What Does 4-0 Mean?

Go ahead.

You can get excited.

As I’m sure you’ve heard 100 times by now, our beloved Titans are 4-0 for the first time ever (!). This is most definitely a cause for celebration.

[This wonderful start has been made even sweeter compared to the disaster that has been the 2008 University of Tennessee Football season. That’s all I’m going to say about UT; it hurts too much to talk about it more.]

When the Redskins beat the Cowboys yesterday the only team which has looked consistently dominant through four weeks dropped back into the pack. In a season where no team has distinguished itself as best-in-class isn’t it easy to see this Titan team grinding its way to the top? Sure, the Cowboys are good. The Steelers will most likely bounce back. The same could be said for the Colts and Jags. But the point is that the Titans are right there man. Any conversation about the best teams in the NFL today has to include our boys in blue.

It is even better in division. As of today the Titans enjoy a 2 game lead over the Jaguars and 3 games over the Colts (alongside a 48 game advantage over the Texans). As already mentioned, Indy could indeed get better and the Jags won the 2nd meeting with the Titans last year after loosing the first. Granting all that, the Titans most definitely control their own destiny and that is a position we’re not accustomed to enjoying.

I’m so giddy I’m even going to ease up on the Collins criticism. He did a great job yesterday of not trying to be great. He simply moved the ball down the field where the defense was weak (that weakness generally being CB Cedric Griffin). Kerry playing game-manager doesn’t appear to be nearly as bad as Kerry playing integral role in the offense.

The situation is better than we could have hoped for. There a few qualifiers but by and large this is a sweeter day than any Titans fans can remember.

Quickly, the qualifiers:
1. There is still a lot of season in front of us. Despite what the Lions and Rams would lead you to believer, NFL coaches are good at what they do. It is entirely possible that one (or more) of the remaining 12 Titans opponents figure the Titans out to some degree.

2. The leading candidate to reveal itself as the Titans’ Achilles heel is still the passing game. Kerry Collins has already been much better than I had hoped. In fact, the WRs seem to have found some life when he’s behind center. That doesn’t take away from the fact that we have no legitimate deep threat. The ceiling on passing plays for the Titans is approximately 25 yards and that length is only reached once every other blue moon. I anticipate this becoming a factor; mitigating the consequences will be key.

3. Tied right in to number 2 is the fact that Kerry Collins is largely immobile in the pocket. The play of the Titans O-line has allowed Kerry to be the best Kerry he can be and here’s to hoping the trend continues. I have a suspicion, however, that an athletic, intelligent, veteran defense (like the Ravens next week) will pin their ears back and come at Collins over and over. Kerry can’t get out of the way and the Titans don’t have a deep threat. The Titans will have to depend on the O-line and the draw play to take the heat off. I know our Offensive linemen are top notch but they can only block so many people. Considering it could be the Ravens who expose the Titans in this area makes my stomach hurt.

Still, the feel-good vibe coming across the river from The Coliseum remains. Let’s say that Baltimore comes in and does just what I’ve said. The Titans would be 5-1 going into the by week with Kansas City waiting when they return. If I could have told you at the beginning of the season the Titans would be 6-1 going into their home game against Indy late in October what would your reaction have been? What if I added we’d be leading the division with wins over Jacksonville and Houston while Jacksonville had already beaten the Colts?

I for one might have broken out in Riverdance.

There’s no guarantee the Titans will even make the playoffs, let alone win their division. However, we’re setting pretty four games in, prettier than we ever have. It’s hard not to think of 1999 from this position. The only thing I can say is drink it Titans fan; this is new ground for us. There is no guarantee it will last but that is no reason not to revel in what we have while it is here. 4-0 means our favorite team has earned us the right to saturate ourselves in the pleasure rooting for a very good team brings.

As an addendum, I went to the Vikings/Titans game yesterday so here are some post game thoughts:

1. Paul Kuharsky has lost his mind. We know this because he asked if Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson are comparable. He seems to conclude no but to even ask the question is laughable. However, his article does provide the most accurate player comparison for Chris Johnson, courtesy of none other than Kerry Collins:

'He's got as many skills as anybody I've played with, including Tiki [Barber],’ Kerry Collins said. ‘He just gives you that burst, gives you that speed that just comes along every so often. He's a football player. He's got all the physical skills, no doubt about it. But the guy's also got a knack for knowing what to do with the ball.’

There you go! The Westbrook comparison never squared with me because Chris Johnson plays bigger between the tackles than Westbrook, not to mention that Johnson’s receiving skills – while good – aren’t in the same league as Westbrook’s. You also can’t compare Johnson to Reggie Bush because Johnson is already a better running back than Reggie Bush; Bush’s receiving abilities also outpacing Johnson’s. The Tiki comparison is spot on; he was fine running the ball (contra Reggie Bush) but could be used out of the backfield as a receiver (like Chris Johnson) but wasn’t quite the receiver Brian Westbrook is. Way to go Kerry. At this rate I’ll be opening a Collins fan group on Facebook.

Speaking of Chris Johnson, the guys at Music City Miracles have taken to calling him Crazylegs and I like it. I’m calling for an official adoption: Chris Johnson = Crazylegs. Let it be written.

I noticed yesterday at the game that LenDale White was introduced as the starting running back and gave one of the best intro performances of the day. It was sort of like Ray Lewis’ Murderer’s Twitch dance but LenDale added something from Triple-H’s playbook when he spewed water into the air. However, after introduced LenDale as the starting running back the Titans proceeded to give Chris Johnson the first [eight] carries of the ball game. Interesting, no?

2. Before the game my friend Kenny and I at the Big River Grille on Broadway. It’s not a bad place to take in a pre-game meal. The stadium is within viewing distance and the food is good. I only bring this up because I want to introduce a story about something Kenny observed. When I returned from a bathroom trip Kenny told me he had been watching a guy out of our booth’s window. This guy had been sitting on a street bench for sometime before he started talking excitedly to no one in particular. Once he had commenced chatting with the invisible he abruptly stood up, reached into his trousers, and began pulling his underwear out piece by piece. Once this task was completed he walked hurriedly down the street toward the river. After recounting these events to me Kenny went on his own restroom journey. I found out later that the stall he had chosen contained another discarded pair of underwear, these being thoroughly soiled. When we left the restaurant and headed toward the stadium we passed the underwear-ripper who was gazing across the water laughing hysterically. Kenny’s theory is that the gentlemen discovered his underwear were haunted and had a good laugh after putting the ghosts in the trashcan. The only thing I could definitively conclude is that underwear was much too great a factor in Kenny’s trip to see the Titans.

3. What gives with the Titans fans booing? This is beneath us and should stop posthaste. Yesterday our fans, including the section I set in, booed Gus Frerotte when he went down in the fourth quarter. I said to my section “You are booing a guy who got hurt!?!?” and thankfully no one threw a beer on me. What I was told is “Well, we’re booing because he’s faking.” His subsequent return to the game appeared to justify booing the dirty faker. Arriving home, I queued up my DVR and fast-forwarded to Frerotte’s injury on the recording. Clearly Vanden Bosch hit Frerotte late. Not only was it late but the hit landed in Gus’ groin courtesy of Vanden Bosch’s helmet. Show me the man who can take a football helmet to the crotch and not need a few minutes and I’ll show you… someone I doubt is a man. The lesson, as always: STOP BOOING! We have more class than that.

4. Far be it from me to perpetuate the Vince Young drama but I’ve got to include a note about our once and perhaps future QB. I sat near some gentlemen with binoculars who gave our section their observations on Vince’s sideline behavior. These fellows told us Vince was standing away from everyone else, perhaps listening to the chatter between the OC and Collins. One of them remarked – much to his own delight – that Vince probably wasn’t listening to the play call but rather “Nelly or Little Wayne.” I rolled my eyes and went back to watching the game. Now Kuharsky is reporting basically the same thing I heard from the guys with the binoculars and it is all quite depressing. I’ve said it before: I’m a Vince guy. I still think he represents the best of the Titans QB depth chart. Even being firmly on the Vince bandwagon this is getting hard to stomach. I realize that there is no real way for us to accurately interpret just what Vince’s behavior on the sideline means or what impact it carries with the team. What we can say is that standing apart from your team never looks good and feeds into Vince’s image problems.

Going solely on what I read on Titans message boards and the conversations in the stands it appears that the fan base’s attitude toward Vince has reached toxicity. I didn’t hear a good word all day about Vince on site and the conversation online doesn’t provide much better. I really don’t see light at the end of the tunnel unless Vince will specifically address the fan base, profess his love for them and the game, apologize for the events of the past several weeks, and then go out and play well. I know that is next to impossibility. I don’t even think this is necessarily what Vince should do. I just don’t see how anything less will reconcile Titans fans to Vince. This whole thing remains one of the saddest set of circumstances between a player and his team’s fans that I can remember. I hate that it has come to this.

Jonathan Crompton vs. Nick Stephens - Tennessee Quarterback Battle is On

The News-Sentinel quoted Fulmer tonight as saying that Crompton and Stephens will split playing time with the ones during practice this week, and whoever is most consistent will get the start against Northern Illinois on Saturday night. It didn't include a statement about both playing or BJ Coleman or anything like that, but more details are sure to follow.

At the earliest stage of this quarterback "controversy", I'd simply caution to not make the same mistake with Stephens that Vol fans made with Crompton (and most fans make with a new QB) - don't expect the world out of a kid who, until Crompton went 8 of 23 yesterday, wasn't good enough to get a sniff as the starter. Nick Stephens has been the backup for a reason, and any game action he sees, whether it's against NIU or UGA, needs to be heavily tempered with low expectations. In part, a 1-3 start has done that for us. But let Stephens be Stephens and it won't take long to see what the kid's got against our schedule. Don't lean heavily on his one completion to Brandon Warren for 42 yards against UAB, because the most important parts of that sentence are "one completion" and "UAB". Just because Crompton has been that bad doesn't mean Stephens will automatically be that good.

And if it turns out that Crompton is back under center again Saturday night, we need to support him too. The season is bad enough already without a divisive quarterback situation. The whole Tennessee family - no matter who Crompton thinks that consists of - needs to find the good in what's already a bad situation. And hopefully, the Vol offense will find its life somewhere along the way.

I'm running out of words to describe it.

To celebrate 500 posts here at SESB, allow me to present the 4th quarter drive charts in today's Tennessee-Auburn game.

- AUB (own 20) 4 plays, punt
- TEN (opp 38) 3 and out
- AUB (own 11) 3 and out
- TEN (own 43) 3 and out
- AUB (own 20) 3 and out
- TEN (opp 46) 3 and out
- AUB (own 20) 3 and out
- TEN (own 46) 3 and out
- AUB (own 5) one first down, ballgame

Hats off to John Chavis and the defense, seriously. You cannot ask your defense to play any better than they did.

The Tennessee offense is indescribably bad and almost totally inept.

They were definitively inept in the 4th quarter. Seriously, how long do you think we could've kept trading punts? Because I think it would've gone deep into the night unless Gerald Jones ran one back.

Here's a totally legitimate question: is Jonathan Crompton - 8 of 23 for 67 yards - the worst quarterback to play under center of the last three decades? Don't we have to put him now in the group with CJ Leak and Joey Matthews?

While most are still likely to target Fulmer, and the concerns coming into this game are still completely valid...say something good about the Clawfense.

Go ahead.

I'll wait.







No?

Florida gave the Vols a gift. At halftime, I told my friend on the phone Tennessee just needed to get out of there, didn't matter if it was 15-14 with six field goals. Just get back to Knoxville with a win by any means, and we can work on improving later.

But instead, the Vols eat a loss that ranks right up there with UCLA in terms of indefensibility.

Combined with another blowout to Florida and a quarterback who inspires zero confidence in anyone, and the rest of the SEC schedule looming ahead...

The decision to make students pay for tickets is going to look real good next Saturday night against Northern Illinois. How many of them are going to show up for that one? How many of any of us?

The schedule will present the Vols an opportunity to play at least one top five team in October. But right now, it's almost impossible to look at the rest of this season in a positive light.

Because the reality is, UCLA is about to give up 40+ points again, Florida beat us by 24 and then got exposed by Ole Miss in Gainesville today, and Auburn hasn't looked really good all season.

Two teams that are incredibly similar, as shown by the game and the drive chart, have an important difference:

Auburn looked offensively inept against Mississippi State and Tennessee. They won both games. The Tigers still have work to do, certainly, and Tony Franklin's system may not ultimately have any better fate than Dave Clawson's. But Auburn gets to deal with all this mess on the sunny side of a win.

Tennessee has looked offensively inept when they weren't playing UAB. They're 1-3.

Winning wouldn't have made Tennessee's offense any better than it actually is. But the Vols should, without question, be 3-1. You can't defend either loss. And yet, here we are.

It always takes more strength to have hope than be cynical. It's easy to be cynical, even when there's plenty of reason to be.

But hope is awfully fleeting right now in Knoxville.

SESB Live on the Air - Take 2

I taped a short segment today with Gridiron Breakdown - you can check out the live broadcast and call into their show at BlogTalk Radio on Saturday morning, 10:30-12:00 EST. The show originates from Alabama and they'll have a ton of stuff this week on Alabama/Georgia and the Auburn/Tennessee game as well. The show is also available at their website in archived format if you miss the live broadcast.

Check them out - also thanks to Jay from the show for his help on the Dave Clawson/Tony Franklin piece we did that was the featured story on Bleacher Report yesterday afternoon.

(Note: You can still check the archived broadcast at their website, where they talk Tennessee-Auburn from about the 35:00-55:00 mark with myself and Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser, or you can grab just my part here)

That's enough shameless self-promotion for one day...

Go Vols.

Coach Phil Fulmer & Tennessee Football: How We Got Here

(Note: One day after Ghost of Neyland at Third Saturday wrote the definitive piece on potential Fulmer replacements, lawvol at Gate 21 has written a post of equal worth on keeping the balance between feeling like we should move in another direction while still being an honorable and true UT fan about it. Go read both of those posts.)

What we can all agree on, besides that one idiot who called SportsTalk the week we won the National Championship to complain about Randy Sanders' playcalling, is that we Tennessee fans were a happy lot from the day Fulmer took the sidelines as an interim head coach in 1992 through the end of the 2001 season. He led stunning upsets of first Georgia and then Florida with Johnny Majors on bed rest. He blew out Boston College in his first real day on the job.

From 1993-1997, with one Jerry Colquitt knee injury aside, Fulmer did everything right, except he kept losing to Florida like everyone else in the country. Again, my personal favorite underused stat in all of Tennessee Football: from the Alabama loss in 1994 to the Arkansas loss in 1999, the Vols were 1-4 against Florida and 37-0 against the rest of the SEC.

And how quickly we forget that Phillip Fulmer turned our greatest frustration - Alabama - into seven blissful unprecedented years of joy.

When he finally did beat Florida, we turned it into the 1998 National Championship. That season was bookended by another SEC Championship from 1997, and a return to the BCS in 1999. And after an obvious rebuilding year in 2000, the Vols again ascended the ranks of the elite, upset Florida in Gainesville to win the SEC East, and were on the precipice of playing for another National Championship.

While it's still true that the 2001 SEC Championship Game is the most heartbreaking loss in Vol history for me, what I've started to wonder now, in 2008 with things the way they are, is if the Vols hadn't fumbled it away in the Georgia Dome, would it have made any difference?

At this point, I don't think anything short of Tennessee beating LSU and then going on to beat Miami to win another National Championship - which is too great a leap in logic for me, especially considering I believe that Miami team to be the best this decade has seen - would make a tangible difference in Fulmer's current state now from seven years ago.

The Vols did respond to that loss with a satisfying beatdown of Michigan, and as stated, we were all pretty happy.

The last seven years, things have changed. And the history major and Vol aficionado in me would like to track the ebb and flow of what Fulmer has done in those seven years, to show how we went from ten years of joy and love from 1992-2001, to a state of affairs in 2008 where even the most positive and supportive Vol fans are using words like "exit strategy" and already discussing who the next head coach will be.

With everything right in the world in 2001, the Vols began preparations for the 2002 season with...

Preseason 2002: High Expectations
The Vols were ranked in the top five in both polls, Steve Spurrier was gone, and there was no other dominant SEC team thought to be in the same league as the Vols (though Georgia would later prove otherwise in '02). Even without Travis Stephens, Donte' Stallworth and the most dominant defensive line in modern Vol history (Overstreet/Henderson/Haynesworth), it was believed that Tennessee would become the Florida of this decade, and assert its will on the rest of the conference.

September 21, 2002: The Worst Five Minutes of My Life
All that went straight in the toilet with 4:55 to play in the second quarter of the Florida game. After watching the Gators get dismantled by Miami, optimism soared even higher. On a rainy day in a defensive struggle, Florida scored on 4th and goal at the 1 to take a 7-0 lead with 4:55 to play in the half. From there, Casey Clausen, Scott Wells and Derrick Tinsley combined to put the ball on the ground four times in four minutes, which the Gators converted into 17 points and an insurmountable, surreal 24-0 halftime lead. Tennessee never recovered.

2002: Injuries & Losses
Really, what do we remember fondly from 2002? The six overtime game against Arkansas was exciting, but not an important win. In that game, Casey Clausen suffered the injury that would keep him out of the Georgia game. In Athens, Kelley Washington suffered the injury that would sideline him for the rest of the season. Defensive players were dropping like flies. All this helped Alabama end Tennessee's seven year winning streak, an unfriendly date with #1 Miami tacked on another loss, and 2002 just seemed like everything had gone wrong at the wrong time. But the real kicker was...

December 31, 2002: Maryland 30 - Tennessee 3
The Vols were fumble-happy against Florida, banged up but game in losses to Georgia and Alabama, and purely outmatched against Miami. But against Maryland - Maryland - the Vols were outplayed, outcoached, out-efforted, out-everythinged. This was, at the time, the most disturbing loss in the Fulmer Era, because you just hadn't seen a Tennessee team take a beating like that from a lesser opponent. A bad end to a bad year.

September 20, 2003: Hail Mary in The Swamp
Early solid efforts against Fresno State and Marshall helped get the taste out of our mouths, and Casey Clausen's prayer to James Banks was the start of the good things on this day that would put everybody back on track. The Vols won for the second straight time in The Swamp 24-10, and all was right with Fulmer and the world again.

October 11, 2003: The Game-Changing Fumble
The Vols got too far behind at Jordan-Hare in a game they eventually lost 28-21. But still, the SEC East was theirs for the taking when Georgia came to Neyland Stadium. In a dogfight, UGA led 13-7 but the Vols were driving to close the first half. That's when a fumbled exchange led to a 97 yard Georgia touchdown, and instead of going in with a 14-13 lead, the Vols trailed 20-7. That opened the floodgates for more turnovers in the second half of a 41-14 Georgia win, and suddenly the win over Florida was far behind us, the Vols had lost back to back SEC games and four straight to Georgia, and the seat started getting warm again.

October 25, 2003: Five Overtimes
Showing us the value of one play and one game, because if this one had gone the other way and the Vols had lost three straight, I'm convinced Randy Sanders doesn't survive 2003. But Tennessee used five overtimes to turn a lifeless game into an emotional win over Alabama, which spearheaded them forward towards...

November 8, 2003: Taking Down Miami
On a national stage in an environment where the Canes hadn't lost in forever, Tennessee used defense and old school football, timely turnovers and gutsy play from their senior quarterback to steal a 10-6 win. And suddenly a season that looked lost now found the Vols back in national prominence. You forget that the Vols rose to #6 in the polls at the close of the 2003 season. And the reason you forget is...

January 2, 2004: Another Peach Bowl Loss
Those who are looking for "good years" from the Tennessee program would've had one in 2003, but the Vols went to Atlanta and acted like Florida State or Miami, getting in a pregame fight and then trying to set a school record for personal fouls in one game. Along the way, they lost to another second-tier ACC school for the second year in a row, 27-14 to Clemson, and what should've been a top five finish turned into an average #15 ranking and a 10-3 season.

September 18, 2004: James Wilhoit & Two Freshmen QBs
Again, say what you will about Fulmer and Randy Sanders, but the work they did in 2004 with Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer was tremendous. Against the Gators, Tennessee stood toe to toe despite playing two freshmen, and what James Wilhoit gave away on an extra point, he made up for from 50 yards in an epic 30-28 win. This is the last time Tennessee has beaten Florida.

October 2, 2004: The Auburn Buzzsaw
Those who always think we're going to play for the National Championship if we beat Florida (including me) got the reality check that the Vols were playing with freshmen quarterbacks after all when Auburn came into Neyland Stadium and scored 31 points in the first half off multiple Tennessee turnovers. This loss, no matter how bad, actually ended up helping the next item on the list, because when Auburn blasted Tennessee and Georgia destroyed LSU on the same day, most Vol fans thought there was no way...

October 9, 2004: Stealing Georgia's Christmas Tree
Double-digit underdogs and playing with the same freshmen quarterbacks, the Vols went to Athens and bested #2 Georgia 19-14 in one of the best wins of Phillip Fulmer's career. Suddenly, Tennessee had beaten Florida and Georgia, and were sitting pretty atop the SEC East standings. (The line here is from Georgia's postgame radio show, which we were happily listening to on our way out of Athens, where Happ Hines opened the show by saying "You know, I woke up today and it was like Christmas morning. Everything was going to be great. And Tennessee came in here, and not only did they steal our presents, but they stole the %#$! tree.")

November 6, 2004: A Stupid Playcall, Randy Sanders Edition
At 7-1 and ranked #9, the Vols met a Notre Dame team that was vastly overmatched but game in the first half. With time winding down and Tennessee some seventy yards from the end zone, the Vols ran a draw on first down and didn't call time out, clearly not trying to advance the ball or score any points before the half. But then on second down, the Vols decided to throw after all. A botched snap led to Erik Ainge injuring his shoulder and being lost for the season. With Rick Clausen at the helm, the Vols lost to Notre Dame 17-13. The Vols still probably don't beat Auburn in the SEC Championship Game if Ainge is playing, but they do play in a bigger bowl game. That one, however, also worked out well.

January 1, 2005: Cotton Bowl Beatdown
After a game effort in the SEC Championship, Rick Clausen led Tennessee to a stunning demolition of Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl, 38-7. The Vols finished 2004 at #13, 10-3 with two losses to undefeated Auburn, and SEC East Champions in what I would unquestionably call a good year. Which of course, set the table for...

Preseason 2005: High Expectations & Two Quarterbacks
Like 2002, the Vols entered the season as a top five selection and the clear cut favorite in the SEC East race. Rick Clausen's "productivity" in the absence of Erik Ainge led to Fulmer and Sanders opening themselves up to the idea of both playing. And everything from there...

2005: %#@!
Between special teams disasters and untimely turnovers, it took Tennessee two full months to realize they simply weren't a very good football team. The parallels to 2008 are alarming already. These Vols lost 16-7 at Florida thanks to special teams, tried to save the season in The Rally at Death Valley, which was beautiful at the time but only muddied the QB situation further and allowed Erik Ainge to regress...meanwhile, another punt return sealed Tennessee's fate against Georgia, then fumbles by Corey Anderson and Arian Foster at the one yard line on consecutive weeks doomed us against Alabama and South Carolina. It wasn't until Notre Dame blasted us (and then Vanderbilt finished the job) that the Vols realized "Hey...maybe we just aren't very good.") At this point, all the Vol angst fell on Randy Sanders, and he left the program. The remaining venom was directed toward Fulmer, but he continued to make a habit of turning those moments into his greatest triumphs by...

September 2, 2006: Unleash the Fury!
California came to Knoxville as a National Championship contender. In two and a half quarters, the Vols buried them in a 35-0 hole that could've been oh so much worse. And in one breath, we exhaled 2005 and inhaled the hope of things to come.

October 28, 2006: A Stupid Playcall, David Cutcliffe Edition
At South Carolina, the Vols were 6-1 and stood at #8 in the polls. Though they lost a 21-20 heartbreaker to Florida, the Vols had trashed Georgia and beaten Alabama, and were on their way to beating South Carolina when Cutcliffe inexplicably called a running play for Erik Ainge deep in South Carolina territory. The swift Ainge couldn't escape pressure, got his ankle rolled and was subsequently lost for three weeks. Though the Vols would beat Carolina and were game with Jonathan Crompton against LSU, they lost there and subsequently were blown out by Arkansas. I'm not saying the Vols win both of those games with Ainge in there. I am saying we don't lose to LSU. Every play carries significance - if Cutcliffe doesn't call that play and Ainge doesn't get his ankle rolled, are we having these conversations about Fulmer today? Maybe the Vols wouldn't wound up in a better bowl game, because instead...

January 1, 2007: Penn State Has Our Number
This one too may seem largely insignificant, but bowl games are the aftertaste of the season, and in this case the Vols started 7-1 with renewed hopes of national prominence, and ended 9-4 and average again. This too is a game Tennessee could have and should have won.

September 2007: Defense Takes an Absolute Beating
The Vols lost the season opener for the first time since 1994 to what was at the time a good Cal team, 45-31. Later that month, Florida hangs the worst Vol defeat since 1981 on the program, 59-20 in Gainesville, and Tennessee appears to have fully regressed. At this point, there's not much good to be said about the team or the program, and with Randy Sanders gone Fulmer appears to be hanging alone by a thread...

October 6, 2007: Fulmer Saves the Day Again
Against a Georgia team that would finish #2 in the nation, the Vols came out angry and efficient, and absolutely bested Georgia in every facet in a sweet, sweet 35-14 win. On the morning of October 6, Fulmer's seat had never been hotter and there was nothing tangible for Vol fans to believe in. On the morning of October 7, the Vols were in first place in the SEC East.

October 20, 2007: Alabama
The 41-17 beatdown in Tuscaloosa was bad for the moment, because it took the Vols' SEC destiny and placed it back in Florida's hands. But in the larger picture, after seven straight wins over the Tide from 1995-2001, Alabama had pulled even in the last six years at 3-3. Another low, low day.

Late October-November 2007: Close Wins & Good Fortune
Florida immediately gave the Vols hope again by losing to Georgia and placing our fate back in our own hands. Tennessee responded with the ugliest of ugly wins against South Carolina, a stunning shutdown blowout of Arkansas, then went to the wire with Vanderbilt and way past there with Kentucky...but won them all. And when the dust had settled...the Vols were SEC East Champions.

December 1, 2007: Erik Ainge's 4th Quarter to Forget
Again, the value of one play or one game: if Erik Ainge doesn't throw two ginormous interceptions in the 4th quarter of the SEC Championship Game against the eventual National Champions, are we having these conversations about Fulmer? If Ainge doesn't make those mistakes and the Vols steal a win in Atlanta, they're SEC Champions. They go to New Orleans, back to the BCS, and beat Hawaii (an assumption I feel safe in making). They finish 11-3 and in the Top 10. Would that be enough to buy a reprieve from...

September 2008: An Exercise in Frustration
These facts, we all know. A Clawfense that's averaging 12 offensive points per game against UCLA and Florida. A loss to the former that's indefensible, especially considering how other teams have treated the Bruins. A loss to the latter that's laced in ineptitude, with two trips to the three yard line, no points, and another special teams disaster. A program in turmoil and a coach who may be too far gone.

It wasn't one of these things...it was all of them. And to his credit, Phillip Fulmer has saved the day on more than one occasion as you can see: in 2003 against Florida, Alabama and Miami, in 2004 at Georgia, in 2006 against Cal and last season against Georgia. Every time the program has been shaky and the whispers got loud, Fulmer quieted them with a huge win.

And there are points along the way that again, seemed so insignificant at the time...but if the Vols had beaten Clemson in 2003, or not called the plays that got Erik Ainge hurt in 2004 and 2006, or had Ainge himself not thrown those interceptions in Atlanta last year...maybe these are different conversations.

But this is reality.

As lawvol points out in his piece, there is a percentage of the fan base where the voices are too loud...that has crossed the line to a degree that it won't matter now if the Vols finish this season 10-2. I think those people are ridiculous, and I don't ever think you go after a coach in the middle of a season. For the people like me who prefer to discuss exit strategies that play out over several years in the best interest of the program and all involved, and for all of us...we want to see this thing go forward in the right direction. And right now, that's with Fulmer because right now he's our head coach.

More than anything, looking at the progression/regression over these last few years teaches us the value of every play and every Saturday. There will always be what-ifs, fumbles, upsets and questionable play calls. The head coach at Tennessee is responsible for making the best of all of those, living in the reality of the present moment and doing what's best to get a win this week. Right now it's Fulmer. And Fulmer's done this before. So even in the midst of what may be an inevitable exit strategy, with all the green and red in his past...Fulmer and the Vols must do what they must do to get a win this week, like every week.

And it's our job to get - and stay - behind them. No matter who's wearing the headset.

Now...who wants to talk about Auburn?

QB Josh Nunes Re-Opens Recruitment

"The quarterback of the future" has changed to a soft commit to Tennessee, according to this article from the News-Sentinel, citing his father. Josh Nunes is now expected to make multiple official visits in what can only be viewed as the aftermath of the Florida game and overall experience. This kid is considered one of the elite quarterbacks in the nation and had been firm towards the Vols.

Next thing you know, they'll start telling me the sky is falling.

Crossroad: Dave Clawson & Tony Franklin

When David Cutcliffe left Tennessee for the second time to become the head coach at Duke - where the Blue Devils are currently averaging 252 yards passing, 158 yards rushing, haven't thrown an interception and are scoring 31 points per game - many in Knoxville welcomed the new hire of Richmond's Dave Clawson. Clawson was outside the Tennessee Family, where the same "vanilla" scheme had been run for the better part of the last three decades. Clawson promised to get the ball to the playmakers. And the words that've spread through the SEC like honey on our lips - the spread offense - began to be whispered in Knoxville.

We hadn't seen it, but we loved it.

Down on The Plains, Auburn got a glimpse of it. Al Borges, whose arrival at Auburn in 2004 coincided with the Tigers' 13-0 season and the sudden maturation of Jason Campbell, resigned late last season as offensive production had declined: in Auburn's nine losses from 2005-2007, the Tigers averaged only 16 points per game. Whether it was depleted talent, coaching, misfortune or all of the above, Borges gave way to the one and only Tony Franklin.

Franklin came from Troy with a previous stint in Lexington and a history of installing "his offense" on the high school level, and what he did in two weeks of practice in preparing the Tigers to face Clemson in last year's Chick-fil-A Bowl was remarkable: Auburn put up 423 yards of offense against the #6 defense in the nation, War Eagle won, and undoubtedly optimism was high in the state of Alabama.

As Tennessee and Auburn prepare to face off on the last Saturday of September, things have changed.

In Knoxville, the Vols had a fairly decent day against the worst defense in the FBS. But that performance against UAB was bookended by two separate exercises in futility. At UCLA, the Vols had nine three-and-outs, couldn't convert on four first half interceptions, and watched a pass-heavy offense go 19 of 42 and ultimately lose to the Bruins, 27-24. Last week against the Gators, Tennessee picked up only 258 yards and looked completely lost at times, especially in the red zone, where the Vols made it to the three yard line twice and came away with nothing.

Throwing out the UAB performance and Nevin McKenzie's interception return for a touchdown against UCLA, the Vols are averaging only 312 yards of offense and 12 points per game. That includes the performance against the UCLA team that's been shredded by BYU and Arizona for a combined 90 points.

Auburn has only lost once, and that in a close game against the defending National Champions. However, the Tiger defense and special teams have been opportunistic, scoring three touchdowns. Take those away from the totals, and the Tiger offense is only slightly ahead of Tennessee, averaging only 16 points per game. That includes the brutal 3-2 win over Mississippi State. The yardage has been better, at 355 per game.

But it's not what either of us wanted.

So now the two paths cross on Saturday afternoon, and honestly I have no idea what to expect.

But I know it's a tremendously important Saturday for both teams.

A solid Auburn defense gave up 178 yards rushing to LSU last week, giving Vol fans some hope. But for Tennessee, there's no solid evidence that this offense can move with consistency and efficiency.

For Auburn, even with slightly better efficiency, the presence of Chris Todd and Kodi Burns leads to the always frustrating quarterback controversy.

Chris Todd has been the trigger man for the last three weeks, though many of his completions have been dumps to the backs and tight ends. But in talking with Jay Skipworth at Gridiron Breakdown, I get the sense that Auburn's quarterback situation is still a large point of contention among the fanbase, even though Kodi Burns hasn't taken a snap in the last two games.

When things aren't going well, a dual-quarterback system or a quarterback controversy is an absolute nightmare. No matter who is ultimately responsible, the minds of fans and media will always immediately jump to "the other guy should be playing!" in the face of turmoil. Tennessee learned this lesson in 2005 with Erik Ainge and Rick Clausen, Virginia Tech is learning it right now, and Auburn will find themselves in a tough situation if the offensive inefficiency and losses continue.

More from Jay on the Auburn offense:

Having seen this offense installed at Troy, I know it works when you have the right personnel. And right now, Auburn is trying to run an up-tempo offense with a bunch of converted power players. Chris Todd has the intellect of the offense down; he's like a coach in what he knows about it...I fear Auburn is feeling such a push from the competition (particularly that in the state) that they may not be patient enough to get it in place. I know the fan base is running out of patience. And in spite of his ardent support, we all wonder when or if Tuberville will run out of patience for it as well.

One thing I like about Franklin is how he's blunt and direct. When the Auburn offense isn't playing well, he says so. There's no hidden coachspeak or generalities, he says the things the fans are thinking, and for that I like him.

And there's precedent for a team winning with a new system and old players - the Gators did it two years ago. And it's only September, with plenty of time still for success in 2008.

Which is why Saturday is so important for both teams.

No matter how it looks, one team is going to win and one is going to lose. For the winner, the season still carries hope and the team is still relevant. And no matter how many yards are gained, it's another week for that offensive system to gain its footing.

For the loser, you're unranked and suddenly unimportant in the SEC picture. And especially if that offense continues to struggle, even against what are probably good defenses on both sides, it's another huge step backwards. If Auburn needs patience, losing to Tennessee won't provide it. If Tennessee needs more rhythm and consistency, a 1-3 start will bring the biggest difference between the two to further light: Franklin might be disliked by some, but Tommy Tuberville is safe.

Dave Clawson might be disliked by some, but Phillip Fulmer will be the target.

The winner Saturday gets another week for their new offensive system to gain strength, and for Franklin or Clawson to prove that their systems are better than the shockingly low numbers they've produced thus far. Expectations were too high and the on-field result is too low on both sides right now. The winner on Saturday gets to take a big step in the right direction, both for their season and their offense. The loser takes a backseat ride through the rest of the SEC race and is nationally irrelevant.

Both teams desperately need this win. And for Dave Clawson and Tony Franklin, one man's offense will earn a week's reprieve, while the other's goes further into the depths of fan frustration and football irrelevancy.

Random Thoughts - Wednesday September 24

No matter how bad football season makes you feel, The Office is still coming back tomorrow night to make it all better...

A Rundown of Potential Fulmer Replacements
If you're into that sort of thing, you should without question check out Third Saturday's outstanding work in compiling a comprehensive list of NFL and college head coaches & coordinators who might make a good fit in Knoxville, complete with bios (Butch Davis is 57?!)

97 Tennessee/Auburn SEC Championship Game on ESPN Classic
While you definitely want to avoid the "classic" 26-26 tie between the Vols and Tigers on The Plains from 1990 that's showing later this week, you can check out my favorite game atmosphere of all time on Thursday at 3:00 PM on ESPN Classic, and watch Peyton Manning win an SEC Championship despite the Vols turning it over six times.

SESB Live On the Air, Take Two
If you were wondering, the guys at Gridiron Breakdown had technical difficulties last week during their live show, and weren't able to play the interview we taped last Friday. But we're going to try it again this week in discussing the Tennessee/Auburn game. We'll link to it again before then, but you can catch the live broadcast Saturday morning, 10:30-12:00 EST.

EDIT: And just so you don't think I'm making the whole thing up, here's the unaired interview we taped last week.

Do you realize...
...that if the NFL season ended today, the Broncos, Bills, Titans and Ravens would win their respective divisions, while preseason favorites San Diego, New England, Indianapolis and Cleveland are a combined 4-8 with one quarterback out for the year and another one getting ready to be replaced by Brady Quinn? Do you also realize that I took Braylon Edwards and Carson Palmer in the second and third rounds of my fantasy draft?

Let's all shed a tear for the New York Yankees...
...whose 13 year playoff streak came to an official end yesterday. While ESPN weeps and has promised several gut-wrenching pieces on SportsCenter this morning, I'd like to take this time to point out that the Atlanta Braves went 14 straight years...and won their division 14 times. The Yankees used that fancy wild card to get in three times. The Braves got no such treatment from ESPN. I'm just saying. This morning, Hank Steinbrenner is super bitter, attacking the current playoff system and Joe Torre and the (potentially) playoff bound Dodgers. Meanwhile, the world prepares to become Cubs fans.

WWE: The Road to No Mercy
Live attendance is down, John Cena is hurt and on the shelf for months again, Ric Flair retired and the already-low ratings are now getting killed by Monday Night Football. But next Sunday, there's good news on the horizon: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels. Main Event. World Heavyweight Championship. Ladder Match. Old school wrestling fans: rejoice.

Gators 30 Vols 6 - The Tipping Point?

"That loss is on me. I'm a big boy with broad shoulders. I can handle it." - Phillip Fulmer

One year after suffering the worst loss of his career, Phillip Fulmer was a late fourth down stop away from equalling the worst home loss of his career. That day came fourteen years ago with a team that started Todd Helton at quarterback against a Florida team ranked #1. This day saw a good Gator team - and time will tell if they're a great one - against a Tennessee team that does have some talent, still thinks its good, but instead found a new way to be frustrating in a 30-6 loss that, in many ways, felt worse than last year's 59-20 job.

While the Gators piled on points in Gainesville last season, some things were clear: the Vols weren't very good. At least on defense, simply not very good. After getting burned by Cal and Florida, there was no debate about that. Tennessee, on the Third Saturday of September 2007, wasn't very good.

On the Third Saturday of 2008, Tennessee might have some reasons to think its good. But they'd be better served living in reality: this team is 1-2 with a win over the worst defense in the FBS, a loss to UCLA that looks worse every week, and another "non-competitive" loss to the Florida Gators, who've won four straight in the series now, which means Urban Meyer is undefeated against the Vols. For the record, Steve Spurrier was 1-2 against Tennessee before he won five straight.

And it's the fact that there are quotation marks around "non-competitive" that makes it even worse.

Like I said, Florida is a good team. Their true worth will come out in the weeks ahead. They've got an explosive offense that was going to get its points, and they scored 20 without any help from the Vol offense or special teams.

But the Vols actually outgained the Gators 258-243, while only running five more offensive plays in a virtual dead heat in time of possession.

Could Florida have done more if they had to? Maybe - they only punted once. Which means it's the same answer for "Does Tennessee have a good defense?"

But it's the fact that they didn't have to that has me questioning, for the first time, whether Phillip Fulmer is the right man for this job.

The UCLA game I don't blame on Fulmer. I put that one on Dave Clawson. The blowout losses last season left you wondering about talent more than coaching. 2005 fell in the lap of Randy Sanders.

The way this went wrong yesterday, I don't know where else to go but to Fulmer.

Sure, it was Arian Foster's penalty that hurt a drive. Montario Hardesty fumbled to give the Gators a field goal, but that happens sometimes.

Even Jonathan Crompton fumbling against the fullback, I don't necessarily blame on Fulmer.

But the two biggest sequences of the game can't go anywhere else.

First, Brandon James was allowed to run a punt back for a touchdown against the Vols for the third consecutive year (his 2006 return was called back for a penalty).

When Mark May said Fulmer should have to take a Greyhound Bus back to Knoxville if he punted to DeSean Jackson, we laughed. Then the Vols punted to him and Jackson made them look stupid.

After the obligatory commitment to work on the special teams, the Vols let James score the game's first points on his punt return last season.

This year, everybody knows about James and not to kick to him, use any "special" formations or do anything of the sort. And the Vols, after watching him drop the opening kickoff and then take it back across the 50, instead of kicking away from him or even kicking it out of bounds, kicked it right to him, and watched him turn a 10-0 game into a 17-0 hole that put the Vols' hopes in the shredder only eleven minutes into the contest.

I've lost patience with "we're going to work on the special teams." I don't even care if you tell me we're going to work like heck on them. When Fulmer made the comment that "that's not us"...uh, yeah, it is. Giving up backbreaking punt returns has been Tennessee Football in the last two seasons. And in the absence of a special teams coordinator, the burden falls squarely on Fulmer.

But even with our hopes in the shredder, the Vols resurrected them.

Jonathan Crompton is what he is. He's not Erik Ainge, he's not Casey Clausen. He's certainly not the cerebral mind that Rick Clausen was (show me the play this season where Crompton worked his progression and didn't lock in...show me any play from yesterday where Crompton even looked at a second receiver). My Dad made the point that when you take these kids from small high schools who don't play much of any competition on that level, you just never know what you're going to get. Sometimes you get Heath Shuler. Sometimes you get this.

But he is what he is. Getting pissed at him isn't going to change that. Crompton can grow, even if that's a longer process than any of us expected or want.

Nonetheless, Crompton directed a balanced offensive attack to the three yard line twice. The fumble was unfortunate, but again...sometimes you fumble.

What I cannot find a good excuse for was the drive at the end of the half.

Consider the following:

- A play early in the drive where the Vols lined up in the G-Gun, then stood around for at least twelve seconds, not making adjustments or anything, just standing there...until the play clock hit zero.

- The fact that the drive only progressed because of a too many men on the field penalty against Florida, on a play where Lucas Taylor slipped three yards behind the secondary and Crompton horribly underthew him

- The clincher for me: everything that happened from the 1:13 mark.

At 1:13 in the half, the Vols took their second time out on a dead ball. There was plenty of time to do whatever we wanted with the ball in Florida territory. But instead, Fulmer called time out.

It was at this point that Crompton started doing something that I'm not sure the CBS cameras caught or not: after every play, looking frantically back at the sideline, raising his hands in that "whatdoIdowhatdoIdo?" motion.

And the answers from the sideline certainly took their sweet time.

Crompton's tension became tangible in the stadium. The Vols wasted precious seconds. And even when Crompton hit Josh Briscoe to set up first and goal, the Vols were already giving it away.

I told my friend there next to me in Z11 that if we scored it'd be by accident. The Vols got to the one yard line and had 3rd and goal with over :30 to play. Crompton did that sideline look again.

And the Vols let fifteen seconds run off the clock before they finally decided "Well, let's just call time out."

On 3rd and goal at the 1 with :31 to play with no time outs, you can still run it and if you don't score, you can get off another play.

On 3rd and goal at the 1 with :16 to play with no time outs, you can't run (or if you do you have to score). The Vols shot themselves in the foot with alarming precision.

Two plays later, Crompton was picked off in the end zone, and I came the closest to booing I've ever come in my orange blooded life.

I still don't agree with them...but at that point, I understood.

Who gets the blame for that whole mess? Fulmer.

Clock management, indecision and getting no points ultimately fall to Fulmer. When your quarterback looks to the sideline in a panic, and you've got nothing for him...that's Fulmer. That's what's on his shoulders, and that's what I'm having a really hard time living with.

Maybe there's some sort of veto system between Clawson's play call and Fulmer's ultimate acceptance or denial. Maybe that's what slowed us down. Either way, when it's your ship, you cannot allow this sort of inefficiency. Because it is on you. And you're the only one who can fix it.

It's true that I used to feel these losses more. Part of that is because I've got more going on in my life at 26 than I did at 19, and other things of worth to give me joy and pain. Part of that is because I realize that there are more important things in life than Tennessee Football (though they're few).

But part of that is because after a decade of playing Florida to the wall, the Gators are now back to handing it to us. Or simply being good at getting out of our way while we hand it to them.

1-2 doesn't hurt as much as it should at Tennessee...because we started 1-2 last year.

There's trouble in Knoxville.

Now...I don't ever think a head coach should be fired in mid(or in this case, early)season. Nor do I want to talk about "Will Florida lose twice?"...because the Vols just need to play Auburn and go from there.

But watching that punt return and that drive unfold yesterday, for the first time in my mind, I started thinking to myself, "You know...maybe someone else could do this better than Fulmer."

We don't need a new head coach today and we probably won't get one in 2008 with a fresh contract and a new offensive coordinator.

But we might need an exit strategy.

A Broken Staff

Please allow me to go all Biblical for just a second; hang with me…I’m going to make a point.

In the book of Isaiah a bad guy by the name of Sennacherib invades Judah. Judah’s king Hezekiah knows that his kingdom is dinky and unable to defend itself so he dials up Egypt and asks for their help. Sennacherib gets wind of this alliance and tells Judah that looking for Egypt for protection just won’t work. He says “you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it.” The meaning is obvious: you end up relying on Egypt and rather than helped you will end up hurt.

So what does that have to do with SouthEastern sports? Friends, I’m your Sennacherib (except I’m a good guy, of course). You, the Titans faithful, are Judah. I am warning you – Kerry Collins is a broken stick. You lean on him too long and you’re going to end up with a badly wounded hand.

The more I cruise the Titan message boards the more I see people predicting or even announcing a new Golden Age of Titan football ushered in by our own personal Caeser, Kerry Collins.

These people either began watching football last year or have blocked out the past 12 football seasons like an abuse victim hiding from the past.

There is a reason that Kerry Collins has been cut by the Carolina Panthers, the New Orleans Saints, the New York Giants, and the Oakland Raiders. That reason isn’t because those teams thought Kerry was just too good to keep to themselves.

Even those who’ve come to Titan fandom since Kerry arrived only have to remember how Kerry even came to be a Titan: he was stuck at home well into August (past when quality free agents are signed to teams). He was an emergency option, signed only when the situation with Billy Volek went into the toilet. He played like an emergency option too: 6 interceptions against 1 touchdown with a 42% completion percentage.

The bottom line is this: Collins has been a decent quarterback in days past. Note: “days past.” More recently, he was a bad starting quarterback. Note his 5 seasons throwing more interceptions than touchdowns and long list of teams which cut him. At this stage of his career he is a good backup, nothing more. Large numbers of Titans fans – and Merrill Hodge, the embarrassment of Bristol – cannot allow themselves to forget Collins’ career, ignore his performance in his most recent stint as Titans starter, and expect him to go from toad to prince just because we need him to.

On a related note: it appears that the Vince Young soap opera has come to an end. The final revelation is Fisher’s decision that Vince will be on the pine once healthy while Collins finishes out the string. Fisher presents this move as healthy for Vince, allowing him to relax and learn for a while away from the pressures associated with starting. For a number of reasons I don’t see this ending well. One, Nashville isn’t exactly Philly. While I am repulsed by the Titans fans booing Vince, booing really isn’t that big of a deal. Secondly, and this is more worrisome, I don’t know how this move can work out well. I can’t remember an NFL scenario where a young QB was thrust into a starting role, enjoyed a winning record on the field, then regressed mentally, was put on the sidelines for a time, and came back stronger. I also don’t see how this will be conducive to Vince regaining his confidence but I’m willing to trust Coach Fisher. Believe me – I want this to work; I’m a Vince guy and would rather have him back when he’s healthy than have Collins play even one more snap than is absolutely necessary. I’d love to see Vince realize his considerable potential in a Titans jersey. Maybe I’m just too negative but I have my doubts about it happening.

[Let me go on record: I will happily be wrong. If Kerry Collins becomes Rich Gannon, hurrah! If Vince bounces back from this ordeal and matures under Collins into the player every one thought he could become, hurrah! I’ll gladly accept any scorn coming my way because of my doubts].

Having said all this about the QB position let me switch over to what is good: the Titans are 2-0! The defense, offensive line, special teams, and running game appear to be capable of beating good teams as long as the passing game doesn’t get in the way. I continue to be amazed at Chris Johnson’s production. The Titans are heading into a 5 game stretch featuring three games they should win fairly easily (Houston, Baltimore, and Kansas City; Houston perhaps being the exception) and two games against good opponents who look more shaky than they should (Minnesota, Indianapolis).

One last thing: if there were a big, talented, and young receiver with a reputation for soft hands, willingness to go across the middle, and performing well even with shaky quarterbacks who wanted out of his current team what would you be willing to pay? I’m talking about Anquan Boldin and man, what I would give to see the Titans bring him to Nashville. He wants out of Arizona, we need a legit number 1, and it says here that sending an early pick or so to the Cardinals for him would be a good move by the front office.

SESB Live On the Air

What we're calling "The Summer of New Things" here at SESB - and well timed on the name with fall officially arriving this weekend - continues with our first radio interview this weekend. I'll be taping a segment on Friday for Gridiron Breakdown over at BlogTalkRadio. The weekly show airs live on Saturday mornings from 10:30-12:00 (EST) and you can call in and join them at your leisure. My segment will be taped, but we'll try and get an mp3 of it here at SESB.

To borrow from that modern day poet, Kevin Garnett..."Made it Ma...top of the world! Top of the world! (Incoherent rambling)"

Seriously...we're excited.

Tennessee-Florida: Keys to Victory

It's only lunchtime Tuesday, but I'm heading to the Outer Banks for a wedding tomorrow morning and then heading into Knoxville from there on Friday, and since we're uncertain of internet availability and certain of 18 hours in the car, here's what I've got.

The Vols and Gators have met 37 times, with Tennessee now holding the slimmest of margins at 19-18. Florida has won three straight, coinciding with the arrival of Urban Meyer on the scene in Gainesville.

Once the Vols broke Steve Spurrier's death grip on them in 1998, this series enjoyed an entertaining and highly competitive run of games: in the nine meetings from 1998 to 2006, six of the games came down to the final drive, and the Gators held a 5-4 advantage over that time period.

But last year, the floodgates were opened anew, and Florida trashed the Vols 59-20, scoring the game's final 31 points in the last quarter and a half. It was the worst loss the Vols have suffered since 1981.

In 2008, a new quarterback and new offensive coordinator have Vol Nation in mass uncertainty, still frustrated by the season opening loss at UCLA. Meanwhile, Florida is ranked No. 4 but has a few questions of their own. This game, as it always is, will be the pacesetter in the SEC East race.

Florida is favored by a touchdown in Knoxville, though many on both sides are predicting a much larger number. If the Vols are going to win on Saturday afternoon, they'll need to do the following things:

1. The Auburn Offensive Blueprint
No team has given Florida more trouble recently than Auburn. The Tigers were the only team to beat the National Champion Gators in 2006, and got the best of them again last year in Gainesville. How has Auburn done it?

Brandon Cox was the quarterback of both of those teams, who's not a guy that beat you by himself or put up big numbers. Playing styles aside, Jonathan Crompton should take heart in the fact that a QB of Cox's reputation beat the Gators twice.

The key factors in those two games:

- Run/Pass Ratio
What every Vol fan knows and hopes Dave Clawson also believes: you have to run the ball to beat Florida. In 2006, Auburn ran it 40 times and passed 27. In 2007, Auburn ran it 44 times and passed 26. The Tigers didn't put up jaw-dropping rushing yardage: 133 yards in '06, and only 99 yards last season (both numbers were hampered by sack totals). But what they did do was...

- Win Time of Possession
Even with moderate success at three or four yards per carry, the Tigers were able to keep Florida off the field...which is generally the best way to stop them. Auburn had a sick 13:26 advantage in 2006, which means they had the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game. They had a 5:54 advantage last season, which is also substantial. Florida's offense can't score if they don't have the ball. Which also means...

- Don't Throw Interceptions
Here are the numbers on Brandon Cox in those two games:

2006: 18 of 27, 182 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs
2007: 17 of 26, 227 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs

Again...the quarterback doesn't have to be the man. He simply has to be efficient. For Tennessee, all of this should be familiar...

- Remember the History of this Rivalry
The team that wins the rushing yardage battle has won the Tennessee-Florida game 16 times in 18 years. Every Vol fan knows this and will be screaming for Tennessee to run, run, run.

I can't really say this any better than I did in the preview piece on this game last year, but it's all still true. Every Tennessee team that's tried to outscore Florida or throw for a ton of yards has lost. Heath Shuler threw five touchdowns against Florida and lost in 1993. Peyton Manning threw for over 400 yards against Florida and lost in 1996. The Tennessee teams that have beaten the Gators - 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004 - were all committed to running the football. Sometimes it was by necessity, when using inexperienced quarterbacks in '98 and '04. It seems awfully necessary right now.

David Cutcliffe never fully understood this, and I think it was his greatest flaw as an offensive coordinator. Cutcliffe teams were 1-7 against the Gators. Randy Sanders, for all his flaws, understood this and made it a point of emphasis. His teams were 3-4 against the Gators (and his 2000 offense is one of the two that won the rushing battle and still lost the game on a day the Vols had no business even being in the game, but Travis Henry's 175 yards almost got it done).

Does Dave Clawson know this? He keeps saying we've got to find what we're good at, we've got to find our fastball. In two games, our fastball is a rushing offense that's averaging six yards per carry, with Arian Foster averaging 7.8 yards when he gets it. That's your best option.

Learn from Auburn. Keep Florida off the field. Don't ask your quarterback to do anything other than not get you beat. And above all...run. Run. Run. Run. Run.

Run.

2. The Georgia Defensive Blueprint
How did the Dawgs beat Florida last year? Yeah, they scored 42 points...but they also sacked Tim Tebow six times, and kept Florida from throwing all over the place.

Tebow finished the day with only 22 pass attempts, and ran the ball only seven times. Part of that was due to his banged up shoulder, but Georgia was relentless in coming after him.

You saw it again two weeks ago with Miami. The Canes made it a point of emphasis to harass Tebow at every turn. By the 4th quarter, penalties helped finish off what little momentum they had built, and when Tebow found more time he tore them apart. But both defenses sent everybody after Tebow and trusted their secondary to make plays. Does this put you at risk to give up the big one? Yes. But it also means your defense can turn some big ones of their own.

Tennessee's secondary is trustworthy. DeAngelo Willingham hasn't been beat all year, and Eric Berry/Demetrice Morley should be the best safety tandem in the SEC. Berry is the best individual player in the Vol secondary since Deon Grant, and he's only a sophomore. And the Vols are deep and experienced.

Playing a soft zone to keep everything in front of you is a terrible idea. Florida's speed will make defenders miss, and they'll eventually pick the Vols apart and wear down the defense, again. The priority has to be putting everything up front, stopping a Florida run game that's been largely sub-par from the tailback spot, and putting contact on Tebow.

The biggest thing the defense that gave up 59 points last year could do early is hit Tebow.

Doesn't have to be a sack. Just a hit of consequence. Something to get that big roar from the Neyland crowd, which will be full of fans who are highly skeptical but will still be there if the Vols do something good.

One of the biggest plays in the 35-14 stunner against Georgia last year was the opening kickoff, when a finally-healthy Britton Colquitt kicked it into the end zone for a touchback for the first time all year. And no matter how angry and upset the Vol faithful were about what had happened earlier in the season, from that play on they were locked into the game at hand because the team gave them something to cheer about. Even something small and seemingly insignificant.

A hit on Tebow early would both restore some swagger in the Vol D that was toyed with last year, and put the fanbase in the moment and make them the factor they should be.

Trust your secondary. Play up front and don't let Florida find its running game. And make Tebow the target.

3. "Johnny, don't be a hero!"
If the Vols ask Jonathan Crompton to beat Florida the way they asked him to beat UCLA, it's going to be a long day for him and us.

As mentioned earlier, Crompton needs to be enrolled in the Tee Martin School of Quarterbacking: don't get us beat, throw it away when you need to, manage an offense that should be run-oriented. You don't need to make those laser rocket arm throws. You need first downs, not touchdowns.

Crompton has a good connection with Lucas Taylor and Gerald Jones, and we're all excited to see what Brandon Warren can do with more touches. This one starts with Dave Clawson not asking him to do too much and emphasizing the run, and Crompton playing wise football instead of hero football. Keep it simple and you won't look so stupid.

4. Turnovers
Usually the most telling statistic in any game. The Vols are tied for second nationally with seven interceptions...and they've only played two games with an off week in between. If a ball comes loose, the Vols need to be there. Florida is a great team that requires the opposition to make the most of opportunities given them; what the Vols failed to do against UCLA, they must do if Florida gives it away.

Likewise, this needs to be a two hands on the football day for the Vol offense. The biggest play in the Florida game last year was Arian Foster's fumble on a drive that - remember? - saw the Vols with the ball down 28-20. In one moment it was 35-20, and then it was over.

Crompton can't play the hero. Foster can't fumble. The Vols must be opportunistic to win.

5. Finding The Rhythm
This is really all of them combined into one. Vol fans aren't going to wait until 2009 for the Clawfense to start firing on more cylinders than not. We're neither blind nor stupid and when you say you're still looking for your fastball, we all know it's the running game. And sure, hitting some deep passes would keep the defense honest. But you need to force-feed them some honesty with the tailbacks and the offensive line.

Playing this game at home, the crowd can make a difference in disrupting Florida's rhythm. It's very important for something good to happen early for the Vols - it'll give those who doubt a reason to believe, and it'll make this team play with the confidence necessary to beat Florida.

More importantly, early rhythm is key. And Crompton has started really well in both games this season, whether that's due to scripted plays or something else. But the key, again, isn't 300 yards passing, it's consistency.

Run the football. Keep Florida off the field. Go after Tebow and trust your secondary when they are on the field. Keep everything simple for Jonathan Crompton and make sure he plays within himself. And if the Gators give you an opportunity, take advantage of it. This is the rhythm we're looking for.

Look, we're still Tennessee and nobody is going to leave Saturday shaking our heads at a loss but proud of our effort. No one is going to shrug their shoulders and chalk up a loss to less talent, because it's not a talent issue. The same people who are all upset right now still, deep down, have a level of expectation with this football team that will surface on Saturday afternoon. They get pissed because they expect to win. Because at Tennessee that's always the expectation.

So don't sell me on we can't or that Florida's automatically five touchdowns better than us. If the Vols come out throwing and play soft zone, we're going to get buried under an avalanche of three and outs and find ourselves in a three possession hole in the second quarter that will negate the ability to run the football. So yeah, if that happens, we could get beat and beat badly.

But if the Vols focus on doing what they do best, and then actually go out there and do it...then we're in for a fight.

An early turnover, an early score gives the Vols hope and momentum to play with confidence. A good Florida team battles back, but a game Vol team stays with them. Daniel Lincoln knocks one home to give the Vols a tight lead late, and Eric Berry saves the day by forcing a turnover on the final drive. Son.

Will's Pick: Tennessee 23 - Florida 21

Big Orange Roundtable - Florida Week

Your Mom and Wilt Chamberlain have the questions this week, and they give us a chance to make a little side-rambling about Mike Griffith's report card after the UAB game.

Generally, Griff is one of the News-Sentinel writers I agree with most. He doesn't overly dwell in the realm of the negative, he's usually factually correct...and well, he's not John Adams.

Having said that, Griff's report card from Saturday's 35-3 win over UAB is a picture of the mindset of a significant percentage of Vol Nation right now.

And part of that mindset is totally insane.

Tennessee's offense ran for 266 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 fumbles and averaged a whopping 6.5 yards per carry.

Griff gave them a C.

Lucas Taylor caught 9 passes for 132 yards. Gerald Jones caught two touchdown passes. Brandon Warren made his real Tennessee debut.

Griff gave the receivers a D+.

Tennessee held UAB to a field goal and won the game by 32 points (and not that it matters, but they covered).

Griff gave the overall performance a D+.

Have you lost your mind?

Look, if you want to be negative, God knows you've got company. If you want to question Crompton & Clawson (there's a "cc's" joke in there somewhere), you can. If you're still upset about UCLA, me too.

But good grief, let's be rational.

D+?! If that performance by the tailbacks is a C...good grief Mike, what's an A look like?

Tennessee fans need to stop being so spoiled, suck it up and deal. The same people who didn't enjoy Atlanta last year because it came with three losses are clearly still in need of therapy in 2008.

If you want to be negative and hateful...wait 'til Sunday.

I can't read the comments on the News-Sentinel articles anymore because they make me furious. There are legions of Vol fans who're spreading the word that Florida's going to win by at least five touchdowns on Saturday. Vegas says Florida by a touchdown. Vol faithful say Florida by whatever they want.

How did that happen?

If you want to be pissed, you may have reason to be after Saturday's game. I'm not misled about just how average we've looked thus far, nor have I forgotten the worst loss of my lifetime the Gators handed us last season. And no one is required to be as optimistic as I generally am.

But if you're one of the Vol "fans" who're trashing us right now...if we win, do you celebrate as much as the rest of us? And do you see the imbalance in that?

I cannot stand the fairweather bunch who will spend six days running us down because it's easy...and then if we do find a way on Saturday night, will turn right around and want to celebrate us. I cannot stand all this negativity coming into the Florida game when we haven't even played yet. If you want to get bitter about things, you wait until after we've lost to do it. Right now we're 0-0 in SEC play and the score of the Florida game is likewise. Shut up.

Optimism and negativity aside, here's a realistic attempt to grade the Vols this week, as posed by The Stilt:

How would you grade the VOLS performance this past weekend?

QUARTERBACK: C-

Crompton was average: 19 of 31, 240 yards, 2 scores and 2 picks. UAB's defense isn't very good so it gets downgraded to slightly below average. The kid is still feeling himself and the new offense out...and yes, of course, we hope he gets a better feel by Saturday.

RUNNING BACKS: A

Look, I don't understand with the aforementioned numbers how it's anything but. What more did you want from any of those guys?

WIDE RECEIVERS: B-

Lucas Taylor continues to be underappreciated. Gerald Jones got two touchdowns, and both men seem to be generally on the same page as Crompton. Brandon Warren looked good when thrown to. Arian Foster made a nice play on his one reception. Luke Stocker needs a catch early in the Florida game to regain his composure. You could question the reserves, but it's not their fault if they don't get thrown to and we're busy running.

OFFENSIVE LINE: C-

Again, UAB now has the worst defense in the FBS, so competition has to be a factor. Lots of yards after contact for the tailbacks, whose skill and speed had more to do with the 266 rushing yards than smashmouth blocking did. Penalties frustrated, Crompton was sacked and defenses are still forcing bad throws with pressure on him. This line must play up to its potential next week.

DEFENSIVE LINE: C

Contain but few tackles for loss against Webb and UAB, though this unit has done a good job of stopping the tailback for two straight weeks. Bolden and Williams are experienced in the middle, and the ends must continue to grow.

LINEBACKERS: C

Bending but not breaking against a decent offense; missed tackles will haunt if they reappear on Saturday. Ellix Wilson has been solid, Rico McCoy needs to show up more.

SECONDARY: B-

Eric Berry (son) and friends have seven interceptions in two games, including Berry's drive-stopper last week. DeAngelo Willingham hasn't been beat all season, and this is a unit with versatility that can come in handy.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C

Chad Cunningham keeps almost kicking it to the end zone. Daniel Lincoln didn't get a chance to redeem himself, the Vols didn't get many chances on kick returns. Kick coverage has improved since last year.

COACHING: C-

The philosophy grade was an F through the first six quarters of the season, and better improve on Saturday. The Vols did finally say "screw it" in the second half and found great results. Poor clock management at the end of the first half I'm going to blame on the coaches more than Crompton. If they're still looking for what they're good at, I can't help them. Still...the Vols won by 32 points.

OVERALL: C+

Again...32 points. UAB's not very good and they weren't going to tell us everything about our football team no matter the score. The Vols play hard even if they don't always play smart, and the issues don't appear to be talent-related (with the possible exception of Crompton, but that'll take some time to fully answer). Nothing definitive can be said about this team until Saturday night.

Check out YMSWWC for his grades and everyone else's...and hey, you can join us on Facebook by clicking the link in the right hand column.

It's that week.

Tennessee vs. UAB Live Blog

Final Score: Tennessee 35 - UAB 3
Dave says Brent Vinson is seeing his first action today on this drive...which is horribly inaccurate.

UAB punts, and the Vols are three runs away from covering. BJ Coleman this time? Nope, Stephens again. Tough life for Poole with the second team o-line against UAB's first team defense. He makes his own way on a first down run. Dave Baker tries to make something out of nothing on Arian Foster icing his knee.

BJ Coleman falls down handing the ball off. Crompton hasn't quite done that yet.

They make the point that the Vols are always deep at tailback...but this might be our most explosive group since Travis Henry/Travis Stephens. That '04 Cedric Houston/Gerald Riggs tandem was good...but Foster/Hardesty/Creer look stronger on the three deep. Add Poole to the back of that list after a solid burst at the finish.

The Vols finish with 545 yards and 35 points, which is good. The balance looks good too (282 pass, 263 rush) though some of that is helped by Nick Stephens' late pass to Brandon Warren. Defensively, the Vols allow 275 yards but only 3 points, and again swarm the turnovers with three picks.

So...where do we go from here?

The Vols have enough talent to beat Florida, I don't think that's the issue. Will the offense find rhythm and consistency? Exactly how good is this defense? Can Jonathan Crompton move from risk to reward? Will the Vols run the football?

We didn't get any of the definitive answers today, and we knew we wouldn't. The Third Saturday in September defines our season more often than not. We'll find out which way we're headed in seven short days.

Fourth Quarter - Vols 35-3 - Tennessee Drive
Priceless example of why we won't mourn the loss of Raycom:

Dave #1 is trying to introduce Nick Stephens, the quarterback, but then confidently says "He caught a three yard touchdown pass last season." And then he corrects himself because he realizes he's talking about Luke Stocker, the tight end.

And then he ropes one to Brandon Warren!

Two "broken tackles" on a rollout later, and that annoying UT fan next to you is already saying "Why isn't HE playing?!"

While we're milking it down and getting the backups some minutes...

- If 2008 is like 2007, you need to cheer for South Carolina today for no other reason than the fact that Carolina has already lost once and Georgia hasn't.

- In both Michigan/Notre Dame and USC/Ohio State, I find myself feeling the need to watch as a college football fan, but completely disgusted with all four teams and the idea that two of them are going to win today.

- We've seen just enough from the starters today for me to construct a rational argument that we're going to win next week. Just you wait.

Fourth Quarter - Vols 35-3 - UAB Drive
And now for one of my favorite parts of football: all the gamblers are sweating it out, because don't look now, but the Vols are covering by a deuce.

Defensive starters are still in...there's 10:00 left...I'm getting nervous...about the injuries, not about the spread.

I hope Joe Webb is faster in the 40 than Tim Tebow. Because otherwise, we're in a lot of trouble.

Dan Williams throws a straight right hand! And I hope that wasn't Eric Berry who ate a stiff arm on that play.

Nope, Morley. Embarassing.

30 yards later, and they're flirting with field goal range and the points that would put them back over in Vegas.

Congrats to Coach Cut and Duke, who win 41-31 over Navy and are 2-1.

Great coverage by Willingham in man, and your money is safe...for now. (Notice how I operate on the assumption that you, of course, bet on the Vols)



Fourth Quarter - Vols 28-3 - Tennessee Drive
Penalties for the Vols at this point: 8 for 70. Lennon Creer busts off a 15 yard run that's sure to only confuse coaches and fans alike in the next week while trying to figure out who should get the carries. Here's a hint: Arian Foster.

Brandon Warren gets his first catch in Knoxville, and the home folks give him the love he deserves. Me and Josh are hoping he holds off on scoring that first touchdown until we're there to see it.

We're getting an automatic four yards running the ball right now. We've made our point. Now - not at every point we tried it last week or in the first half today - but NOW is the point where you figure out how to throw, when you're up 25 in the 4th quarter. On cue, Crompton hits Denarius Moore.

Crompton's going to finish with a Chris Todd-like afternoon: numbers that look pretty solid (minus the two picks), but an on-field actuality that isn't quite there yet.

With first and goal at the four, they should throw the ball to Luke Stocker.

But then again, that was Creer's drive, and he deserved that score.

Okay, let's look at it again:

Arian Foster: 12 for 101
Montario Hardesty: 7 for 28
Lennon Creer: 8 for 93
Total: 27 carries, 222 yards, 8.2 yards per carry

Fourth Quarter - Vols 28-3 - UAB Drive
Joe Webb runs for 22 yards then slams into...our kicker, like a big man. Then he throws an interception to L-ix Wislon to follow up.

We're almost into "don't get anybody hurt!" mode...I will say that Lucas Taylor is four catches away from tying the single game record, and I'd like Crompton's passing day to end on a good note before we see Nick Stephens/BJ Coleman just in case.

End of Third Quarter - Vols 28-3
The ultra-rare facemask on the quarterback penalty!

Tennessee is averaging 7.0 yards per carry. That's really all I have to say.

Third Quarter - Vols 21-3 - Tennessee Drive
When people use the phrase at any point "We're going to better next year anyway", remind them about Arian Foster and Lucas Taylor's contribution today. Hardesty's getting the snaps this series and made a nice block - Foster has 101 yards on 12 carries, Taylor has 9 catches for 132 yards.

Lennon Creer sighting! I knew when Fulmer said last season that he reminded him of Chuck Webb - the holy of holies in the all-time Vol RB talent pool - it was too much way too soon.

I mean, he scores a touchdown on the next carry from 45 yards out. My bad.

Third Quarter - Vols 21-3 - UAB Drive
What's the record for blocks in the back on kick returns in one game?

Arian Foster: 12 carries, 101 yards, 8.4 yards per carry.

Rico McCoy drops a touchdown, he hasn't been sharp. We get a great spot from the ref on the 3rd down play, and I hope they punt this quickly so they don't review it.

They do.

Third Quarter - Vols 14-3 - Tennessee Drive
I miss the giant orange T banner over the tunnel.

LOOK WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RUN THE FOOTBALL. Kevin Cooper whiffs on his block but it doesn't make any difference to Arian Foster. 7.1 per carry.

Luke Stocker officially has a complex. I think he and Brandon Warren were playing good cop/bad cop there.

LOOK WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET THE FOOTBALL TO ARIAN FOSTER. Why is this so hard?

Right now my greatest hope is that it's all been decoy and the real Clawfense is coming out next week against Florida. You can't go away from the run just because the kid falls forward for four yards. That means you run it again, genius.

LOOK WHAT HAPPENS. This is only making me more upset. RUN THE FOOTBALL.

If I hear "we've got to find what we're good at" from anyone on the coaching staff next week, I'm going to cry real tears.

Montario Hardesty scores a touchdown standing up. That red zone touch should make all those guys who're too hard on Foster having the ball in crucial situations because he might fumble smile.

I can't stop shaking my head, literally. Why does it have to be so complicated? We didn't have to lose to UCLA. This game doesn't have to be this close. Run. The. Football. Please.

Third Quarter - Vols 14-0 - UAB Drive
I'm not there yet, but we're one big UAB play from them being very much in this football game, and having flashbacks from last week and the opening week of 2005...which is the last reference I'd like to make to that season.

We don't necessarily look lifeless, but we're not on top of it either. UAB moves inside the 35.

Offensively, right now I'm envisioning a sit-down interview with Dave Clawson after an 8-4/7-5 season where he says "we were just learning the system all season, now we'll be fine."

The defense is a quarter-step slow in breaking on what should've been an interception...Road House comes in and buries a 47 yarder. If they convert on that 12 play drive earlier and Eric Berry doesn't make an end zone interception, this game is anywhere from 14-9 to a UAB lead. Oh, the ebb and flow of our season...

Start of Third Quarter
...and the answer is:

Navy (Jimmy Carter, Roger Staubach)
Michigan (Gerald Ford, Tom Brady)
Miami OH (Benjamin Harrison, Ben Roethlisberger)
Stanford (Herbert Hoover, John Elway & Jim Plunkett)

And this guy for ESPNU is one of the most excited play by play men I've heard in a long time, which is a good thing.

Watch the onside kick...nevermind.

Lucas Taylor is going to go down as one of the more quiet positives for the Vols this decade. He had a great statistical season last year that was mostly overlooked, he's got over 100 yards receiving already today. That's two straight nine yard completions on first down. You know, maybe this is just all set up and we're going to run 50 times next week. God, I hope so.

Crompton continues to show that he doesn't throw it well under pressure. Cutcliffe needs to get on the phone and say whatever version of "throw it away!" he wired into Erik Ainge's subconscious. He locks into Taylor again for another first down on 3rd and 7.

Off the interception - second half play selection: 7 pass, 2 rush.

Halftime - Vols 14-0
The Halftime Stats:

TOTAL YARDS:
Vols 219 (162 passing, 57 rushing)
Blazers 138 (102 passing, 36 rushing)

TIME OF POSSESSION
Vols 11:54
Blazers 18:06

Jonathan Crompton: 11 of 18, 162 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Joe Webb: 11 of 19, 102 yards, 1 INT (27 yards rushing)

Arian Foster + Montario Hardesty: 10 carries, 53 yards

Some quick thoughts:
- Again...where's Brandon Warren? Or any other receiver?
- Statistically, the defense is still fine (and on pace to once more be the #1 run defense in the country after this week)...on the field, they've had lapses again
- Chad Cunningham is doing a great job kicking off
- We continue to be more interested in finding out if Crompton can throw it than getting Foster and Hardesty carries...some of that is the 2:00 Drill and I understand that, but still...

Around the nation:
- Cal once again proves that they're worthless east of the Mississippi, getting hammered 21-6 by the Maryland team that lost to MTSU by 10 last week. Also, the Maryland band is prostituting themselves by playing the ESPN College Football Theme
- Chase Daniel has thrown for 215 yards in 26 minutes; Mizzou all over Nevada 31-10 in the second quarter
- Iowa and Iowa State are in a streetfight...3-0 Hawkeyes late in the third quarter
- Duke and Navy are, in fact, playing on ESPNU (Navy still up 24-20), with a great triving question: Which 4 schools have produced both a Super Bowl winning QB and a President of the United States?

Second Quarter - Vols 14-0 - Tennessee 2:00 Drill
Alright, here's what we did best against UCLA...90 yards in 1:41?

Rascal Flatts or the PerfecT1o Gala the night before the Alabama game? I CAN'T DECIDE!!

Crompton looks like a high school quarterback and I don't mean that as the full insult it sounds like. He takes his drop, hops twice, locks onto his primary target and fires. Simple. Did it twice in a row with no problems, then UAB brought pressure and Crompton throws it into the stands.

And good grief, in 2008, that's roughing the passer.

Luke Stocker drops a ball that puts us in field goal range at least. Brandon Warren has done nothing but pass protect thus far today. Right on cue, there's Dave echoing the same thing.

Crompton continues to be a work in progress...rhythm requires all the parts working well together, and we can't put together a string of good throws and good catches. Dave points out that he's struggling in the second quarter...same thing happened against UCLA.

Home cooking from the clock operator...is negated by a false start penalty. And here come the boos even though we lead 14-0. Look, it's not as pretty as I wanted either.

Second Quarter - Vols 14-0 - UAB Drive
This quarterback is the second coming of Rohan Davey and JaMarcus Russell combined. He takes your bullets.

Do we get a sack for that? Either way, nice job by the defense with the short field to cut it off immediately. And another nice job by Fulmer to call that timeout and be thinking about more points, even with the short field.

You know it's a good week next week when the Raycom game is Alabama/Arkansas.

Second Quarter - Vols 14-0 - Crompton Interception
Alright, look...the booing is ridiculous on a play that amounted to a good punt. These are the same people who've already forgotten that they used to boo the fact that we never would've thrown on 3rd and 10 from the 1, especially after having thrown on 2nd and 10.

Second Quarter - Vols 14-0 - UAB Drive
Even with GamePlan, there are still some games I'd like to see but can't. For instance, check out the offense down in Durham: Navy 227, Duke 208 at halftime with the Midshipmen leading 24-20 over Cutcliffe's boys.

Dave #1 says "This game doesn't have any rhythm in it." The prophet speaks.

As UAB continues to move through the air, we continue to feel worse about next week. Tebow with time + 2 deep = disaster. Meanwhile, the Blazers are eating the clock as if it were village peasants.

But...Eric Berry, son, whose only crime was trying to run that ball out of the end zone.

UAB currently leads time of possession by 6:15.

Second Quarter - Vols 14-0 - Tennessee Drive
Joe Webb makes two Vols look bad, but then steps on the line and we get the ball back and take no damage from a 12 play drive.

The foot shooting continues with an illegal shift on 3rd and 1 to make 3rd and 6. Crompton does a nice job making a couple defenders miss, but has twice made a bad decision on when to tuck and run on third down, and the Vols have their first three and out of the afternoon. And let's just say that with Brandon James returning punts next week, we might want to consider kicking out of bounds.

Second Quarter - Vols 14-0 UAB Drive
That was the worst "attempt" at pass interference I've ever seen from Rico McCoy. And Rico normally doesn't need to be reminded that this isn't touch football. If you're going to obviously go for PI, for whatever reason, then at least get your money's worth. He spun that guy around all gentle and playful like as if he was a she.

This is followed by more insanity where the Vols jump offsides on 4th and 1.

And are we blitzing anymore? Are we saving it for next week, I hope?

Eric Berry just tried to pick up a fumble one handed. Maybe when he's a junior.

An impressive drive for UAB...thus far.

End of First Quarter - Vols 14-0
Some stats:

TOTAL YARDS
Tennessee - 164
UAB - 45

Jonathan Crompton: 6 of 8, 118 yards, 2 TDs
Lucas Taylor: 3 for 78
Gerald Jones: 2 for 34, 2 TDs
Arian Foster: 6 carries, 41 yards

As suspected, we can do what we want against these guys. So let's spend the rest of our time finding out what we do best so we can do it - in rhythm - next week.

First Quarter - Vols 7-0 - Vols Drive
Nice quick hit to Lucas Taylor for the big gain. Every time Montario Hardesty gets hit I expect him to not get up.

Well, and here's either Raycom or GamePlan for ya: I finish watching an enjoyable ESPNU commercial, and then get "On the next E:60...", followed by the jump back to live action just in time to see Crompton hit Jones for another touchdown. At this point, it's obvious the kid and the coordinator have great flow with Taylor and Jones. If this keeps up, I'd like to see more of the young WRs get in this game and get some touches.

First Quarter - Vols 7-0 - UAB Drive
We should rename this "Tebow Target Practice" at this point the way this kid is running around.

Frantrell Forrest is an awesome name.

Have we decided who our best two corners are yet? Marsalous Johnson is getting plenty of playing time...I know Rogan's banged up and Vinson hasn't seen the field yet, but that might be something good to figure out now instead of on the job next week.

You can also tell these guys watched the UCLA film ("And every other film from John Chavis' career" respond the naysayers) on these 7 yard underneath routes.

Swayze Waters is also an awesome name. I can't think of an actor with the last name "Waters" fast enough to make a joke.

First Quarter - Tennessee Drive
Our band is playing something new that I can't quite deduce...

Crompton makes a nice throw to Lucas Taylor on 2nd and 10, who does a nice job of breaking tackles in space and getting good yardage. Still thinking ahead...Crompton's gotta not lock on one guy, he's gotta work the progression. Florida may not miss those tackles and Crompton might get picked off.

Then he shuts me up with a patient touchdown pass to Gerald Jones.

AllState's good hands have made their way to our kicking nets. Great.

First Quarter - UAB Punt
Josh makes note in the comments that Raycom is now in HD (in their final season)...which still doesn't mean they've hired competent cameramen to actually show me where that punt was going to land or who it might hit.

They are, however, continuing the glorious tradition of shafting those of us who don't have HD or plasma TVs - my screen cuts off on the left side so far that instead of reading "RAYCOM SPORTS" is see "COM RTS"

First Quarter - UAB Drive
Eric Berry, son.

Tennessee Opening Drive
You saw a lot of what you wanted to see - more running that passing, including an impressive opening run by Foster (4 carries for 34 on the drive), a throw to the tight end, a run on third and short and a commitment to go for it on 4th down.

But it still got no results.

It's way too early for frustration in this game (and always too early for booing the home team). Still, the rhythm eludes us. That Gloria Estefan is full of it.

Kickoff & Opening Drive
Do you think that when ESPN gives Raycom/LF/JP Sports the boot next season, they'll do the same to the ridiculous Rascal Flatts intro? Because I don't need 'NSYNC With Cowboy Hats (credit: Lanie Britton) to get me ready for football.

Okay, so I'm obviously not there, so I'll have to give me thoughts on the new Neyland renovations as they're presented to me on television. I like the brick and I like the fact that Peyton Manning's name is somewhere, though I'm not sure I enjoy it over the tunnel where the team runs out (stressing the team over individual thing, you know).

The orange pants are put away, and perhaps any chance we had of seeing them against Florida next week burned up in the California spotlight...but you never know...

Defense first, and away we go...

I think that was Chad Cunningham who kicked off and almost put it in the end zone. I know those are the same ****ing lazy students who put the gaping hole in our upper deck because they're too busy sleeping or drinking to make the 12:30 kickoff. At least this isn't as blasphemous as it was when they did it in a pivotal game against Arkansas last year.

The UAB quarterback (who has a name, and it's Joe Webb, but we refer to him as such to make the point) just ran for 15 yards in a draw and is talking trash to our defenders.

And for the record, it's L-ix Wilson. He's part of the defensive unit that stopped the option - not something to be taken for granted in Knoxville - forcing a punt to Gerald Jones.

More Pregame
ESPN GamePlan says I get no Raycom coverage until exactly 12:30...so while I can't tell you what Dave Dave & Dave are saying, I can offer you a safe haven should things go wrong today:

The PerfecT10n DVD campaign is now fully underway, celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the National Championship season in 1998. Tee Martin is on hand at Neyland today for pregame festivities...it's my understanding that Al Wilson will be there for Florida, Cedrick Wilson for Northern Illinois, Billy Ratliff for Mississippi State, Peerless Price for Alabama, Eric Westmoreland for Wyoming and Cosey Coleman for Kentucky.

You can check out clips every Monday from the DVD at the official website...a small piece from Syracuse is up now.

Pregame
The Vols will fly fully under the radar today with USC/Ohio State nationally and Georgia/South Carolina locally, but that's fine with me. I know we didn't look good against UCLA offensively, but going against a team that's given up 550+ to Tulsa and Florida Atlantic, I don't want to hear excuses, I want to see results. I'm picking the Vols 48-10, which is at and above the 30 points we're favored by. Give me something to believe in.

Morning - 7:54 AM
Check back here before kickoff at 12:30, where we'll be bringing you live thoughts on the Tennessee/UAB game throughout the day. The Vols are favored by 30, and I'm told temperatures in Knoxville are supposed to hit the low 90s today...so it should be interesting as always.

Random Thoughts - Thursday September 11

Is it bad that the first thing that ran through my mind when I woke up this morning was "Where were you...when they built the ladder to heaven?"

Live Blog - Vols vs. UAB
I'm at home in Virginia this weekend and won't be making the trip to Knoxville for the home opener, which is more job-related than UCLA-related, I promise. But we will be blogging live for the 12:30 EST kickoff of the Vols and the team they should beat by the 30 points they're favored. I make few guarantees, but I will say that we strive for our coverage to exceed that offered by Raycom. Small steps.


Live Chat with John Ward @ utsports.com on Friday
The official site of the Vols is hosting a live chat every Friday before home games from 1:00-200 PM EST, and they're kicking it off this week with The Voice. You can submit your questions here, and the moderator will be picking the best ones for Mr. Ward to answer tomorrow afternoon.

Quick story: one Saturday in December 1997, I took my ACTs in the morning and then met some friends of mine at Foothills Mall in Maryville. And low and behold, John Ward was there signing autographs. So we found another friend in line and cut in. I got two pictures for me and my Dad. My friend who we cut in with is the son of former Vol OL Gaylon Hill (a two year starter in '71/'72 who played next to Fulmer on the left side of the line), and he brought some stuff from that era for John to sign.

And 25 years later, John Ward still remembers. He starts asking my friend how his dad is doing and all this great stuff. He gets that stuff signed, and then John asks him if he also wants a picture. And my friend, inexplicably, says "No, that's okay." And Ward feigns insult and goes "Well, why not?" Awesome. If you see "Will from Ceres, VA asks..." on the chat tomorrow, know that it will take nothing more to make my entire day.


Al Wilson calls it a day; brow possibly unfurrowed
From one legend to another, #27 officially announced his retirement from the NFL after he couldn't find a spot coming off his 2006 neck injury. Wilson was a five time Pro Bowl selection with the Denver Broncos.

More importantly to us...I mean, the man needs no introduction. Many at the Big Orange Roundtable are giving him our standing ovations today...check out why I called him my favorite Vol ever back in the infancy stages of this blog, and read the other good words this afternoon from Third Saturday and Moondog. The News-Sentinel thinks he deserves a job on the UT staff, and I couldn't agree more.

A landmark day for SESB - our first promotional tie-in!
Sometimes I forget that when I'm sitting here at home just typing away on the laptop trying to amuse myself and my friends, that what you post on the internet actually gets read by other people. So I was highly amused to check my inbox this afternoon and find, in the comments on the Matthew McConaughey/Team Baby post from yesterday, some kind words from one of the guys at Team Baby...as well as a promotional offer for 10% off for me and the readers. Enjoy.


Quick thoughts on Vince Young
Jeff's been all over what's probably been the most interesting week to be a Tennessee Titans fan since Eddie George and Al Del Greco gave away the season eight years ago (pre/postgame Jacksonville thoughts here, his thoughts on Vince Young here)...my two cents on the whole thing:

Do you want Vince Young to be your quarterback at this point, if you're the Titans (or a Titans fan?)

I like Vince. You can use the passer efficiency numbers to make the opposite point, but the reality is the kid is 18-12 as the Titans' starter. Wins are precious in the NFL, and that's a pretty good number for a third year quarterback who has played his entire career with a cast of characters at the skill positions that no non-Titans fan could name a third of.

However...

VY clearly has some other issues. The picture in Jeff's post from the Texans game last year speaks volumes. It's played out again this week. Does this kid have what it takes to lead this team, both now and as our quarterback for the future? I still think he brings more positives than negatives on the field. Off the field? I'm beginning to question.

When your other option is Kerry Collins, it's an easy question to answer (all the best to him this week at Cincy, though). When you've just signed Chris Simms, one of my five most hated quarterbacks of all time (along with Chris Leak, Jesse Palmer, Matt Mauck, and a tie with every Notre Dame quarterback that played between Joe Montana and Jimmy Clausen)...ol' can't win the big one and "I'd rather be a liar than compete with AJ Suggs" isn't making me feel any better either.

And the Titans offense is what it is, and has been as long as they've been the Titans. Eddie George isn't around anymore to make it a little stronger, and Vince still had some years left before he became Steve McNair. I'm not looking for 35 points per game and another MVP to share with Peyton Manning. I accept the fact that Jeff Fisher teams are going to have Jim Schwartz defenses that will do everything they can to win. Bill Simmons said on his podcast this week that the Titans defense was the best thing he saw on Sunday, and you know what? He might be right.

But has Vince crossed that line into distraction and detriment? Or when his knee sprain is healed, can he step back in and be the man? Do you want him to? How much faith do you have in Vince to lead a team with a great defense and a potential gamebreaker in Chris "I apologize" Johnson, a team that could, could, could have something more than a wild card ceiling in front of them in 2008?

I want to believe in Vince Young. I believe in Jeff Fisher. I'll nod my head in agreement with whatever decision he makes down the line here (even if it's Chris Simms). As a person and a player, I want to see Vince get back and then go forward. But the line is very thin. Can Vince earn trust and be the man?


ESPN The Magazine on Peyton & Eli
When you've got a few minutes to spare, check out this monster of an article from The Magazine on The Brothers Manning, from film study with David Cutcliffe to personal pranks, and all the joys inbetween. The best part is the subtitle - "How can we win like the Mannings?" - which makes everything before the January 2007 AFC Championship Game seem like such a long, long time ago.


New '08 College Football Unis
I'm watching Rutgers and North Carolina right now, and I pause to make this statement:

North Carolina's road uniforms are a betrayal of their integrity.

You're North Carolina. You have Carolina blue, for crying out loud.

So when I turn on the game tonight and I see you wearing navy blue pants...

Shame. Shame on you.

Also not good this season: Virginia Tech. The Hokies looked bad on the road in their new jerseys against East Carolina, and now will cross the line from unique to gimmick: they had a "white out" against Furman last week, an "orange effect" is scheduled for Georgia Tech this week, and a "maroon effect" for the Thursday night game against Maryland in November (that I'm currently planning to attend).

At least Carolina looks good on the field, for now.

And I refuse to discuss the orange pants.

Big Orange Roundtable - The Deep Breath Before the Plunge

We continue on at The Roundtable, undeterred by the Vols' 0-1 start. We're not the only ones in town who're making additions to their roster: The Roundtable has added Curveballs for Jesus (which makes two Major League references in two posts on this blog), and Gate 21 is the new home for Patrick from The View From The Hill...he has the honors this week, and away we go:

1. So we’re all still pissed off from losing to a UCLA team we would without a doubt beat at worst eight times out of 10, and now a pretty bad UAB team comes to Knoxville before the epic showdown with Florida and the rest of the SEC gauntlet - the deep breath before the plunge, if you will. What I simply want to know is what do YOU want to see from the Vols this Saturday?

This is an odd game to go with an odd week - you pack a summer's worth of failed expectation into sixty minutes of head-through-the-wall frustration against UCLA, then you have to wait a week and sit with it, and now you play the worst team on your schedule. So while winning 70-0 will make us feel a little better, of course, it may not tell you anything definitive about this football team. On the contrary, any success UAB has against us on either side of the ball will further the head-through-the-wall syndrome. This is an almost no-win Saturday for the Vols in what many have already dubbed a "don't get anybody hurt!" game.

What I want to see is something, anything to give me hope that the Vols will commit to running the football against Florida.

If the Vols throw it 42 times and beat Florida, I will gleefully tell you what an idiot I am next Sunday. And I've got my moments of idiocy to begin with. But this isn't one of them.

I'm sure there'll be no correlation between what the Vols do Saturday against UAB and the definitive gameplan for the Gators. But I don't want to see Crompton go 19 of 42 again. I want Foster, Hardesty and the offensive line to be in the best possible shape to pound Florida and own the rushing battle, and not put the weight of the game on Crompton's shoulder the way it was placed there against UCLA. And hopefully Clawson is smart enough to disguise his true Gator intentions. Still...give me something, Dave. Give me something to sit down in front of this computer screen on Monday and believe.

2. Flashback to Saturday night in Gainesville: up 23-3, Florida gets a good punt return by Brandon James inside the Miami 20. With 1:56 left, Urban Meyer sends Tim Tebow back in, and, after a screen pass, a throw into the endzone, and a lost-yardage run, Florida kicks a sand-in-the-face field goal with :25 left, prompting a death stare from Cane coach Randy Shannon and eventually a “handshake” at midfield after the game. Thoughts?

Since we're all so familiar with the Gators scoring more points in a game where the outcome is already decided, here's my expertise:

If you're getting the score run up on you, in perception or reality, you say nothing.

It's more important for players, coaches, administration and fans to deal with why your team got it run up on them than the motives of the other coach who did it. Maybe Urban Meyer is a jerk. More like probably. But our problem isn't that he's a jerk, is what his football team is capable of doing to ours.

If I was Randy Shannon, I'd put the death stare away, I wouldn't try to make it a point of emphasis after the game to media or to potential recruits, and I'd store it all away. If I'm a player, you don't say things like "We'll remember that."

But you do remember it.

And then next season, behind closed doors and closed doors only, you remind a team that shouldn't need to be reminded of what they did. And you take it out on them in violent fashion. On the field. And if you get the opportunity, you absolutely run it up on them.

The only time it's okay to comment on getting the score run up on you is the following season, after you've beaten that team. Otherwise...you shut up and use the loss to make you better.

3. And finally, a question that I’m not sure has been so directly asked in the course of the Roundtable, but one that needs answering: the “woo” in Rocky Top…do you “woo” and why do/don’t you “woo”?

I will absolutely default to the highly entertaining and 80s/early 90s music filled response (and comments) from Third Saturday, and will only say that I do enjoy the "wooing!" (in no small part thanks to Ric Flair, who's also mentioned by Your Mom and Wilt this week). And that Huey Lewis & The News are the undisputed kings of "horrible songs" that get stuck in your head.

Go read the other guys this week, including...

- Gate 21 (Patrick hosting this week)

- Third Saturday in Blogtober

- YMSWWC

Matthew McConaughey wants to screw up your kid

While reading this article at Bleacher Report, I followed a link Michael Bergman briefly mentions (at #21 on his list).

Hilarity follows: http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_audio/090308_mcconaughey.mp3

Apparently there's a company called Team Baby Entertainment that's probably not what you think if you didn't listen to that mp3. They produce DVDs for young children that teach them things like colors, letters, numbers, etc...all while teaching them about your favorite sports team or university. So at the same time they're learning the basic fundamentals for human existence, they'll also be learning your team's colors, campus/stadium landmarks, and fight song. Is this brainwashing? Yes. Is it awesome? Yes.

It's become so popular, apparently, that celebrities are now doing the voice-over work for their favorite teams. Regis Philbin wants your kid to be the savior of Notre Dame Football, Alyssa Milano wants your kid to bleed Dodger blue, and Jay Leno will tell your young'un about...NASCAR. Hmmm...

McConaughey's pitch for the Texas Longhorns isn't the most disturbing. That award goes to whichever freaks you and your child out the most of the following choices: Mark Cuban for the Mavericks, "Big Baby" Davis for LSU, a smattering of options featuring Lee Corso, or my personal favorite: George Steinbrenner for the New York Yankees. Because that's the voice I want my child to form his/her fundamental learning around, Costanza.

(However...if I had a child, they would be watching The World Champion Boston Celtics edition, narrated by The Finals MVP Paul Pierce)

The Tennessee edition, linked here for all you happy parents and parents-to-be, is currently without celebrity endorsement. I hereby submit Vol superfan David Keith to do the work...but only if he does it in character as Jack Parkman.

If you're wondering "If I have a baby, is this what Will's going to buy for the shower?"

Oh, most definitely yes. Don't even worry about registering for it. You're welcome.

Trouble in Titan Town

The big stories coming out of week one for the Titans are as follows:

• Vince Young is injured.
• The Defense is still great.
• The Titans picked up an early win against a divisional foe.
• Chris Johnson might just be as good as advertised.
• The Offensive Line remains studly.

That first item - Vince’s injury - carries the heaviest national cache and has also spawned an ugly sub-story, one that presents Vince Young as childish (or perhaps mentally unstable) and his teammates as potentially sickened by the Titan’s marquee player.

The story has roots way back in 2007 where Vince, out with an injury against the Texans, "stayed to himself, not talking to people, not feigning holding a clipboard or talking to coaches much at all." You can find the details here (I recommend following that link if for no other reason than the accompanying photo which, although it might mean nothing, sure seems to say more than the proverbial 1000 words).

The next chapter in this sordid tale came courtesy of David Climer at The Tennessean. After throwing his second interception of the day against Jacksonville Vince and the rest of the Titans trotted off the field to a symphony of boos, the vast majority of which seemed to be aimed at Vince. According to Mr. Climer (the cameras didn’t catch all of this) Vince went to the bench and sulked alone, none of the other Titans players or staff approaching him. The Titan defense promptly regained possession of the ball but Vince was (allegedly) reluctant to return; only taking the field after being manhandled by one Jeff Fisher. The camera did catch some of the latter events; Kerry Collins with his helmet on (looking confused, of course, as always) as well as Fisher and Young engaged in what appeared to be a fiery interaction (Fisher says it was a simple conversation about Vince’s hamstring tightening up). Vince did eventually retake the field, being showered anew by the boo-birds.

If one takes Climer’s narrative for truth then this looks really, really bad – both for the Titans as a team and Vince Young individually. For what it’s worth (and that isn’t very much) I’ve watched or listened to enough Titans press conferences to believe that Vince could possibly react like this. He does not take criticism well and is often quite churlish with media members who hit him with critical questions. On the other hand, this could all be a bad misrepresentation of events based on circumstantial evidence, made by people without the involvement necessary to make a correct evaluation.

Obviously, if true, this situation could develop into quite the powder keg – “Underperforming star Quarterback quits on team.” Now, to add fuel to the fire, Will Brinson of the AOL NFL Fanhouse Blog finds evidence that the team has turned on Vince in a quote from Keith Bullock. One problem – [Ben]’s conclusion is blatant rumor mongering, on the level of an average middle school girl. Keith said, in response to Vince’s injury, that “no one on this side of the ball will quit.” Will sees this as a veiled shot at Vince, referencing Young’s (again, alleged) refusal to re-enter the game after throwing a second interception. Now you tell me – is it more likely that Keith intended to take a shot at Vince or, that as a defensive leader, he is saying something akin to “It doesn’t matter what happens with the offense; as a defense we have to keep doing our job regardless”? To take Will’s position you have to (a) assume that Vince really did try to duck out on the game – an unproven prospect - and (b) assume that Keith Bullock, one of the Titan’s elder statesmen, wanted to take an incredibly veiled shot at Vince rather than dealing more directly with the issue as he did with Pacman in years past. On the other hand, to take what I believe is the more reasonable path and conclude he’s affirming the defense’s commitment to excellence you only have to believe Bullock is doing what any professional in his situation should do.

Finally, we have the report today that Vince Young was in such a sorry state mentally that his friends called the Titans to let them know he was struggling and the Titans called the cops to send out a search party. It now appears that Vince, after playing so badly and facing the prospect of being on the shelf for a long time, got in a funk and the friends overreacted by calling the Titans, touching off an escalating chain of events that amount to much ado about nothing. Considering all of the drama associated with Vince over the last day or so it only serves to make one more nervous about the state of Young and, by extension (and to a lesser degree of course), the Titans as a whole.

So what do we conclude? Yes, this is possibly a very, very ugly state of affairs. But for now we have to maintain the “possibly” qualifier. No one commenting on the situation is truly in a position to know what really motivated and defined the events of the Jacksonville game, neither blogger nor traditional media member. The Bullock quote is easily dismissed but the ESPN report about Vince’s mental state is less so. As distressing as this combination appears it is crucial that we remember that the information is coming - at best - 2nd hand and that the reporting sources can (intentionally or not) badly distort the facts in the act of reporting. Even granting that some have much greater access to the team, we are all still outsiders peering in to a situation we don’t have the requisite involvement needed to make an accurate assessment. For now this issue will have to remain a potential trouble spot; a worry that simmers on the mental back burner of Titans fans. That reality is truly a shame, considering how many positives took place during week 1.

Week 3 - If I had a vote in the AP Top 25...

The more I do this, the more I agree with the people who think the first poll shouldn't be released until October. But the fan in me couldn't stand the waiting and enjoys that early-August release of the preseason poll way too much to ever fully go along with the idea.

After two Saturdays, I think there's still clear separation between the top seven teams and everyone else, with a couple of untested programs and a couple who've looked surprisingly good falling right behind in the discussion. Things start to get shaken up this week with USC/Ohio State, while South Florida and Kansas will meet to decide who's the prettier Cinderella, but it's all just setup in large part for the first real tests for the majority of teams that come next week as conference play kicks in. As we continue an exercise in ranking the best teams right now, if I had a vote in the AP poll this week...

1. Oklahoma
Though the pass defense looked a little suspect early and a game Cincy team was very much in contention in the third quarter, the finishing spurt the Sooners put on by scoring 24 straight second half points in a 52-26 win is the stuff dominant teams are made of. Between Sam Bradford (395 and 5 TDs), DeMarco Murray and the nation's best offensive line, Oklahoma will score points against anybody and again, their schedule is the least imposing of these top seven teams - the marquee non-conference matchup they signed with Washington a few years ago is suddenly much less imposing as the Sooners head to the northwest this weekend. And I think the defense isn't going to get them beat against any of those slightly-lesser foes. OU has won 20 straight home games, best active streak in the nation. From preseason to today, I think this is the best team in the country.

2. USC
Off last week, hosting Ohio State this week, and you should find out everything you need to know about this team Saturday night. The defense might be the best in the country. Ohio State's is also in that conversation, so any production Mark Sanchez and the boys get will go that much further to helping them realize what many believe is national championship potential.

3. Georgia
The offensive weapons were on display against a decent Central Michigan team, with Stafford going for 218 and Moreno running for 168, 3 TDs and the highlight reel. Georgia racked up 552 yards, and their offensive line is so far, so good, though they'll face their biggest test yet this week at South Carolina. The defense did a nice job containing Dan LeFevour...I would say "He's not Tebow", but Georgia didn't have a problem with him last time either.

4. Florida
Speaking of Tebow, I think you still have to put him at the front of the two week old Heisman race even if his numbers are only really good instead of great so far. But he manages this team perfectly, and when Florida finally dealt with Miami's blitzing, he picked the Canes apart late when it mattered most. A short interlude on dealing with the Gators, 12 days before the Vols actually play them: aside from the "run the football" mantra I'm going to repeat about 6258712 times next week, Miami had a nice defensive blueprint that they borrowed in part from Auburn and Georgia: blitz constantly and trust your secondary in coverage, and make tackles in space. Keeping Tebow uncomfortable is key, because if you give him time he will kill you one way or another. Tennessee's secondary is good enough to hold up their end of the bargain, should the Vols choose to use that strategy. Hey, Florida's off this week, UAB gives up an average of about 575 yards to Sun Belt & Conference USA opponents at this point, and since the Vols won't be featured in this poll, we've gotta talk about 'em somewhere.

5. Missouri
Still not sure what to make of their defense, which'll get an interesting test from Nevada this week. But their offense is an absolute machine. And since they're not on Tennessee's schedule, that's all the insight I have to offer.

6. LSU
Hurricanes and necessary evacuations aside, I'm sure Les Miles wishes the Tigers had played last week. Andrew Hatch and Jarrett Lee get one more go this week against North Texas before they have to go down to The Plains and face Auburn. Based on one game and one National Championship, everything else about this team looks good. Stay tuned.

7. Ohio State
We moved the Buckeyes to this spot last week based on an overwhelming desire to kick field goals ans the loss of Beanie Wells. Ohio put some proof in our pudding, though the Buckeyes are still in that national championship caliber group. Wells is "doubtful" this week at Southern Cal...the defense is good enough to keep them in this game if they don't beat themselves on offense, so no one should be writing them off. And despite being this low, a win Saturday should put them at the top. I will say that down the line, they'd better watch out for team #9...

8. Texas
But first, the Texas Longhorns. So far they haven't played any decent competition, and that won't change this week when Arkansas comes calling in another non-conference battle that looked much more attractive when it was signed. Texas is one of my least favorite teams (see: "Chris Simms". also see: "The Real UT"), but if they give Bobby Petrino what he deserves this Saturday...I'll try not to enjoy it.

9. Wisconsin
On August 30, the Badgers ran PJ Hill 26 times for 210 yards, then ran the backup 15 times for 87 yards, while making life easy for transfer QB Allan Evridge by only asking him to throw 10 times. He completed 7 for 75 yards, with a pick and a score, in a 38-17 win over Akron. On September 6, Marshall jammed the line of scrimmage, refused to let Wisconsin run, and built a 14-0 lead. Then they took the reigns off Evridge, and he responded with 308 yards and a touchdown (with no interceptions) as the Badgers ripped off 51 unanswered points. I know they've only played Akron and Marshall, but a team that can pass and run with such efficiency, while playing solid defense, is a team to be feared. Wisconsin goes to Fresno State this week, so we'll see if it holds up. But I like this team a lot right now.

10. East Carolina
Regardless of preseason rankings or who we ourselves think is the best team right now, you cannot argue or underemphasize on field result. And on the field, East Carolina exposed Virginia Tech, then exposed West Virginia's defense. The most impressive feat in that game last week was the play of the ECU defense, which held West Virginia to 251 yards and forced two turnovers. They play a "tough circumstances" game at Tulane this week, with hurricanes still putting chaos in the schedule. They've got NC State and Virginia, plus the C-USA slate in front of them, but the BCS is out there. If ECU stays focused on the week-to-week task at hand, they've done enough already to think about staying here.

11. South Florida
I'm going on the assumption that Central Florida is still a good team, so the fact that they took the Bulls to overtime doesn't cause me to drop them in the rankings too much. Matt Grothe still went off for 346 yards and 3 TDs, and the Bulls had 504 yards of offense against the defending C-USA champs. Hey, if you're not doing anything Friday night...maybe we could watch South Florida and Kansas...

12. Auburn
This is going to come back and bite me...but I really don't think Auburn is very good. That's an overstatement, because I know they can run and I know they have a good defense. But their passing game is underwhelming - even though Chris Todd had good numbers against Southern Miss (21 of 31 for 248), his leading receivers were the running back and the tight end. And Auburn still struggled to put away the Golden Eagles 27-13. Mississippi State is waiting this week, then they welcome LSU...if they are any good, we'll find out in the next 14 days.

13. Alabama
Ring the alarm. If you take away Javier Arenas' punt return and Bama's blocked punt score, their game with Tulane is a 6-6 tie. Then when you realize Tulane missed two field goals along the way, and outgained the Tide 318-172 - that's an alarmingly low offensive number - Bama isn't quite back yet. I think they played almost the perfect game against Clemson, and Nick Saban knows it. They'll get another tune up with Western Kentucky, and one that might as well be with Arkansas...then it's Georgia on September 27. And Georgia isn't Clemson.

14. Oregon
Get used to it - the Ducks are stubborn and refuse to leave the national consciousness even when they lose Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart. Oregon gained 688 yards and scored 66 points against Utah State. Oregon's third string quarterback said playing Utah State felt like high school. They'll get the full varsity treatment this week at Purdue...but right now, the Ducks are rolling and even still a bit under the radar, which is for their own good.

15. Arizona State
Stanford isn't a bad team, they beat Oregon State...but ASU exploited them, and they continue to set themselves up for the showdown game with Georgia next week. I have no doubts they'll be able to get points against the Dawgs, but will their defense hold? Stanford got 233 yards...so there's evidence that the UGA/ASU game will be a good one.

16. Texas Tech
Nevada scored a third quarter touchdown to take a 16-14 lead on the Red Raiders...but the play was called back, and TTU took it from there in a 35-19 win. Harrell had a Jonathan Crompton night (19 of 46) with better receivers (297 yards). Harrell isn't the Heisman candidate on this team, it's WR Michael Crabtree - he had 7 for 158 against Nevada, and he continues to be the best receiver in the nation. Still, the Red Raiders again look too erratic to not slip up somewhere along the way.

17. Penn State
I'll say this, Penn State isn't letting off-the-field issues distract them. One week after destroying Coastal Carolina, the Nittany Lions put Oregon State's season on life support in a 45-14 win. If Penn State's offense continues to play at the same level the defense has been at for years - and 454 yards is a good sign - the Big 10 may not be as weak as we assumed this year.

18. Wake Forest
The ACC torch bearers had the ball last against Ole Miss, thus they got the win. They've got a date with Florida State next week, who'll still have players suspended...with Riley Skinner and Jim Grobe, this team can beat anyone on their schedule.

19. Kansas
Everyone - and that includes me - who said that Kansas' 07 success was more their schedule (didn't play a ranked team until the final regular season game, when they lost to Missouri) then their talent will be proven right or wrong Friday night against South Florida. If you like offense, check out Todd Reesing vs. Matt Grothe.

20. BYU
The game with Washington was probably closer than they liked, and if Jake Locker didn't overthrow so many open receivers or get a ridiculous celebration penalty that's been talked about and talked about, maybe the outcome is different. But credit BYU for blocking the extra point either way. They get a rubber match with UCLA this week - the Bruins won in Pasadena last year, then BYU won in the bowl game on another missed kick. I'm curious to see the Bruins again against another good opponent. BYU's path to the BCS is now a crowded one with plenty of other mid-majors staking their claim.

21. Utah
They won't face the Cougars until the end of the season, and beating Michigan looks worse every second...but Utah still deserves a spot in the poll, and has the rest of the season to prove they belong here.

22. California
One week after outscoring Michigan State, the Golden Bears put the worst beating in the history of the program on Washington State, 66-3. That's impressive. Jahvid Best is running like a wild man, and like Oregon the Bears have less hype and more result thus far in 2008. They go cross-country to Maryland this week, but shouldn't have much trouble there.

23. Florida State
They opened last week with Western Carolina, and 69-0 feels good no matter who you're playing. Christian Ponder and D'Vontrey Richardson both played well at QB, and they've got a date with UTC this week before it gets real with Wake.

24. Boise State
Don't forget about the WAC, part one. No reason to doubt Boise until I see them lose.

25. Fresno State
Don't forget about the WAC, part two. Won ugly at Rutgers, and now they get Wisconsin in their place. Fresno is no stranger to these big games, but they're usually not played at home, so maybe that'll help...they'll skyrocket with a win.

Hello SESB & NFL

***Post Game Update***

I'm sure you know what I'm about to write but I'm going to write it anyway: I'm really thrilled to have been so wrong.

After having my heart trampled last Monday by the University of Tennessee's annual season-opening loss to a West coast team it is wonderfully refreshing to have my favorite NFL team come out and exceed expectations against a tough division opponent.

1. Remember that I said if Chris Johnson can be productive against Jacksonville then he can against anyone? I don't know what else to say; I tend to just smile stupidly. Let me put it like this: I think Chris Johnson today looked more like a running back than Reggie Bush ever has while at the same time displaying a lot of the same skills that allegedly make Bush so special. Having said that, I'm doing my best to temper my expectations for Johnson because it's hard to believe he can do this every week. Hopefully I'll be wrong again.

2. It is really amazing how the Titans continue to win despite having nothing resembling a passing game (unless "Hit Scaife underneath and see what happens" counts as a passing game). Last year the line beat the Jags, this year the defense and running backs stepped up to take the victory. Maybe it's time for the Titans to embrace the Bay City Wing-T.

In all honesty, Vince didn't look all that bad. He hit Justin Mac perfectly in the hands early in the third, only to see the ball drop to the turf. I know everyone says the third year is the make-or-break year for a QB but I honestly don't know how you can fairly evaluate Vince if you don't get him some receiving help.

3. Can Cortland Finnegan be any more impressive? I'm proposing a nickname for Cortland: The Ghost. I know it's cliche' but he's the anti-Pacman and his nickname should reflect the video game nemesis of the munching smiley face.

4. It's hard to estimate how valuable an early win against a divisional rival is, particularly in the uber-competitive AFC South. It could very well end up that today's win is the key which opens the gate to the playoffs for the Titans.

5. Finally - and most importantly - can I ask a personal favor? Please, if you hear anyone calling for Kerry Collins to start for the Titans do whatever is necessary to silence the speaker. Kerry Collins gives me nightmares; the man thinks the bounce pass is a legitimate football option. Yes, he played well in relief today but he completed a total of 2 (2!) passes today. This does not erase Kerry's...er...struggles on and off the field. There is a reason he has bounced around the league; leave him on the sidelines or learn the folly of making him the starter.

----Initial Post----
Hello all. It's currently 12:30 AM and I've had access to this blog for all of 10 minutes but I couldn't wait to begin posting to a blog with real live readers. I'm not entirely sure why Will invited me but I'm thrilled to be allowed an opportunity to blog about spots regularly.

Two things before I go to bed with a feeling close to what I felt as a child before Christmas:

1. Will mentioned that I'm an MMA fan. As a matter of fact I just got done watching Rashad Evans knock Chuck Liddell out with one of the most vicious right hooks I've seen in a long, long time. Here's all I've got to say: in some sports situations the athlete is allowed to decide when he or she will hang it up. For example, John Elway - he left his sport a champion and on his own terms. Sometimes the athlete's body tells them its over - think Larry Legend and his cobbled up back. Other times the sport tells the athlete when their days of competition are over.

I submit that tonight Mixed Martial Arts told Chuck Liddell it is time for retirement.

Perhaps more on this later but for now just know that he looked vulnerable, more vulnerable than I've ever seen and the Octagon is not kind to those who can't protect themselves.

2. A real quick preview and prediction for the Titans/Jaguars game:

A. I don't believe we'll see a repeat of last year's surprise victory by the Titans. I don't think the Titans' offensive line will surprise the Jags this year and it was the offensive line play that won the game last year.
B. I break the match up down this way: the Jags have a better QB, running game, and WR corp (the Titans being one of the few teams in the league this can be said about). Give the Titans the edge at TE (woo hoo!) and perhaps the defensive secondary (perhaps I said). This seems like too big of a disparity to overcome.
C. Were I a Jags WR I would immediately demand a contract renegotiation at the end of the game. This will be a rare opportunity for the Jags wideouts to look good by comparison to their opponents.
D. I was just talking myself into Chris Johnson as an immediate impact guy when Peter King predicted he'll be the Offensive ROY. Too much, way too soon. I will say this: Jacksonville is a great test for the latest greatest Titan RB. The Jax defense is huge. Even the Jags secondary is as big or bigger than Johnson. God forbid he intersect a linebacker during the course of the game - he could be spontaneously converted from a solid to a liquid state. However, if he does get off against these comparative giants then it is safe to believe he can against anyone.

Expanding the SESB Family

The blog continues to evolve as we're 26 months into existence, and after a busy summer where we've joined the Big Orange Roundtable and in doing so fancied our looks up a bit (thanks to lawvol), as fall unfolds I'm now very excited to announce and introduce the newest piece of the puzzle: a second member of the SESB writing staff.

Jeff Wright will be joining me at the keyboard here at SESB, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Jeff and I had the pleasure of sharing the same part-time job several years ago during my college days, and in the years since we've both become that explosive combination of pastor/sports blogger. I've long enjoyed his informed insights both at his personal blog and his former sports site, and we're very glad to have him on board here now, live from somewhere I've never heard of but I think it's south of Cookeville, TN. So we've also both got that middle of nowhere thing going on, which seems to make for better blogging...

We'll let him introduce himself...as soon as I figure out how to grant him access to publish here...but I will say that we share passions for the NBA in general and the Tennessee Titans specifically (and the Vols, of course). And if we're lucky, we might even get some MMA/UFC stuff out of him to balance out my WWE insights.

Plus, last year he won the fantasy football league I run. I came in last. So you know...first prize is a spot on the blog!

To the new and longtime readers here...I continue to truly, truly appreciate your time, and I'm sure you'll enjoy what Jeff brings to the table as well. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Big Orange Roundtable - UCLA Roundup

What better way to spend a Saturday without the Vols...than to relive our frustrations from Monday.

In posing the question "What was your biggest disappointment against UCLA, and what is your greatest concern going forward?", we got more of the complete picture of angst and agnony with some help from:

CincyVol at Third Saturday:

Dave Clawson chose to keep his offense as a mystery, but released quotes like “get the ball to the playmakers” and “use the run to set up the pass”. Well, it’s safe to say with Crompton throwing exactly 0 touchdown passes we didn’t quite get the ball in the hands of playmakers. Even worse, not a single player for Tennessee was able to rack up 50 receiving yards.

As for the future, for some reason I still see streaks of positive in our future. Tell me to lay off the orange Kool-Aid or whatever, but I really think that wasn’t a good representation of what the Clawfense truly is going to be this year. It’s still not completely understood and reports all spring said the offense was struggling, so I want to see this thing in mid-stride later this season. My biggest concern really can’t change, because it’s coaching on the defensive side of the ball and Fulmer’s about as loyal to Chavis as Hamilton is to Fulmer himself so seeing him leave is something I don’t expect to see.

PearlVision from the Third Saturday comments:

A lot of blame to go around, but I’m going to pick on one player, Foster. Supposed to be a leader coming back for his senior year to break the all-time TN rushing title, but instead we find him doing what he always seems to do…put the ball on the ground. He even tackled Crompton at one point.

We saw flashes of the offense that looked really good which is a lot like that one golf shot that makes you come back.

Thomas the Terrible at YMSWWC:

I’m most disappointed in the coaching staff particularly in Fulmer and Clawson. The play calling when you’re on the road, you CANNOT play it safe in OT…….you’ve got to go for the throat! As I stated before the choice to kick two field goals that were over 50 yards was horrid, especially the second one. We were pounding them with the running game and yet for reason we stopped and said let’s go for the pass. Just where was this new offense at anyway? We are still running the same plays that we did when Sanders was the OC.

Right now my greatest concern is nothing will change with the play calling, coaching or coaching staff.

Jai at Losers With Socks:

0-3 when taking a bulk of the snaps, 0-3. Jon Crompton was bad, he was worse than I ever believed possible. We here at the LWS believed that the he has some *decision making* issues akin to the “IQ of a kicking tee”. He certainly looked lost, lost as an easter egg throughout the game.

You could say we're disappointed with and concerned about everybody, and that wouldn't be far from the truth. Crompton in general, Foster's fumble, lack of wide receiver production, poor protection, and the Clawson playcalling means every facet of the offense is a cause for concern for the whole of Vol Nation. The defensive concerns are fewer, but as usual fall at the feet of John Chavis. And as we'd all tell you, it's still Fulmer's team, which makes him ultimately accountable.

Hopefully, that one good golf shot comes around again.

Why Expectations are Worthless in the SEC

In eight days of college football, here's what we've learned at the expense of everything we thought we knew:

Alabama was a young underdog at a neutral site against a potential National Championship contender with the best backfield in America. The Tide spanked Clemson 34-10 by holding James Davis & CJ Spiller to 20 yards combined, and are now on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Arkansas brought in Bobby Petrino from the NFL after his incredible stint at Louisville. The Hogs had to overcome 24-14 hole in the 4th quarter against an FCS school before squeaking out a 28-24 win.

Auburn was a preseason Top 10 pick with a new offense under Tony Franklin that generated plenty of optimism. Quarterbacks Kodi Burns and Chris Todd combined to go 13 of 27 for 85 yards against Louisiana-Monroe. Said Franklin: "We stink, and it's my fault."

Kentucky had to go to Louisville with most of their playmakers from the high scoring bowl teams of 2006 and 2007 having graduated. The Cats blasted the Cards 27-2 with their defense holding U of L to 205 total yards and forcing five turnovers.

Ole Miss brought in Houston Nutt, who left the cupboard bare in Arkansas. But then he found Dexter McCluster in Oxford, who got 125 yards and the Rebs ran away from Memphis 41-24.

Mississippi State had experience back from a bowl team last year, with some calling Slyvester Croom the best coach in the SEC because he did the most with the least. The Bulldogs watched Wesley Carroll throw four interceptions and lost to Louisiana Tech 22-14.

South Carolina believed this could be the year Steve Spurrier got them over the hump, and Steve Spurrier believed in Tommy Beecher. Then he believed in Chris Smelley after week one. Then he lost Kenny McKinley. Now he believes in Vanderbilt for the second year in a row.

Tennessee brought back lots of experience as defending SEC East Champions, with a highly anticipated new offense and new quarterback. That new quarterback went 19 of 41 against UCLA, whose quarterback threw four interceptions in the first half...and the Bruins still beat the Vols in overtime. Clawson failed to echo Tony Franklin's sentiments following the game.

Vanderbilt is 2-0.

Even those who've gone according to plan on the field have had major issues: Florida lost Cornelius Ingram and Georgia lost Jeff Owens, two potential first team All-SEC players whose absence will be missed and who reshape the season outlook, even if only slightly.

In fact, the team only team whose preseason expectations are now largely unchanged are the defending National Champions at LSU.

Think things have changed after just one Saturday? Check this out:

- Last year, Alabama was 6-2 in October. They finished the regular season 6-6.

- Florida beat Tennessee 59-20 in September and looked like the best team in the conference. The Gators went 6-4 from that point and lost to unranked teams twice.

- By the first Saturday of October 2007, Georgia had lost to South Carolina and had gotten blown out by the same Tennessee team that was blown out by Florida. At that point, the Dawgs had lost six straight games to SEC East opponents. Then they won seven straight games, beat four ranked teams and finished the year No. 2 in the country.

- Kentucky started the year 6-1 and ranked in the Top 10. The only team they beat the rest of the regular season was Vanderbilt.

- South Carolina did them one better: they started 6-1 and were ranked in the Top 10. They lost to everybody from that point. Including Vanderbilt.

- The same Tennessee team that lost to Florida 59-20 and Alabama 41-17 beat Georgia 35-14, won the SEC East and held a lead in the 4th quarter of the SEC Championship against...

- LSU, who lost twice...and still won the National Championship.

Those cliches about every game counting and taking them a week at a time have never been more true. Whether by injuries, inexperience or simply over/underestimated expectations, you never, ever know what's going to happen until you see your team on the field. And as we saw last year, what you see in September - no matter how good, bad or unexpected - may not hold true in October, and those who play well in November usually make it through to January.

The SEC: at least we're never bored.

Week 2: If I had a vote in the AP Top 25...

There's lots of room for movement after the first week, where we try and find the balance between preseason assumptions and what we can tell about a team after one week. And that isn't much for a lot of teams who put up big numbers against lesser opponents.

This remains an exercise in picking the best team right now...you can see the preseason edition here, and the numbers for "last week" represent those rankings. We try and put an emphasis on on-field result, which is why a team like Penn State can look amazing against lesser competition, and still find themselves on the outside of this poll in favor of teams like Fresno State and Utah who won against tougher competition. But it'll all work itself out over the course of the season...we hope

We continue on with week two...

1. Oklahoma (Last Week: 1)
If you thought the Sooners were the best team in the country like me, you didn't see anything you didn't like against Chattanooga. The 57-2 win produced seven consecutive touchdown drives. Total offense for Chattanooga: 36 yards. It gets an upgrade this week against Cincinnati.

2. USC (7)
While many were playing FCS opponents, the Trojans went on the road to an ACC school and walked away with a 52-7 victory, the most impressive blowout of the weekend. It's not that I'm suddenly convinced that USC is better than the teams ranked below them, but they've certainly got the greater on-field resume to prove it at this point.

3. Georgia (2)
A ho-hum day against an FCS school in the 45-21 win over Georgia Southern, with minimal playing time for the starters. They'll be tested soon enough.

4. Florida (3)
Ditto for the Gators, though they did play a depleted Hawaii team. It took them a few minutes, but once they got going Florida rolled. They got scoring contributions from all three phases, and get a bigger test against The U Saturday night.

5. Missouri (5)
What do do with Mizzou, who beat a good Illinois team 52-42 and looked every bit as good as you thought they would on offense...but gave up 532 yards to the Illini, including 451 on a career day from Juice Williams. We leave the Tigers where they were, for now.

6. LSU (6)
Same with these Tigers, who were impressive against Appalachian State...but we should all remember, they're still an FCS school. Both quarterbacks appeared to be good enough to give LSU every chance to win against anyone they face when surrounded with all the talent around them.

7. Ohio State (4)
It's not that Ohio State or their performance was so bad that it warrants a three spot drop in the poll; they were very impressive against Youngstown State, even if they kicked a bunch of field goals in doing it. Others simply did it against better competition or did it without losing their starting tailback. I think these top seven teams are the legitimate National Championship contenders, and as far as this poll goes, the winner of Ohio State/USC should find themselves atop it in two weeks anyway, so no worries for the Buckeyes if they take care of business.

8. Texas (9)
The Horns over came the dreaded triple-double (110 yards on 11 penalties) in a beatdown of Florida Atlantic, with Colt McCoy having a brilliant day at the office.

9. West Virginia (8)
Pat White can throw. 25-of-33 for 208 yards went with 63 yards on only nine carries in a big win over Villanova. They flip flop with Texas for the alarming fact that they were actually outgained in this game 399-354 despite winning by almost four touchdowns.

10. South Florida (12)
It may not last, but the Bulls showed no signs of slowing down in 2008 in a 56-7 beatdown of Tennessee-Martin. And throw the Skyhawks in the pool of bad football in the state of Tennessee this weekend: the Bulls outgained them 520-97.

11. Wisconsin (11)
PJ Hill ran for more than 100 yards in the first quarter, but Akron was pesky and made it a fight into the third quarter before the Badgers pulled away and won by three touchdowns. Allan Evridge's future probably looks something like this: 7 of 10 passing, Wisconsin wins.

12. Auburn (13)
The passing may not have been overwhelming, but the overall offensive production was more than enough in a shutout win over LA-Monroe, 34-0. Which is still enough to keep them ahead of...

13. Alabama (22)
Hard to imagine it being any better in Tuscaloosa right now, with a dominant victory over Clemson and so many young guys making so many contributions. Bama should roll between now and Sept. 27 when they face Georgia.

14. Arizona State (15)
The Sun Devils led 30-0 until the end of the third quarter in an eventual 30-13 win over Northern Arizona. Rudy Carpenter went 22-of-28 for 388 yards; pesky Stanford this week.

15. Texas Tech (16)
Graham Harrell: 536 yards, 2 TDs. I like how they call it a "quiet night" for Michael Crabtree when he catches nine passes.

16. Kansas (17)
Kansas smothered FIU 40-10 with a solid performance from their defense to compliment 256 yards from Todd Reesing. After last week, this Saturday's game with Louisiana Tech is at least worth a second glance.

17. Wake Forest (18)
The lone bright spot for the ACC over the weekend, Wake went on the road to Baylor and won 41-13.

18. BYU (19)
It got a little testy for the Cougars against Northern Iowa, but they still picked up 563 yards of offense in an eventual 41-17 win. That BYU-Utah game looks more interesting now...

19. Oregon (23)
The Ducks continue to prove that they don't rebuild, they reload. Even when Nate Costa gets put down for the season and Justin Roper gets knocked out with a concussion, Oregon rolls to a 44-10 win on the road at Washington.

20. Utah (NR)
Maybe we're giving a team too much credit for winning at Michigan, who knows, but the Utes proved they're for real by getting ahead and then hanging on in Ann Arbor. Lots of opportunities to move up from here.

21. Florida State (21)
The Noles are frozen at 21, they open the season this week.

22. Boise State (24)
Starting freshman Kellen Moore, Boise beat Idaho State 49-7 behind Moore's 14-of-19, 274 yard performance and a steady 87 yards from Ian Johnson.

23. South Carolina (25)
Carolina shut out NC State and gave themselves potential future hope with the play of Chris Smelley. It's a tougher-than-expected test this week at Vanderbilt, followed by the annual September showdown with Georgia, so we'll find out quickly what they've really got.

24. California (NR)
There are still defensive questions (407 yards for Michigan State), but Cal's offense kept rolling without all the departed playmakers. Kevin Riley was solid and Jahvid Best was sensational, and the Bears took a big step in righting the ship from the second half of last season.

25. Fresno State (NR)
The tough road win over Rutgers gives the Bulldogs the final spot over other teams that looked great against lesser opponents (Penn State) or gritty teams that found some way to win (UCLA, East Carolina).

Dropped out: #10 Tennessee, #14 Clemson, #20 Illinois

Big Orange Roundtable - Post-UCLA Edition

The newer, sleeker, more aerodynamic Big Orange Roundtable brings fewer questions and more answers during the season (insert your humorous comparison to the Tennessee offense here). We're hosting here this week, and the question we're posing to Vol Nation is "Who/what were you most disappointed in at UCLA, and what is your greatest concern for this team going forward?"

We'll get to that at the end of this post...but first, some observations I haven't had the chance to make until this morning:

When I was a student at the University of Tennessee, I took a class on US Cold War Foreign Policy. And during our thorough investigation of the Vietnam War, it seemed to me that when you examined each individual step and decision along the way, they all made sense at the time and in those moments.

But when you put all of those decisions together, it was a mess.

Tennessee fans have been complaining about the vanilla flavor of the offense for years. And it made sense when we've been all in the playcalling family for the last two decades. And when Urban Meyer walks into the SEC with his spread option and picks up a National Championship in only two years - even if it was won on the strength of the defense and an uncanny ability to win close games - you start to covet. Instead of two tight ends and running on 2nd and 10 and screen passes and throwing for four yards on 3rd and 7, we wanted something else. Something sexy.

When David Cutcliffe left us again, we all felt pretty good about the hire of an FCS head coach with an offense described as "get the ball to the playmakers" - and doesn't that sound silly this morning - because it was something new and it sounded sexy, and because we believed that if a man from Wisconsin-Milwaukee could take our basketball program forward, a coach from Richmond could easily do the same.

Most of us fell in love with the idea of this offense. You couldn't have really fallen in love with the offense itself, because you hadn't seen it.

And at the center of this lovefest was Jonathan Crompton.

Crompton became the latest in a long line of Vol QBs post-Manning who we all believed were going to be better than the last guy: Casey Clausen was thought to be more NFL-ready than Tee Martin, and Erik Ainge even more so. And it's always been true, but never more so than this morning: all three of those guys were pretty good quarterbacks.

The next best thing, who is now 0-3 in games where he takes the majority of snaps, went 19-of-41 for 189 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT. At one point, he threw eight straight incompletions in the second half.

And so you can already hear the swing of the pendulum.

I understand the dissatisfaction with the old offense. I understand the excitement over Dave Clawson's hire. I understand being in love with an idea, anointing a new quarterback because of what he's supposed to be, and the general and often total optimism that runs rampant on every college campus in August.

But in September, when you put all that together, the Vols are 0-1. Again.

And after watching the travesty unfold last night, I also understand why Vol Nation may want to hang Clawson, Crompton and anyone else they can find.

And I hope that we're jumping to conclusions again.

Crompton is an inexperienced quarterback who's learning on the job. And so the hope is he'll get better. But last night...well, he didn't look good.

He didn't throw four interceptions like his counterpart, but the Vol offense did make those four interceptions a complete non-issue, because if you're Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow, all you have to say in the locker room is "Hey, it's 14-7 and we get the ball. We're fine."

He did make two throws to set up a Daniel Lincoln field goal to send the game to overtime, a sequence which should now and forever erase the thought that a squib or pooch kick is a good idea in that situation. But then the same Daniel Lincoln missed on his easiest attempt of the night, and a Vol team that was 7-1 in overtime coming in left with a bitter, frustrating defeat.

While the whole team shares in the loss, and you can maybe blame the defense for playing too conservative and not making adjustments in the second half, the reality is UCLA got only 288 yards and 17 offensive points in regulation. They had 29 yards rushing.

And there are always little things, and there were lots of them in this game: a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, another Arian Foster "worst possible time" fumble, a safety that wasn't a safety, two missed 50+ yard field goals, nine penalties to UCLA's two...the beat goes on.

But my greatest disappointment still comes back to that which we'd believed but hadn't yet seen: the offense.

More specifically, the playcalling.

I'm not throwing Crompton or Clawson under the bus. But when your quarterback is 19-of-41 and throws eight straight incompletions, it's the job of the playcaller to look at the following numbers:

- Arian Foster: 13 carries, 96 yards, 7.4 yards per carry

- Montario Hardesty: 12 carries, 66 yards, 5.5 yards per carry

And then it's his job to say "Hey...maybe we should just run the football."

It's vanilla. It's boring. But it was working. And Crompton was clearly struggling.

But the Vols kept throwing.

And it resulted in an offense with no rhythm, little success and no identity.

The Vols learned last year that you can look really bad, lose games early and still play for championships. The loss last night was not an SEC game (though it does put the Vols in that uncomfortable position with Mississippi State of owing the rest of the conference an apology), and if the Vols somehow find a way to beat Florida in eighteen days, things will be good again.

And it'll take until then to make it right, because beating UAB 200-0 won't make believers out of anyone.

But my greatest concern going forward still comes back to Crompton and Clawson - two guys unfamiliar with the full glare of life as the play and signal callers at the University of Tennessee, but two guys who are feeling it full blast this morning.

Clawson's a man. I'm not worried about his confidence or him second-guessing himself. And it's still Phillip Fulmer's ballclub, a man who is quite familiar with righting the ship, even as we'd all like him to be better and making sure the ship doesn't need quite so much righting in the first place.

But an offense without an identity is an offense ineffective. And when you've got two running backs averaging more than 5.5 yards per carry and a veteran offensive line, maybe it's time you put the west coast down and don't make Jonathan Crompton win it. Maybe it's time for a little more vanilla.

Meanwhile, Crompton used my absolute least favorite phrase for a Vol to use after a loss: "We don't need to get our heads down because we played good."

Your head shouldn't be down, you're right. It also shouldn't be in the clouds, which is exactly where it is if you think we played good.

Can Dave Clawson and the Vol offense find an identity that works, no matter which playmakers we're getting the ball to and even if that includes two tight ends (or more Kevin Cooper at fullback, a bright spot) and consistent carries for Foster and Hardesty?

Can Jonathan Crompton find the same rhythm and consistency, and improve as a quarterback while keeping his confidence? Can Crompton still be the one to lead us to realize the championship potential we were all so sure of one moment earlier?

Every season tells a story.

This one did not start well.

But it doesn't have to end the same way. Hopefully, Clawson and Crompton become the positive factors we all believed them to be, and not the greatest concerns we feel them to be this morning.

Go Vols.

Check back right here throughout the week to hear what the other members of the Big Orange Roundtable have to say about their biggest disappointments and their greatest concerns:

- Third Saturday in Blogtober

- YMSWWC

- Losers With Socks