Roth Report
TENNESSEE 45, VIRGINIA TECH 23
December 30, 1994 - Gainesville, Fla.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - Att: 62,200
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -
Quick-striking Tennessee
got off to a big early lead
and went on to defeat
Virginia Tech, 45-23, in the
transplanted Outback
Steakhouse Gator Bowl
game at Ben Hill Griffin
Stadium on the University of
Florida campus.
Tech backed itself into a
corner early, throwing an
interception on the game's second
play. The Volunteers kept the Hokies
there with a variety of big plays that
resulted in a 35-10
halftime advantage.
Overall, UT had
seven plays of 20 or
more yards and a
total of 495 yards of
offense.
Tennessee
capitalized on the
early interception for
its first touchdown,
then got its second
on a 36-yard scoring
pass by quarterback
Payton Manning -
whose father, Archie,
directed Mississippi
to a bowl win over
Tech in 1968. The
Vols used a 75-yard
end-around to set up
their third TD and a
21-0 advantage just
17 minutes into the
game.
When the Hokies
finally got going,
they piled up 426
yards of offense,
including 237 yards
through the air. Tech
also got a game-high
102 yards rushing
from tailback
Dwayne Thomas.
Thomas had a
1-yard burst for a
touchdown in the
second quarter and
ran 27 yards to set
up a third-quarter
TD, which came on
a 7-yard option run
by quarterback Maurice
DeShazo.
Any hopes the Hokies
had of a second-half rally
were erased by a dropped
touchdown pass by a Tech
receiver and a 5-yard TD run
by Tennessee running back
James Stewart. Stewart was
named the game's MVP after
running for three touchdowns
and passing for another.
A contingent of 18,000-plus Tech fans
were among the 62,200 spectators who
made the trip from Jacksonville to
Gainesville for the game. The site of the
game was moved to Gainesville due to
renovations being made to Gator Bowl
Stadium after Jacksonville was awarded
a NFL franchise.
Virginia Tech 0 10 6 7 - 23
Tennessee 14 21 0 10 - 45
UT (11:41 re 1st) - J. Stewart 1 run (Becksvoort kick)
UT (1:08 re 1st) - Nash 36 pass from Manning
(Becksvoort kick)
UT (13:23 re 2nd) - Graham 1 run (Becksvoort kick)
VT (5:17 re 2nd) - Thomas 1 run (Williams kick)
UT (3:22 re 2nd) - J. Stewart 1 run (Becksvoort kick)
UT (2:13 re 2nd) - Jones 19 pass from J. Stewart
(Becksvoort kick)
VT (0:03 re 2nd) - FG Williams 28
VT (7:03 re 3rd) - DeShazo 7 run (Williams kick)
UT (13:17 re 4th) - J. Stewart 5 run (Becksvoort kick)
UT (9:41 re 4th) - FG Becksvoort 19
VT (4:13 re 4th) - Still 9 pass from Druckenmiller
(Williams kick)
Team Statistics VT UT First downs 22 18 Rushes-yds. 43-189 47-245 Passing yds. 237 250 Return yds. 18 112 Passes 23-38-2 16-23-0 Punts-avg. 5-43 5-43 Fumbles-lost 5-1 0-0 Penalties-yds. 3-25 7-58 Time of poss. 29:05 30:55 Sacks by 2-16 0-0
Individual Leaders
Rushing - VT, Thomas 19-102, DeShazo 11-39,
Edmonds 5-29, Still 1-8, Oxendine 4-7, Parker 1-3,
Edwards 1-1, Druckenmiller 1-0; UT, J. Stewart 22-87,
Jones 1-76, B. Stewart 2-31, Graham 8-30, Manning 2-29, Pilow 5-4, Phillips 2-3, Nash 1-1, Ford 2-1, Kerney 1-0, Wheaton1-(-13).
Passing - VT, DeShazo 17-30-2-140, Druckenmiller
6-8-0-97; UT, Manning 12-19-0-189, B. Stewart 3-3-0-43,
J. Stewart 1-1-0-19.
Receiving - VT, Still 5-79, Holmes 5-45, Freeman 4-30, Thomas 3-18, Oxendine 2-13, Martin 2-6, Jennings
1-41, Scales 1-5; UT, Kent 6-116, Nash 3-54, Jones 2-37,
Phillips 1-14, Silvan 1-10, Horn 1-8, J. Stewart 1-7,
Staley 1-4.
