rival Florida, Ainge led a fourth quarter touchdown drive that pulled the Vols' to within a point, and then engineered a short drive in the closing seconds to set up James Wilhoit's game-winning 50-yard field goal. Ainge split time for much of the year with Brent Schaeffer, who later transferred to Ole Miss. After an injury just before halftime against Notre Dame, Ainge was replaced by former Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen's brother Rick. 2005 season During his sophomore season in 2005, Ainge completed 66-of-145 passes for 737 yards, five touchdowns, and seven interceptions, in just eight games. One of his most infamous moments came in the Vols' game against LSU. To avoid getting sacked in the end zone by safety LaRon Landry, Ainge flung the ball up into the air just before he was ruled down for a safety. Ainge's head also hit the goalpost on the play, tweaking his neck. As a result, Clausen again took over. Ainge finished his sophomore season with a strong performance and a 27–8 win at Kentucky as the Vols finished with a 5–6 record. 2006 season As a junior in 2006, Ainge was named the starter heading into spring practice, and for the first time in his career was able to take all of the first team reps throughout the preseason. Ainge also had a new position coach when David Cutcliffe replaced Randy Sanders as Tennessee's offensive coordinator. In the season opener against #9 California, he had 291 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and one interception in the 35–18 victory. In the Vols' 31–30 win over Air Force, he completed 15 consecutive passes, the second-most in school history (Tee Martin completed 24 consecutive passes in 1998). He finished the day with 333 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and one interception. After the Air Force game, he had 183 passing yards and two interceptions in a narrow 21–20 loss to the Florida Gators. On September 30, against Memphis, he had 324 passing yards and four passing touchdowns in the 41–7 victory. He led his team to a 7-1 record before being injured in the closing minutes of the game against South Carolina. His 84-yard pass to wide receiver Robert Meachem in Tennessee's win over Memphis is tied for the fifth-longest pass play in school history. Ainge missed the majority of Tennessee's two losses following the South Carolina game before returning to lead his team