KNOXVILLE -- Da'Rick Rogers simply looked different.
With his quarterback back at the helm of the Tennessee offense, the Volunteers' receiver from Calhoun, Ga., played like the dynamic playmaker he's supposed to be, making tough catches in tight coverage at crucial times.
Rogers caught 10 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns in Tyler Bray's first game back in five weeks, the Vols' 27-21 overtime win against Vanderbilt on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.
"He's been playing good, but I think, yeah, Tyler's his guy," UT coach Derek Dooley said. "They've got a little body language going."
Rogers went over 100 yards last week in the loss at Arkansas, but he was nearly flawless Saturday night. He made a nice adjustment on a back-shoulder throw for his first score and made a one-handed grab to tie the game in the fourth quarter.
"I knew he was going to get it," Bray said. "He's a big-time receiver going against a big-time corner and he's got to make the play. We've always got to win contested balls."
Rogers became the sixth Vol to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in a single season and the fourth Vol with six 100-yard receiving games in a season, and he had his third multi-touchdown game this season.
"The team morale went up when [Bray] got back," Rogers said. "I go out every game and give my all just like I did tonight. It's just Tyler Bray is an impact, he's a playmaker and he makes a lot of things a lot easier than they are. It makes it easier to score touchdowns and make plays."
Vols' best friend
The orange dog statue, which has become the latest of Dooley's quirky motivational ploys and a signal for UT's players to focus on positive thoughts, was on the sideline Saturday night.
"I kept telling them I've seen a lot of good in them, and I've seen a lot of good in them these last six weeks that a lot of people can't see," he said. "I kept believing in them and they kept believing in themselves. It's real easy to get lost in that. It's toxic all the negativity that can surround a program.
"It's hard on a young man, it's hard on adults to be insulated from it, but the ol' orange dog did its magic. They were positive all night. We never tucked our tails or put our heads down tonight, and there were plenty of opportunities to."
Makeshift secondary
Marsalis Teague, who's been the victim of a handful of long pass plays this season, started at cornerback for the first time since the LSU game last month. Freshman Justin Coleman started against Middle Tennessee State and Arkansas the past two weeks while Teague came off the bench.
Freshman safety Brian Randolph left the game after a first-quarter collision, and he was replaced at strong safety by Rod Wilks. Free safety Prentiss Waggner walked off the field in overtime favoring his left arm, but he spoke in postgame interviews. Byron Moore took his spot for the final few plays.
"We were struggling in the back end," Dooley said. "We lost Randolph, and then we lost Prentiss, so that's our four safeties that we've lost since July. You know, we had Rod and B-Moore down there. It's just hold on, go make a play."
Status updates
Rajion Neal and Tauren Poole both took direct snaps in UT's wildcat formation Saturday night. ... Austin Johnson's first-quarter interception was the senior linebacker's fourth in UT's last five games -- the most interceptions by a linebacker since Jackie Walker picked off five passes in 1970. ... On UT's first touchdown, freshman left tackle Antonio "Tiny" Richardson, a Nashville native who was UT's top-rated recruit in the 2011 class before offseason shoulder surgery negated most of his summer and the first two weeks of preseason training camp, lined up in the backfield to the right of Bray. ... Vanderbilt linebacker Archibald Barnes' 100-yard interception return for a third-quarter score was the first 100-yard pick-six against UT since the 1962 game against Ole Miss. ... Representatives from the Chick-fil-a, Music City and Liberty bowls were in attendance Saturday night. ... UT's captains were all seniors: Johnson, Poole and defensive lineman Malik Jackson. ... Willie Bohannon started for the third consecutive game ahead of Jacques Smith at defensive end. ... The Vols won their new Adidas compression undershirts with the checkerboard design on the outside of the sleeve for the second straight game. ... UT won the coin toss and deferred the option to the second half after taking ball with a coin-toss win last week.