KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Just when it seemed it couldn’t get any worse for Phillip Fulmer and Tennessee, Wyoming came to town.
Five days after Fulmer became a lame-duck coach, ousted effective the end of the season, the Volunteers lost 13-7 to the Cowboys on Saturday.
Wyoming came in a nearly four-touchdown underdog, the lowest scoring team in major-college football and languishing near the bottom of the Mountain West Conference. It seemed like a perfect opportunity for a homecoming pick-me-up for Fulmer and the Vols, who still had hopes of qualifying for a bowl.
Ward Dobbs returned an interception 24 yards for Wyoming (4-6), which improved to 3-1 against Southeastern Conference teams under coach Joe Glenn.
“They have a legendary coach,” Wyoming quarterback Chris Stutzriem said of Tennessee (3-7). “They are playing with a lot of emotions, but never count out the boys from Wyoming. We never give up.”
Glenn is trying to avoid his fourth straight losing season with the Cowboys and is no sure thing to be back next season himself.
It was the first time the Vols lost to a Mountain West opponent and only the second time in history Tennessee has had seven losses in a season. The Vols have never had eight. They’ll try to avoid that against Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
The Vols hadn’t lost on homecoming since Miami beat them in 2002. The announced attendance for Saturday’s game was 99,489, but Neyland Stadium, which seats 102,038, was only two-thirds full.
Wyoming came in averaging 11.7 points per game. Tennessee wasn’t much better at 17 per game, so it was no surprise that neither offense did much.
On the first drive of the game, Mike Neuhaus picked off Tennessee quarterback Nick Stephens and ran 55 yards before being tackled at the Vols’ 4. On the next play, Stutzriem rolled out of the pocket and tossed to Greg Genho in the end zone.
Stephens was picked off by Dobbs with 9:03 left before halftime, and Dobbs’ touchdown gave the Cowboys a 13-0 lead. Jake Scott missed the extra-point attempt after missing a 31-yard field-goal attempt wide left earlier in the quarter.
“We hadn’t had a turnover for a while, so to get a couple and to have them mean so much was payback,” Glenn said.
Looking for something to prod the offense after Stephens’ second interception, Tennessee went to Jonathan Crompton, who began the season as the starting quarterback.
After a few successful running plays, Crompton underthrew a pass, was sacked for an 8-yard loss and overthrew Austin Rogers on third-and-19, drawing boos from the Tennessee fans.
Wyoming, ranked 111th in total offense, ran for 167 yards.
Wyoming 7 6 0 0 — 13
Tennessee 0 0 7 0 — 7
First quarter: Wyo — Genho 4 pass from Stutzriem (Scott kick), 12:04. Second quarter: Wyo — Dobbs 24 interception return (kick failed), 9:03. Third quarter: Tenn — G.Jones 8 pass from Crompton (Lincoln kick), 10:08. A — 99,489. Wyo Tenn
First downs 15 15
Rushes-yards 48-167 31-101
Passing 99 118
Comp-att-int 9-17-0 14-36-2
Return yards 79 7
Punts-avg. 5-35.2 6-39.8
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 1-15 2-15
Time of possession 31:03 28:57
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Wyoming, Moore 32-98, Seldon 12-40, Stutzriem 3-21, Stewart 1-8. Tennessee, Creer 16-82, Poole 11-44, Stephens 2-(minus 9). Crompton 2-(minus 16).
PASSING — Wyoming, Stutzriem 8-16-0-95, Sween 1-1-0-4. Tennessee, Crompton 11-27-0-91, Stephens 3-9-2-27.
RECEIVING — Wyoming, Moore 2-9, C.Johnson 1-26, Leonard 1-23, Stewart 1-14, Bolling 1-11, Sundberg 1-7, Burkhalter 1-5, Genho 1-4. Tennessee, G.Jones 5-37, Taylor 3-32, Rogers 2-17, Moore 1-14, Stocker 1-11, Briscoe 1-8, Poole 1-(minus 1).
