The senior quarterback would go on to rush for 67 yards on 10 carries, completing 21-of-42 pass attempts for another 234 yards.  With 311 yards of total offense, it marked the second occasion this season that he has surpassed the 300-yard mark.

The Jags got the ball back after a three-and-out, however LaDarrell McNeil intercepted a pass and returned it 16 yards to the Jaguar 23-yard line.  But after a one-yard run and two incompletions — one that was broken up by Terrell Brigham — the Vols had to settle for a 40-yard Michael Palardy field goal that made the score 7-3 with less than 10 minutes to go in the opening quarter.

A 54-yard carry by Marlin Lane — the Volunteers' longest play from scrimmage, and the longest run of his career — moved UT to the Jag five-yard line, leading to a two-yard touchdown pass from Justin Worley to A.J. Branisel that gave the Vols a 10-7 advantage two-and-a-half minutes before the end of the opening period.  UT moved the ball 92 yards in nine plays on the possession, twice converting on third down with Worley completions to Josh Smith and Marquez North for eight and 15 yards, respectively.

Despite trailing after the opening 15 minutes, the Jaguars held a 132-109 advantage in total offense in the first quarter.

Worley connected with Smith for a 29-yard scoring pass less than two minutes into the second period, capping a seven-play, 69-yard drive while making the score 17-7.  Rajion Neal had a 53-yard run down the right sideline on UT's next possession, which led to Lane's two-yard touchdown run and a 24-7 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

Neal would finish with a game-best 169 yards on 25 carries, while Lane chipped in with 66 yards on five attempts as the Vols gained 278 of their 482 total yards on the ground.

USA prevented the margin from becoming larger before the half with the first career interceptions from Qudarius Ford and Montell Garner in the end zone in final two-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter.  But the Vols march 76 yards down the field in two-and-a-half minutes to open the tihrd period, extending to a 24-point edge on an 11-yard touchdown run by Neal.

"They (Tennessee) ran through us in the first half, and we didn't have anything offensively other than that first drive," USA head coach Joey Jones explained.  "We came in at halftime and I challenged them to come out and fight.  And they did that.  We were eight yards from making unbelievable history, but we didn't do it.  I am proud of the way we fought; we did some great things in the second half.  My hat's off to my team.

"Tennessee has a really good football team; they did a good job against us.  But I'm just real proud of the way our kids fought."

It was the Jags' third interception of the day that started a second-half rally that would fall yards short of tying the contest in the last two minutes.  Brent Brewer intercepted a deflected pass at the USA-35, but on UT's next snap Clifton Crews deflected a pass into the arms of Maleki Harris; his 58-yard run back in front of the Jaguar bench — plus a personal foul call on the Vols — put the ball at the five-yard line.  Two plays later, Metheny raced around left end for a touchdown on second-and-goal, making the score 31-14 with under nine minutes to go in the third quarter.

The Jags pulled within two touchdowns five minutes later on a 24-yard Aleem Sunanon field goal, which was set up by a 42-yard completion from Metheny to Smith.

It was still a 14-point margin when Roman Buchanan returned a missed field goal 48 yards, and when Cris Dinham scored from three yards out with eight minutes and 55 seconds remaining — capping a six-play, 29-yard drive — USA was down just one score, 31-24.  In the waning moments of the contest the Jags drove inside the UT-10, but Corey Miller's sack pushed them to the 14-yard line before Brian Randolph intercepted a pass in the end zone on fourth and goal from the eight-yard line.

"We came out with the mindset that we wanted to win the football game, I think we did a great job of responding to some adversity at halftime," Metheny observed.  "Coming out in the second half our defense picked it up and played really well and offensively we started putting some drives together, and ultimately came up eight yards short.  While it's encouraging it's also disappointing, but we'll watch film, make corrections and move on

Woodson led the Jaguars with a career-high five receptions for 34 yards, while the trio of Smith, Bryant Lavender and Jeremé Jones added four apiece.  Smith had a career-best 83 yards, and Lavender added 55 after entering play with just two catches in USA's first three games.  Jay Jones supplied 36 yards rushing and Dinham collected 33, giving USA 135 yards on the ground to go along with 257 passing.

Enrique Williams led the Jag defense for the second time this fall with eight stops, with Brigham, Ford and Harris each posting six.  The quartet of Buchanan, Antonio Carter, Alex Page and Montavious Williams recorded five tackles apiece, with all four matching or surpassing their previous season-high total coming into the day.  Their efforts help USA allow on 144 yards after the intermission, with just 65 of those coming over the final 15 minutes.

"We understood him [coach Jones], and knew we had to play better than we did in the first half," Page stated.  "We trusted the coaches and went out and executed better (in the second half).  I think we played a little harder in the second half because we didn't want to get embarrassed.  We showed them that we really can play."

Randolph's 12 tackles paced all players, and A.J. Johnson and JaRon Toney both added eight tackles for the Vol defense.  Cameron Sutton supplied seven stops as well, and was credited with three of the team's seven passes broken up.

The Jags return to Sun Belt Conference action Saturday with a noon contest at rival Troy that will be televised regionally as part of the Sun Belt Network package.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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