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)