Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley (14) is pressured by Mississippi defensive end Carlos Thompson (54) as he attempts a pass in their game in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014.OXFORD, Miss. - The turnover bug again bit Tennessee in a road game against a ranked opponent.
The Volunteers coughed the ball up four times in Saturday night's loss at No. 3 Ole Miss, giving them 21 turnovers in seven road games against ranked opponents over the past two seasons.
The Rebels turned the mistakes into 14 points, and one of Vols quarterback Justin Worley's three interceptions came on a first-and-10 at the Ole Miss 35-yard line in the first quarter.
"Turnovers were the story of the game," Vols coach Butch Jones said to open his postgame news conference after falling to 8-11 in his two years at Tennessee.
Ole Miss, which entered the game allowing an SEC-low 11.8 points per game, added to its SEC-best interceptions total. Cornerback Senquez Golson picked off two Worley passes, the first setting up the second Ole Miss touchdown on a 35-yard drive in the second quarter.
After the Rebels kicked a field goal late in the third quarter, Tennessee freshman kick returner Evan Berry fumbled, and Ole Miss got a 28-yard Bo Wallace touchdown pass to Evan Engram on the ensuing play.
"When you turn the football over, that gives you zero opportunity to win," Jones lamented.
Tennessee turned the ball over three times in the 34-10 loss at Oklahoma and twice in the 35-32 defeat at Georgia in September. The Sooners and Bulldogs turned those mistakes into a combined 21 points, and two of those three touchdowns were defensive scores.
Gilliam returns
Seven weeks after he tore an ACL in Tennessee's season-opening win against Utah State, Jacob Gilliam, a fifth-year senior former walk-on, returned to the field and started the second half at right tackle.
"It's everything that I've been pointing out with our lack of depth," Jones said.
"I think it's a tribute to Jacob and working his way back. When you've got a tackle that has no ACL that's giving everything that he has. I'm indebted in him for his leadership and his passion to want to be out there. I think it speaks volumes about him."
Added center Mack Crowder: "He's tough as nails."
Starting right tackle Coleman Thomas, the freshman who has struggled after playing nearly all of his high school career as a center, was shaken up after Tennessee's second-quarter field goal. Though he returned to the game for a couple of series after that play, Gilliam entered the game for him late in the second quarter.
The shuffling up front continued on the second series of the half when redshirt freshman Brett Kendrick, who started in Gilliam's place against Arkansas State, entered the game at left tackle and Kyler Kerbyson, who's been starting at left tackle, flipped to the right side.
Left guard Marcus Jackson was shaken up after a play late in the third quarter, and he was replaced by redshirt freshman Austin Sanders, the former Bradley Central High School standout. He was flagged for holding on one of his first plays in the game.
Jones had no updates on the health of Thomas and Jackson after the game, and he also said Tennessee's lack of depth on the offensive line was "apparent" after the injuries.
"You lose two offensive linemen at a thin position right now, and you saw what happened," he added.
Medley's mark
Freshman kicker Aaron Medley bounced back from a late miss in last week's 45-10 win against UT-Chattanooga by hitting a 27-yarder that gave the Vols a 3-0 lead in the second quarter.
For the season, Medley is now 10-of-13 on field-goal tries, and he's made one in at least every game.
Both Medley and Ole Miss freshman kicker Gary Wunderlich, who's from Memphis, were one-time pupils of former Tennessee kicker James Wilhoit, now a personal kicking coach.
Tennessee punter Matt Darr was busy in the first half, and the fifth-year senior averaged 44.7 yards on six boots, including punts of 55 and 53 yards.
Johnson milestone
With a tackle in the second quarter, Tennessee linebacker A.J. Johnson, a two-time All-SEC selection, passed the 400-tackle mark for his career. He is the fourth player in program history to reach that mark.
Johnson had a half-sack in the second quarter and a solo sack in the third quarter after entering the game with just one career sack in 42 games.
Status updates
Tennessee brought 10 offensive linemen as part of its SEC-mandated 70-player travel roster, but touted junior college transfer Dontavius Blair was not among them, as he appears to be redshirting this season.
The Vols expected Blair to make an impact this season, but there are juco tackles at Texas A&M, Alabama, LSU and Mississippi State -- included some more highly ranked than Blair -- who are not playing or are in backup roles.
Defensive tackle Owen Williams, who underwent thumb surgery and missed the UTC game, traveled, but the junior college transfer did not play until the third quarter.
Receiver Von Pearson started for the first time since the Arkansas State game, during which he suffered a high ankle sprain that knocked him out of two games. The junior college transfer caught four passes for 16 yards and had a 3-yard run on a jet sweep in the first half.
Tailback Marlin Lane (ankle) traveled after missing last week's game, but the senior played sparingly. Justus Pickett, the walk-on Maryland transfer, got more work than Lane or freshman Derrell Scott.
Tennessee tidbits
Ole Miss, which had scored 55 first-quarter points in its six games this season, was shut out in the opening frame for the first time this season. ... Walk-on tight end Alex Ellis made the first catch of his career, a 9-yard catch that came up a yard short of a first down on a third-and-10, in the second quarter. ... Tennessee's captains for the game were Worley and linebackers Johnson and Curt Maggitt. ... After snapping an 11-game streak of losing the coin toss to open the game with a toss win last week, Tennessee lost the toss Saturday night. ... Tennessee governor Bill Haslam was in attendance for Saturday night's game. ... Five NFL teams had scouts there.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com