The 2012 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Volunteers played their home games at

Neyland Stadium Neyland Stadium ( ), is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several National Footb ...

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

and competed in the Eastern Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(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 James Allen Chaney (born January 12, 1962) is an American football coach and former player who is an offensive analyst for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. He previously served as an offensive analyst for the New Orleans Saints of the National F ...

was named interim head coach for the final game of the season against

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. The season was Tennessee's third consecutive losing season, a streak the program had not matched since 1909-1911.

Schedule

:Schedule Source:

Rankings

Coaching staff

Game summaries

NC State

The Tennessee Volunteers opened the season in the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center ...

against NC State in the annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Junior college transfer WR

Cordarrelle Patterson Cordarrelle Patterson ( ; born March 17, 1991), nicknamed "Flash", is an American football player for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). A versatile utility player, he plays running back, wide receiver, return specialist ...

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 Tyler Ian Bray (born December 27, 1991) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. After playing his college football at the University of Tennessee, he declared himself eligible for the 2013 NFL Draft, in which he went undrafted. ...

threw for 333 passing yards with two touchdowns, including a 72-yard bomb to Zach Rogers, who beat NC State star cornerback

David Amerson David Amerson (born December 8, 1991) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at North Carolina State University and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He was also a mem ...

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 Rajion Lashad Neal (born March 28, 1992) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Tennessee. Neal was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2014, and has also bee ...

rushed for an 8-yard touchdown, which would be followed by a 20-yard field goal by

Michael Palardy Michael Albert Palardy (born July 6, 1992) is an American football punter who is a free agent. He played college football at Tennessee and was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He has also been a member of the ...

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.

Team players drafted into the NFL

*Reference:2013 NFL Draft
Retrieved: November 14, 2013.

References

{{Tennessee Volunteers football navbox

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Tennessee Volunteers football seasons

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Tennessee", "Vols", "UT", or "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 130 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 862� ...