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Tennessee cools off McFadden in rout of Arkansas

Nov 10, 2007 - 10:33 PM KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Tennessee found a way to contain Darren McFadden - keep him off the field.

Erik Ainge threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes as the 22nd-ranked Volunteers used a ball-control offense to defeat Arkansas, 34-13, Saturday in a Southeastern Conference contest.

Last week, McFadden tied an SEC record by rushing for 321 yards in a 48-36 victory over South Carolina.

"He's a great back," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "But he's not going to win the Heisman Trophy in Neyland Stadium. I promise you that."

On Saturday, McFadden spent most of the first half on the sidelines as Tennessee (7-3, 4-2 SEC East) put together scoring drives of 11 and 12 plays.

McFadden finished with 116 yards on 22 carries but was not much of a factor as the Volunteers opened a 20-3 halftime lead. In the first half, he carried only six times for 26 yards.

"They did everything we expected them to do," McFadden said. "For the most part, I think we just never got it going, but they did a good job on defense."

Tennessee remained in the driver's seat in the SEC East as the only team in the division to control its own destiny. The Volunteers began the day one-half game behind Georgia but own the tiebreaker based on a 35-14 victory over the Bulldogs on October 6.

Tennessee concludes its season at home against Vanderbilt and at Kentucky.

"Never doubt the heart of a Volunteer," added Fulmer, who has come under increased media scrutiny in recent weeks with a segment of Tennessee fans calling for his ouster. "I'm really, really proud of this football team."

The Volunteers never were threatened Saturday after scoring on the game's opening possession on Ainge's 16-yard TD pass to Austin Rogers.

"We're still alive (in the SEC)," Ainge said. "It's like we've been saying, we have to give ourselves a chance for next week. We will enjoy this for 24 hours and get ready for next week."

After Arkansas (6-4, 2-4 SEC West) got on the board on Alex Tejada's 31-yard field, Tennessee's Daniel Lincoln converted a 25-yarder to make it 10-3.

On Tennessee's first possession of the second quarter, the Volunteers called 11 consecutive running plays, taking more than seven minutes off the clock. Lincoln capped the long drive with a 28-yard field goal to make it 13-3 with 8:23 left in the first half.

"We tried to sustain drives because Arkansas has great backs," Rogers said.

Ainge tossed a 14-yard TD strike to Josh Briscoe with 10 seconds left in the first half to give the Volunteers a 20-3 cushion.

Overall, Ainge had a quiet day, completing just 12-of-25 passes for 128 yards.

"Erik's been playing magnificently," Fulmer said. "From a coaching standpoint, he's handling the offense, he's not turning it over."

Tennessee's Adrian Foster rushed for 83 yards on 13 carries, most of it coming on a 59-yard TD scamper in the third quarter that extended the Volunteers' lead to 27-3.

"We couldn't keep them off the field," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. "They did a good job executing. You have to give credit to Ainge for mixing up the snap count and finding receivers in critical third downs."

Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo completed the scoring by returning an interception 34 yards for a TD with 2:46 remaining in the contest.

"The front four did an excellent job this week preparing for Darren McFadden," Mayo said. "We knew he had to come in and play like we did against Georgia and South Carolina."

Arkansas starting quarterback Casey Dick was benched in the fourth quarter after completing 12-of-22 passes for 140 yards with a pair of interceptions.

"They came out played well, stopped the run and we had to go to the pass," Dick said. "We still have to be able to run the ball."

Arkansas was unable to get any pressure on Ainge, who has been sacked only three times this season. Tennessee leads the Football Bowl Subdivision in fewest sacks allowed.