As we await the release of the preseason AP and Coaches polls in the early parts of August, here’s an attempt to cast a pseudo-vote with minimal bias and some logic that I’m sure will be questioned. I like the idea of getting my picks out there before they’re tainted by what everyone else thinks in these polls, so if I had a vote in the AP Poll this week, it would go something like this:
25. South Carolina - A new quarterback (Tommy Beecher?) will try and utilize RB Mike Davis and All-SEC WR Kenny McKinley to build a consistent offense in year four under The Ballcoach. The defense rests on adjustments and returns for several top players, including Eric Norwood, Jasper Brinkley, Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook under new coordinator Ellis Johnson. Carolina was 6-1 last year before losing five straight to close; is this the year they find consistent SEC success?
24. Boise State – No reason to start doubting them now with Ian Johnson back and all the pass catchers, though the Broncos must find a new quarterback to replace Taylor Tharp and rebuild the offensive line. Still, Boise returns seven on defense. An early tilt at Oregon will be enlightening for both teams, but the Broncos may not be challenged again until the unofficial WAC Championship Game when Fresno State comes to the blue turf.
23. Oregon – Nate Costa and Justin Roper (who led the 56-21 Sun Bowl win over USF) duel to replace Dennis Dixon, while tailback-by-committee will attempt to replace Jonathan Stewart. But the Ducks return almost everyone else on offense and seven on defense in a program accustomed to success. The Ducks play Purdue, USC, Arizona State, Cal and the Civil War all on the road.
22. Alabama – Year two under Nick Saban looks to produce better results than the same six losses that ran Mike Shula off. Still, last season all of Bama’s losses were one possession games. John Parker Wilson returns for his senior season with an experienced backfield running behind a great offensive line. The defense is more questionable, and Bama may again be asking for too much from their younger kids. Still, if this team puts themselves in position to win as they did last year, look for them to come away with more than seven wins.
21. Florida State – I really didn’t want to put the Noles anywhere on this list because I feel they’re often overrated for simply being FSU, but even though they haven’t won 10 games since 2003, this team has talent. They’ll first have to get past Wake Forest on September 20 while still playing without multiple starters due to suspension. When at full strength, their defense is solid at every position. Drew Weatherford will probably still be under center, for better or for worse, but experience abounds throughout the offense. More than anything, they play in a weak ACC and simply don’t play a difficult road game unless you count Miami. The schedule is forgiving enough to allow this team to succeed.
20. Illinois – You’ll find out how good Illinois will be without Rashard Mendenhall right away, as they open the season in St. Louis against Missouri once more. Juice Williams continues to have his moments, and without Mendenhall he’ll need more of them. Arrelious Benn is still around, as well as tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, who is required to show up in every Illini preview so we can all stare at his name. Ohio State and Wisconsin are the definitive Big 10 leaders, but the Illini are the best of the next group right now and showed last year they’re capable of pulling the upset. January 1, at least, should be an attainable goal.
19. BYU – This season’s flavor of choice among the mid-majors, the Cougars have won 11 games each of the past two seasons and return a loaded offense (QB Max Hall and RB Harvey Unga leading the way). The question for teams like this involving the BCS has to go right to the schedule; BYU is at Washington on September 6 and hosts UCLA the following week. Beyond that, they simply have to navigate the Mountain West portion of their schedule, which will include a couple dangerous road trips to TCU and the season-ending showdown at Utah. The BCS is the goal and it’ll probably take 12-0 to get there, but even if they stub their toe along the way this is still a good football team.
18. Wake Forest – The 2006 ACC Champions finished 9-4 last year after an 0-2 start, and two consecutive years of success is enough to earn my respect. Riley Skinner is still just a junior and back under center; he led the nation in completion percentage last season. The loss of WR Kenneth Moore must be addressed, but the defense returns nine starters from a group that was only really busted up once in a 44-10 loss to Clemson. It’s Clemson again who’ll lead the ACC pack on paper, but overlooking Wake a third year in a row would be a bad idea.
17. Kansas – The Jayhawks only have one good year under their belt, but at 11-1 it certainly got your attention. Now they’ll get a chance to prove both that they weren’t a fluke and that they can do more than beat up on a soft schedule. A laughable non-conference schedule gets an instant boost from a trip to South Florida, while their Big 12 schedule replaces Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M with Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech. Todd Reesing will be back to lead the charge with plenty of returning weapons to throw to, while a battle is emerging at RB between Jake Sharp and juco transfer Jocques Crawford. If they get past South Florida they’ll probably be 6-0 in mid-October…then we’ll find out exactly how good this team really is.
16. Texas Tech – The Red Raiders are still looking for a complete season, one where they continue and score some upsets while avoiding the upset bug themselves. They’ve been a lock for 8-9 wins every year this decade, but haven’t been able to get past that mark and win the Big 12 South. And until they do, I fear the nation will continue to view them as a gimmick team. The gimmick will certainly be back at full speed this year, with Graham Harrell throwing to Michael Crabtree. Eight starters return on a defense that always seems to be a question mark. Last year TTU beat Oklahoma but lost to Colorado and Oklahoma State. Consistency is the key to rising in the Big 12.
15. Arizona State – A chance for instant credibility comes with the Sept. 20 date with Georgia. You know the names on offense: Rudy Carpenter, Keegan Herring, Chris McGaha. But they can’t help if the offensive line isn’t better – last season the line allowed 55 sacks, and only two starters return. Seven starters return to a defense that can still improve. The Sun Devils’ only losses last season were to Dennis Dixon’s Oregon, USC and Texas. Even if they don’t beat Georgia, as always success in the Pac-10 comes down to beating USC.
14. Clemson – Like Arizona State, a team that returns all of its skill players but has huge issues on the offensive line. But while Spiller and Davis may get the hype, it’s the defense that can really carry this team. Eight starters return from a unit that was in the top ten in scoring and total defense last season. They’ll get tested right away with the neutral site opener against Alabama. The ACC is weak this year and Clemson is the only team that looks great on paper…but the Tigers have traditionally found a way to stub their toe more than once each season under Tommy Bowden. If the offensive line doesn’t get them beat, the talent is there to think championship…but the tradition is there to think more frustration.
13. Auburn – A solid offense with no spectacular pieces but a very good whole looks to come alive under Tony Franklin; Auburn didn’t score a ton of points but did get a ton of yards in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl win over Clemson’s tough defense. Auburn is one of several teams who might have the third best offensive line in the SEC and the third best offensive line in the country. The defense too is solid all around, with Sen’Derrick Marks and Tray Blackmon leading the way. This team will be very interesting to watch; like many in the SEC, they can go the distance or they can go 8-4. There’s a road trip to West Virginia stuck in there in October, but the SEC schedule sees Florida rotate off and LSU, Tennessee and Georgia all come to Jordan-Hare. If the offense continues to improve and Auburn avoids a lifeless game or two that’ve plagued them in the past, they can win the SEC. Quarterback play is the key.
12. South Florida – Of all the surprises from last season, I think USF has the best chance to duplicate their success. Most of that has to do with the fact that they play Kansas in Tampa, and they play in the Big East. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have Matt Grothe and nine other starters back on offense, with George Selvie returning as last season’s Big East Defensive Player of the Year. They did get murdered in the Sun Bowl, but their three regular season losses were by a combined fifteen points last season. If they beat Kansas and avoid an upset, they’ll be 11-0 headed to West Virginia on December 6.
11. Wisconsin – Quarterback play is key here too, where it could determine whether the Badgers are Big 10 Champions or an afterthought in 2008. If it’s Allan Evridge, he needs to do what Tyler Donovan excelled at: minimize mistakes and let defense and PJ Hill win it for you. There’s a talented stable behind Hill as well, and four starters return on the offensive line. The defense returns nine starters and must be stronger; in Wisconsin’s four losses last season they allowed an average of 32 points. The Big 10 this year appears to be Ohio State and then everyone else, but Wisconsin is at the front of that next group and gets OSU in Madison.
10. Tennessee – The Vols are considered an afterthought by many, but I’m still not sure why. The defending SEC East Champions return every skill player on offense and all five starters from a line that allowed four sacks in 2007. Defensively, there’s no replacing LB Jerod Mayo, but the only other major personnel loss was FS Jonathan Hefney, who’ll be replaced with the returning Demetrice Morley. Erik Ainge will be replaced by junior Jonathan Crompton, who’s probably receiving more hype than he deserves right now, but time will tell. The defensive line must come together and Rico McCoy is the only sure thing at linebacker, plus the Vols could get burned in the punting game while Britton Colquitt serves a six game suspension. But Tennessee plays best when the spotlight isn’t on them, and between the Gators and Dawgs there’s been little of it left for the Vols this season. Tennessee is good enough to win every game they play.
9. Texas – The reloading continues, as Colt McCoy may benefit from a year where he doesn’t enter the season as a Heisman favorite but still has plenty of weapons, even in the absence of Charles and Sweed. Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley are assets at receiver, while the backfield is inexperienced but, of course, full of raw talent. The line will have to carry the defense early in terms of experience, but Will Muschamp takes over as coordinator and will have lots of talent to play with in the LBs and DBs as well. The September schedule is forgiving, which should give Texas time to know what it’s got heading to the Red River game. Playing OU and Missouri in consecutive weeks won’t be fun. Still, it’s Texas, where talent grows on football fields.
8. West Virginia – I thought the most impressive performance in college football last year was in the Fiesta Bowl, where a West Virginia team who’d been heartbroken by Pittsburgh and was without their head coach played the team I thought was the best in the nation…and won by 20. Pat White is back to run the offense and take another stab at the Heisman, while Noel Devine should make people aware of his presence instead of Steve Slaton’s absence. It’s a defensive issue that keeps West Virginia out of surefire National Championship conversation; only four starters back (though the ’07 group was surprisingly great). They might get tested at East Carolina or at Colorado early, but they’re without a doubt the most talented team in the Big East and play USF at home to close. The national title talk begins and ends with the Auburn game.
7. USC – I’ve heard it said that there’s no truly great team in college football this year, but a bunch of really good ones, and that list starts here with USC. The offense gets placed in the hands of Mark Sanchez and whichever talented back gets the most carries. You judge this offense because it doesn’t have names like Palmer, Leinart, Bush or Williams – and maybe there are legitimate questions about how good these receivers are, and the fact that only one starter is back on the line – but just because you don’t know all the names doesn’t mean it still won’t score a lot of points. And with seven back on last year’s second best defense in the nation, the offense won’t have to win many games for them. These are the best linebackers in the country and the secondary is in the conversation. The Pac-10 is getting more competitive and Stanford proved you can’t take anything for granted, but most still believe that USC’s biggest hurdle to Miami is Sept. 13 against Ohio State. If the Trojans win that one, they won’t be this far down anyone’s list.
6. LSU – It’s privilege as defending National Champion to be ranked a couple spots higher than you probably should be, especially when you’re inexperienced at quarterback. But everywhere else, LSU is still very good. The backs and receivers are deep and experienced and the line is incredibly good, it simply falls to Andrew Hatch or Jarrett Lee to make it work. Remember – LSU won it all last year with Matt Flynn, so these new guys don’t need to win the Heisman for the Tigers to succeed. The Tigers return the best defensive line in the SEC even without Glenn Dorsey, but it gets a little muddy from there: Beckwith is the only returning LB, and only one starter is back in the secondary as well. Plus, Bo Pelini is in Nebraska. So it’ll be a real work in progress on that side of the ball, but again, that doesn’t mean they won’t ultimately be good. LSU has been to BCS bowls the last two seasons and is still right there in the uber-competitive SEC. They have the misfortune of trading Kentucky for Georgia on the SEC rotation and go to The Swamp, but they can still probably win the division if they can win at Auburn.
5. Missouri – Another very good team, I heard Chase Daniel on ESPN talking about being glad that people weren’t ranking them higher because it’s good motivation. These Tigers just aren’t going to get past the next four teams when it comes to preseason polls, but they could be every bit as good as them. Daniel returns with weapons to throw to, and though I’m sure they’d like to see something even more productive from the running game, Daniel has a chance to win the Heisman. Even better, the defense returns ten starters. Even better, they catch most of Kansas’ good fortune in the schedule from last season: the only time they’d see Oklahoma is in the Big 12 Championship, and while they must go to Texas, their other draw from the South division is at Baylor and home to Oklahoma State. Can’t overlook Illinois in the opener or Kansas at the close in the neutral site games, but this team has all the pieces and the schedule to head to the Big 12 title game in the running for Miami.
4. Ohio State – The Buckeyes might be the best looking team on paper, but after two years of coming up way short at the finish line and now facing a schedule that sends them to SoCal in week three, this is the last team in the country I’m going to assume with. Their only real loss is Vernon Gholston, which means Todd Boeckman, Chris Wells, Brian Robiskie, Brian Hartline, James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins and the rest are all back for more. They’re easily the most talented team in the Big 10, though they’ll face the next best things on the road (at Wisconsin Oct. 4, at Illinois Nov. 15). If the Buckeyes win each of those three big road games, they’ll deserve another shot at the big prize. Until then, I’m tempering expectations.
3. Florida – The Gators set the world on fire by beating Tennessee 59-20 in September…and then didn’t do a whole lot after that. They finished the year with four losses, and against Georgia and Michigan the defense gave up 40+. The good news is, the offense is almost completely intact with Tim Tebow looking for another ring and another Heisman. Whoever plays tailback will be lightning fast, while Percy Harvin will continue to rack up the yardage in a number of ways. The line should do a better job this year of protecting #15. The defense should be better on the tail end, with all three (good) linebackers returning and experience in the secondary as well. But the line is a giant question mark, with only Jermaine Cunnigham at end having any experience and a ton of sophomores filling out the depth chart. The Gators open with Hawaii and Miami, which should be interesting, before going to Knoxville. If teams can take advantage of their weaknesses and run the football on them, keeping Tebow and friends off the field, Florida is vulnerable. But if the Gators shore things up defensively, look out.
2. Georgia – The Dawgs are the odd man out in the SEC’s upper elite; four others have won National Championships since the league expanded in 1992, and Auburn had an undefeated season. So while Georgia is often counted among the SEC’s top half, they need a championship to really solidify it. This team was in a very bad place last year, and then inexplicably came out of it against their most difficult opponent. Since that Florida game, Georgia has been one giant momentum train, and it’s clearly rolling into 2008. A stretch of games from mid-September to mid-October will tell us if the second half of ’07 was the real deal: Georgia is at South Carolina, at Arizona State, then home to Alabama and Tennessee during that stretch. If UGA is truly a National Championship contender, they’ll run that table and set themselves up for the second half, where they’ll go to LSU, play Florida in Jacksonville, and then go to Auburn. It’s the toughest schedule I know of, and I’m not sure any team could come out of it clean. For Stafford, Moreno, an offensive line with questions and a defense with nine starters back, this season will show what they’re truly made of.
1. Oklahoma – The best combination of good players, experience, and a manageable schedule makes Oklahoma my best choice to make it to Miami. Nine starters return to an offense that averaged 42.3 points per game, and that doesn’t include RB DeMarco Murray. The defensive line will be dominant, though there are questions at linebacker and at the corner positions on defense. Still, Sam Bradford should be able to lead this offense and make a real run at the Heisman. The Sooners catch a break in the non-conference because Washington was a much better team when they scheduled the matchup years ago, but now that road trip doesn’t appear to be very threatening. They won’t see Missouri unless it’s for the Big 12 title, Kansas comes to Norman and Texas will be waiting in Dallas. What’s their most difficult road trip, at Kansas State? At A&M or Oklahoma State? Those are your best options. They’ve had a terrible time in BCS bowls recently, but as far as getting to Miami in 2008, no team is better equipped to do it than the Sooners.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Big Orange Roundtable - Week 4
Week 4 and subpoena-free, brought to you this week by Gate 21. As always, you can find the other responses to the Roundtable questions at the bottom of this post as we get them, and at the initial posting from this week's host at the above link. Also, another friendly reminder that all of us read and respond to your comments, and as Rocky Top Talk did a great job of showing last week, your responses can be included in our weekly roundup.With that said, on with the show...
1) Thus far we’ve made a number of predictions for the 2008 Vols. Now, let’s take the next step: What are your pre-season predictions for each of Tennessee’s regular season games this year (along with any explanations you feel are needed)?
Well, we've lasted four weeks, but here the fundamental flaw of SouthEastern Sports Blog gets exposed:
I don't pick against Tennessee.
Can't do it.
Now I have my moments and am capable of small does of being rational. I don't think Tennessee is the most talented team in the SEC. I don't think the odds are particularly great for any team going undefeated in this conference.
But even as I get progressively and frighteningly more irrational the closer we get to kickoff, I still won't pick against Tennessee at any point in time.
For one, I think the vast majority of us in Vol Nation still believe that Tennessee is good enough to win every game they play.
Even at Florida last year, I'm willing to bet most of you didn't just shake your head and think "Well, the Gators are simply a better team with more talent, and that's that." We've built expectations here and these are the consequences/repercussions.
The phrase I've used most often in the two-plus years of this blog's existence is some form of "The SEC is good enough that anybody can beat everybody. And Tennessee is still good enough to beat anybody every single week."
As long as that's still true, and as long as boundless optimism continues to live at this blog...then why not, as Mike Hamilton says, "Expect to win!"
So while I'll certainly nod my head when others suggest that 10-2 would do a nice job to set the table for a year in 2009 when the Vols could be one of those most talented teams in the conference and the nation, we live in the present where that phrase is still true...and so what you're most likely to get from me every week is something like "How the Vols can win this week" instead of "Will the Vols win this week?" throughout the year.
So...here's how the Vols can win this week...twelve times. I have dreamed a dream...- The Clawfense (can we get this in the regular vocabulary?) hits some speed bumps early, but the Vol defense hits the UCLA offense. Tennessee wins 27-13 in the Rose Bowl in a game full of questions and answers.
- UAB - one of the worst teams in the FBS - makes us all feel better about ourselves and our chances the following week, 48-10.
- Against Florida...the defense will need to play as close to perfect as possible, and that necessitates creating turnovers. Still, the Vols finally wise up and play ball control and EMPHASIZE WINNING THE RUSHING BATTLE, and give Daniel Lincoln a chance to write his name into the lore of this rivalry. He does, 24-21.
- Meanwhile, Auburn gets their hearts broken by LSU, which allows the Vols to jump them early and then hold on late, 20-17 on The Plains. Every eye now turns to Athens...
- ...but first, the offense gets to stretch its legs after two tough weeks by busting Northern Illinois 41-17.
- Down in Athens, the Vols continue their tradition of ruining UGA's undefeated seasons, 31-20. Really, do you remember the last two years? Or 2004? Are you more worried about this one than anyone else because you've bought into the hype? Are you reading 31-20 and thinking I'm crazy because you've forgotten it would be a significant step up for Georgia to only lose to us by eleven? Tennessee rolls.
- ...and then runs into a five-star trap game the following week, where they need a late rally to put away Mississippi State, 28-24.
- The Third Saturday finds me at my most irrational, where the streets of Knoxville run red with the blood of the Alabama faithful, 41-14. Because it's fun to pick this game with that score.
- Then the Vols go to Columbia with an ever-improving defense and an offense that's excelling more and more at doing exactly what Clawson wants in getting the ball to the playmakers. The Vols secure their spot among the nation's elite with their eighth straight win at Carolina, 31-14.
- In the annual "Don't get anybody hurt!" game, Tennessee beats Wyoming 42-17.
- At 10-0, the Vols don't take anybody for granted and don't allow Vandy to flirt with success this time around, 31-10.
- And finally, in the Randy Sanders Bowl, Tennessee punches its ticket for Miami (and Oklahoma) via Atlanta (and LSU) with a 38-23 senior day win.
See? That wasn't so hard.
2) Gameday routines, we all have them. What are your gameday rituals, especially those that are completely irrational, grounded in baseless superstition, or otherwise defy explanation?
Like others in the roundtable, I usually don't get to tailgate because I'm usually in and out from southwest VA on fall Saturdays.
That said, I hate gameday traffic with a passion, and ever since my Dad and I discovered, before the Georgia game in '93, the parking lot across the Henley Street Bridge where we could enjoy the walk and also avoid all traces of post-game traffic, I've worked very hard to never put myself in it. So today, my friends and I make the lengthy walk from Gay Street to Neyland Stadium each week. And it's great fun when you win, and twice as long when you lose.
I also need to be in the stadium in time to hear Bobby Denton say "It's football time...". Not because I love Denton, but because I'm the weird guy who likes to watch warm-ups and stare off into the distance and try and figure out exactly how we are, in fact, going to win this and every game.
When we win a big game, we've gotta get a shaker.
My season tickets are in Z11 just above the visiting allotment, and so it's always fun in the aftermath of a big Vol win to walk among the departing vanquished and find the stuff they've discarded - a shaker at the least, but there's better stuff to be found as well. My Dad also started me on this one - I think there's still a rubber hog's head from Arkansas '98 somewhere in my parents' basement.
3) Crompton vs. Tebow? Discuss…
Actually, I hope we can avoid this discussion as the season plays itself out.
Not that Tebow's not a great quarterback and for Crompton to even be mentioned in the same breath would probably be a good thing...but for an inexperienced kid who's learning a new offense and taking the reigns of the University of Tennessee, he's got enough going on right now. He doesn't need the messianic comparisons.
That said, if he plays well at UCLA and runs for a score along the way, and follows that up with the numbers that are there to be had against UAB, you'll hear it. All it'll take is one of those plays he had against LSU in '06, where he goes shoulder-first into a defender and gets up looking for more. If that's still his mindset I'm sure we'll see it and then we'll hear the comparisons. But until then...Crompton needs to focus on being Crompton, or figuring out what it means to "be Crompton" in the new Tennessee offense. If that looks like Tebow (which I doubt it will by the end of the season, cause Tebow doesn't have Arian Foster and Mark May's favorite offensive line to run with), then okay. But until then, let's not heap too many expectations on our quarterback who's started two games two years ago by comparing him to a guy with a National Championship ring on one hand and the Heisman Trophy in the other.
4) Will the Vols manage to make it to the SEC Championship Game again this season — either outright, or through the backdoor? Why or why not?
Since we're going undefeated, you know...
Seriously...why not?
I know Florida and Georgia are talented. But here's the thing - the Vols are defending SEC East Champions. Our only major personnel losses are Erik Ainge, Jerod Mayo and Jonathan Hefney.
There's no replacing Mayo. But we get to substitute Demetrice Morley for Hefney. And the guy who's stepping in for Ainge is in the midst of being compared to last year's Heisman winner. Everybody else is back.
So really...why not?
Whether you buy the irrational optimism or not, realistically, we shouldn't be conceding to anyone. Florida comes to Knoxville, and any Vol fan who's afraid of Georgia has been asleep at the wheel. I have an appropriate measure of respect for the Dawgs, but excuse me if I'm not going to hand the East Division to a team we've beaten 51-33 and 35-14 the last two seasons.
Plus, Georgia is this year's winner of the most ridiculously unfair schedule award (which the Vols will be taking home in 2010). This year once again, I think beating Florida is the key to the kingdom. No reason to believe the Vols can't be right back in Atlanta in December.
5) Of all the coaches in the SEC who do you currently consider to be the best? Why?
Urban Meyer.
You thought I was going to say Fulmer for sure, didn't you?
Most of the coaches in this league are very good, no doubt. I think Nick Saban is overrated and Les Miles underrated. I think Tommy T can be the best coach in the conference at times, but his teams often play the most uninspired football at the worst possible times. Saint Richt lost six straight games to SEC East opponents before Georgia got hot last year. Spurrier hasn't found Florida success with South Carolina talent. And until Sly Croom or even Bobby Johnson, both of whom I respect, but until they at least win their division, they can't be in this argument for me.
Meyer is a guy who runs his system and makes it work. Anybody can recruit at Florida, true, but Meyer's still doing it very well (honestly or otherwise). And Meyer's teams seem to excel in the clutch more often than anyone else has in the SEC in the last three years. I don't like the guy, but I'd still take him over anyone else in this league right now.
More rational arguments come this week from:
- Gate 21
- Third Saturday (who shares my love for Mayday's O-Line and Urban Meyer)
- Fulmer's Belly (who shares my love for insanity)
- YMSWWC
- Moondog
Saturday, July 26, 2008
2008-09 Tennessee Basketball Schedule
While we remind you that it's only 36 days until Football Time in Tennessee, it's also only 112 days until the defending SEC Champions take the floor again at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The 2008-09 schedule was released today, with times and television to be determined. Remember when we used to play schools you'd never heard of? Not anymore:
2008-09 Tennessee Basketball Schedule
Sat 11/15 - vs UT Chattanooga
Tue 11/18 - vs UT Martin
Fri 11/21 - at Middle Tennessee
Thu 11/27-Sun 11/30 - Old Spice Classic (Orlando)
Gonzaga - Georgetown - Maryland - Michigan State
Oklahoma State - Siena - Tennessee - Wichita State
Wed 12/03 - vs UNC Asehville
Sat 12/13 - at Temple
Tue 12/16 - vs Marquette (Nashville - SEC/Big East Challenge)
Sat 12/20 - vs Belmont
Mon 12/29 - vs LA Lafayette
Sat 01/03 - at Kansas
Wed 01/07 - vs Gonzaga
Sat 01/10 - at Georgia
Tue 01/13 - vs Kentucky
Sat 01/17 - vs South Carolina
Tue 01/20 - at Vanderbilt
Sat 01/24 - vs Memphis
Wed 01/28 - vs LSU
Sat 01/31 - vs Florida
Wed 02/04 - at Arkansas
Sat 02/07 - at Auburn
Wed 02/11 - vs Georgia
Sat 02/14 - vs Vanderbilt
Wed 02/18 - at Ole Miss
Sat 02/21 - at Kentucky
Wed 02/25 - vs Mississippi State
Sun 03/01 - at Florida
Thu 03/05 - at South Carolina
Sun 03/08 - vs Alabama
Thu 03/12-Sun 03/15 - SEC Tournament (Tampa)
NCAA First & Second Round Sites - March 19-22
Boise - Dayton - Greensboro - Kansas City
Miami - Minneapolis - Philadelphia - Portland
NCAA Regional Final Sites - March 26-29
Boston - Glendale - Indianapolis - Memphis
NCAA Final Four - April 4-6 - Detroit
The 2008-09 schedule was released today, with times and television to be determined. Remember when we used to play schools you'd never heard of? Not anymore:
2008-09 Tennessee Basketball Schedule
Sat 11/15 - vs UT Chattanooga
Tue 11/18 - vs UT Martin
Fri 11/21 - at Middle Tennessee
Thu 11/27-Sun 11/30 - Old Spice Classic (Orlando)
Gonzaga - Georgetown - Maryland - Michigan State
Oklahoma State - Siena - Tennessee - Wichita State
Wed 12/03 - vs UNC Asehville
Sat 12/13 - at Temple
Tue 12/16 - vs Marquette (Nashville - SEC/Big East Challenge)
Sat 12/20 - vs Belmont
Mon 12/29 - vs LA Lafayette
Sat 01/03 - at Kansas
Wed 01/07 - vs Gonzaga
Sat 01/10 - at Georgia
Tue 01/13 - vs Kentucky
Sat 01/17 - vs South Carolina
Tue 01/20 - at Vanderbilt
Sat 01/24 - vs Memphis
Wed 01/28 - vs LSU
Sat 01/31 - vs Florida
Wed 02/04 - at Arkansas
Sat 02/07 - at Auburn
Wed 02/11 - vs Georgia
Sat 02/14 - vs Vanderbilt
Wed 02/18 - at Ole Miss
Sat 02/21 - at Kentucky
Wed 02/25 - vs Mississippi State
Sun 03/01 - at Florida
Thu 03/05 - at South Carolina
Sun 03/08 - vs Alabama
Thu 03/12-Sun 03/15 - SEC Tournament (Tampa)
NCAA First & Second Round Sites - March 19-22
Boise - Dayton - Greensboro - Kansas City
Miami - Minneapolis - Philadelphia - Portland
NCAA Regional Final Sites - March 26-29
Boston - Glendale - Indianapolis - Memphis
NCAA Final Four - April 4-6 - Detroit
10 Years: The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers Part Twelve - Legacy
As we've followed the story of the '98 Vols, we've seen that Tennessee built off a foundation laid by Peyton Manning and company in the years leading up to that magical campaign.
The story that bridges the gap between 1998 and 2008 raises questions about what the Vols have done since their championship foundation was laid, and reveals how special and unique the '98 season truly was.
With the title in '98, the Vols wrapped up an amazing four year run of 45-5 football with three bowl wins and two finishes in the top three nationally. Phillip Fulmer was validated as college football's winningest active coach in only his sixth full season. And in the SEC, Tennessee's back-to-back titles and ability to finally beat Florida ushered in the end of the Gators' era of dominance.
Off the 13-0 championship season, the Vols returned most of their weapons in 1999 and entered the season ranked second. Peerless Price was gone but would be replaced by Cedrick Wilson as the go-to guy. The losses of Shaun Ellis and Darwin Walker on the defensive line would be filled by a pair of youngsters named Will Overstreet and John Henderson, who would eventually pair with Albert Haynesworth to give Tennessee one of the best defensive lines in SEC history by 2001.
And while Al Wilson couldn't be replaced, Eric Westmoreland and Raynoch Thompson were still around. The return of a healthy Jamal Lewis combined with Travis Henry and Travis Stephens, plus a freshman named Onterrio Smith gave the Vols the most loaded four-deep backfield in recent memory.
While many remember 1999 in hindsight as a group of players with rings who were more interested in their Sunday futures than their Saturday present, the Vols were still arguably two plays from playing for it all again.
At Florida, the Vols really didn't play well and allowed Alex Brown to become famous as he figured out the Vols' snap count and scored five sacks. Still, Tennessee used a 99 yard touchdown drive en route to cutting a 23-7 third quarter hole down to 23-21.
And when Deon Grant made an interception late in the 4th, I turned to my friend in the upper deck at The Swamp (in my only visit) and said "We've got them now."
But on 4th and 3, Tennessee inexplicably called a toss sweep to Jamal Lewis to run away from Alex Brown, and Florida stopped him cold.
The Vols continued to roll the rest of the season before karma got even at Arkansas, where the Hogs erased a 24-14 third quarter hole, scored on a late touchdown and then denied the Vols in the red zone to beat Tennessee 28-24, the exact same score from the previous year in Knoxville. And Clint Stoerner could sleep at night again.
Tennessee was No. 2 in the BCS when they lost at Arkansas. The Vols still earned an at-large bid and played in the Fiesta Bowl again. Unfortunately, they also played Nebraska again, who beat the Vol D into submission in a 31-21 win.
After a rebuilding year in 2000, the reigns were fully handed to Casey Clausen in 2001. Three years removed from the '98 title, a mostly new cast of characters combined to make up a Tennessee team that I believe to this day was every bit as talented as any who've ever worn the uniform:
Clausen at quarterback, with Travis Stephens becoming a Doak Walker finalist in his senior season. An incredible receiving tandem of Donte' Stallworth, Kelley Washington and Jason Witten behind a nasty offensive line. The aforementioned defensive line prowess of Overstreet, Henderson and Haynesworth. Kevin Burnett and Andre Lott also filled out the defense. This team was stout.
And just like 1999, two games that could've, should've gone the other way kept the Vols out of the National Championship picture.
After 9/11 moved the Florida game to December, the Vols beat LSU and jumped out to a two possession lead against Georgia. When the Dawgs rallied and took a late lead, Travis Stephens took a screen pass 62 yards for a score with under a minute to play.
But the forty-plus seconds left were enough time for freshman David Greene to lead the Dawgs downfield, where they'd eventually find a Hobnailed Boot and win in Knoxville for the first time in two decades.
But by December, the Vols had played themselves into position for that loss not to hurt them.
Down in Florida, the No. 2 Gators and No. 4 Vols played probably the single best minute-for-minute football game I've ever seen, with Tennessee coming out on top 34-32 behind Travis Stephens' 226 yards. The Vols' first win in The Swamp since the 1970s moved them to No. 2 in the BCS heading to the SEC Championship Game, where they'd only need to beat LSU for the second time that year to advance to the Rose Bowl and play Miami for the title.
And in what I believe is the most heartbreaking loss in Tennessee football history, the Vols built a 17-7 lead and knocked both QB Rohan Davey and RB LaBrandon Toefield out of the game. But LSU, behind the play of Matt Mauck, rallied to take the lead behind a Travis Stephens fumble, and Donte' Stallworth fumbled in the 4th quarter with the Vols driving to take the lead. LSU scored one late to win 31-20.
And that's as close as the Vols have been to the National Championship since.
After throttling Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, expectations were high in 2002 as the Vols entered the year ranked No. 3. Steve Spurrier was gone, a loser to the Vols the last time he saw them (something I'll always treasure) and '02 was supposed to be the year Tennessee took the SEC mantle from the Gators.
Ron Zook's Florida team had lost to Miami before the Tennessee game, and a rainy afternoon in Knoxville had all of us in orange eager to put the final nail in the Gators' coffin.
Florida scored on 4th and goal at the one yard line with just under five minutes to play in the first half to break a scoreless tie. From there, everything went wrong.
In the downpour, Casey Clausen mishandled more snaps than I can or want to remember. In rapid succession, Rex Grossman took the Gators from a 7-0 lead to a 24-0 nightmare at halftime. Tennessee never recovered in a 30-13 loss.
From there, injuries helped the Vols' downward spiral.
Clausen was injured in a six overtime affair with Arkansas, unable to go against Georgia, where the Vols played valliantly but still lost 18-13. Late in that game, Kelley Washington would be lost for the year, which helped factor into Alabama ended their seven year drought against the Vols 34-14.
Then Tennessee had the misfortune of having No. 1 Miami on the schedule, as the Canes destroyed the depleted Vols. An ugly and dispassionate loss to Maryland in the Peach Bowl ended the 8-5 misery.
After a respectable 2003 regular season that saw the Vols beat Florida, win at Miami and split the Eastern Division title three ways, the No. 6 Vols threw it away in another ugly Georgia Dome performance, losing to Clemson 27-14.
Casey Clausen gave way to Erik Ainge (and Brent Schaeffer) in 2004, where the Vols again put some pieces together to start thinking about championships.
A miraculous win over Florida was seemingly tainted by an Auburn buzzsaw, but then Tennessee went to Athens and stunned undefeated Georgia 19-14.
From there, the Vols wouldn't lose an SEC game the rest of the regular season, and rose to 9th in the polls with an Atlanta rematch with undefeated Auburn on the horizon.
But against Notre Dame in late November, an absurd decision to try and throw downfield in the final moments of the first half turned into a fumbled shotgun snap, and that turned into Erik Ainge separating his shoulder in an attempt to recover it.
Ainge was lost for the year, Rick Clausen came in to throw an interception that would be returned for a touchdown, and the Vols fell.
Tennessee lost to Auburn again in the SEC Championship, but again an impressive bowl performance - this time 38-7 over Texas A&M in the Cotton - raised expectations for 2005.
But for the second time this decade, the Vols went into the season with a top three ranking, and left it in complete disaster.
In 2005, Tennessee made more crucial mistakes than any other season I can remember. Between offensive red zone turnovers, special teams breakdowns and a general malaise that seemed to plague the team, the Vols went 5-6 (and would've been 4-7 if not for an overtime rally at LSU). Offensive coordinator Randy Sanders resigned, and 1998 seemed like a long time ago.
The past two seasons have been a more enjoyable roller coaster, but a roller coaster nonetheless.
In 2006, the Vols opened by blowing out Cal in Knoxville, then played eventual National Champion Florida to a 21-20 heartbreaking loss. Then the Vols won five straight, rising back to No. 8 in the polls and still one Florida loss away from retaking the SEC East lead.
But at South Carolina, on another absurd decision, a quarterback draw for the lightning fast Erik Ainge resulted in a sprained ankle. The Vols would go on to win in Columbia, but with No. 13 LSU and No. 11 Arkansas next on the docket, things were not looking good.
Jonathan Crompton and the Vols gave a valliant effort against the Tigers, but a three-to-one time of possession disadvantage and a missed call on a JaMarcus Russell fumble late in the 4th gave way to a touchdown pass to Early Doucet with less than ten seconds to play, and LSU won 28-24.
Without Ainge the following week again, the Vols were dismantled by Arkansas, and the season was lost.
The season appeared lost on three separate occasions in 2007.
First Cal returned the favor in a season opener. Then Florida scored 31 consecutive points in the third and fourth quarter in the worst Vol loss since 1981, 59-20.
And even after the Vols blew out a Georgia team that would eventually rise to No. 2 nationally, Alabama blasted Tennessee 41-17.
But the topsy-turvey 2007 college football season found a way to reward the Vols: Florida lost three SEC contests, and Tennessee made every play they needed to make in close wins against South Carolina, Vanderbilt and four overtimes with Kentucky to win the SEC East.
And the Vols were two Erik Ainge 4th quarter interceptions away from beating LSU in the SEC Championship Game.
As 2008 unfolds, the Vols find themselves again behind Florida, Georgia and LSU in hype. Phillip Fulmer's contract was recently extended, and the dean of SEC coaches appears safe until retirement (barring another 2005).
It's interesting to look at Fulmer, who's still the winningest active coach in college football among coaches with 10+ years of experience. Since becoming the head man at Tennessee in 1993, there have been 41 other head coaching moves in the SEC.
And it's interesting to note that in the nine seasons since the Vols won it all, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee have each won the East division three times. The difference there is, the Gators and Dawgs have made good on their Atlanta opportunities two times apiece, while the Vols have gone 0-3.
Both in terms of overall talent reduction in Knoxville and the rise of several other SEC programs, it's a different world than it was in 1998.
The SEC was Florida, then Tennessee, then everyone else from 1995-2001. Since then, LSU has won two National Championships, Auburn's had an undefeated season, and Georgia's won the conference twice.
The 1998 squad has sent Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Shawn Bryson, Peerless Price, Cedrick Wilson, Cosey Coleman, Chad Clifton, Shaun Ellis, Darwin Walker, Al Wilson and Deon Grant to productive careers in the NFL.
That level of talent doesn't live in Knoxville anymore, in large part because more talent lives in Athens and Baton Rouge these days.
All of these factors help remind me that the 1998 season was truly unique and special.
Of the four SEC teams who've won a BCS National Championship, only the Vols did so as an undefeated team. And while the Vols have both been close a couple times since then, and have been terrible a couple times when they were supposed to be close, the new landscape of the SEC brings some old truths into play:
The SEC is tough enough that anybody can beat anybody, where six teams come to August with real hopes of winning it and several others can make plenty of noise.
LSU won the title last year with two SEC triple overtime losses and a handful of other razor-thin conference wins, then destroyed the number one team in the country the same way Florida had done the previous year.
In 2007, Florida beat Tennessee by 39. Tennessee beat Georgia by 21. Georgia beat Florida by 12.
There are no off weeks, and every game is truly a challenge.
But despite that...no matter how tough the league may be, the Vols are still good enough to compete. And still goood enough to win.
Tennessee will face no one this year where they will use talent as an excuse if they get beat. The Vols have built expectations continuing off their championship foundation, and even if the talent is slightly down and the competition is way up...Tennessee is still good enough to win in this league, ten years from a National Championship and one year off an Eastern Division title.
The SEC is good enough to beat you every week. But Tennessee, ten years from their undefeated season, is still good enough to carry the fight to the opposition and keep it there for sixty minutes. 1998 was unique. But its legacy, ten years later, finds Tennessee still coming into August with championship goals, and the talent and ability to still carry them out.
We didn't know what 1998 would hold when the season began. The story that unfolded was the greatest in Tennessee football history.
What story will the Vols tell in 2008?
The story that bridges the gap between 1998 and 2008 raises questions about what the Vols have done since their championship foundation was laid, and reveals how special and unique the '98 season truly was.
With the title in '98, the Vols wrapped up an amazing four year run of 45-5 football with three bowl wins and two finishes in the top three nationally. Phillip Fulmer was validated as college football's winningest active coach in only his sixth full season. And in the SEC, Tennessee's back-to-back titles and ability to finally beat Florida ushered in the end of the Gators' era of dominance.
Off the 13-0 championship season, the Vols returned most of their weapons in 1999 and entered the season ranked second. Peerless Price was gone but would be replaced by Cedrick Wilson as the go-to guy. The losses of Shaun Ellis and Darwin Walker on the defensive line would be filled by a pair of youngsters named Will Overstreet and John Henderson, who would eventually pair with Albert Haynesworth to give Tennessee one of the best defensive lines in SEC history by 2001.
And while Al Wilson couldn't be replaced, Eric Westmoreland and Raynoch Thompson were still around. The return of a healthy Jamal Lewis combined with Travis Henry and Travis Stephens, plus a freshman named Onterrio Smith gave the Vols the most loaded four-deep backfield in recent memory.
While many remember 1999 in hindsight as a group of players with rings who were more interested in their Sunday futures than their Saturday present, the Vols were still arguably two plays from playing for it all again.
At Florida, the Vols really didn't play well and allowed Alex Brown to become famous as he figured out the Vols' snap count and scored five sacks. Still, Tennessee used a 99 yard touchdown drive en route to cutting a 23-7 third quarter hole down to 23-21.
And when Deon Grant made an interception late in the 4th, I turned to my friend in the upper deck at The Swamp (in my only visit) and said "We've got them now."
But on 4th and 3, Tennessee inexplicably called a toss sweep to Jamal Lewis to run away from Alex Brown, and Florida stopped him cold.
The Vols continued to roll the rest of the season before karma got even at Arkansas, where the Hogs erased a 24-14 third quarter hole, scored on a late touchdown and then denied the Vols in the red zone to beat Tennessee 28-24, the exact same score from the previous year in Knoxville. And Clint Stoerner could sleep at night again.
Tennessee was No. 2 in the BCS when they lost at Arkansas. The Vols still earned an at-large bid and played in the Fiesta Bowl again. Unfortunately, they also played Nebraska again, who beat the Vol D into submission in a 31-21 win.
After a rebuilding year in 2000, the reigns were fully handed to Casey Clausen in 2001. Three years removed from the '98 title, a mostly new cast of characters combined to make up a Tennessee team that I believe to this day was every bit as talented as any who've ever worn the uniform:
Clausen at quarterback, with Travis Stephens becoming a Doak Walker finalist in his senior season. An incredible receiving tandem of Donte' Stallworth, Kelley Washington and Jason Witten behind a nasty offensive line. The aforementioned defensive line prowess of Overstreet, Henderson and Haynesworth. Kevin Burnett and Andre Lott also filled out the defense. This team was stout.
And just like 1999, two games that could've, should've gone the other way kept the Vols out of the National Championship picture.
After 9/11 moved the Florida game to December, the Vols beat LSU and jumped out to a two possession lead against Georgia. When the Dawgs rallied and took a late lead, Travis Stephens took a screen pass 62 yards for a score with under a minute to play.
But the forty-plus seconds left were enough time for freshman David Greene to lead the Dawgs downfield, where they'd eventually find a Hobnailed Boot and win in Knoxville for the first time in two decades.
But by December, the Vols had played themselves into position for that loss not to hurt them.
Down in Florida, the No. 2 Gators and No. 4 Vols played probably the single best minute-for-minute football game I've ever seen, with Tennessee coming out on top 34-32 behind Travis Stephens' 226 yards. The Vols' first win in The Swamp since the 1970s moved them to No. 2 in the BCS heading to the SEC Championship Game, where they'd only need to beat LSU for the second time that year to advance to the Rose Bowl and play Miami for the title.
And in what I believe is the most heartbreaking loss in Tennessee football history, the Vols built a 17-7 lead and knocked both QB Rohan Davey and RB LaBrandon Toefield out of the game. But LSU, behind the play of Matt Mauck, rallied to take the lead behind a Travis Stephens fumble, and Donte' Stallworth fumbled in the 4th quarter with the Vols driving to take the lead. LSU scored one late to win 31-20.
And that's as close as the Vols have been to the National Championship since.
After throttling Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, expectations were high in 2002 as the Vols entered the year ranked No. 3. Steve Spurrier was gone, a loser to the Vols the last time he saw them (something I'll always treasure) and '02 was supposed to be the year Tennessee took the SEC mantle from the Gators.
Ron Zook's Florida team had lost to Miami before the Tennessee game, and a rainy afternoon in Knoxville had all of us in orange eager to put the final nail in the Gators' coffin.
Florida scored on 4th and goal at the one yard line with just under five minutes to play in the first half to break a scoreless tie. From there, everything went wrong.
In the downpour, Casey Clausen mishandled more snaps than I can or want to remember. In rapid succession, Rex Grossman took the Gators from a 7-0 lead to a 24-0 nightmare at halftime. Tennessee never recovered in a 30-13 loss.
From there, injuries helped the Vols' downward spiral.
Clausen was injured in a six overtime affair with Arkansas, unable to go against Georgia, where the Vols played valliantly but still lost 18-13. Late in that game, Kelley Washington would be lost for the year, which helped factor into Alabama ended their seven year drought against the Vols 34-14.
Then Tennessee had the misfortune of having No. 1 Miami on the schedule, as the Canes destroyed the depleted Vols. An ugly and dispassionate loss to Maryland in the Peach Bowl ended the 8-5 misery.
After a respectable 2003 regular season that saw the Vols beat Florida, win at Miami and split the Eastern Division title three ways, the No. 6 Vols threw it away in another ugly Georgia Dome performance, losing to Clemson 27-14.
Casey Clausen gave way to Erik Ainge (and Brent Schaeffer) in 2004, where the Vols again put some pieces together to start thinking about championships.
A miraculous win over Florida was seemingly tainted by an Auburn buzzsaw, but then Tennessee went to Athens and stunned undefeated Georgia 19-14.
From there, the Vols wouldn't lose an SEC game the rest of the regular season, and rose to 9th in the polls with an Atlanta rematch with undefeated Auburn on the horizon.
But against Notre Dame in late November, an absurd decision to try and throw downfield in the final moments of the first half turned into a fumbled shotgun snap, and that turned into Erik Ainge separating his shoulder in an attempt to recover it.
Ainge was lost for the year, Rick Clausen came in to throw an interception that would be returned for a touchdown, and the Vols fell.
Tennessee lost to Auburn again in the SEC Championship, but again an impressive bowl performance - this time 38-7 over Texas A&M in the Cotton - raised expectations for 2005.
But for the second time this decade, the Vols went into the season with a top three ranking, and left it in complete disaster.
In 2005, Tennessee made more crucial mistakes than any other season I can remember. Between offensive red zone turnovers, special teams breakdowns and a general malaise that seemed to plague the team, the Vols went 5-6 (and would've been 4-7 if not for an overtime rally at LSU). Offensive coordinator Randy Sanders resigned, and 1998 seemed like a long time ago.
The past two seasons have been a more enjoyable roller coaster, but a roller coaster nonetheless.
In 2006, the Vols opened by blowing out Cal in Knoxville, then played eventual National Champion Florida to a 21-20 heartbreaking loss. Then the Vols won five straight, rising back to No. 8 in the polls and still one Florida loss away from retaking the SEC East lead.
But at South Carolina, on another absurd decision, a quarterback draw for the lightning fast Erik Ainge resulted in a sprained ankle. The Vols would go on to win in Columbia, but with No. 13 LSU and No. 11 Arkansas next on the docket, things were not looking good.
Jonathan Crompton and the Vols gave a valliant effort against the Tigers, but a three-to-one time of possession disadvantage and a missed call on a JaMarcus Russell fumble late in the 4th gave way to a touchdown pass to Early Doucet with less than ten seconds to play, and LSU won 28-24.
Without Ainge the following week again, the Vols were dismantled by Arkansas, and the season was lost.
The season appeared lost on three separate occasions in 2007.
First Cal returned the favor in a season opener. Then Florida scored 31 consecutive points in the third and fourth quarter in the worst Vol loss since 1981, 59-20.
And even after the Vols blew out a Georgia team that would eventually rise to No. 2 nationally, Alabama blasted Tennessee 41-17.
But the topsy-turvey 2007 college football season found a way to reward the Vols: Florida lost three SEC contests, and Tennessee made every play they needed to make in close wins against South Carolina, Vanderbilt and four overtimes with Kentucky to win the SEC East.
And the Vols were two Erik Ainge 4th quarter interceptions away from beating LSU in the SEC Championship Game.
As 2008 unfolds, the Vols find themselves again behind Florida, Georgia and LSU in hype. Phillip Fulmer's contract was recently extended, and the dean of SEC coaches appears safe until retirement (barring another 2005).
It's interesting to look at Fulmer, who's still the winningest active coach in college football among coaches with 10+ years of experience. Since becoming the head man at Tennessee in 1993, there have been 41 other head coaching moves in the SEC.
And it's interesting to note that in the nine seasons since the Vols won it all, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee have each won the East division three times. The difference there is, the Gators and Dawgs have made good on their Atlanta opportunities two times apiece, while the Vols have gone 0-3.
Both in terms of overall talent reduction in Knoxville and the rise of several other SEC programs, it's a different world than it was in 1998.
The SEC was Florida, then Tennessee, then everyone else from 1995-2001. Since then, LSU has won two National Championships, Auburn's had an undefeated season, and Georgia's won the conference twice.
The 1998 squad has sent Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Shawn Bryson, Peerless Price, Cedrick Wilson, Cosey Coleman, Chad Clifton, Shaun Ellis, Darwin Walker, Al Wilson and Deon Grant to productive careers in the NFL.
That level of talent doesn't live in Knoxville anymore, in large part because more talent lives in Athens and Baton Rouge these days.
All of these factors help remind me that the 1998 season was truly unique and special.
Of the four SEC teams who've won a BCS National Championship, only the Vols did so as an undefeated team. And while the Vols have both been close a couple times since then, and have been terrible a couple times when they were supposed to be close, the new landscape of the SEC brings some old truths into play:
The SEC is tough enough that anybody can beat anybody, where six teams come to August with real hopes of winning it and several others can make plenty of noise.
LSU won the title last year with two SEC triple overtime losses and a handful of other razor-thin conference wins, then destroyed the number one team in the country the same way Florida had done the previous year.
In 2007, Florida beat Tennessee by 39. Tennessee beat Georgia by 21. Georgia beat Florida by 12.
There are no off weeks, and every game is truly a challenge.
But despite that...no matter how tough the league may be, the Vols are still good enough to compete. And still goood enough to win.
Tennessee will face no one this year where they will use talent as an excuse if they get beat. The Vols have built expectations continuing off their championship foundation, and even if the talent is slightly down and the competition is way up...Tennessee is still good enough to win in this league, ten years from a National Championship and one year off an Eastern Division title.
The SEC is good enough to beat you every week. But Tennessee, ten years from their undefeated season, is still good enough to carry the fight to the opposition and keep it there for sixty minutes. 1998 was unique. But its legacy, ten years later, finds Tennessee still coming into August with championship goals, and the talent and ability to still carry them out.
We didn't know what 1998 would hold when the season began. The story that unfolded was the greatest in Tennessee football history.
What story will the Vols tell in 2008?
Random Thoughts - Saturday July 26
Where I've come to discover that it's physically impossible for me to see the Braves and Phillies today as long as I'm in southwest Virginia. I am officially pulling for the Rays in the AL East.
Big Orange Roundtable - Week 3 Roundup
Rocky Top Talk provides a thorough recap of this week's festivities - here's your chance to read good stuff about the Vols without having to hear about subpoenas.
Really, this whole thing is just an excuse to post this...
I don't watch the ESPYs, but I did catch part of the replay this afternoon while waiting to not watch the Braves and Phillies. Memphis' own Justin Timberlake was the host, and I have never liked him more:
Big Orange Roundtable - Week 3 Roundup
Rocky Top Talk provides a thorough recap of this week's festivities - here's your chance to read good stuff about the Vols without having to hear about subpoenas.
Really, this whole thing is just an excuse to post this...
I don't watch the ESPYs, but I did catch part of the replay this afternoon while waiting to not watch the Braves and Phillies. Memphis' own Justin Timberlake was the host, and I have never liked him more:
Friday, July 25, 2008
Braves: One Game
It's cliche: "We're just gonna take them one at a time." And when there are 162 of them over the course of the spring and summer, they can all kind of blend together. You play the ones in April and May to keep yourself in it in June and July so they'll really start counting in August and September. The individual games themselves never feel very important until football season.
But for the Atlanta Braves, tomorrow afternoon at Citizens Bank Park one game in late July can be very, very important after all.
The Braves spent the first half of the season watching their starting lineup head for the disabled list or season-ending surgery. They watched Jeff Francouer face demotion and are still in the throws of an unbelievable string of one run losses (still 24 and counting on the road in a row).
Coming out of the All-Star Break, the Braves were 45-50 and 6.5 games back in an NL East that no one had run away with. The centerpiece of Atlanta talk was 1B Mark Teixeira, last year's acquisition at the trade deadline when the Braves were buyers. But as the weeks and the difficulties kept adding up, in Teixeira's final year of his contract it seemed like Atlanta would logically need to play the seller for the first time in almost two decades to get at least some return on their investment.
Any ideas to the contrary would need to be proved immediately out of the break, with the trade deadline approaching on July 31. So the Braves came out sharp against the lowly Washington Nationals at Turner Field, building a huge lead they'd have to eventually save in a 7-6 win right off the break.
Then they lost the next two to the last place Nats by a combined score of 23-8.
Any hope that remained now faced an even steeper hill to climb: a six game road trip against surefire contenders, with three games in Florida followed by three at Philly.
The Braves held up their end midweek, taking two of three from the Fish. Still, winning the series at Philly seemed unlikely between the 8-1 mark the Phillies had established against the Braves this season, and Chipper Jones' hamstring injury, which is likely to cause him to miss all three games.
So it came to this heading into the weekend: win the series at Philly, and give yourselves enough reason to believe that you can still contend in 2008. Keep Teixeira (and possibly even add a piece) and play your hand now. Hope that your pitching staff puts itself back together and some cold bats warm up in a division that no one really wants to run away with.
Or lose the series and call it what it is: a below-average ballclub that, for a number of reasons, just doesn't have it this year and needs to sell what they can and look towards the future.
While the Braves have missed the playoffs the last two seasons after playing in October every year since 1991, even in those years the Braves were somewhat relevant in the races into at least August. They weren't sellers at the trade deadline, they didn't cash in their chips.
What's more, Atlanta fans simply aren't used to meaningful regular season baseball. Only twice in the eleven years from Atlanta's World Series title in 1995 to their last postseason appearance in 2005 were the Braves' postseason hopes even in doubt; during that span Atlanta won the NL East eleven times by an average of more than 9.5 games each season.
So there's still a lot of new feeling going around in a city that's known for only caring about its baseball team. 14 straight trips to the playoffs leaves a regular season arrogance that hangs around for a couple seasons even after not playing in October, and the idea that a late July game could have real merit seems ludicrous.
It still was, really...until tonight.
Atlanta went to Philly without Chipper Jones and his .369 league-leading average and put Jair Jurrjens on the hill in the biggest game of his young career.
Jurrjens responded with eight innings of three hit shutout ball.
Without Chipper, he was backed by Brian McCann, who hit a solo shot in the 4th to put Atlanta on the board.
Then in the 9th, still up only 1-0 (and with thoughts of that horrible one run loss streak dancing in their heads no doubt), the Braves loaded the bases against Brad Lidge, and Teixeira proved his worth by singling to drive in an insurance run.
For me, up in southwest Virginia and outside the realm of Peachtree TV and Fox Sports South, it unfolds like this: staring at an animated box score to tell me the results of every pitch.
So I see three red dots on the basepaths, and Brian McCann moving up to cleanup in the order in the absence of Chipper. And then in one beautiful animation, those red dots all disappear, replaced with nothingness and the words "GRAND SLAM".
It was the first home run Lidge has allowed all season. And the Braves put an exclamation point on the evening.
They'd plate two more in the ninth before Will Ohman allowed two in the bottom half before retiring the Phillies. Atlanta wins game one, 8-2.
Now, the Mets are actually leading the NL East, and their win tonight keeps the Braves 6.5 back.
But...
Tomorrow, now Atlanta has a chance to go ahead and win the series. To give real evidence that they're still in this race and should keep Teixeira and play for today. And to take another step towards getting back to .500.
It's a big game, no doubt. It's on Fox at 3:55, which means I'll actually get to see it. But what makes Saturday's game potentially more special than all the rest and that added storyline boost to make it must-see TV for Braves fans is this:
After 35 months, Mike Hampton is scheduled to start.
He couldn't ask for a better storyline or stage. Against the high-powered Phillies and Cole Hamels. First major league action since August 2005 - you know, when the Braves were playoff bound. And a chance, with a win, to potentially secure Teixeira and give more momentum to the idea that Atlanta isn't going away this season just yet. It doesn't get much more important for late-July baseball than this.
Maybe Hampton gets hurt warming up again, which should surprise no one at this point. Maybe the Philly bats get hot again and they run him off quickly. Maybe Atlanta comes back and wins the series on Sunday anyway, maybe not. But right now, one game is all they've got in front of them. Win Saturday, and you can still think about winning in August and September. Keep winning...and maybe those October dreams can come back to life.
If you take them one at a time...tomorrow would be a good one to take.
(EDIT: I can't see it after all. Screw the Red Sox and Yankees.)
But for the Atlanta Braves, tomorrow afternoon at Citizens Bank Park one game in late July can be very, very important after all.
The Braves spent the first half of the season watching their starting lineup head for the disabled list or season-ending surgery. They watched Jeff Francouer face demotion and are still in the throws of an unbelievable string of one run losses (still 24 and counting on the road in a row).
Coming out of the All-Star Break, the Braves were 45-50 and 6.5 games back in an NL East that no one had run away with. The centerpiece of Atlanta talk was 1B Mark Teixeira, last year's acquisition at the trade deadline when the Braves were buyers. But as the weeks and the difficulties kept adding up, in Teixeira's final year of his contract it seemed like Atlanta would logically need to play the seller for the first time in almost two decades to get at least some return on their investment.
Any ideas to the contrary would need to be proved immediately out of the break, with the trade deadline approaching on July 31. So the Braves came out sharp against the lowly Washington Nationals at Turner Field, building a huge lead they'd have to eventually save in a 7-6 win right off the break.
Then they lost the next two to the last place Nats by a combined score of 23-8.
Any hope that remained now faced an even steeper hill to climb: a six game road trip against surefire contenders, with three games in Florida followed by three at Philly.
The Braves held up their end midweek, taking two of three from the Fish. Still, winning the series at Philly seemed unlikely between the 8-1 mark the Phillies had established against the Braves this season, and Chipper Jones' hamstring injury, which is likely to cause him to miss all three games.
So it came to this heading into the weekend: win the series at Philly, and give yourselves enough reason to believe that you can still contend in 2008. Keep Teixeira (and possibly even add a piece) and play your hand now. Hope that your pitching staff puts itself back together and some cold bats warm up in a division that no one really wants to run away with.
Or lose the series and call it what it is: a below-average ballclub that, for a number of reasons, just doesn't have it this year and needs to sell what they can and look towards the future.
While the Braves have missed the playoffs the last two seasons after playing in October every year since 1991, even in those years the Braves were somewhat relevant in the races into at least August. They weren't sellers at the trade deadline, they didn't cash in their chips.
What's more, Atlanta fans simply aren't used to meaningful regular season baseball. Only twice in the eleven years from Atlanta's World Series title in 1995 to their last postseason appearance in 2005 were the Braves' postseason hopes even in doubt; during that span Atlanta won the NL East eleven times by an average of more than 9.5 games each season.
So there's still a lot of new feeling going around in a city that's known for only caring about its baseball team. 14 straight trips to the playoffs leaves a regular season arrogance that hangs around for a couple seasons even after not playing in October, and the idea that a late July game could have real merit seems ludicrous.
It still was, really...until tonight.
Atlanta went to Philly without Chipper Jones and his .369 league-leading average and put Jair Jurrjens on the hill in the biggest game of his young career.
Jurrjens responded with eight innings of three hit shutout ball.
Without Chipper, he was backed by Brian McCann, who hit a solo shot in the 4th to put Atlanta on the board.
Then in the 9th, still up only 1-0 (and with thoughts of that horrible one run loss streak dancing in their heads no doubt), the Braves loaded the bases against Brad Lidge, and Teixeira proved his worth by singling to drive in an insurance run.
For me, up in southwest Virginia and outside the realm of Peachtree TV and Fox Sports South, it unfolds like this: staring at an animated box score to tell me the results of every pitch.
So I see three red dots on the basepaths, and Brian McCann moving up to cleanup in the order in the absence of Chipper. And then in one beautiful animation, those red dots all disappear, replaced with nothingness and the words "GRAND SLAM".
It was the first home run Lidge has allowed all season. And the Braves put an exclamation point on the evening.
They'd plate two more in the ninth before Will Ohman allowed two in the bottom half before retiring the Phillies. Atlanta wins game one, 8-2.
Now, the Mets are actually leading the NL East, and their win tonight keeps the Braves 6.5 back.
But...
Tomorrow, now Atlanta has a chance to go ahead and win the series. To give real evidence that they're still in this race and should keep Teixeira and play for today. And to take another step towards getting back to .500.
It's a big game, no doubt. It's on Fox at 3:55, which means I'll actually get to see it. But what makes Saturday's game potentially more special than all the rest and that added storyline boost to make it must-see TV for Braves fans is this:
After 35 months, Mike Hampton is scheduled to start.
He couldn't ask for a better storyline or stage. Against the high-powered Phillies and Cole Hamels. First major league action since August 2005 - you know, when the Braves were playoff bound. And a chance, with a win, to potentially secure Teixeira and give more momentum to the idea that Atlanta isn't going away this season just yet. It doesn't get much more important for late-July baseball than this.
Maybe Hampton gets hurt warming up again, which should surprise no one at this point. Maybe the Philly bats get hot again and they run him off quickly. Maybe Atlanta comes back and wins the series on Sunday anyway, maybe not. But right now, one game is all they've got in front of them. Win Saturday, and you can still think about winning in August and September. Keep winning...and maybe those October dreams can come back to life.
If you take them one at a time...tomorrow would be a good one to take.
(EDIT: I can't see it after all. Screw the Red Sox and Yankees.)
Links: Big Orange Roundtable's Attorneys at Law
The very best information I've seen from a Tennessee perspective on SubpoenaGate '08 (which was a hard word to spell until this week) comes from two members of our own Big Orange Roundtable: lawvol at Gate 21 & Joel at Rocky Top Talk both give excellent analysis of what's really going on here and what to look for down the road. I eagerly await the story that requires the expertise of a pastor.
The 2008 Vols Media Guide cover makes for a nice desktop wallpaper...
It's even all landscaped for your viewing pleasure...as long as you don't mind Phil staring at you while you do whatever it is you do on your computer. If he keeps talking like he did today (see the post below), he can stare at me all he wants.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Fulmer has his moments...
And I think this is one of them. Responding to SupoenaGate '08 late today:
“I do have to be a little bit careful - a lot more than I’d like to be.
I was getting out of the car and was tossed a piece of paper that I picked up, stuck it in with a whole bunch of things that I had been reading on my way in from the airport and handed it to Bud Ford to put in his briefcase and forgot about it. I got a bunch of questions (from the media) about a subpoena that I hadn’t seen.
I wasn’t expecting a subpoena but maybe every time I go to Birmingham I probably will be expecting a subpoena. As it turns out its some sort of subpoena to do something, and I will let the attorneys all handle that. The issue is its all crap and they are trying to use the press trying to use a day that’s very special to the Southeastern conference for players and the coaches.
Because they can’t win legally they are trying to play the game in the press I am more than a little PO’d about any part of that. It’s sad that a few publicity hunting lawyers in one of our sister states want to keep open a chapter of history that has long since been closed and as far as I’m concerned will stay closed. Obviously this is an effort to distract our football team or distract me in some way. The last time this happened we won the division with two freshman quarterbacks. We won’t be distracted I had a good conversation with the commissioner about it.
About being in Birmingham, I wasn’t trying to mislead anybody. I hadn’t looked at anything.”
Around the Vol Blogosphere, Third Saturday has this covered from all angles as you'd expect, while lawvol over at Gate 21 gives his legal expertise on the firm of Blankenship, Harrelson and Wollitz, where they're taking your PayPal donations today and you, yes you, might have a case.
I do enjoy Phillip when he gets excited.
“I do have to be a little bit careful - a lot more than I’d like to be.
I was getting out of the car and was tossed a piece of paper that I picked up, stuck it in with a whole bunch of things that I had been reading on my way in from the airport and handed it to Bud Ford to put in his briefcase and forgot about it. I got a bunch of questions (from the media) about a subpoena that I hadn’t seen.
I wasn’t expecting a subpoena but maybe every time I go to Birmingham I probably will be expecting a subpoena. As it turns out its some sort of subpoena to do something, and I will let the attorneys all handle that. The issue is its all crap and they are trying to use the press trying to use a day that’s very special to the Southeastern conference for players and the coaches.
Because they can’t win legally they are trying to play the game in the press I am more than a little PO’d about any part of that. It’s sad that a few publicity hunting lawyers in one of our sister states want to keep open a chapter of history that has long since been closed and as far as I’m concerned will stay closed. Obviously this is an effort to distract our football team or distract me in some way. The last time this happened we won the division with two freshman quarterbacks. We won’t be distracted I had a good conversation with the commissioner about it.
About being in Birmingham, I wasn’t trying to mislead anybody. I hadn’t looked at anything.”
Around the Vol Blogosphere, Third Saturday has this covered from all angles as you'd expect, while lawvol over at Gate 21 gives his legal expertise on the firm of Blankenship, Harrelson and Wollitz, where they're taking your PayPal donations today and you, yes you, might have a case.
I do enjoy Phillip when he gets excited.
Random Thoughts - Thursday July 24
Where we say Happy Birthday to my favorite 'Bama fan...
Mark May gives the Vols his blessing
You can read more about this at Rocky Top Talk and Third Saturday, but Tuesday on ESPN's College Football Live (starting back up this week, weekdays @ 3:30) they had Todd Blackledge and Mark May on. And in a span of 30 minutes, Mark May gave the following responses:
- Quarterback to Watch: Jonathan Crompton
- Heisman Dark Horse: Arian Foster
- National Championship Sleeper: Tennessee
Now, we know ol' Mark, an Outland Trophy winner himself, is loving on the Vols because of their offensive line (and he said as much). And yes, it's Mark May. But hey, you take what you can get. And when you combine Mayday with the SEC unit rankings from Athlon & Lindy's...well, give it a few more weeks, but I'll have talked myself into 14-0 well before kickoff.
Braves: Living and Dying in Philadelphia
The Braves survived the first part of Mark Teixeira Week by taking two of three down in Florida. They looked great in a 4-0 win on Monday, continued their quest to have a pitcher from every team in the league flirt with a no-hitter against them in a shutout loss Tuesday, then looked spectacular for 8.5 innings tonight, still winning 9-4.
Meanwhile, the tied-atop-the-division Mets and Phillies have been playing each other, which means you can't gain any real ground because one of them is going to win every night. So the Braves will head to Philly the same 6.5 games back they were at the start of this road trip.
And it does come to this, my friends. Even with Tim Hudson and Chipper ".369 is still good enough to lead the majors" Jones exiting early tonight with tightness in elbows and hamstrings, respectively, Atlanta can put themselves back in it this weekend.
Or they can continue to go down the path they've traveled so far with the Phillies this season, who are a staggering 8-1 against the Braves. But at least this series isn't at Turner Field, where they're 6-0.
What's more...and I'm jinxing it right now, and given the way the last three years have gone he doesn't need me to jinx it, I'm sure something else has already beaten me to the punch - but we might have a Mike Hampton sighting on Saturday.
It's the Fox game at 3:55, and it'd be a good story. I'm not sure the alternative (Jo-Jo Reyes, 3-9 on the year) is any better than the guy who's spent most of Bush's second term on the DL. The Braves will throw Jurrjens and Campillo between the Saturday spot, where Hampton or Reyes will face Brave-killer Cole Hamels. But at this point, they're all Brave-killers.
Atlanta doesn't have to sweep (though as part of the boundless optimism that lives on this blog, it's our duty to note that if they do, the Braves could only be 3.5 back by Monday and in that case, Teixeira definitely stays).
They do need to win the series. That's the goal. Two games in Philly would be enough for me to keep Teixeira (and Mark Kotsay) on board for the rest of the season. Two wins puts you within enough striking distance and reason to give it your best shot. Anything less, and it's going to be awfully tempting to put Big Mark out there.
We'll see what happens starting Friday night.
WWE: Now that's more like it...
(Warning: SmackDown spoilers for this Friday ahead)
It didn't take long for them to set up SummerSlam. One night after the Great American Bash, the events of Monday's Raw and Tuesday's SmackDown tapings should set up something like this on August 17:
- Triple H vs. The Great Khali (WWE Championship)
- CM Punk vs. JBL (World Heavyweight Championship, insert gimmick here)
- The Undertaker vs. Edge (Hell in a Cell)
- John Cena vs. Batista (first time ever, should be #1 Contender's Match)
- Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (insert gimmick and excitement)
- Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy (ECW Championship)
- Big Show vs. Umaga
- Jeff Hardy vs. MVP
- DiBiase & Rhodes vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Jerry Lawler (easy & great idea)
- The return of Randy Orton
- The return of Kane's mask
That's a lot. And a lot I like.
I know it seems backwards to have the two title matches essentially be non-main events (Cena/Batista and the Hell in a Cell match will be the real main attractions)...but I do understand where they're coming from with Khali, who was in Get Smart and is some huge phenomenon over in India. The only way you make his match with Triple H interesting is to make it for the title. So they did. The only way CM Punk is interesting is to see how long they'll leave the belt on him. And so it still is.
Meanwhile, the rest of this thing is loaded. Between Cena/Batista, the Cell, and HBK/Jericho (which has been the best feud going since WrestleMania) it'll get my money, and deservingly so.
Now keep in mind...it's the WWE and things do change. Right now, the only things locked in are the Cell, the ECW title match and Triple H/Khali. But when you go off the air Monday with Cena/Batista...they're no fools.
If it stays this way...well done.
And finally...
The News-Sentinel reports that Alabama and Clemson will split $3.8 million for their season-opening neutral site tilt at the Georgia Dome. The word up here in Hokieland is that talks are nearly finalized for Bammer and VT to play a similar engagement in the future down in Georgia.
Remember the Kickoff Classic and its stepsister, the Pigskin? This is like that idea except done well - out-of-conference southern rivalries in the one city we can all converge on.
The Vols are booked up with the major non-conference opponents for the next decade, literally. And if we won't play VT in Bristol, I doubt we'd play them anywhere. But still...between the money, ESPN GameDay, and the ABC audience (and of course, the alcohol)...others are going to start thinking this is a really good idea. And they're going to be right.
Mark May gives the Vols his blessing
You can read more about this at Rocky Top Talk and Third Saturday, but Tuesday on ESPN's College Football Live (starting back up this week, weekdays @ 3:30) they had Todd Blackledge and Mark May on. And in a span of 30 minutes, Mark May gave the following responses:
- Quarterback to Watch: Jonathan Crompton
- Heisman Dark Horse: Arian Foster
- National Championship Sleeper: Tennessee
Now, we know ol' Mark, an Outland Trophy winner himself, is loving on the Vols because of their offensive line (and he said as much). And yes, it's Mark May. But hey, you take what you can get. And when you combine Mayday with the SEC unit rankings from Athlon & Lindy's...well, give it a few more weeks, but I'll have talked myself into 14-0 well before kickoff.
Braves: Living and Dying in Philadelphia
The Braves survived the first part of Mark Teixeira Week by taking two of three down in Florida. They looked great in a 4-0 win on Monday, continued their quest to have a pitcher from every team in the league flirt with a no-hitter against them in a shutout loss Tuesday, then looked spectacular for 8.5 innings tonight, still winning 9-4.
Meanwhile, the tied-atop-the-division Mets and Phillies have been playing each other, which means you can't gain any real ground because one of them is going to win every night. So the Braves will head to Philly the same 6.5 games back they were at the start of this road trip.
And it does come to this, my friends. Even with Tim Hudson and Chipper ".369 is still good enough to lead the majors" Jones exiting early tonight with tightness in elbows and hamstrings, respectively, Atlanta can put themselves back in it this weekend.
Or they can continue to go down the path they've traveled so far with the Phillies this season, who are a staggering 8-1 against the Braves. But at least this series isn't at Turner Field, where they're 6-0.
What's more...and I'm jinxing it right now, and given the way the last three years have gone he doesn't need me to jinx it, I'm sure something else has already beaten me to the punch - but we might have a Mike Hampton sighting on Saturday.
It's the Fox game at 3:55, and it'd be a good story. I'm not sure the alternative (Jo-Jo Reyes, 3-9 on the year) is any better than the guy who's spent most of Bush's second term on the DL. The Braves will throw Jurrjens and Campillo between the Saturday spot, where Hampton or Reyes will face Brave-killer Cole Hamels. But at this point, they're all Brave-killers.
Atlanta doesn't have to sweep (though as part of the boundless optimism that lives on this blog, it's our duty to note that if they do, the Braves could only be 3.5 back by Monday and in that case, Teixeira definitely stays).
They do need to win the series. That's the goal. Two games in Philly would be enough for me to keep Teixeira (and Mark Kotsay) on board for the rest of the season. Two wins puts you within enough striking distance and reason to give it your best shot. Anything less, and it's going to be awfully tempting to put Big Mark out there.
We'll see what happens starting Friday night.
WWE: Now that's more like it...
(Warning: SmackDown spoilers for this Friday ahead)
It didn't take long for them to set up SummerSlam. One night after the Great American Bash, the events of Monday's Raw and Tuesday's SmackDown tapings should set up something like this on August 17:
- Triple H vs. The Great Khali (WWE Championship)
- CM Punk vs. JBL (World Heavyweight Championship, insert gimmick here)
- The Undertaker vs. Edge (Hell in a Cell)
- John Cena vs. Batista (first time ever, should be #1 Contender's Match)
- Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (insert gimmick and excitement)
- Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy (ECW Championship)
- Big Show vs. Umaga
- Jeff Hardy vs. MVP
- DiBiase & Rhodes vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Jerry Lawler (easy & great idea)
- The return of Randy Orton
- The return of Kane's mask
That's a lot. And a lot I like.
I know it seems backwards to have the two title matches essentially be non-main events (Cena/Batista and the Hell in a Cell match will be the real main attractions)...but I do understand where they're coming from with Khali, who was in Get Smart and is some huge phenomenon over in India. The only way you make his match with Triple H interesting is to make it for the title. So they did. The only way CM Punk is interesting is to see how long they'll leave the belt on him. And so it still is.
Meanwhile, the rest of this thing is loaded. Between Cena/Batista, the Cell, and HBK/Jericho (which has been the best feud going since WrestleMania) it'll get my money, and deservingly so.
Now keep in mind...it's the WWE and things do change. Right now, the only things locked in are the Cell, the ECW title match and Triple H/Khali. But when you go off the air Monday with Cena/Batista...they're no fools.
If it stays this way...well done.
And finally...
The News-Sentinel reports that Alabama and Clemson will split $3.8 million for their season-opening neutral site tilt at the Georgia Dome. The word up here in Hokieland is that talks are nearly finalized for Bammer and VT to play a similar engagement in the future down in Georgia.
Remember the Kickoff Classic and its stepsister, the Pigskin? This is like that idea except done well - out-of-conference southern rivalries in the one city we can all converge on.
The Vols are booked up with the major non-conference opponents for the next decade, literally. And if we won't play VT in Bristol, I doubt we'd play them anywhere. But still...between the money, ESPN GameDay, and the ABC audience (and of course, the alcohol)...others are going to start thinking this is a really good idea. And they're going to be right.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
10 Years: The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers Part Eleven - The National Championship
(Note: This piece is edited down from a much longer original feature on The 50 Best Vol Games at SouthEastern Sports Blog from December 19, 2006)
We’ve followed the story of the ’98 Vols, from the program’s move to the doorstep during the Peyton Manning Era, and how Tee Martin took the wheel and led the Vols to wins against Syracuse, Florida, Georgia, a miracle against Arkansas and a second straight SEC Championship against Mississippi State.
So the story moved to the desert, where the Vols went looking for the final win to secure their first National Championship since 1951. And after Upset Saturday took out Kansas State and UCLA, a much more imposing threat arose to punch the other half of the ticket.
Florida State had lost back in September, 24-7 to NC State in a game that was frankly jarring to watch, because in 1998 you weren’t used to seeing FSU get beat that way.
But the Noles stayed the course and wouldn’t lose again. They used a defense as equally fearsome as the Vols’ and got the same fortunate bounces against the Gators to set up the championship matchup. For Florida State, it was just the latest edition of their program playing for it all.
For Tennessee, the brightest lights and the biggest stage were both a new experience.
Out in Tempe, you could tell the difference just between the fanbases.
After an eleven hour delay at a Louisville, KY airport (because all the flights from Knoxville were booked), my Dad and I arrived in Phoenix in the wee hours of the morning the day of the game. In the hours before kickoff, our interactions with FSU fans produced what I would call “unintentionally condescending” conversations: several conversations where Nole faithful told us some form of “You’ve had a great season, congratulations for making it this far.”
Again, they’d been here before. It was all new to us.
Early in the contest, it showed. While Florida State did what they do, with three fifteen yard penalties in the first quarter, the Vols did what they usually didn’t in 1998: Jeff Hall missed a short field goal, and Travis Henry fumbled on Tennessee’s first two possessions.
With both teams killing themselves in a scoreless first, Peerless Price made the game’s first big play, hauling in a bomb from Tee Martin to put the Vols in position. And when the Noles committed their fourth fifteen yard penalty by roughing Hall on a field goal attempt, the Vols took the points off the board and added a touchdown on a dump to Shawn Bryson.
Much had been made of both Peter Warrick and Marcus Outzen, the third string FSU quarterback who was thrust into action. The combination of those two things was bad news for the Noles on the ensuing possession – Outzen tried to force it to Warrick, and Dwayne Goodrich stepped in front and raced back for a pick six. Suddenly, the six point underdog Vols were up 14-0 in the second quarter.
Warrick would finish the night with all of one catch.
The Vols had a chance to get more, but Tee Martin was intercepted, setting up Florida State’s first touchdown. After a botched extra point, the Noles would add a field goal to make it 14-9 Vols at the break.
After a third quarter where almost nothing happened, Vol fans who’d learned to put their faith in the defense once again found themselves just hoping to hang on as the game went to the final period.
The Vols had been winning the field position battle, and Tee Martin tried to take advantage of a short field early in the 4th, but was intercepted in the end zone. From there, Florida State marched to 1st and 10 at the Tennessee 26 yard line with thirteen minutes left in the game.
After two runs for minimal gain and a crucial false start penalty, Vol DT Darwin Walker turned a potentially long field goal into a punt situation by sacking Outzen. FSU had 1st and 10 at the 26 and leaves the field with 4th and 26 at the 42.
It was the beginning of the sequence that would win the Vols the National Championship.
Off the punt, Tennessee runs into the line twice and faces 3rd and 9 at their own 21. There are still nine and a half minutes to play, and the Vols are seemingly still just trying to hold on. They put Peerless Price alone out to the right, and Tee Martin drops back and simply lets her rip.
Racing down the sideline, Price times everything right. The ball sails over the defender’s hands and into Price’s at just the right moment, and he comes down with nothing but green in front of him.
79 yards later, the Vols have put enough distance between themselves and Florida State to secure the title.
It wasn’t done – it looked like it when Outzen fumbled on the next possession, but the Vols only got three out of it. Then Florida State finally put together a cohesive drive that ended in the end zone, cutting the lead to 23-16.
An onside kick bounced off Sebastian Janikowski’s large frame before going ten yards, giving the ball back to the Vols. Still, they maddeningly fumbled it back to FSU…only to watch Outzen throw a game-clinching interception on the very next play.
As the clock ticked down at Sun Devil Stadium, I tried to take it all in. Once the scoreboard hit 00:00 and they put that giant graphic up on the jumbotron that had the name of my school with the words “National Champions” next to it…I simply couldn’t believe it.
But I was going to enjoy it anyway.
Grown men in orange are crying. One of my Dad’s friends tells me that they’ve been waiting their whole life for this, and I’m only 17 years old and get to enjoy it. A much younger looking Phillip Fulmer is down on the field, holding up that giant crystal football.
And my favorite moment, shared only by those who were there:
ESPN and College Gameday had been ducking Knoxville all season. They had good reason: Chris Fowler said some things about the Vols and trailer parks without thinking in the Peyton Manning/Charles Woodson aftermath the previous year. So in fear of the repercussions, Gameday didn’t come to Knoxville. Not once all year during the magical 1998 season.
But in Tempe, they couldn’t hide anymore.
Vol fans stormed the in-stadium set immediately following the game. The best of us are chanting anything clever we can think of off the top of our elated heads. The worst of us are lobbing beverages over the net ESPN provides for their stars. One of them comes six inches from Lee Corso’s head, who looks some awful combination of angry and afraid, and we all start chanting: “THIRSTY? THIRSTY? THIRSTY?”
It’s the little things you remember.
We’ve followed the story of the ’98 Vols, from the program’s move to the doorstep during the Peyton Manning Era, and how Tee Martin took the wheel and led the Vols to wins against Syracuse, Florida, Georgia, a miracle against Arkansas and a second straight SEC Championship against Mississippi State.
So the story moved to the desert, where the Vols went looking for the final win to secure their first National Championship since 1951. And after Upset Saturday took out Kansas State and UCLA, a much more imposing threat arose to punch the other half of the ticket.
Florida State had lost back in September, 24-7 to NC State in a game that was frankly jarring to watch, because in 1998 you weren’t used to seeing FSU get beat that way.
But the Noles stayed the course and wouldn’t lose again. They used a defense as equally fearsome as the Vols’ and got the same fortunate bounces against the Gators to set up the championship matchup. For Florida State, it was just the latest edition of their program playing for it all.
For Tennessee, the brightest lights and the biggest stage were both a new experience.
Out in Tempe, you could tell the difference just between the fanbases.
After an eleven hour delay at a Louisville, KY airport (because all the flights from Knoxville were booked), my Dad and I arrived in Phoenix in the wee hours of the morning the day of the game. In the hours before kickoff, our interactions with FSU fans produced what I would call “unintentionally condescending” conversations: several conversations where Nole faithful told us some form of “You’ve had a great season, congratulations for making it this far.”
Again, they’d been here before. It was all new to us.
Early in the contest, it showed. While Florida State did what they do, with three fifteen yard penalties in the first quarter, the Vols did what they usually didn’t in 1998: Jeff Hall missed a short field goal, and Travis Henry fumbled on Tennessee’s first two possessions.
With both teams killing themselves in a scoreless first, Peerless Price made the game’s first big play, hauling in a bomb from Tee Martin to put the Vols in position. And when the Noles committed their fourth fifteen yard penalty by roughing Hall on a field goal attempt, the Vols took the points off the board and added a touchdown on a dump to Shawn Bryson.
Much had been made of both Peter Warrick and Marcus Outzen, the third string FSU quarterback who was thrust into action. The combination of those two things was bad news for the Noles on the ensuing possession – Outzen tried to force it to Warrick, and Dwayne Goodrich stepped in front and raced back for a pick six. Suddenly, the six point underdog Vols were up 14-0 in the second quarter.
Warrick would finish the night with all of one catch.
The Vols had a chance to get more, but Tee Martin was intercepted, setting up Florida State’s first touchdown. After a botched extra point, the Noles would add a field goal to make it 14-9 Vols at the break.
After a third quarter where almost nothing happened, Vol fans who’d learned to put their faith in the defense once again found themselves just hoping to hang on as the game went to the final period.
The Vols had been winning the field position battle, and Tee Martin tried to take advantage of a short field early in the 4th, but was intercepted in the end zone. From there, Florida State marched to 1st and 10 at the Tennessee 26 yard line with thirteen minutes left in the game.
After two runs for minimal gain and a crucial false start penalty, Vol DT Darwin Walker turned a potentially long field goal into a punt situation by sacking Outzen. FSU had 1st and 10 at the 26 and leaves the field with 4th and 26 at the 42.
It was the beginning of the sequence that would win the Vols the National Championship.
Off the punt, Tennessee runs into the line twice and faces 3rd and 9 at their own 21. There are still nine and a half minutes to play, and the Vols are seemingly still just trying to hold on. They put Peerless Price alone out to the right, and Tee Martin drops back and simply lets her rip.
Racing down the sideline, Price times everything right. The ball sails over the defender’s hands and into Price’s at just the right moment, and he comes down with nothing but green in front of him.
79 yards later, the Vols have put enough distance between themselves and Florida State to secure the title.
It wasn’t done – it looked like it when Outzen fumbled on the next possession, but the Vols only got three out of it. Then Florida State finally put together a cohesive drive that ended in the end zone, cutting the lead to 23-16.
An onside kick bounced off Sebastian Janikowski’s large frame before going ten yards, giving the ball back to the Vols. Still, they maddeningly fumbled it back to FSU…only to watch Outzen throw a game-clinching interception on the very next play.
As the clock ticked down at Sun Devil Stadium, I tried to take it all in. Once the scoreboard hit 00:00 and they put that giant graphic up on the jumbotron that had the name of my school with the words “National Champions” next to it…I simply couldn’t believe it.
But I was going to enjoy it anyway.
Grown men in orange are crying. One of my Dad’s friends tells me that they’ve been waiting their whole life for this, and I’m only 17 years old and get to enjoy it. A much younger looking Phillip Fulmer is down on the field, holding up that giant crystal football.
And my favorite moment, shared only by those who were there:
ESPN and College Gameday had been ducking Knoxville all season. They had good reason: Chris Fowler said some things about the Vols and trailer parks without thinking in the Peyton Manning/Charles Woodson aftermath the previous year. So in fear of the repercussions, Gameday didn’t come to Knoxville. Not once all year during the magical 1998 season.
But in Tempe, they couldn’t hide anymore.
Vol fans stormed the in-stadium set immediately following the game. The best of us are chanting anything clever we can think of off the top of our elated heads. The worst of us are lobbing beverages over the net ESPN provides for their stars. One of them comes six inches from Lee Corso’s head, who looks some awful combination of angry and afraid, and we all start chanting: “THIRSTY? THIRSTY? THIRSTY?”
It’s the little things you remember.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Big Orange Roundtable - Week 3
The Roundtable rolls into Week 3, where good ol' Rocky Top Talk hosts the questions this week. You can check their responses at the link above, and find the answers from the other members of the Roundtable at the bottom of this post throughout the day/week (and check out their blogs anytime in the links to the right). And now, on with the questions...
1. For some inexplicable reason, Phillip Fulmer invites Urban Meyer, Mark Richt, Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Tommy Tuberville over to his palatial estate for a dinner party. At 2:00 a.m. the next morning, The Papa discovers that Smokey IX has been murdered. Who did it, with what, and where? Think Clue. You know, Mr. Mustard in the parlor with the candlestick?
Mark Richt in the backyard with his newer, younger, slimmed down Uga VII. You know, since Smokey IX is 3-1 against Georgia.
As for further motive, it stems from Georgia's continual assertion that they and their head coach belong at such a dinner party, if you will, where every other guest at the table has what Mark Richt does not: a National Championship or an undefeated season. Jealousy continues to swell when the other coaches turn their heads and laugh at any assertion that Georgia deserved to play for the National Championship in 2007, even though they couldn't even win the SEC East. It's all too much for Saint Richt, and there's none better to take out one's frustrations on than a team that's ruined your season three of the last four years and done it in style the last two.
2. Who between Eric Berry for the defense and Gerald Jones for the Clawfense will have the biggest impact for the Vols in 2008?
I'll invoke the single phrase I used the most during the 2007 season: "Eric Berry, son!"
Not that Jones doesn't have sizzle - and to his credit, the G-Gun package succeeded in clutch situations where other Vols with pseudo-sizzle ran into brick walls; we've been trying to run that package every year this decade, all the way back to Eric Locke and running through James Banks and even Lucas Taylor, but Jones made it work.
However...Eric Berry, son.
For this kid to do what he did as a true freshman on a defense that needed him to make every single one of those plays...he screams Dale Carter, he even runs like him off interceptions. Jones had some big play moments, but Eric Berry did this:
- Started every game as a true freshman
- Finished second all-time in SEC history for INT return yardage in a season
- INT return 96 yards for a TD at Florida
- 12 tackles, fumble recovery and an INT vs South Carolina
- 2 INTs returned a combined 98 yards vs Arkansas
- 14 tackles at Kentucky
- Fumble recovery that set up a go-ahead TD vs LSU...
- ...followed by an INT on the very next possession
- Forced fumble on the opening drive against Wisconsin
- Attempted murder on Tyler Donovan
Our good friends at Rocky Top Talk have even gone so far as to document Berry's 07 glory in video form:
Despite his talent, I don't think Jones will separate himself enough from all the other talent around him on offense to even begin to approach the impact that Berry creates from day one on defense. Jones is still lots of sizzle with a little steak. Eric Berry is filet mignon. Son.
3. You devise a way to harness the Lost island's temporal displacement properties. The island will allow you to change one thing, but one thing only, in the history of the Tennessee Volunteer football program. What do you change? By the way, Ben warns that if you try to say "2005" or any other entire season, the mysterious clicking black smoke will sound its wailing siren, shoot from the earth, grab you by the ankles, and pound you to a pulp against a palm tree. So change only one thing. Unless, of course, you like that sort of thing.
After you get back from The Dark Knight, go out and buy the DVDs of Seasons 1-4 of Lost. I'll still wait.
RTT's answer of The Hobnailed Boot is a good one, if for no other reason than it robbed Travis Stephens of one of the greatest plays in Tennessee history. But once the Vols took care of business in The Swamp that December, we were in the interesting place of having lost a game, but it no longer hurt us.
So the only thing more painful, to me, in the history of Tennessee Football, was getting hurt all over again in Atlanta the following week.
If I could change one thing, one play, I'd go back to the 4th quarter of that game, and tell Donte' Stallworth to put both hands on the football and watch for the strip.
There were other mistakes in that game, no doubt: Travis Stephens fumbling in the 3rd quarter with the Vols up 17-16, which LSU would recover and then score the go-ahead touchdown. Tennessee having 1st and goal at the 4 and coming away with a field goal instead of a tying touchdown with only ten minutes left in the game.
But after that field goal, the Vol D stiffened behind a desperate crowd, 80% of us in orange and who were talking about how much fun it would be to take an RV cross-country to the Rose Bowl at halftime. When the defense made that stop and the Vols got the ball back, sitting there in the Dome, I knew we would win. I just knew it.
And when Donte' Stallworth caught a pass at the LSU 35 yard line and looked upfield, we were just moments away from taking the lead.
And then you see that ball hit the turf. And our hearts fell with it.
And that's as close as Tennessee has been to a National Championship since.
I believe 01 Miami was the best team of this decade, better than anything USC had and better than Vince Young's 05 Texas. And maybe the Vols go out to Pasadena to play for it all and lose (though I'd put the 01 Vols up against any other Tennessee team, ever, at even money). But at least we'd have out shot, and at least we'd have another SEC Championship in hand. Instead, Stallworth fumbled and we lost our last, best chance. It still hurts today.
4. What about the future? What is your worst fear for this upcoming season, the turn of events that would send you into a blind rage?
I read an article the other day that was trying to envision the worst-case scenario in 2008 for each of the SEC schools. And for Georgia, they'd listed 10-2 as the worst that could possibly happen. And my point is this: in the SEC, if anybody thinks the worst that could possibly happen is only losing twice, you're out of your mind.
There are six teams in the SEC every year whose fanbases are thinking about championships in July. And the cold reality is, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee can't all win. Somebody has to go down and take 7-5 or 8-4. At least one somebody. Or we can have more insanity like last year, and we all take our turn.
So while any of us should be open to the possibility of 5-7 in the darkest corners of our minds, my most realistic worst fear is that the Vols lose back-to-back against Florida and Auburn.
Winning one of those two will at least give some hope. If the Vols lose twice in two weeks, however - and if they don't look particularly good, especially on offense, in doing so - the demand will be for heads to roll.
You saw it last season. But even going back to 2003, when the Vols won at Florida, but followed it up with consecutive losses at Auburn and then home to Georgia, and then the longest off week in recorded history...we don't deal well with consecutive losses. And that back-to-back task of facing the Gators and then going to Jordan-Hare may prove too much for our young football team to handle. If it does, fan uproar will return to an all-time high, and Dave Clawson will never get a fair shake. He doesn't deserve this early schedule in his first year. But you play the hand you're dealt.
Check back here throughout the week for the other Roundtable responses, posted as we get them:
- Rocky Top Talk (host blog this week)
- Third Saturday
- YMSWWC
- Moondog
- Fulmer's Belly
- The Power T
- Gate 21
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Random Thoughts - Sunday July 20
Where you should stop reading and go see The Dark Knight. Just go. The blog will be here when you get back.
Big Orange Roundtable - Week 2 Roundup
The Power T gave us the questions for Week 2, and they provide the roundup, putting together all of our answers and picking the best of the best. Look for Week 3 questions coming early this week.
SESB Preseason All-SEC Picks
Six weeks and counting, and with Media Days coming this week from Birmingham, you'll be hearing the official preseason predictions and All-SEC teams in just a few days. Before then, we take a stab at picking our own '08 Preseason All-SEC Team:
QB - TIM TEBOW, FLORIDA
Really, you can't go anywhere else here. Tebow is the defending Heisman winner and the face of the SEC, like it or not. And while Matthew Stafford, an LSU quarterback to be named later or even Jonathan Crompton could have a big year, Tebow has to be on your first team ballot.
RB - KNOWSHON MORENO, GEORGIA
RB - ARIAN FOSTER, TENNESSEE
Moreno is another one that simply has to be on here based on what he did last year, even if you think he might be a fluke or that he's in for a more challenging year in 2008. But that's not what I'm implying. Really. Knowshon is the only returning back who averaged more than 100 yards per game last season. Foster is second on that list, who really only needs to stay healthy to capture Tennessee's all-time rushing record this year. I will say that if LSU's Keiland Williams gets the carries, I think he'll turn in big results.
WR - PERCY HARVIN, FLORIDA
WR - KENNY MCKINLEY, SOUTH CAROLINA
Two guys excelling at two different things here. Harvin is still the consumate playmaker in Florida's offense, while McKinley continues to be the latest South Carolina receiver to shine in the absence of a great quarterback. McKinley led the SEC in receptions and yardage last year, while Harvin was the top receiver in terms of total yards. Whoever becomes Tennessee's top threat, be it Lucas Taylor or Gerald Jones, should make some noise as well, while Auburn's Rod Smith, LSU's Demetrius Byrd and Georgia's Massaquoi are also hoping for big years.
TE - CORNELIUS INGRAM, FLORIDA
Ingram caught a team-leading seven touchdowns last season, and the 6'4" senior will again look to exploit defenses who are already running in circles trying to stop Florida's spread option. The Gators are a real tailback away from insanity.
OT - MICHAEL OHER, OLE MISS
OT - ANDRE SMITH, ALABAMA
OG - ANTHONY PARKER, TENNESSEE
OG - TYRONNE GREEN, AUBURN
C - JONATHAN LUIGS, ARKANSAS
This is one of the best years for offensive linemen in recent SEC history; this fivesome could easily be an All-America team. LSU's Ciron Black and Alabama's Antoine Caldwell are also stout. Luigs won the Remington Award last season as the nation's best center.
DE - TYSON JACKSON, LSU
DE - GREG HARDY, OLE MISS
Even though he was the SEC sack leader last season, I'm not totally sold on Hardy. Jackson is the real deal and will continue to give the LSU defense its pressure off the edge. There are several young players all across the conference who'll have a chance to make a name for themselves this season.
DT - SEN'DERRICK MARKS, AUBURN
DT - GENO ATKINS, GEORGIA
Could've just as easily gone with Jeff Owens from UGA...Marks comes over from defensive end and should become one of the best in the country. Ricky Jean-Francois from LSU must stay healthy to warrant a spot. Peria Jerry from Ole Miss is also more than capable at this position.
OLB - ERIC NORWOOD, SOUTH CAROLINA
MLB - BRANDON SPIKES, FLORIDA
OLB - RICO MCCOY, TENNESSEE
It's a stronger year up the middle, where Auburn's Tray Blackmon and LSU's Beckwith will contend. Spikes is the returning tackles leader in the conference, so he gets the nod here. On the outside, McCoy has been starting for most of his career in Knoxville, while Norwood joins an impressive Carolina defense in his move from defensive end to outside linebacker.
CB - ASHER ALLEN, GEORGIA
CB - CAPTAIN MUNNERLYN, SOUTH CAROLINA
FS - DEREK PEGUES, MISSISSIPPI STATE
SS - ERIC BERRY, TENNESSEE
A solid year at corner in the SEC, with Auburn's Jerraud Powers and Vandy's DJ Moore also candidates. Berry and Pegues are two of the very best at their positions in the entire nation. Moore and Alabama's Rashad Johnson are the returning interception leaders with six, but Allen and Munnerlyn have greater upside.
K - COLT DAVID, LSU
P - RYAN SUCCOP, SOUTH CAROLINA
Yes, Colt David is still in school. And no, we can't vote for Britton Colquitt because we won't see him til mid-October. There are others like the Vols' Daniel Lincoln, Succop and Alabama's Leigh Tiffin who could turn in solid years as a kicker, but David has the experience to get the nod here.
Look for the real team to be announced midweek.
The Vols on CBS College Sports Network - July 21-27
In what I hope becomes a weekly feature, here's the Tennessee action you can check out this week from CBS College Sports (if you're not currently watching the Vols and Kentucky play overtimes on the network as we speak) - over the next two weeks, the network is replaying every single game from the 2008 Men's Basketball Tournament, so you can check local listings for other matchups you'd like to enjoy. It'll take all of this week just to show the first round, so you can see the Vols take on American on Thursday, July 24 at Noon. The March Madness extravaganza will conclude at the end of next week, and the rest of August is supposed to be devoted entirely to SEC Football. High five.
Vols in the NBA Summer League
First, we have to note that when I went to NBA.com to get the final stats this afternoon, the lead story on the official website of the association was about yesterday's outdoor WNBA game. The lead picture shows a mostly-empty tennis stadium as the game is unfolding, with the tagline: It was an event you will tell your grandchildren about. We've covered the flat stupidity in the WNBA's advertising before, but I'm glad to see that nothing's changed.
Moving on...before we talk about the new guys, it's important to again remember that CJ Watson continues to simply do what he does and know his role in the Golden State organization. After finding a role as a backup point guard for the Warriors last season, ol' Quiet Storm has put up 19 points and 5 assists per game during his Vegas summer league stint, which concludes tonight. And since Baron Davis isn't around in Oaktown anymore...who knows what possibilities could await Watson.
Chris Lofton and his three ball have Europe starting them in the face - playing for Denver's summer league team, Lofton (appropriately wearing #3) is averaging less than 10 minutes per game. He's 3 for 5 from deep in four games, but I seriously doubt that's enough to keep him around. Perhaps another NBA team will take a chance on him, who knows. He could make a nice living across the Atlantic though, should he not pursue the D-League route.
JaJuan Smith has seen his minutes increase in five games with Dallas, and true to form, he's not been afraid to shoot. He poured in 19 points in 18 minutes when finally given more of a role against Minnesota, then backed it up with 10 points in 11 minutes the following night. He's shooting 47% from three (I was going to type "from NBA range", but you get the idea). So we'll see...maybe he'll find his way after all.
Braves: Mark Teixeira Week
Or at least it was supposed to be.
The thought was, at 45-50 and 6.5 back at the All-Star Break, that the Braves would come out hot and sweep the lowly Washington Nationals at Turner Field, and then play a huge week starting Monday - at Florida, at Philadelphia - that would determine not only their chances in the NL East, but the fate of 1B Mark Teixeira. If the Braves are out of the race, which they certainly could be at the end of next week, it would make sense to deal Teixeira in his contract year and at least get something for him while retooling for 2009. And if the Braves could play themselves into the race over the next two series, then you'd keep him around and push for now.
It was going according to plan on Friday, when the Braves opened a huge lead and then held on for a rare one-run win. Then the bats went cold yesterday in a big Nationals win.
Since I'm tucked away here in southwest Virginia, I can no longer see Atlanta play - instead, I get the coveted Orioles and Nationals coverage on MASN (and the oft-forgotten MASN2). So unless they're on ESPN or FOX, the only time I can see the Braves play is when they face Washington. So I was looking forward to at least seeing them play this weekend. Plus, I'm still trying to decide about pulling the trigger on a trip to Atlanta in August.
So after just missing the finish of the British Open, I flip over to MASN2's coverage from Turner Field.
As I type, Washington is up 12-4 in the bottom of the 4th. It was 12-2 when I started this paragraph.
If the Braves don't miraculously make up these eight runs in five innings, they could be looking at 7.5 back headed into this road trip. And while I'd still wait on Teixeira until the FLA/PHI series are over...good grief, if you can't beat the Nationals at home...
Base hit, RBI Chipper Jones, and it's 12-5. We'll see.
WWE: The Road to SummerSlam
After an embarassingly lackluster SummerSlam last year, which is supposed to be the second biggest night in wrestling all year, the WWE will set the table for the event starting tonight, at The Great American Bash PPV. After the annual draft reshuffled the deck a month ago, WWE made the bold move of putting the World Heavyweight Championship on the young CM Punk. He defends tonight against Batista, while (newly to SmackDown) Triple H faces Edge for the WWE Championship. Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho meet again in what should be another entertaining match.
The Bash certainly isn't getting my money tonight, but I want to believe in SummerSlam. I want them to do something good tonight that sets up something great next month, which is the way it should be. WWE has been hovering with their fans recently, and if they continue to build on this youth movement (all major champions currently under 30), there still might be some growing pains along the way. Either way...I hope whatever happens tonight, whatever the outcome, ends up earning my money next month.
And finally...
Because I know you care, we're now 6-5 in online play on NCAA 09. It's impossible to guard Percy Harvin in man coverage on that game. Impossible. I hate Florida.
Big Orange Roundtable - Week 2 Roundup
The Power T gave us the questions for Week 2, and they provide the roundup, putting together all of our answers and picking the best of the best. Look for Week 3 questions coming early this week.
SESB Preseason All-SEC Picks
Six weeks and counting, and with Media Days coming this week from Birmingham, you'll be hearing the official preseason predictions and All-SEC teams in just a few days. Before then, we take a stab at picking our own '08 Preseason All-SEC Team:
QB - TIM TEBOW, FLORIDA
Really, you can't go anywhere else here. Tebow is the defending Heisman winner and the face of the SEC, like it or not. And while Matthew Stafford, an LSU quarterback to be named later or even Jonathan Crompton could have a big year, Tebow has to be on your first team ballot.
RB - KNOWSHON MORENO, GEORGIA
RB - ARIAN FOSTER, TENNESSEE
Moreno is another one that simply has to be on here based on what he did last year, even if you think he might be a fluke or that he's in for a more challenging year in 2008. But that's not what I'm implying. Really. Knowshon is the only returning back who averaged more than 100 yards per game last season. Foster is second on that list, who really only needs to stay healthy to capture Tennessee's all-time rushing record this year. I will say that if LSU's Keiland Williams gets the carries, I think he'll turn in big results.
WR - PERCY HARVIN, FLORIDA
WR - KENNY MCKINLEY, SOUTH CAROLINA
Two guys excelling at two different things here. Harvin is still the consumate playmaker in Florida's offense, while McKinley continues to be the latest South Carolina receiver to shine in the absence of a great quarterback. McKinley led the SEC in receptions and yardage last year, while Harvin was the top receiver in terms of total yards. Whoever becomes Tennessee's top threat, be it Lucas Taylor or Gerald Jones, should make some noise as well, while Auburn's Rod Smith, LSU's Demetrius Byrd and Georgia's Massaquoi are also hoping for big years.
TE - CORNELIUS INGRAM, FLORIDA
Ingram caught a team-leading seven touchdowns last season, and the 6'4" senior will again look to exploit defenses who are already running in circles trying to stop Florida's spread option. The Gators are a real tailback away from insanity.
OT - MICHAEL OHER, OLE MISS
OT - ANDRE SMITH, ALABAMA
OG - ANTHONY PARKER, TENNESSEE
OG - TYRONNE GREEN, AUBURN
C - JONATHAN LUIGS, ARKANSAS
This is one of the best years for offensive linemen in recent SEC history; this fivesome could easily be an All-America team. LSU's Ciron Black and Alabama's Antoine Caldwell are also stout. Luigs won the Remington Award last season as the nation's best center.
DE - TYSON JACKSON, LSU
DE - GREG HARDY, OLE MISS
Even though he was the SEC sack leader last season, I'm not totally sold on Hardy. Jackson is the real deal and will continue to give the LSU defense its pressure off the edge. There are several young players all across the conference who'll have a chance to make a name for themselves this season.
DT - SEN'DERRICK MARKS, AUBURN
DT - GENO ATKINS, GEORGIA
Could've just as easily gone with Jeff Owens from UGA...Marks comes over from defensive end and should become one of the best in the country. Ricky Jean-Francois from LSU must stay healthy to warrant a spot. Peria Jerry from Ole Miss is also more than capable at this position.
OLB - ERIC NORWOOD, SOUTH CAROLINA
MLB - BRANDON SPIKES, FLORIDA
OLB - RICO MCCOY, TENNESSEE
It's a stronger year up the middle, where Auburn's Tray Blackmon and LSU's Beckwith will contend. Spikes is the returning tackles leader in the conference, so he gets the nod here. On the outside, McCoy has been starting for most of his career in Knoxville, while Norwood joins an impressive Carolina defense in his move from defensive end to outside linebacker.
CB - ASHER ALLEN, GEORGIA
CB - CAPTAIN MUNNERLYN, SOUTH CAROLINA
FS - DEREK PEGUES, MISSISSIPPI STATE
SS - ERIC BERRY, TENNESSEE
A solid year at corner in the SEC, with Auburn's Jerraud Powers and Vandy's DJ Moore also candidates. Berry and Pegues are two of the very best at their positions in the entire nation. Moore and Alabama's Rashad Johnson are the returning interception leaders with six, but Allen and Munnerlyn have greater upside.
K - COLT DAVID, LSU
P - RYAN SUCCOP, SOUTH CAROLINA
Yes, Colt David is still in school. And no, we can't vote for Britton Colquitt because we won't see him til mid-October. There are others like the Vols' Daniel Lincoln, Succop and Alabama's Leigh Tiffin who could turn in solid years as a kicker, but David has the experience to get the nod here.
Look for the real team to be announced midweek.
The Vols on CBS College Sports Network - July 21-27
In what I hope becomes a weekly feature, here's the Tennessee action you can check out this week from CBS College Sports (if you're not currently watching the Vols and Kentucky play overtimes on the network as we speak) - over the next two weeks, the network is replaying every single game from the 2008 Men's Basketball Tournament, so you can check local listings for other matchups you'd like to enjoy. It'll take all of this week just to show the first round, so you can see the Vols take on American on Thursday, July 24 at Noon. The March Madness extravaganza will conclude at the end of next week, and the rest of August is supposed to be devoted entirely to SEC Football. High five.
Vols in the NBA Summer League
First, we have to note that when I went to NBA.com to get the final stats this afternoon, the lead story on the official website of the association was about yesterday's outdoor WNBA game. The lead picture shows a mostly-empty tennis stadium as the game is unfolding, with the tagline: It was an event you will tell your grandchildren about. We've covered the flat stupidity in the WNBA's advertising before, but I'm glad to see that nothing's changed.
Moving on...before we talk about the new guys, it's important to again remember that CJ Watson continues to simply do what he does and know his role in the Golden State organization. After finding a role as a backup point guard for the Warriors last season, ol' Quiet Storm has put up 19 points and 5 assists per game during his Vegas summer league stint, which concludes tonight. And since Baron Davis isn't around in Oaktown anymore...who knows what possibilities could await Watson.
Chris Lofton and his three ball have Europe starting them in the face - playing for Denver's summer league team, Lofton (appropriately wearing #3) is averaging less than 10 minutes per game. He's 3 for 5 from deep in four games, but I seriously doubt that's enough to keep him around. Perhaps another NBA team will take a chance on him, who knows. He could make a nice living across the Atlantic though, should he not pursue the D-League route.
JaJuan Smith has seen his minutes increase in five games with Dallas, and true to form, he's not been afraid to shoot. He poured in 19 points in 18 minutes when finally given more of a role against Minnesota, then backed it up with 10 points in 11 minutes the following night. He's shooting 47% from three (I was going to type "from NBA range", but you get the idea). So we'll see...maybe he'll find his way after all.
Braves: Mark Teixeira Week
Or at least it was supposed to be.
The thought was, at 45-50 and 6.5 back at the All-Star Break, that the Braves would come out hot and sweep the lowly Washington Nationals at Turner Field, and then play a huge week starting Monday - at Florida, at Philadelphia - that would determine not only their chances in the NL East, but the fate of 1B Mark Teixeira. If the Braves are out of the race, which they certainly could be at the end of next week, it would make sense to deal Teixeira in his contract year and at least get something for him while retooling for 2009. And if the Braves could play themselves into the race over the next two series, then you'd keep him around and push for now.
It was going according to plan on Friday, when the Braves opened a huge lead and then held on for a rare one-run win. Then the bats went cold yesterday in a big Nationals win.
Since I'm tucked away here in southwest Virginia, I can no longer see Atlanta play - instead, I get the coveted Orioles and Nationals coverage on MASN (and the oft-forgotten MASN2). So unless they're on ESPN or FOX, the only time I can see the Braves play is when they face Washington. So I was looking forward to at least seeing them play this weekend. Plus, I'm still trying to decide about pulling the trigger on a trip to Atlanta in August.
So after just missing the finish of the British Open, I flip over to MASN2's coverage from Turner Field.
As I type, Washington is up 12-4 in the bottom of the 4th. It was 12-2 when I started this paragraph.
If the Braves don't miraculously make up these eight runs in five innings, they could be looking at 7.5 back headed into this road trip. And while I'd still wait on Teixeira until the FLA/PHI series are over...good grief, if you can't beat the Nationals at home...
Base hit, RBI Chipper Jones, and it's 12-5. We'll see.
WWE: The Road to SummerSlam
After an embarassingly lackluster SummerSlam last year, which is supposed to be the second biggest night in wrestling all year, the WWE will set the table for the event starting tonight, at The Great American Bash PPV. After the annual draft reshuffled the deck a month ago, WWE made the bold move of putting the World Heavyweight Championship on the young CM Punk. He defends tonight against Batista, while (newly to SmackDown) Triple H faces Edge for the WWE Championship. Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho meet again in what should be another entertaining match.
The Bash certainly isn't getting my money tonight, but I want to believe in SummerSlam. I want them to do something good tonight that sets up something great next month, which is the way it should be. WWE has been hovering with their fans recently, and if they continue to build on this youth movement (all major champions currently under 30), there still might be some growing pains along the way. Either way...I hope whatever happens tonight, whatever the outcome, ends up earning my money next month.
And finally...
Because I know you care, we're now 6-5 in online play on NCAA 09. It's impossible to guard Percy Harvin in man coverage on that game. Impossible. I hate Florida.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
SEC Football: Top 10 Wide Receivers (1992-2007)
We’ve previously looked at the Top 10 Rushing Offenses and the Top 10 Defenses in the modern era of SEC Football, since expansion and divisional alignment in 1992. Today we examine the best wide receiver threats over the past fifteen years.
This list is different than the previous two in that it combines not only individual performers, but groups of WRs and tight ends as well. There are several factors involved: single season performances, big play capability and overall talent, career numbers, and the WR’s overall impact on the offense, including who the quarterback was. But it’s not weighted specifically to any one factor – for example, several of the career leaders in the SEC reception and yardage categories are simply guys who were four year starters and were simply very good over a long period of time, where this list emphasizes the great. Lists like these are always subjective; if I could name it better, I’d go with something like “these are the guys and groups I’d be most afraid of.”
First, an honorable mention from each school:
- Alabama: DJ Hall (2004-2007)
- Arkansas: Marcus Monk (2004-2007)
- Auburn: Frank Sanders (1991-1994)
- Florida: Travis McGriff (1995-1998)
- Georgia: Terrence Edwards (1999-2002)
- Kentucky: Craig Yeast (1995-1998)
- LSU: Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis & Early Doucet (2006)
- Mississippi: Chris Collins (2000-2003)
- Mississippi State: Eric Moulds (1992-1995)
- South Carolina: Sidney Rice (2005-2006)
- Tennessee: Cory Fleming & Craig Faulkner (1993)
- Vanderbilt: Dan Stricker (1999-2002)
Top 10 SEC WRs – 1992-2007
10. Robert Meachem, Tennessee (2004-2006)
It took him two seasons to fully get going between injuries and inconsistencies, but in 2006, Meachem was a sparkplug from the very beginning, and finished with the best individual single season in Tennessee history and the fifth best in SEC history in receiving yards.
In the season opener against top 10 Cal, Meachem turned out 182 yards and two touchdowns to announce his presence. He would continue to be the definitive go-to guy in David Cutcliffe’s Vol offense, finishing the year with 71 catches for 1,298 yards.
His performance against LSU’s vaunted secondary pushes him onto this list: with the Vols playing without injured starter Erik Ainge at quarterback, Meachem picked up a young Jonathan Crompton by hauling in five passes for 121 yards and two in-traffic touchdown catches. A first round draft pick the following April.
9. Anthony Lucas, Arkansas (1995-1999)
Lucas finishes as the all-time receiving yardage leader at Arkansas and is 8th all-time on the SEC list, but it’s his performance at the tail end of his career that cements him. He’s one of only a dozen guys in SEC history to turn in a season with an average of over 100 yards receiving per game, going just over that mark in Arkansas’ almost-magical 1998 season. Those numbers helped push him to another impressive feat: Lucas is the all-time SEC leader in yards per catch, at a whopping 21.0.
We’ve previously documented his performance against the ’98 Vols, almost beating Tennessee single-handedly with 172 yards and 2 TDs, one of his many dominant performances in that season. What’s more, he was the focal point of the Razorback offense in ’98 and ’99, and carried the Hogs on his back.
8. Earl Bennett, Vanderbilt (2005-2007)
What’s truly astounding about Bennett is that, when you look at him and his numbers, you assume he must’ve played with Jay Cutler his entire career. But when you realize that Cutler was only around for Bennett’s freshman year, and you remember he’s playing for Vanderbilt, you begin to realize how great these numbers really are.
Bennett, in only three years, is the SEC’s career leader in receptions (236), is in the top 10 in career receiving yards (2,852), and would completely own most of the SEC’s receiving marks had he chosen to stay in school for his senior season. And again – he played for Vanderbilt. Not much else for the defense to worry about, and he still dominated. He pulled in 13 or more catches in a game five different times in his career.
His 2006 season was his individual best, with 82 catches for 1,146 yards. Bennett is a two-time All-SEC and one-time All-America selection, and all three of reception totals for each of his three seasons rank in the top 20 in SEC history.
7. Jabar Gaffney & Reche Caldwell, Florida (2001)
Two All-SEC selections who were Rex Grossman’s most dangerous targets and, when combined with Earnest Graham in the backfield, made up one of the most formidable offenses in modern SEC history.
Gaffney led the way in ’01 with 1,191 yards, which still ranks 9th in SEC history for a single season. And while we’re focusing on the 2001 combo season here with Caldwell, it’s certainly worth mentioning that Gaffney is the only player in SEC history to finish his career with a yards per game average over 100 (103.3 to be exact).
Alongside Graham, the presence of Caldwell meant defenses couldn’t focus solely on Gaffney. Caldwell matched the 1,000+ yards feat, hauling in 1,059 yards and 10 touchdowns. Both guys went over 100 yards in the December showdown with Tennessee to determine the SEC East title. Especially in this offense, this combination was especially terrifying to try and stop.
6. Donte’ Stalworth, Kelley Washington & Jason Witten, Tennessee (2001)
Doing them one better are the ’01 Vols, who not only beat the Gators that season, but had an added dimension to their passing attack in the form of tight end Jason Witten.
While Stallworth sat out the first month and a half of the season following a broken hand in the opener, Kelley Washington assumed the mantle and immediately made the nation take notice. At home against LSU in late September, KDub went off for 11 catches and 256 yards, which is still the single greatest performance in Tennessee history, and his 23.3 yards per catch average on the night is still the best in SEC history.
Just as Stallworth returned against Alabama, Jason Witten was also finding his stride. On that particular Third Saturday in October, the trio combined for 16 catches for 264 yards and 2 TDs.
Witten would close out the year with a 6 catch, 125 yard performance against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl to finish the year with 34 catches for 418 yards. Stallworth had his signature performance at Kentucky, with 8 catches for 169 yards and 3 TDs. When all three were playing together, the Vols were simply impossible to guard.
5. Joey Kent & Marcus Nash, Tennessee (1995-1996)
Otherwise known as “the guys who played with Peyton Manning”, Kent and Nash – with some help from Peyton – rewrote the Volunteer record book in their two years together, while Nash would continue on after Kent’s graduation to pull in 76 catches in 1997.
In their careers, Kent finished with 183 catches while Nash had 177, both finishing in the Top 20 all-time in SEC history, which is remarkable being that they played together. When Kent graduated, he was second all-time in SEC history in career receiving yards with 2,814.
It’s one thing to be a great quarterback…but it’s another thing to have receivers of this caliber to help you forward; during their two years starting together, the Vols were 21-3.
4. Peerless Price, Tennessee (1998)
What Kent, Nash, Stallworth, Washington and Witten couldn’t deliver together, Peerless Price brought home alone. Not that Price wasn’t helped by defense, running and the presence of Cedrick Wilson…but in the Vols’ 1998 National Championship season, nobody made more big plays than Peerless.
Playing with Tee Martin, you won’t find many of his numbers in the record books, but Price’s presence on a championship team ranks him high on this list. After putting up solid numbers as the third option in 1996 and the second option in 1997 with Peyton Manning, with a new quarterback and the departure of Marcus Nash, the show belonged to Price in 1998.
In the opener at Syracuse, Price pulled in 6 balls for 87 yards and 2 TDs. He would later add 100+ yard performances against lesser opponents like South Carolina, UAB and Vanderbilt, but it was his knack for the big play that cemented his legend in Knoxville.
Against Florida, Price made a spectacular adjustment and catch between two defenders for a score. Against Alabama, he returned a kickoff 100 yards to turn a 14-11 game into a 21-11 lead. Against Arkansas, he pulled in the TD pass at the end of the first half that put the Vols back in the game. In the SEC Championship, his 6 catch, 97 yard performance was good for MVP. Without him, the outcome in all of those games is in serious doubt.
And then saving the best for last, against the No. 1 defense in the nation, Price took all of Peter Warrick’s hype by turning in a 199 yard performance, highlighted by the 79 yard bomb that essentially won the game in the 4th quarter. The best big play receiver in modern Tennessee history.
3. Reidel Anthony, Jacquez Green & Ike Hilliard, Florida (1996)
The National Champion Gator lineup, and I can still hear their names being called in my head on the receiving end of numerous touchdowns.
Anthony caught 18 of them in 1996, the best single season in SEC history. He added 1,293 yards along the way, good for 6th best in SEC history. All three rank in the Top 20 in SEC history for career touchdown receptions.
And they all contributed. Hilliard did the most with the most on the line, hauling in 7 catches for 150 yards in the title game against Florida State, three for touchdowns. Green and Anthony added another 129 yards between them.
Their combined numbers on the year – Anthony 72 catches for 1,293 yards and 18 TDs, Hilliard with 47 catches for 900 yards and 10 TDs, and Green with 33 catches for 626 yards and 9 TDs – may never be seen again.
2. David Palmer, Alabama (1991-1993)
Of all these great names, the only one to make it to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist is “The Deuce”.
What is more commonplace today was the exception in the early 90s, when Palmer was occasionally lining up under center, constantly taking the ball on reverses, and still getting open downfield to make big catches. On a team known for rushing and defense, Palmer was the spark that made Alabama’s offense a champion. That year, he provided a spark at 6.3 yards per carry on rushes and another 12.4 yards per catch.
In 1993, he bumped his numbers up with 61 catches for 1,000 yards, with another 278 yards rushing (6.6 per carry) and almost 700 yards in the return game to finish the season with just shy of 2,000 total yards. He was what guys like Percy Harvin aspire to be, except he did it about ten years before it was cool.
1. Josh Reed, LSU (2000-2001)
The single most dominant wide receiver in modern SEC history.
Reed was misplaced as a tailback his freshman season in 1999, and turned pro after his junior year in 2001. So keep in mind that all of these numbers come from just two years of work.
First of all, he has the single greatest game in SEC history in both receptions (19) and yards (293) against Alabama in 2001. I watched that game, and it’s not like Alabama didn’t know where the ball was going most of the time. They simply couldn’t do anything about it.
Reed caught 94 passes (and won an SEC Championship) in 2001, which ranks as the second best total in SEC history. That was good for 1,740 yards, which is the best single season in SEC history by almost 400 yards. The year before, he caught 65 passes for 1,127 yards, which ranks in the Top 15 in SEC history.
Those two seasons, combined with some small change from 1999, give him 3,001 yards for his career. Terrence Edwards, a four year pass catcher at Georgia, would barely eclipse that number the following season to become the SEC’s all-time yardage leader, but there’s really no comparison between what Edwards did in four years and Reed did in two.
He’s the best (and in some cases, the only) example on this list of a guy who you had to circle on the depth chart going into the game, who you knew the ball was going to…and then who turned in sick performances anyway. In that 2001 season, he caught 94 passes while still averaging an all-time SEC record of 18.5 yards per catch over the course of the year.
Palmer may have had the hype, Peerless the biggest plays, Earl Bennett the most with the least around him, and other groups of guys who were terrific together or played with the best quarterbacks. But Josh Reed is the definitive total package, who took all of the above and rewrote the SEC record books in only two years. He is the best wide receiver in the modern era of SEC football.
This list is different than the previous two in that it combines not only individual performers, but groups of WRs and tight ends as well. There are several factors involved: single season performances, big play capability and overall talent, career numbers, and the WR’s overall impact on the offense, including who the quarterback was. But it’s not weighted specifically to any one factor – for example, several of the career leaders in the SEC reception and yardage categories are simply guys who were four year starters and were simply very good over a long period of time, where this list emphasizes the great. Lists like these are always subjective; if I could name it better, I’d go with something like “these are the guys and groups I’d be most afraid of.”
First, an honorable mention from each school:
- Alabama: DJ Hall (2004-2007)
- Arkansas: Marcus Monk (2004-2007)
- Auburn: Frank Sanders (1991-1994)
- Florida: Travis McGriff (1995-1998)
- Georgia: Terrence Edwards (1999-2002)
- Kentucky: Craig Yeast (1995-1998)
- LSU: Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis & Early Doucet (2006)
- Mississippi: Chris Collins (2000-2003)
- Mississippi State: Eric Moulds (1992-1995)
- South Carolina: Sidney Rice (2005-2006)
- Tennessee: Cory Fleming & Craig Faulkner (1993)
- Vanderbilt: Dan Stricker (1999-2002)
Top 10 SEC WRs – 1992-2007
10. Robert Meachem, Tennessee (2004-2006)
It took him two seasons to fully get going between injuries and inconsistencies, but in 2006, Meachem was a sparkplug from the very beginning, and finished with the best individual single season in Tennessee history and the fifth best in SEC history in receiving yards.
In the season opener against top 10 Cal, Meachem turned out 182 yards and two touchdowns to announce his presence. He would continue to be the definitive go-to guy in David Cutcliffe’s Vol offense, finishing the year with 71 catches for 1,298 yards.
His performance against LSU’s vaunted secondary pushes him onto this list: with the Vols playing without injured starter Erik Ainge at quarterback, Meachem picked up a young Jonathan Crompton by hauling in five passes for 121 yards and two in-traffic touchdown catches. A first round draft pick the following April.
9. Anthony Lucas, Arkansas (1995-1999)
Lucas finishes as the all-time receiving yardage leader at Arkansas and is 8th all-time on the SEC list, but it’s his performance at the tail end of his career that cements him. He’s one of only a dozen guys in SEC history to turn in a season with an average of over 100 yards receiving per game, going just over that mark in Arkansas’ almost-magical 1998 season. Those numbers helped push him to another impressive feat: Lucas is the all-time SEC leader in yards per catch, at a whopping 21.0.
We’ve previously documented his performance against the ’98 Vols, almost beating Tennessee single-handedly with 172 yards and 2 TDs, one of his many dominant performances in that season. What’s more, he was the focal point of the Razorback offense in ’98 and ’99, and carried the Hogs on his back.
8. Earl Bennett, Vanderbilt (2005-2007)
What’s truly astounding about Bennett is that, when you look at him and his numbers, you assume he must’ve played with Jay Cutler his entire career. But when you realize that Cutler was only around for Bennett’s freshman year, and you remember he’s playing for Vanderbilt, you begin to realize how great these numbers really are.
Bennett, in only three years, is the SEC’s career leader in receptions (236), is in the top 10 in career receiving yards (2,852), and would completely own most of the SEC’s receiving marks had he chosen to stay in school for his senior season. And again – he played for Vanderbilt. Not much else for the defense to worry about, and he still dominated. He pulled in 13 or more catches in a game five different times in his career.
His 2006 season was his individual best, with 82 catches for 1,146 yards. Bennett is a two-time All-SEC and one-time All-America selection, and all three of reception totals for each of his three seasons rank in the top 20 in SEC history.
7. Jabar Gaffney & Reche Caldwell, Florida (2001)
Two All-SEC selections who were Rex Grossman’s most dangerous targets and, when combined with Earnest Graham in the backfield, made up one of the most formidable offenses in modern SEC history.
Gaffney led the way in ’01 with 1,191 yards, which still ranks 9th in SEC history for a single season. And while we’re focusing on the 2001 combo season here with Caldwell, it’s certainly worth mentioning that Gaffney is the only player in SEC history to finish his career with a yards per game average over 100 (103.3 to be exact).
Alongside Graham, the presence of Caldwell meant defenses couldn’t focus solely on Gaffney. Caldwell matched the 1,000+ yards feat, hauling in 1,059 yards and 10 touchdowns. Both guys went over 100 yards in the December showdown with Tennessee to determine the SEC East title. Especially in this offense, this combination was especially terrifying to try and stop.
6. Donte’ Stalworth, Kelley Washington & Jason Witten, Tennessee (2001)
Doing them one better are the ’01 Vols, who not only beat the Gators that season, but had an added dimension to their passing attack in the form of tight end Jason Witten.
While Stallworth sat out the first month and a half of the season following a broken hand in the opener, Kelley Washington assumed the mantle and immediately made the nation take notice. At home against LSU in late September, KDub went off for 11 catches and 256 yards, which is still the single greatest performance in Tennessee history, and his 23.3 yards per catch average on the night is still the best in SEC history.
Just as Stallworth returned against Alabama, Jason Witten was also finding his stride. On that particular Third Saturday in October, the trio combined for 16 catches for 264 yards and 2 TDs.
Witten would close out the year with a 6 catch, 125 yard performance against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl to finish the year with 34 catches for 418 yards. Stallworth had his signature performance at Kentucky, with 8 catches for 169 yards and 3 TDs. When all three were playing together, the Vols were simply impossible to guard.
5. Joey Kent & Marcus Nash, Tennessee (1995-1996)
Otherwise known as “the guys who played with Peyton Manning”, Kent and Nash – with some help from Peyton – rewrote the Volunteer record book in their two years together, while Nash would continue on after Kent’s graduation to pull in 76 catches in 1997.
In their careers, Kent finished with 183 catches while Nash had 177, both finishing in the Top 20 all-time in SEC history, which is remarkable being that they played together. When Kent graduated, he was second all-time in SEC history in career receiving yards with 2,814.
It’s one thing to be a great quarterback…but it’s another thing to have receivers of this caliber to help you forward; during their two years starting together, the Vols were 21-3.
4. Peerless Price, Tennessee (1998)
What Kent, Nash, Stallworth, Washington and Witten couldn’t deliver together, Peerless Price brought home alone. Not that Price wasn’t helped by defense, running and the presence of Cedrick Wilson…but in the Vols’ 1998 National Championship season, nobody made more big plays than Peerless.
Playing with Tee Martin, you won’t find many of his numbers in the record books, but Price’s presence on a championship team ranks him high on this list. After putting up solid numbers as the third option in 1996 and the second option in 1997 with Peyton Manning, with a new quarterback and the departure of Marcus Nash, the show belonged to Price in 1998.
In the opener at Syracuse, Price pulled in 6 balls for 87 yards and 2 TDs. He would later add 100+ yard performances against lesser opponents like South Carolina, UAB and Vanderbilt, but it was his knack for the big play that cemented his legend in Knoxville.
Against Florida, Price made a spectacular adjustment and catch between two defenders for a score. Against Alabama, he returned a kickoff 100 yards to turn a 14-11 game into a 21-11 lead. Against Arkansas, he pulled in the TD pass at the end of the first half that put the Vols back in the game. In the SEC Championship, his 6 catch, 97 yard performance was good for MVP. Without him, the outcome in all of those games is in serious doubt.
And then saving the best for last, against the No. 1 defense in the nation, Price took all of Peter Warrick’s hype by turning in a 199 yard performance, highlighted by the 79 yard bomb that essentially won the game in the 4th quarter. The best big play receiver in modern Tennessee history.
3. Reidel Anthony, Jacquez Green & Ike Hilliard, Florida (1996)
The National Champion Gator lineup, and I can still hear their names being called in my head on the receiving end of numerous touchdowns.
Anthony caught 18 of them in 1996, the best single season in SEC history. He added 1,293 yards along the way, good for 6th best in SEC history. All three rank in the Top 20 in SEC history for career touchdown receptions.
And they all contributed. Hilliard did the most with the most on the line, hauling in 7 catches for 150 yards in the title game against Florida State, three for touchdowns. Green and Anthony added another 129 yards between them.
Their combined numbers on the year – Anthony 72 catches for 1,293 yards and 18 TDs, Hilliard with 47 catches for 900 yards and 10 TDs, and Green with 33 catches for 626 yards and 9 TDs – may never be seen again.
2. David Palmer, Alabama (1991-1993)
Of all these great names, the only one to make it to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist is “The Deuce”.
What is more commonplace today was the exception in the early 90s, when Palmer was occasionally lining up under center, constantly taking the ball on reverses, and still getting open downfield to make big catches. On a team known for rushing and defense, Palmer was the spark that made Alabama’s offense a champion. That year, he provided a spark at 6.3 yards per carry on rushes and another 12.4 yards per catch.
In 1993, he bumped his numbers up with 61 catches for 1,000 yards, with another 278 yards rushing (6.6 per carry) and almost 700 yards in the return game to finish the season with just shy of 2,000 total yards. He was what guys like Percy Harvin aspire to be, except he did it about ten years before it was cool.
1. Josh Reed, LSU (2000-2001)
The single most dominant wide receiver in modern SEC history.
Reed was misplaced as a tailback his freshman season in 1999, and turned pro after his junior year in 2001. So keep in mind that all of these numbers come from just two years of work.
First of all, he has the single greatest game in SEC history in both receptions (19) and yards (293) against Alabama in 2001. I watched that game, and it’s not like Alabama didn’t know where the ball was going most of the time. They simply couldn’t do anything about it.
Reed caught 94 passes (and won an SEC Championship) in 2001, which ranks as the second best total in SEC history. That was good for 1,740 yards, which is the best single season in SEC history by almost 400 yards. The year before, he caught 65 passes for 1,127 yards, which ranks in the Top 15 in SEC history.
Those two seasons, combined with some small change from 1999, give him 3,001 yards for his career. Terrence Edwards, a four year pass catcher at Georgia, would barely eclipse that number the following season to become the SEC’s all-time yardage leader, but there’s really no comparison between what Edwards did in four years and Reed did in two.
He’s the best (and in some cases, the only) example on this list of a guy who you had to circle on the depth chart going into the game, who you knew the ball was going to…and then who turned in sick performances anyway. In that 2001 season, he caught 94 passes while still averaging an all-time SEC record of 18.5 yards per catch over the course of the year.
Palmer may have had the hype, Peerless the biggest plays, Earl Bennett the most with the least around him, and other groups of guys who were terrific together or played with the best quarterbacks. But Josh Reed is the definitive total package, who took all of the above and rewrote the SEC record books in only two years. He is the best wide receiver in the modern era of SEC football.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Vols' Future Schedules
If you want to win a championship, better do it this year or next.
The majority of the 2010 schedule was released today, and while it certainly calms down in November (and goes back to the pre-'92 rotation of finishing the year with Ole Miss/Vandy/UK), it contains the most brutal September-October stretch I can ever remember the Vols playing. Tennessee had an agreement with Akron for the season opener, but that has fallen through and so they're seeking one additional opponent. Judging by the rest of them, I hope it's something light.
Here's a look at the schedules for the next three years:
2008
09/01 - at UCLA (Mon.)
09/06 - off week
09/13 - vs UAB
09/20 - vs Florida
09/27 - at Auburn
10/04 - vs Northern Illinois
10/11 - at Georgia
10/18 - vs Mississippi State
10/25 - vs Alabama
11/01 - at South Carolina
11/08 - vs Wyoming
11/15 - off week
11/22 - at Vanderbilt
11/29 - vs Kentucky
2009
09/05 - vs Western Kentucky
09/12 - vs UCLA
09/19 - at Florida
09/26 - vs Ohio
10/03 - vs Auburn
10/10 - vs Georgia
10/17 - off week
10/24 - at Alabama
10/31 - vs South Carolina
11/07 - vs Memphis
11/14 - at Ole Miss
11/21 - vs Vanderbilt
11/28 - at Kentucky
2010
09/04 - TBA
09/11 - vs Oregon
09/18 - vs Florida
09/25 - vs UAB
10/02 - at LSU
10/09 - at Georgia
10/16 - off week
10/23 - vs Alabama
10/30 - at South Carolina
11/06 - at Memphis
11/13 - vs Ole Miss
11/20 - at Vanderbilt
11/27 - vs Kentucky
The majority of the 2010 schedule was released today, and while it certainly calms down in November (and goes back to the pre-'92 rotation of finishing the year with Ole Miss/Vandy/UK), it contains the most brutal September-October stretch I can ever remember the Vols playing. Tennessee had an agreement with Akron for the season opener, but that has fallen through and so they're seeking one additional opponent. Judging by the rest of them, I hope it's something light.
Here's a look at the schedules for the next three years:
2008
09/01 - at UCLA (Mon.)
09/06 - off week
09/13 - vs UAB
09/20 - vs Florida
09/27 - at Auburn
10/04 - vs Northern Illinois
10/11 - at Georgia
10/18 - vs Mississippi State
10/25 - vs Alabama
11/01 - at South Carolina
11/08 - vs Wyoming
11/15 - off week
11/22 - at Vanderbilt
11/29 - vs Kentucky
2009
09/05 - vs Western Kentucky
09/12 - vs UCLA
09/19 - at Florida
09/26 - vs Ohio
10/03 - vs Auburn
10/10 - vs Georgia
10/17 - off week
10/24 - at Alabama
10/31 - vs South Carolina
11/07 - vs Memphis
11/14 - at Ole Miss
11/21 - vs Vanderbilt
11/28 - at Kentucky
2010
09/04 - TBA
09/11 - vs Oregon
09/18 - vs Florida
09/25 - vs UAB
10/02 - at LSU
10/09 - at Georgia
10/16 - off week
10/23 - vs Alabama
10/30 - at South Carolina
11/06 - at Memphis
11/13 - vs Ole Miss
11/20 - at Vanderbilt
11/27 - vs Kentucky
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Who's going to Media Days?...
Taking a break from NCAA 09, where my 4-0 start against online competition has taken a serious hit, and we now find ourselves humbled at 4-4...
In the real world, SEC Media Days, believe it or not, commence next week from Birmingham. Aside from the always entertaining picks for Preaseason All-SEC and the predicted order of finish, you'll get to hear sound bites from:
ALABAMA: OL Antonie Caldwell & S Rashad Johnson
ARKANSAS: C Jonathan Luigs & LB Elston Forte
AUBURN: C Jason Bosley & DE Sen'derrick Marks
FLORIDA: QB Tim Tebow & OT Phil Trautwein (where's the D, Urban?)
GEORGIA: WR Mohammed Massaquoi & DT Jeff Owens
KENTUCKY: WR Dicky Lyons & DE Jeremy Jarmon
LSU: C Brett Helms & DE Tyson Jackson
OLE MISS: OT Michael Oher & DT Peria Jerry
MISS. STATE: QB Wesley Carroll & LB Jamar Chaney
SOUTH CAROLINA: WR Kenny McKinnley & LB Jasper Brinkley
TENNESSEE: RB Arian Foster & DE Robert Ayers
VANDERBILT: WR George Smith & S Reshard Langford
What is this, an offensive linemen convention? Foster is the only tailback who'll get to take part in the festivities, while young Wes Carroll gets to be "that other quarterback". You can hear from Florida/MSU/LSU/Vandy on Wednesday, Bama/Georgia/Ole Miss/Tennessee on Thursday, and Auburn/Kentucky/Arkansas/Carolina on Friday.
The hot-button issue will be, I'm sure, Vanderbilt's decision to wear nine different uniform variations this fall. It's too late and there are too many jokes here for me to deal with them all at once. Show your gold, baby.
In the real world, SEC Media Days, believe it or not, commence next week from Birmingham. Aside from the always entertaining picks for Preaseason All-SEC and the predicted order of finish, you'll get to hear sound bites from:
ALABAMA: OL Antonie Caldwell & S Rashad Johnson
ARKANSAS: C Jonathan Luigs & LB Elston Forte
AUBURN: C Jason Bosley & DE Sen'derrick Marks
FLORIDA: QB Tim Tebow & OT Phil Trautwein (where's the D, Urban?)
GEORGIA: WR Mohammed Massaquoi & DT Jeff Owens
KENTUCKY: WR Dicky Lyons & DE Jeremy Jarmon
LSU: C Brett Helms & DE Tyson Jackson
OLE MISS: OT Michael Oher & DT Peria Jerry
MISS. STATE: QB Wesley Carroll & LB Jamar Chaney
SOUTH CAROLINA: WR Kenny McKinnley & LB Jasper Brinkley
TENNESSEE: RB Arian Foster & DE Robert Ayers
VANDERBILT: WR George Smith & S Reshard Langford
What is this, an offensive linemen convention? Foster is the only tailback who'll get to take part in the festivities, while young Wes Carroll gets to be "that other quarterback". You can hear from Florida/MSU/LSU/Vandy on Wednesday, Bama/Georgia/Ole Miss/Tennessee on Thursday, and Auburn/Kentucky/Arkansas/Carolina on Friday.
The hot-button issue will be, I'm sure, Vanderbilt's decision to wear nine different uniform variations this fall. It's too late and there are too many jokes here for me to deal with them all at once. Show your gold, baby.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
10 Years: The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers Part Nine - Upset Saturday '98
The final hurdle to clear before making reservations in Tempe was a second straight trip to the SEC Championship Game. The Vols were 11-0 and ranked No. 1, but had company - Kansas State and UCLA were also both undefeated and playing on this December Saturday.
The Wildcats were in the Big 12 Championship Game, and UCLA in a hurricane make-up contest against Miami. In the first year of the BCS, controversy was already on the table and waiting to rear its ugly head.
So-called experts had predicted that the Vols had enough of an advantage in the computer polls and strength of schedule, and if they beat Mississippi State, they should have enough to get in. But in the first year of this crazy system, who knew for sure?
The Vols played last on this day at 8:00 PM, and players and fans both pulled hard for either UCLA or Kansas State to fall beforehand to take all the guesswork out of the equation.
But what actually happened, I'm not sure anyone predicted, or wanted.
First, Miami won a shootout over the Bruins in a noon kickoff, sending both Vol and Wildcat fans into a frenzy. My Dad and I were driving down I-75 to Atlanta for the game, and managed to find the end of this one on the radio right as we pulled alongside another member of the Vol caravan to ATL, who we could see inside their car were also going crazy. I'm surprised more wrecks don't happen in moments like this one.
Controversy was avoided, and it would be Kansas State and Tennessee squaring off for the title, surely.
As the Big 12 Championship Game kicked off that afternoon, in Atlanta the Vols could focus solely on the task at hand: beating Mississippi State, winning the SEC for two straight years, and getting to Arizona.
The opponent was supposed to be Arkansas. When the Vols narrowly escaped the Hogs 28-24 in Knoxville three weeks before, all thoughts were set on a December rematch. But then Arkansas was a bit hungover from fumbling the game away against the Vols, and Jackie Sherrill's bunch caught them by surprise in the 4th quarter, stealing a victory and stealing the SEC West. And most Vol fans breathed a sigh of relief.
The matchup instead found Tennessee heavily favored and perhaps rightfully so, as Mississippi State was led by unknown Wayne Madkin at quarterback and prided itself on defense and special teams.
But those two factors would come up huge in the Georgia Dome.
Inside the building, this wasn't the fifty-fifty split the Vols had seen in this game the year before against Auburn. The '98 version was a glorified home game, with probably eighty-five percent of the crowd in orange, ready to see history. The fact that Atlanta is only three hours from Knoxville means that even last season, with LSU playing for a spot in the National Championship and Tennessee at 9-3 and playing for nothing more than the Sugar Bowl, the Vol faithful can show up in large numbers and invade the dome. On that night last December and on this one ten years ago, the Vols had the numbers and their faithful aimed to will the team to victory if need be.
The game was a defensive struggle from the beginning. On the day, Mississippi State's offense could do absolutely nothing - they finished with 84 yards passing and 65 yards rushing, a testament to the Vols' defensive supremacy.
But one of the most true Tennessee sayings I know is this: the Vols do not play well in the Georgia Dome.
Lifetime, Tennessee is 2-5 in the building between five SEC Championship Games and two Peach Bowl losses to Maryland and Clemson following the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Their two wins were of the fortunate kind: the '98 game we'll describe in further detail, and the '97 SEC Championship against Auburn, where the Vols turned it over six times and saw an extra point attempt blocked and ran back for a touchdown...and still somehow won 30-29.
The most heartbreaking loss in Tennessee history, for my money, was the 2001 SEC Championship Game, where the No. 2 Vols had a ticket punched for the Rose Bowl and a date with Miami for the title, and were up 17-7 on an LSU team playing without Rohan Davey and LaBrandon Toefield...
...and then watched LSU rally to tie and then take the lead, and when the Vols tried to answer late in the game, they had 1st and goal at the 4 and got only a field goal, then fumbled twice in the 4th quarter to seal the deal. I can't talk about this one anymore.
The Vols also ran into undefeated Auburn in 2004 and eventual National Champion LSU last season, and played fairly well in both games, but both times came up short.
Don't get me started on the basketball team in the Georgia Dome. Let's hope the tornado that hit it during the SEC Tournament took our bad vibes down in the process.
On this night in '98, despite the defensive heroics, the Vol offense kept Mississippi State in the game for three and a half quarters.
Near the end of the first, Tee Martin was intercepted, and the pick was returned 70 yards for a score. The Vols would score on consecutive drives in the second quarter, with a Travis Stephens plunge and a Jeff Hall field goal, to take a 10-7 lead.
It was around this time that it was announced that the Kansas State-Texas A&M Big 12 Championship had gone to overtime.
And in the next few minutes, after KSU was held to a field goal, the guy who lost out to Peyton Manning for the starting job in Knoxville four years earlier did his old school a favor. Brandon Stewart helped A&M get into the end zone and score a monumental upset. Kansas State was done.
The Vols were in the middle of their own fight at this point, but attention spans began to turn...instead of UCLA or Kansas State - two teams who went on to lose their bowl games and two teams I really think the Vols would've handled easily in Tempe - the choice of opponents would now be much more dangerous.
Sitting at home and I'm sure watching gleefully were Florida State and Ohio State at 10-1 each. And while the computers eventually chose the Noles, the point was that the opponent had suddenly become much more respectable and much more talented.
Whether they knew it or not, Florida State fans could celebrate once Texas A&M had sealed the win. But Ohio State fans still had a shot to get to the promised land too, because the Vols just couldn't put Mississippi State away...
In the third quarter, neither team could score, but Mississippi State's complete lack of offensive production didn't have many worried. As stated, 149 total yards. So as the clock ticked down in the 4th quarter, the Vols were simply trying to hang on.
That's when Kevin Prentiss made one of the best punt returns I've ever seen, showing great vision and patience along the sideline to stay in bounds twice when I think the Vol D assumed he was out and the play was dead. Prentiss would go 83 yards into the end zone, and in the blink of an eye, Tennessee was losing in the 4th quarter, 14-10.
They don't let them do it anymore, but Mississippi State's kickoff team used to have a little team dance-type thing they would do after the team had scored, when they were lined up to kick. It's a celebration penalty now, but back then it was cool to watch...and this one was especially vibrant.
The great thing about this is, were you worried here? Really? After having been through so much in '98, I think at this point the Vols knew.
With 8:43 when the ensuing drive started, after moving the ball across midfield Tee Martin went up top for Peerless Price, hanging in the pocket just long enough before firing down the sideline. Price made the grab and got a foot in for a 41 yard touchdown, and just like that Tennessee was back on top. Price would finish as MVP with 6 catches for 97 yards.
Still, 6:15 remained. But not to be outdone, the Vol D made something happen on the very next play from scrimmage.
Wayne Madkin was hit, fumbled, and the Vols recovered at the 26 yard line. And David Cutcliffe - in his last game as offensive coordinator before leaving for Ole Miss - went for the throat.
Tee Martin found Cedrick Wilson in the end zone on the very next play, and the game was done. The Vols led 24-14, and the defense did the rest.
When the final gun sounded, thoughts instantly went towards Arizona. But in the light of the chase for a National Championship, the impact of back-to-back SEC Championships may have been a bit lost.
Winning two SEC titles consecutively is a tremendous accomplishment, and the Vols have done it twice in the last twenty years, in 1989-1990, and again in 1997-1998. Only the Florida Gators can boast of such a feat in the same timespan.
And in the moment, this was the game that shut the door, the answered all the doubters, that put the Vols in full control of their own destiny. No matter the opponent, the ticket was punched and the Vols would be ready. This was the final stop on the road to Tempe.
The Wildcats were in the Big 12 Championship Game, and UCLA in a hurricane make-up contest against Miami. In the first year of the BCS, controversy was already on the table and waiting to rear its ugly head.
So-called experts had predicted that the Vols had enough of an advantage in the computer polls and strength of schedule, and if they beat Mississippi State, they should have enough to get in. But in the first year of this crazy system, who knew for sure?
The Vols played last on this day at 8:00 PM, and players and fans both pulled hard for either UCLA or Kansas State to fall beforehand to take all the guesswork out of the equation.
But what actually happened, I'm not sure anyone predicted, or wanted.
First, Miami won a shootout over the Bruins in a noon kickoff, sending both Vol and Wildcat fans into a frenzy. My Dad and I were driving down I-75 to Atlanta for the game, and managed to find the end of this one on the radio right as we pulled alongside another member of the Vol caravan to ATL, who we could see inside their car were also going crazy. I'm surprised more wrecks don't happen in moments like this one.
Controversy was avoided, and it would be Kansas State and Tennessee squaring off for the title, surely.
As the Big 12 Championship Game kicked off that afternoon, in Atlanta the Vols could focus solely on the task at hand: beating Mississippi State, winning the SEC for two straight years, and getting to Arizona.
The opponent was supposed to be Arkansas. When the Vols narrowly escaped the Hogs 28-24 in Knoxville three weeks before, all thoughts were set on a December rematch. But then Arkansas was a bit hungover from fumbling the game away against the Vols, and Jackie Sherrill's bunch caught them by surprise in the 4th quarter, stealing a victory and stealing the SEC West. And most Vol fans breathed a sigh of relief.
The matchup instead found Tennessee heavily favored and perhaps rightfully so, as Mississippi State was led by unknown Wayne Madkin at quarterback and prided itself on defense and special teams.
But those two factors would come up huge in the Georgia Dome.
Inside the building, this wasn't the fifty-fifty split the Vols had seen in this game the year before against Auburn. The '98 version was a glorified home game, with probably eighty-five percent of the crowd in orange, ready to see history. The fact that Atlanta is only three hours from Knoxville means that even last season, with LSU playing for a spot in the National Championship and Tennessee at 9-3 and playing for nothing more than the Sugar Bowl, the Vol faithful can show up in large numbers and invade the dome. On that night last December and on this one ten years ago, the Vols had the numbers and their faithful aimed to will the team to victory if need be.
The game was a defensive struggle from the beginning. On the day, Mississippi State's offense could do absolutely nothing - they finished with 84 yards passing and 65 yards rushing, a testament to the Vols' defensive supremacy.
But one of the most true Tennessee sayings I know is this: the Vols do not play well in the Georgia Dome.
Lifetime, Tennessee is 2-5 in the building between five SEC Championship Games and two Peach Bowl losses to Maryland and Clemson following the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Their two wins were of the fortunate kind: the '98 game we'll describe in further detail, and the '97 SEC Championship against Auburn, where the Vols turned it over six times and saw an extra point attempt blocked and ran back for a touchdown...and still somehow won 30-29.
The most heartbreaking loss in Tennessee history, for my money, was the 2001 SEC Championship Game, where the No. 2 Vols had a ticket punched for the Rose Bowl and a date with Miami for the title, and were up 17-7 on an LSU team playing without Rohan Davey and LaBrandon Toefield...
...and then watched LSU rally to tie and then take the lead, and when the Vols tried to answer late in the game, they had 1st and goal at the 4 and got only a field goal, then fumbled twice in the 4th quarter to seal the deal. I can't talk about this one anymore.
The Vols also ran into undefeated Auburn in 2004 and eventual National Champion LSU last season, and played fairly well in both games, but both times came up short.
Don't get me started on the basketball team in the Georgia Dome. Let's hope the tornado that hit it during the SEC Tournament took our bad vibes down in the process.
On this night in '98, despite the defensive heroics, the Vol offense kept Mississippi State in the game for three and a half quarters.
Near the end of the first, Tee Martin was intercepted, and the pick was returned 70 yards for a score. The Vols would score on consecutive drives in the second quarter, with a Travis Stephens plunge and a Jeff Hall field goal, to take a 10-7 lead.
It was around this time that it was announced that the Kansas State-Texas A&M Big 12 Championship had gone to overtime.
And in the next few minutes, after KSU was held to a field goal, the guy who lost out to Peyton Manning for the starting job in Knoxville four years earlier did his old school a favor. Brandon Stewart helped A&M get into the end zone and score a monumental upset. Kansas State was done.
The Vols were in the middle of their own fight at this point, but attention spans began to turn...instead of UCLA or Kansas State - two teams who went on to lose their bowl games and two teams I really think the Vols would've handled easily in Tempe - the choice of opponents would now be much more dangerous.
Sitting at home and I'm sure watching gleefully were Florida State and Ohio State at 10-1 each. And while the computers eventually chose the Noles, the point was that the opponent had suddenly become much more respectable and much more talented.
Whether they knew it or not, Florida State fans could celebrate once Texas A&M had sealed the win. But Ohio State fans still had a shot to get to the promised land too, because the Vols just couldn't put Mississippi State away...
In the third quarter, neither team could score, but Mississippi State's complete lack of offensive production didn't have many worried. As stated, 149 total yards. So as the clock ticked down in the 4th quarter, the Vols were simply trying to hang on.
That's when Kevin Prentiss made one of the best punt returns I've ever seen, showing great vision and patience along the sideline to stay in bounds twice when I think the Vol D assumed he was out and the play was dead. Prentiss would go 83 yards into the end zone, and in the blink of an eye, Tennessee was losing in the 4th quarter, 14-10.
They don't let them do it anymore, but Mississippi State's kickoff team used to have a little team dance-type thing they would do after the team had scored, when they were lined up to kick. It's a celebration penalty now, but back then it was cool to watch...and this one was especially vibrant.
The great thing about this is, were you worried here? Really? After having been through so much in '98, I think at this point the Vols knew.
With 8:43 when the ensuing drive started, after moving the ball across midfield Tee Martin went up top for Peerless Price, hanging in the pocket just long enough before firing down the sideline. Price made the grab and got a foot in for a 41 yard touchdown, and just like that Tennessee was back on top. Price would finish as MVP with 6 catches for 97 yards.
Still, 6:15 remained. But not to be outdone, the Vol D made something happen on the very next play from scrimmage.
Wayne Madkin was hit, fumbled, and the Vols recovered at the 26 yard line. And David Cutcliffe - in his last game as offensive coordinator before leaving for Ole Miss - went for the throat.
Tee Martin found Cedrick Wilson in the end zone on the very next play, and the game was done. The Vols led 24-14, and the defense did the rest.
When the final gun sounded, thoughts instantly went towards Arizona. But in the light of the chase for a National Championship, the impact of back-to-back SEC Championships may have been a bit lost.
Winning two SEC titles consecutively is a tremendous accomplishment, and the Vols have done it twice in the last twenty years, in 1989-1990, and again in 1997-1998. Only the Florida Gators can boast of such a feat in the same timespan.
And in the moment, this was the game that shut the door, the answered all the doubters, that put the Vols in full control of their own destiny. No matter the opponent, the ticket was punched and the Vols would be ready. This was the final stop on the road to Tempe.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Big Orange Roundtable - Week 2
The Big Orange Roundtable continues this week - you can check out all the contributing blogs anytime in the links column to your right, and check back here throughout the week each time, where we'll be linking to everyone's answers on this post. All of us read and encourage your comments on all of our sites as we answer these questions, so feel free to play along...With that said, here's Week 2, with the questions coming from The Power T:
1. A position of strength for the Vols this fall should be wide receivers. Which 2 guys will emerge from the pack to start the opener against UCLA alongside Lucas Taylor? Why?
Gerald Jones is the wild card here - Dave Clawson said this in part of an interview that Third Saturday also mentioned: "Who’s our go-to wideout? Is it Gerald Jones or is it Lucas Taylor? Lucas was hurt during the spring. He nor Austin Rogers were out there, so you really don’t know until you get to preseason practice."
Now, I know we're trying to get the ball to the playmakers...but let's keep something in mind:
TENNESSEE 2007 RECEIVING STATS
Lucas Taylor - 73 catches, 1000 yards, 5 TDs
Austin Rogers - 56 catches, 624 yards, 4 TDs
Josh Briscoe - 56 catches, 557 yards, 6 TDs
Gerald Jones - 11 catches, 111 yards, 1 TD
Now, if you're into this sort of thing, you could take those numbers and make a bad joke about Gerald Jones being "The One". Or you could realize that Jones got a lot of publicity for the G-Gun, one catch at Kentucky and all of his potential...but the on-field result shows three guys who are all proven threats and will demand respect from the defense when they're on the field together. Jones I think will ultimately be a much greater factor in the 2008 offense, from both the G-Gun and the WR spot. But right off the bat in the first game of the season? I think you'll see Rogers and Briscoe alongside Lucas Taylor to start things off.
2. Which game on the schedule do you, as a fan, need Tennessee to win for your own sanity and happiness? Why?
Florida - but not because they're our divisional rival or our "most important game". And let's be clear: Alabama is the Eternal King of Tennessee Football Rivalries.
But the Gators have won three straight against the Vols. Bama's win hurt last year; Florida's hurt more - the 59-20 woodshed treatment was the worst loss the Vols have taken in my lifetime. And it seems like just when we got comfortable with Florida, winning three of four from 2001-2004 after the Gators took seven of eight, now they're one win away from rightfully asserting that "own" word on the Vols. And plus, it means Urban Meyer is still undefeated against Phillip Fulmer.
Losing to Bama will always hurt, and if we do we'll have to deal with more Nick Saban propaganda I'm sure. But if the Vols can't bust this Florida streak, it's going to feel just like old times around Knoxville. And I for one would like to be rid of my fear of Florida once and for all.
3. What are your thoughts on the 8-win clause in Coach Fulmer's new contract that automatically rolls his contract over another year if he wins 8 games in a season?
If any of us passionately defend this, I'll be stunned.
I don't care that the contract makes us a punchline among SEC and even national circles...though I'm sure that'll be used against us in recruiting as a poster for mediocrity. And I do like Fulmer and always have, have never called for his head and like the idea that he can, in turn, use the contract to ensure recruits that he'll still be around.
But here's the thing - if the Vols do win just 8 games a year, after about two years of that, we're all going to be screaming for Fulmer's head.
And what's more - and this is the part that makes absolutely no sense to me - it's below the standard. Fulmer averages 9.5 wins a year. I've read that the contract says "eight wins in the regular season" - okay, well Fulmer averages 8.8 wins a year in the regular season. So we're rewarding him for doing worse than usual?
Even if this thing said "9 wins a year", I'd be uncomfortable with it. I like him as our coach and hope he gets to stay as long as he wants, both because I feel he's earned it and because I think he's still good at everything involved with being the head coach at the University of Tennessee...but this contract doesn't make any sense and lowers the bar, which I'm always against. Hopefully, we stay north of 10 wins and this doesn't become an issue. But if it's 8-4 in 2008, this becomes expensive gasoline on the fire.
4. What is your favorite gameday recipe, whether for tailgating or in your own kitchen? Explain why in delicious detail.
Offering the single guy perspective...let's just say I don't have many delicious details. And since I've been 3.5 hours east of Knoxville for the past two seasons and always have to leave right after the game to come back home, I usually work with a shorter time window on Saturdays and almost never tailgate.
The best recipe in my own kitchen would be to pick up the phone and call Calhoun's, and pick it up a half hour later. Because that is the one place I miss the most among Knoxville eateries, and anytime you're there on the river it feels like football.
5. You have a tag team championship match against the Legion of Doom coming up. Which current Volunteer do you choose as your tag team partner? Why?
Rico McCoy, and here's why:
If it were wrestling, we'd call that "the spine on the pine."
Check out the Week 2 responses directly from:
- The Power T
- Third Saturday in Blogtober
- YMSWWC
- Moondog Sports
- Rocky Top Talk
- Gate 21
- Fulmer's Belly
- Losers with Socks
Saturday, July 12, 2008
SEC Football: Top 10 Defenses (1992-2007)
As part of looking back during the 10th Anniversary of the ’98 Vols and their National Championship – a team that featured excellence in the backfield and on defense – earlier we ranked the Top 10 Rushing Offenses in the SEC’s modern era, since expansion in 1992. Today we turn our attention to the defensive side of the football, and look at the best defensive units here in the same era.
A couple of ground rules: no consecutive seasons were included because often the personnel is virtually the same. So you won’t see ’93 Alabama or ’07 LSU, for example, because we went with one of the adjacent years. And unlike the rushing offenses piece, where we used NFL success to help rank the tandems, with defenses you’re talking about eleven guys instead of just two or three, and their ability to work as a unit is what makes the defense great, so we placed almost no emphasis on the NFL or name value. However, like the previous piece, a team’s on-field success is factored into the rankings. And obviously, the numbers were crunched, especially scoring defense and total yardage.
And so away we go…
Top 10 SEC Defenses – 1992-2007
10. 2002 Georgia (15.4 PPG allowed, 13-1 SEC Champions)
Key Players: DE David Pollack, DT Jonathan Sullivan, LB Boss Bailey, LB Tony Gilbert, FS Kentrell Curry
In Mark Richt’s second season, the Dawgs took lofty preseason expectations and made the most of them, running the table outside of their usual struggles with Florida. It was Georgia’s first SEC Championship in 20 years and their first ever East Division title. This was a team that improved over the season – their worst defensive performance was in the opener against Clemson, which would be the first and last time they’d surrender four touchdowns in one game all year. Along the way, the defense carried them to a 13-7 win over South Carolina and an 18-13 win over Tennessee. Then they dominated late, providing the most lopsided win in program history against Georgia Tech 51-7, completely putting the brakes on Arkansas in the SEC Championship 30-3, and then using an interception return for a TD to key a 26-13 win over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. David Pollack was the 2002 SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
9. 1998 Florida (13.8 PPG allowed, 10-2 BCS at-large)
Key Players: DT Reggie McGrew, LB Jevon Kearse, LB Mike Peterson, LB Johnny Rutledge, FS Tony George
The defenses on the Danny Wuerffel Gator teams were really good too, but for my money this one was better, bolstered by the fact that they had to do so much more work without inflated offensive numbers in 1998. Against the Vols, they played well enough to get the game to overtime despite five Gator turnovers. Against Florida State in their only other loss on the year, a fluke tipped pass turned the whole game around, but this UF defense played well enough to win every single game. In between, they completely shut down Auburn (24-3) and Georgia (38-7), and finished off the year by taking care of Donovan McNabb and Syracuse 31-10 in the Orange Bowl. Kearse led the way with 7.5 sacks and George with 4 INTs. Aside from the No. 1 team on this list, I’d fear this defense the most if I saw them again.
8. 1994 Alabama (15.1 PPG allowed, 12-1 SEC West Champions)
Key Players: DE Dameian Jeffries, SS Sam Shade
Oft forgotten is the 1994 Crimson Tide season, the last hurrah of Jay Barker and his “no matter what we’re going to win this game” offense coupled with some of the last vestiges from the ’92 Championship defense. The Tide ran to an 11-0 start behind especially dominating performances against Southern Miss (a 14-6 save for the defense), Tennessee (17-13 with a last second goal line stop), and 21-14 against Auburn in an Iron Bowl for the ages. The Tide broke only once, to Danny Wuerffel late in the SEC Championship Game, 24-23. They rebounded to shut down Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl 24-17. They carried their offense more than teams like ’02 Georgia, which is why they’re slightly higher on the list.
7. 2005 Alabama (10.7 PPG allowed, 10-2 Cotton Bowl)
Key Players: DE Mark Anderson, LB DeMeco Ryans, LB Freddie Roach, FS Roman Harper
The little defense that could…based on total points per game allowed, this is the second best defense of the modern era. This Tide team ran to 9-0 behind this defense and clutch kicking after being bolstered by Tyrone Protho’s catch against Southern Miss in the second game of the season; after that game the defense went on one of the best stretches in SEC history. Alabama beat South Carolina 37-14 and Arkansas 24-13 before they made the nation stand up and take note with the 31-3 decimation of No. 5 Florida. The defensive literally won the game against the Vols, keeping Tennessee at bay the entire game and getting a Tennessee fumble thru the end zone when it looked like they’d finally crack in an eventual 6-3 victory. And the D got the game to overtime against LSU before finally falling in an equally low scoring affair 16-13. Though Auburn got the best of them, they finished the year by locking down Texas Tech in a 13-10 Cotton Bowl win. No other defense on this list did more winning with less contribution from the offense.
6. 2006 LSU (12.6 PPG allowed, 11-2 BCS at-large)
Key Players: DE Tyson Jackson, DE Chase Pittman, DT Glenn Dorsey, DT Rickey Jean-Francois, LB Ali Highsmith, FS LaRon Landry
The ’07 National Champion defense was good, but this one was better. Interestingly enough, though they played with eventual No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell, like ’98 Florida they played well enough to win every game but didn’t get the breaks they needed from their offense. The two losses on the year came at Auburn 7-3, and at Florida 23-10 thanks to turnovers. Aside from that, the Tigers rolled behind a defense that finished fourth nationally with one of the best career defensive line units in SEC history and the all-everything Landry. They really showed their worth in the Sugar Bowl, crushing Brady Quinn and Notre Dame 41-14.
5. 2004 Auburn (11.3 PPG allowed, 13-0 SEC Champions)
Key Players: DT Stanley McClover, LB Travis Williams, CB Carlos Rogers, FS Junior Rosegreen
The perfect example of a great offense and a great defense coming together at the right time (even though 2004 turned into the wrong time in the BCS). After carrying the team to a 10-9 win over LSU in September, the Tigers and their defense weren’t threatened again until the final game of the season in the Iron Bowl. They had a field day in Knoxville with a 34-10 win and held a great Georgia offense to six points. Things got a bit dicey in their final three, but they were up to the task against Alabama 21-13, then had a strange off day against Tennessee in the SEC Championship, but their offense was up to the task in a 38-28 win. And when their offense needed them to return the favor, they delivered in a 16-13 win over Virginia Tech. You would’ve loved to seen this defense go up against USC’s offense, but alas…
4. 1998 Tennessee (14.5 PPG allowed, 13-0 National Champions)
Key Players: DE Shaun Ellis, DT Darwin Walker, LB Al Wilson, LB Raynoch Thompson, CB Dwayne Goodrich, FS Deon Grant
After a tough day against Syracuse in the opener, the Vols put the clamps down and carried an offense featuring a completely inexperienced backfield to perfection. They forced five turnovers and five sacks against Florida, kept Auburn out of the end zone with a goal line stand in a 17-9 win, got four turnovers in a 22-3 decimation of Georgia, and the list goes on. While Arkansas got the best of them in the first half, they held the Pigs to a field goal in the second, then helped build a 59-7 lead on Tim Couch and Kentucky before retiring to the backups. In the SEC Championship Game against Mississippi State, they surrendered less than 160 yards of total offense and allowed no offensive touchdowns. And with it all on the line, they forced three turnovers (including a Goodrich INT for six) and held Peter Warrick to one catch for seven yards in the National Championship. The NFL pedigrees of several of these players have also played out well over time. The backbone of perfection.
3. 2006 Florida (13.5 PPG allowed, 13-1 National Champions)
Key Players: DE Derrick Harvey, DT Ray McDonald, LB Brandon Siler, LB Earl Everett, CB Ryan Smith, FS Reggie Nelson
No team on this list has asked its defense to step up and come through in crucial situations more than the ’06 National Champions. And the Gators always provided. Tennessee’s complete inability to run the football on them (negative rushing yards for the day) paved the way for a 21-20 win in Knoxville. They locked down JaMarcus Russell and LSU 23-10. Even in the loss to Auburn, they played well enough to win; the Tigers got a safety plus two touchdowns off a fumble and a blocked punt to contribute to their 27 points. Right back to work against Georgia, they surrendered only 14 points. The list goes on: 25-19 over Vanderbilt, 17-16 over South Carolina, 21-14 over FSU. Arkansas appeared to expose them by scoring 28 in the SEC Championship, but all the questions were answered in one of the most dominant championship defensive performances of all-time. Against Heisman winner Troy Smith and undefeated Ohio State, the Gators held Ohio State to an absurd 82 yards of total offense en route to a 41-14 win. In all, the ’06 Gators played five games that were decided by one possession and another four that were still much in dispute in the 4th quarter, which obviously doesn’t include the National Championship. This defense delivered time and again.
2. 2003 LSU (11.0 PPG allowed, 13-1 National Champions)
Key Players: DE Marcus Spears, DE Marquise Hill, DT Chad Lavalais, DT Melvin Oliver, CB Corey Webster
While the ’06-’08 LSU defensive line is incredibly good, these guys are one step above them. The Tigers continued their struggles against Florida in 2003, losing 19-7 in a game that appeared to knock them from the National Championship race. But their complete decimation of Auburn (31-7) in the coming weeks put them back in it, which was followed by a November stretch that saw them dominate Alabama 27-3 and then shut down Eli Manning in the de facto SEC West Championship game 17-14. In a rematch against No. 5 Georgia in the SEC Championship of a game the Tigers had won 17-10 in Baton Rouge, LSU completely dominated 34-13. They rose to No. 2 in the BCS and got the opportunity to face Oklahoma in the friendly Sugar Bowl confines, which they took advantage of in a 21-14 win that saw this LSU defense put the clamps on Heisman winner Jason White.
1. 1992 Alabama (9.4 PPG allowed, 13-0 National Champions)
Key Players: DE John Copeland, DE Eric Curry, LB Lemanski Hall, LB Michael Rogers, LB Antonio London, CB Antonio Langham, CB George Teague, SS Sam Shade
There’s a lot of debate on some of these, I’m sure – you can really interchange ’03 LSU and ’06 Florida because they’re so similar and both have the dominant title game performances. 98 Tennessee and 04 Auburn were both undefeated with incredible defenses. But if you even begin to argue against 92 Alabama at the top of this list, you either didn’t see them play, or you can’t do math.
Copeland and Curry is easily the best defensive end tandem in modern SEC history, if not all SEC history; they each had 10.5 sacks on the season. And you can argue Langham and Teague for best corner duo in SEC history, as they each had six interceptions. The worst thing I can say about them would be to make a joke about Langham, but he was still agent-free in 1992.
While their offense would struggle at times, it was always steadied by Jay Barker with a dose of playmaking from David “The Deuce is Loose” Palmer. True story: it took me several episodes to be okay with 24 because I so disliked the fact that the President of the United States shared The Deuce’s name.
While the offense was putting it together, the defense was impenetrable from day one. Entering the showdown with Heath Shuler and the Top 10 Vols on the Third Saturday in October 1992, what was considered to be a relatively untested Alabama defense had given up 36 points in 6 games. The Vols broke the bank and scored 10…but a late turnover sealed a 17-10 Bama win.
None of the games on their schedule really stand out, because the defense dominated them all. They shut out Auburn in the Iron Bowl to clinch 11-0, then got torched by Shane Matthews for 21 points and 317 total yards in the SEC Championship. Bama still won 28-21. It was the second time all season the Tide had allowed more than 20 points (Miss. State also got 21) and the first time they’d given up more than 300 yards. Insane.
Then, when a team thought to have no offense and a defense that was still somehow underrated by the nation at large went to play fast and loose No. 1 Miami in the Sugar Bowl, this team sealed their place with a 34-13 woodshed job to win it all with George Teague making a name for himself.
More insane stats? Most rushing yards allowed all season: 138 (to Vanderbilt, of all people). Most passing yards allowed all season: Matthews' 287. They forced seven fumbles against South Carolina and shut out three opponents.
They were simply the best…and in today’s ever-faster game, I may live to be 100 and never see a better defense. Accept no substitutes.
A couple of ground rules: no consecutive seasons were included because often the personnel is virtually the same. So you won’t see ’93 Alabama or ’07 LSU, for example, because we went with one of the adjacent years. And unlike the rushing offenses piece, where we used NFL success to help rank the tandems, with defenses you’re talking about eleven guys instead of just two or three, and their ability to work as a unit is what makes the defense great, so we placed almost no emphasis on the NFL or name value. However, like the previous piece, a team’s on-field success is factored into the rankings. And obviously, the numbers were crunched, especially scoring defense and total yardage.
And so away we go…
Top 10 SEC Defenses – 1992-2007
10. 2002 Georgia (15.4 PPG allowed, 13-1 SEC Champions)
Key Players: DE David Pollack, DT Jonathan Sullivan, LB Boss Bailey, LB Tony Gilbert, FS Kentrell Curry
In Mark Richt’s second season, the Dawgs took lofty preseason expectations and made the most of them, running the table outside of their usual struggles with Florida. It was Georgia’s first SEC Championship in 20 years and their first ever East Division title. This was a team that improved over the season – their worst defensive performance was in the opener against Clemson, which would be the first and last time they’d surrender four touchdowns in one game all year. Along the way, the defense carried them to a 13-7 win over South Carolina and an 18-13 win over Tennessee. Then they dominated late, providing the most lopsided win in program history against Georgia Tech 51-7, completely putting the brakes on Arkansas in the SEC Championship 30-3, and then using an interception return for a TD to key a 26-13 win over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. David Pollack was the 2002 SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
9. 1998 Florida (13.8 PPG allowed, 10-2 BCS at-large)
Key Players: DT Reggie McGrew, LB Jevon Kearse, LB Mike Peterson, LB Johnny Rutledge, FS Tony George
The defenses on the Danny Wuerffel Gator teams were really good too, but for my money this one was better, bolstered by the fact that they had to do so much more work without inflated offensive numbers in 1998. Against the Vols, they played well enough to get the game to overtime despite five Gator turnovers. Against Florida State in their only other loss on the year, a fluke tipped pass turned the whole game around, but this UF defense played well enough to win every single game. In between, they completely shut down Auburn (24-3) and Georgia (38-7), and finished off the year by taking care of Donovan McNabb and Syracuse 31-10 in the Orange Bowl. Kearse led the way with 7.5 sacks and George with 4 INTs. Aside from the No. 1 team on this list, I’d fear this defense the most if I saw them again.
8. 1994 Alabama (15.1 PPG allowed, 12-1 SEC West Champions)
Key Players: DE Dameian Jeffries, SS Sam Shade
Oft forgotten is the 1994 Crimson Tide season, the last hurrah of Jay Barker and his “no matter what we’re going to win this game” offense coupled with some of the last vestiges from the ’92 Championship defense. The Tide ran to an 11-0 start behind especially dominating performances against Southern Miss (a 14-6 save for the defense), Tennessee (17-13 with a last second goal line stop), and 21-14 against Auburn in an Iron Bowl for the ages. The Tide broke only once, to Danny Wuerffel late in the SEC Championship Game, 24-23. They rebounded to shut down Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl 24-17. They carried their offense more than teams like ’02 Georgia, which is why they’re slightly higher on the list.
7. 2005 Alabama (10.7 PPG allowed, 10-2 Cotton Bowl)
Key Players: DE Mark Anderson, LB DeMeco Ryans, LB Freddie Roach, FS Roman Harper
The little defense that could…based on total points per game allowed, this is the second best defense of the modern era. This Tide team ran to 9-0 behind this defense and clutch kicking after being bolstered by Tyrone Protho’s catch against Southern Miss in the second game of the season; after that game the defense went on one of the best stretches in SEC history. Alabama beat South Carolina 37-14 and Arkansas 24-13 before they made the nation stand up and take note with the 31-3 decimation of No. 5 Florida. The defensive literally won the game against the Vols, keeping Tennessee at bay the entire game and getting a Tennessee fumble thru the end zone when it looked like they’d finally crack in an eventual 6-3 victory. And the D got the game to overtime against LSU before finally falling in an equally low scoring affair 16-13. Though Auburn got the best of them, they finished the year by locking down Texas Tech in a 13-10 Cotton Bowl win. No other defense on this list did more winning with less contribution from the offense.
6. 2006 LSU (12.6 PPG allowed, 11-2 BCS at-large)
Key Players: DE Tyson Jackson, DE Chase Pittman, DT Glenn Dorsey, DT Rickey Jean-Francois, LB Ali Highsmith, FS LaRon Landry
The ’07 National Champion defense was good, but this one was better. Interestingly enough, though they played with eventual No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell, like ’98 Florida they played well enough to win every game but didn’t get the breaks they needed from their offense. The two losses on the year came at Auburn 7-3, and at Florida 23-10 thanks to turnovers. Aside from that, the Tigers rolled behind a defense that finished fourth nationally with one of the best career defensive line units in SEC history and the all-everything Landry. They really showed their worth in the Sugar Bowl, crushing Brady Quinn and Notre Dame 41-14.
5. 2004 Auburn (11.3 PPG allowed, 13-0 SEC Champions)
Key Players: DT Stanley McClover, LB Travis Williams, CB Carlos Rogers, FS Junior Rosegreen
The perfect example of a great offense and a great defense coming together at the right time (even though 2004 turned into the wrong time in the BCS). After carrying the team to a 10-9 win over LSU in September, the Tigers and their defense weren’t threatened again until the final game of the season in the Iron Bowl. They had a field day in Knoxville with a 34-10 win and held a great Georgia offense to six points. Things got a bit dicey in their final three, but they were up to the task against Alabama 21-13, then had a strange off day against Tennessee in the SEC Championship, but their offense was up to the task in a 38-28 win. And when their offense needed them to return the favor, they delivered in a 16-13 win over Virginia Tech. You would’ve loved to seen this defense go up against USC’s offense, but alas…
4. 1998 Tennessee (14.5 PPG allowed, 13-0 National Champions)
Key Players: DE Shaun Ellis, DT Darwin Walker, LB Al Wilson, LB Raynoch Thompson, CB Dwayne Goodrich, FS Deon Grant
After a tough day against Syracuse in the opener, the Vols put the clamps down and carried an offense featuring a completely inexperienced backfield to perfection. They forced five turnovers and five sacks against Florida, kept Auburn out of the end zone with a goal line stand in a 17-9 win, got four turnovers in a 22-3 decimation of Georgia, and the list goes on. While Arkansas got the best of them in the first half, they held the Pigs to a field goal in the second, then helped build a 59-7 lead on Tim Couch and Kentucky before retiring to the backups. In the SEC Championship Game against Mississippi State, they surrendered less than 160 yards of total offense and allowed no offensive touchdowns. And with it all on the line, they forced three turnovers (including a Goodrich INT for six) and held Peter Warrick to one catch for seven yards in the National Championship. The NFL pedigrees of several of these players have also played out well over time. The backbone of perfection.
3. 2006 Florida (13.5 PPG allowed, 13-1 National Champions)
Key Players: DE Derrick Harvey, DT Ray McDonald, LB Brandon Siler, LB Earl Everett, CB Ryan Smith, FS Reggie Nelson
No team on this list has asked its defense to step up and come through in crucial situations more than the ’06 National Champions. And the Gators always provided. Tennessee’s complete inability to run the football on them (negative rushing yards for the day) paved the way for a 21-20 win in Knoxville. They locked down JaMarcus Russell and LSU 23-10. Even in the loss to Auburn, they played well enough to win; the Tigers got a safety plus two touchdowns off a fumble and a blocked punt to contribute to their 27 points. Right back to work against Georgia, they surrendered only 14 points. The list goes on: 25-19 over Vanderbilt, 17-16 over South Carolina, 21-14 over FSU. Arkansas appeared to expose them by scoring 28 in the SEC Championship, but all the questions were answered in one of the most dominant championship defensive performances of all-time. Against Heisman winner Troy Smith and undefeated Ohio State, the Gators held Ohio State to an absurd 82 yards of total offense en route to a 41-14 win. In all, the ’06 Gators played five games that were decided by one possession and another four that were still much in dispute in the 4th quarter, which obviously doesn’t include the National Championship. This defense delivered time and again.
2. 2003 LSU (11.0 PPG allowed, 13-1 National Champions)
Key Players: DE Marcus Spears, DE Marquise Hill, DT Chad Lavalais, DT Melvin Oliver, CB Corey Webster
While the ’06-’08 LSU defensive line is incredibly good, these guys are one step above them. The Tigers continued their struggles against Florida in 2003, losing 19-7 in a game that appeared to knock them from the National Championship race. But their complete decimation of Auburn (31-7) in the coming weeks put them back in it, which was followed by a November stretch that saw them dominate Alabama 27-3 and then shut down Eli Manning in the de facto SEC West Championship game 17-14. In a rematch against No. 5 Georgia in the SEC Championship of a game the Tigers had won 17-10 in Baton Rouge, LSU completely dominated 34-13. They rose to No. 2 in the BCS and got the opportunity to face Oklahoma in the friendly Sugar Bowl confines, which they took advantage of in a 21-14 win that saw this LSU defense put the clamps on Heisman winner Jason White.
1. 1992 Alabama (9.4 PPG allowed, 13-0 National Champions)
Key Players: DE John Copeland, DE Eric Curry, LB Lemanski Hall, LB Michael Rogers, LB Antonio London, CB Antonio Langham, CB George Teague, SS Sam Shade
There’s a lot of debate on some of these, I’m sure – you can really interchange ’03 LSU and ’06 Florida because they’re so similar and both have the dominant title game performances. 98 Tennessee and 04 Auburn were both undefeated with incredible defenses. But if you even begin to argue against 92 Alabama at the top of this list, you either didn’t see them play, or you can’t do math.
Copeland and Curry is easily the best defensive end tandem in modern SEC history, if not all SEC history; they each had 10.5 sacks on the season. And you can argue Langham and Teague for best corner duo in SEC history, as they each had six interceptions. The worst thing I can say about them would be to make a joke about Langham, but he was still agent-free in 1992.
While their offense would struggle at times, it was always steadied by Jay Barker with a dose of playmaking from David “The Deuce is Loose” Palmer. True story: it took me several episodes to be okay with 24 because I so disliked the fact that the President of the United States shared The Deuce’s name.
While the offense was putting it together, the defense was impenetrable from day one. Entering the showdown with Heath Shuler and the Top 10 Vols on the Third Saturday in October 1992, what was considered to be a relatively untested Alabama defense had given up 36 points in 6 games. The Vols broke the bank and scored 10…but a late turnover sealed a 17-10 Bama win.
None of the games on their schedule really stand out, because the defense dominated them all. They shut out Auburn in the Iron Bowl to clinch 11-0, then got torched by Shane Matthews for 21 points and 317 total yards in the SEC Championship. Bama still won 28-21. It was the second time all season the Tide had allowed more than 20 points (Miss. State also got 21) and the first time they’d given up more than 300 yards. Insane.
Then, when a team thought to have no offense and a defense that was still somehow underrated by the nation at large went to play fast and loose No. 1 Miami in the Sugar Bowl, this team sealed their place with a 34-13 woodshed job to win it all with George Teague making a name for himself.
More insane stats? Most rushing yards allowed all season: 138 (to Vanderbilt, of all people). Most passing yards allowed all season: Matthews' 287. They forced seven fumbles against South Carolina and shut out three opponents.
They were simply the best…and in today’s ever-faster game, I may live to be 100 and never see a better defense. Accept no substitutes.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Random Thoughts - Friday July 11
With special thanks to lawvol at Gate 21.net for our fancy new logo...
The CBS College Sports Network is my new favorite thing
The problem with ESPN Classic, aside from their weird desire to show old poker "highlights" and obscure Wide World of Sports moments, is that they're both trying to cover the entire sports landscape, and they're tied into ABC/ESPN. So while you can sometimes catch a classic Tennessee football game on there once in a blue moon, my TiVo suggests that ratio is usually multiple repeat showings of the '99 Fiesta Bowl (which is worthless if you already own it on DVD) and only two or three other games a year. Since CBS has had the SEC rights since 1996, most of the very best Tennessee games since then never find their way to ESPN Classic.
Enter CBS College Sports Network.
I knew CBS had bought the old CSTV, but hadn't heard any of what they were doing with it. Then I hear from my grandfather that, while trying to find the umpteenth (and still entertaining) repeat of Game 4 of the NBA Finals on NBATV - Channel 610 on DirecTV - he accidentally skipped over to 613, the CBS College Sports Network...and found the '96 Vols playing right in front of his eyes.
TiVos at the ready, boys and girls...because just about anything you've ever wanted to see in recent Vols history is probably going to be before you in the next seven weeks.
At this very moment, I'm watching (for the first time since being present in the Georgia Dome) the SEC Championship Game from last season. And this may be a positive for some and a negative for others, but CBSCSN doesn't do what ESPN Classic does and hack the game down to 90 minutes - they're showing every single play in three or four glorious hours, depending on what you want to see.
And the thing is, "CBS College Sports" are essentially the SEC and March Madness. All kinds of goodness going on here. In the fall, based on the ads I'm seeing, I think they're going to be the home for Conference USA Football.
This weekend concludes "Championship Week" on the network, where they're showing the best of the SEC Championships and March Madness. But starting next week and running through kickoff, they're going heavily towards college football...which means they're going almost exclusively to SEC football.
And in the meantime...they're planning on showing every single game from the 2008 NCAA Men's Tournament starting July 21, which means at some point in there you can catch the Tennessee/Butler game (and sadists can watch the Vols lose to Louisville). And even before that, you can see the '08 Tennessee/Kentucky game from Thompson-Boling on Monday at Noon.
The current schedule only runs through next week, though their website mentions the glory that is to come over the next seven weeks...but here's what you can see of the football Vols next week:
TENNESSEE ON CBS COLLEGE SPORTS - 7/14-7/20
Tue 9:00 PM - 2003 Tennessee at Alabama (5 OT)
Fri 9:00 PM - 1996 Alabama at Tennessee (Jay Graham)
Sun 12:00 PM - 2007 Tennessee at Kentucky (4 OT)
You can also see the 2001 Georgia/Tennessee game this week, but you'll have to do the work on that one yourself, because I simply can't deal with watching it.
Also, if you're the traveling sort like me, XM is now the official satellite radio home of the SEC and will carry every single game this fall. This means no more praying that I hold the AM feed from New Orleans while trying to listen to the LSU-Florida game on my way back from Knoxville. The end of an era, really.
Are the Braves really going to be sellers at the trade deadline?
With Mark Teixeira in his final year and differing opinions about the Braves' potential to resign him, and the club currently 43-49 and 6.5 back of the Phillies in a year where the wild card possibilities are probably long gone...could the Braves really cash in their chips at the deadline to at least get something in return for Teixeira?
Atlanta is in San Diego starting tonight for three before heading to the All-Star Break, where I'd wager such decisions will be made...and yeah, if Atlanta gets swept and the Phillies sweep Arizona to put them 9.5 back in three days, this is a different conversation. But if history holds, the Braves will still feel like they're in it and hold onto their pieces; they traded for Teixeira when they were behind in the chase last year (thought not six games below .500 and the losers of 24 straight one run games on the road).
James Hulka at Bleacher Report has a solid piece with all the information and potentials described for Atlanta...I continue to stay optimistic that I can go see them play in August with something still to play for. We'll see.
Football Season Begins Tuesday
I was out yesterday and saw a high school team across the border in West Virginia running sprints and sleds and doing what's probably "voluntary" workouts. As mentioned, my sports motor has been running from the Cal game last year through Bruce Pearl and finally to the NBA Finals, before taking a short few weeks off...but when Tuesday rolls around and I take my annual day off for the release of EA Sports NCAA Football 09, it'll be go time again.
Custom covers are again all the rage...the best one I've seen for the Vols so far comes from Ghettoshark at Utopia NCAA Strategies, where you can find tons of them for your team of choice:
The CBS College Sports Network is my new favorite thing
The problem with ESPN Classic, aside from their weird desire to show old poker "highlights" and obscure Wide World of Sports moments, is that they're both trying to cover the entire sports landscape, and they're tied into ABC/ESPN. So while you can sometimes catch a classic Tennessee football game on there once in a blue moon, my TiVo suggests that ratio is usually multiple repeat showings of the '99 Fiesta Bowl (which is worthless if you already own it on DVD) and only two or three other games a year. Since CBS has had the SEC rights since 1996, most of the very best Tennessee games since then never find their way to ESPN Classic.
Enter CBS College Sports Network.
I knew CBS had bought the old CSTV, but hadn't heard any of what they were doing with it. Then I hear from my grandfather that, while trying to find the umpteenth (and still entertaining) repeat of Game 4 of the NBA Finals on NBATV - Channel 610 on DirecTV - he accidentally skipped over to 613, the CBS College Sports Network...and found the '96 Vols playing right in front of his eyes.
TiVos at the ready, boys and girls...because just about anything you've ever wanted to see in recent Vols history is probably going to be before you in the next seven weeks.
At this very moment, I'm watching (for the first time since being present in the Georgia Dome) the SEC Championship Game from last season. And this may be a positive for some and a negative for others, but CBSCSN doesn't do what ESPN Classic does and hack the game down to 90 minutes - they're showing every single play in three or four glorious hours, depending on what you want to see.
And the thing is, "CBS College Sports" are essentially the SEC and March Madness. All kinds of goodness going on here. In the fall, based on the ads I'm seeing, I think they're going to be the home for Conference USA Football.
This weekend concludes "Championship Week" on the network, where they're showing the best of the SEC Championships and March Madness. But starting next week and running through kickoff, they're going heavily towards college football...which means they're going almost exclusively to SEC football.
And in the meantime...they're planning on showing every single game from the 2008 NCAA Men's Tournament starting July 21, which means at some point in there you can catch the Tennessee/Butler game (and sadists can watch the Vols lose to Louisville). And even before that, you can see the '08 Tennessee/Kentucky game from Thompson-Boling on Monday at Noon.
The current schedule only runs through next week, though their website mentions the glory that is to come over the next seven weeks...but here's what you can see of the football Vols next week:
TENNESSEE ON CBS COLLEGE SPORTS - 7/14-7/20
Tue 9:00 PM - 2003 Tennessee at Alabama (5 OT)
Fri 9:00 PM - 1996 Alabama at Tennessee (Jay Graham)
Sun 12:00 PM - 2007 Tennessee at Kentucky (4 OT)
You can also see the 2001 Georgia/Tennessee game this week, but you'll have to do the work on that one yourself, because I simply can't deal with watching it.
Also, if you're the traveling sort like me, XM is now the official satellite radio home of the SEC and will carry every single game this fall. This means no more praying that I hold the AM feed from New Orleans while trying to listen to the LSU-Florida game on my way back from Knoxville. The end of an era, really.
Are the Braves really going to be sellers at the trade deadline?
With Mark Teixeira in his final year and differing opinions about the Braves' potential to resign him, and the club currently 43-49 and 6.5 back of the Phillies in a year where the wild card possibilities are probably long gone...could the Braves really cash in their chips at the deadline to at least get something in return for Teixeira?
Atlanta is in San Diego starting tonight for three before heading to the All-Star Break, where I'd wager such decisions will be made...and yeah, if Atlanta gets swept and the Phillies sweep Arizona to put them 9.5 back in three days, this is a different conversation. But if history holds, the Braves will still feel like they're in it and hold onto their pieces; they traded for Teixeira when they were behind in the chase last year (thought not six games below .500 and the losers of 24 straight one run games on the road).
James Hulka at Bleacher Report has a solid piece with all the information and potentials described for Atlanta...I continue to stay optimistic that I can go see them play in August with something still to play for. We'll see.
Football Season Begins Tuesday
I was out yesterday and saw a high school team across the border in West Virginia running sprints and sleds and doing what's probably "voluntary" workouts. As mentioned, my sports motor has been running from the Cal game last year through Bruce Pearl and finally to the NBA Finals, before taking a short few weeks off...but when Tuesday rolls around and I take my annual day off for the release of EA Sports NCAA Football 09, it'll be go time again.
Custom covers are again all the rage...the best one I've seen for the Vols so far comes from Ghettoshark at Utopia NCAA Strategies, where you can find tons of them for your team of choice:
And finally...
You can check out the updated links on the right to access each of the Big Orange Roundtable sites.
Big Orange Roundtable - Week 1 Roundup
We were late to the party this week so everything came out here in a hurry, but here's the Big Orange Roundtable Week 1 Roundup with the best responses to all five questions. Look for a new set of questions next week.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Big Orange Roundtable - Week 1
Through the power of Bleacher Report, I've gotten exponentially more connected to the Tennessee blogging community over the last few weeks. As such, SESB is joining the Big Orange Roundtable feature, the brainchild of Third Saturday in Blogtober and one that includes notable Vol blogs Fulmer's Belly, Gate 21, Losers with Socks, Moondog Sports, The Power T, Rocky Top Talk, The UT Vols Football Blog, and YMSWWC.
You can read more about this feature at Third Saturday and many of the other sites, but basically each week one site - starting with Third Saturday - will ask five questions related to the Vols, and then the members of the roundtable will each give their answers. At the end of the week, a comprehensive piece will be published with the best responses. You can find all the current responses to the week one questions at the introductory piece here.
I'm incredibly proud and excited to be a part of this feature...the Week 1 questions come from Third Saturday, and here are my responses:
1.) How good/bad do you think Jonathan Crompton will be in his first year as a Tennessee starting quarterback and what makes you think that?
The fates of Jonathan Crompton and Dave Clawson are, in a sense, joined at the hip. Crompton under Cutcliffe would've been one thing - Cut is the master of training guys in the school of "don't take sacks and don't make mistakes", something the Mannings, Tee Martin and Erik Ainge post-2005 excelled at.
Crompton with a guy like Clawson and his verbal commitment to "get the ball to the playmakers" jacks up the risk/reward factor. And I think in '08 you're going to see a bit of both.
Crompton's performance against LSU in '06 was admirable, and while his numbers (11 of 24) weren't spectacular and he had the benefit of Robert Meachem on the receiving end, he showed plenty of promise. Vol fans who are nervous about Crompton can at least take heart in the fact that JC has more relevant in-game experience in a Vol uniform than any new starter the Vols have had since Andy Kelly. Where there will always be questions about new QBs, and clearly there is speculation about this one, you do have more concrete (and mostly positive) evidence to go on with Crompton than with anyone else in recent memory.
So I think he'll have his moments just based on what I've seen on the field, though it's a tough jury early for both Crompton and Clawson with UCLA, Florida and Auburn in September. This could be a year where Vol fans are cursing Crompton in mid-October and then excited about him in 2009 by December. Keep in mind that almost every young QB who's come through the program has "one of those games" - Manning against Florida in '96, Casey Clausen against Florida in '02, Ainge against Auburn in '04 and LSU in '05 - where they turn the ball over 4 times and get most of the blame for the loss. It's uncomfortable but realistic to expect one of those games from Crompton somewhere along the way. I don't think Crompton has to be great, and right away I don't expect him to be. But I do think he'll be plenty good enough over the course of the whole season to do the things this offense needs him to do to win games.
2.) This question was posed on our site a few weeks ago by the Bama boys, and it brought some good discussion, so given UT’s rich history of scheduling home-and-homes with top-shelf BCS programs, what school would you most like for the Vols to play in the future and why?
Though my personal answer to this question is Virginia Tech because I've lived in "the heart of Hokie country" for the last two years, on the whole it has to be Texas.
On the list of teams that have incurred the wrath of Vol Nation, Tennessee's beaten Notre Dame plenty and made sure Michigan got all they wanted in the Citrus Bowl. Nebraska's still out there, but frankly I'm still afraid of them a decade later, and plus that series is already under contract down the road. And Penn State has handed us three painful bowl losses, but we've also seen that one before in the 70s.
Between the Chris Simms saga (made a little better by his performance against Colorado in the 2001 Big 12 Championship that, at the time, helped the Vols move closer towards the National Championship) and those people who don't Remember the Alamo and drop that "The Real UT" nonsense, Texas is the team I have the most angst towards with the least real life reward. Aren't Fulmer and Mack Brown buddies? Maybe that's why we don't hear more talk of what seems like a naturally good and intense series to initiate...
3.) A lot has been made of our lack of depth at defensive tackle. With Demonte Bolden, Dan Williams and Walter Fisher pretty solid, what other player do you think makes a big move toward becoming dependable?
I'm gonna go with "...no one."
It took most of last year for Dan Williams to fall into that "pretty solid" category, and Walter Fisher is still more hype than result. If what's making it on the field is already that questionable, I don't see any of the younger, inexperienced guys stepping in and becoming dependable, unless it's something late in the year like Williams last season when he finally took Mapu's spot.
That's not to say that a Ben Martin or someone we're currently thinking about primarily at end couldn't transform into a solid option, but this is the one spot on the field outside of Crompton where one injury could devastate.
4.) Neyland Stadium has undergone some wholesale external and internal renovations during the offseason, updating and improving the overall appearance. If you could change one thing about Neyland, what would it be?
While I got more used to the Vegas-style advertising that surrounds the field as the season went on last year, the one thing I'd change has to do with the way we present our championships.
It makes me sound like less of a fan in some ways when I say that I don't like that we put our "six" National Championships up there, but it's true - if I was objective, if I hate the fact that every piece of memorabilia at Bryant-Denney Stadium has "12 National Championships" on it when Bama's only won half of those according to consensus, I also have to disagree with anything more than 1951 & 1998 in Knoxville.
What I'd like to see is less space for non-consensus, hardly recognized titles we won decades ago, and instead something listing our SEC Championships AND our Eastern Division Championships. The idea of listing division titles may make some think we're above that, but it also means you can put something up there more recent than ten years ago. Right now, it looks like Tennessee hasn't been relevant in the last ten years (insert punchline here) when you look at what the Vols recognize at Neyland Stadium.
5.) Different UT fans have different opinions on last season. Was it a success? Was it a failure? Why do you think so?
Any season that ends in Atlanta is successful.
Sometimes you get there at 12-0 and sometimes you get there at 9-3, but as Fulmer himself would tell you, the first goal is always winning the SEC East. And as long as Florida is Florida and Georgia is ranked No. 2, winning that division means you did something good. It's not a non-consensus honor or the equivalent of a December bowl - it's a championship.
And yeah, our goals include higher things too. And the lows last season were unfathomably low. But to me, that made 2007 a great story - it wasn't my favorite season of all time, but you'll be hard pressed to find one that was more interesting.
I've read several places that the Vols were one play against lesser teams like South Carolina, Vandy and Kentucky from being an 8-4 nobody playing in a December bowl. And that's true. But the Vols were also two Erik Ainge throws away from beating the eventual National Champion and winning the SEC. If that happens instead, does everybody unanimously agree that the season was great? Is the line really that thin?
As we've seen, the goal is always Atlanta because if you get to Atlanta anything can happen, you can make or break your fortunes. If you think 2007 was a failure, does that make 2001 a failure too? I think the National Championship spoiled all of us and it's harder to appreciate things, especially when we're awarding contract extensions for eight wins for a coach who's averaged almost nine and a half per season. But to me if you win your division, you get a concrete title and a season that, on the whole, should be considered a success.
You can read more about this feature at Third Saturday and many of the other sites, but basically each week one site - starting with Third Saturday - will ask five questions related to the Vols, and then the members of the roundtable will each give their answers. At the end of the week, a comprehensive piece will be published with the best responses. You can find all the current responses to the week one questions at the introductory piece here.
I'm incredibly proud and excited to be a part of this feature...the Week 1 questions come from Third Saturday, and here are my responses:
1.) How good/bad do you think Jonathan Crompton will be in his first year as a Tennessee starting quarterback and what makes you think that?
The fates of Jonathan Crompton and Dave Clawson are, in a sense, joined at the hip. Crompton under Cutcliffe would've been one thing - Cut is the master of training guys in the school of "don't take sacks and don't make mistakes", something the Mannings, Tee Martin and Erik Ainge post-2005 excelled at.
Crompton with a guy like Clawson and his verbal commitment to "get the ball to the playmakers" jacks up the risk/reward factor. And I think in '08 you're going to see a bit of both.
Crompton's performance against LSU in '06 was admirable, and while his numbers (11 of 24) weren't spectacular and he had the benefit of Robert Meachem on the receiving end, he showed plenty of promise. Vol fans who are nervous about Crompton can at least take heart in the fact that JC has more relevant in-game experience in a Vol uniform than any new starter the Vols have had since Andy Kelly. Where there will always be questions about new QBs, and clearly there is speculation about this one, you do have more concrete (and mostly positive) evidence to go on with Crompton than with anyone else in recent memory.
So I think he'll have his moments just based on what I've seen on the field, though it's a tough jury early for both Crompton and Clawson with UCLA, Florida and Auburn in September. This could be a year where Vol fans are cursing Crompton in mid-October and then excited about him in 2009 by December. Keep in mind that almost every young QB who's come through the program has "one of those games" - Manning against Florida in '96, Casey Clausen against Florida in '02, Ainge against Auburn in '04 and LSU in '05 - where they turn the ball over 4 times and get most of the blame for the loss. It's uncomfortable but realistic to expect one of those games from Crompton somewhere along the way. I don't think Crompton has to be great, and right away I don't expect him to be. But I do think he'll be plenty good enough over the course of the whole season to do the things this offense needs him to do to win games.
2.) This question was posed on our site a few weeks ago by the Bama boys, and it brought some good discussion, so given UT’s rich history of scheduling home-and-homes with top-shelf BCS programs, what school would you most like for the Vols to play in the future and why?
Though my personal answer to this question is Virginia Tech because I've lived in "the heart of Hokie country" for the last two years, on the whole it has to be Texas.
On the list of teams that have incurred the wrath of Vol Nation, Tennessee's beaten Notre Dame plenty and made sure Michigan got all they wanted in the Citrus Bowl. Nebraska's still out there, but frankly I'm still afraid of them a decade later, and plus that series is already under contract down the road. And Penn State has handed us three painful bowl losses, but we've also seen that one before in the 70s.
Between the Chris Simms saga (made a little better by his performance against Colorado in the 2001 Big 12 Championship that, at the time, helped the Vols move closer towards the National Championship) and those people who don't Remember the Alamo and drop that "The Real UT" nonsense, Texas is the team I have the most angst towards with the least real life reward. Aren't Fulmer and Mack Brown buddies? Maybe that's why we don't hear more talk of what seems like a naturally good and intense series to initiate...
3.) A lot has been made of our lack of depth at defensive tackle. With Demonte Bolden, Dan Williams and Walter Fisher pretty solid, what other player do you think makes a big move toward becoming dependable?
I'm gonna go with "...no one."
It took most of last year for Dan Williams to fall into that "pretty solid" category, and Walter Fisher is still more hype than result. If what's making it on the field is already that questionable, I don't see any of the younger, inexperienced guys stepping in and becoming dependable, unless it's something late in the year like Williams last season when he finally took Mapu's spot.
That's not to say that a Ben Martin or someone we're currently thinking about primarily at end couldn't transform into a solid option, but this is the one spot on the field outside of Crompton where one injury could devastate.
4.) Neyland Stadium has undergone some wholesale external and internal renovations during the offseason, updating and improving the overall appearance. If you could change one thing about Neyland, what would it be?
While I got more used to the Vegas-style advertising that surrounds the field as the season went on last year, the one thing I'd change has to do with the way we present our championships.
It makes me sound like less of a fan in some ways when I say that I don't like that we put our "six" National Championships up there, but it's true - if I was objective, if I hate the fact that every piece of memorabilia at Bryant-Denney Stadium has "12 National Championships" on it when Bama's only won half of those according to consensus, I also have to disagree with anything more than 1951 & 1998 in Knoxville.
What I'd like to see is less space for non-consensus, hardly recognized titles we won decades ago, and instead something listing our SEC Championships AND our Eastern Division Championships. The idea of listing division titles may make some think we're above that, but it also means you can put something up there more recent than ten years ago. Right now, it looks like Tennessee hasn't been relevant in the last ten years (insert punchline here) when you look at what the Vols recognize at Neyland Stadium.
5.) Different UT fans have different opinions on last season. Was it a success? Was it a failure? Why do you think so?
Any season that ends in Atlanta is successful.
Sometimes you get there at 12-0 and sometimes you get there at 9-3, but as Fulmer himself would tell you, the first goal is always winning the SEC East. And as long as Florida is Florida and Georgia is ranked No. 2, winning that division means you did something good. It's not a non-consensus honor or the equivalent of a December bowl - it's a championship.
And yeah, our goals include higher things too. And the lows last season were unfathomably low. But to me, that made 2007 a great story - it wasn't my favorite season of all time, but you'll be hard pressed to find one that was more interesting.
I've read several places that the Vols were one play against lesser teams like South Carolina, Vandy and Kentucky from being an 8-4 nobody playing in a December bowl. And that's true. But the Vols were also two Erik Ainge throws away from beating the eventual National Champion and winning the SEC. If that happens instead, does everybody unanimously agree that the season was great? Is the line really that thin?
As we've seen, the goal is always Atlanta because if you get to Atlanta anything can happen, you can make or break your fortunes. If you think 2007 was a failure, does that make 2001 a failure too? I think the National Championship spoiled all of us and it's harder to appreciate things, especially when we're awarding contract extensions for eight wins for a coach who's averaged almost nine and a half per season. But to me if you win your division, you get a concrete title and a season that, on the whole, should be considered a success.
10 Years: The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers Part Seven - The Stumble and Fumble
(Note: Updated from an original piece on The 50 Best Vol Games 1989-2005 at SouthEastern Sports Blog, September 7, 2006)
On November 7, 1998, No. 2 Tennessee was finishing off UAB 37-13 in the 4th quarter, when one of those special moments happened in Neyland Stadium.
Those on hand that day with radios or portable TVs were tuned in to the waning moments of No. 1 Ohio State and Michigan State, and as Tennessee's game ended with around 2:00 to play in the Big 10 showdown, no one left their seats as Neyland Stadium PA announcer Bobby Denton began to relay the events from up north. And when Ohio State was intercepted on their final drive, the celebration began:
The Vols would be the new No. 1 team in the nation.
Tennessee, after a season of memorable performances against Syracuse, Florida, Georgia and Alabama, had arrived.
Several hundred miles west in Fayetteville, a young head coach named Houston Nutt was in the midst of his first season. Danny Ford had been to one bowl game in five years, and the Hogs were coming off consecutive 4-7 seasons when Nutt took over. Expectations were moderate, but that all changed on September 26.
No. 22 Alabama came into Fayetteville, and left on the business end of a 42-6 beatdown. From that point, Arkansas kept grinding it out and slowly rising in the polls.
They beat Kentucky and Tim Couch 27-20. On October 31 they went to Auburn and won 24-21. And after beating Ole Miss the next week, Arkansas was 8-0.
They were disrespected: only four undefeated teams remained on November 14, but Arkansas was still ranked only 10th. But a chance for instant credibility was coming in a trip to Knoxville.
Tennessee was not worried; the Vols had seen their share of great teams already in 1998, and the thought was that Arkansas was simply untested.
On a rainy, misty fall afternoon from Neyland Stadium, the Vols ran through the T for the first time as the No. 1 team in the nation since the 1950s. All was right on Rocky Top. Arkansas brought their faithful en masse, as a crowd of 106,000+ was on hand. The Hogs were very much alive and well in the BCS hunt, and this was a rare SEC showdown - the latest two undefeated SEC teams had met in the season in almost 30 years.
But we weren't worried.
Legendary Vol Network radio man John Ward had it right in the pregame: "Everything...everything...is riding on this football game."
In the last fifteen years, there have been some incredible individual performances put up against the Tennessee defense. There have been quarterbacks - most notably Danny Wuerffel - who have lit up the Vol secondary. There have been running backs - most notably Georgia's Robert Edwards in 1995 (15 carries for 155 yards when he broke his leg in the third quarter) - who have torched the Vol defense.
And Tennessee has played against some great wide receivers - David Palmer, Hines Ward, any Florida Gator you want to name from the mid-90s, Terry Glenn, Eric Moulds, and yes, Peter Warrick.
But on this afternoon, Arkansas WR Anthony Lucas would stand alone. And it's not close.
It started on a long bomb to Lucas on the game's opening drive, which Arkansas would convert into a touchdown. But where it got real was on the first play of the second quarter, when Arkansas QB Clint Stoerner went down the sideline, and Lucas made Vol corner Dwayne Goodrich look bad. Real bad. 62 yards later, the Hogs were up 14-0. And Lucas looked unstoppable.
Tennessee battled their way to a field goal to cut the lead to 14-3 midway through the second quarter. But then, here came Arkansas again. And when Stoerner found Lucas in the end zone again, Arkansas led 21-3 with 3:15 left in the first half.
We all know about the end of this game, and we'll get to that. But let's not forget everything else that happened before it.
The Vols were in deep, deep trouble at this point, because it looked like we had no answers. You've got to understand, after the Vols gave up 33 points to Donovan McNabb and Syracuse, the defense was unrelenting. Florida's high powered offense got 17. Auburn got 9. Georgia got 3. Alabama and Shaun Alexander got 18. Arkansas had 21 before halftime, and they made it look insanely easy. And the fans who weren't worried were now full of fear.
It's interesting to note that those who were buying into the "team of destiny" deal at this point may not have been worried in the fourth quarter...but they were chewing fingernails and taking smoke breaks late in the second. Everybody was.
So one of the biggest plays in the game and the season was when Tee Martin - who struggled all day and finished 10 of 27 for 155 yards - gave the Vols something to think about by rolling out, barely escaping pressure, and firing a teardrop to Peerless Price from 36 yards away for the score just before the half to make it 21-10 going into the locker room.
All the thoughts of "we'll come out of the locker room and kill them" were answered by more Anthony Lucas and a 33 yard field goal on Arkansas' first drive of the second half. Anthony Lucas would finish the day with 8 catches for 172 yards and 2 TDs. Against the No. 1 team in the country. Those stats against the '98 Vol defense on that stage make it the most impressive performance by a wide receiver against the Vols that I've ever seen, no debate.
Down 24-10 with 11:43 still to play in the 3rd quarter, the march began.
Travis Henry and the offensive line began to push the Arkansas defense back. And when Tee Martin rolled out and kept it himself for a 4 yard touchdown, the game was back within reach at 24-17 with half of the 3rd quarter left to play. Jeff Hall would add to the score, and as the game went to the 4th quarter, Arkansas' lead was down to 24-20. And we had ourselves a real ballgame now.
But then Arkansas came to life again. After a series of punts, the Hogs drove to the Tennessee 16 with under 6:00 to play. If Arkansas found the end zone again, it would build a two possession lead, and with more than half of the 4th quarter gone it seemed unlikely the Vols would dig out of such a hole.
But the defense held, setting up a field goal attempt. And then a rare moment unfolded, where the orange representatives of the 106,000+ are all screaming "BLOCK THAT KICK! BLOCK THAT KICK!"...and it actually happened.
The Vols got all of it, rejecting the ball back and allowing Al Wilson to return it 50 yards to the Arkansas 28.
From this point on, sitting there dry under the overhang in section Z11, I felt like we would win. Even with what happened later, after seeing all I'd seen so far in '98, and seeing us keep them out of the end zone on that drive and then block that kick on command from the crowd, I wasn't worried even when I should have been. I think lots of Vol fans reacted that way.
But the realists among us would've been uncomfortable to see the Vols unable to score any points off the blocked kick, being pushed back and choosing to punt.
David Leaverton, however, pinned the Hogs at the 1 yard line. Arkansas avoided a safety for three plays, then lined up to punt. Then the snap went sailing over the punter's head, who kicked the ball (which is illegal) out of the end zone for a safety. 24-22, 2:56 to play, and Tennessee has the ball. A field goal will win.
Tennessee got one first down to move into Arkansas territory following the free kick, and after Travis Henry ran for one yard on first down, Tee Martin threw an incomplete pass.
Then he threw another incomplete pass. And suddenly it was 4th and 9.
Ward: "Last chance, probably."
And you knew - that with under 2:00 to play - this was crucial.
So when Martin's pass to Peerless Price was broken up over the middle, the Arkansas faithful went berserk, and the Vols were left with a horribly empty feeling.
Because it wasn't supposed to be like this.
Maybe the reason I wasn't worried is because I didn't have enough time to process it.
The Vols had two time outs, and thus Arkansas needed one first down to seal it.
Even if Tennessee stopped Arkansas three-and-out, they'd get the ball with just under a minute to play, with no time outs, in terrible field position. But we were still in it - remember, Arkansas wasn't trying to take a knee, they needed the first down.
Tennessee called a time out after a first down run for a short gain, and on second down Arkansas lined up under center. Ward: "This will be a major upset victory for Arkansas."
Now, I love me some John Ward. But if you really want to appreciate what comes next, you need to find the CBS feed and get Sean McDonough's call:
"Stoerner LOST THE FOOTBALL!!! Oh my goodness, he stumbled and fumbled!! And Billy Ratliff recovers!"
Some call it luck. Some like destiny. Some say Stoerner was careless. Others say Ratliff and Darwin Walker got such a push that they drove the center's leg into Stoerner and created disaster.
Either way, Stoerner lost his balance off the snap and reached down to try and brace himself. And he left the ball behind.
And no matter how you slice it, Tennessee came up with it. And the 1998 season had its lasting image.
Stoerner would later say "I just lost it. I don't know what happened." Houston Nutt: "I hate to lose one like that. I've never lost one like that." The opening line on the AP story from the game reads "The name Clint Stoerner will live forever in Tennessee lore and Arkansas infamy."
And though Stoerner would clear his name the following season by beating the then-No. 2 Vols 365 days later, on this night, he played a definitive role in the National Championship.
Still...the deed wasn't done.
I've heard all kinds of stories from my friends and other Vol fans about fights breaking out in the Neyland Stadium concourse because so many people tried to leave after Martin's incompletion, but they didn't get out of the stadium before Stoerner's fumble, and everyone's trying to get back to their seats in violent fashion. This is why you never leave early.
While anger and emotion swelled on the concourse, the look on the faces of the Arkansas' faithful in the stands was more subdued. Our season tickets are just above the visiting team allotment, and you could see it in their eyes: "Uh oh."
And the Arkansas defense was wearing the same expression when they came back on the field.
And that, combined with the Vol offensive line and Travis Henry, was trouble.
From the 43 yard line - still looking at a 60 yard field goal - Tennessee decided they'd had enough of passing, we're coming right at you. And so first it was Henry, breaking four tackles and getting 15 yards on first down. Ball at the 28.
Then it was Henry again, 15 more yards on the very next play through one of the biggest holes I've ever seen. In three plays, Arkansas had gone from sure victory on offense to having to play red zone defense.
And suddenly, we weren't thinking about kicking field goals.Third time's the charm, right? Well, this time Henry went for only 11 yards, down to the 2.
43 yards away with only a minute and a half on the clock, down four with only one timeout remaining, who runs the ball up the middle three straight times? Travis Henry does, to the tune of three carries for 41 yards. Unbelievable.
They did stop him on the next play at the one, but with the clock at :31 and only on second down, you knew what was coming. And now, you can switch the audio back to John Ward:
"They need to go to Henry...this will be Henry, he dives...GIVE...HIM...SIX!!!!"
Tennessee 28 - Arkansas 24.
The look on the Arkansas' fans faces after the game, I've seen before. Not at the time, but I've worn it myself since.
It has many names in the SEC. Tennessee fans call it The Jabar Gaffney Face, from his catch/no catch in the final seconds against Florida in 2000. Or The David Greene Face from his final drive in Knoxville the following year.
Florida fans had broken in The Collins Cooper Face earlier in the 1998 season, but we were all too busy to notice because we hated them so much. And on this night, Arkansas was introducing themselves to The Clint Stoerner Face.
It's that look of nothingness. When you were so sure you had the game won, beyond any shadow of a doubt, and you yourself were in massive celebration mode...and then somehow, inexplicably, it was all taken away from you in rapid, heartbreaking fashion.
If you ever see an aerial shot of a stadium when a team is kicking a game winning field goal, watch both sets of fans. If the kick is good, those thousands of people look like ants marching, an ocean of movement and sound and joy. But it's always the exact opposite from the other side - no movement, no sound, no anger...they just stand there and stare off into the distance, in search of answers because what they just saw couldn't really be true.
I'm always a fan of that face when I'm not wearing it.
And Arkansas wore that face for a full 90 seconds of game action, between Stoerner's fumble and Henry's eventual touchdown to win it, and then for several more minutes before they could walk away.
The one thing that made you not feel sorry for them was that we thought we'd see these guys again in the SEC Championship Game in three weeks. And when you win a game in such once-in-a-lifetime fashion, you really don't want to see the same team again on a neutral field with even more on the line only three weeks after you got away with one.
But then Arkansas was still feeling this one the very next week, and Mississippi State got the best of them. Suddenly Arkansas had gone from BCS contender to second in the SEC West. And the Pigs would have to wait 'til next year.
So this game, this night, lives on...I didn't appreciate this game in the moment or walking out of the stadium - it felt like it was our year and as such sometimes you take things for granted. It wasn't until the next day or so. You had to really step away from it, to see that this wasn't just another "we pulled it out late" game. This was a classic in its own right, that became the resonating moment from the 1998 season.
And for me, considering what was on the line? I like destiny.
On November 7, 1998, No. 2 Tennessee was finishing off UAB 37-13 in the 4th quarter, when one of those special moments happened in Neyland Stadium.
Those on hand that day with radios or portable TVs were tuned in to the waning moments of No. 1 Ohio State and Michigan State, and as Tennessee's game ended with around 2:00 to play in the Big 10 showdown, no one left their seats as Neyland Stadium PA announcer Bobby Denton began to relay the events from up north. And when Ohio State was intercepted on their final drive, the celebration began:
The Vols would be the new No. 1 team in the nation.
Tennessee, after a season of memorable performances against Syracuse, Florida, Georgia and Alabama, had arrived.
Several hundred miles west in Fayetteville, a young head coach named Houston Nutt was in the midst of his first season. Danny Ford had been to one bowl game in five years, and the Hogs were coming off consecutive 4-7 seasons when Nutt took over. Expectations were moderate, but that all changed on September 26.
No. 22 Alabama came into Fayetteville, and left on the business end of a 42-6 beatdown. From that point, Arkansas kept grinding it out and slowly rising in the polls.
They beat Kentucky and Tim Couch 27-20. On October 31 they went to Auburn and won 24-21. And after beating Ole Miss the next week, Arkansas was 8-0.
They were disrespected: only four undefeated teams remained on November 14, but Arkansas was still ranked only 10th. But a chance for instant credibility was coming in a trip to Knoxville.
Tennessee was not worried; the Vols had seen their share of great teams already in 1998, and the thought was that Arkansas was simply untested.
On a rainy, misty fall afternoon from Neyland Stadium, the Vols ran through the T for the first time as the No. 1 team in the nation since the 1950s. All was right on Rocky Top. Arkansas brought their faithful en masse, as a crowd of 106,000+ was on hand. The Hogs were very much alive and well in the BCS hunt, and this was a rare SEC showdown - the latest two undefeated SEC teams had met in the season in almost 30 years.
But we weren't worried.
Legendary Vol Network radio man John Ward had it right in the pregame: "Everything...everything...is riding on this football game."
In the last fifteen years, there have been some incredible individual performances put up against the Tennessee defense. There have been quarterbacks - most notably Danny Wuerffel - who have lit up the Vol secondary. There have been running backs - most notably Georgia's Robert Edwards in 1995 (15 carries for 155 yards when he broke his leg in the third quarter) - who have torched the Vol defense.
And Tennessee has played against some great wide receivers - David Palmer, Hines Ward, any Florida Gator you want to name from the mid-90s, Terry Glenn, Eric Moulds, and yes, Peter Warrick.
But on this afternoon, Arkansas WR Anthony Lucas would stand alone. And it's not close.
It started on a long bomb to Lucas on the game's opening drive, which Arkansas would convert into a touchdown. But where it got real was on the first play of the second quarter, when Arkansas QB Clint Stoerner went down the sideline, and Lucas made Vol corner Dwayne Goodrich look bad. Real bad. 62 yards later, the Hogs were up 14-0. And Lucas looked unstoppable.
Tennessee battled their way to a field goal to cut the lead to 14-3 midway through the second quarter. But then, here came Arkansas again. And when Stoerner found Lucas in the end zone again, Arkansas led 21-3 with 3:15 left in the first half.
We all know about the end of this game, and we'll get to that. But let's not forget everything else that happened before it.
The Vols were in deep, deep trouble at this point, because it looked like we had no answers. You've got to understand, after the Vols gave up 33 points to Donovan McNabb and Syracuse, the defense was unrelenting. Florida's high powered offense got 17. Auburn got 9. Georgia got 3. Alabama and Shaun Alexander got 18. Arkansas had 21 before halftime, and they made it look insanely easy. And the fans who weren't worried were now full of fear.
It's interesting to note that those who were buying into the "team of destiny" deal at this point may not have been worried in the fourth quarter...but they were chewing fingernails and taking smoke breaks late in the second. Everybody was.
So one of the biggest plays in the game and the season was when Tee Martin - who struggled all day and finished 10 of 27 for 155 yards - gave the Vols something to think about by rolling out, barely escaping pressure, and firing a teardrop to Peerless Price from 36 yards away for the score just before the half to make it 21-10 going into the locker room.
All the thoughts of "we'll come out of the locker room and kill them" were answered by more Anthony Lucas and a 33 yard field goal on Arkansas' first drive of the second half. Anthony Lucas would finish the day with 8 catches for 172 yards and 2 TDs. Against the No. 1 team in the country. Those stats against the '98 Vol defense on that stage make it the most impressive performance by a wide receiver against the Vols that I've ever seen, no debate.
Down 24-10 with 11:43 still to play in the 3rd quarter, the march began.
Travis Henry and the offensive line began to push the Arkansas defense back. And when Tee Martin rolled out and kept it himself for a 4 yard touchdown, the game was back within reach at 24-17 with half of the 3rd quarter left to play. Jeff Hall would add to the score, and as the game went to the 4th quarter, Arkansas' lead was down to 24-20. And we had ourselves a real ballgame now.
But then Arkansas came to life again. After a series of punts, the Hogs drove to the Tennessee 16 with under 6:00 to play. If Arkansas found the end zone again, it would build a two possession lead, and with more than half of the 4th quarter gone it seemed unlikely the Vols would dig out of such a hole.
But the defense held, setting up a field goal attempt. And then a rare moment unfolded, where the orange representatives of the 106,000+ are all screaming "BLOCK THAT KICK! BLOCK THAT KICK!"...and it actually happened.
The Vols got all of it, rejecting the ball back and allowing Al Wilson to return it 50 yards to the Arkansas 28.
From this point on, sitting there dry under the overhang in section Z11, I felt like we would win. Even with what happened later, after seeing all I'd seen so far in '98, and seeing us keep them out of the end zone on that drive and then block that kick on command from the crowd, I wasn't worried even when I should have been. I think lots of Vol fans reacted that way.
But the realists among us would've been uncomfortable to see the Vols unable to score any points off the blocked kick, being pushed back and choosing to punt.
David Leaverton, however, pinned the Hogs at the 1 yard line. Arkansas avoided a safety for three plays, then lined up to punt. Then the snap went sailing over the punter's head, who kicked the ball (which is illegal) out of the end zone for a safety. 24-22, 2:56 to play, and Tennessee has the ball. A field goal will win.
Tennessee got one first down to move into Arkansas territory following the free kick, and after Travis Henry ran for one yard on first down, Tee Martin threw an incomplete pass.
Then he threw another incomplete pass. And suddenly it was 4th and 9.
Ward: "Last chance, probably."
And you knew - that with under 2:00 to play - this was crucial.
So when Martin's pass to Peerless Price was broken up over the middle, the Arkansas faithful went berserk, and the Vols were left with a horribly empty feeling.
Because it wasn't supposed to be like this.
Maybe the reason I wasn't worried is because I didn't have enough time to process it.
The Vols had two time outs, and thus Arkansas needed one first down to seal it.
Even if Tennessee stopped Arkansas three-and-out, they'd get the ball with just under a minute to play, with no time outs, in terrible field position. But we were still in it - remember, Arkansas wasn't trying to take a knee, they needed the first down.
Tennessee called a time out after a first down run for a short gain, and on second down Arkansas lined up under center. Ward: "This will be a major upset victory for Arkansas."
Now, I love me some John Ward. But if you really want to appreciate what comes next, you need to find the CBS feed and get Sean McDonough's call:
"Stoerner LOST THE FOOTBALL!!! Oh my goodness, he stumbled and fumbled!! And Billy Ratliff recovers!"
Some call it luck. Some like destiny. Some say Stoerner was careless. Others say Ratliff and Darwin Walker got such a push that they drove the center's leg into Stoerner and created disaster.
Either way, Stoerner lost his balance off the snap and reached down to try and brace himself. And he left the ball behind.
And no matter how you slice it, Tennessee came up with it. And the 1998 season had its lasting image.
Stoerner would later say "I just lost it. I don't know what happened." Houston Nutt: "I hate to lose one like that. I've never lost one like that." The opening line on the AP story from the game reads "The name Clint Stoerner will live forever in Tennessee lore and Arkansas infamy."
And though Stoerner would clear his name the following season by beating the then-No. 2 Vols 365 days later, on this night, he played a definitive role in the National Championship.
Still...the deed wasn't done.
I've heard all kinds of stories from my friends and other Vol fans about fights breaking out in the Neyland Stadium concourse because so many people tried to leave after Martin's incompletion, but they didn't get out of the stadium before Stoerner's fumble, and everyone's trying to get back to their seats in violent fashion. This is why you never leave early.
While anger and emotion swelled on the concourse, the look on the faces of the Arkansas' faithful in the stands was more subdued. Our season tickets are just above the visiting team allotment, and you could see it in their eyes: "Uh oh."
And the Arkansas defense was wearing the same expression when they came back on the field.
And that, combined with the Vol offensive line and Travis Henry, was trouble.
From the 43 yard line - still looking at a 60 yard field goal - Tennessee decided they'd had enough of passing, we're coming right at you. And so first it was Henry, breaking four tackles and getting 15 yards on first down. Ball at the 28.
Then it was Henry again, 15 more yards on the very next play through one of the biggest holes I've ever seen. In three plays, Arkansas had gone from sure victory on offense to having to play red zone defense.
And suddenly, we weren't thinking about kicking field goals.Third time's the charm, right? Well, this time Henry went for only 11 yards, down to the 2.
43 yards away with only a minute and a half on the clock, down four with only one timeout remaining, who runs the ball up the middle three straight times? Travis Henry does, to the tune of three carries for 41 yards. Unbelievable.
They did stop him on the next play at the one, but with the clock at :31 and only on second down, you knew what was coming. And now, you can switch the audio back to John Ward:
"They need to go to Henry...this will be Henry, he dives...GIVE...HIM...SIX!!!!"
Tennessee 28 - Arkansas 24.
The look on the Arkansas' fans faces after the game, I've seen before. Not at the time, but I've worn it myself since.
It has many names in the SEC. Tennessee fans call it The Jabar Gaffney Face, from his catch/no catch in the final seconds against Florida in 2000. Or The David Greene Face from his final drive in Knoxville the following year.
Florida fans had broken in The Collins Cooper Face earlier in the 1998 season, but we were all too busy to notice because we hated them so much. And on this night, Arkansas was introducing themselves to The Clint Stoerner Face.
It's that look of nothingness. When you were so sure you had the game won, beyond any shadow of a doubt, and you yourself were in massive celebration mode...and then somehow, inexplicably, it was all taken away from you in rapid, heartbreaking fashion.
If you ever see an aerial shot of a stadium when a team is kicking a game winning field goal, watch both sets of fans. If the kick is good, those thousands of people look like ants marching, an ocean of movement and sound and joy. But it's always the exact opposite from the other side - no movement, no sound, no anger...they just stand there and stare off into the distance, in search of answers because what they just saw couldn't really be true.
I'm always a fan of that face when I'm not wearing it.
And Arkansas wore that face for a full 90 seconds of game action, between Stoerner's fumble and Henry's eventual touchdown to win it, and then for several more minutes before they could walk away.
The one thing that made you not feel sorry for them was that we thought we'd see these guys again in the SEC Championship Game in three weeks. And when you win a game in such once-in-a-lifetime fashion, you really don't want to see the same team again on a neutral field with even more on the line only three weeks after you got away with one.
But then Arkansas was still feeling this one the very next week, and Mississippi State got the best of them. Suddenly Arkansas had gone from BCS contender to second in the SEC West. And the Pigs would have to wait 'til next year.
So this game, this night, lives on...I didn't appreciate this game in the moment or walking out of the stadium - it felt like it was our year and as such sometimes you take things for granted. It wasn't until the next day or so. You had to really step away from it, to see that this wasn't just another "we pulled it out late" game. This was a classic in its own right, that became the resonating moment from the 1998 season.
And for me, considering what was on the line? I like destiny.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
EA Sports NCAA Football 09 - Top 25 Toughest Places to Play
Six days to go...here's the home field advantage rankings for this year, EA's Top 25 Toughest Places to Play:
25. Williams-Bryce Stadium - South Carolina
24. Bronco Stadium - Boise State
23. Folsom Field - Colorado
22. Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium - Arkansas
21. Memorial Stadium - Clemson
20. Mountaineer Field - West Virginia
19. Jordan-Hare Stadium - Auburn
18. Bryant-Denney Stadium - Alabama
17. Doak Campbell Stadium - Florida State
16. Sanford Stadium - Georgia
15. Notre Dame Stadium - Notre Dame
14. Kyle Field - Texas A&M
13. Michigan Stadium - Michigan
12. Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium - Texas
11. Los Angeles Memorial Stadium - USC
10. Memorial Stadium - Nebraska
09. Lane Stadium - Virginia Tech
08. Camp Randall Stadium - Wisconsin
07. Autzen Stadium - Oregon
06. Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium - Oklahoma
05. Neyland Stadium - Tennessee
04. Beaver Stadium - Penn State
03. Ohio Stadium - Ohio State
02. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - Florida
01. Tiger Stadium - LSU
You can check out the EA/ESPN photo gallery of each of these stadiums here.
10 Years - The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers Part Six: Good Enough
Is it fact or myth that you need a great quarterback to win a championship?
While the recent trend in the NFL would suggest otherwise - where 13 of the last 16 Super Bowls have been won by guys named Aikman, Young, Favre, Elway, Warner, Brady and Manning – in college football, six of the first ten BCS National Championships went to teams with Tee Martin, Josh Heupel, Craig Krenzel, Matt Mauck, Chris Leak and Matt Flynn under center.
For every Matt Leinart and Vince Young, you find guys like Krenzel, the molecular genetics major who completed a third of his passes in the title game but still found a way for the Buckeyes in ’02. Or Heupel, who was a relative unknown on the national level going into the 2000 season and then exploded into a Heisman runner-up while leading the Sooners to the promised land.
At the beginning of the BCS era, we find the most famous and arguably most relevant argument against the necessity of an elite quarterback: where Peyton Manning couldn’t, Tee Martin made it happen.
Martin, an Alabama native who spurned Auburn for the Vols in the recruiting process, probably thought he’d get his chance a year earlier, in 1997. Instead, Manning decided to stay in Knoxville for his senior season, and Martin stayed in obscurity another year.
When Peyton graduated as an SEC Champion who couldn’t beat Florida and couldn’t win it all, Martin inherited an offense that had also lost its top wide receiver to the first round of the NFL Draft as well as several defensive playmakers. And with his only real game experience coming in blowouts, there were questions for sure.
Because Martin wasn’t just following Manning, who left as the all-time leader in every Tennessee passing category as well as the owner of multiple SEC records.
Before Manning was Heath Shuler, who had been the trigger man on the highest scoring offense in Vol history in 1993, a Heisman runner-up like Manning and the third pick in the NFL Draft.
Before Shuler was Andy Kelly, who won back-to-back SEC Championships in 1989 and 1990, and went 29-6-2 in his three years as a starter.
You could argue that Martin was following the three greatest quarterbacks in Tennessee history. It wasn’t just the looming shadow of Manning; it was the larger shadow of quarterback greatness the Vols had enjoyed since 1989.
Thirteen games later, and Martin had some accolades of his own.
What Kelly, Shuler, Manning nor any Tennessee Vol had done since 1951, Martin brought home: a National Championship.
He would probably be the first to tell you he didn’t do it alone.
Do you need an elite quarterback to win it all in major college football? Not really.
While Martin was never truly elite, he did have his moments – at South Carolina in 1998, Martin broke the NCAA record for consecutive completions, connecting on his first 23 passes. The following season, he would be named first team All-SEC.
But when surrounded by other talent – in this case, a spectacular defense, a great offensive line, a stable of talented running backs and a Peerless playmaker – Tee Martin is a perfect example of a quarterback not needing to be a Heisman candidate or throw for 3,000 yards to lead his team to ultimate victory.
Instead of superstardom and stats, Martin was a master of simple basics: don’t make mistakes, make the plays you have to make, and win games. Tee Martin proved you don’t have to be great – you just have to be good enough to make the right plays at the right times.
The 1998 Tee Martin highlight reel in games against ranked opponents goes like this:
- A 55 yard scramble on 3rd and 10 in the 4th quarter at Syracuse
- A teardrop pass for a touchdown at the end of the first half against Arkansas
- Two icy throws on consecutive offensive plays for touchdowns in the SEC Championship
- Two bombs to Peerless Price in the Fiesta Bowl
That’s it. That’s all. The rest of the ’98 highlight reel in big games is a whole bunch of Martin handing it off, and Martin not throwing interceptions.
He threw six interceptions in 1998, the best season for any Vol quarterback that’s not Peyton Manning. He padded his stats against lesser opponents. But he never, ever got the Vols beat or even really made a bad decision that gave them a chance of being beat.
And when the moment demanded, Martin delivered. And Tennessee won it all.
This year, there are lots of fans who’re putting their faith in elite guys like Tebow and Stafford, Chase Daniel and Pat White. There are fans of schools like Texas Tech who’re rolling the dice on 50 passes per game.
But there are also fans who’re nervous about their guy under center, and whether or not he has what it takes to lead them all the way. And yeah – sometimes you get a Vince Young along the way. But more often than not, it’s been the lesser guys, the ones who aren’t household names, who are more leaders and winners than Heisman candidates.
So who knows…maybe there’s another Craig Krenzel out there this season. Maybe there’s a guy waiting to bust loose like Josh Heupel. And maybe your team just lost a great one, but there’s something else pretty good waiting in the wings.
Even if you’re trying to figure it out between Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor in Blacksburg, or out in Eugene and trying to figure out how you replace Dennis Dixon, or down in the SEC with new faces like Kodi Burns, Jonathan Crompton and a player to be named later at LSU…you never know. Two months before the season in 1998, the Vols didn’t know. You never know until you see it on the field. And what you see out there doesn’t have to be the Heisman.
Whomever your quarterback…history shows he doesn’t have to be great. He just has to be good enough at the right times. And if names like Krenzel, Mauck, Flynn and Tee Martin can get it done…maybe your guy can too.
While the recent trend in the NFL would suggest otherwise - where 13 of the last 16 Super Bowls have been won by guys named Aikman, Young, Favre, Elway, Warner, Brady and Manning – in college football, six of the first ten BCS National Championships went to teams with Tee Martin, Josh Heupel, Craig Krenzel, Matt Mauck, Chris Leak and Matt Flynn under center.
For every Matt Leinart and Vince Young, you find guys like Krenzel, the molecular genetics major who completed a third of his passes in the title game but still found a way for the Buckeyes in ’02. Or Heupel, who was a relative unknown on the national level going into the 2000 season and then exploded into a Heisman runner-up while leading the Sooners to the promised land.
At the beginning of the BCS era, we find the most famous and arguably most relevant argument against the necessity of an elite quarterback: where Peyton Manning couldn’t, Tee Martin made it happen.
Martin, an Alabama native who spurned Auburn for the Vols in the recruiting process, probably thought he’d get his chance a year earlier, in 1997. Instead, Manning decided to stay in Knoxville for his senior season, and Martin stayed in obscurity another year.
When Peyton graduated as an SEC Champion who couldn’t beat Florida and couldn’t win it all, Martin inherited an offense that had also lost its top wide receiver to the first round of the NFL Draft as well as several defensive playmakers. And with his only real game experience coming in blowouts, there were questions for sure.
Because Martin wasn’t just following Manning, who left as the all-time leader in every Tennessee passing category as well as the owner of multiple SEC records.
Before Manning was Heath Shuler, who had been the trigger man on the highest scoring offense in Vol history in 1993, a Heisman runner-up like Manning and the third pick in the NFL Draft.
Before Shuler was Andy Kelly, who won back-to-back SEC Championships in 1989 and 1990, and went 29-6-2 in his three years as a starter.
You could argue that Martin was following the three greatest quarterbacks in Tennessee history. It wasn’t just the looming shadow of Manning; it was the larger shadow of quarterback greatness the Vols had enjoyed since 1989.
Thirteen games later, and Martin had some accolades of his own.
What Kelly, Shuler, Manning nor any Tennessee Vol had done since 1951, Martin brought home: a National Championship.
He would probably be the first to tell you he didn’t do it alone.
Do you need an elite quarterback to win it all in major college football? Not really.
While Martin was never truly elite, he did have his moments – at South Carolina in 1998, Martin broke the NCAA record for consecutive completions, connecting on his first 23 passes. The following season, he would be named first team All-SEC.
But when surrounded by other talent – in this case, a spectacular defense, a great offensive line, a stable of talented running backs and a Peerless playmaker – Tee Martin is a perfect example of a quarterback not needing to be a Heisman candidate or throw for 3,000 yards to lead his team to ultimate victory.
Instead of superstardom and stats, Martin was a master of simple basics: don’t make mistakes, make the plays you have to make, and win games. Tee Martin proved you don’t have to be great – you just have to be good enough to make the right plays at the right times.
The 1998 Tee Martin highlight reel in games against ranked opponents goes like this:
- A 55 yard scramble on 3rd and 10 in the 4th quarter at Syracuse
- A teardrop pass for a touchdown at the end of the first half against Arkansas
- Two icy throws on consecutive offensive plays for touchdowns in the SEC Championship
- Two bombs to Peerless Price in the Fiesta Bowl
That’s it. That’s all. The rest of the ’98 highlight reel in big games is a whole bunch of Martin handing it off, and Martin not throwing interceptions.
He threw six interceptions in 1998, the best season for any Vol quarterback that’s not Peyton Manning. He padded his stats against lesser opponents. But he never, ever got the Vols beat or even really made a bad decision that gave them a chance of being beat.
And when the moment demanded, Martin delivered. And Tennessee won it all.
This year, there are lots of fans who’re putting their faith in elite guys like Tebow and Stafford, Chase Daniel and Pat White. There are fans of schools like Texas Tech who’re rolling the dice on 50 passes per game.
But there are also fans who’re nervous about their guy under center, and whether or not he has what it takes to lead them all the way. And yeah – sometimes you get a Vince Young along the way. But more often than not, it’s been the lesser guys, the ones who aren’t household names, who are more leaders and winners than Heisman candidates.
So who knows…maybe there’s another Craig Krenzel out there this season. Maybe there’s a guy waiting to bust loose like Josh Heupel. And maybe your team just lost a great one, but there’s something else pretty good waiting in the wings.
Even if you’re trying to figure it out between Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor in Blacksburg, or out in Eugene and trying to figure out how you replace Dennis Dixon, or down in the SEC with new faces like Kodi Burns, Jonathan Crompton and a player to be named later at LSU…you never know. Two months before the season in 1998, the Vols didn’t know. You never know until you see it on the field. And what you see out there doesn’t have to be the Heisman.
Whomever your quarterback…history shows he doesn’t have to be great. He just has to be good enough at the right times. And if names like Krenzel, Mauck, Flynn and Tee Martin can get it done…maybe your guy can too.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
A Championship Flair for the Dramatic
I’m an avid fan of football, basketball and baseball. I’ve devoted time and energy to the fates of my favorite teams in years that have produced highly dramatic moments, often with the added adrenaline spike of championships on the line.
As a child, I watched John Smoltz and Jack Morris duel deep into the night in Game 7 of the World Series, until finally our Brave hearts were broken in extra innings. In college, I saw the Titans erase a 16-0 deficit and then watched Steve McNair lead a desperate charge downfield in the final seconds, only to come up one yard short in Super Bowl XXXIV. And my heart has both leapt and been broken more times on fall Saturdays by the Tennessee Vols than I could possibly remember. And in a few weeks, I’ll give it away all over again.
Though the majority of my time with sports is spent with the big three, I also make a point to watch the major events and championships of some other sports that fall in the lower tiers of popularity. Each year, I try and catch Daytona, Indianapolis, the Kentucky Derby and the like. Even if I’m not a fan of NASCAR or horse racing, at least once a year on their brightest stages, it makes for good television that most sports fans can truly appreciate. I really don’t like soccer, but even there I’ll tune in for the World Cup when it rolls around.
I expect to be entertained and enjoy something unique when I take time out to watch a sport I normally wouldn’t, but I’m never expecting that level of enjoyment to come close to approaching what I get from football, basketball or baseball.
But in the last few weeks, I’ve found myself glued to the television on three different occasions with sports I almost never watch, fully immersed in their championship drama.
Along the way, I’ve discovered three scenarios that I think rank among the most tense and dramatic in all of sports, so much so that even if you’ve never played nor watched that particular sport before, it demands you stop what you’re doing and pay attention.
I believe the most dramatic and tense scenario in all of sports is an overtime game in college football where the team with the first possession kicks a field goal. Because that means on any of the following plays for the other team, the game can instantly be over – but unlike most sports, it’s sudden death for both teams: that second team could score a touchdown at any moment, producing instant victory. But if they throw an interception or fumble the ball away, it’s instant victory for the other team. Or they could simply kick a field goal and we play on.
That level of “potential instantaneous double sudden death” – thanks very much – is hard to find anywhere else.
It’s the home team being down a run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and runners on second and third: on the next pitch, either team could win the game.
You just don’t run into that stuff every day. Especially with titles on the line, in a sports world that’s given us World Series and NBA Finals that’ve been generally one-sided for the last few years.
And I especially didn’t expect to run into it in the three places I’ve pleasantly found it in the last month:
June 2 - Stanley Cup Finals Game 5
Being from Knoxville, I’ve never been a huge hockey fan. I played it on my Sega Genesis like a lot of kids, and to this day if the Predators ever made a run in the playoffs, I’d be on board because it is fun to watch. But between fleeting dreams and lockouts, it’s not something I devote any time or energy to.
However the Stanley Cup Finals are on that Daytona list of things to try and catch, and the matchup was especially intriguing this year for even less than casual fans like me.
Pulling for the Penguins because the Red Wings I remember had a bunch of Russians on their team and I’m proud to be an American – makes total sense, right? – I was only half watching after they went up 2-0 in Game 5. Which means I was still only half watching when Detroit rallied to take a 3-2 lead with ten minutes to play.
Now, it’s already tense down the stretch with the Cup on the line and the Detroit crowd going crazy. It gets even better when the Pens pull their goalie. Still, it seemed improbable…but with 34.3 seconds to play, Pittsburgh somehow found a way, and off we go to overtime.
And a Stanley Cup Final overtime where the home team can win the cup and you’re cheering for the road team is incredibly intense.
More so than soccer under the same “golden goal” format, the speed of hockey and the way things can change very quickly amps up the drama significantly. In this game, when you factor in overtime power plays that kept coming up short and excellent goaltending, the tension kept building.
And so I’m right there with them, deep into the night, knowing that even if I have to get up at 7:00, I can’t miss the end. One overtime. Two. Three. Power plays turning up nothing. I’m not invested in Pittsburgh and this was the first significant amount of time I’d spent with the NHL all season. But I couldn’t walk away. I didn’t want to.
Finally, in the third overtime, the Penguins got their goal and prolonged the series another night. Game 5 made me more invested in Game 6, which the Red Wings ultimately won. But still, I remember thinking it at the time and I’m still agreeing with it now: overtime playoff hockey in an elimination game? That’s good stuff.
June 16 – US Open 18 Hole Playoff
As a hack golfer who’s trying to get it back down in the 90s after not playing in years, I’ve always watched the major tournaments on Sunday afternoon, which has been especially handy since Tiger Woods came along about the same time I first picked up a club. And sure, there was plenty of Tiger drama in the first 72 holes of this thing, and plenty of other words have been written about his knee.
Golf tournaments that come down to the Sunday 18th hole are always intense, but unless you’ve got players tied coming to the tee box, some of the edge is taken off. When you’ve got a guy who’s up at least one, he’s going to play it safe and it’s all on the other guy to make birdie. Even when they’re tied, there’s this sense of shot by shot equality…
Unless your tournament ends on a par 5.
When you put eagle in play, the drama increases significantly. I’d never even thought about this, but now I’m a firm believer that all major championships that aren’t played at Augusta or St. Andrews should end on a par 5.
With the great story of Tiger Woods vs. Rocco Mediate unfolding in that playoff at Torrey Pines, you had drama aplenty, culminating with Mediate actually leading by one stroke coming to 18.
But because it was Tiger and because it was a par 5, Mediate’s lead wasn’t safe. At all. If Tiger made eagle, Rocco would’ve needed birdie just to tie. Even though it didn’t play out that way, the potential was there. Tournaments that end on par 5s mean no one shot lead is truly safe, and puts pressure on both players. We need more of this.
July 6 – Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal
Wimbledon’s on my list, and I’d played this game last year, watching Nadal rally to win the fourth set only to be broken in the fifth. That was a great tennis match; probably the best one I’d ever seen live.
Today was better.
When I got home from church, a rain delay had slowed everything down and the match was in the fourth set. And when it went to the tiebreaker, and Nadal was up 5-2 and serving, you felt like you were on the edge of seeing the mighty Federer finally go down.
Instead, Federer responded at every turn. He launched aces when the situation seemed darkest. He turned away two championship points in the fourth set before ultimately winning the tiebreaker 10-8. And I don’t know much about tennis, but I could tell from listening to John McEnroe, who let out several “Oh!”s during some of the more spectacular moments…this was something special.
Another rain delay squeezed every last ounce of daylight from this match, the longest in Wimbledon championship history. Nadal would put Federer on the ropes, Federer would respond with an ace. Neither man could break the other. And as the points went on and on in that fifth set, I found myself absolutely glued to the event that I couldn’t have cared less about 24 hours earlier.
While an NHL sudden death overtime or an icy putt on 18 might be more dramatic than anything tennis (which requires you to win by two, thus eliminating any level of “double sudden death”), the matchup and the legacies of both men provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: if Nadal could win, this could be the day a true rivalry was born.
It’s true, Nadal regularly beats Federer on clay. And vice versa on grass. But a rivalry isn’t really a rivalry until the other guy wins, and wins in this case on the other’s surface. Up to today, the Federer/Nadal argument was simply a matter of which surface they were playing on, and until one man won on the other’s turf/clay, it couldn’t really be anything else to the majority of American sports fans.
What’s more, Federer is the more renowned of the two, the perceived contemporary of Tiger Woods.
The difference between today and June 16 is this: Rocco Mediate would’ve been a good story if he’d made one more putt. But that’s all. If Nadal could beat Federer, he could become the true rival; not just the one weekend wonder, but a true foil for tennis’ mighty champion. This story could have legs. And long ones at that.
I like Tiger, in part because you can’t help but cheer for greatness on that level. But sure, I wanted Rocco to win, because for once I just wanted to see it. I wanted to see someone beat him.
I like Federer for all the same reasons. But me – and all of tennis – were pulling for Nadal today.
If Federer wins, he’s still the man and in the minds of those who only pay attention to the majors, which is most of America, Nadal is just “that guy who wins on clay”. But if Nadal wins on Federer’s turf…you can market that. You can sell that. You can give me a reason to watch the US Open in hopes of seeing the next step in the evolution of a true rivalry.
So on they went. Nadal lost another championship point in the fifth set. But he never cracked. It just kept going, like an iron man match where neither guy will take the first fall.
Until finally, at the last possible moment of daylight, Federer was broken. And then Nadal finished him off. And his celebration – deservingly so – was a tennis moment for the ages.
And I – who couldn’t tell you about any other tennis moments – was right here, caught up in all of it.
I heard a lot of “the changing of the guard”, and again I’m no tennis expert, but I’d much prefer “the birth of a rivalry”, though the good folks at NBC would want you to believe that it was already one. But again – until today, Nadal in the eyes of the majority was just the guy who can win on clay. Now, he’s the rival…and together, they’re the guys who can make tennis worth watching again. I just spent hours in front of the television with these two guys, and enjoyed the drama and competitiveness just as much as I would any other sport.
There are others out there – I know a UEFA game went to penalty kicks, but I definitely don’t know enough soccer to write about it, because someone would have to start by telling me what UEFA is and why 2008 is the first time I’m hearing about it or seeing it on ESPN.
But either way, these last few weeks have shown that even for guys and gals who only watch the big three…if you love sports, you can find five-star championship drama in all kinds of places.
Whether it’s a golden goal, an endless fifth set, or the bottom of the ninth…the drama and adrenaline we truly love about sports can transcend all of them, and can be found in places you might not have thought to look.
So while I’m counting the Saturdays between now and kickoff…I’ll be waiting for the uneven bars in Beijing.
As a child, I watched John Smoltz and Jack Morris duel deep into the night in Game 7 of the World Series, until finally our Brave hearts were broken in extra innings. In college, I saw the Titans erase a 16-0 deficit and then watched Steve McNair lead a desperate charge downfield in the final seconds, only to come up one yard short in Super Bowl XXXIV. And my heart has both leapt and been broken more times on fall Saturdays by the Tennessee Vols than I could possibly remember. And in a few weeks, I’ll give it away all over again.
Though the majority of my time with sports is spent with the big three, I also make a point to watch the major events and championships of some other sports that fall in the lower tiers of popularity. Each year, I try and catch Daytona, Indianapolis, the Kentucky Derby and the like. Even if I’m not a fan of NASCAR or horse racing, at least once a year on their brightest stages, it makes for good television that most sports fans can truly appreciate. I really don’t like soccer, but even there I’ll tune in for the World Cup when it rolls around.
I expect to be entertained and enjoy something unique when I take time out to watch a sport I normally wouldn’t, but I’m never expecting that level of enjoyment to come close to approaching what I get from football, basketball or baseball.
But in the last few weeks, I’ve found myself glued to the television on three different occasions with sports I almost never watch, fully immersed in their championship drama.
Along the way, I’ve discovered three scenarios that I think rank among the most tense and dramatic in all of sports, so much so that even if you’ve never played nor watched that particular sport before, it demands you stop what you’re doing and pay attention.
I believe the most dramatic and tense scenario in all of sports is an overtime game in college football where the team with the first possession kicks a field goal. Because that means on any of the following plays for the other team, the game can instantly be over – but unlike most sports, it’s sudden death for both teams: that second team could score a touchdown at any moment, producing instant victory. But if they throw an interception or fumble the ball away, it’s instant victory for the other team. Or they could simply kick a field goal and we play on.
That level of “potential instantaneous double sudden death” – thanks very much – is hard to find anywhere else.
It’s the home team being down a run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and runners on second and third: on the next pitch, either team could win the game.
You just don’t run into that stuff every day. Especially with titles on the line, in a sports world that’s given us World Series and NBA Finals that’ve been generally one-sided for the last few years.
And I especially didn’t expect to run into it in the three places I’ve pleasantly found it in the last month:
June 2 - Stanley Cup Finals Game 5
Being from Knoxville, I’ve never been a huge hockey fan. I played it on my Sega Genesis like a lot of kids, and to this day if the Predators ever made a run in the playoffs, I’d be on board because it is fun to watch. But between fleeting dreams and lockouts, it’s not something I devote any time or energy to.
However the Stanley Cup Finals are on that Daytona list of things to try and catch, and the matchup was especially intriguing this year for even less than casual fans like me.
Pulling for the Penguins because the Red Wings I remember had a bunch of Russians on their team and I’m proud to be an American – makes total sense, right? – I was only half watching after they went up 2-0 in Game 5. Which means I was still only half watching when Detroit rallied to take a 3-2 lead with ten minutes to play.
Now, it’s already tense down the stretch with the Cup on the line and the Detroit crowd going crazy. It gets even better when the Pens pull their goalie. Still, it seemed improbable…but with 34.3 seconds to play, Pittsburgh somehow found a way, and off we go to overtime.
And a Stanley Cup Final overtime where the home team can win the cup and you’re cheering for the road team is incredibly intense.
More so than soccer under the same “golden goal” format, the speed of hockey and the way things can change very quickly amps up the drama significantly. In this game, when you factor in overtime power plays that kept coming up short and excellent goaltending, the tension kept building.
And so I’m right there with them, deep into the night, knowing that even if I have to get up at 7:00, I can’t miss the end. One overtime. Two. Three. Power plays turning up nothing. I’m not invested in Pittsburgh and this was the first significant amount of time I’d spent with the NHL all season. But I couldn’t walk away. I didn’t want to.
Finally, in the third overtime, the Penguins got their goal and prolonged the series another night. Game 5 made me more invested in Game 6, which the Red Wings ultimately won. But still, I remember thinking it at the time and I’m still agreeing with it now: overtime playoff hockey in an elimination game? That’s good stuff.
June 16 – US Open 18 Hole Playoff
As a hack golfer who’s trying to get it back down in the 90s after not playing in years, I’ve always watched the major tournaments on Sunday afternoon, which has been especially handy since Tiger Woods came along about the same time I first picked up a club. And sure, there was plenty of Tiger drama in the first 72 holes of this thing, and plenty of other words have been written about his knee.
Golf tournaments that come down to the Sunday 18th hole are always intense, but unless you’ve got players tied coming to the tee box, some of the edge is taken off. When you’ve got a guy who’s up at least one, he’s going to play it safe and it’s all on the other guy to make birdie. Even when they’re tied, there’s this sense of shot by shot equality…
Unless your tournament ends on a par 5.
When you put eagle in play, the drama increases significantly. I’d never even thought about this, but now I’m a firm believer that all major championships that aren’t played at Augusta or St. Andrews should end on a par 5.
With the great story of Tiger Woods vs. Rocco Mediate unfolding in that playoff at Torrey Pines, you had drama aplenty, culminating with Mediate actually leading by one stroke coming to 18.
But because it was Tiger and because it was a par 5, Mediate’s lead wasn’t safe. At all. If Tiger made eagle, Rocco would’ve needed birdie just to tie. Even though it didn’t play out that way, the potential was there. Tournaments that end on par 5s mean no one shot lead is truly safe, and puts pressure on both players. We need more of this.
July 6 – Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal
Wimbledon’s on my list, and I’d played this game last year, watching Nadal rally to win the fourth set only to be broken in the fifth. That was a great tennis match; probably the best one I’d ever seen live.
Today was better.
When I got home from church, a rain delay had slowed everything down and the match was in the fourth set. And when it went to the tiebreaker, and Nadal was up 5-2 and serving, you felt like you were on the edge of seeing the mighty Federer finally go down.
Instead, Federer responded at every turn. He launched aces when the situation seemed darkest. He turned away two championship points in the fourth set before ultimately winning the tiebreaker 10-8. And I don’t know much about tennis, but I could tell from listening to John McEnroe, who let out several “Oh!”s during some of the more spectacular moments…this was something special.
Another rain delay squeezed every last ounce of daylight from this match, the longest in Wimbledon championship history. Nadal would put Federer on the ropes, Federer would respond with an ace. Neither man could break the other. And as the points went on and on in that fifth set, I found myself absolutely glued to the event that I couldn’t have cared less about 24 hours earlier.
While an NHL sudden death overtime or an icy putt on 18 might be more dramatic than anything tennis (which requires you to win by two, thus eliminating any level of “double sudden death”), the matchup and the legacies of both men provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: if Nadal could win, this could be the day a true rivalry was born.
It’s true, Nadal regularly beats Federer on clay. And vice versa on grass. But a rivalry isn’t really a rivalry until the other guy wins, and wins in this case on the other’s surface. Up to today, the Federer/Nadal argument was simply a matter of which surface they were playing on, and until one man won on the other’s turf/clay, it couldn’t really be anything else to the majority of American sports fans.
What’s more, Federer is the more renowned of the two, the perceived contemporary of Tiger Woods.
The difference between today and June 16 is this: Rocco Mediate would’ve been a good story if he’d made one more putt. But that’s all. If Nadal could beat Federer, he could become the true rival; not just the one weekend wonder, but a true foil for tennis’ mighty champion. This story could have legs. And long ones at that.
I like Tiger, in part because you can’t help but cheer for greatness on that level. But sure, I wanted Rocco to win, because for once I just wanted to see it. I wanted to see someone beat him.
I like Federer for all the same reasons. But me – and all of tennis – were pulling for Nadal today.
If Federer wins, he’s still the man and in the minds of those who only pay attention to the majors, which is most of America, Nadal is just “that guy who wins on clay”. But if Nadal wins on Federer’s turf…you can market that. You can sell that. You can give me a reason to watch the US Open in hopes of seeing the next step in the evolution of a true rivalry.
So on they went. Nadal lost another championship point in the fifth set. But he never cracked. It just kept going, like an iron man match where neither guy will take the first fall.
Until finally, at the last possible moment of daylight, Federer was broken. And then Nadal finished him off. And his celebration – deservingly so – was a tennis moment for the ages.
And I – who couldn’t tell you about any other tennis moments – was right here, caught up in all of it.
I heard a lot of “the changing of the guard”, and again I’m no tennis expert, but I’d much prefer “the birth of a rivalry”, though the good folks at NBC would want you to believe that it was already one. But again – until today, Nadal in the eyes of the majority was just the guy who can win on clay. Now, he’s the rival…and together, they’re the guys who can make tennis worth watching again. I just spent hours in front of the television with these two guys, and enjoyed the drama and competitiveness just as much as I would any other sport.
There are others out there – I know a UEFA game went to penalty kicks, but I definitely don’t know enough soccer to write about it, because someone would have to start by telling me what UEFA is and why 2008 is the first time I’m hearing about it or seeing it on ESPN.
But either way, these last few weeks have shown that even for guys and gals who only watch the big three…if you love sports, you can find five-star championship drama in all kinds of places.
Whether it’s a golden goal, an endless fifth set, or the bottom of the ninth…the drama and adrenaline we truly love about sports can transcend all of them, and can be found in places you might not have thought to look.
So while I’m counting the Saturdays between now and kickoff…I’ll be waiting for the uneven bars in Beijing.
Friday, July 04, 2008
10 Years - The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers Part Five - Shutting the Door on the East Division
The good vibes the Vols were feeling after beating Florida carried over for one game and one quarter.
After sweating it out for sixty minutes at Syracuse and for sixty-plus against Florida in their first two games, the Vols got a breather with Houston and won 42-7. The following week, Tennessee went to Auburn for the first time since 1990 to face a Tiger squad that had been decimated by graduation losses and was not at all the same team Tennessee had seen the December before in the SEC Championship Game.
In the first quarter of that game, the Vols looked every ounce of the National Championship contender their fans believed they were. To reiterate the point from previous posts in this series, since the Vols at this point had beaten every SEC opponent they'd faced except Florida since October 1994, once the Vols finally beat Florida, the fan mindset became "we're going to win it all."
There was no one else on the schedule we feared, and having already beaten Syracuse there was no major non-conference date left. The vast majority of Vol fans were making reservations for Atlanta in December and Tempe in January from the moment Collins Cooper's kick sailed wide left two weeks earlier.
And the first quarter of the Auburn game was an opportunity for the nation at large to join us. The Tigers drove downfield on their first possession before a vicious hit on the quarterback forced a fumble that DE Shaun Ellis picked up and raced back 90+ yards for a touchdown. When the Vols finally got the ball on their first possession, Jamal Lewis ripped off a 67 yard touchdown run. When the dust had cleared and the first quarter ended, the Vols were up 17-0 and it seemed like the rout was on.
Then, on an innocent looking play, everything changed.
Jamal Lewis limped off the field after trying to make a cut. The play didn't look serious enough to be a long-lasting injury, and when he was out of action for the second half Vol fans assumed it was a knee sprain or something minor, and he'd be back.
So as the Vol offense limped forward without him - 17 points in the first quarter, zero the rest of the day - the Vol defense stepped up, sans Al Wilson, who was also injured. They forced a goal line stand and held Auburn to three field goals in a 17-9 win.
But the news in the coming days was devastating: Jamal Lewis had torn his ACL, and was done for the season.
All of a sudden, the aura of invincibility had been seriously shaken.
The Vols were 4-0 and ranked No. 4, but with seven games left and a quarterback who was still learning, the blind optimism that was floating around Knoxville quickly turned south.
The alternatives to Lewis were untested - sophomores Travis Henry and Travis Stephens. Vol fans had been accustomed to greatness at the RB position for a decade - Reggie Cobb, Chuck Webb, Tony Thompson, James Stewart, Aaron Hayden, Charlie Garner, Jay Graham and then Lewis. The recruiting pedigree was good, but Jamal was such a unique and fierce runner, and such a vital part of the offense...confidence was not high.
And the next opponent made it worse.
Down in Athens, the Bulldogs were undefeated and ranked No. 7. The week before, they'd gone to Baton Rouge to face No. 6 LSU with a freshman quarterback named Quincy Carter, and Carter turned in a sensational performance - 27 of 34 for 318 yards, 2 TDs and another 41 yards on the ground - in a 28-27 Bulldog victory.
Between Carter and Champ Bailey, who was being hailed as the second coming of Charles Woodson (don't get me started), and with LSU going down and Tennessee and Florida looking less than impressive, Georgia was the hot team in the league and seemed to be the team that all the experts fell in love with following their performance on the Bayou.
So the Vols took their questions to Athens, in search of answers and the next step towards a championship. But when it came to facing Tennessee, Georgia always had some questions of their own.
At this point, Tennessee had beaten Georgia seven in a row. And much like the Tennessee-Florida rivalry until 1998, the Vols seemed to take Georgia's best teams and turn them into lunch meat.
1998 was the second of three consecutive years that Georgia came into to the Tennessee game undefeated, and left on the losing end by at least three possessions.
While Florida was everyone's burden throughout the 90s, Georgia had actually beaten them the year before, and when Tennessee did the same in September, everything fell to this date in Athens: all of Georgia's angst and frustration against Tennessee's quest for glory, with the winner staying undefeated, firmly entrenched as the best team in the SEC, and having a legitimate claim as one of the best teams in the nation.
This became the game that made not just Vol fans, but the nation believe: that Tennessee was for real, and good enough on both sides of the ball to be taken seriously as a National Championship contender.
The first half was marred with mistakes, turnovers and field goals. Jeff Hall and the Vols outkicked Georgia 3-1 for a 9-3 lead at the break. But while Tee Martin was having his struggles early, Quincy Carter never got even remotely close to comfortable.
Without Lewis to pace the offense, the Vol defense took up the mantle starting on this afternoon, one they would carry for the rest of the season.
Carter was consistently hit and hurried, and Georgia couldn't put anything together. Carter finished the day 14 of 37 passing and Georgia only ran for 59 yards. Vol corner Dwayne Goodrich, beaten by Travis McGriff a few weeks ago, shut down Champ Bailey. A defense so questioned at Syracuse a few weeks earlier was now shutting down the hottest team in the country. In the process, they forced four turnovers, including a Deon Grant interception late to help seal it.
And the Vol offense?
The biggest sequence in the game and arguably the season was right away in the third quarter, where the Vols took a narrow 9-3 lead in an ugly game and produced the game's first touchdown, Tee Martin finding Cedrick Wilson on a short touchdown pass, beating Bailey on the play. Suddenly the Vols were up 15-3, and a two possession gap seemed even larger the way the defense was playing.
While Tee Martin was becoming more comfortable in command of the offense, Travis & Travis were doing their part to erase the doubts and fears of the Vol Nation. Travis Stephens got the first crack and responded with 107 yards. Travis Henry was his backup and turned in 53 yards of his own (before eventually winning the starting role in the weeks to come). They showed they could be more than relied upon, and that this offense - even without Jamal Lewis - when combined with this defense, could in fact carry this team to victory. Against a good opponent.
On their home field. And by a more than comfortable margin.
With all the questions and doubts put to bed, Tennessee didn't just squeak by or escape Athens on this day - they dominated the Bulldogs, a performance the likes of which championship teams are made of.
By the time Tee Martin connected with Peerless Price late in the third quarter, the Vols were up 22-3 and the game was effectively over. Quincy Carter couldn't pull it off by himself, couldn't lead any sort of comeback - and what's really interesting about Carter is that you can argue the greatest performance of his Georgia career was that first notable one - as a freshman at LSU in the first week of October of his freshman season. It never really got any better than that for him.
The Vols, meanwhile, went on to win by that margin and effectively shut the door on the SEC East. Having beaten Florida and now Georgia, Tennessee was very much in the driver's seat, and demanded the respect and attention of the nation.
While No. 1 Ohio State continued to be viewed by all as the best team in the nation at this point, the Vols had proven that they belonged in the conversation. Having beaten Syracuse, Florida and now Georgia, and with fresh faith in the defense, Tee Martin and the Travis duo, the Vols went to a bye week and looked toward the second half of the season with not just false optimism, but real proof: this Tennessee team had what it took. After Georgia, we all knew: the Vols could really do it. The Vols could beat anyone, anywhere - and in this case, make it look easy.
The Vols could go all the way.
After sweating it out for sixty minutes at Syracuse and for sixty-plus against Florida in their first two games, the Vols got a breather with Houston and won 42-7. The following week, Tennessee went to Auburn for the first time since 1990 to face a Tiger squad that had been decimated by graduation losses and was not at all the same team Tennessee had seen the December before in the SEC Championship Game.
In the first quarter of that game, the Vols looked every ounce of the National Championship contender their fans believed they were. To reiterate the point from previous posts in this series, since the Vols at this point had beaten every SEC opponent they'd faced except Florida since October 1994, once the Vols finally beat Florida, the fan mindset became "we're going to win it all."
There was no one else on the schedule we feared, and having already beaten Syracuse there was no major non-conference date left. The vast majority of Vol fans were making reservations for Atlanta in December and Tempe in January from the moment Collins Cooper's kick sailed wide left two weeks earlier.
And the first quarter of the Auburn game was an opportunity for the nation at large to join us. The Tigers drove downfield on their first possession before a vicious hit on the quarterback forced a fumble that DE Shaun Ellis picked up and raced back 90+ yards for a touchdown. When the Vols finally got the ball on their first possession, Jamal Lewis ripped off a 67 yard touchdown run. When the dust had cleared and the first quarter ended, the Vols were up 17-0 and it seemed like the rout was on.
Then, on an innocent looking play, everything changed.
Jamal Lewis limped off the field after trying to make a cut. The play didn't look serious enough to be a long-lasting injury, and when he was out of action for the second half Vol fans assumed it was a knee sprain or something minor, and he'd be back.
So as the Vol offense limped forward without him - 17 points in the first quarter, zero the rest of the day - the Vol defense stepped up, sans Al Wilson, who was also injured. They forced a goal line stand and held Auburn to three field goals in a 17-9 win.
But the news in the coming days was devastating: Jamal Lewis had torn his ACL, and was done for the season.
All of a sudden, the aura of invincibility had been seriously shaken.
The Vols were 4-0 and ranked No. 4, but with seven games left and a quarterback who was still learning, the blind optimism that was floating around Knoxville quickly turned south.
The alternatives to Lewis were untested - sophomores Travis Henry and Travis Stephens. Vol fans had been accustomed to greatness at the RB position for a decade - Reggie Cobb, Chuck Webb, Tony Thompson, James Stewart, Aaron Hayden, Charlie Garner, Jay Graham and then Lewis. The recruiting pedigree was good, but Jamal was such a unique and fierce runner, and such a vital part of the offense...confidence was not high.
And the next opponent made it worse.
Down in Athens, the Bulldogs were undefeated and ranked No. 7. The week before, they'd gone to Baton Rouge to face No. 6 LSU with a freshman quarterback named Quincy Carter, and Carter turned in a sensational performance - 27 of 34 for 318 yards, 2 TDs and another 41 yards on the ground - in a 28-27 Bulldog victory.
Between Carter and Champ Bailey, who was being hailed as the second coming of Charles Woodson (don't get me started), and with LSU going down and Tennessee and Florida looking less than impressive, Georgia was the hot team in the league and seemed to be the team that all the experts fell in love with following their performance on the Bayou.
So the Vols took their questions to Athens, in search of answers and the next step towards a championship. But when it came to facing Tennessee, Georgia always had some questions of their own.
At this point, Tennessee had beaten Georgia seven in a row. And much like the Tennessee-Florida rivalry until 1998, the Vols seemed to take Georgia's best teams and turn them into lunch meat.
1998 was the second of three consecutive years that Georgia came into to the Tennessee game undefeated, and left on the losing end by at least three possessions.
While Florida was everyone's burden throughout the 90s, Georgia had actually beaten them the year before, and when Tennessee did the same in September, everything fell to this date in Athens: all of Georgia's angst and frustration against Tennessee's quest for glory, with the winner staying undefeated, firmly entrenched as the best team in the SEC, and having a legitimate claim as one of the best teams in the nation.
This became the game that made not just Vol fans, but the nation believe: that Tennessee was for real, and good enough on both sides of the ball to be taken seriously as a National Championship contender.
The first half was marred with mistakes, turnovers and field goals. Jeff Hall and the Vols outkicked Georgia 3-1 for a 9-3 lead at the break. But while Tee Martin was having his struggles early, Quincy Carter never got even remotely close to comfortable.
Without Lewis to pace the offense, the Vol defense took up the mantle starting on this afternoon, one they would carry for the rest of the season.
Carter was consistently hit and hurried, and Georgia couldn't put anything together. Carter finished the day 14 of 37 passing and Georgia only ran for 59 yards. Vol corner Dwayne Goodrich, beaten by Travis McGriff a few weeks ago, shut down Champ Bailey. A defense so questioned at Syracuse a few weeks earlier was now shutting down the hottest team in the country. In the process, they forced four turnovers, including a Deon Grant interception late to help seal it.
And the Vol offense?
The biggest sequence in the game and arguably the season was right away in the third quarter, where the Vols took a narrow 9-3 lead in an ugly game and produced the game's first touchdown, Tee Martin finding Cedrick Wilson on a short touchdown pass, beating Bailey on the play. Suddenly the Vols were up 15-3, and a two possession gap seemed even larger the way the defense was playing.
While Tee Martin was becoming more comfortable in command of the offense, Travis & Travis were doing their part to erase the doubts and fears of the Vol Nation. Travis Stephens got the first crack and responded with 107 yards. Travis Henry was his backup and turned in 53 yards of his own (before eventually winning the starting role in the weeks to come). They showed they could be more than relied upon, and that this offense - even without Jamal Lewis - when combined with this defense, could in fact carry this team to victory. Against a good opponent.
On their home field. And by a more than comfortable margin.
With all the questions and doubts put to bed, Tennessee didn't just squeak by or escape Athens on this day - they dominated the Bulldogs, a performance the likes of which championship teams are made of.
By the time Tee Martin connected with Peerless Price late in the third quarter, the Vols were up 22-3 and the game was effectively over. Quincy Carter couldn't pull it off by himself, couldn't lead any sort of comeback - and what's really interesting about Carter is that you can argue the greatest performance of his Georgia career was that first notable one - as a freshman at LSU in the first week of October of his freshman season. It never really got any better than that for him.
The Vols, meanwhile, went on to win by that margin and effectively shut the door on the SEC East. Having beaten Florida and now Georgia, Tennessee was very much in the driver's seat, and demanded the respect and attention of the nation.
While No. 1 Ohio State continued to be viewed by all as the best team in the nation at this point, the Vols had proven that they belonged in the conversation. Having beaten Syracuse, Florida and now Georgia, and with fresh faith in the defense, Tee Martin and the Travis duo, the Vols went to a bye week and looked toward the second half of the season with not just false optimism, but real proof: this Tennessee team had what it took. After Georgia, we all knew: the Vols could really do it. The Vols could beat anyone, anywhere - and in this case, make it look easy.
The Vols could go all the way.
Random Thoughts - 4th of July
Where shooting off fireworks - which is legal where I live - in the depths of these mountains creates a tremendous echo effect.
Site Notice
For the last three weeks, I've been posting some of the stuff from this blog over at BleacherReport.com, a site I've enjoyed both reading and writing for. These are and will remain the exact same posts you can find here, and not everything I post on here will make its way to Bleacher Report (like this one, for instance). I know that a significant percentage of the audience that reads here are personal friends and family, and absolutely nothing will change as far as this site goes. Personal comments, especially, are always welcome here.
However, if you'd like to engage the material more, Bleacher Report is a better place to do so - the previous piece on the SEC rushing offenses from the last 15 years actually made its way to their feature spot on the front page of the site last night, and picked up more than 2,000 hits in 24 hours, compared to the 16,000 or so this blog has received in two years. I'm not trying to get famous doing this and I've got a job that demands much of my time and energy, so I'm not looking to add any extra work other than copying and pasting. But I have found in three weeks that it's a better place to have conversations instead of just me writing - so if you'd like to join the conversation and the commentary along with what I write, you can find passionate and usually good discussion on this and many other good pieces of writing at Bleacher Report. (Inside joke: Bleacher Report is an emergent sports community).
But just to reaffirm one more time - you won't find anything I write there that won't be here at the same time, and not everything I write here will go there. So pick your poison...but really, for those I know and those I don't who read here...thanks. This blog crossed the two year threshold back on June 26, and has been what I was looking for when I started it and more - a great way to spend the free time I do get by staying engaged with the sports world I love, and getting to feel like I can still have the conversations with my friends that I miss from living in "the flip side of nowhere", as the pastor of my home church calls it. So thanks for reading along with me...and whether here or there, I hope you'll stay with us.
More Benefits from Spreading Out...
Through Bleacher Report and backtracking through this blog on the '98 Vols anniversary pieces, I've become aware of RockyTopTalk.com. I write to write and have never, ever been one of these message board guys - I would be a long time listener/first time caller if I ever called Sports Talk, and as such I generally avoid lots of sports sites and especially several UT ones that seem to be breeding grounds for negativity. But I was pleasantly surprised when looking through rockytoptalk - there's a bevy of information there with a large amount of community interaction, as well as some really good writing and multimedia, which is what's most important to me. I subscribe to VolQuest for some information and read GoVols.com regularly, but rockytoptalk is my kind of UT site, and has something for everyone. It's well worth your time to check out.
59 days...
I might just go year-round on "The Smell" this year...
Last year, it took a Braves game in person at Turner Field in late July to get The Smell, and I was henceforth ready for football season.
This time around, thanks to the Boston Celtics, I may not need a refill. We may just keep going.
Really - between Tennessee losing at Cal through the SEC East Championship and all the insane, crazy things that happened in the 2007 college football season - which needs to be more appreciated as time goes on, because it won't always be like that, with an insanely big and/or close game every week and a the pendulum swinging so hard to either side all year - which was then followed by the most successful season in Tennessee basketball history, which lasted deep into March, which then turned all focus directly to the Celtics, who carried the torch into late June, and the good vibes from murdering the Lakers have lasted another two weeks...
...and now that I've finally taken off my BEAT LA shirt (and await the arrival of my NBA Champions shirt), football is less than two months away. And as soon as I get a breath...it'll be go time. NCAA Football 09 comes out in eleven days. That's insane. But quite real.
I feel like I've been on full go with my sports passions for 10 months...because I have. And really, I've been blessed with three championship teams - Tennessee Football won the SEC East, Tennessee Basketball won the SEC, and the Celtics won it all. Plus the Lady Vols did what they do. Plus the Titans made the playoffs.
It won't always be like this.
But right now it is, and it's good. So while I'm breathing for the next 11 days before I get ready to start throwing controllers again, I find myself being thankful. Really. It won't always be like this.
But that doesn't keep me from thinking about the Vols blasting UCLA.
Really...59 days.
...but if I did want something to feel bad about...
If only to make that point, and to not be one of these blind optimists that only writes about things when they're going well...the Braves have gone from the cusp to circling the toilet, and threatening to get flushed before the All-Star Break.
Last month, the NL East leading Phillies swept the Braves in Atlanta by breaking their hearts in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings. The Braves went from 3.5 back to 6.5 back.
This time, the Phillies didn't even give us a chance.
They finished it off tonight, starting with Chase Utley going yard in the first inning, and finishing with Cole Hamels making the entire lineup look silly. The result? After "fighting back" to within 4 games three days ago while the Phillies struggled, the Braves are now 40-46 and 7 games back. Yikes.
There's a three game set with Houston before a West Coast road trip before the All-Star Break...and you know me, I'll keep looking for the next right thing, which right now would be "let's just make it to the break and then see where we are." But it doesn't get much worse than getting swept by your division leader at home. Twice. Baseball Tonight tells me the Phillies are the first team to sweep the Braves twice in one season in Atlanta since 1989.
But we always end on a good note, so:
The Olympics start August 8. Seriously, full go sports all the time. You know you love it.
Site Notice
For the last three weeks, I've been posting some of the stuff from this blog over at BleacherReport.com, a site I've enjoyed both reading and writing for. These are and will remain the exact same posts you can find here, and not everything I post on here will make its way to Bleacher Report (like this one, for instance). I know that a significant percentage of the audience that reads here are personal friends and family, and absolutely nothing will change as far as this site goes. Personal comments, especially, are always welcome here.
However, if you'd like to engage the material more, Bleacher Report is a better place to do so - the previous piece on the SEC rushing offenses from the last 15 years actually made its way to their feature spot on the front page of the site last night, and picked up more than 2,000 hits in 24 hours, compared to the 16,000 or so this blog has received in two years. I'm not trying to get famous doing this and I've got a job that demands much of my time and energy, so I'm not looking to add any extra work other than copying and pasting. But I have found in three weeks that it's a better place to have conversations instead of just me writing - so if you'd like to join the conversation and the commentary along with what I write, you can find passionate and usually good discussion on this and many other good pieces of writing at Bleacher Report. (Inside joke: Bleacher Report is an emergent sports community).
But just to reaffirm one more time - you won't find anything I write there that won't be here at the same time, and not everything I write here will go there. So pick your poison...but really, for those I know and those I don't who read here...thanks. This blog crossed the two year threshold back on June 26, and has been what I was looking for when I started it and more - a great way to spend the free time I do get by staying engaged with the sports world I love, and getting to feel like I can still have the conversations with my friends that I miss from living in "the flip side of nowhere", as the pastor of my home church calls it. So thanks for reading along with me...and whether here or there, I hope you'll stay with us.
More Benefits from Spreading Out...
Through Bleacher Report and backtracking through this blog on the '98 Vols anniversary pieces, I've become aware of RockyTopTalk.com. I write to write and have never, ever been one of these message board guys - I would be a long time listener/first time caller if I ever called Sports Talk, and as such I generally avoid lots of sports sites and especially several UT ones that seem to be breeding grounds for negativity. But I was pleasantly surprised when looking through rockytoptalk - there's a bevy of information there with a large amount of community interaction, as well as some really good writing and multimedia, which is what's most important to me. I subscribe to VolQuest for some information and read GoVols.com regularly, but rockytoptalk is my kind of UT site, and has something for everyone. It's well worth your time to check out.
59 days...
I might just go year-round on "The Smell" this year...
Last year, it took a Braves game in person at Turner Field in late July to get The Smell, and I was henceforth ready for football season.
This time around, thanks to the Boston Celtics, I may not need a refill. We may just keep going.
Really - between Tennessee losing at Cal through the SEC East Championship and all the insane, crazy things that happened in the 2007 college football season - which needs to be more appreciated as time goes on, because it won't always be like that, with an insanely big and/or close game every week and a the pendulum swinging so hard to either side all year - which was then followed by the most successful season in Tennessee basketball history, which lasted deep into March, which then turned all focus directly to the Celtics, who carried the torch into late June, and the good vibes from murdering the Lakers have lasted another two weeks...
...and now that I've finally taken off my BEAT LA shirt (and await the arrival of my NBA Champions shirt), football is less than two months away. And as soon as I get a breath...it'll be go time. NCAA Football 09 comes out in eleven days. That's insane. But quite real.
I feel like I've been on full go with my sports passions for 10 months...because I have. And really, I've been blessed with three championship teams - Tennessee Football won the SEC East, Tennessee Basketball won the SEC, and the Celtics won it all. Plus the Lady Vols did what they do. Plus the Titans made the playoffs.
It won't always be like this.
But right now it is, and it's good. So while I'm breathing for the next 11 days before I get ready to start throwing controllers again, I find myself being thankful. Really. It won't always be like this.
But that doesn't keep me from thinking about the Vols blasting UCLA.
Really...59 days.
...but if I did want something to feel bad about...
If only to make that point, and to not be one of these blind optimists that only writes about things when they're going well...the Braves have gone from the cusp to circling the toilet, and threatening to get flushed before the All-Star Break.
Last month, the NL East leading Phillies swept the Braves in Atlanta by breaking their hearts in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings. The Braves went from 3.5 back to 6.5 back.
This time, the Phillies didn't even give us a chance.
They finished it off tonight, starting with Chase Utley going yard in the first inning, and finishing with Cole Hamels making the entire lineup look silly. The result? After "fighting back" to within 4 games three days ago while the Phillies struggled, the Braves are now 40-46 and 7 games back. Yikes.
There's a three game set with Houston before a West Coast road trip before the All-Star Break...and you know me, I'll keep looking for the next right thing, which right now would be "let's just make it to the break and then see where we are." But it doesn't get much worse than getting swept by your division leader at home. Twice. Baseball Tonight tells me the Phillies are the first team to sweep the Braves twice in one season in Atlanta since 1989.
But we always end on a good note, so:
The Olympics start August 8. Seriously, full go sports all the time. You know you love it.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Top 10 SEC Rushing Offenses (1992-2007)
(As part of the feature celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the 1998 National Champion Tennessee Volunteers)
Since the SEC went to its 12 team divisional format in 1992, there have been many great players who've shined on both fall Saturdays and gone on to make NFL dollars on Sundays. However, no matter how much football may seem to change and progress, the SEC has stayed true to the roots of successful football - a strong running game - while inventing new ways to gain yardage.
While there have been some individual standouts over the last fifteen years like Shaun Alexander, the same idea that many NFL and collegiate teams are falling back on now has been alive and well in the SEC for years: it takes a village to run the football. More often than not, it hasn't been just one superstar who's gained fame, but a stable of runners who've led their teams to championships in the SEC and on the national level.
That tradition has produced success even without name recognition (for instance, Alabama's attack of Tyler Watts, Ahmaad Galloway and Santonio Beard produced almost 250 yards per game in 2001) and also bodes well for the present, as even Knowshon Moreno won't get 30 carries a game this season - he'll share the load like everyone else.
In remembering Tennessee's potent rush offense from 1998, and to continue to help move along the final two months til football season, here's a look at them and nine other successful running games in the modern era of SEC Football - the ten best tandems, ground games and rushing attacks since 1992.
TOP 10 SEC RUSHING OFFENSES (1992-2007)
10. 07 Florida - Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Kestahn Moore
Highlighting the "inventing new ways" idea, the Gators won the National Championship in 2006 with a version of it, and then unleashed the full spread option in all its glory last season. And while Florida didn't make it back to the BCS or win the SEC East, they did pickup a ton of yards, score a ton of points, and help win Tim Tebow the Heisman Trophy.
What's most startling about this offense is that its two top rushers were the quarterback and the wide receiver, going for more than 1600 yards between them. The idea would follow that if the Gators ever find and/or develop a star tailback to go with this offense, look out...
09. 03 LSU - Justin Vincent, Joseph Addai & Alley Broussard
While the 03 Tigers were primarily known for their defense, it was the play of Addai and freshman Justin Vincent that helped carry the Tigers to the title in 2003. Vincent cracked the 1,000 mark and added 117 and a touchdown against Oklahoma to win the National Championship.
Their fates have gone different ways since - Addai, who was really upstaged by Vincent as the season wore on, finished his career strong at LSU and went onto great success as Edgerrin James' replacement in Indianapolis, winning the Super Bowl in his rookie season. Vincent and Broussard both saw injuries and more young talent derail their careers - Broussard would transfer and Vincent saw his numbers continually decline. But at least for this one season, these three combined with incredible defense to help carry the Tigers home.
08. 96 Florida - Fred Taylor, Terry Jackson, Elijah Williams
While most will forever remember the Gators' 96 National Championship team for Danny Wuerffel and the enormous talent at wide receiver, it was those strengths that allowed for plenty of running room for these guys. Taylor and Jackson were especially good at both catching passes and turning out huge runs when least expected, including backbreaking gains in the Sugar Bowl against Florida State. Without their efforts, the Gator offense is nothing more than passing yards and they never win all those games and championships.
Fred Taylor, who had greater individual success the following season in Gainesville, is still playing on Sundays down in Jacksonville, cracked 10,000 career yards last season and could very easily make the Hall of Fame.
07. 02 Arkansas - Cedric Cobbs & Fred Talley
The precursor to McFadden & Jones, Cobbs & Talley had a rockier history but still produced an SEC West title for the Razorbacks in 2002. Cobbs had more name recognition going into the 02 season, but some off the field troubles shifted the spotlight to Talley, who finished with 1119 yards, including a midseason stretch where he dropped 241 on Auburn, 182 on Kentucky and then 136 on Ole Miss.
While neither was really able to catch on in the NFL and may end up being much overshadowed by the 07 duo in Fayetteville, these guys left their mark on Arkansas football.
06. 96 LSU - Kevin Faulk & Rondell Mealey
Kevin Faulk was the face of LSU football almost his entire career, and finished second on the SEC's all-time rushing list, behind only Herschel Walker. His all-purpose totals, just shy of 7,000 yards in four years, put him atop the SEC's all-time list. Mealey was the other option, who outgained Faulk on few occasions but provided a nice change of pace. Although LSU did upend #1 Florida the following year, Faulk was an All-American in 96, so we went here.
Both were drafted, and Faulk has enjoyed one of the longest tenures with the same team since draft day in recent memory, playing nine years with the New England Patriots as a solid all-purpose option and picking up three Super Bowl rings along the way. The 03 group from LSU has the rings, but I'd be much more afraid of this duo in their prime.
05. 92 Georgia - Garrison Hearst & Terrell Davis
Though Hearst did most of the work here, Davis is worth mentioning for what he would later become. Hearst, on probably Georgia's best team on the 90s, was a Heisman Trophy candidate and scored a whopping 21 touchdowns in 1992 to lead the nation. He etched his name as the second best running back in school history over his three year tenure, which isn't bad considering Herschel Walker is first. In 92, he won the Doak Walker Award and was drafted third overall the following April.
Davis had a rocky collegiate career, but outshined Hearst in the pros, playing for the Denver Broncos and winning two rings along with a 2,000 yard season in 1998, won an MVP, and may very well get into the Hall of Fame. However, Hearst was no slouch, twice coming back from injury to produce plenty of great years in San Francisco.
04. 93 Tennessee - Heath Shuler, Charlie Garner, James Stewart, Aaron Hayden
Statistically speaking, this is still the most explosive offense in Tennessee football history. Behind Shuler's arm and legs, and his season that left him second in Heisman voting and the third pick on draft day, the Vols ran to a 9-1-1 record before losing to Penn State in the Citrus Bowl. No matter which tailback was in the game, he was productive - the Vols finished the season averaging six yards per carry, led by Garner's 1161 yards.
All three tailbacks would go onto play in the NFL. Garner had success in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Oakland with a trip to the 2000 Pro Bowl, finishing his career with more than 7,000 yards. Stewart was a starter for years in Jacksonville and then in Detroit, and Hayden saw significant action in his two seasons with San Diego.
03. 07 Arkansas - Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, Peyton Hillis
Time will tell with these guys, especially as McFadden and Jones progress in the NFL, and their jaw-dropping numbers from 07 didn't translate into as many wins as it did the year before. Still, you can't deny the strength of this offense in McFadden (1830 yards) and Jones (1162 yards), who are the best duo in SEC history on paper. Along the way, they produced several highlight reel runs, and both contributed to knocking off LSU when they were #1 in the nation.
If McFadden and/or Jones can produce the types of NFL careers that others on this list have enjoyed, they could eventually be remembered as the best running attack in SEC history.
02. 98 Tennessee - Tee Martin, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Travis Stephens, Shawn Bryson
Unlike the other National Championship teams on this list to this point, the Vols relied more on rushing offense than any of them, especially early in the season when Martin was learning the ropes. Plus, they had to deal with injuries - Jamal Lewis ripped off nearly 500 yards in three games and the first quarter at Auburn before tearing his ACL and being sidelined for the season. Right on cue, Henry and Stephens stepped in, completely untested, and went to work. Henry finished just shy of 1,000 yards despite playing only six games as the starter, while Stephens gave the Vols a quicker burst. Shawn Bryson was an excellent change of pace at fullback, and both he and Martin produced season-saving runs - Martin's 55 yard scramble at Syracuse, Bryson's 63 yard TD against Florida - along the way.
Even without Bryson, you could argue the backfield was even stronger the following year, but Vol fans like to remember Jamal Lewis before the second half of 1999, when most agree that he stopped running as hard to protect himself from further injury. But it's down the line where this group really shines - Travis Henry became the all-time leading rusher in Tennessee history in 2000, then Travis Stephens turned in the greatest single season performance in school history in 2001.
And none of these duos have produced a combined level of collegiate and professional excellence the way Lewis and Henry have - Jamal Lewis has a Super Bowl ring, a 2,000 yard season and 295 yard game together when an Offensive Player of the Year award from 2003, and more than 9,000 yards in just seven seasons of play. Travis Henry has compiled more than 6,000 yards in his career and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2002, and led the league in rushing before getting injured last season. No SEC tandem has produced that level of NFL success combined with such high collegiate success, both in yardage and in championships. Without their combined effort, and with no warning or experience for Henry (and Stephens), the Vols flounder instead of flourish in 1998.
01. 04 Auburn - Jason Campbell, Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown
(And let's not forget that if you go back in time, you can add Brandon Jacobs to this list)
When I think of great running offenses in the SEC, my mind immediately goes here. McFadden and Jones may have better numbers, and Lewis and Henry have had more time in the NFL to produce success there. But to me there's been no better running attack than these guys.
Not only did Auburn have a great defense, and not only did Jason Campbell turn into a great quarterback seemingly overnight, but these guys simply punished you. Ronnie Brown ran straight at and then through you, while Caddy remains one of the few guys who actually lives up to all of his recruiting hype and dazzled the way everyone thought he would. In 2004, they led Auburn to an undefeated season - Caddy going for 1165 and Brown for 913 - and between the numbers, the undefeated season, and their relative NFL success in only three seasons (both drafted in the top five, Jason Campbell also taken in the first round), are more deserving of the top spot than any other SEC ground game in the last fifteen years.
Among the SEC's eight National Champions and/or undefeated teams in the last 15 years, 92 Alabama and 03 LSU are known primarily for defense, 93 Auburn for being on probation, 96 Florida for passing offense, 98 Tennessee for defense with Peerless Price the lasting image, and 06 Florida and 07 LSU for defense and killing Ohio State. But this 04 Auburn team immediately brings to mind these two guys...and for that, and all of these reasons, Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown stand at the top.
Since the SEC went to its 12 team divisional format in 1992, there have been many great players who've shined on both fall Saturdays and gone on to make NFL dollars on Sundays. However, no matter how much football may seem to change and progress, the SEC has stayed true to the roots of successful football - a strong running game - while inventing new ways to gain yardage.
While there have been some individual standouts over the last fifteen years like Shaun Alexander, the same idea that many NFL and collegiate teams are falling back on now has been alive and well in the SEC for years: it takes a village to run the football. More often than not, it hasn't been just one superstar who's gained fame, but a stable of runners who've led their teams to championships in the SEC and on the national level.
That tradition has produced success even without name recognition (for instance, Alabama's attack of Tyler Watts, Ahmaad Galloway and Santonio Beard produced almost 250 yards per game in 2001) and also bodes well for the present, as even Knowshon Moreno won't get 30 carries a game this season - he'll share the load like everyone else.
In remembering Tennessee's potent rush offense from 1998, and to continue to help move along the final two months til football season, here's a look at them and nine other successful running games in the modern era of SEC Football - the ten best tandems, ground games and rushing attacks since 1992.
TOP 10 SEC RUSHING OFFENSES (1992-2007)
10. 07 Florida - Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Kestahn Moore
Highlighting the "inventing new ways" idea, the Gators won the National Championship in 2006 with a version of it, and then unleashed the full spread option in all its glory last season. And while Florida didn't make it back to the BCS or win the SEC East, they did pickup a ton of yards, score a ton of points, and help win Tim Tebow the Heisman Trophy.
What's most startling about this offense is that its two top rushers were the quarterback and the wide receiver, going for more than 1600 yards between them. The idea would follow that if the Gators ever find and/or develop a star tailback to go with this offense, look out...
09. 03 LSU - Justin Vincent, Joseph Addai & Alley Broussard
While the 03 Tigers were primarily known for their defense, it was the play of Addai and freshman Justin Vincent that helped carry the Tigers to the title in 2003. Vincent cracked the 1,000 mark and added 117 and a touchdown against Oklahoma to win the National Championship.
Their fates have gone different ways since - Addai, who was really upstaged by Vincent as the season wore on, finished his career strong at LSU and went onto great success as Edgerrin James' replacement in Indianapolis, winning the Super Bowl in his rookie season. Vincent and Broussard both saw injuries and more young talent derail their careers - Broussard would transfer and Vincent saw his numbers continually decline. But at least for this one season, these three combined with incredible defense to help carry the Tigers home.
08. 96 Florida - Fred Taylor, Terry Jackson, Elijah Williams
While most will forever remember the Gators' 96 National Championship team for Danny Wuerffel and the enormous talent at wide receiver, it was those strengths that allowed for plenty of running room for these guys. Taylor and Jackson were especially good at both catching passes and turning out huge runs when least expected, including backbreaking gains in the Sugar Bowl against Florida State. Without their efforts, the Gator offense is nothing more than passing yards and they never win all those games and championships.
Fred Taylor, who had greater individual success the following season in Gainesville, is still playing on Sundays down in Jacksonville, cracked 10,000 career yards last season and could very easily make the Hall of Fame.
07. 02 Arkansas - Cedric Cobbs & Fred Talley
The precursor to McFadden & Jones, Cobbs & Talley had a rockier history but still produced an SEC West title for the Razorbacks in 2002. Cobbs had more name recognition going into the 02 season, but some off the field troubles shifted the spotlight to Talley, who finished with 1119 yards, including a midseason stretch where he dropped 241 on Auburn, 182 on Kentucky and then 136 on Ole Miss.
While neither was really able to catch on in the NFL and may end up being much overshadowed by the 07 duo in Fayetteville, these guys left their mark on Arkansas football.
06. 96 LSU - Kevin Faulk & Rondell Mealey
Kevin Faulk was the face of LSU football almost his entire career, and finished second on the SEC's all-time rushing list, behind only Herschel Walker. His all-purpose totals, just shy of 7,000 yards in four years, put him atop the SEC's all-time list. Mealey was the other option, who outgained Faulk on few occasions but provided a nice change of pace. Although LSU did upend #1 Florida the following year, Faulk was an All-American in 96, so we went here.
Both were drafted, and Faulk has enjoyed one of the longest tenures with the same team since draft day in recent memory, playing nine years with the New England Patriots as a solid all-purpose option and picking up three Super Bowl rings along the way. The 03 group from LSU has the rings, but I'd be much more afraid of this duo in their prime.
05. 92 Georgia - Garrison Hearst & Terrell Davis
Though Hearst did most of the work here, Davis is worth mentioning for what he would later become. Hearst, on probably Georgia's best team on the 90s, was a Heisman Trophy candidate and scored a whopping 21 touchdowns in 1992 to lead the nation. He etched his name as the second best running back in school history over his three year tenure, which isn't bad considering Herschel Walker is first. In 92, he won the Doak Walker Award and was drafted third overall the following April.
Davis had a rocky collegiate career, but outshined Hearst in the pros, playing for the Denver Broncos and winning two rings along with a 2,000 yard season in 1998, won an MVP, and may very well get into the Hall of Fame. However, Hearst was no slouch, twice coming back from injury to produce plenty of great years in San Francisco.
04. 93 Tennessee - Heath Shuler, Charlie Garner, James Stewart, Aaron Hayden
Statistically speaking, this is still the most explosive offense in Tennessee football history. Behind Shuler's arm and legs, and his season that left him second in Heisman voting and the third pick on draft day, the Vols ran to a 9-1-1 record before losing to Penn State in the Citrus Bowl. No matter which tailback was in the game, he was productive - the Vols finished the season averaging six yards per carry, led by Garner's 1161 yards.
All three tailbacks would go onto play in the NFL. Garner had success in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Oakland with a trip to the 2000 Pro Bowl, finishing his career with more than 7,000 yards. Stewart was a starter for years in Jacksonville and then in Detroit, and Hayden saw significant action in his two seasons with San Diego.
03. 07 Arkansas - Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, Peyton Hillis
Time will tell with these guys, especially as McFadden and Jones progress in the NFL, and their jaw-dropping numbers from 07 didn't translate into as many wins as it did the year before. Still, you can't deny the strength of this offense in McFadden (1830 yards) and Jones (1162 yards), who are the best duo in SEC history on paper. Along the way, they produced several highlight reel runs, and both contributed to knocking off LSU when they were #1 in the nation.
If McFadden and/or Jones can produce the types of NFL careers that others on this list have enjoyed, they could eventually be remembered as the best running attack in SEC history.
02. 98 Tennessee - Tee Martin, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Travis Stephens, Shawn Bryson
Unlike the other National Championship teams on this list to this point, the Vols relied more on rushing offense than any of them, especially early in the season when Martin was learning the ropes. Plus, they had to deal with injuries - Jamal Lewis ripped off nearly 500 yards in three games and the first quarter at Auburn before tearing his ACL and being sidelined for the season. Right on cue, Henry and Stephens stepped in, completely untested, and went to work. Henry finished just shy of 1,000 yards despite playing only six games as the starter, while Stephens gave the Vols a quicker burst. Shawn Bryson was an excellent change of pace at fullback, and both he and Martin produced season-saving runs - Martin's 55 yard scramble at Syracuse, Bryson's 63 yard TD against Florida - along the way.
Even without Bryson, you could argue the backfield was even stronger the following year, but Vol fans like to remember Jamal Lewis before the second half of 1999, when most agree that he stopped running as hard to protect himself from further injury. But it's down the line where this group really shines - Travis Henry became the all-time leading rusher in Tennessee history in 2000, then Travis Stephens turned in the greatest single season performance in school history in 2001.
And none of these duos have produced a combined level of collegiate and professional excellence the way Lewis and Henry have - Jamal Lewis has a Super Bowl ring, a 2,000 yard season and 295 yard game together when an Offensive Player of the Year award from 2003, and more than 9,000 yards in just seven seasons of play. Travis Henry has compiled more than 6,000 yards in his career and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2002, and led the league in rushing before getting injured last season. No SEC tandem has produced that level of NFL success combined with such high collegiate success, both in yardage and in championships. Without their combined effort, and with no warning or experience for Henry (and Stephens), the Vols flounder instead of flourish in 1998.
01. 04 Auburn - Jason Campbell, Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown
(And let's not forget that if you go back in time, you can add Brandon Jacobs to this list)
When I think of great running offenses in the SEC, my mind immediately goes here. McFadden and Jones may have better numbers, and Lewis and Henry have had more time in the NFL to produce success there. But to me there's been no better running attack than these guys.
Not only did Auburn have a great defense, and not only did Jason Campbell turn into a great quarterback seemingly overnight, but these guys simply punished you. Ronnie Brown ran straight at and then through you, while Caddy remains one of the few guys who actually lives up to all of his recruiting hype and dazzled the way everyone thought he would. In 2004, they led Auburn to an undefeated season - Caddy going for 1165 and Brown for 913 - and between the numbers, the undefeated season, and their relative NFL success in only three seasons (both drafted in the top five, Jason Campbell also taken in the first round), are more deserving of the top spot than any other SEC ground game in the last fifteen years.
Among the SEC's eight National Champions and/or undefeated teams in the last 15 years, 92 Alabama and 03 LSU are known primarily for defense, 93 Auburn for being on probation, 96 Florida for passing offense, 98 Tennessee for defense with Peerless Price the lasting image, and 06 Florida and 07 LSU for defense and killing Ohio State. But this 04 Auburn team immediately brings to mind these two guys...and for that, and all of these reasons, Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown stand at the top.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
SESB 2008 MLB All-Star Picks
For the third consecutive year, here's my attempt to be objective in casting my ballot for the 2008 MLB All-Star Game. I always like to wait until the last minute to get all the information and numbers out there - voting ends Wednesday night, which you can do at mlb.com.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
C - Joe Mauer, Twins
Being objective means not giving more weight to Yankees or Red Sox, or to name guys...though at catcher in the AL, Mauer's probably as close to a name guy as you've got. Despite losing Johan and Hunter, the Twins are in the thick of things at 45-38, and Mauer's a big part of their success once more. His .323 average and 34 RBIS lead AL catchers.
1B - Justin Morneau, Twins
It's a tighter argument here, but again, Minny gets some love from this blog. This argument, for me, really comes down to Morneau and Boston's Kevin Youkilis. Youk might have slightly higher numbers, but in a question of "who's more important to their team?", I think Morneau deserves this spot.
2B - Ian Kinsler, Rangers
No contest here, Kinsler's having a sensational season and has helped Texas stay above .500. He's hitting .321 with 13 homers, 50 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for far and away the best line for any AL second baseman.
3B - Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
You can not like it, and I don't, but there continues to be no denying that A-Rod is simply one of, if not the, best and most productive offensive players in baseball. This year, he's .322, 16 and 44 and not giving disgruntled Yankee fans many reasons to complain about him.
SS - Michael Young, Rangers
The hits just keep on coming for the mid-market teams. While it's been a poor hitting year for AL shortstops - Young leads the league at only .285 - he joins Kinsler, Mauer and Morneau as the guys who are doing their part to keep their surprising teams more than in the thick of it at the break.
OF - Milton Bradley, Rangers
OF - Jermaine Dye, White Sox
OF - Josh Hamilton, Rangers
Does Texas have the best offense in baseball? You can't deny Hamilton, whose 80 RBIs are almost 20 more than the closest competitor. But Bradley's just as good as anybody else among the competition too, with a .318 average that leads AL outfielders to go with 16 homers and 49 RBIs. And Dye (.305, 18, 50) is another one of these good stories on a surprisingly good team. Maybe not what you thought, but definitely all three are deserving (though we'll hear arguments for Magglio Ordonez and JD Drew, as well as Grady Sizemore and of course, Ichiro).
DH - Aubrey Huff, Orioles
No Red Sox (or Rays?) make the ballot? If you like average, you go with Matsui and the Yankees here. If you like power - which to me, is where the scales tip in the designated hitter argument - you go with Huff. While Matsui hits around sixty points higher, Huff has twice as many home runs (14 to 7) and a dozen more RBIs. And yes, the Orioles too are over .500.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
C - Brian McCann, Braves
Yeah yeah, but really, the numbers don't lie. Among NL catchers, McCann is third in average (.295), first in home runs (14) and third in RBIs (45). There are other catchers who excel more in one particular area (Soto, Molina and Martin), but McCann is the best total package.
1B - Lance Berkman, Astros
Here's something you weren't expecting - Albert Pujols is hitting .357, with 17 homers and 47 RBIs...and trails Berkman in every single category (can you say "DH", Mr. Pujols?) Berkman leads NL first basemen in all three of those categories (.365, 22, 68)...plus has 12 stolen bases and a career revival on his hands.
2B - Chase Utley, Phillies
Continuing to join the revolution with guys who are redefining the position from the offensive end, this year Utley surpasses Dan Uggla to claim the 2B spot on my ballot. Utley is at .297, with 23 homers and 65 RBIs, and the Phillies are in first place in the NL East.
3B - Chipper Jones, Braves
Uh, yeah, Chipper's hitting .395. He wins.
SS - Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
The stars come out in the NL shortstop race, between Jimmy Rollins (having a down year), Jose Reyes (28 stolen bases), Miguel Tejada (43 RBIs), and the hot hitting Rafael Furcal (.366). But again, in the total package department, Ramirez takes the cake - .296 with 19 homers, 36 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for the second place Florida Marlins.
OF - Ryan Braun, Brewers
OF - Matt Holliday, Rockies
OF - Carlos Lee, Astros
While the Rockies may be the worst team in the NL, Holliday leads NL outfielders with a .332 average, 17 points higher than the closest competitor, so he gets a spot. Braun is atop the leaderboard in homers with 20, and Lee in RBIs at 62, so in such a crowded field we just went with the three guys atop the major stat leaderboards. I hear you yelling "no Red Sox AND no Cubbies?!", I hear you...and yeah, you could've gone with Soriano here, or for that matter Ludwick or Beltran, but objectively I feel these three are the most deserving.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
C - Joe Mauer, Twins
Being objective means not giving more weight to Yankees or Red Sox, or to name guys...though at catcher in the AL, Mauer's probably as close to a name guy as you've got. Despite losing Johan and Hunter, the Twins are in the thick of things at 45-38, and Mauer's a big part of their success once more. His .323 average and 34 RBIS lead AL catchers.
1B - Justin Morneau, Twins
It's a tighter argument here, but again, Minny gets some love from this blog. This argument, for me, really comes down to Morneau and Boston's Kevin Youkilis. Youk might have slightly higher numbers, but in a question of "who's more important to their team?", I think Morneau deserves this spot.
2B - Ian Kinsler, Rangers
No contest here, Kinsler's having a sensational season and has helped Texas stay above .500. He's hitting .321 with 13 homers, 50 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for far and away the best line for any AL second baseman.
3B - Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
You can not like it, and I don't, but there continues to be no denying that A-Rod is simply one of, if not the, best and most productive offensive players in baseball. This year, he's .322, 16 and 44 and not giving disgruntled Yankee fans many reasons to complain about him.
SS - Michael Young, Rangers
The hits just keep on coming for the mid-market teams. While it's been a poor hitting year for AL shortstops - Young leads the league at only .285 - he joins Kinsler, Mauer and Morneau as the guys who are doing their part to keep their surprising teams more than in the thick of it at the break.
OF - Milton Bradley, Rangers
OF - Jermaine Dye, White Sox
OF - Josh Hamilton, Rangers
Does Texas have the best offense in baseball? You can't deny Hamilton, whose 80 RBIs are almost 20 more than the closest competitor. But Bradley's just as good as anybody else among the competition too, with a .318 average that leads AL outfielders to go with 16 homers and 49 RBIs. And Dye (.305, 18, 50) is another one of these good stories on a surprisingly good team. Maybe not what you thought, but definitely all three are deserving (though we'll hear arguments for Magglio Ordonez and JD Drew, as well as Grady Sizemore and of course, Ichiro).
DH - Aubrey Huff, Orioles
No Red Sox (or Rays?) make the ballot? If you like average, you go with Matsui and the Yankees here. If you like power - which to me, is where the scales tip in the designated hitter argument - you go with Huff. While Matsui hits around sixty points higher, Huff has twice as many home runs (14 to 7) and a dozen more RBIs. And yes, the Orioles too are over .500.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
C - Brian McCann, Braves
Yeah yeah, but really, the numbers don't lie. Among NL catchers, McCann is third in average (.295), first in home runs (14) and third in RBIs (45). There are other catchers who excel more in one particular area (Soto, Molina and Martin), but McCann is the best total package.
1B - Lance Berkman, Astros
Here's something you weren't expecting - Albert Pujols is hitting .357, with 17 homers and 47 RBIs...and trails Berkman in every single category (can you say "DH", Mr. Pujols?) Berkman leads NL first basemen in all three of those categories (.365, 22, 68)...plus has 12 stolen bases and a career revival on his hands.
2B - Chase Utley, Phillies
Continuing to join the revolution with guys who are redefining the position from the offensive end, this year Utley surpasses Dan Uggla to claim the 2B spot on my ballot. Utley is at .297, with 23 homers and 65 RBIs, and the Phillies are in first place in the NL East.
3B - Chipper Jones, Braves
Uh, yeah, Chipper's hitting .395. He wins.
SS - Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
The stars come out in the NL shortstop race, between Jimmy Rollins (having a down year), Jose Reyes (28 stolen bases), Miguel Tejada (43 RBIs), and the hot hitting Rafael Furcal (.366). But again, in the total package department, Ramirez takes the cake - .296 with 19 homers, 36 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for the second place Florida Marlins.
OF - Ryan Braun, Brewers
OF - Matt Holliday, Rockies
OF - Carlos Lee, Astros
While the Rockies may be the worst team in the NL, Holliday leads NL outfielders with a .332 average, 17 points higher than the closest competitor, so he gets a spot. Braun is atop the leaderboard in homers with 20, and Lee in RBIs at 62, so in such a crowded field we just went with the three guys atop the major stat leaderboards. I hear you yelling "no Red Sox AND no Cubbies?!", I hear you...and yeah, you could've gone with Soriano here, or for that matter Ludwick or Beltran, but objectively I feel these three are the most deserving.
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