Signing off for the '07 season

Forgive me that I'm a little late, but I've come to the realization that the Vols don't have a good football team this year. 59 pts and 554 yds given up at Florida and 41 pts and 514 yds given up at Alabama. These two teams are our two biggest rivals.

If ya want to know anything about the football the Vols have played or will continue to try to play, talk to me in person because I'm signing off the blog for this year.

Thanks for reading.

Stats don't lie

Key stats to consider for the Tennessee @ Alabama game this weekend:

UT is 1st in the SEC in passing offense; UA is 9th in the SEC in pass defense
UA’s RB Terry Grant is 9th in SEC in rushing
UA’s QB Wilson is 9th in the SEC in pass efficiency behind Ainge who is 3rd
UA’s WR DJ Hall is 5th in the SEC in receiving
UA’s R. Johnson is tied for the lead in the SEC with 4 int’s
UA’s Arenas is 2nd in the SEC in Punt Return average
UA’s R. Johnson is 11th in the SEC in tackles
UA’s Gilberry is 6th in the SEC in sacks and 2nd in the SEC in tackles for loss

I just want to pull his trunk!

Alabama's football team entrance on to the field in 1930 against Ole Miss sounded like elephants coming according to a fan, hence the mascot Big Al.



Alabama tied Auburn in some red colored mud in 1907, hence Crimson Tide.

I think I'll call them the Crimson Mud. Sounds better and is more accurate.

The etymology of the word "crimson" is "of or belonging to the kermes" which are shield-louse insects from which a deep red dye was obtained. Alabama's color comes from shield-louse insects. That's just gross!

Third Saturday In October

Couldn't agree more with this guy.

Can't wait to make the General proud this weekend! Almost time for Smokey to take another bite out of that houndstooth hat.

Go to hell, 'Bama!

The SEC East as of 10/9/07

So I was thinking after this Georgia win that UT is now back in a position to control their own destiny in the SEC East. A lot of this has to do with the SEC schedule this year.

FLORIDA
From going up against "Florida point of view": Florida had a tough schedule having to play at LSU and Auburn in the Swamp. They also escaped at Ole Miss. If we compare the 3 SEC West teams UT has to play (at MSU, at AL and AR at home) I would say that at MSU this weekend compares to Florida's win at Ole Miss and for UT this is a must win. I would say that UT at Alabama is as tough if not tougher than Auburn at Florida (and Florida surprisingly lost) and that UT vs Arkansas at home is easier than Florida at LSU (which Florida also lost). Florida gets screwed this year with having to play a tougher SEC West schedule (2 of 3 on the road) especially having to play at #1/#2 LSU while UT gets a battered Arkansas at home. For the SEC East teams...Florida has to play at USC and at Kentucky and vs Georgia on neutral ground (let's leave Vandy as a win for both UT and Florida). Tennessee already beat Georgia (which Florida should win as well) and will play at Kentucky as does Florida. Tennessee will have to match Florida's outcomes at Kentucky and at USC in order to keep ahead of pace with Florida. But where Florida gets screwed due to the schedule is having to play at USC whereas UT plays USC at home.

USC
From going up against "USC point of view": Tennessee gets USC at Knoxville this year. And that is a good thing because as of now, USC leads the SEC EAST and the only other team that is really capable of beating USC is Florida (although some would say at Arkansas is a tough road win). Tennessee must beat Kentucky and MSU as USC has already done both of these. After UT beats MSU and Alabama, get ready for the game vs USC at Knoxville to determine the SEC East champion on October 27th!

KENTUCKY
From going up against "Kentucky point of view": Kentucky already has one loss to an SEC East opponent and still plays LSU and Florida at home and at Georgia. Hopefully Kentucky will lose at least another one of these games (maybe 2 or all 3) and then to Tennessee at the end of the season so we don't have to worry about them.


Bottom line is that Tennessee is in great shape to make a serious run for the SEC EAST after having suffered such a horrible loss at Florida.

Another round of Bulldogs!!!

After polishing off one of the most hated breed of dogs last week from Georgia, the Vols get another round of those filthy animals. This time we focus on the ones from Mississippi. Last time we faced them in '03 at Neyland this is what it looked like.



We ran up 59pts on top of their mercy given 21pts. This Saturday the Vols will accomplish something long over due this season and that is a road win! Go Vols!

How The Vols Beat The Georgia Bulldogs 10/6/07

1^st Quarter

-UT KO: endzone, ball goes to 20yd line. Nice having Colquitt back for KO’s!
-1^st10: DT Bolden fights off UGA OL and makes a tackle for a 2yd gain
-2^nd8: Incomp pass; 1v1 coverage by Johnson who was with his man stride for stride
-3^rd:8 Incomp pass; 1v1 coverage by Heffney who was with his man stride for stride
-4^th8: Good UGA punt goes 59 yds to the UT 19 yd line; Heffney just couldn’t get to it to stop the roll

-1^st10: A. Foster gains 4 yds; would have gained more but OL R. Foster lets his linebacker go and the safety comes up to finish off A. Foster
-2^nd6: 4yd pass by Ainge to A. Foster who makes a good move; line protected well
-3^rd2: pitch to A. Foster who out runs UGA’s #38 for 7yds and a 1^st down
-1^st10: Pulling guard Scott and fullback make nice blocks and A. Foster out runs middle linebacker and puts a move on UGA’s #33 to pick up 11yds and a 1^st down
-1^st10: RT DT blows by LOT Eric Young and puts pressure on Ainge who throws over the top to A. Foster who out runs LB#12 for 11yds and a 1^st down
-1^st10: O-Line gets stood up in the middle and Coker makes a heck of a 2yd gain on his own by breaking numerous tackles
-2^nd8: OL gets a good push and Coker goes up the middle for a 4yd gain
-3^rd4: Ainge gets good protection and gets a comp pass to Taylor who ran a curl route behind the LB’s in GA’s zone; UGA is offsides but UT declines due to the 6yd pass play
-1^st10: 2yd loss on a run play by Coker; Good call by GA’s defensive coordinator as we didn’t have anybody to block the blitzing safety #5
-2^nd12: offsides UGA
-2^nd7: Middle gets bottled up and Coker has great vision to bounce outside and he out runs UGA’s #52 middle LB and picks up a nice 14yd 1^st down; Ainge changed the play at the line
-1^st10: run by Coker up the middle for a 7yd gain; if UT’s #75 RG Parker had held his block on LB#33 Coker would have had only UGA’s safety #5 to beat for a TD…
-2^nd3: WOW! Every UT lineman, receiver, back gets a block and A. Foster puts a move on the safety and walks into the endzone on a 9yd carry.
DRIVE= 10 running plays and 3 pass plays for 81yds and 5:09 off the clock

UGA 0 - UT 7

-UT KO: Colquitt gets it to the 5yd line and only an 18yd return to UGA’s 23yd line (usually teams can expect ~20yds on KO returns so holding UGA to 18 is good)
-1^st10: R-DT Dan Williams (while getting blocked) makes a heck of an effort to slow down UGA’s RB Brown and Heffney comes up to give Brown only a 3yd gain
-2^nd7: UT’s LB McCoy tackles Brown for a 5yd gain
-3^rd2: UGA QB Stafford from shotgun and a 3step drop hits a hitch route to UGA’s receiver for 8 yds and a 1^st Down right in front of safety #14 Eric Berry
-1^st10: UT LB Karl comes in blitzing on a run play and stops UGA’s RB for a 2 yd gain
-2^nd8: UT L-DE X. Mitchell and LB McCoy stop UGA RB for no yds
-3^rd8: Left corner blitz forces UGA QB Stafford to throw quickly to UGA’s WR on a slant but Karl had it covered and receiver can’t make the catch
-4^th8: Nice UGA punt inside UT’s own 10yd line; Heffney did the right thing and let the ball go over his head since he was at the 11yd line…just unlucky for UT.

-1^st10: ~11yd pass play to Rogers; Ainge had good protection
-1^st10: ~18yd pass on a roll out by Ainge comp to Taylor
-1^st10: UT’s #78 RT R. Foster completely misses blocking #52 UGA LB who himself misses tackling A. Foster, but UT’s #79 C. Scott lets his DT#56 go and #56 tackles A. Foster for a 2 yd gain
-2^nd8: Draw play to A. Foster but #75 A. Parker never blocks UGA’s LB #33 who stops A. Foster for a 3yd gain
-3^rd5: Ainge has plenty of protection but UGA’s DB Miller makes a heck of a pass break up for an incomplete pass intended for Taylor over the middle on a crossing route
-4^th5: Colquitt punt to UGA’s 24 yd line out of bounds; no chance for a return…that’s good!

-1^st10: Penalty on UGA half the distance to goal for chop blocking
-1^st22: UT LB’s Karl and Mayo trip up UGA’s RB Brown for a 4yd gain
-2^nd18: UT nickel back Kemp comes off press man on a blitz and combines with UT DT Bolden and DT Wes Brown for a tackle on UGA’s QB on a scramble for no yds
-3^rd18: Draw play to UGA RB and UT’s LB Mayo makes a stop for a 4yd gain
-4^th14: Heffney stops the ball from rolling and UT gets it at their own 43yd line

-1^st10: UT’s FB C. Brown misses a block and UT’s RG #65 McClendon misses a block and Coker only gets a 1yd gain

End of 1^st Quarter Score = UGA 0 - UT 7

My 1^st Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: 3 stops with a 3 and out and a 6 and out and a 3 and out (with help from a chop block penalty by UGA). For the most part UT’s LB’s and D-Linemen are making plays to keep our inexperienced secondary from having to do too much…we don’t look like the #110 ranked defense!

Offensive evaluation: 1^st drive UT pretty much ran the ball right over them by B+ blocking from the O-Line and and basically out running UGA’s LB’s. 2^nd drive UT has problems run blocking and UGA makes a great pass break up on a 3^rd down to stop the drive. 3^rd drive with only 1 play (a run) shows UT’s inconsistency in run blocking.

2^nd Quarter

-2^nd9: Former high school QB and now UT WR Taylor motions and gets the ball on a reverse but then Taylor throws it to Coker 56yds for a TD; great play call and this catches UGA’s MLB off guard as he is supposed to be responsible for Coker out of the backfield; biggest kudos goes out to Ainge who “kind of” blocks UGA’s DE just enough to give Taylor time to throw before getting hit
UGA 0 - UT 14

-UT KO: Kicked to the 2yd line and returned up to 21yd line; no more than a 19yd return is good!
-1^st10: Run by #24 and UT has 8 men in the box which helps as LB McCoy and DT Mapu fight off blocks for a 3yd gain
-2^nd7: Pass to flat to WR who makes a move as #5 McCoy and #13 Vinson tackle air…lucky for UT DT Bolden is hustling and finishes off the play for only a 1 yd gain
-3^rd6: UT’s R-DE puts pressure on QB Stafford who throws behind receiver for incomp pass as UT was in a underneath zone with the LB’s
-4^th6: #35 Elix Wilson comes in from 2^nd from the right side of the line and lays out to block punt as UGA recovers at their own 18yd line…but Wilson takes his helmet off after the play to celebrate and costs UT 15yds. Another unreadable number player for UT gets 15yds for a late hit. So a blocked punt at UGA’s 18yd line goes to UGA’s 48yd line due to 2 UT players acting like idiots.

-1^st10: UT’s #65 McClendon whiffs on a block for LB #35 and #35 makes the tackle on a left side pitch to Hardesty for a 3 yd gain
-2^nd7: UT’s LT #54 Young misses LB #35 and #35 makes the tackle up the middle on Hardesty for a 4 yd gain
-3^rd3: UGA is in man to man and L-DT gets a good legal jump on the ball and forces Hardesty to have to help pass block; Briscoe who is inside slot receiver in a trips formation runs an out route and makes a great 8 yd reception for a first down…but UT’s LT Vladimir Richard forgets that this is a “pass play” and goes 10yds down field to block a UGA LB in pass coverage and this results in a 5yd penalty
-3^rd8: Late safety blitz by UGA and #51 Richard doesn’t pick this up but Ainge still manages to hit Rogers on a seam route up the middle for a 16yd pass play for a first down
-1^st10: Wow! Ainge changes a play at the line and throws a quick 5yd pass to Taylor who was covered in press man but somehow Ainge knew #2 was going to blitz and just threw it right over his head for a 6 yd gain. Would love to have seen Taylor put a move on UGA‘s safety #9 to gain more yds
-2^nd4: all RB’s and OL get blocks and RB Hardesty is 1v1 with UGA’s MLB #35 and runs through him and picks up 11yds before being tripped up by UGA’s weak side corner #2
-1^st10: #28 FB C. Brown misses UGA’s LB #33 who trips up Hardesty for 1yd loss
-2^nd11: protection is good and pass attempt incomp to Taylor who was guarded man to man; but penalty on UGA for 5yds on an offsides call
-2^nd6: all 3 of UGA’s LB’s get blocked and UGA’s safety takes a bad angle and Hardesty bounces in from the middle to the right and walks in untouched for a 10yd rushing TD
UGA 0 - UT 21

-UT KO: #20 Brown 14yd return as UT’s #41 Rogan makes a good open field tackle
-1^st10: UGA OL doesn’t block McCoy who makes the tackle for a 2yd rushing gain
-2^nd8: caught in a bad defense and FB goes unaccounted for on a pass play for 7yds
-3^rd1/2: UGA false start, 5yd penalty
-3^rd 5and1/2: Heffney stays man to man on motion WR and forces receiver out of bounds for 1yd after he catches it
-4^th1: Punt; fair catch at UT’s 35yd line

-1^st10: This is why you don’t play zone in the SEC; #83 WR freshman Moore runs a slow fly route and Ainge throws a quick pass near the sidelines behind the UGA corner in flat coverage and in front of the over the top cover 2 safety for a gain of 34yds
-1^st10: quick 5yd pass to Taylor for a 6yd gain
-2^nd4: UGA’s L-DT makes a heck of an effort while falling down to push A. Foster to the outside right where A. Foster makes #2 DB and #53 LB miss and gains almost 4yds as #33 LB pushes his blocker #75 LG A. Parker out of the way like he was nothing and makes the tackle
-3^rdinches: everyone blocks and middle is stuffed up and A. Foster out runs UGA DB #2 21yds to the corner of the endzone for a TD
UGA 0 - UT 28

-UT KO: Colquitt kicks it out of bounds…bad…UGA gets it at their own 35yd line
-1^st10: Deep skinny post route by UGA #1 WR who drops a tough catch due to #91 Ayers’ spin move and pass rush on QB Stafford
-2^nd10: McCoy makes tackle on RB #24 5yds down field; McCoy was unblocked on this right toss play
-3^rd5: UT’s DL pass rush sacks QB Stafford; Mapu and Ayers get credit for a 7yd loss
-4^th12: Punt; I disagree with the fair catch by Heffney at the UT’s own 15yd line being that he had plenty of room to catch and run

-1^st10: LT #54 Young just falls down and blocks no one as FB #28 Brown trips over him so Coker has to run around both; meanwhile the R LB #33 guesses wrong gap and goes unblocked but safety creeping up finally makes the stop for a 2yd gain; bad blocking by #54 Young who is a 2 YR letterman and a Senior!
-2^nd8: quick hitch route to Taylor for a 4 yd pass play
-3^rd4: no blitz and man to man with safety help forces Ainge to throw it away for incomp
-4^th4: Punt out of bounds at UGA’s 32 yd line…excellent punt and no possibility for a return

-1^st10: Karl blitzes and forces QB Stafford to throw it incomp to RB #20
-2^nd10: McCoy fills his gap and stops RB #20 for a 1yd gain
-3^rd9: Screen by UGA confuses UT defense and RB gets lost and makes an 11yd gain before Vinson makes the tackle
-1^st10: Karl and McCoy make the stop on a 4yd run play
-2^nd6: pass play and WR falls and it goes incomp
-3^rd6: UT #35 Wilson makes a heck of a pass breakup on a quick pass to #4 WR
-4^th6: Punt to UT’s 14yd line; not caught by Heffney but downed by UGA

-1^st10: #28 C. Brown can’t hold his block on UGA’s LB #33 and A. Foster gets no gain
-2^nd10: RG (can’t make out #) misses LB #35 and L-DE trips up A. Foster before he is tackled by safety #30

Score at half: UGA 0 – UT 28

My 2^nd Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: Three 3 and outs and a 6 and out…other than the screen play for the one and only first down for UGA, there was very little in the way of offense for UGA and for the most part that’s due to how well the defense played including tackling

Offensive evaluation: 1^st play of the quarter was one for the highlight reel…second drive TD, third drive TD, fourth drive punt and last drive we end the half…a mix of run and pass keeps UGA’s defense off balance and we see that even though there’s some individual work to be done with the OL, we realize that our OL can block enough to get a running game going…Ainge has had plenty of protection and A. Foster had a great quarter running the ball.

3^rd Quarter

-UGA KO: Coker drops the ball before returning it 15yds to the UT 25yd line
-1^st10: UT RG pulls to the right and misses UGA’s safety #2 who stops A. Foster for no gain
-2^nd10: Ainge is tripped up by center’s feet and loses 4 yds
-3^rd14: WR screen to Briscoe who gets tackled by UGA’s #5 who was supposed to be blocked by Taylor…Briscoe only gets 3yds on the play
-4^th11: Nice punt to UGA’s 22yd line and only a 4yd return due to a good open field tackle by #20 McKenzie who is a freshman

-1^st10: UGA’s RG dives and blocks no one and DT Bolden fights off a block and tackles RB #24 who runs into his own man as both McCoy and Mayo finish him off for a 1yd gain
-2^nd9: LB Mayo on the line blitzes but is responsible for the RB who catches a pass…but since UT is in man to man the RB goes untouched until about 20yds and picks up UGA’s third 1^st Down of the game
-1^st10: Mayo is unblocked and tackles RB #24 for a 1yd gain
-2^nd10: No pass rush and QB throws to inside slot receiver #16 on a seam route for 24yds and a first down due to a hole in UT’s zone defense
-1^st10: QB roll out and incomp pass; Vinson was there to cover man to man
-2^nd10: #98 DT Bolden fights off a block and Karl is unblocked and both tackle RB #24 for a 4yd gain
-3^rd6: UT gives up a BIG PLAY (like they did a lot against FL); #85 WR runs a fly route and is guarded man to man by true freshman #13 Vinson who gets pushed down by UGA #85’s left hand and consequently isn’t able to jump up for the ball even though Vinson does get his head around to see the ball arrive; #85 grabs the ball off of Vinson’s head and UGA gets a TD; Vinson gets his wrist hurt on the play…all of this is very bad and unlucky for UT
UGA 7 – UT 28

-UGA KO: smart play by returner because he catches the ball with 1 foot in bounds and 1 foot out of bounds making it a kicked ball out of bounds penalty placing the ball at UT’s 35yd line
-1^st10: Lead FB block on a draw play to TB is drawn up to have FB blocking LB which FB completely misses and TB is supposed to make safety miss which he doesn’t due to the FB missing his block; so safety and LB make the tackle on RB A. Foster for a 2yd gain
-2^nd8: Inside receiver screen to #21 Rogers as UGA is in a zone; Rogers makes UGA #9 miss and gains ~13yds
-1^st10: RG R. Foster doesn’t get to the next level of blocking LB #33 who is clear to tackle A. Foster for a 3 yd gain
-2^nd7: short 1yd out pass to Briscoe
-3^rd6: 5yd penalty for delay of game
-3^rd11: Safety blitz is picked up by FB C. Brown and Ainge throws comp to Taylor on a square in route and picks up 10yds
-4^th1: A. Foster puts a nice move on unblocked #30 LB and gains 5yds on a nice run for a 1^st down
-1^st10: RG misses his block on LB #33 and an unblocked #12 LB also helps #33 to tackle Coker for a loss of 1 yd
-2^nd11: wheel route by #28 C. Brown but Ainge throws incomp but has good protection
-3^rd11: WR #21 Rogers runs a deep in route and beats his man to man DB to the ball and picks up 12yds on a nice pass play
-1^st10: RG & LG both miss their blocks on both UGA’s MLB’s and RT who pulls also misses a block on one of the same MLB’s but neither make the tackle! #9 safety unblocked comes up and hits Coker for no gain
-2^nd10: 3 step drop by Ainge and quick throw over the middle to Rogers who catches the ball in between UGA’s defensive zone for a gain of 8yds
-3^rd2: Misdirection pitch to A. Foster who out runs UGA’s DE and safety for 8yds and gets a first down and a nice block from his WR
-1stGat8: LB #52 unblocked makes the tackle on A. Foster’s run up the middle but offsides on UGA and a 5yd penalty
-1stGat3: UT OL gets a great surge and A. Foster powers his way for 4yds into the endzone over a safety and LB both unblocked
UGA 7 – UT 35

-UT KO: Colquitt into the endzone…ball at 20yd line…great no chance for return
-1^st10: Willingham and M. Johnson do a great job to contain a WR screen for a gain of only 4yds
-2^nd6: TE #86 catches a ball over the middle for a gain of 7yds…UT was in zone and Mayo should have have recognized the TE a bit earlier to have a chance to make a better play on the man/ball even though he still gets the tackle
-1^st10: Slant route against M. Johnson but QB Stafford throws high and incomp
-2^nd10: DT #95 Fisher makes a great play to sniff out the RB middle screen which goes incomp…he almost intercepts the ball
-3^rd10: Good pressure by R-DE #91 Ayers but QB Stafford completes a pass on a deep in route to a WR who is in between Karl and UT safety who are playing zone…play goes for 13yds and a first down
-1^st10: DL doesn’t get a good pass rush as the defense plays zone…Karl almost intercepts a pass as he’s getting back in his pass coverage drop zone…ball goes incomp
-2^nd10: Safety Heffney makes a great read of the QB’s eyes and helps DB #20 who is guarding man to man UGA’s #88 who the pass was intended for
-3^rd10: UGA’s TE #86 pushes his man to man defensive player #23 Kemp out of the way as he was running an over the middle route and catches the ball for 14yds; Heffney misses the tackle low but Berry is there to finish the play…BUT there is a penalty for holding on UGA; UT did rush 5 men on a blitz
-3^rd20: Heffney with man to man on UGA’s WR makes a great pass breakup 30yds down field
-4^th20: Punt into endzone…ball at UT’s 20yd line

-1^st10: LT #79 C. Scott misses #35 LB who tackles Hardesty out of bounds 8yds down field on a running play
-2^nd2: LG and Center get great surge and pulling RT #78 R. Foster clears the way for the RB to get 3yds and a first down

End of 3rd quarter score= UGA 7 – UT 35

My 3rd Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: First drive by UGA sees a bad timing blitz call by Chavis which frees up RB for a big gain and another big pass play due to UT backing off in a zone defense and then the big play for a TD that Vinson gives up in man to man otherwise UT’s DL and LB’s did a great job…UGA goes back to picking on UT’s zone defense in their 2^nd drive and tries a middle screen but it doesn’t work and then UGA gets a penalty for holding that hurts their chances for a first down…defense as a whole made some great reads and stops in both of these 2 drives but got unlucky with the TD pass

Offensive evaluation: Lineman missing a block and Ainge tripping on center’s feet hurts first drive; 2^nd drive is well executed and features a balance of runs by Foster and catches by Rogers to use the clock and march down including a fourth and one conversion and eventually a TD; 2 running plays with great blocking gives UT a first down heading into the 4^th quarter

4th Quarter

-1^st10: RG #65 McClendon misses block on LB #33 who makes the tackle on Hardesty for a 4yd gain
-2^nd6: Safety #30 comes up to make tackle on Hardesty who gains 5yds…good run blocking by all
-3^rd1: Hardesty runs over the 2 MLB’s and #2 safety and picks up 9yds for a 1^st Down
-1^st10: #59 DE blows by #79 Scott and forces Hardesty to run to the outside where unblocked #30 Safety and unblocked #35 MLB make the tackle for no gain
-2^nd10: TE Brown misses block on #35 LB who forces Hardesty to the outside and Hardesty gets tackled by DB #29 and DE #59 for a 3yd gain
-3^rd7: 3yd out complete to Briscoe as UGA only rushed 4 men and was in a man to man coverage…Ainge had no pressure so I’m questioning if there wasn’t another receiver open to give UT a chance for a 1^st down, but I didn’t have a camera angle to see
-4^th4: Punt…fair catch on UGA’s 14yd line…good that there was no return

-1^st10: Karl unblocked and Fisher combine to stop RB #24 from gaining anymore than 2yds but offsides on UT #93 Mitchell gives UGA a 1^st and 5
-1^st5: Mayo splits 2 UGA O-Linemen and tackles RB #24 for a 2yd gain
-2^nd3: UT Zone defense allows #86 TE once again to get between Karl and Safeties to pick up 20yds on a pass over the middle for a 1^st down
-1^st10: 4-3-Cover 2 zone and #86 TE makes a 4yd catch as LCB Willingham makes the tackle
-2^nd6: Roll out by QB but throws out of bounds to a wide open WR #88, UT in zone defense
-3^rd6: Draw play to RB #24…Karl and Mayo get blocked and #93 Mitchell guesses wrong gap on a twist stunt and has to make the tackle down field for a 9yd gain and a 1^st down
-1^st10: QB throws into a nickelback blitz and safety can’t get over the top to cover receiver and completion goes for 11yds and a 1^st down
-1^st10: Nobody blocks #98 Bolden who misses the tackle for a would be 5yd loss and RB runs for 5yds as #33 Heffney and #23 Kemp also miss their tackles
-2^nd5: UGA catches UT in a man to man coverage and runs a WR screen…by the time our defense recognizes it, the WR is down field and picks up 14yds on the play
-1^st10: QB scramble out of pocket and throws to #88 in endzone who just bobbles the ball for an incomplete pass; #14 Berry really needed to get a hand on that ball as he was in good position
-2^nd10: Offsides #99 Mapu for a 5yd penalty
-2^nd5: Mayo gets blocked and #20 McKenzie recognizes run too late and RB gets 6yds and a 1^st down
-1^stGfrom5: stuffed up the middle for a 2yd gain
-2^ndGfrom3: M. Johnson makes a heck of an interception in a man to man coverage but the refs blow the call and even the announces disagree with each other…call goes against UT for pass interference…to me that’s a no call and a great play by by M. Johnson
-1^stGfrom2: Mayo comes flying through the line and makes a stop on the RB #24 for no gain
-2^ndGfrom2: Freshman #14 Berry gets confused and doesn’t run with the TE man to man (who he’s responsible for) and the TE is wide open in the endzone for a 2yd TD catch
UGA 14 - UT 35

-UGA KO: Lazy kick which UT’s #88 Stucker recovers and falls on the ball nicely to secure possession
-1^st10: Front 7 of UGA get blocked and safety #9 and #30 make the tackle on Hardesty for a 7yd gain
-2^nd3: #75 A. Parker misses block on MLB #33 who tackles Hardesty for a 5yd gain and a 1^st down
-1^st10: #80 TE lets his man go and #33 MLB flys up into the line and races over to stop Hardesty for no gain
-2^nd10: UGA #51 and #5 both bat down Ainge’s quick throw into the blitz for an incomp pass
-3^rd10: RB screen is sniffed out by UGA’s defense and Ainge throws it away
-4^th10: Punt to UGA 5yd line and return goes 6yds before #94 W. Brown makes a tackle while being blocked

-1^st10: UGA goes for a bomb but #33 Heffney gets an int

-1^st10: Crompton comes in and hands off to Hardesty who gets tackled by TE #80’s Cottom’s man for a gain of only 2yds
-2^nd8: #73 Frogg and #66 Sullins (2^nd String OL) can’t block #33 MLB and DT #51 who stop Hardesty for no gain
-3^rd8: Great WR block by #83 Moore on #33 MLB! Pulling LG #51 Richard seals off UGA’s DE so #87 WR Hancock can get 6yds before being tackled by safety #9 on a WR run play
-4^th2: Punt goes out of bounds at UGA 11yd line…no return is good

-1^st10: UGA’s #82 drops a WR screen pass
-2^nd10: #5 McCoy avoids O-Lineman’s cut block and makes the tackle on RB draw play for 5yds
-3^rd5: Mayo makes another tackle 5yds down the field and game is over

Final Score = UGA 14 - UT 35

My 4th Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: First drive by UGA sees UT’s zone defense get picked apart a bit and some nice play calls to put UT in some tough positions…the poorly called pass interference penalty took a great play away from Johnson who took away a UGA TD on a great int. Heffney makes a great read on a long pass play for an int on the 2^nd drive and UGA runs out the clock on the 3^rd drive…also to note but it really didn’t matter #20 RB Brown for UGA didn’t play the 2^nd half due to some sort of injury

Offensive evaluation: bad run blocking and some good recognition defense by UGA keeps UT from really gaining yards to keep possession and run the clock out

Cha Cha Cha Changes!!!

Brent Vinson (true freshman) will start at cornerback for the Georgia game after being recruited as a wide receiver. He'll split time with DeAngelo Willingham (jc transfer).



Colquitt might resume kick off duties if his quad muscle passes team doc tests.

SEC East, here we come!

I love it how the only SEC East teams not ranked in the top 25 of college football are the Tennessee teams. That's about to change this Saturday. I hate ranking teams this early but since "they" do it, then I guess we'll re-enter this coming Sunday.

I was also glad to see that at least 15 minutes of a practice was spent on tackling. I think we need more than 15 minutes a practice on tackling, but then again I don't get paid like Fulmer to lose to Meyer. We especially need to tackle this guy.



It's Monday night and I'm already talking about the Georgia game this Saturday. The orange is always flowing. Go Vols and beat the Dawgs!

Mr. Higgins, you could be crying wolf...

After reading this read my response:




Love the sensationalism with the 82 year old lady. Nice piece of journalism ;) She was 10 years old before she started cheering for the Vols? I was 8 years old when started...I remember watching the Vols beat the 'Caines in the '86 Sugar Bowl.

After the '88 season Tennessee won the SEC in '89 and '90 and played in Jan 1st bowl games from '89-'92 until Majors departed. I consider this "stagnant" but "stagnant" at winning!
Fulmer got his chance to shine when Majors suffered some heart problems and the AD liked what he saw especially after when Majors came back and was responsible for losing 3 in a row...that's how Fulmer came into his head coaching position.

As far as not showing a display of offense in big games since the Michigan Citrus Bowl...what about the Cotton Bowl Jan 1st '05 against Texas A&M 38-7 win? Cal at UT 35-18 win and the 51-33 at Georgia win last season? There's some offense in those 3 games, right?

If we compare the '88 season to the '05 season (Tennessee's last 2 season with a losing record) coming off the '88 season the Vols won back to back SEC championships and bowl games. Coming off the '05 season, Tennessee went 9-4 and lost in a bowl game and ?-?...

Your other points are valid as far as Fulmer not getting it done and I would welcome suggestions from anyone on how the Vols football program could get back to winning SEC Championships and competing for a National Title.

I do however question the timing of your article in that there's a lot of this season left to be played. If the Vols can get back on track this season and win the SEC East (Vols run the SEC table and Gators lose 2 out of 4 to current ranked SEC opponents on their away schedule) and have a shot at beating LSU in the championship game, I will be the first to point out that although your journalism in this article is mostly commendable, it turned out to be more like "crying wolf" when you say Fulmer should go.

The one thing I've learned after this article is that you do have guts Mr. Higgins and I like that :)

How the Vols lost to the Gators 9/15/07

Vols at Gators 3:30pm EDT on CBS

1^st Quarter FACTS

-Good 29 yard KO return by Coker
-3 and out. Austin Rogers drops an easy first down pick up on 3^rd down
-Fla Punt return for TD...did the Vols not learn or receive adequate coaching after the punt return for a TD in the Cal game?
UT 0 – FL 7

-Nice 74yd KO return for TD…Coker was hit by 3 guys and didn't go down
-Foster 1 yd gain…was tackled by a Fla DT
-Nice 7 yd reception by Rogers
-Foster 1 yd gain but just short of 1^st down
-Vols bring in Crompton on 4^th down and get Fla to jump with a cadence change…1^st down
-1^st and 10: Ainge goes incomp…our RB misses a DT stunting in on Ainge and he released it sooner than he wanted to a receiver who was 1v1 with a safety in the corner of the end zone
-2^nd and 10: Ainge had time and threw high over the middle to a covered receiver
-3^rd and 10: Ainge forces a ball and gets intercepted

-3 running plays for Tebow with highlight of Berry coming up hard to tackle Tebow on 3^rd down…Fla goes 3 and out and has to punt
-Fair catch gets us at our own 49 yd line

-Vols get it 3^rd and short and Foster carries for no gain due to a Fla 91 DE who throws our lineman out of the way like he was nothing
-punt goes for touchback

-Fla 2^nd and 20 due to holding call…this helps us stop them on another 3 and out
-punt gives us the ball at Fla 49

-1^st down Coker goes 5 yds
-2^nd down Coker gets 7 yds loss due to Fla's LB 19 who forced the play to DE 91 who made the stop…no OL blocking for us!
-3 passes for 39 yds gets us to 2^nd and 2 from Fla 12…it included a 3^rd and 12 conversion
-2^nd down and 2: R Fla DT fights off 2 of our linemen and L DE closes down to give Coker a 1 yd gain
-3^rd and 1 and Vols choose to pass??? Ainge incomp due to his decision to throw to the corner for a TD rather than throw to a wide open Rogers standing 2 yds ahead of the first down marker on the far sidelines
-Lincoln 28 yd field goal
UT 3 – FL 7

-KO return for 30 yds (too many!)…and now for some BAD defense…
-1^st 10: A reverse, 3 missed tackles and Fla gets a 10 yd gain
-1^st 10: Ingram gets in between nickel back and our safety Heffney and Tebow makes a nice throw for a 25 yd pick up
-1^st 10: Tebow to Cooper for 30 yd TD due to Berry not opening up his hips and running with Cooper…Berry's inexperience showed here and it didn't help that our safety (who is supposed to help Berry) got frozen due to the initial run action of Tebow
UT 3 – FL 14

-KO return for 10 yds
-Taylor made a good 1^st down reception for 6yds
-LG Parker (who hasn't done a good job on run blocking thus far) gets a 5 yd penalty for procedure
-Fla's strong side LB (who handles our lead RB blocker) and Fla's right DT scraping down the line stop Coker for only a 2 yd gain

End of 1st quarter score= UT 3 – FL 14

My 1^st Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: Before Florida's 3 play 65 yard passing drive for their 1^st offensive TD, Tennessee defense had allowed no 1^st downs and 6 yds passing and 7 yds rushing…

Offensive evaluation: 7 yds rushing on 9 attempts is pathetic! 11 attempts with 61 passing yds gained on 7 completions with 1 int…not establishing the running game early killed our offensive hopes…1 for 5 on 3^rd downs in this 1^st quarter

2^nd Quarter FACTS

-Another nice 3^rd down conversion completed to Taylor for 11 yds
-32 yd pick up by Rogers on a crossing route…Fla DB slips and our OL protects to give Ainge time
-Left DE for Fla runs right passed our Right Tackle and our Center does nothing to stop Fla's middle linebacker from holding Coker to a modest 4 yd "left handed handoff" draw play
-nobody blocks Fla's linebacker 51 and he solo tackles Foster for no gain on 2^nd down
-penalty given on 3^rd and 6 due to 6 men on line…this is crap! After seeing it on replay, SEC officials missed this call…Foster our RT was even with everyone else…so 3^rd and 10 and we take a time out and then run a play and only get 7 yds to Briscoe on a pass
-Vols are now forced to go for it on 4^th and 3 and Taylor gets 11 yds on a deep out route…Ainge had plenty of time
-1^st and 10 and quick pass to Coker who then runs for 11 yds
-1^st and goal from the 8 yd line: Foster runs for 1 yd…our TE and RG are unsuccessful at blocking Fla's two middle LB's; our Center falls down and let's Fla's right DT stunt untouched to grab and slow down Foster before he's eventually tackled by their two middle LB's
-2^nd and goal from the 7 yd line: Vols Hancock gets 2 yds on a wide receiver in route after getting tripped up by a Fla linebacker and finished off by Vols lineman, Parker.
-3^rd and goal from the 5 yd line: bad throw by Ainge (had plenty of time) to Foster for incomplete…Vols are now 1 for 7 on 3^rd down conversions
-Lincoln 22yd Field Goal…like the Cal game we see our inability to score TD's when we have 1^st and goal
UT 6 – FL 14

-KO return for 40 yds (too many!)…and now for some more BAD defense…
-Tebow goes 1 for 2 passing underhanded (McCoy hits Tebow's arm for the incomplete pass) for 7yds and Fla goes for 56 yds on 7 running plays and 1 rushing TD and chews up 4min 15secs…nice job by our defense who for some reason looked nothing like they did on those first two Fla 3 and outs in the 1^st quarter…killer play was 3^rd and 6 and Tebow was falling down and threw the ball underhanded to Moore to pick up the 1^st down…
UT 6 – FL 21

-KO is a touchback
-1^st and 10 : 4 yd rush by Foster…nice blocking by everyone but Tenn's FB Brown who lets his linebacker get away to tackle Foster with help from the weak side Fla Cornerback
-2^nd and 6: we try a reverse? It gets blown up by their left DE who stays at home and gives Vinson a 9 yd loss
-3^rd and 15: Ainge gives up down field and passed to Brown for 5 yds and we have to punt…Tenn is now 1 for 8 on 3^rd down conversions
-Punt return for 9 yds but Fla gets a 15 yd personal foul penalty

-Fla chews up 2min 39secs and gets three big plays: first one is on a 2^nd a 4 play where they get 16 yds on a pass play to Murphy, second is a Fayson 28 yd run and the last one is the 20 yd catch by Ingram for a TD…pathetic defense
UT 6 – FL 28

-KO return for 30 yds by Coker
-Vols then unleash the 2 min offense with 1min 25 sec to go in the half and don't attempt a run…Vols pick up two third down conversions (one including a TD) to go now 3 for 10 on 3^rd down conversions…Vols leave 25 secs on the clock
UT 13 – FL 28

-no return on KO
-Fla's Moore gets 3 yds and then it's half time

Score at half: UT 13 – FL 28

My 2^nd Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: none…we sucked it up!

Offensive evaluation: not being able block up front to run the ball forced us to pass…we got a Field Goal instead of a TD and had a nice drive in our 2 min offense to pick up a TD…that's it.

3^rd Quarter FACTS

-KO return Vols are offsides and give them a 1^st and 5 at their 40 yd line off a 30 yd return
-Fla chews up the Vols defense for 6 min 13 secs and gets all the way down to the Tenn 16 yd line and then Tebow throws an int to Berry who runs 96yds for a TD
UT 20 – FL 28

-KO return goes for 10 yds
-Fla chew up 3 min 12 sec before they have to punt
-Fair catch at the Vols 13 yd line with 5:18 left in the 3^rd quarter

-1^st and 10 at the Tenn 13: Tennessee's first offensive play in the 2^nd half results in Foster fumbling (due to the left handed handoff) and Fla's Doe runs it 18 yds for a TD
UT 20 – FL 35

-KO return sees Coker running 31 yds to the Tenn 46 and fumbles but Creer recovers at the Tenn 40 yd line
-So after a big turnover for a TD by Florida, Tennessee does this:
-1^st and 10: Foster runs for 4 yd gain
-2^nd and 6: False start by Vols Cannon
-2^nd and 11: Rogers 8 yd reception
-3^rd and 3: Doe who just returned the fumble for a TD shows his class by wrapping his left hand around Taylor before the ball arrives and causes Taylor not to make the completion that would have been a first down…SEC officials missed the call and Gary Danielson the announcer for CBS says they missed the call…Vols are now 3 for 11 on 3^rd down conversions and Vols are forced to punt
-Punt is dropped by Fla's James but is recovered by Fla's Pierre-Louis at Fla's 1yd line

-Very next play Fla goes 49 yds with a 1v1 pass play to Fla's Harvin over Vols CB Marsalous Johnson to get to the 50 yd line

-The next highlight on this drive is a 4^th down and 2 conversion by Fla via Tebow's pass to David Nelson for 14 yds and a first down…end of 3^rd Quarter

My 3^rd Quarter thoughts:

Defense evaluation: 1^st drive by Fla is horrible by Vols defense but saved by Berry's 96 yd int for a TD (Fla's Cooper runs a bad route and Berry jumps it); 2^nd drive Vols force Fla to punt and that is good!; on Fla's 3^rd drive the Vols get Fla backed up to their own 1 yd line to start and then let Fla march all the way down to the Tenn 18 yd line to end the 3^rd quarter…that is bad!

Offensive evaluation: 1 play gives Fla a fumble return for TD; false start on Cannon and not getting a pass interference call hurts the Vols chance to keep their 2^nd drive alive

4^th Quarter FACTS

-First play of this quarter results in Fla's Harvin reverse for a 19 yd TD
UT 20 – FL 42

-KO return by Coker 16 yds to Tenn 25
-Vols start by delay of game and false start and
- 1^st and 20: Foster rushes for 6 yds
-2^nd and 14: Rogers gets 17 yds on a pass play
-Drive continues with nothing but passes and Vols don't convert a 3^rd and 7 nor a 4^th and 7 at Fla's 47 yd line…Vols are now 3 for 12 (25%) on 3^rd down
conversions and 1 for 2 (50%) on 4^th down conversions
-from Fla's 47 yd line Fla's Harvin gets a 48 yd pass play to the Tenn 5 yd line on a miraculous catch over Vols true freshman DeAngelo Willingham
-Tebow runs it in from 5 yds out
(3 plays thus far in the 4^th quarter have resulted in 2 TD's for Fla)
UT 20 – FL 49

-KO return by Creer for 17 yds to the Tenn 24 yd line
-3 and out for Vols…Vols are now 3 for 13 (23%) on 3^rd down conversions
-Punt is downed at Fla's 26 yd line

-Fla's drive results in a 4^th and inches conversion by a Tebow run and a big 45 yd pass play to Murphy (over freshman Berry who still hasn't learned to open his hips and run with the receiver…he just backs up and jumps backwards for the ball); the Murphy pass play gets Fla to the Tenn 19…Vols defense holds Fla to field goal
UT 20 – FL 52

-KO return by Creer for 5 yds to the Tenn 19 yd line
-Crompton comes in and throws an int; Vols end up 4 for 15 (26.6%) on 3^rd down conversions; Fla converts on offense for another TD…Vols get it back on the KO and run 2 plays and game ends

Final score: UT 20 – FL 59

Final thoughts:

Defense evaluation: horrible…299 yds passing and 255 rushing for 554 total yards given up

Offensive evaluation: pass protection is good enough to give Ainge time to throw as he didn't get rushed that much or sacked at all and Vols get 261 yds passing; run blocking was horrible and gives the Vols 37 yds rushing; Vols had a total of 298 yds offense and a total of 13 points earned by offensive production 7 of which were made during a hurry up 2min style offense at the end of the 1st half

Vols had 3 TO's (1 Fla fumble return for TD) and Fla had 1 TO (int by Berry for TD)