2006 Tennessee Volunteers football team The 2006 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the college football season of 2006 – 2007 . Tennessee entered the 2006 season coming off an 5 – 6 record ( 3 – 5 SEC ) in 2005 . The Volunteers were given a preseason ranking of # 23 in both the Coaches ' Poll and the AP Poll . Led by head coach Phillip Fulmer , the Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium . The 2006 season saw a turnaround from the previous years losing record . The Vols added four wins from the total of the previous season . Also notable was the breakout year turned in by wide receiver Robert Meachem who broke the single season school record for receiving yards . Preseason . The Volunteers were picked by the media as a preseason third place in the SEC ' s Eastern Division at SEC Media Days . Tennessee was picked as low as 4th by the preseason magazines , with only one , Phil Steele , picking the Vols to win the East Division . The Vols had last won a conference and national title in 1998 . Their last SEC East title had been in 2004 . Schedule . Starting lineup . Head Coach : Phillip Fulmer ( 15th year ) Offense . Offensive Coordinator : David Cutcliffe ( 1st year ) < br > Offensive Scheme : Multiple ( I - Form , Shotgun and Singleback ) Tennessee had many changes on the offensive staff following the 2005 season . Former Offensive Coordinator Randy Sanders resigned and later took a job as quarterback coach at Kentucky . Sanders was replaced by former Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe . Wide receiver coach Pat Washington and offensive line coach Jimmy Ray Stephens were fired . Washington moved on to Kansas State University , while Stephens stayed in state , taking the same position at Middle Tennessee State University . The coaches were replaced by Matt Luke , who took over as offensive line coach , and Kurt Roper , who came in to coach running backs . Trooper Taylor switched from running backs to wide receiver coach in response to the changes in staff . Defense . Defensive Coordinator : John Chavis ( 19th year ) < br > Base Defense : Multiple ( 4 – 3 and 3 – 2 – 6 " Mustang " ) The entire Tennessee defensive staff returned for the 2006 season . The group of Johnny Chavis , Dan Brooks , Steve Caldwell , and Larry Slade have been together since the 1999 season . Game notes . California . Pregame Line : California −3 The Volunteers looked impressive in their first game after the 5 – 6 2005 season . Tennessee led 35 – 0 late in the 3rd quarter before putting in reserve players . Erik Ainge connected for 4 TD passes , with 4 scoring plays of more than 40 yards . Sports Illustrated ' s " By The Numbers " noted that Tennessee had only 1 scoring play of more than 40 yards in the entire previous season . WR Robert Meachem caught two long touchdown passes . On Defense , Tennessee held the highly touted Golden Bears scoreless for almost 3 entire quarters . They were led by Ryan Karl with 9 Tackles , while Antwan Stewart and Inky Johnson each had an interception . Cal QB Nate Longshore was held to 85 yards passing , while preseason All American RB Marshawn Lynch was limited to 76 yards rushing . Air Force . Tennessee avoided an upset by stopping a two point conversion with less than two minutes remaining . DE Xavier Mitchell made the stop in the backfield as the Vols avoided the late charge . Tennessee led 31 – 17 late in the 4th quarter before an interception and onside kick recovery allowed the Air Force Academy to close the gap . Erik Ainge moved into the top ranking for NCAA passer efficiency by going 24 for 29 with 1 interception and 3 touchdowns . The Air Force Flexbone offense gave the Tennessee defense trouble and racked up 281 rushing yards . The Vols also lost DT Justin Harrell and CB Inky Johnson for the season to injury ( Though Harrell would be able to play sparingly against Florida before his surgery ) . Florida . The Vols lost their SEC Opener in a hard fought battle with the Florida Gators . Florida held the Tennessee offense to −11 rushing yards en route to a 21 – 20 victory . Florida QB Chris Leak passed for 3 TD ' s including the game winner to Dallas Baker with 6 : 30 left to play . Tennessee took the lead in the 2nd quarter after scoring on a trick play . WR Lucas Taylor took a reverse pitch and threw a pass to backup RB LaMarcus Coker . The Vols Defense sacked Leak 3 times . One controversial play cost the Vols 7 points . MLB Marvin Mitchell intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD . The play was nullified by a roughing the passer penalty on J . T . Mapu for a hit to the head . Replays showed that Mapu was swiping at the ball and made contact with Leak ' s helmet . Marshall . The Volunteers took a while to get going . . . but only because the kickoff was postponed for 1 hour due to lightning . Soon after , Tennessee rolled to a 33 – 7 victory . The Defense led the way , holding Marshall to 236 total yards . Xavier Mitchell and Matt McGlothlin sacked Marshall QB Bernard Morris for a safety to start the scoring . Backup RB LaMarcus Coker got his second career TD on an 89 yard run , the longest run from scrimmage for Tennessee since 1977 . Memphis . Tennessee out manned unranked Memphis coached by former Vol Tommy West . The Vols racked up 571 total yards en route to a 41 – 7 victory . The Vols held Memphis to 122 total yards , over 50 of which came against the reserve defense . QB Erik Ainge turned in another solid performance , going 24 - for - 28 for 331 yards and 4 TDs . WRs Jayson Swain , Robert Meachem , and Bret Smith each had a TD reception , with two TDs for Swain . Memphis did have a 7 – 3 lead for a short time , after returning an interception for a touchdown . However , the play was called back on a penalty , and Tennessee never actually trailed the entire game . Georgia . Georgia took advantage of Special teams play to jump out to a 24 – 7 lead in the 2nd quarter . However , Tennessee stiffened its defense and scored on every possession but one in the second half to record a 51 – 33 victory over the ninth ranked Georgia Bulldogs . Georgia entered the game with the # 1 ranked scoring defense in the nation , but the Vols dropped them to # 17 . Erik Ainge was 25 - of - 38 with 2 TD ' s and no interceptions . Georgia scored twice on Special teams , with one long kickoff return for a TD in the first half and a long punt return for TD in the second half . Tennessee DB Antonio Wardlow blocked and punt and recovered the ball in the endzone to post a TD for the Vols in the 2nd half . Robert Meachem had 7 receptions for 98 yards and moved into first place nationally for receiving yards per game . A photo of Wardlow ' s punt block and recovery made the cover of Sports Illustrated for October 16 , 2006 . Alabama . The Vols won a close contest , regaining bragging rights for the Third Saturday in October . Erik Ainge struggled early , but the Vols overcame their QB ' s 3 interception first half performance with strong defense and timely scoring . Tennessee held the Tide offense to 211 total yards and 13 points . Arian Foster scored the go ahead touchdown with 3 : 02 left to play in the game to give the Vols the 16 – 13 win . James Wilhoit went 3 - for - 4 on field goal attempts to account for the other nine points . Running back LaMarcus Coker sustained a knee injury that will keep him out until the Arkansas game . Tennessee ' s 4th quarter touchdown against Alabama marked the first touchdown against the Crimson Tide by the Vols in 9 quarters , a streak starting in the 2nd quarter of the 2004 game . South Carolina . Tennessee took advantages of some early turnovers and finished strong as they beat Steve Spurrier ' s South Carolina Gamecocks by the score of 31 – 24 . On the second play from scrimmage , MLB Marvin Mitchell intercepted a bobbled pass and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown . On South Carolina ' s next possession , CB Jonathan Wade intercepted another tipped pass in the Tennessee endzone to stop a Gamecock drive . The Vol offense marched down the field and scored on a 10 play , 74 yard drive , capped off by a touchdown pass from Erik Ainge to Bret Smith . South Carolina controlled the middle part of the game , and took a 17 – 14 lead with 4 : 10 left in the 3rd quarter . However , the Vols responded with a long scoring drive , and a 1 play scoring drive after a long Jonathan Hefney punt return . The Vols led 31 – 17 until South Carolina scored with 2 : 45 remaining in the game . The Vols had to recover an onside kick and stop one last Gamecock offensive stand . An interception by Demetrius Morley on the final play of the game sealed the win . QB Erik Ainge suffered an ankle injury . CB Jonathan Wade was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against South Carolina . Wade had an interception in the endzone , 2 pass breakups and 4 solo tackles . LSU . LSU QB JaMarcus Russell threw a touchdown pass with 9 seconds remaining to give the LSU Tigers a 28 – 24 victory over Tennessee . The Vols looked good at times during the game , but could not make a stop on LSU ' s final drive of the game , which consumed 7 : 14 from the clock . QB Erik Ainge , starting with a sore ankle , was replaced in the 1st quarter by redshirt freshman Jonathan Crompton . Crompton performed well for his first significant action , connecting on two long touchdown passes to Robert Meachem . On Defense , Tennessee intercepted Russell 3 times and recovered 1 fumble . Arkansas . The Razorbacks dominated the Vols on both sides of the ball and took a 28 – 7 lead into the locker room at half time . Arkansas won the game 31 – 14 , predominantly by controlling the line of scrimmage . Arkansas out rushed Tennessee 259 – 92 , with 191 yards by Razorback Darren McFadden . Redshirt freshman Jonathan Crompton started his first game , after playing most of the previous week ' s game against LSU . Crompton struggled , going 16 - for - 34 with 1 interception and 2 touchdowns . Vanderbilt . Tennessee avenged last year ' s upset loss to Vanderbilt by beating the Commodores , 39 – 10 . The Vols took a 19 – 7 lead into halftime and were not in any danger of giving up the lead in the second half . Ainge capped the victory with a 17 - yard TD toss to Robert Meachem early in the fourth quarter for a 36 – 7 lead . Meachem had seven catches for 95 yards , and Wilhoit had a career - high 15 points with field goals of 43 , 27 and 41 . The Vols shut down an offense that had been fifth in the SEC averaging 363 . 1 yards per game and the nation ' s top receiver in Earl Bennett . He had four catches for 16 yards a week after a career - high 220 yards receiving . Chris Nickson , who had 517 yards total offense against Kentucky , was held to 97 yards passing and 44 yards rushing . " We kept an eye on ( him ) , " said Tennessee cornerback Jonathan Wade , " We never lost him . " Vanderbilt took its only lead at 7 – 6 when Nickson connected with George Smith on a 7 - yard TD pass to culminate a drive that ate up nearly half of the second quarter . The Vols answered this score with a 6 play , 80 yard drive . The drive was capped off by an 8 yard touchdown run by LaMarcus Coker . Coker ended the day with 126 yards on 10 carries and 2 touchdowns . Kentucky . The Vols scored their 22nd consecutive victory over the Wildcats of Kentucky with a 17 – 12 win . The 22 game streak is currently the longest in the nation after Navy defeated Notre Dame in 2007 . Tennessee held the Wildcats scoreless in the second half , and held back a go ahead drive by the Wildcats in the 4th quarter . Kentucky drove down to the 2 yard line , before a delay of game penalty and two incompletions stifled their scoring effort . Kentucky outgained the Vols 410 to 336 yards , however , they were stopped on two trips inside the twenty , and on a 4th down play at the Tennessee 28 . Kentucky K Lonas Seiber also missed an extra point and 33 yard field goal . Robert Meachem had another good game for the Vols , with six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown . With his effort , Meachem broke the UT record for receiving yards in a season . Outback Bowl : Penn State . The Vols ended the season on a sour note by dropping the 2007 Outback Bowl to the Penn State by the score of 20 – 10 . The Vols were driving for the go ahead score midway through the 4th quarter before Arian Foster fumbled . The fumble was scooped up by the Lions ' Tony Davis and returned for an 88 yard touchdown . The play proved to be decisive as Penn State added another field goal for the final margin of victory . Penn State RB Tony Hunt turned in a strong performance , running for 165 yards . The Vols defense allowed 380 total yards , but limited the Nittany Lions to only one touchdown scoring drive and surrendered only 13 points . James Wilhoit hit a 44 yard field goal and an extra point in his final game as a Vol . RB LaMarcus Coker had a 42 yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter .