Oct. 28, 2007

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South Carolina Notes

• The last time the Gamecocks played overtime was in Knoxville against the then-No. 8 Volunteers on Sept. 27, 2003. Tennessee won that game 23-20.
• South Carolina’s 24 second-half points were the most for since the Gamecocks tallied 27 in the first half of their Liberty Bowl win over Houston on Dec. 28, 2006.
• Junior Kenny McKinley caught a school-record tying 14 passes for 151 yards. Six of McKinley’s catches came in the first half for 51 yards. His total tied that of Zola Davis against Vanderbilt on Oct. 24, 1998. He also became the first Gamecock to amass 150 receiving yards since Sidney Rice went for 161 against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 23, 2006.
• McKinley extended his string of consecutive games with a reception to 30, putting him in sole possession of fourth place in USC history in that category. He is one shy of Ryan Brewer in third place.
• McKinley also moved into eighth place in USC history in career receiving yards, passing Troy Williamson. With 151 yards tonight, he has 1,847 career receiving yards, which is 29 yards shy of Fred Zeigler’s 1,876.
• With his eight-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, McKinley moved into a tie for seventh place in Gamecock history with 13 career TD receptions.
• Senior Cory Boyd netted a career-high 160 yards on 20 carries tonight, the fifth 100-yard game of his career. The last 100-yard contest was against South Carolina State on Sept. 15 when he rushed for a then-career high 132 yards. Boyd’s effort is the first 150+ effort by a Gamecock since Demetris Summers ran for 158 against Tennessee on Sept. 27, 2003.
• The 160 yards also made Boyd just the 13th player in South Carolina history to rush for 2,000 yards in his career. Boyd stands in 12th place in school history 2,055 rushing yards. He is just 23 yards shy of Derek Watson in 11th place.
• With 31 completions tonight, senior Blake Mitchell became the first Gamecock to complete 30 passes since Dondrial Pinkins hit 30 against Tennessee on Oct. 30, 2004. Mitchell’s effort is tied for the fourth-best in school history as Steve Taneyhill also completed 31 passes against Vanderbilt on Oct. 21, 1995.
• Mitchell’s 45 attempts are the most since Bobby Fuller attempted 46 passes against NC State on Oct. 27, 1990.
• Mitchell also made moves up the Gamecocks’ career charts. With 45 pass attempts, he moved into sixth place with 670, passing Bobby Fuller and sitting two behind Tommy Suggs’s 672. Blake’s 5,021 career passing yards is now the fifth most in school history as he passed both Bobby Fuller and Tommy Suggs with 283 yards tonight. He is 631 yards behind Phil Petty’s fourth-place figure.
• With Boyd’s 160 yards rushing and McKinley’s 151 yards receiving, tonight is the first time since Nov. 25, 2006 that the Gamecocks have had both a 100-yard rusher and receiver. Against Clemson on that night, Boyd rushed for 106 yards, while Sidney Rice collected 103 yards receiving.
• Ryan Succop’s 49-yard field goal was his longest since a 50-yard strike against then-No. 8 Tennessee on Oct. 28, 2006.
• With 105,962 people in attendance, tonight’s was the fifth-largest crowd ever to watch a South Carolina football game. Each of the top five games has been played at Tennessee.
• Mitchell’s one-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter was his first since a one-yard TD run in the first quarter at then-No. 24 Clemson. It was the first touchdown Mitchell has been involved in since throwing three TD passes against South Carolina State on Sept. 15.
• Boyd’s 29-yard touchdown was his first since a 29-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter against then-No. 8 Kentucky on Oct. 4. It was his first rushing touchdown since a 29-yard run in the fourth quarter against South Carolina State on Sept. 15.
• Captain Munnerlyn’s interception in the fourth quarter was his team-high third of the season.

Tennessee Notes

Noting Tennessee

• Tennessee improves to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the SEC. South Carolina falls to 6-3 and 3-3 in the SEC.
• The Vols entered the game receiving votes in both polls; South Carolina was ranked 15th by the Associated Press and 17th in the USA Today Coaches poll.
• Tennessee returns to action Nov. 3 when it hosts Louisiana-Lafayette. The homecoming game will begin at 4 p.m. ET and will not be televised.

Tennessee-South Carolina Series

• Today’s contest marked the 26th meeting between Tennessee and South Carolina. The Vols now lead the all-time series 21-3-2 (.846).
• UT now leads the series in Knoxville 13-1. The last four meetings in Neyland Stadium have been night games.
• The last three meetings between the two teams in Knoxville have been decided by a field goal or less. (2003, UT wins 23-20 in overtime; 2005, SC wins 16-15; 2007, UT wins 27-24 in overtime.)
• Today marked the 13th all-time head-to-head meeting between UT head coach Phillip Fulmer and South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, with Spurrier holding an 8-5 edge. This was their third meeting with Spurrier guiding the Gamecocks, Fulmer has won two of the three matchups.

Phillip Fulmer’s Record

• Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer’s record now stands at 142-44 (.763) in 16 seasons with the Vols.
• Fulmer owns an 90-29 regular-season record against SEC opponents.

Ainge Goes Over 7,000 Career Passing Yard Mark in Win

• Senior quarterback Erik Ainge finished the game 26-of-44 for 216 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
• Ainge’s first eight completions went to eight different receivers. For the game, Ainge connected with ten different Vols.
• Junior wide receiver Josh Briscoe caught his second touchdown pass of the season in the second quarter. The North Carolina native finished with 4 receptions for 48 yards.

Brown Extends Pass-Catching Streak

• With a 3-yard reception today in the first quarter, senior tight end Chris Brown extended his streak of games with at least one catch to 11. That is the second-longest streak by a Vols tight end during the Fulmer era (1992-present). Current Dallas Cowboys All-Pro tight end Jason Witten caught a pass in 17 consecutive games from 2001-02. Brown finished with five receptions for 19 yards.

Foster Continues to Climb UT Career Rushing Charts

• Foster rushed 19 times for 75 yards and one touchdown. The junior running back is now in 13th place on Tennessee’s career rushing list with 1,901 yards.
• Junior tailback Arian Foster scored the opening touchdown of the game with a one-yard plunge in the first quarter. The San Diego native has scored the Vols first touchdown in four of seven games this season.
• Foster’s 10-yard rush in the second quarter moved him into 15th place on Tennessee’s career rushing list passing Andy Kozar (1,850; 1950-52) with 1,850. Foster also passed Beattie Feathers (1,888; 1931-33) and Gerald Riggs Jr. (1,893; 2002-05).

Vols Continue to Protect Ainge

• Tennessee allowed its first quarterback sack in the fourth quarter since the second game of the season and has allowed just three on the year. The Vols lead the FBS in sacks allowed.
• Starting quarterback Erik Ainge has been sacked just twice this year in 300 pass attempts.
• The Vols average one sack allowed for every 102.7 pass attempt this season.

Coker Climbing UT Kickoff Return Charts

• Sophomore running back LaMarcus Coker returned three kickoffs for 99 yards tonight. The Antioch native has now returned 21 kicks this season for 560 yards. The 560 yards is ninth on UT’s single season return yardage chart.
• Coker has 30 kickoff returns for 740 yards for his career. The 740 yards puts him in ninth place in career return yardage.

Noting the Defense

• The Vols had six different players record double-digit tackles.
• Sophomore linebacker Rico McCoy had 14 tackles to lead the Vols and go over 100 tackles for his career.
• Freshman safety Eric Berry (12), junior cornerback DeAngelo Willingham (10) and senior linebacker Ryan Karl (12) also posted career-highs in tackles today. The other Vols in double-figures were junior linebacker Jerod Mayo (11) and senior safety Jonathan Hefney (11).
• Junior linebacker Jerod Mayo stopped South Carolina’s first drive of the game when he sacked Gamecock quarterback Chris Smelley for his first sack of the season and first since last season’s Alabama game.
• Willingham forced the first fumble of his career on South Carolina’s third drive. Berry picked up the fumble and returned it 52 yards to the South Carolina 4-yard line, helping set-up Tennessee’s first touchdown.
• Willingham forced his second fumble of the game stopping a Gamecocks fourth quarter drive. The South Carolina native is the first Vol since Parys Haralson (vs. Kentucky in 2005) to force two fumbles.
• Berry intercepted a Chris Smelley pass on SC’s fourth drive and returned it 13 yards. Berry has two interceptions on the season, his first he returned 96 yards for a touchdown at Florida.
• South Carolina did not put points on the board until the 5:41 mark of the third quarter. That is the longest UT has held an opponent without a score this season. Georgia scored with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter.
• Tennessee’s four forced turnovers was a season-high. The Vols also had a season-high 10 TFLs (previous-high 7 vs. Arkansas State) Dan Williams led the team with three TFLs.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Today’s attendance was 105,962. The Vols have now played 74 consecutive games at Neyland Stadium in front of more than 100,000.
• Tennessee’s game captains today were seniors Erik Ainge, Chris Brown, Xavier Mitchell and South Carolina natives Jonathan Hefney and Eric Young. Inky Johnson, missing the season due to injury, was also a captain.
• In Tennessee’s last two SEC home games the Vols have outscored its opponents 49-0 in the first half. UT led Georgia 28-0 at the half and led tonight 21-0 at halftime.
• Freshman kicker Daniel Lincoln’s 48-yard field goal to send the game to overtime was a career-long.
• South Carolina wide receiver Kenny McKinley had 14 receptions one short of a UT opponent record. (15; Eric Moulds, Mississippi State 1995)