior Micheal Spurlock had 10 snaps. The following chart shows the production of the three QBs in tonight's game:

	Rushing	Passing	Total Offense
Player	Att-Yds-TD	Att-Cmp-Int-Yds-TD	Plays-Yards-TD Resp.
Ethan Flatt	4-(-17)-0	20-10-2-147-0	24-130-0
Robert Lane	7-44-0	3-2-0-17-0	10-46-0
Micheal Spurlock	3-12-0	3-2-0-4-0	6-16-0

CONSECUTIVE STARTS: Senior Marcus Johnson made his 44th consecutive start in tonight's contest versus Tennessee, drawing the start at right guard. Senior Doug Buckles and junior Tre' Stalings both drew their 33rd consecutive start tonight. Buckles started at left guard and Stallings at right tackle.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

Sophomore DB Bryan Brown recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter when he intercepted Erik Ainge's pass and returned it 34 yards for a TD.
Brown's TD marked the first time a Rebel had returned an interception for a TD since Travis Johnson returned a pick six yards for a score last year against LSU.
Tennessee's Gerald Riggs became the fifth running back this season to rush for over 100 yards against Ole Miss, recording 118 yards on 26 carries.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Senior PK Jonathan Nichols accounted for five points tonight to surpass former Tennessee PK John Becksvoort (1991-1994) and former LSU RB Kevin Faulk (1995-1998) for seventh place on the SEC's career scoring list with 321 points. Nichols entered the night in ninth place with 316 points. Becksvoort was eighth with 317 points and Faulk ranked seventh with 318.
Nichols converted both PAT attempts on the evening to extend his school-record streak to 112 consecutive PATs made, which is also the longest active streak in the nation.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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