COLUMBIA, SC – OCTOBER 30: Tyler Bray #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers is chased by South Carolina Gamecocks Stephon Gilmore (#5) and Cliff Matthews (#83) during the Gamecocks’ 38-24 win over Bray’s Tennessee Volunteers at Williams-Brice Stadium on October 30, 2010 in Columbia, South Carolina.
UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that Tyler Ray is likely to start this coming Weekend’s Tennessee game against Memphis.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Citizen Potawatomi Nation member Tyler Bray made his first significant positive contribution as a freshman Tennessee University quarterback on Saturday, October 31. However, it was not enough as the South Carolina Gamecocks fought off the Vols’ comeback to post a 38-24 win.
Bray finished the day 9-of-15 passing for 159 yards and two TD passes. He did throw one interception, which was returned for a touchdown. That play gave South Carolina a 24-10 lead. But, Vols coach Derek Dooley stuck with Bray, who was getting his first significant playing time in a Tennessee uniform. Bray settled down to toss TD passes of 30 yards to Denarius Moore and 17 yards to Gerald Jones to tie the game at 24 with 13:17 to play in the fourth quarter.
But, Gamecock Ashlon Jeffrey then demonstrated that speed kills, catching a routine pass over the middle with the game tied at 24-all, moving toward the right sideline, and outrunning several Vols defenders for a critical TD in the Gamecocks’ 38-24 victory.
Bray was part of a near-historic Tennessee performance. Receiver Moore caught six passes for a career-high 228 yards. That was the second-best receiving yards mark in Tennessee history.
Things haven’t gone well in Tennessee coach Dooley’s first season. The Vols were run over by Georgia and Alabama in the past two weeks and Dooley compared his team to German troops watching the Allies’ D-Day invasion during World War II.
Tennessee, though, showed it wasn’t ready to give up anything to South Carolina with its second-half rally. Trailing 24-10, the Vols pulled off their first successful fake punt since 2004 as Chad Cunningham ran for 25 yards on fourth-and-10. On the next play, Bray connected with Moore on a 30-yard scoring pass to pull within a touchdown.
Bray and Moore were at it again on Tennessee’s next series. The two combined for a 64-yard reception to the Gamecocks’ two and, after a personal foul penalty pushed the Vols back, Bray hit Gerald Jones for a 17-yard touchdown to tie it up at 24-all.
Bray told his teammates not to hang their heads. “I came back in the second half and said, ‘Hey guys, lets go’ and started throwing it to the playmakers,” said Bray, who also threw an interception that defensive end Devin Taylor returned 24 yards for a touchdown.
The Vols are 2-6, 0-5 Southeastern Conference.
Scoring Summary
|
FIRST QUARTER |
TENN |
SCAR |
|||
|
SECOND QUARTER |
TENN |
SCAR |
|||
|
|
FG |
02:50 |
Michael Palardy 39 Yd |
3 |
0 |
|
THIRD QUARTER |
TENN |
SCAR |
|||
|
|
FG |
13:33 |
Spencer Lanning 40 Yd |
3 |
3 |
|
|
TD |
06:40 |
Marcus Lattimore 1 Yd Run (Spencer Lanning Kick) |
3 |
10 |
|
|
TD |
03:17 |
Luke Stocker 12 Yd Pass From Matt Simms (Michael Palardy Kick) |
10 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FOURTH QUARTER |
TENN |
SCAR |
|||
|
|
TD |
12:30 |
Stephen Garcia 1 Yd Run (Spencer Lanning Kick) |
10 |
17 |
|
|
TD |
11:40 |
Devin Taylor 24 Yd Interception Return (Spencer Lanning Kick) |
10 |
24 |
|
|
TD |
03:09 |
Denarius Moore 30 Yd Pass From Tyler Bray (Michael Palardy Kick) |
17 |
24 |
|
|
TD |
13:17 |
Gerald Jones 17 Yd Pass From Tyler Bray (Michael Palardy Kick) |
24 |
24 |
|
|
TD |
12:17 |
Alshon Jeffery 70 Yd Pass From Stephen Garcia (Spencer Lanning Kick) |
24 |
31 |
|
|
TD |
03:28 |
Stephen Garcia 1 Yd Run (Spencer Lanning Kick) |
24 |
38 |