The road is long...

It comes to this for the Titans: four games on Sunday will decide their fate, including Tennessee's home date with the Patriots, and three other games where they'll need to get the breaks. It's incredible that we're even having this conversation, and a testament to both Vince Young and Jeff Fisher. Win or lose on Sunday, and even if the Titans end up on the short end of a tiebreaker and don't make the playoffs, this team has left you with plenty to look forward to in 2007 - not only does it seem that they'll be competitive, but they've proven that they can win and will come into the year with lots of confidence and a real shot at the playoffs.

But before we start thinking about next year, here's the final breath of this one. The Titans started 0-5 and 2-7, and then they've started winning in every imaginable way:

- Donovan McNabb goes down to a knee injury, and the Titans subsequently roll to victory in Philadelphia.

- The Titans come out of a 21-0 4th quarter hole with help from Eli Manning interceptions and a pseudo-sack on Vince Young and win 24-21 over the Giants.

- The Titans control the ball, the clock, and the running game and then kick a 60 yard field goal to beat Indianapolis.

- Vince Young runs for a 39 yard touchdown in overtime in front of his hometown fans to beat the Houston Texans.

- The Titans get killed statistically, losing total yards and time of possession by 3 to 1 margins, but return three turnovers for touchdowns of 60+ yards and get a fourth turnover to seal the game in a victory over Jacksonville.

- The Titans get a long touchdown run from Vince Young at the end of the first half, survive their own mistakes (most notably in penalties), and get a huge return game from Travis Henry in Buffalo and stop the Bills on 4th down to secure a 30-29 win at Buffalo in a playoff contender elimination game.

(Right now, on ESPN2's Cold Pizza, the ever-hateable Skip Bayless is arguing for Vince Young as the AP Athlete of the Year.)

At 8-7, the Titans are still on the outside looking in. But it's not overly complicated - the Titans need this scenario on Sunday, and only this scenario - it must be these four outcomes in these four games - to make the playoffs:

1. Tennessee beats New England (1:00 PM - LP Field)
At some point, you have to address the "have the Titans been lucky or good" question. And they've certainly been "lucky" to some extent, but in some cases they've made their own luck, most notably with Vince Young's legs and timely big plays from the defense. On this six game winning streak, only one has come against an opponent that's outside of the playoff chase (Houston). So it's not like they've been beating the bottom of the barrel. New England will be a challenge, but no bigger one than Indianapolis or Jacksonville. Playing at LP Field in front of what will be the biggest and best home crowd in three years will certainly help, and even if most of this team hasn't been there before and doesn't know what it's like to play in a pressure situation, there's no team in the NFL that's playing with the confidence the Titans have right now. The wild card here is if New England - who clinched the AFC East and cannot earn a first round bye, but can move from 4th to 3rd with a win and a Colts loss - chooses to rest their starters. With or without the starters playing, this is a game the Titans can win - because at this point, all of them are.

2. Kansas City beats Jacksonville (1:00 PM - Arrowhead Stadium)
Both teams playing in this game are also still in the AFC playoff hunt. Kansas City needs the exact same scenario as the Titans, they just need the Titans to lose. Jacksonville needs to win here and get a Jets loss and then either a Bengals or Titans loss. So both will be bringing the A game. Arrowhead Stadium is a tough place to win, and Jacksonville has lost two straight since blasting the Colts three weeks ago. The Titans will win tiebreakers with the Chiefs but will lose them with Jacksonville, so the Titans have to have KC win this game. I feel good about the Chiefs in this one.

3. Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati (1:00 PM - Paul Brown Stadium)
Here's where things start getting more difficult. The Steelers, who were rocked by the Ravens last week, have been eliminated from the playoff race. However, the Bengals are also in a bit of a tailspin, having lost the Monday Night showdown game to Indianapolis and following up with a heartbreaking loss to Denver on a dropped extra point snap. So after being out of the conversation, then winning five straight, now the Bengals are on the bubble again. This is one of the few remaining rivalry games in the NFL, so I don't think you have to worry about the Steelers phoning it in. But do the defending champs, with nothing to play for, have enough left in the tank to go into Cincinnati and win? The Bengals don't control their own destiny, but need less help than anyone else (a win and a Jets loss will get them in, among other scenarios). This one is tough to call.

4. San Francisco beats Denver (4:15 PM - Invesco Field)
Even if everything has gone right by 4:15, the chance for heartbreak here is pretty good. The 49ers have had a good season, but were eliminated from the playoff race last week with a tough loss to Arizona. Meanwhile, since being blown out by San Diego two weeks ago, the Broncos have responded by drilling Arizona and then getting a tough, hard fought victory of Cincinnati in the snow last week thanks to the botched extra point. Denver and the Jets are the two teams that control their own destiny, and the Broncos can also already be in at this point if Jacksonville beats Kansas City (which would have already broken the Titans' scenario). So all conventional wisdom points to the Broncos, at home, winning this one. But, as they say, that's why they play the games...

Will it happen? We'll find out. The Titans must begin by taking care of their own business in Nashville. Either way this has been an enjoyable story since October. And either way the future is bright. And for all that, the Titans have earned one more Sunday of drama and tension, and one more chance to make their own breaks, and hope the others fall their way. If this is the final Sunday of the 2006 season, then the Titans will be in the conversation all offseason and into August for next year.

But maybe, just maybe, next year will be one more Sunday away.

The SESB 12 Days of Christmas

I'm heading back home to Knoxville tomorrow and taking vacation for a week, and will be away from internet access for some of it, so I give you my Christmas wish list:

12. Beat Penn State in the Outback Bowl
There's no real tangible animosity between the Vols and Nittany Lions, and the all time series is tied 2-2, with Tennessee beating Penn State in the early 70s in the first night game in Neyland Stadium history. But I do remember the last two times out: a solid beating on January 1, 1992 in the Fiesta Bowl 42-17 featuring a Dale Carter fumble on the opening kickoff, and not much right after that, which is topped only by a touchdown on our opening drive on January 1, 1994 in the Citrus Bowl with one of our best teams, only to end up on the business end of a 31-13 beating. Penn State is on the very, very short list (which is primarily occupied by Nebraska) of teams who've handed the Vols their butts without Tennessee returning the favor. A win in the Outback Bowl is the difference between a good season and an average one.

11. The Playoffs for the Titans
As outlined earlier, this is going to take some work, the least of which is Tennessee winning at Buffalo tomorrow, then coming home to beat the Patriots in Week 17. But this is a hot Titans team with a confident quarterback that is more fun to watch each week, and would be dangerous if given the opportunity. And everybody wants to see Vince Young more than they want to see the Jets, Chiefs, Jaguars, and any of the other less exciting teams in the running. And if I don't get this one this year, then maybe next year...

10. A Super Bowl ring for Peyton Manning
Don't misunderstand - should the Titans make the playoffs and then catch the Colts, I'll be pulling for Tennessee 100%. But since we're dealing with a dash of reality here, then it'd be nice to have the Titans make the playoffs, and the more talented Colts win it. Just making it to the Super Bowl isn't going to be enough to answer questions and silence the demons. Peyton Manning needs to win the whole thing.

9. Tennessee Basketball dancing deep into March
I fear there's little I can say about this team after their overtime win over Texas today that wouldn't be repetitive from the Memphis and Oklahoma State postgame, but it bears repeating that this is a team that can beat anyone they face, can overcome any hole thanks to Chris Lofton and the press, and most importantly, is still a young team that is going to get better, both down the road and in this season. The SEC will test them, and while they'll almost certainly make the dance, you can't even begin to talk about where they'll be seeded. But the thing I remember most about the 2000 Vol team that made it to the Sweet 16 is how much fun it is to extend your season by a whole week, how great it is to be playing basketball when only 15 other schools still are. In college basketball, you don't label a season a success or failure based on what round they make it to, you look at the entire body of work and how they finished in the SEC. So it's not that the season is a failure if they don't make the Sweet 16 - but I want to play towards April. And this team has the pieces to make a run.

8. Some competition for Tiger Woods
I love watching Sundays at the major tournaments. I think Tiger Woods may end up being the most dominant athlete, in any sport, ever. But I don't like watching him try and break the record for margin of victory on Sunday. I like watching him battle someone else. Doesn't really matter who it is. Competition makes everyone better. And if Tiger wins all four majors in 2007, I'd love to get to see it. I just hope he wins all four by one stroke.

7. Something to make me really care about the WWE again
And I refuse to believe that this has something to do with age. Several years ago, you could fill a PPV card with Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, and The Undertaker. If you step back a few years and throw in Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart in their prime, and the nWo when you changed the channel, you just can't beat any of those guys. Now? I'm not buying John Cena and Batista. I like Edge and Randy Orton, but they don't have enough heat. And DX is cool and fun, but they don't appear to be able to carry RAW. Even giving it your best shot with a fantasy WrestleMania 23 card, can you make something truly appealing? Tell me a story, Vince McMahon. And make it a good one, because I like it when RAW makes Mondays better, even when I know Jack Bauer will be there for me either way.

6. World Peace
It goes hand in hand with 'rasslin, really.

5. Some help for Paul Pierce
I'm not heartbroken over the Celtics not getting Allen Iverson, and they do things like win five games in a row before losing to the Warriors and Sixers that make you scratch your head. Pierce is banged up now and out for a few weeks as it is, though this team has postseason potential simply because they play in the Atlantic Division. But long term, Paul Pierce needs some help. Not Ricky Davis, not Wally Sczerbiak, but some real help. Danny Ainge doesn't want to part with the likes of Al Jefferson, and therein lies the Catch 22.

4. The Braves in the Playoffs
New bullpen, a second baseman to be named later, the return of Mike Hampton...who knows? What really sucks is ATL not being on TBS all the time anymore, which isn't going to help my interest here (and probably won't make a dent in TBS' ratings). But it still feels weird in December that they weren't playing in October. They'll have the players to compete for the division/wild card in 2007. Let's hope Bobby Cox has at least one more good run for this team in the tank.

3. A Nintendo Wii
The odds on finding this one at my local Wal-Mart right now are slightly lower than world peace.

2. Barry Bonds denied history
I'm not wishing injury on the man. But I don't want him to get 756. Under any circumstances. If there's a way for him to end at 754, that would be spectacular. Seriously, is anyone outside of SanFran rooting for this guy?

1. The 2007 College Football National Championship for the Vols
This one will be pretty tough to get off the top of this list every year. Crazy? Well, lots of it, in pure speculation form only, hinges on Robert Meachem's NFL decision, but IF he stays, then you're looking at Erik Ainge and the three headed monster at tailback behind a more experienced offensive line, with a big search for more wide receivers. Then you've got a defense that returns both defensive ends, linebackers Mayo, Karl, and future starter Rico McCoy, and Jonathan Hefney and Demetrice Morley in the secondary, with the returning-from-injury Roshaun Fellows. If the Vols win the Outback Bowl, and if Robert Meachem returns, I'd put them somewhere between 8-15 in the preseason polls come August. And remember: the last two times the Vols have had serious national championship aspirations, they were ranked #4 in preseason 2002 (finished 8-5) and #3 in preseason 2005 (finished 5-6). So one thing at a time - before we get this one, we have to start at the bottom of the list. So let's just beat Penn State, and then we'll take it from there.

Merry Christmas.

And you're welcome for The Alamo.

The 50 Best Vol Games 1989-2005: Top 15 01. The National Championship

1. 1998 - #1 Tennessee 23 - #2 Florida State 16
BCS National Championship Game - Fiesta Bowl
This is a story. Where it begins is unique to you.

I'd suggest a drink and a bathroom break. Buckle up. Read in shifts.

For some Vol fans, it begins in 1951, with Tennessee's first outright national championship for a program with storied history. For others, it has roots with names like Doug Dickey and Condredge Holloway. My father was born in 1952, a year too late. His Tennessee Football story includes memories of great players and great games, and great moments. But it was always lacking something.

And such was the tale for many in the baby boomer generation that grew up wearing orange. Big wins to celebrate, but a level yet to be attained. As time went on and new fans grew up, names like Johnny Majors, Reggie White and Tony Robinson entered the picture. But still, a higher goal...

I was born in October 1981. When the Vols ended Alabama's eleven year winning streak in 1982, I certainly don't remember it. When the magical 1985 season unfolded, I went to my first game (against mighty Wake Forest), but the rest of my memories are of my parents' reaction to what was going on, and then my Dad and I watching the highlight tape over and over again after the season had ended.

I made one of the wisest decisions in my life and gave up AYSO in 1988 to give my Saturdays to the Vols. And a great year to start, that was, with the 0-6 start and the 5-6 finish.

My real stories begin in 1989, which is why this list starts there. My childhood hero was Andy Kelly. As we've followed this countdown, I can tell you about staying up late to watch the Vols upset #6 UCLA on the west coast in September 1989. I can tell you about blasting Florida on my birthday the next year, and about Reggie Cobb and Chuck Webb. I missed the game against Pacific where Webb tore his ACL in September 1990, and the next home game I missed was Mississippi State in 2003. I can tell you what it's like to cry when #1 Notre Dame intercepts you in the end zone at Neyland Stadium, and then to cry again when your parents decide to go to the Sugar Bowl without you.

My generation has The Miracle at South Bend. We had Heath Shuler and Peyton Manning. And I was definitely old enough to appreciate the #3 game on this list, when the Vols went to Birmingham and broke Alabama 41-14 in 1995.

Those two games were the definitive memories and parts of my story coming into 1998, fresh off a bitter taste from the Heisman Trophy and Nebraska. The fall of 1998, I was a senior in high school. Already, that's going to be one of the best years of your life. But what unfolded next makes 1998 hard to top.

For all Vol fans, a legacy of greatness as foundation, that just needed one final piece of the puzzle. This is that story.

1998
When the Vols beat Florida in September of 98, a surprisingly confident thought arose amongst the players and the fan base: "We're going to the Fiesta Bowl." Because the Vols had already done everything else. Florida had been the one insurmountable hurdle facing the Tennessee program for the last four years, and now with that monkey off our back, there was nothing else left. Underdogs at Georgia without Jamal Lewis? No problem. Alabama playing spoiler? Nope. And if you didn't believe in destiny yet, Arkansas converted you. The train rolled to the SEC Eastern Division Championship.

Along with all the home games, I was fortunate enough to be in Columbia and Nashville during the regular season. And as the story continued to be written, the love grew. One of the best moments I can ever remember as a UT fan was standing inside Vanderbilt Stadium, looking back out over the top row at the mass of orange humanity outside. Because there are only so many tickets, especially at the tiny home of the Commodores, and thousands of Vol fans were left outside at kickoff with a "Wait, what do you mean I can't scalp a ticket?! What do you mean there are no more tickets?!" look on their face.

The train rolled into Atlanta on the first Saturday of December with questions still on the table. While the Vols had watched #1 Ohio State fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, in the first year of the Bowl Championship Series, Championship Saturday unfolded with three undefeated teams and two spots. The Vols looked like they were in good shape, but you could never be certain.

Then the dominoes fell. First, UCLA went to Miami to play a hurricane makeup game, and Edgerrin James made a name for himself, busting the Bruins. Then, while the Vols were trying to take care of matters in the SEC Championship Game, just when everything looked like it was going to work out clean, #2 Kansas State gave up an overtime touchdown to Brandon Stewart's Texas A&M Aggies, and suddenly only the Vols were left standing. When they'd secured the SEC title later that night, instead of the cuddly Bruins or Wildcats - who to this day, I believe the Vols would've wiped out in the Fiesta Bowl - a more imposing threat rose on the horizon.

Florida State
Months earlier, I was at a wedding reception the week before the Florida game (because all good brides get married in the fall on Tennessee's off week) and watched Florida State throw countless interceptions and get rocked 24-7 by NC State. This was jarring, because at this time, Florida State was THE college football program. The Noles weren't just dominant, they were a story in their own right, overcoming the adversity of two Wide Rights before winning the National Championship in 1993. They would play for the title again in 1996, losing to the same Florida team they had just beaten in the regular season finale. The saying "all they did was piss them off" that I use all the time now was coined by my Dad anytime some team that wasn't Florida or Miami got a two possession lead on Florida State early in the game. And he was right. Florida State was the preseason #1 in the 1991 AP Poll. From that poll until the September 23 poll in 2001, Florida State was never ranked lower than 11th at any point. That's pretty sick right there. If you weren't Florida or Miami, you just didn't beat Florida State. The garnet and gold and the spear and the war chant and Bobby Bowden in what my grandfather calls a "go to hell hat" ("Where'd you get that stupid hat from?" "Go to hell.") defined college football for my generation. While Nebraska may lay rightful claim as the team of the 90s, the triple option isn't as sexy as the speed and athleticism of the Noles.

So when the title game opponent suddenly wasn't UCLA or Kansas State, but THE Florida State Seminoles - who rebounded from that early loss to NC State and caught huge breaks the week before to prevent a Tennessee-Florida rematch - the assumption was that the confidence just went out the window.

But as Phillip Fulmer would later say, "We really weren't intimidated to be playing, quote, Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles."

Christmas Morning
My parents both went to the University of Tennessee and we have two season tickets. From 1985 until 1998, I went to the games with my dad. We'd made it to all the home games in 98, to South Carolina and to Vanderbilt, and made the road trip down for the SEC Championship Game. So when the matchup was set, #1 Tennessee vs. #2 Florida State for the National Championship, the goal was clear. I told my parents, I don't want anything else for Christmas. Just get us there.

My parents played it cool, and left me waking up on Christmas Morning having to tell myself that I had to decide to be happy even if the tickets weren't there. And then they did the "little box inside a bigger box inside a bigger box inside the biggest box" routine, which fooled no one and made me sure the tickets were there as soon as I saw this giant box all wrapped up on Christmas morning. And when I opened the smallest box? Merry Christmas indeed. Kudos to my parents, because those bad boys had to be hard to get.

One of my favorite sermon stories...
Game tickets, plane tickets, hotel reservations, check. We would fly out of Louisville, KY (all flights from Knoxville to Phoenix are booked) on January 3 for the January 4 Fiesta Bowl. And it was like Christmas was extended for another 10 days.

We arrive in Louisville in freezing temperatures in plenty of time for a 12:00 PM flight, with stops in St. Louis and Tulsa en route to Phoenix. The only time in my entire life that I've been on an airplane before this was when I was two or three, and I don't remember it. So I've got those jitters floating around. But we get checked in, and we're on board and ready to go around 12:10. Seems flawless.

The entire plane is full of Tennessee fans. And we wait. No takeoff. And around 12:30, the captain comes over the intercom and says, I swear to God, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a slight malfunction...the device that tells us whether we're going up or down is broken." Which, one, sounds like a problem, and two...shouldn't you know already?

But I digress. They tell us that it's no big deal, that they have to replace the part, there will be a short delay, if we'll please exit the plane and head back to the airport, it won't be long. And please, don't worry, you can leave all of your luggage on the plane. So my Dad and I play along, and we leave our bags on the plane. The tickets to the game are in the bags.

All of the UT fans get off the plane and head right for the bar, and they start drinking. Hours pass. They can't fix the plane. They don't have the part. They have to fly the part in from Chicago. Chicago is under two feet of snow.

We stay in the airport. UT fans keep drinking.

We watch the entireity of two NFL Wild Card games - including Terrell Owens' catch between two defenders against the Green Bay Packers to send the 49ers to the divisional round, after which he cried like a little girl. We wait. We wait.

At this point, the delay progresses to the absurd. 7:00 PM. 8:00 PM. Still no part from Chicago. No open spots on other flights to Phoenix. It's not like we can wait - the game is tomorrow. And not just any game, of course. THE game.

And somewhere along the way, the UT fans - eight solid hours of drinking behind them - start calling airport personel things that I can't repeat on a family blog. Remember, this is before 9/11. And so they're calling these guys everything in the book, and this isn't helping the situation.

Between 9:00 and 10:00, someone from the airport approaches us - I'm pretty sure because my Dad and I are the only two sober people wearing orange - and tells us that two seats have opened up on a flight to Phoenix, and would we like to have them. We're thrilled and say yes...all you have to do is let us walk fifty feet down to the airplane and get our tickets out of the carry on luggage you told us we could leave on the airplane when everything was fine nine hours ago.

"Sir, you can't get your luggage off the plane."

"We don't need our luggage. I don't think you understand. We don't need food, we don't need clothing, we just need our tickets."

"Sir, you can't get on the plane."

So we watch the other plane takeoff without us.

11:00 PM. And at this point, I'm having serious theological conversations with myself. Because God cannot allow this to happen to me.

They finally call us all over, and the UT fans stumble to the gate, and the guy at the airport who's earned his pay today says "Ladies and gentlemen, flight so-and-so from Louisville to Phoenix will not..."

And I swear, he says it this way just to screw with us.

"...be delayed any further. You may board."

If this conversation goes the other way, am I sitting here as a pastor today?

We land in Phoenix at 5:00 AM EST, 3:00 AM local time. I've never been so happy to see a hotel bed. And after about three hours of sleep, here come my Dad's fraternity brothers into the hotel room to wake us up.

It's gameday.

The Difference Between Tennessee Fans and Florida State Fans
When the retiring John Ward said the thing that impressed him most was the two-mile long assembly of Vol fans from the hotel to the stadium that served as an impromptu Vol Walk for the team bus, he wasn't lying. When we're playing well, believe me, the Vols travel and travel well. And for the record, Phoenix is a nice place to be in January.

On the grounds of Sun Devil Stadium, walking around the festivities, you make conversation with a few FSU fans. And, more often than not, you hear condescending overtones. "You guys had a really great season." "Man, you guys had a magical year." "Congratulations on getting here." Essentially, "Nice season, we're really sorry that we're going to bust it up for you." This is Florida State football in the 90s.

They weren't alone. The oddsmakers had the Noles as a six point favorite, and I can't remember another time when an undefeated team played a one loss team for the title, and the one loss team was the favorite.

There's an interesting atmosphere at games like this. You've got a certain percentage of the stadium that's taken by press and "nobilities", a certain neutral element. And then, what you find among UT and FSU fans, are a lot of rich people and rich alumni (read: donors) who haven't been to a game all year (or haven't been keeping up at all) and then said to their trophy wife "Darling, how does Phoenix in January sound?" They don't care much about the outcome, but it was an important event in the history of their university, and by God they were there with their checkbooks. That hurts the middle class families like mine, and is a quiet slap in the face to those who put some of themselves into following the Vols (or Noles, or Buckeyes and Gators, or anyone else) and would kill to be in Tempe, but the ticket wasn't there to be had.

And one final pregame note: in the unaired festivities, which were heavy because this was the first BCS title game, they unveiled a banner for each of the six conferences represented, and then unveiled a separate banner for Notre Dame, which was met with booing of epic proportions. Excellent.

The First Quarter
What's great about going back and watching the DVD is seeing Randy Sanders - in his first assignment - with an "Oh my God, oh my God, please don't screw this up" expression everytime they show him in the box.

The Vols will get the ball and Sanders will get a chance right out of the gate. And Sebastian Janikowski is a beast.

Florida State's defense - christened by Bob Griese as "the best defensive in college football" in pregame - features Corey Simon, Tony Bryant, Lamont Green, Tommy Polley, Mario Edwards, Dexter Jackson, and the like. And the first three plays go like this: Travis Henry one yard, Tee Martin option for one yard, incomplete pass.

But then, a staple crop of Florida State football: David Leaverton is roughed, and the Vols get another chance. Which Tee Martin turns into an instant completion to Peerless Price for 24 yards.

The ABC graphic tells me that Florida State is #1 in the nation in total defense, passing defense, and a paltry #2 in rushing defense and scoring defense.

Two plays later, Tee "run with that football!" Martin scrambles for another first down, and we're in business.

(Dating this game: Keith Jackson has to explain that the yellow line on your television set is, in fact, not painted onto the field, but is computer generated by ABC to show how far a team needs to go to get a first down. "I like it." - Griese. "You're just lazy." - Jackson.)

The drive stalls, including a punishing hit on Travis Henry, and the unusual starts happening. Jeff Hall misses a 32 yard chip shot. The Vols get in the red zone and get no points.

And here comes the litmus test: our defense, praised and relied on all year to get it done, facing the vaunted speed of the Florida State offense. To many Vol fans, it doesn't really matter that Marcus Outzen is playing quarterback instead of the injured Chris Weinke. And on the first play, Travis Minor takes a draw and gets 14 yards. Uh oh. Then it's a slip screen to Peter "Everyone thinks I can beat Tennessee by myself" Warrick (ruled behind the line, so techincally a running play) for 11 yards on the next play. Uh oh again.

But when they try the exact same play to the opposite side, here comes more weirdness: Shaun Ellis bats it backwards behind the line and it becomes a fumble, takes a Tennessee bounce and then Peter Warrick intentionally bats it out of bounds, which you can't do. I can't recall an "illegal batting" penalty (15 yards and loss of down, kids) since.

So on what has to be 2nd and 40 - the ABC guys don't get it figured out in time - Minor runs and gets about 25. On 3rd and 17, the Vols blow up a screen pass, and the threat is avoided. And we all take a deep breath and settle in.

Again, Tennessee moves deep into FSU territory - thanks in part to a late hit penalty, the third 15 yard foul against the Noles in the first quarter - but Travis Henry fumbles at the 35 yard line. Two chances, no points.

The speed of the defenses continues to dominate on both sides. Raynoch Thompson and Al Wilson string out Travis Minor outside while Darwin Walker helps cut him down inside. When Lavernaues Coles goes on a reverse, he gets murdered into the Tennesee bench, and the Vols force a punt. Then Florida State scores a sack of Tee Martin and gets the ball back after a shank with great field position at the UT 43. But Eric Westmoreland dumps Minor for a two yard loss, and two incompletions later we still have a scoreless ballgame.

(Hey look, there's Mark Richt calling plays.)

From the 12 yard line, that's about to change. Tennessee lines up in a full house set, runs play action, Tee Martin pumps and then floats the ball out to Price, who's facing one on one coverage and burns the secondary to the Florida State 12. We're in business. Great, great call by Randy Sanders.

The Second Quarter

The Vols get no closer and have to send out Jeff Hall from 24 yards away. His kick is good, but there's laundry on the field. ("There are some very old truths in the game. One is don't take points off the board. The other is, don't rough the kicker." - Jackson) Four 15 yard penalties, and the Vols play the aggressor and will keep the drive alive.

After a failed trick play from Travis Stephens to John Finlayson, Sanders goes back to the old faithful: play action fake, roll out your quarterback and hit the fullback. Tee Martin connects with Shawn Bryson, and the Vols lead 7-0.

Florida State responds by firing a Marcus Outzen pass to Ron Duggans that's good to midfield, and the Noles are thinking that they'll answer very, very quickly.

You've heard all week (month) about Peter Warrick, how he is the best receiver in the nation and will takeover the game by himself, that Warrick is the reason the Noles will win. So on the next play, Outzen decides he's going to force it to him, and Dwayne Goodrich steps in front of the out route. And it's back to the house, 54 yards. Bang bang, Vols are up 14-0. What was just a defensive struggle has turned into a two touchdown lead, and with our defense, you're feeling really, really good about things all of a sudden.

Next Florida State drive, it's three and out highlighted by a Raynoch Thompson sack. And with 11:00-plus still left in the second quarter, I start thinking, "we're going to kill these guys."

Which I think is what Randy Sanders and Tee Martin were thinking, because two plays later Martin fires deep again, but doesn't see the safety Derrick Gibson, who picks it off and runs it back to the five yard line. And our notions of surefire victory were short lived.

First play: Al Wilson vs. Travis Minor. Al Wilson wins. "The hardest yard Travis Minor's ever gained in his life." - Jackson. It takes three tries for FSU to get into the end zone from the five, with William McCray diving into the pile and stretching the ball across. Then more weirdness ensues: Janikowski ("250 pounds of fury." - Jackson) watches his kick get partially blocked following a false start penalty that moved them back and a terrible snap, the ball goes off the crossbar and no good. 14-6 Vols.

After the Vols punt, here comes Peter Warrick's one shining moment: a 51 yard punt return, made less spectacular only by the fact that he's drilled by David Leaverton at the end of it. FSU gets the ball now at the UT 28, and weren't we just in control of this thing? After FSU picks up a first down, behold Peter Warrick's only catch of the night: seven yards. The Noles face 4th and inches and get it on a sneak for first and goal at the 5, make it the 10 after a crucial false start. And they keep going backwards, which eventually leads to 3rd and forever/goal and a jump ball in the corner of the end zone that will fall incomplete, but end the night of Dwayne Goodrich with an ankle injury.

Now, my friends and I break down football the same today as we did back then. And one of the most telling signs of a successful season is what you complain about. In 2005 it was everything, this year it was a quarterback draw that got Erik Ainge hurt. That's the sign of a successful season.

In 1998, when everything's going right, what do you complain about? The burden for us fell to senior Steve Johnson, the cornerback that wasn't Dwayne Goodrich. Johnson was the least impressive piece in the Goodrich/Johnson/Deon Grant/Fred White secondary. His playing time began to be given to the young Andre Lott as the season went on. Steve Johnson was the goat. Before I left Knoxville, I joked with my best friend that Steve Johnson would probably end up winning the game for us.

Peter Warrick had one catch to this point, and Goodrich had scored a touchdown. Now, Steve Johnson would get the assignment on Warrick for the entire second half. Gulp.

Janikowski knocks home a field goal, and it's 14-9. And we're going to the Keith Jackson "Just Kidding!" Retirement Ceremony. And somewhere, John Ward smiles.

The Third Quarter

I was going to write "nothing happens", but you know better than that by now. And let me just say that the Vols should wear those home uniforms always and forever: the wide stripe on the helmet instead of the thin one, and the solid white pants with the single orange T on them. Accept no substitutes.

The momentum is dead even after the 14-0 lead is sapped to 14-9, and Florida State will get the ball with Goodrich done for the day. On the second play, the UT defense again sets the tone: Eric Westmoreland pops Outzen on the sideline, which would be 15 yards in the NFL today. On third down, Outzen fires incomplete. In coverage, Steve Johnson. Three and out.

A partially blocked punt leads to a drive that starts near midfield, but yet another false start gets it going in the wrong direction. The drive goes nowhere, and at this point the Vols are 0 for 6 on third down. But here begins the game of field position. The Noles start this drive at their own 16, which begins with a Coles fumbled reverse into the end zone, which he recovers and gets back to the 10. It becomes three and out and the Vols get great field position.

Tee Martin starts this drive with an actual completed pass to John Finlayson, believe it or not. The drive stalls at the 38 yard line, and Fulmer's got a choice on 4th and 4. He chooses to pin them, and Leaverton's punt is downed at the 9.

The Noles this time get two first downs before Eric Westmoreland scores a sack. However, this remains the drive where Outzen calms down and goes from 4 of 13 at the beginning of this drive to three completions and three first downs. They would sniff the 30 on first down before Billy Ratliff scores a sack. And the 10th FSU penalty - holding - makes it worse. Like 3rd and 34 worse, and the screen won't make it any better. But at least the Noles have turned the field, right? The punt is down at the 5.

Here, Tee Martin makes three of his best throws of the night. The first is to Cedrick Wilson to pick up a first down. The second is to Price with two defenders hanging on Martin for another first down to the 36. On the next play, he rolls out, checks off Finlayson and highpoints one for Jermaine Copeland (Harriman's finest) for yet another first down, and the field position battle swings quickly back to the orange.

But on the final play of the third quarter, Copeland drops one, and the Vols go to 0 for 9 on third down. Fifteen minutes to play, and one big play will turn it...

The Fourth Quarter

FSU's last two drives had started at the 16 and the 9. This one will start at the 1 after Leaverton's punt is covered by a host of Volunteers near the goaline. Outzen comes out throwing, still trying to get it to Warrick, still having no luck. On third down he goes for Warrick again, and again Steve Johnson comes through in great position with a great breakup. And now the Vols are really going to get good field position. Eric Parker runs it back to the FSU 35, and surely, surely...

A field goal would put you up 8 and keep you safe, and the Vols are in range. Randy Sanders goes for the throat on the first snap, Martin fires into double coverage for Price in the end zone, who still could've/should've caught it, but the ball is bobbled between the three of them, intercepted by Dexter Jackson, and returned out to the 25 (and perhaps more if he doesn't trip on his teammate's feet). And you still can't put any distance between us and them.

And now it's getting tense, as Outzen hits Duggans for 10 yards, and Minor runs for 20 more. FSU has the ball at the UT 38, 1st and 10, still trailing only 14-9. And then here's Minor again, making arguably his best run of the night, putting a stick on Deon Grant and picking up another first down. 1st and 10 at the 26, 13:00 to play.

If I'm a Florida State fan, I'm bemoaning what happens next to this day. Instead of going outside with Minor, which had been working, they go inside for no gain. Then they run almost the exact same play with the exact same result, and now it's 3rd and 10. Then they commit penalty number eleven on the day, false start, and it's 3rd and 15 and you're looking at a potential 48 yard field goal.

And then Darwin Walker takes over, dominating the offensive line and swallowing Marcus Outzen out of the play fake before he can even get turned around. It's a sack and might be the biggest defensive play of the game after Goodrich's pick. FSU had 1st and 10 at the 26, and is left with 4th and 26 at the 38 and punts into the end zone.

Cue Peter Warrick's tantrum on the sideline.

The biggest play of the season, if not in Tennessee Football history, comes quickly and without warning. The defense had just bailed you out and you're clinging to a five point lead and watching the clock tick. You run for one yard on first down and no gain on second. So it's 3rd and 9 at your own 21 yard line, with 9:30 to play. The mindset of everyone in orange is "hang on, just hang on, don't turn it over." The Vols have Peerless Price in single coverage to the right, with Copeland and Wilson to the left and backs in the I. FSU is expecting run and puts seven in the box and blitzes, but they won't get him this time. Martin simply drops back, steps up, and lets her fly.

Few Tennessee quarterbacks throw the type of deep ball that gives everyone time to say "oooh..." Peyton Manning throws a crisp deep ball that gets there too fast for you to think about it, while Casey Clausen and Erik Ainge to a lesser extent put more air under it. But no QB in recent Tennessee history threw a better teardrop than Tee Martin. When this ball comes flying out of his hands, you know there's big play potential. We're sitting in the upper deck and the ball is coming at us, and you look down and see #37, and it's already happened once, and you know you've got a chance here. And after all, who doesn't want to win the National Championship on a bomb, the most exciting play in college football?

Single coverage was a bad idea, and as they race side by side in front of the Tennessee bench, Peerless is going to win this one. He watches Edwards mistime his jump, hauls it in in perfect stride, and there's no catching him. 79 yards in a breath. And Tennessee has a two possession lead with 9:17 to play.

The replay shots of this are great, as Price runs right by Fulmer and Al Wilson along the way.

The extra point is blocked, which is significant because the lead stays at 11, and a field goal remains a factor. But for Vol fans, the clock watching begins.

But that didn't last more than one play, when Shaun Ellis stripped Outzen and the ball is recovered by Billy Ratliff. In the last outing, in the SEC Championship, the Vols scored on a long pass to Peerless Price, then stripped Mississippi State QB Wayne Madkin on the first play from scrimmage. Destiny is working overtime.

It's at this point that Vol fans start mocking the FSU chop, and I'm thinking "Are you insane?! It's Florida State! There are eight minutes left!" My hands stayed at my side, and I regret it.

Travis Stephens brings his fresh legs into the mix and picks up a first down. The clock's still running. Tennessee centers the ball and brings on Jeff Hall with 6:00 to play, and the Vols lead 23-9. Six more minutes. I wasn't celebrating until it was done.

A short kick followed by a freshman mistake (personal foul on Teddy Gaines, special teams warrior and the next in line to receive the Steve Johnson treatement in the coming years), and FSU starts this drive at the 50. Which they start by fumbling the snap. He then scrambles and takes another beating from the Vol D, fumbling again but ruled down. Offsetting penalties lead to a completion to Duggans to the 7 yard line with 4:00 to play, and we're not done yet.

Outzen scrambles in for six two plays later - though replay shows he was down at like the two - but now it's back to one possession, 23-16 with 3:42 to play.

The Noles go the onside kick route, recover, but Janikowski was one biscuit for breakfast too big as the ball barely glances off him (nice on the ABC telecast when the referee has his mic on and calls illegal touch, and an FSU coach next to him clearly screams "bull$#!!") So now, first downs will win the game. Three more minutes. Three FSU timeouts.

And the Vols come out throwing! Martin hits Shawn Bryson for eight yards, and he does a great job of staying in bounds. They run Travis Henry and he's a yard shy. They run him again and he still can't get that yard. FSU takes their first timeout at 2:07, it's 4th and one and Fulmer must decide again. A 50 yard field goal would put you back up two possessions. Fulmer says go, and clearly FSU hasn't been paying attention. Same play they ran on the first snap of this drive, same play they scored on in the first quarter, same play we still run today: play action fake, there's the fullback, there's a Shawn Bryson first down. Time to celebrate right?

An unclean handoff from Martin to Henry and the ball comes tumbling out, and an very audible "OOOHHH!" from the Vol faithful, and the ball is back in Seminole hands. 1:29 to play. We can't make things easy on ourselves.

So, one more for the defense. Outzen goes shotgun and fires deep into double coverage, it's tipped by Deon Grant, and intercepted by, yes, you guessed it, Steve Johnson. As you can see, Outzen is having a bad day. Outzen will finish 9 of 22 with 2 INTs.

Technically, we still need one more first down. Martin rolls out and slides down, one timeout. Martin rolls the other way, final FSU timeout at 1:01, third and 9 coming up. Travis Stephens will run for 8 of those yards, and then FSU commits a facemask penalty. That's a first down. And that's ballgame.

I don't know what your reaction was. For me, in the stadium, watching the final seconds tick and having the realization slowly set in, it's indescribeable. After Tee Martin takes a knee, I turn to my dad and say, "Are you sure we're not still stuck at the airport?"

And then they put that graphic up on the JumboTron, that says "Tennessee Volunteers - National Champions."

Tennessee 23 - Florida State 16

Afterthoughts

It's just pure jubliation in the stands. You know this is rare. One of my Dad's friends come up to me and says "You're only 17 years old! I've been waiting my entire life for this, and you're only 17 years old!" Grown men are weeping - not crying, weeping. And they bring out that giant crystal football, and a much younger looking Phillip Fulmer hoists that thing up, and here come all the index fingers in the air. It's a repeated statement that, yes, in fact, we're number one. There's nothing left but celebration.

The Vol fans surround the ESPN GameDay set, inside Sun Devil Stadium, and these guys are afraid. Chris Fowler has said things he shouldn't have, the GameDay crew has avoided Knoxville, but now there's no running and no hiding. During commercial breaks, fans start launching beverages towards - and a few over - the net, and Lee Corso is really, really pissed about it. When one comes close, Vol fans chant "Thirsty! Thirsty! Thirsty!"

And somewhere, in a quiet corner of a locker room, John Ward finishes his career. Somewhere, Al Wilson is probably still furrowing his brow. But everyone wearing orange is living joy.

This is our story. The Vols will write others. Maybe they'll write one with a similar ending one day again. But we remember this one best. Tennessee. National Champions. Amen.

Here we go again.

What happened last year with Tennessee Basketball was unique. Special. From a projected fifth in the SEC East to a two seed in the dance and the SEC Eastern Division Championship. A love affair with Bruce Pearl.

When the great recruiting class followed, the foundation was set. But you knew there would be reality. Major Wingate's dismissal, the lack of size and the abundance of youth (four freshman playing significant roles). And when the Vols went to New York City and scored 44 points against Butler and were soundly beaten by North Carolina, you said "Okay, back to normal. We'll dig in, grow up, and hopefully we'll win enough games to make the tournament." And all of a sudden, the daunting schedule that Pearl helped put in place looked like a gauntlet instead of an opportunity.

Last year, the Vols announced their presence at Texas and then proved they were here to stay against Florida. After those two wins, you started expecting victories. And they kept delivering, winning at Kentucky, beating Florida again, winning all the games they were supposed to win. You believed.

What Tennessee (read: Chris Lofton) did to Memphis twelve days ago was certainly enjoyable. There are few teams I'd rather beat than Tiger High School. But there were still questions. As posted earlier today on this blog, you didn't know if this week - Oklahoma State in Nashville, Texas in Knoxville - was a golden opportunity, or impending doom.

The thought is, you can win on any given night with Bruce Pearl and Chris Lofton. You've got other guys - JaJuan Smith and Dane Bradshaw foremost among them - who can also knock down a three. If this team is hot, they can beat anybody.

So on a night when the Vols shoot 4 of 23 from beyond the arc and Lofton misses more than he hits, when Dane Bradshaw can't even shoot a free throw because his shoulder is so messed up, playing against a team that seems built to beat you and is physically intimidating against your freshmen inside, the same team that dusted you 89-73 last year, playing away from Knoxville, and when - in the most bizzare moments of the night - Chris Lofton misses four critical free throws in a row...

The Vols win. 79-77 over an ex-undefeated #14 Oklahoma State.

You expected the 05-06 team to create the unexpected. Two out-of-the-ordinary steals in the final minute to beat Florida twice. A second half three point shooting streak at South Carolina that defied words. A miracle three by Lofton to survive and advance in the NCAAs. Things that didn't make sense, but you came to expect. Because that team was special.

But now, it looks like that wasn't just limited to that team.

On a night when Lofton just couldn't knock them down, and the 92% free throw shooter missed the biggest four of the night in a row, the Vols proved they're more than just #5. When the Vols are challenged inside, Duke Crews arrives. This kid shows flashes of future dominance, and he's certainly fun to watch right now. When Oklahoma State survived the initial 16-6 spurt and calmed down and then locked down, the Vols stayed alive long enough, and then made critical plays to put Mario Boggan in foul trouble, and then Lofton proved his worth even when not hot by making a great steal and fouling out JamesOn Curry.

And of course, with the game on the line in the final minute, another chapter is written in the Legend of Dane Bradshaw. Bad wrist, bad shoulder, playing out of position, doesn't matter. Right place, right time, right moment leads to a tip in and a win. Tennessee continues to find ways to get the job done. This is a team that expects to win close games and has the evidence to support the claim.

This game felt like an NCAA Tournament affair. The largest lead of the night was seven points for Oklahoma State. It had the emotion and the excitement of every play that made you say "this is a great game, and there's still ten minutes left?!" One that you would've hated to lose, and loved to win. And kudos to the Nashville fan base for making the neutral site crowd a factor. This was quality basketball.

Are the Vols one of the most talented teams in the nation? Probably not. Definitely not one of the most experienced, and they're still playing in a loaded conference. The Lofton Factor will always be there. But what you saw tonight is that it doesn't matter if Lofton is on or not, the Vols can still get it done. Will they go undefeated from here on out? Probably not. But this game tonight proved that this team will continue to play their butts off for 40 minutes, be competitive, and put themselves in position to win. And more often than not, they're getting it done.

Last year, Bruce Pearl said that the basketball team "carried us through the winter." And he was dead on - the Vols were the shot in the arm that the fanbase needed after a 5-6 football disaster. Now that all is well in the football universe, the basketball team is morphing from a great story into a consistent factor. Saturday in Knoxville they'll trot 'em out again and take on another great team in Texas. Win or lose, this team does not disappoint. And all signs point to another interesting, exciting winter in Knoxville.

Go Vols.

Random Thoughts - December 18

A Big Week for Tennessee Basketball
Bruce Pearl's Vols kept the Memphis momentum going after the final exam layoff by putting up 93 points in a win over a good Western Kentucky team on Saturday. The Vols are 8-2 and are creeping back closer to the Top 25. But in the next six days, the young Vols will face two teams who represent both tremendous opportunities for statement victories, and the potential to expose the Vols' greatest weaknesses.

It starts tonight in Nashville, with undefeated and 14th ranked Oklahoma State. The neutral site game is the return bout from last year's clash in Oklahoma City, when the Cowboys gave the Vols a dose of reality coming off of the landmark Texas win by handing them their worst loss of the season, 89-73 (that's a statement about Bruce Pearl and Tennessee Basketball right there, that our worst loss of the season was only 16 points.) If you wanted to assemble a team that's built to beat the Vols, it would look like last year's OSU team. And therein lies a problem: the Cowboys returned all five starters. Bruce Pearl, in the Western Kentucky postgame, described last year's meeting with the Cowboys as "Who's next to get dunked on?" And with no Major Wingate and a young duo of Duke Crews and Wayne Chism (and the continually intriguing Ryan Childress) going against 6'7" Mario Boggan (20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds) with JamesOn Curry at guard (17.7 points, 5.0 assists), it could be trouble for the Vols again. OSU's 11-0 start is impressive, but they haven't been killing teams and only have close victories against Auburn and Syracuse as the most impressive wins thus far. The Vols are still fully capable of beating anyone and everyone they play, but tonight will be telling. 7:00 PM, ESPN2.

And speaking of Texas, the Longhorns will roll into Knoxville on Saturday, and you can bet they'll be looking for revenge and redemption. Texas is a more difficult team to figure out at 7-2 (they host Arkansas on Wednesday night). The Horns lost to Michigan State by two points and at home to Gonzaga by ten. But they've also beaten St. John's, and got the best of LSU 76-75 last week. They may have lost a wealth of talent to the NBA, but Kevin Durant and AJ Abrams are helping make up for that. It'll be an interesting environment in TBA with the students on break, but if the Vols win tonight, the fans should be ready to roll on Saturday. 12:00 PM, ESPN.

Titans? Playoffs?
The NFL is a marathon, not a sprint. When the 2006 schedule was released, and when Steve McNair left for Baltimore, the thought for Titans fans was to try and survive the first six games (Jets, at San Diego, at Miami, Dallas, at Indy, at Washington) and make it to the off week with something to shoot for. The actual result was an 0-5 start before scoring a surprising win at Washington to close, as Vince Young began to be handed more and more of the offense. The Titans beat Houston and were then clobbered 37-7 at Jacksonville, before losing one they could've won against Baltimore 27-26 to leave them at 2-7 on November 12. A couple of those early losses were completely noncompetitive, and left Titans fans worried about the present and the future.

As Young has gotten more and more of the reigns and the grasp of the offense, weird things have started happening. There was the weird 31-13 blowout at Philadelphia when the Titans were 13 point dogs. Then it seemed like everything was back to normal when the Giants held a 21-0 lead in the 4th quarter, but here came the inexplicable, a 24 point surge leading to a 24-21 upset victory. Which was a nice story. Then came Peyton Manning and the mighty Colts - 10-1 at this point - and the Titans simply refused to let him have the ball. I was driving into Knoxville on this particular Sunday afternoon and listening to the game on the radio, and kept hearing "3rd and 4" and was thinking "Vince is going to run it, surely the Colts know this"...and VY kept getting first downs. The Titans put themselves in position to win, watched Jeff Fisher screw with Tony Dungy's last timeout, and then watched Rob Bironas drill a sixty yard field goal for another win. Two weeks of high excitement, two huge upsets. Nice while it lasted.

Then came Vince's homecoming at Houston, where he took matters into his own hands in overtime and scored from 39 yards out to give the Titans a 26-20 win. Okay, but that was the Texans, and this is Jacksonville - fresh off the destruction of Indianapolis - and the team that just beat the Titans by 30 one month ago.

And Jacksonville, on paper, shredded the Titans. Outgained them and out-time of possessioned them 3 to 1. The Titans went 0fer on third downs. But it seems that NFL history follows these guys around - a 24-0 4th quarter run one week, a 60 yard field goal the next, a long TD run by a QB in overtime that seems meek and mild by comparison now, and now this: two interceptions and a fumble returned for a touchdown, all covering 60+ yards. Final score: Titans 24 - Jaguars 17.

And now the Titans are 7-7, with five wins in a row on the heels of an 0-5 start. I said after the Colts win that it was nice just to know that they were playing hard, well, and had a chance to compete and possibly win each time out, and that it would be fun to continue to watch Vince Young mature. But now, they're starting to whisper that playoff word.

The AFC is clearly led by San Diego, Baltimore, and the Colts (don't argue). New England will win their division. But the two wild card spots are still very much up for grabs, and while the Titans are one of eight teams in contention for two spots, you never know...and I wouldn't put a whole lot of money against Tennessee right now. The Titans are at Buffalo this week before closing with the Patriots at LP Field. If the Colts beat Cincinnati tonight, you'll have four 8-6 teams (Bengals, Broncos, Jags, Jets) and four 7-7 teams (Bills, Chiefs, Steelers, Titans). The finishing kick for these eight teams:

Bengals: at Broncos, vs. Steelers
Broncos: vs. Bengals, vs. 49ers
Jaguars: vs. Patriots, at Chiefs
Jets: at Dolphins, vs. Raiders

Bills: vs. Titans, at Ravens
Chiefs: at Raiders, vs. Jaguars
Steelers: vs. Ravens, at Bengals
Titans: at Bills, vs. Patriots

Believer it or not, it's the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets who have the easiest road to the playoffs. The bad news here for the Titans is that one of the Bengals/Broncos are going to get to at least 9 wins. It's still too early and too complicated to start running any in-depth scenarios, and wins at Buffalo and vs. New England are anything but givens. But at least we're having this conversation.

This also raises the question of "is too much of a good thing a bad thing?" We love football in America, and we devote hours of ESPN to breaking down every possible angle. There's so much that we want to talk about, that we will tear a team to pieces in Week 3 and say they're out, question who the starting quarterback is, etc. Marathon, not sprint. The Colts were unbeatable and now they can't win. The Bengals were dead in the water and now they're drawing the Steelers '05 comparison. Carolina is the best team in the NFC South. No, it's Atlanta. No, wait, now it's Carolina. Wait, the Saints are still winning? Do you really think that Jay Cutler would've seen action so soon if there was less time devoted to talking about it? Tony Romo? Why are we talking about Brian Griese when the Bears are 12-2 and clearly on top of the NFC? I love talking football and watching all of this stuff on ESPN, but we all need some perspective from time to time. Just because the Broncos lose one game doesn't mean that Jake Plummer can't win. One game at a time.

By the way, you should try and catch the Colts-Bengals game tonight - I watched the second half of this game last year at a restaurant in Nashville, and it was the most enjoyable NFL regular season game I've seen in a long time (excluding the Titans). You should also know that my fantasy team in the head-to-head league that I run squeaked into the semifinals, and currently holds a five-and-change point lead over the #1 team in the league, with my guys finished playing. He's got only Shayne Graham, the kicker for Cincinnati, left to play. So we need no field goals and less than 6 TDs. Basically, the fate of my fantasy season is in the hands of the Colts' defense. Say a prayer.

The 50 Best Vol Games 1989-2005: Top 15 02. No-Sir-Ree. No-Sir-Ree.

2. 1998: #6 Tennessee 20 - #2 Florida 17 (OT) (Knoxville, TN)
In looking at this today, this is the first stretch since the mid-1980s where the Tennessee Football program doesn't have a team that it "can't beat". When Alabama's time as the Vol nemesis ended in 1995, the Vols were already three games into Florida's dominance. The Gator hold would really continue until 2001, and by that time, the Vols were two deep into Georgia's five-of-six run. Tennessee's 51-33 win over the Dawgs this year broke that hold. And now, now we are free men. It kinda happened without anyone really noticing, but it's odd in a way to think about this program without a "we'll find a way to lose against __________" out there. Now, should Urban Meyer and the Gators win three or four in a row from here, this will all be a moot point.

But I digress.

Tennessee was still in the throws of Alabama's dominance when Florida began their streak in 1993. Those Gators simply outscored Heath Shuler's Vols 41-34 in The Swamp. The following year, #1 Florida was simply way too much for Todd Helton and the Vols in the rain, in a 31-0 victory. But the next three were the ones that really hurt.

To appreciate what happened in Neyland Stadium in September 1998, you have to go back to The Swamp in September 1995. Sophomore Peyton Manning and the Top 10 Vols were one week off of the great 30-27 escape against unranked Georgia, seen previously on this list. Fears and questions abounded when this team went into The Swamp for a game few gave them a chance to win.

The first half of the 95 Tennessee-Florida game is perhaps the most bittersweet piece of game film you'll find in the time period we're working with. The opening drive for the Vols was two plays: a bomb to Marcus Nash on the first play, a touchdown to Joey Kent on the second. Peyton Manning was announcing his presence. Between that TD drive and Raymond Austin returning a fumble after Danny Wuerfful was murdered, the Vols led Florida 30-14 late in the second quarter. The Gators scored before halftime, the Vols missed a field goal on their first drive of the second half, it started raining, and Jay Graham fumbled on consecutive drives. In two breaths, the Gators went from down 30-14 to ahead 35-30. And then literally, the floodgates opened. When all was said and done, the Gators inexplicably won 62-37. End result: Vols don't lose again and finish the year #2 in the coaches' poll, Gators win the SEC and get the honor of getting ba-lasted by the 95 Nebraska team that just won ESPN's All-Time Greatest College Football Playoff (sidenote: if you catch a repeat of this and they haven't edited out any of Kirk Herbstreit's mini-tirade on how Nebraska fans voted this team and 71 Nebraska, who met in the finals, to beat 01 Miami, 04 USC, and 05 Texas, it's definitely worth watching. Bonus points for whoever said "It must be snowing in Nebraska.")

In 1996, the "Game of the Century" in Knoxville when the #2 Vols and the #4 Gators met, began the same way the 95 game ended. This was the first game I ever left early, and still remains one of only three (03 Georgia, 05 Georgia) that sent me to the car. After Florida went for it on 4th down on the opening drive and scored a touchdown, everything went wrong. Peyton Manning almost threw as many interceptions in the first half as he threw in all of 1995. Florida could not be stopped. When Jay Graham got hit and the ball flew into the air with the Gators up 28-0 in the second quarter, I walked out. Tennessee was game enough to make it a respectable 35-29 final, but not for anyone who saw it. I have never, ever seen anything close to the level of pregame emotion from the Vols combined with such a poor on-field performance. This loss hurt in a unique, especially painful way. And at this point, you couldn't spell Citrus without UT.

And in "Manning's Last Chance", 97 in The Swamp, you had tangible elements of desperation. You had a younger team (and no Jamal Lewis - remember Mark Levine?) who seemed like they were waiting for Manning to do something. You had a Manning INT returned for a touchdown and five Gator sacks en route to a 33-20 Florida win. Even though Tennessee won the SEC thanks to two Florida losses in 1997, Florida still decisively owned Tennessee coming into the 1998 season. Five straight wins for the Gators, three straight unbelieveably heartbreaking affairs for the Vols.

Burned into my memory, verbatim, is this line from the 1998 Sporting News preseason college football magazine: "Not even the most diehard Vol fan thinks they have a shot against Florida this year."

The 98 Vols had their question marks in preseason, no doubt. No Peyton Manning. No Marcus Nash. No Leonard Little (or Jonathan Brown, perhaps the most underrated Vol defensive player of my lifetime). No Terry Fair. All those guys, among others, played in the NFL now. You knew about Jamal Lewis, but that was about it offensively. The offensive line, even with returning starters, had been totally destroyed in the two losses to Florida and Nebraska. We knew Peerless Price was good, but was he #1 receiver good? And let's not forget all the questions about this Tee Martin guy, who at the very least, wasn't Andy Kelly, Heath Shuler, or Peyton Manning.

The defensive stars were either considered to be young (Dwayne Goodrich, Deon Grant, Eric Westmoreland, Shaun Ellis) or underachievers (most notably, Darwin Walker). We liked Al Wilson and Raynoch Thompson, but we weren't in love with them. In fact, the most sure bet on the whole team was Jeff Hall.

The week one win at Syracuse taught us a few things, but the cold reality was, in the third week of September 1998, we didn't know that Donovan McNabb would grow up to be Donovan McNabb, we didn't know Syracuse was that good, and we'd seen our defense give up 33 points and miss a world of tackles, Tee Martin have an average start statistically speaking, no #2 wide receiver emerged, and there was little that made you look at this team and think any different about their odds against the Gators, for most.

What really made it that way wasn't so much Tennessee's problems, but Florida's talent. On offense, the Gators suited up Terry Jackson at RB and a usual stable of future NFL drafted wide receivers, including Travis McGriff, Travis Taylor, and Darrell Jackson, with Erron Kinney at tight end. Zach Piller led the offensive line. And coming into the game, the questions with the Gator offense surrounded who would play, Doug Johnson or Jesse Palmer?

But the brutal strength of this Florida team was the defense. In a conversation about the best defenses that Tennessee has faced in this 1989-2005 time period, you always start with 92 Alabama, and you can certainly make a case for 96 Alabama, 97 Nebraska, and 02 Miami. But outside of the 92 National Champions in Tuscaloosa, this Florida defense gets my money. The Gators featured Reggie McGrew at defensive tackle and Tony George in the secondary, but the real five star unit is at linebacker, where Mike Peterson and Jevon Kearse (moved to DE by the Titans) lined up with Johnny Rutledge, and all three were drafted in the first or second round the following April. Florida was big, fast, and playing an inexperienced Vol offense. This was trouble.

So here come 100,000 people into Neyland Stadium for the good ol' 8:00 PM kickoff on CBS. And you've seen things go wrong against these guys so many times, and you don't have a whole ton of faith in this Tennessee team, and everyone says it's going to go south...so you're just trying to hang on when this thing starts.

The Legend of Al Wilson is written on this night. You've never, ever seen a defensive player take over a game like this. In the first half, Wilson simply willed the Vols. It started when Florida drove to the one yard line in a scoreless game, and you're thinking "well, here we go again." And then Wilson forced a fumble that the Vols recovered in the end zone.

The Gators would move to first and goal again, and this time come away with only three points. Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer weren't just rotating every series, they were rotating every play. He'll never admit it, but I think Spurrier might regret that.

Florida had a 3-0 lead and the Vol offense wasn't getting anything done. So when Shawn Bryson took a handoff at the Vol 43 yard line, and suddenly the middle of the defense came wide open because they weren't expecting the fullback, and Bryson turned on the speed for a 57 yard touchdown, the Vols had the lead. Tennessee had the lead on Florida - which hadn't happened in three years. It hadn't happened at Neyland Stadium in six years. And when Bryson scored, I remember thinking "this isn't the way this usually goes..."

Al Wilson kept hitting. He forced his third fumble of the night that the Vols recovered only 35 yards away, and things keep going right. Tennessee got three points out of that drive and led 10-3.

As close as this game was and as lucky as many say the Vols were to win it, it could've been a blowout in our favor when you really go back and look at it. Florida drove 67 yards in 3:10 with no timeouts on their final drive of the first half - including a 3rd and 22 conversion - throwing a touchdown pass with :20 left to tie the game at 10-10 at halftime.

As the third quarter progressed, you saw another Florida fumble that led to no points, and midway through with the game still tied at 10-10, you had to wonder if the Vols had four turnovers and only 10 points off of them, if we had wasted our best chances. But David Leaverton pinned the Gators at their own four yard line, Florida couldn't drive, punted and then committed an oft-forgotten but highly crucial personal foul penalty on the return. The result: Tennessee had first and ten on the Florida 28.

The drive actually went backward one yard before Tee Martin made his one and only big throw of the night, hanging a ball up in the corner between Peerless Price and two defenders. Price made a tremendous adjustment on the ball, caught it and held on through the hit for a touchdown. This pass was like the Jonathan Crompton to Robert Meachem TD ball in this year's LSU game ("This isn't going to work, he shouldn't have thrown that....wait, YES!")

Tennessee hadn't held a lead on Florida this late in the game in six years. 17-10 Vols, still seven and change left in the third quarter.

More evidence that the Vols could've won by more: they had Florida on 3rd and 11 at their own 30 on the ensuing drive. The result: Travis McGriff busted Dwayne Goodrich for 70 yards, and in an instant we're tied again. There's some great trash talking between McGriff and Goodrich if you can find the tape, and while Goodrich would mature throughout the year and go on to help shut down Peter Warrick, McGriff got the best of him to the tune of 9 catches for 176 yards.

Tennessee's offense simply couldn't move. The Gator defense had given up two plays, one to Bryson and one to Price, but would budge no further. As the clock ran into the 4th quarter, the Vol faithful were waiting for one more big play, just one more. But the offense could never provide it. Tee Martin finished 7 of 20 passing for just 64 yards. Jamal Lewis ran for an extremely tough 82 yards.

But when the offense couldn't get any more points on the board, the Vol defense continued to carry the team. On the night, they held Florida to -13 rushing yards and sacked Johnson and Palmer five times. They had already forced four fumbles. And as the game wore on, the Vol nation began to build the faith they would place on this defense for the remainder of the season.

Florida would make one final push towards the end zone, but Deon Grant made one of the most spectacular interceptions you'll ever see. When the ball was fired deep across the middle, the guy sitting next to me said "intercepted!" and I remember thinking "are you blind?! there's no way he'll get to that one..." But Deon Grant played centerfield well, timed his leap, and one-handed saved the game, scoring the 5th turnover of the night and sending the game towards overtime.

We'd never played the high stakes game of overtime before, and were already pretty thrilled just to be there with these guys. When the Vols lost the toss, got the ball first, and then committed a holding penalty, you still just had to scratch your head. But while Tee Martin wasn't hot on this night, he made a big play in scrambling on third down and getting those ten yards back, giving Jeff Hall a 41 yard field goal instead of a 51 yarder. Hall stepped up and knocked it through, and the Vols led 20-17.

There is no more tense situation in sports than a college football overtime where the team with the first offensive possession kicked a field goal. Because the game can be over on the very next snap, with a touchdown for the offense or a turnover for a defense. On their first offensive play, Florida got 10 yards and a first down to the 15 yard line. And I remember thinking "We've played so hard, come so close, and left so much out there, and now it's going to end and come up short, because there's no way we keep Florida out of the end zone from the 15 yard line and a first down."

The definitive Al Wilson play wasn't any of the forced fumbles or anything from any of the other 1998 games. It was second and 10 from the 15 in this overtime. Before the snap, Wilson is showing blitz but he's not showing where, and there's a camera shot of this from behind Jesse Palmer that shows what he saw: Wilson roaming around the defensive lineman like a maniac, showing blitz from three different angles before the snap. When Palmer takes it, he gets a three step drop and then has to get rid of it because Wilson is all over him. And suddenly it's 3rd and 10, and you're one stop away from forcing a field goal.

When the Gators threw behind a moderately open man in the end zone on third down, the Vol D had held again. One more stand. So here comes Collins "we don't put kickers on scholarship at the University of Florida" Cooper, and it's only 32 yards.

32 yards. I never, ever thought about him missing it. My exact words were "watch the fake, please God don't rough the kicker." And then, like lots of those in orange, I'm trying to figure out how our offense is going to score any points as the potential overtimes play on, because our defense has got to be dead and you can't ask much more from them.

My season tickets are in Z11, which is the opposite end of the stadium. And what I learned on that night is that when they're kicking field goals on the other end and you can't tell, you always watch the fans right behind the goalpost - they'll tell you first. Because the first time I saw it was on this night.

When Cooper's kick went up and drifted left, from our perspective it was "well, maybe..." and then you see the section of Vol fans directly behind and to the left of the goalposts start going nuts. And there's that 0.5 second moment where everyone in the stadium takes a breath, one big inhale before letting out more noise than I've ever heard in my entire life.

I remember saying "He missed it!" and then being conscious of not being able to hear the words come out of my mouth. I said it again and didn't hear it again. It was raw, pure jubiliation, the type of totally unrestrained celebration that you just don't see this side of heaven. And after a few seconds of that, with everyone I know and some people I don't grabbing me and each other and girls I don't even know coming up and kissing me and the guy next to me and everyone else, it sank in: we won. We won. We beat Florida.

There was this moment of "Let's get the goalposts!" My seats are 48 rows up in Z11, and after thinking it and getting one foot in the aisle, those things were already down. "Well, okay, they'll get the goalposts I guess." But it might've been more fun having to stand there and watch the Gator fans walk back up between us, in a mass of people mocking the Gator Chomp ("My arms are tired, but keep chomping - I have no idea when we'll get to do this again." - my Dad) and screaming with venom and fury "Citrus Bowl! Citrus Bowl!" at the Gator fans.

Florida, as it turns out, would get a BCS at-large bid and play in the Orange Bowl. But the Vols would still do them one better...

Chris Lofton is special

You know those moments in your life where you stop and realize that you're a lot older than you thought you were? Those times where you're like "wait, what?!" when you see or hear something that dates you much older than you'd like to admit?

Larry Bird turned 50. And I'm in denial. If he's not going through mid-life crisis, he's at least putting me through a quarter-life one.

On SportsCenter this morning, they made a very, very true analogy. If you grew up in suburban America in the 1980s and have ever shot jumpers in your driveway, Larry Bird was your hero. And he's never been replaced. And he never will be. If you're a Celtic fan like myself, even if you're not from Boston, the bond runs even deeper. There's nothing I can say about Bird that Bill Simmons didn't say better in a perspective piece you can find right here. But the point he makes about a missed Bird shot being a rarity - the way a Peyton Manning possession not ending in points is today - still rings true. Bird was money. And there's very much a part of me that still believes that if he put on jersey on right now (and if it was still Celtic green, he'd be the second best player on the floor) and you put him in the game down two with :03 left, you'd better foul him. And that probably won't work anyway.

Which brings us to Wednesday night in Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee is 6-2 and dropped the ball in their first chance for national attention this year, going the big o-fer in Madison Square Garden at the Preseason NIT. Now we've all got a man crush on Bruce Pearl, but in this present reality the Vols are full of freshmen, lost two critical positions with CJ Watson's graduation and Major Wingate's dismissal, and I've heard the phrase "lightning in a bottle" more in the last four weeks than I care to remember. I'm in Virginia, but my sister, live from the student section, tells me that there's a lot of "Memphis is going to kill us" going around. Which is a whole other blog to talk about how quickly we lose faith in Bruce Pearl and just assume the hammer is going to be dropped on us.

Now, #5 in orange has made some big shots. In the Vols' big wins last year, he made critical run-inducing shots against Texas once and Florida twice. He made an impossible shot with the game on the line to beat Winthrop in the first round of the tourney. And he had an ability to take over last year against lesser opponents, with his two career best point totals coming against Georgia last year and Louisiana-Lafayette this year.

If you were watching last season when the Vols went to Rupp Arena and subsequently won there for the second time in my entire life, you saw the flash. Lofton took over the game against a good team. He carried the Vols on his back. He was unconscious against our biggest rival in their hostile environment, scoring 31 points, hitting 7 of 10 from three point range (which is beyond absurd), and grabbing seven rebounds in an eight point Tennessee victory. And when that happened, I remember thinking that playing a team from his home state was always going to bring out the best in him, that he had an extra gear that he shifted into against the Cats (much the way Dane Bradshaw does when he plays Memphis). For all of this, Chris Lofton is the second best shooting guard in College Hoops 2K7. Among other things.

Now, it's been an up and down affair to be a true Tennessee Basketball fan. Ernie & Bernie are before my time, I barely remember Stokley Athletic Center and I have sparse memories of Dyron Nix and Dale Ellis. And I am definitely old enough to remember Wade Houston (as a proud two-time alum of his basketball camps). But there have been moments of greatness here and there among the heartbreak and pain.

And there have been some memorable players. Brandon Wharton was a clutch player. I can still remember CJ Black and Udonis Haslem going head to head in two overtimes in Gainesville and another overtime in Knoxville. And every Vol fan will always have a special place in their heart for Ron Slay. There's also "that white guy" tradition at UT that reads like an Old Testament lineage: Lang Wiseman to Aaron Green to Jenis Grindstaff to Dane Bradshaw.

I remember Allan Houston, who is the only truly great player that I've seen wear the orange. There were moments where you'd look at Isaiah Victor or Marcus Haislip and say "wow, if only...", but Houston was the real deal. He proved as much in the NBA. Houston is the standard for my generation of Tennessee Basketball.

Chris Lofton is already the best three point shooter you and I have ever seen in person in college basketball. There's no argument about that. Even if you happened upon JJ Reddick once, he didn't create shots and make difficult ones the way Lofton does, Reddick had four other guys on the floor who demanded much more respect than any of Lofton's teammates. And that was his reputation, in the SEC and nationally: "this guy is a great three point shooter."

You heard the rumors of him working on his game over the summer, getting better off the dribble, bulking up. We thought, "that's cool, whatever." He had proved already that he still had the ability to shoot the three coming into last night.

So here comes nationally ranked Memphis, with their talent and Willie Kemp and John Calipari. Bruce Pearl has played his part, stoking the fires of this rivalry back in September. (Pearl finally gives me an idea of what it was like to be a Florida fan under Spurrier or a Kentucky fan under Pitino. Because everyone else has to hate this guy as much as we love him.) ESPN2 is there. This is the first big home game of the season.

And thank God for TiVo.

In the pregame, the announcers (and let me fall all over Brad Nessler, as perhaps pound for pound the best PBP man at covering any sport. Great at football, great at basketball) are talking about the potential of the Tennessee-Memphis rivalry. But what creates rivalry is the exchange. The Vols need to beat Memphis for it to become a big deal for the Tigers. And you can see the essence of that when the technical fouls start flying 2:09 into the game.

Lofton gets called for traveling on his first thought of a three pointer. That'll be the last thing he does wrong.

Next possession, Lofton gets a rebound, dribbles down, penetrates to the free throw line and jump stops from 17 feet for two. And the announcers immediately pick up on the fact that it's against his instinct to do something like that, but it's making him better. He's not jacking threes, he's becoming a complete basketball player.

Memphis hits a three to take an 11-7 lead. Ramar Smith dribbles across and immediately finds Lofton, who pumps off the three and two defenders, drives in and then floats one in falling away. Two offensive moves, two baskets from inside the arc. Now that he's earned their respect going in, it's time to turn out the lights.

Memphis miss, Ramar Smith comes out on 3 on 2, and you can see it coming. Lofton running down the wing and calling for the ball, spot, shoot, three. Tennessee leads 12-11. Lofton gets a breather after the first seven minutes, and what follows are three minutes of totally unwatchable basketball. Memphis couldn't hit water falling out of a boat, and Tennessee is young, small, and struggling to find an offensive identity when #5 is on the bench. (And another nice job by Nessler here, coming back from the timeout, to put Pearl's comments about Memphis' lack of respect for the Vols into their proper context.)

Lofton comes back in, and on the first offensive possession, Lofton draws heat from behind the arc, swings it to Chism, who fires it cross court to Jordan Howell for three. Excellent ball movement. Memphis ties it at 15 before Chism decides to bank in a three (slow night for the Bolivar boys: these will be Chism's only points, Willie Kemp shoots 1 of 11). Memphis responds with a crowd-silencing alley-oop, and it's 18-17 Vols with 8:55 to play in the half. We hit the TV timeout at 20-17 with 7:53 left, and everyone in orange has got the "hey, we can play with these guys" complex now.

I remember this complex well. The last time I saw it was at Texas, almost one year ago.

Now, Duke Crews has a part in this. He scores consecutive points, including a follow-slam, to put the Vols up 22-17. I like Crews a lot and think he's going to be a player and a factor this year, because he certainly was last night. But he just set the table.

Memphis miss, Vols come down and go to Lofton, who catches this thing a good four feet behind the line and pumps once. The Memphis defender doesn't step out, and it's that moment those who've been watching are familiar with from Lofton by now: "well screw you then, I'm shooting from here." Net. Suddenly the Vols are up 8, and Lofton hasn't missed a shot.

Perhaps my favorite part from last night comes on the next possession, after Crews blocks a shot and Ramar Smith gives it to Lofton, standing at the next to last "E" in "TENNESSEE", which is a good 12 feet behind the line, and the crowd yells "THREE!" Lofton, instead, crosses up the defender and gets a layup. And that, my friends, is the difference between this year and last.

Sometimes you get those tangible moments, even in Thompson Boling, where you can just feel like the Vols are getting ready to run away and everything's going in. When Ron Slay and friends were freshman and nationally ranked Auburn came to town, it happened in a game that became the first statement in Jerry Green's tenure. It's happened at other points. I wasn't there last night, but watching on TV and hearing the crowd, you get the idea. At this point the Vols are up 10 and on a 9-0 run. And this thing is just getting started.

A timeout won't stop the bleeding. Even when Lofton does miss, Crews is there for a rebound and another technical foul that could've ended the run, but instead fed the fire. When he misses again, the Vols get the rebound and score again. When Memphis finally scores, Lofton answers with another drive and tough layup.

It's 33-20 when we go to the final TV timeout of the first half, and Vol fans are thinking "alright, just hang on to this lead to the locker room, we're doing great." But there's plenty more fury to be unleashed. This thing won't die.

And at this point, it's become this thing where when Lofton gets the ball, you're not just expecting the long three. You're holding your breath, and you're more than just waiting for something good to happen. You're expecting it. So it is right out of the timeout, with another tough penetration basket, this time left-handed. He's doing like that kid from the pick-up games who's shorter and slower than you, and keeps putting up these shots where you're like "I should block that!" and it inches over your fingertips and glides into the basket. If he's not drilling you from three, he's embarassing you inside. Then, at 37-20, when Memphis misses three shots from point blank including a dunk, outlet goes to Lofton, another layup. At this point, Lofton has 18 points, and he's only hit two threes. He has zero free throws.

It's one thing to score 31 points in Rupp Arena when you get 21 of them from the three point line and another two at the stripe. That means you had an outstanding night from beyond the arc and you were hot. But what Lofton did last night was something else. This was the transition from a three point shooter to a basketball force to be reckoned with. This wasn't Georgia or the Rajun Cajuns. This was "the most dominant basketball program in the state." And Lofton wasn't done.

You feel like you blinked and the Vols went from "we can play with these guys" to up 19 with 3:20 left in the half. And maybe you did. And, to be fair, it's unreal how many shots Memphis missed from point blank in the first half. With the score 39-20 with 1:17 left in the half, Lofton caps it. They let Lofton catch the ball 12 feet behind the arc. And it's over. He faces up a defender several inches taller than him and with a longer wingspan, drives, stops, pulls up and drops the hammer. At this point, the score is Chris Lofton 21 - Memphis 20.

Memphis would try and make it interesting in the second half a couple of times, as a talented team will do. With Lofton on the bench for part of it, the Tigers cut the 23 point lead to 15 by the first TV timeout. Then they cut it to 12 with a three at 13:45, and all of a sudden you're nervous for the first time since the TV timeout under 8:00 in the first half. It's 47-35 and they don't let Lofton have the ball anywhere within 35 feet of the basket. But they let him touch it at 40, and it's the same thing: dribble drive, pull up, three. Doesn't really matter who's guarding him. When Memphis answers with a three, Lofton makes what Calipari called the biggest play of the game: an offensive rebound off a Chism missed three, and drawing a foul on Joey Dorsey that would send him to the bench with four. Lofton hits his first free throws of the night.

Then Lofton puts the nail in the coffin with a three falling into the first row on the next trip down.

He would hit two free throws and one more three before he was done in a game that was already decided. The Vols wipe Memphis 76-58. New career high for Lofton with 34 points.

Now, is he going to do that every night? No. But every time he touches the ball, you're holding your breath. We've seen greatness here in Allan Houston, we've seen crowd favorites, and we've seen talent, both harnessed and wasted. But you've never seen something like Chris Lofton if you're my age (25) or younger. Tennessee hasn't had a "take over the game" player, and Lofton was capable of doing that last year if he was hot from 3. This year, against a great team, no matter with whom or how they tried to guard him, Lofton took over. He wasn't just hot. He was good.

What Larry Bird was as a Celtic fan, Chris Lofton is becoming as a Tennessee fan. No, he's obviously not Larry Bird and never will be - he's Chris Lofton. But the essence is there. The "when I get the ball, I'm going to make whatever shot I good and well please" factor is there. You put your faith in this guy on every shot. You believe. And he believes too. A miss is rare. When he takes some ridiculous 3 with a guy hanging on him, falling out of bounds, it still never fails to take your breath away, or make you stand in front of your TV and yell with glee in the middle of Virginia while people drive by and wonder just what in the world you're working on in there. But when he makes it, you're not surprised. This is the one you tell your friends about now, and you'll tell your family you saw years later, when he'll win any comparison about three point shooting at Tennessee. This guy is worth watching every opportunity you get. This kid is special, rare, unique. And the story is still being written. This is Chris Lofton.

Nevermind what any NBA scout will say about him, his size and his limitations. He's here now. And you've got a chance to watch and enjoy him for at least one more year, probably two. Tennessee is capable of beating anybody they play because of this guy and Bruce Pearl. It's hard to tell who I'm more in love with at this point. And for the first time in a long time, it's consistently great to be a Tennessee Vol in basketball season too.

(Bonus: I have my things with announcers as an ex-play by play man for Alcoa High School football, and I would hate this if the color man acted this way at a football game...but Bert Berttlekamp is a rare breed as a color commentator on the Vol Network. The "Money!" line on Lofton's threes is familiar by now. But it's the pure enthusiasm, the "OOOHHH!" on Crews' follow slam, followed by "Throw it down Duke!" The "WOOOOOOO!! MONEY!!" on Lofton's next deep three. The "Use him!" comment when Lofton crossed up a Memphis defender for a layup. There's "Talk to me Dane!" when Bradshaws scores late. And the weird: when JaJuan Smith hits his "how did that NOT make SportsCenter?!" 360 dunk, the highlight of the evening? Berttlekamp: "He really took a chance there, the defender wasn't that far behind him." And even Bob Kesling, who suffers greatly for not being John Ward, when he gets going as the Vols get on a run in basketball, can make some memories for you. But right now, UT Basketball wouldn't be the same without them. To see what I'm talking about, or just to see the highlights, you can click here and then on "Game Highlights").