MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Citizen Potawatomi Nation member Tyler Bray, the Tennessee Volunteers’ freshman quarterback, got the first start of his college career Saturday night and looked very good against a young Memphis State University secondary. Bray threw for 325 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Volunteers to a 50-14 victory. He completed 19-of-32 passes.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for Tennessee (3-6), which was never threatened after the first quarter. Bray, who took over the helm last week from junior Matt Simms, picked apart the young Memphis secondary from the start.
Tauren Poole rushed for 101 yards, and scored twice — once on a 21-yard run and another on a 9-yard pass from Bray. Bray’s additional TD passes were for 52 yards to Justin Hunter, 14 Yards to Denarius Moore, 22 yards to Da’Rick Rogers, and nine yards to Gerald Jones.
All five of Bray’s touchdown tosses came in the first half, as the Vols ran up a 40-7 halftime lead. Bray had 308 yards passing in that first half. The yardsage and TD figures are the most ever for a Tennessee quarterback in a half.
The Vols finished the night with 510 yards of offense, including 379 through the air. The 50 points matched Tennessee’s largest scoring output of the season.
Tennessee has games remaining against Mississippi, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky. The Vols play the Ole Miss and Kentucky games at home.
Memphis (1-8) lost its sixth straight. It marked the fifth straight game in which the Tigers, ranked 118th out of 120 teams in scoring defense, have surrendered at least 40 points.