Nov. 17, 2007
Starting Lineups:
· Defensively, nine Commodores have started all 11 games for the Commodores, including the entire defensive line of DE Steven Stone, DT Gabe Hall, RT Theo Horrocks and DE Curtis Gatewood. Linebackers Marcus Buggs and Jonathan Goff, safeties Reshard Langford and Ryan Hamilton, and cornerback Myron Lewis round out the nine who have started every game this year. The lineup included both CB D.J. Moore and LB Patrick Benoist for the fourth time this season. Moore returned from an injury suffered in last week’s game to make his 10th start of the year.
· On offense, the entire offensive line – LT Chris Williams, LG Josh Eames, C Hamilton Holliday, RG Merritt Kirchoffer and RT Brian Stamper – has made every start.
Cassen Jackson-Garrison Moves Up VU Rushing List:
· With an eight-yard run at the end of the first quarter, senior TB Cassen Jackson-Garrison moved past Dean Davidson to ninth on Vanderbilt’s all-time rushing yardage chart. Jackson-Garrison entered the game 11 yards behind Davidson (1,731 yards, 1947-50). With 83 yards today, Jackson-Garrison ended the game with 1,803 yards for his VU career. He stands only 11 yards behind Everett Crawford (1,814 yards, 1984-87) for eighth place on the all-time list.
The VU Offense:
· For the first time this season, the Commodores had zero turnovers. QB Mackenzi Adams completed 14-of-26 passes for 139 yards, and the Commodore rushing attack gained 131 yards on the ground. Vanderbilt was 6-of-14 on third down, while Tennessee converted only 2-of-12 third-down plays.
First Half Notes:
· After allowing a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, the Commodores thwarted UT’s point-after attempt when senior DT Theo Horrocks blocked the kick.
· A touchdown pass from QB Mackenzi Adams to TE Brad Allen capped a 17-play, 78-yard drive that took up 9:02. Both the elapsed time and the number of plays were season highs for the Commodores. Adams’ seventh touchdown pass of the season was the first career TD reception for Allen, a junior.
· With 4:05 remaining in the second quarter, CB D.J. Moore ended a UT drive by breaking up a pass in the red zone. The Vols were forced to kick a field goal.
· QB Mackenzi Adams’ second touchdown pass, a 19-yard strike to TB Jeff Jennings, gave the Commodores a 14-9 lead late in the first half. It marked Adams’ second straight game with two TDs, and third overall.
· Late in the first half, LB Patrick Benoist scooped up a UT fumble at the Tennessee 26. Benoist returned his first career fumble recovery 10 yards to set VU up in the red zone with 30 seconds left in the period. Junior PK Bryant Hahnfeldt converted a 33-yard field goal to give Vanderbilt a 17-9 edge.
· Saturday marks the third time this season that the Commodores have amassed 17 points in a single quarter. The Commodores last reached the season-high mark on Oct. 20 in the first quarter of a 17-6 win at South Carolina. The Commodores also put up 17 in the fourth quarter of a 31-17 victory over Ole Miss.
· The VU offense won time of possession in the first half, holding onto the ball for 10:05 of the second quarter.
Second Half Notes:
· Vanderbilt’s opening drive of the second half included a number of highlight-reel plays. Cassen Jackson-Garrison rushed for 32 yards, including a 23-yard burst that took the Commodores to midfield. Sophomore WR Alex Washington converted back-to-back third-down situations with a 30-yard catch (a career long) on 3rd and 13 and a nine-yard grab on 3rd and 3. The drive was capped by a two-yard TD pass to junior WR George Smith, marking a career-high three touchdown passes for QB Mackenzi Adams. Adams was 3-for-3 on the drive for 41 yards.
· On the ensuing drive, the Commodore defense gave up only one first down before stopping the Vols on the VU 46 yard line when LB Marcus Buggs hurried UT quarterback Erik Ainge into an incomplete pass.
· The Commodore offense again controlled the clock in the third quarter, holding onto the ball for 9:55.
· Sophomore P Brett Upson boomed a 59-yard punt five minutes into the fourth quarter that pinned UT inside its 20.
· A Tennessee touchdown midway through the fourth quarter made the score 24-22. The Vols went for two, but a QB hurry by LB Jonathan Goff caused Ainge’s pass to sail through the end zone untouched.
· KR D.J. Moore got the Commodores’ final drive of the game started in UT territory, returning a kickoff 55 yards to the Tennessee 42-yard line.