It was not the best of starts for the Auburn special teams unit Saturday in Knoxville.
After hitting 90 consecutive extra-point attempts, Auburn kicker Cody Parkey's kick on the Tigers' opening touchdown was blocked by Daniel McCullers, a 6-foot-8 defensive tackle for the Volunteers.
But 51 minutes of game time later, that same unit was celebrating one of the best special teams performances in college football history.
After an 85-yard punt return from Chris Davis in the second quarter and a 90-yard kickoff return from Corey Grant to start the third quarter, the Tigers finished with 312 total return yards -- 65 yards shy of the all-time NCAA record. Davis and Grant's touchdowns marked the first time in school history the Tigers had a kick return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown in one game.
"Those (touchdowns) were big," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said after Saturday's win. "The punt return was a really good one because we blocked well at the point of attack. Corey Grant was able to cut it back across the field (on the kick return), and he has real speed. Our team did a great job with that today."
Malzahn attributed the Tigers' special teams resurgence against the Volunteers to the work of assistant coach Scott Fountain.
"Coach Fountain has worked extremely hard on the little things in these last couple of weeks," Malzahn said. "We felt like we were close in a couple of areas, and (Fountain) and his staff have done a really good job on focusing in. Those were two huge plays, and they helped us win the game."
Tre Mason's first rushing touchdown of the afternoon at Neyland Stadium tied the game up at 13, but the Volunteers still had momentum in front of a sellout Homecoming crowd.
But after the Auburn defense forced Tennessee specialist Michael Palardy to punt, Davis swung the momentum straight back to the visitors.
"It felt good to take one to the house," Davis said. "Punt returns are something I take pride in, but I have to give the touchdown to the 10 guys in front of me on that one. We worked hard on that technique this week."
Davis's 85-yard touchdown was Auburn's longest punt return since 1970 and the team's first punt return for a touchdown since 2008.
While Palardy made a touchdown-saving tackle on Davis's first return of the day, a 42-yarder that set up Nick Marshall's touchdown pass to C.J. Uzomah, Davis made sure he was not going to be caught on his second chance--even after he muffed the return.
"I just dropped it," Davis said. "I still had time to pick it up and run with it, though, and that's what I did. (Punt returners) have to be aggressive, even when you drop the ball...I mean, you see that in the (NFL)."
Although the Tigers led by two touchdowns heading into the locker room at the half, Marshall's pick-six toward the end of the second quarter gave the Volunteers a glimmer of hope.
Then, once again, a huge return changed the game.
Before all of the fans at Neyland Stadium could get settled into their seats for the second half, the speedy Grant raced past the Tennessee coverage for a 90-yard score.
"It was just a great return," Grant said. "The guys in front did their jobs blocking, and I saw that cutback open up. I decided to take that chance, and it turned into a big play."
Although Davis and Grant's performances in the return game took most of the spotlight in Saturday's win, punter Steven Clark made the most out of his two punts against the Volunteers.
The senior punter, who is a national semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, hit a 57-yard punt inside the Volunteers' 20 and a 37-yard punt that changed field position before Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs's third-quarter interception. Like most of his punts this season, neither were returned by the Volunteers, who finished with zero return yards against the Tigers.
According to several members of the Auburn team, a big day in the special teams game was on the cards because of how hard the team had been working in that area.
"We always preach about being big on special teams," said Robenson Therezie, Auburn's starting "star" against Tennessee. "Today was the first day we had a really big special teams game, so this one really feels good."
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