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No. 15 Tenn. Wins SEC Division Title

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Posted 4:43PM on Saturday 20th November 2004 ( 20 years ago )
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Cedric Houston ran for three touchdowns and No. 15 Tennessee clinched the Southeastern Conference&#39;s Eastern Division title Saturday with its 22nd straight victory over Vanderbilt, 38-33.<br> <br> Tennessee (8-2, 6-1) will play No. 2 Auburn in the SEC championship game in Atlanta on Dec. 4 regardless of what happens in the Vols&#39; game next week against Kentucky. It will be Tennessee&#39;s fourth trip to the title game since 1997.<br> <br> Jay Cutler was 22-of-33 for 314 yards and three touchdowns for Vanderbilt (2-9, 1-7), which finished with the same record as last year despite returning 21 starters and entering the season with bigger hopes.<br> <br> Houston and Gerald Riggs Jr. helped Tennessee establish its supremacy on the ground. Houston, who ran for 91 yards, had touchdown runs of 6, 11 and 5 yards on 19 carries, and Riggs finished with 149 yards on 16 carries. <br> <br> Tennessee scored 10 consecutive points, a field goal and Rick Clausen&#39;s second TD toss to Jason Swain, to take a 38-20 lead in the third period.<br> <br> Vandy, which came into the game being outscored 78-7 this season in the fourth quarter, pulled within 38-26 on Jeff Jennings&#39; second scoring run early in the final period. And then the Commodores got lucky.<br> <br> Brandon Smith tipped a pass from Cutler, and Marlon White made an off-balance catch for a 62-yard completion. White caught another pass on fourth-and-6, setting up Dustin Dunning&#39;s diving 3-yard TD reception with 4:30 left.<br> <br> Vanderbilt had one final chance after forcing Tennessee to punt, but Cutler threw a pass that was picked off by Roshaun Fellows with about 2 minutes to go and Tennessee ran out the clock.<br> <br> Tennessee took a 28-6 lead on Houston&#39;s third TD run and a 21-yard TD pass from Clausen to Swain. Clausen, starting because of injuries to freshmen Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge, was 19-of-30 for 189 yards with two touchdowns.<br> <br> But Smith, who finished with eight catches for 160 yards, sparked Vanderbilt. Cutler threw a slant to Smith, who shook cornerback Jonathan Wade on his way to an 80-yard touchdown, and Jennings added a 2-yard TD after a Tennessee turnover to make it 28-20 at the half.

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