By: Matt Laws(matt.laws@averyjournal.com)Avery Journal-Times
During the opening quarter, the Tennessee and Cincinnati game appeared to be headed towards the direction of an offensive affair. However, the Volunteer airfare took control.
Tyler Bray threw for 405 yards in the air to lead the Vols to a 45-23 victory on Saturday afternoon inside Neyland Stadium.
"It felt like a track meet to me,” Tennessee Head Coach Derek Dooley said. “I'll tell you, our defense settled in, and they are just going to get some yards. They had 400 yards of offense, but what you can't do against these teams is give up that 65-yard run. And we give up a double move on third and 10. That's what you've got to eliminate. Let them get a little bit and move the ball, and then come up with the big third-down stops.”
The Bearcat offense struck first when Isiah Pead broke loose for a 65-yard touchdown with 13:24 still showing in the first quarter. However, Tennessee struck after a seven play drive when Marlon Lane dived into the endzone.
On the ensuing kick, Dooley reached into his bag of tricks as Michael Palardy kicked an onside kick and recovered for the Vols at midfield.
"We go into every game with stuff to try to generate some plays on special teams,” Dooley said. “We've done a pretty decent job in the last two years, and Palardy just had great execution. We've practiced it a lot and felt like we had a chance. The first drive, the guy goes 60-something yards and runs all over us, and then we scored. I just wanted to keep a little momentum going. It worked, so it was a good way to kind of flip the momentum."
Bray and the Tennessee offense took advantage as they got back on the scoreboard when Bray hit Justin Hunter for a 33-yard touchdown. After the Bearcats answered on their next drive, the defenses settled down to go into the second quarter with a 14-14 tie.
In the second frame, Bray gave Tennessee the lead when he hit Da’Rick Rogers for a 11-yard touchdown throw, and added to the lead with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Rogers. The Tennessee special teams took momentum into the locker room after Hunter blocked a half ending field goal to send UT to the locker room with a 28-14 lead.
Bray opened the second half scoring with his first career rushing touchdown on a 1-yard sneak with 10:16 on the scoreboard. Cincinnati finally managed to get on the board with a field goal, but the Vols quickly countered when Zach Rogers was on the receiving end of a 16-yard touchdown pass from Bray. After a late Bearcat touchdown, Palardy kicked a 37-yard field goal to cap the game’s scoring.
Bray ended the game 34-of-41 for 405 yards and four touchdowns. It was the first time that a Volunteer quarterback has eclipsed the 400-yard mark since 1997.
Bray’s favorite targets were Hunter and Rogers with 10 catches apiece. Hunter ended the game with 156 yards and a touchdown, while Rogers had 100 yards and two touchdowns.
"I've never had three of them like this, this young,” Dooley said. “I hope they keep doing what they are doing. The tests are going to get harder, but it is good to see where they are. That's two pretty good games by a quarterback and two really good games by those two wide outs. They made a lot of plays."
On the ground, Tauren Poole had 101 yards on 21 carries, while the freshman Lane had eight carries for 16 yards.
Hickory native Austin Johnson and Brent Brewer counted for six tackles apiece.
The Volunteers begin SEC play next week when they travel to the Swamp for a date with divisional rival Florida. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
