Eugene, OR- On Saturday afternoon, the Tennessee Vols took on the #2 Oregon Ducks in Autzen Stadium. The Vols played pretty well in the first half, as they led 6-3 in the second quarter. Tennessee received the opening kickoff and returned it to the 25 yard line as QB Justin Worley marched on the field, the first play of the game was a 12 yard pass caught by Pig Howard on the sideline. Worley marched the Vols down the field before the Ducks defense stiffened, holding them to a field goal, putting Tennessee up 3-0. The explosive Oregon offense didn't miss a beat on their first drive, going all the way down to the Vols 10 yard line before a Marcus Mariota pass was intercepted in the endzone by LaDarrell McNeil. The offense didn't take advantage of the Oregon turnover as they quickly went 3 and out. Oregon got the ball back, and again drove into the redzone but was again, intercepted in the endzone. After another 3 and out for the Vols offense, Oregon marched down the field for a 3rd straight time but could only manage a field goal, tying the game 3-3. After a while the Oregon offense got going, scoring 17 points in the 2nd quarter, entering halftime with a 17-6 lead. The second half was all Quack Attack, as Oregon was leading 45-9 before Tennessee scored a late, meaningless TD to put the final score at 45-16 in Oregon's favor.
Tennessee's head coach Butch Jones on the loss "this kind of loss is completely unacceptable at the University of Tennessee. We just flat out got out-played this evening, we weren't the better team on the field, and the scoreboard shows that. We have a long week of practice coming up before the game against Florida, I promise you, you'll see a different team on the field next Saturday in Gainesville".
The Tennessee offense was less than atrocious, throwing for 0 touchdowns, scoring one touchdown on the day, and amassing only 36 yards on the ground. The defense, got torched all game long by the trademark up-tempo Oregon offense, but Freshman Devaun Swafford did have the best game of his career so far, recording 9 tackles.
Next Saturday, the Vols make a second straight road to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators. Unlike Oregon, the Gators run a slower paced offense that suits the Tennessee defense MUCH more. Florida is a 12 point favorite in this game, but don't be surprised if the Vols make it a game. The game kicks off at 3:30 Eastern Time, tune in to CBS to watch.
Tennessee Volunteers at Oregon Ducks
Sep 14, 2013
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Tennessee Volunteers (2-1, 0-0 )
3
3
3
7
16
#2 Oregon Ducks (3-0, 0-0)
0
17
14
14
45
Team Stats Comparison
TENN
ORE
Total Offense
272
549
Rushing Yards
36
330
Passing Yards
236
219
First Downs
17
26
Punt Return Yards
10
18
Kick Return Yards
224
71
Total Yards
506
638
Turnovers
1
2
3rd Down Converstion
4-12
7-11
4th Down Conversion
0-1
1-1
2-Point Conversion
0-0
0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
4-1-3
7-4-1
Penalties
1-10
2-10
Posession Time
16:40
15:20
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
TENN
ORE
4:52
(TENN) M. Palardy, 31 yd FG
3
0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
TENN
ORE
7:16
(ORE) A. Maldonado, 26 yd FG
3
3
5:59
(TENN) M. Palardy, 45 yd FG
6
3
4:29
(ORE) D. Stanford, fumble recovery in endzone (A. Maldonado kick)
Knoxville, TN-Many experts were picking Western Kentucky to upset Tennessee after they upset Kentucky 30-27 in the season opener, but the Tennessee football team silenced them on Saturday with a convincing 30-9 win. Alton "Pig" Howard returned the opening kickoff 104 yards before being tackled at the WKU 5 yard line. Two carries by Rajion Neal put the Vols up early 7-0. Both teams exchanged punts the next 4 possessions, before Western Kentucky put together an 11 play, 76 yard drive capped off by a Keshawn Simpson 1 yard TD run, tying the game 7-7. The Vols knew they needed to answer to put the momentum back on their side, they marched down the field before the drive stalled and they were forced to kick a field goal, putting them up 10-7 late in the first half. The teams went into the locker room with Tennessee leading 10-9 after Rajion Neal was tackled in the endzone for a safety.
The second half was a different story as Tennessee held WKU to under 100 yards of offense, allowing 0 points the rest of the game. The Vols offense drove into WKU territory 3 times in the third quarter but were held to only 6 points, 2 field goals of 44 and 28 yards by Michael Palardy to be precise, putting the Big Orange up 16-9 heading into the 4th quarter. The 4th quarter was definitely the best quarter of football the Vols played all game, scoring 14 points, an 8 yard pass from Justin Worley to Pig Howard, who made a sensational grab in the back of the endzone, and a 2 yard run by Rajion Neal, the final score of the game which gave the Vols a 30-9 win.
QB Justin Worley struggled almost the whole game, completing just 3 of 13 passes in the first half, which left the fans in Neyland Stadium wanting a quarterback change. However, Worley did finish the day 13-26 and 1 TD pass. Rajion Neal was definitely the player of the game, finishing with 29 carries, 147 yards, and 2 TD. WR Pig Howard caught the only TD pass of the day, his only catch of the day strangely enough. On defense, ball-hawk A.J. Johnson finished with 14 tackles and a forced fumble.
Next Saturday the Vols (2-0) make their first road trip of the season, traveling to Eugene, Oregon take on the #2 Oregon Ducks (2-0). Most Vols fans aren't expecting a win, as most would be happy with a respectable showing, but hey...you never know.
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Tennessee Volunteers
Sep 7, 2013
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (1-1, 0-0)
0
9
0
0
9
Tennessee Volunteers (2-0, 0-0)
7
3
6
14
30
Team Stats Comparison
WKU
TENN
Total Offense
338
300
Rushing Yards
69
172
Passing Yards
269
128
First Downs
15
13
Punt Return Yards
13
37
Kick Return Yards
27
125
Total Yards
378
462
Turnovers
0
1
3rd Down Converstion
5-17
8-16
4th Down Conversion
1-5
0-0
2-Point Conversion
0-0
0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
1-1-0
5-3-1
Penalties
3-15
0-0
Posession Time
12:50
19:10
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
WKU
TENN
7:21
(TENN) R. Neal, 2 yd run (M. Palardy kick)
0
7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
WKU
TENN
6:09
(WKU) K. Simpson, 1 yd run (G. Schwettman kick)
7
7
4:26
(TENN) M. Palardy, 43 yd FG
7
10
0:56
(WKU) Team Safety
9
10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
WKU
TENN
5:40
(TENN) M. Palardy, 44 yd FG
9
13
0:26
(TENN) M. Palardy, 28 yd FG
9
16
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
WKU
TENN
3:51
(TENN) P. Howard, 8 yd pass from J. Worley (M. Palardy kick)
Knoxville,TN-99,765 Tennessee fans showed up in Big Orange Country on Saturday to watch their beloved Vols under 1st year head coach Butch Jones. All Vols fans were curious to see how their team would do in their 2013 season opener, they wouldn't have anything to complain about as the Vols won in impressive fashion, 41-0.
NC State 1st year Head Coach Dave Doeren knew that it wouldn't be an easy task to be the new NC State coach, but he embraced the opportunity he received. He kicked off his tenure with a 45-31 victory over Louisiana Tech. Doeren said in the post-game press conference "We knew we were playing a quality opponent out there today, we preached that to our players all week, and they did their jobs and got us the win. They played like champs the first half, but the second half was a different story...we faced some adversity going down 31-30 late in the fourth, but all summer long I preached to our guys about playing through adversity and never quitting. That's exactly what they did."
The NC State offense got off to a quick start, going up 7-0 with an 8 yard TD pass to Bryan Underwood. The offense was clicking in the 1st half put couldn't manage to put the ball in the end zone but twice. RB Shadrach Thornton added a 21 yard TD run late in the 2nd Quarter and kicker Niklas Sade added 3 field goals as the Wolfpack led 23-3 at the half. However, the second half was a different story as Louisiana Tech scored 2 TD's, as NC State only scored one, cutting their lead to 30-17. There were tons of fireworks in the 4th as Louisiana Tech scored back to back touchdowns, giving them a 31-30 lead with 4 minutes remaining in the game. On the very first play after the La. Tech go ahead touchdown, NC State QB Pete Thomas marched on the field and threw a 71 yard bomb to Quintin Payton. After a successful 2 point conversion NC State got the lead back 38-31, before a 22 yard interception return by freshman Niles Clark, putting the game away 45-31.
The Wolfpack (1-0, 0-0) stay at home this weekend to take on the Richmond Spiders (1-0, 0-0). The game kicks off at 6:00 as the Pack look to improve their 2013 record to 2-0.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at North Carolina State Wolfpack
Aug 31, 2013
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (0-1, 0-0)
3
0
14
14
31
North Carolina State Wolfpack (1-0, 0-0)
7
16
7
15
45
Team Stats Comparison
LT
NCST
Total Offense
408
445
Rushing Yards
62
154
Passing Yards
346
291
First Downs
19
21
Punt Return Yards
0
25
Kick Return Yards
28
155
Total Yards
436
625
Turnovers
1
1
3rd Down Converstion
7-13
12-16
4th Down Conversion
1-1
0-0
2-Point Conversion
0-0
1-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
5-4-1
4-2-2
Penalties
6-35
0-0
Posession Time
11:50
20:10
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
LT
NCST
4:10
(NCST) B. Underwood, 8 yd pass from P. Thomas (N. Sade kick)
0
7
2:30
(LT) L. McPherson, 25 yd FG
3
7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
LT
NCST
7:51
(NCST) N. Sade, 27 yd FG
3
10
5:51
(NCST) N. Sade, 34 yd FG
3
13
2:25
(NCST) S. Thornton, 21 yd run (N. Sade kick)
3
20
0:00
(NCST) N. Sade, 41 yd FG
3
23
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
LT
NCST
5:16
(LT) K. Dixon, 1 yd run (L. McPherson kick)
10
23
3:03
(LT) J. Jackson, 1 yd pass S. Young (L. McPherson kick)
17
23
0:00
(NCST) T. Purvis, 1 yd run (N. Sade kick)
17
30
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
LT
NCST
7:21
(LT) K. Dixon, 15 yd pass from S. Young (L. McPherson kick)
24
30
4:38
(LT) P. Turner, 8 yd pass from S. Young (L. McPherson kick)
31
30
4:23
(NCST) Q. Payton, 71 yd pass from P. Thomas (2-pt conv.)