Quarterly Report

What follows is a quarter-by-quarter recap of Tennessee's 56-28 blitz of Memphis Saturday night at Neyland Stadium:

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UT 0	Quarter 1 15:00	0 MU
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You knew it was going to be Tennessee's night when David Oku returned the opening kickoff 69 yards to the Memphis 24-yard line. Bryce Brown scored six plays later for a 7-0 Vol lead. Tennessee went up 14-0 on its next possession, zipping 55 yards in five plays. Jonathan Crompton hit Gerald Jones with a 17-yard strike for the score.
KEY PLAY
Oku's kickoff return. It really fired up the crowd, fired up the Vols and put Memphis on its heels.
KEY PLAYER
Crompton. He completed 6 of 9 passes for 100 yards and a touchdowns in the quarter.
KEY STAT
Tennessee's defense limited Memphis to minus-3 rushing yards and 25 net yards in the quarter.

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UT 14	Quarter 1 00:00	0 MU
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Building on his sizzing start, Crompton completed consecutive passes of 37 yards to Jones and 23 yards to Luke Stocker to cap a six-play, 74-yard TD drive that widened the gap to 21-0. A 4-yard TD toss to Quintin Hancock completed a six-play, 74-yard drive that bumped the lead to 28-0 and a 14-yard strike to Nu'keese Richardson put the finishing touch on an eight-play, 87-yard scoring march as the lead swelled to 35-0. Memphis got a 36-yard run by Marcus Hightower on an option pitch to pull within 35-7 with 58 seconds left to halftime. Tennessee promptly zoomed 55 yards in five plays to score on a Crompton sneak and take a 42-7 lead into the locker room.
KEY PLAY
An Eric Berry interception at the Vol 6-yard line. The Vols led 28-0 at the time but a Memphis TD would've given the Tigers a little hope. Spurred by Berry's interception, the Vols drove 87 yards in eight plays to bump the lead to 35-0 and put the game on ice early.
KEY PLAYER
Crompton. He was even hotter in the second quarter than the first, completing 13 of 15 passes for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns.
KEY STAT
Tennessee scored touchdowns on six of its seven first-half possessions. You can't get much more efficient than that.

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UT 42	Quarter 2 00:00	7 MU
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After Ben Martin stripped Memphis QB Will Hudgens, Eric Berry recovered at the Tiger 30-yard line. Crompton needed just four plays to hit Denarius Moore with a 16-yard pass that widened the gap to 49-7 and gave Crompton the rest of the night off. Memphis took advantage of UT reserve defenders to drive 84 yards in 15 plays and 57 yards in seven plays for touchdowns that narrowed the gap to 49-21. Nick Stephens answered for UT with a 14-yard TD pass to Denarius Moore, bumping the lead to 56-21.
KEY PLAY
Stephens' TD pass. It gave the Vols enough breathing room that they could afford to continue playing their reserve defenders.
KEY PLAYER
Tiger tailback Curtis Steele. He carried 11 times for 78 yards in the period and scored both Memphis TDs.
KEY STAT
After managing just 104 yards against first-team defenders in the first two quarters, Memphis piled up 147 third-period yards against Vol reserves.

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UT 56	Quarter 3 00:00	21 MU
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Hudgens scored on a quarterback sneak with 11:36 remaining to cap an 11-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that closed out the scoring at 56-28. Tennessee drove to the Memphis 5-yard line but Stephens was intercepted by Lavaris Edwards to foil the threat.
KEY PLAY
Not applicable. The game essentially was over when the fourth quarter started.
KEY PLAYER
Not applicable. See Key Play.
KEY STAT
Tennessee now leads the all-time series with Memphis 21-1.

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UT 56	Quarter 4 00:00	28 MU
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More in-depth info...

Game #: 1164
Site: Knoxville
Date: Nov. 7
Conference: USA
Coach Match-up:
For the Vols - Kiffin and for the Tigers - West