2012 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 2012 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was coached by Derek Dooley, who was in his third season with Tennessee. On November 18, 2012 Dooley was fired after 11 games following a 41–18 loss to in-state rival Vanderbilt. Dooley ended his three-year tenure at Tennessee with losing records of 15–21 overall and 4-19 in the SEC. Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney was named interim head coach for the final game of the season against Kentucky.[1] The season was Tennessee's third consecutive losing season, a streak the program had not matched since 1909 to 1911.[2]

2012 Tennessee Volunteers football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Record5–7 (1–7 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJim Chaney (4th season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorSal Sunseri (1st season)
Base defenseMultiple
Home stadiumNeyland Stadium
(Capacity: 102,455)
2012 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Eastern Division
No. T–5 Georgia xy  7 –1   12 –2  
No. 9 Florida x%  7 –1   11 –2  
No. 8 South Carolina  6 –2   11 –2  
No. 23 Vanderbilt  5 –3   9 –4  
Missouri  2 –6   5 –7  
Tennessee  1 –7   5 –7  
Kentucky  0 –8   2 –10  
Western Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#  7 –1   13 –1  
No. 14 LSU *  6 –2   10 –3  
No. T–5 Texas A&M  6 –2   11 –2  
Mississippi State  4 –4   8 –5  
Ole Miss *  3 –5   7 –6  
Arkansas  2 –6   4 –8  
Auburn  0 –8   3 –9  
Championship: Alabama 32, Georgia 28
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * Ole Miss and LSU vacated all wins due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 317:30 pmvs. NC State*
ESPNUW 35–2155,529
September 84:00 pmGeorgia State*
PPVW 51–1387,821
September 156:00 pmNo. 18 FloridaNo. 23
ESPNL 20–37102,455
September 227:30 pmAkron*
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
CSSW 47–2681,719
September 293:30 pmat No. 5 Georgia
CBSL 44–5192,746
October 139:00 pmat No. 19 Mississippi State
ESPN2L 31–4157,831
October 207:00 pmNo. 1 Alabama
ESPNL 13–44102,455
October 2712:00 pmat No. 17 South Carolina
ESPNL 35–3880,250
November 312:00 pmTroy*dagger
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
SECRNW 55–4884,189
November 1012:21 pmMissouri
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
SECNL 48–51 4OT89,272
November 177:00 pmat Vanderbilt
ESPN2L 18–4140,350
November 2412:21 pmKentucky
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
SECNW 37–1781,841
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[3]

Rankings
See also: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP—RV23RVRVRV——————————
Coaches—RV23RVRVRV——————————
HarrisNot released—————————Not released
BCSNot released————————Not released

Coaching staff
Name Position Seasons at
Tennessee		 Alma Mater
Derek DooleyHead coach3Virginia (1991)
Jim ChaneyInterim head coach / Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks4Central Missouri State (1983)
Darin HinshawWide Receivers/ Passing game coordinator/ Recruiting Coordinator3UCF (1993)
Jay GrahamRunning Backs1Tennessee (1996)
Sam PittmanOffensive Line1Pittsburg State (Kan.) (1985)
Sal SunseriDefensive Coordinator, Line Backers1Pittsburgh (1981)
John PalermoDefensive Line1Florida State (1973)
Charlie CoinerSpecial Teams, Tight Ends1Appalachian State (1986)
Derrick AnsleyCornerbacks1Troy (2005)
Josh ConklinSafeties1Northwestern State (2003)

Game summaries

NC State
See also: 2012 NC State Wolfpack football team
1 234Total
NC State 7 707 21
• Tennessee 22 0103 35
  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia
  • Game start: 7:36 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:29
  • Game attendance: 55,529
  • Referee: Matt Moore
  • TV announcers (ESPNU): Dave Neal (Play-by-Play), Andre Ware (Color), Cara Capuano (Sideline)

The Tennessee Volunteers opened the season in the Georgia Dome against NC State in the annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Junior college transfer WR Cordarrelle Patterson put a show early on in his debut as a Volunteer, catching a 41-yard touchdown as well as rushing for a 67-yard touchdown on a reverse, both during the first quarter. Tyler Bray threw for 333 passing yards with two touchdowns, including a 72-yard bomb to Zach Rogers, who beat NC State star cornerback David Amerson down the field. The defense not only recorded a safety but also forced 4 interceptions by NC State quarterback Mike Glennon. Despite Bray losing a fumble at the end of the first half, Tennessee would continue to dominate the rest of the game. On the opening possession of the 2nd half, Rajion Neal rushed for an 8-yard touchdown, which would be followed by a 20-yard field goal by Michael Palardy to extend the Vol's lead to 32-14. NC State responded in the 4th when Glennon threw a touchdown to Bryan Underwood to whittle Tennessee's lead down to 32-21. Too bad for Glennon he would also throw 2 of his 4 interceptions during the 4th quarter, and after one more Palardy field goal, Tennessee would go on to win 35-21.[4]

Team players drafted into the NFL
Main article: 2013 NFL Draft
Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Cordarrelle PattersonWide receiver129Minnesota Vikings
Justin HunterWide receiver234Tennessee Titans
Dallas ThomasOffensive guard377Miami Dolphins
Mychal RiveraTight end6184Oakland Raiders

References
  1. Wolken, Dan (November 18, 2012). "Tennessee Fires Derek Dooley After Embarrassing Loss". USA Today. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  2. Climer, David (November 17, 2012). "Loss to Vanderbilt Will Seal Derek Dooley's Fate". The Tennessean. Nashville. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  3. "2012 Football Schedule". The University of Tennessee. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  4. "Cordarrelle Patterson's 2 TDs help Vols down N.C. State". ESPN. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  5. 2013 NFL Draft. Retrieved: November 14, 2013.
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