2007 Tennessee Volunteers football team

] He was 32-of-47 for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Jeff Tedford commented on the "revenge factor" before the game:

It's not really revenge, I think, if anything, it's redemption. But it's more about us, it's not so much about Tennessee. We didn't play very well last year when we went there and probably got caught a little too much focusing on them and the environment and that type of thing. So at practice this year, we're really just focusing on ourselves if we go out and play to our potential then we'll have a chance to be successful. Last year we didn't come close to our potential so we had no chance. Of course it's a big game like it was last year, two ranked teams, so there's a lot of people watching it to see what's going on. It wasn't that we lost the game last year, I think it was the way we lost the game last year that was the devastating part of it, that hung with us so long.

]

Tennessee hosted Southern Miss for its 2007 home opener. Southern Miss, a Conference USA foe, faced off against the Vols for the first time since a 19-16 loss in 2000. Tennessee now has a 49-12 record vs non-conference opponents under Fulmer. The Vols are 12-0 since 1998 vs current members of CUSA and 5-0 vs Southern Miss.

In all-time home-openers, the Big Orange have compiled an 88-18-5 (.791) record. The Vols’ last home-opening loss was a 31-0 setback against Florida on Sept. 17, 1994.]

Arkansas State

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Georgia

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Individual performances were highlighted by Arian Foster, who carried the ball 17 times for 98 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Backup running back Montario Hardesty added 70 yards on 14 carries with 1 TD. LB Ellix Wilson blocked a punt in the 2nd quarter.]

Tennessee took an early lead after stopping the Bulldogs on their first drive. Erik Ainge found Chris Brown on a 4 yard TD pass to cap off at 9 play, 78 yard drive. Mississippi State then answered. The Bulldogs forced the Vols to punt after backing them up. The short field paid off, when Wesley Carroll found Tony Burks for a 38 yard touchdown pass. State took the lead in the 2nd quarter when RB Anthony Dixon broke loose on a 30 yard touchdown run.

Tennessee followed with 17 unanswered points, coming on a Lucas Taylor 51 yard TD reception, a 47 yard Daniel Lincoln field goal and an Arian Foster 1 yard touchdown run. Mississippi State would score one more touchdown to cut the lead to 3. However the Vols' Defense held firm for the last quarter and a half. Daniel Lincoln added 3 field goals of 29, 26, and 43 yards to provide the final 12 point margin of victory.

Erik Ainge ended the game with a 22-of-36 performance with 1 interception and 2 touchdown passes. Lucas Taylor had 11 catches for 186 yards. Arian Foster ran the ball 21 for 143 yards, while Montario Hardesty added 81 yards on 16 carries. Tennessee outgained Mississippi State 470 to 338 total yards.]

outh Carolina

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Louisiana-Lafayette

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Arkansas

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Vanderbilt

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Kentucky

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EC Championship Game: LSU

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Outback Bowl: Wisconsin

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Tennessee started the day's scoring on their second possession. WR Gerald Jones, lining up at QB in the aptly named "G-Gun" formation scored on a 3 yard run to cap off a 66 yard drive. Wisconsin answered on the ensuing drive, due largely to a 60 yard kickoff return by David Gilreath and a 15 yard facemask penalty. The 22 yard scoring effort found pay dirt with QB Tyler Donovan's 6 yard run on 3rd and goal. Donovan was hit at the goal line by Eric Berry, causing a mild concussion, but not forcing Donovan to miss any time. Tennessee drove deep into Badger territory on the following drive, only to turn the ball over by fumbling a trick play. Both offenses continued to sputter until the Vols retook the lead with 9:45 to go in the 2nd quarter. Erik Ainge hooked up with WR Josh Briscoe on a 29 touchdown pass to move the score to 14-7.

The Vols forced the Badgers backwards on their next drive and then capitalized on the field position. Tennessee took at 14 point lead when Ainge found TE Brad Cottam on a 31 yard touchdown throw. The score would be the last of the game for the Vol offense. Wisconsin would answer shortly before halftime as Donovan found Andy Crooks in the end zone with 1:03 remaining in the half.

The second half was a defensive struggle. Wisconsin held Tennessee scoreless, while the Tennessee defense limited the Badger offense to 3 points. The point came on a Taylor Mehlhaff 27 yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter. Wisconsin had a few opportunities to take the lead in the game's final period, but the Badgers fell short each time. The Vols forced an incomplete pass by Donovan on a 4th and 2 play from the Tennessee 10 yard line with 5:52 to go in the game. Wisconsin got one final chance with 1:26 to go on the clock, but that drive was ended by an Antonio Wardlow interception at the 1 yard line of Tennessee. Senior Erik Ainge took a knee is his final play as a Tennessee Volunteer to cap off the 21-17 victory. Ainge finished his career at Tennessee being named the MVP at the end of the Outback Bowl Game. Briscoe put in his best game of the season, filling in for Lucas Taylor and playing all 5 receiver positions at one point in the game. Brad Cottam showed that when healthy he can be a great player and look for him in the upcoming NFL draft. cite news | title=Wisconsin vs Tennessee (Jan 01, 2008)| publisher=UTSports.com | date=2 January 2008 | accessdate=2008-01-15 | author=UT Sports Information | url=http://livestats.epiccycle.com/tennessee/boxscores/07-08/football/UT14.HTM]

ee also

*2007 NCAA Division I-BS football season

References

* 2006 University of Tennessee Football Media Guide
* [http://utsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/ UTSports.com Football Page]