The man of the hour, Paul Bain, tells us about his part time jobs and his big play pic.twitter.com/bHAucMFxB1
— David Cobb (@DavidWCobb) September 5, 2017
ATLANTA - As news broke last week that the Tennessee football team had lost star linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. for the season, the question became who would step in as a defensive playmaker.
Sophomore Daniel Bituli answered that question emphatically Monday night with 23 total tackles, the most by a Volunteers defender since Keith DeLong had 22 in a 1988 loss to Alabama.
Although he played in the TSSAA's smallest classification, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Bituli stood out in his first career college start, with a team-high 11 solo stops and a forced fumble. In high school he was the state's Class 1A Mr. Football lineman of the year and helped lead Nashville Christian to a state title.
Monday night he was part of a very active Vols linebacker corps that included Baylor School graduate Colton Jumper with 18 tackles and fellow senior Cortez McDowell with 13 tackles, including seven solos. The three ranked 1-2-3 on the team in tackles.
Kelly extends record
When John Kelly dived across the goal line midway through the second quarter, it added to the program record for consecutive games with a rushing touchdown. The Vols have now had at least one rushing TD in 29 straight games, dating back to a 29-21 loss to Missouri on Nov. 22, 2014. Kelly added three scoring runs late in the game and the Vols' current streak is the second-longest active, behind Alabama's 35.
Tennessee had rushing TDs in 24 straight games from 1937 to 1939, a mark that stood for 77 years.
Openers streak nine
Monday's win extended Tennessee's streak of consecutive season-opening wins to nine. The Vols had outscored the previous eight season-opening opponents by an average of 32.3 points before escaping the Yellow Jackets in double overtime.
Butch Jones now has coached UT to opening wins over Austin Peay, Utah State, Bowling Green, Appalachian State and Georgia Tech. Last year's defeat of App State was in overtime.
The Yellow Jackets had won five of their previous six games against SEC opponents, including three straight last season. However, Tennessee has now won seven straight games played at neutral sites.
Tech gashes Vols
Georgia Tech ranked seventh in the nation last year with 38 runs of 20 yards or more, including 16 plays of 50-plus yards. The Jackets had five plays of 20-plus yards against the Vols defense Monday. Meanwhile the Vols tied for 110th - out of 128 teams - by allowing 27 rushes of 20 or more yards last year.
The Jackets ran the ball 86 times for 535 yards. Quarterback TaQuon Marshall carried 44 times for 249 yards and a school-record five touchdowns. KirVonte Benson added 124 yards and the other TD.
Vols fare well vs. ACC
Monday night's game marked the third time since 2012 the Vols faced an ACC opponent in a neutral-site game. UT opened the 2012 season with a 35-21 win over North Carolina State in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game, beat Virginia Tech 45-24 in last year's Battle at Bristol and then held off Georgia Tech in two overtimes.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.
HOW THEY SCORED
ATLANTA - Staff writer David Paschall examines the scoring drives from Tennessee's 42-41 double-overtime win over Georgia Tech on Monday night: FIRST QUARTER GT - TaQuon Marshall 1-yard run (Shawn Davis kick), 0:06 Drive: 12 plays, 86 yards, 6:51 Key play: The Yellow Jackets didn't have a first down through two possessions but moved the chains for the first time on KirVonte Benson's 15-yard run up the middle on third-and-2 to the Georgia Tech 37. Three plays later, they converted a third-and-12 on Marshall's 44-yard pass to Ricky Jeune to the Tennessee 21. GEORGIA TECH 7, TENNESSEE 0 SECOND QUARTER TN - John Kelly 1-yard run (Aaron Medley kick), 8:11 Drive: 8 plays, 46 yards, 2:30 Key play: After Tennessee linebacker Daniel Bituli caused a Marshall fumble that fellow linebacker Cortez McDowell recovered at the Tech 46, Quinten Dormady connected with Jauan Jennings for 5 yards on third-and-3 to the 34. On the next play, Kelly picked up the biggest gain of the first half for the Volunteers with a 22-yard run to the 12. GEORGIA TECH 7, TENNESSEE 7 GT - Benson 1-yard run (Davis kick), 1:11 Drive: 16 plays, 75 yards, 7:00 Key play: Marshall had the drive's biggest gain with a first-and-10 scramble for 12 yards to the Tennessee 16-yard line, but the key play was another Marshall run on third-and-9 that gained 10 yards to the 5. GEORGIA TECH 14, TENNESSEE 7 THIRD QUARTER GT - Marshall 1-yard run (Davis kick), 9:19 Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:36 Key play: Marshall continued to befuddle the Vols, keeping and winding his way for a 28-yard run to the Vols' 6. GEORGIA TECH 21, TENNESSEE 7 TN - Marquez Callaway 10-yard pass from Dormady (Medley kick), 0:42 Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:32 Key play: Dormady converted a third-and-3 with a 14-yard pass to tight end Ethan Wolf to the Tech 35, and Kelly followed on the ensuing play with a 30-yard burst through the left side that set up a first-and-goal from the 5. GEORGIA TECH 21, TENNESSEE 14 FOURTH QUARTER GT - Marshall 6-yard run (Davis kick), 13:08 Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:34 Key play: A Nathan Cottrell 14-yard run to midfield got the Jackets going, but the big play was Marshall dropping back and finding Qua Searcy past Micah Abernathy for a 42-yard connection to the 7. GEORGIA TECH 28, TENNESSEE 14 TN - Callaway 50-yard pass from Dormady (Medley kick), 11:49 Drive: 5 plays, 61 yards, 1:15 Key play: Dormady and Kelly converted a third-and-9 with a 10-yard pass connection to midfield to set up the touchdown to Callaway, who used a stiff-arm on Lance Austin before racing down the sideline to the end zone. GEORGIA TECH 28, TENNESSEE 21 TN - Kelly 11-yard run (Medley kick), 1:29 Drive: 7 plays, 93 yards, 3:21 Key play: After Abernathy recovered a J.J. Green fumble at the Tennessee 7, the Vols went to work on the tying drive. The big gain was a 40-yard pass from Dormady to Callaway, who jumped and snagged the ball at Tech's 27-yard line to attain 100 receiving yards for the night. GEORGIA TECH 28, TENNESSEE 28 FIRST OVERTIME GT - Marshall 1-yard run (Davis kick) Drive: 5 plays, 25 yards Key play: Cottrell took an option pitch and went 12 yards to the 13 on the first play of overtime. GEORGIA TECH 35, TENNESSEE 28 TN - Kelly 1-yard run (Medley kick) Drive: 3 plays, 25 yards Key play: Dormady fielded a high snap and handed off to Kelly, who powered ahead for 18 yards to the Georgia Tech 1. GEORGIA TECH 35, TENNESSEE 35 SECOND OVERTIME TN - Kelly 2-yard run (Medley kick) Drive: 3 plays, 25 yards Key play: Dormady and Callaway - who else? - connected on a 15-yard pass to Georgia Tech's 9-yard line. TENNESSEE 42, GEORGIA TECH 41 GT - Marshall 13-yard run (pasa failed) Drive: 4 plays, 25 yards Key play: Marshall kept around right end for his fifth rushing score of the game.