Tuesday, October 31, 2006
LSU to Visit Knoxville; Jekyll, Hyde Listed as Probable
Erik Ainge, currently sidelined by an ankle injury, has differed with Coach Fulmer over how much practice time he really needs in preparation for this week's game against LSU. Ainge feels that most of his preparation is mental anyway, while Fulmer says his junior quarterback needs to get on the practice field ASAP. I tend to side with coach here, because if there's ever been a bipolar team in college football, it has to be this year's LSU squad. There's no way to know what to expect out of these Bengal Tigers.
There are trends: LSU is the leading offense in terms of points in the SEC, scoring 35.9 points/game. In their six wins, the Tigers have scored a walloping 45.6 ppg. But in their two losses, LSU only has 13. Points. Total. Those two losses are also the only times LSU has faced ranked teams this year.
Guess what? Tennessee's ranked, so that's good news for Vol fans this weekend, right? Well, consider the fact that LSU is one trip to the endzone away from beating Auburn and thus having themselves in position for an SECCG appearance and a BCS bowl berth. Also consider how against Auburn, LSU's front seven looked less like young men playing college football and more like a marauding band of cannibalistic savages looking to feast on the flesh of any quarterback or running back foolish enough to get within arm's length.
And while you're considering that, remember two of Tennessee's weaknesses this year have been the offensive line and running game. Add to that an already gimpy quarterback, and this week looks to be one of UT's toughest tests to date. Just because LSU has gotten fat on the weak and starved against the strong so far this year, don't begin to take these Tigers lightly.
BlogPoll Rough Draft de la Mancha
"Although it's true I'm pretty clever, and I'm something of a rascal, but all that's well hidden under this always easy and natural disguise of behaving like a fool." --Don Quixote, Vol. II, Ch. 8.
Two weeks ago, I made the ill-fated and hindsight-addled desicion to use the USC> Akansas> Auburn> Florida> Tennessee> California victory chain to determine #3-8 of my BlogPoll ballot. The following week, I backpeddled furiously while flailing in all directions and furrowing my brow in a vain attempt to understand just how to go about ranking teams in a poll such as the BlogPoll. But unexpectedly, support for the victory-chain vote came pouring in from all (both) of my fans and I made the decision that I would go back to that method of voting this week.
Then USC lost. Sons of a....
Here's the problem: USC still has the same record as Arkansas, and that plus a win over the Razorbacks should keep USC at the head of the victory chain and #3 overall. But, USC lost to Oregon State. The Beavers. And the way the Trojans are playing over the last month or so lets me know they aren't the number three team in America. What to do? Only this, the most regrettable BlogPoll ballot yet, followed by Quixotic tilting at windmills and a general feeling that I'm starting to hate blogs and polls, both individually and collectively; voting; ballots; and college football in general, but specifically Southern Cal.
The Ballot:
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | -- |
| 2 | Michigan | -- |
| 3 | Arkansas |  10 |
| 4 | Auburn |  1 |
| 5 | Florida | 1 |
| 6 | Tennessee | -- |
| 7 | California | -- |
| 8 | Southern Cal | 3 |
| 9 | Boston College | 1 |
| 10 | Texas | 2 |
| 11 | West Virginia | -- |
| 12 | Louisville | -- |
| 13 | Notre Dame | 1 |
| 14 | Rutgers | 2 |
| 15 | Boise State | 2 |
| 16 | LSU | 2 |
| 17 | Georgia Tech | 4 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 4 |
| 20 | Clemson | 11 |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 1 |
| 22 | Virginia Tech | 4 |
| 23 | Washington State | -- |
| 24 | Tulsa | 2 |
| 25 | Wake Forest | 1 |
Let me give some basics:
A) OSU and Michigan are 1 and 2 regardless, let's not even bother.
B) West Virginia might be the best college football team in the history of the game, but I wouldn't know because they don't play anybody. Ditto Louisville.
C) Why does USC drop while the rest of the victory chain remains intact? Because of rampant SEC homerism. Also, Arkansas is getting better as the year progresses and Southern Cal is getting worse. USC hasn't done anything impressive since beating an Arkansas team that didn't have its starting quarterback ready and whose best player wasn't at 100%. Arkansas struggled with Vandy and Bama after losing to USC, but have destroyed everything else in their path since, including...
D) Auburn, a top-5 team in my book, as are Florida, Tennessee, and Cal. Too many hogs, not enough trough.
E) I do understand the inherent problems with relying on a victory chain, as in this victory chain from 2003 that links UT-Martin to BCS National Champion LSU. I don't think this year's particular chain is going out on a limb as much as the 2003 chain.
So am I happy with Arkansas as my #3 team? Meh. I do think they deserve it, though, for now, but I also hope they prove me wrong, especially in two weeks when they host Tennessee.
Monday, October 30, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Carolina Predictions Reviewed
Didn't I tell you? Time to review Friday's predictions:
--Syvlle Newton is a nightmare for the Vols. Check. Let's see, Newton was the leading rusher in the game with 85 yards and a touchdown on the ground to go along with 230 and two TDs throwing. Thankfully for Tennessee, Newton also threw three interceptions, one on on a tipped ball, one with time running out, and one just great play by the defense. Overall, Newton played well enough for the Gamecocks to win and make Vol fans sweat until the end.
--Ainge throws zero interceptions. Check. It was a nice bounce-back from the Alabama game in the stat column for Erik Ainge, finishing the night 21/29 for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns and no picks. The real story, though, is Ainge's ankle, which was fallen on awkwardly in the fourth quarter and forced Jon Cropmton to finish the game for Ainge. Coach Fulmer is saying Ainge should be ready to go for the LSU game, but that the freshman Crompton will be getting ready just in case.
--The teams combine for 70+ points. Not so much. Each team fell a little short of the 38-33 prediction, but I was close on the margin of victory, right? Right?
Vol fans don't ever take a win over Spurrier's teams lightly. Overall it was a hard-fought road win in the SEC for Tennessee. Things only get tougher the next two weeks with LSU coming to town Saturday and a road trip to play Arkansas after that.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
IFTIT: South Carolina
Let me make this clear, no matter how negative my posts Friday might have seemed, there's no reason Tennessee should lose this game. The Vols are a better team than Carolina, hands down. However, the X and Y factors are two things that always seem to flummox Tennessee: Steve Spurrier and an athletic quarterback. Carolina has both.
On paper, Tennessee should win. In the minds of some, Carolina could win. Thankfully, football games aren't played in either of those places. It won't be easy, but if the Vols played Memphis every week, this stuff wouldn't be any fun. So sit back and enjoy it, because for the last time in October of 2006...
IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!
Friday, October 27, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Carolina Predictions
Just because unabated homerism is one of this blog's main goals, I have to pick a Tennessee win. But just remember, if the worst happens, I tried to tell y'all that this game scares me.
--Syvlle Newton is a nightmare for the Vols. Spurrier doesn't have a track record of coaching mobile quarterbacks, but that doesn't mean he can't. The Ol' Ball Coach has displayed his well-known faux modesty this week, saying of Carolina's recent offensive success: "That's Syvelle. We're calling the same plays. We didn't find a bunch of them that all of a sudden work. Coaches are a lot smarter when your guys make plays individually, and Syvelle has the talent to do that." Steve, shut up. You're not running the same plays you called early in the year with drop-back passers, you're putting Newton in a position to go out and make plays. Remember this, Vol fans, some of Spurrier's best/luckiest plays come when he calls a timeout and draws it up in the dirt. And that's what mobile QBs do best.
--Ainge throws zero interceptions. The Tennessee offense was rusty last week against Alabama. Cutcliffe has said that Ainge's problems in the first half were mostly mechanics. Ainge should be able to pick up where he left off in the last drive against the Tide, when he was 5-7 passing while leading the offense on a 70-yard touchdown drive. Tennessee needs Ainge to be at his best on Saturday night in Columbia.
--The teams combine for 70+ points. Tennessee's defense hasn't seen a mobile QB in over a month, and they haven't done a great job containing the ones they've played. If I haven't beaten this into your head yet, I think Syvelle Newton is going to have a great game for Carolina. The UT offense will have to pick it up for the defense Saturday night. Good news: this offense has the ability to do just that. In a high-scoring affair, I say Tennessee wins, 38-33.
By the way, I'm hardly ever close on these scores, so it will probably turn out something like 14-10. Either way, GO VOLS!
Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind
Don't you know that trouble just crossed my mind...
Against Alabama, Jonathan Hefney averaged 17 yards/punt return, and broke a 40-yarder that could have been a touchdown had he read his blocks a little better. That's encouraging news for a Tennessee return team that hasn't done much this year, and it's an advantage the Vols could use going into the home stretch of SEC games. At least, that's what you think until you see this stat: South Carolina has punted the ball fewer times than any other team in the SEC this season, only 18 punts in seven games.
But that's okay, the Vols have done well enough this year without the punt return game being much of a factor. In fact, you have to feel pretty confident in the way the defense has gotten better since halftime of the Georgia game. Of course, the only times the defense has looked really bad this year was when they've faced quick, mobile quarterbacks, something we don't ever see out of Spurrier's teams, right? Spurrier wouldn't ever start anyone who isn't a drop-back passer, right?
Syvelle Newton is starting at QB for Carolina? Aw, crap.
And so it goes with the Vols against Spurrier's teams. No disrespect to South Carolina intended, they have good athletes and good football players, but at this point Spurrier could coach a cub scout pack to a close game against Tennessee.
And Vol fans, that's why we should all be worried about this game. Predictions coming later, and for the first time this year, I'm not sure who I'm picking...
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Sympathy for the Visor
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour...
I've always had a suspicious feeling about Steve Spurrier. The way his teams are usually a little too good, a little too lucky. The way he is able to lure young men into doing his bidding with promises of personal fame and wealth. And think about the look on his face when he's making snide remarks about his rivals; Spurrier has a devilish grin.
Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name...
It's no fluke. Steve Spurrier is the Devil. El Diablo. Blacklegs. Old Scratch. Don't believe it? Think about this: before his fall into Hell, Satan began his existence in Heaven. Before going to Florida, Spurrier began his existence in Tennessee. The parallel is astounding. But if you still need more evidence, consider:
--He's a former coach of the Duke Blue Devils, and still promotes the Devils by voting for them on his first top 25 ballot of each season.
--Spurrier likes hot places, as evidenced by his years playing and coaching at Florida and coaching Tampa Bay in the USFL.
--Colonial-era stories were rampant with tales of Indians making deals with evil spirits. Spurrier coached the Redskins. Coincidence?
--If you've ever been stuck in traffic in Columbia, SC, you pretty much know what Hell is like.
And we can go chapter and verse on Ol' Steve, too:
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world... Sounds like the end of Spurrier's NFL tenure, doesn't it?
Revelation 12:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men... You gotta admit, some of Danny Wuerffel's passes under Spurrier looked kind of like fire coming down from heaven. And the nickname of Spurrier's offense at South Carolina? The Cock 'n' Fire. Starting to come together, isn't it?
You might wonder about Phil Fulmer's relationship with Spurrier. Reports over the last couple of years have been that Phil and Steve get along great together, regardless of the public perception of their relationship. I am reminded of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, in which the Reverend Hale reminds John Proctor "Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in heaven." So CPF is a little slower on the uptake than God. That's to be expected. But I think Chavis has him figured out.
At least I hope he does on Saturday.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
BlogPoll Rough Draft of Contrition
Last week, Sunday Morning Quarterback wrote a very interesting post about the methods voters use to rank teams. After reading the post and examining how I rank teams for the BlogPoll, I've come to this conclusion:
I'm an idiot.
I know, it comes as a shock to most (both?) of you that read this blog regularly, but I am an idiot. Last week, I actually submitted a BlogPoll ballot that had Arkansas as the #4 team in America. I knew it was dumb, but I did it anyway. The ballot was roundly criticized and rightly so, but I will defend it, at least in part.
The logic was simple: I used the victory chain that goes USC> Ark> Aub> Fla> Tenn> Cal. I had recognized a lack of objectivity in my ballots. The problem is that I overcompensated and went with complete objectivity; rather than considering how lucky Arkansas had been to benefit from the biggest choke job by a kicker in college football history against Alabama, I said "hey, Arkansas beat Auburn, so they must be ranked higher." After thinking about it for a week, that was pretty dumb. I still think there's a good argument in there somewhere as to Arkansas deserving a higher ranking than Auburn based on their head-to-head meeting, but it's not a windmill I feel like tilting against.
So, I'm going back to my original method of ranking, or as some might call it, "guessing." I use a compilation of SMQ's reported methods, though none of what I do is really stat- or data-driven, and I think that is a flaw. With that in mind, here's this week's ballot, warts and all:
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 2 | Michigan | 1 |
| 3 | Auburn | 2 |
| 4 | Florida | 2 |
| 5 | Southern Cal | 2 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 1 |
| 7 | California | 1 |
| 8 | Texas | 1 |
| 9 | Clemson | 4 |
| 10 | Boston College | 10 |
| 11 | West Virginia | 1 |
| 12 | Louisville | 1 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 9 |
| 14 | Notre Dame | 4 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 1 |
| 16 | Rutgers | 2 |
| 17 | Boise State | 2 |
| 18 | LSU | 1 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 3 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 6 |
| 21 | Georgia Tech | 5 |
| 22 | Missouri | 3 |
| 23 | Washington State | 3 |
| 24 | Oregon | 9 |
| 25 | Nebraska | 4 |
Dropped Out: Pittsburgh (#23), Wake Forest (#24).
I don't think it needs too much explaination. I feel that Auburn and Florida are still top-5 teams and really similar. UT and Cal are right behind them. Boston College is a really good team that is being overlooked (another lesson I learned from SMQ). Still not sold on Louisville or West Virginia. I might slide Arkansas back into the top 10 and move Texas out a little. After about 16 or 17, it gets pretty rough.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Third Saturday Highlights
Here's a pretty crude highlight reel I threw together from Saturday's game. If you were reading this blog before the Georgia game, you might remember me making a big deal out of Tennessee's ability to make and reliance on big plays (plays of twenty yards or more). On Saturday, Tennessee made three big plays, two helped drives score points (a FG and the game-winning TD) while the other was on a drive that resulted in an INT. Here are those plays (minus the INT):
I'm also updating the "big play" stats for the last two games and will have a post on that later in the week. Also this week, another ridiculous BlogPoll ballot and Steve Spurrier is the devil. 'Til then, Go Vols!
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Bama Predictions Reviewed
Looking back at the Alabama game predictions from Friday.
--Kenneth Darby will rush for less than 100 yards. Well, I was right, but my reasoning was wrong. I thought that Darby wouldn't get the opportunity to run for 100 because Tennessee would score early and force Bama to throw. In actuality, Darby ran the ball 14 times for only 26 yards. That's only 1.9 yards/carry by the way, and Darby didn't have a run longer than 6 yards.
--Robert Meachem gets 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Again, I was expecting the Vols to have a little easier time scoring on Saturday. Meach didn't have an awful day by any means (6 catches for 87 yards), but didn't score and was held below his previous average of 112.5 yards/game.
--Tennessee scores 30 points, again. Not quite. Tennessee struggled to get the ball in the end zone, something I didn't see coming at all. Alabama defensive coordinator Joe Kines and his bunch did a great job of frustrating Tennessee, especially in the first half. Thankfully the Vols were able to put a drive together late and punch it into the end zone when it mattered most. My predicted score of 31-17 never materialized, but I'll take a 3-point win over Alabama any day.
Go Vols
Saturday, October 21, 2006
IFTIT: Alabama
It's the Third Saturday in October. And that's all you need to know. I could write some long, flowy piece about how special the UT/Alabama game is, but it wouldn't be the first time that's been done, and it certainly wouldn't be the best. I just couldn't do it justice.
So instead, I'll just quote John Ward, who summed it all up:
"It's Tennessee, it's Alabama. That means, for sure...
IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!"
Third Saturday in October
A few last-minute links for game day:
%&#$ you, you #$&@'in #@$%ers: If you want to trash talk, Roll Bama Roll has several, uh, attempts at being funny at Tennessee's expense. Among them is a question asking how UT fans can support Fulmer, being the soulless mass of inhumanity that he is. So if you want to get ugly, there's a good place to start.
Serenity now: Perhaps you like to stay above the fray. If so, I highly recommend this article from the Huntsville Times about what the Tennessee/Alabama rivalry was, is, and should be. [Hat Tip to reader Matt for the link to that article. On a side note, the columnist calls Auburn/Georgia a "healthy rivalry." My father-in-law is a preacher from south Georgia, and I've heard stories about churches splitting because half the congregation were Dawg fans and half were Tigers. When a rivalry splits the house of God, I'm not sure it's really "healthy." But I've digressed...]
YouTubeness: If you haven't seen them already this week, you can check out the "Great Things about Tennessee/Alabama" that have been posted: Monday (2), Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
They're mostly YouTube videos that you can also find on the Corn from a Jar YouTube channel, which just might have game highlights later today or tomorrow. Or not, we'll see.
Exercise your right: Finally, head over to RockTop Talk and vote in the Hail Mary Haiku competition. As I write this, I'm trailing 8th Maxim, who came through with a strong effort this week, so help a brother out. I fear I've split my audience by submitting two entries, but I found myself especially inspired by Alabama this week, or something.
GoVols, Beat Bama unmercifully.
Friday, October 20, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Alabama Predictions
Predictions for the Third Saturday in October. Mensa or moron? We'll know tomorrow.
--Kenneth Darby will rush for less than 100 yards. I could easily get burned on this one, but if Darby runs for a bunch of yards, it's probably a close game. Tennessee's ability to score will hopefully have the Tide playing catch-up early, forcing the ball out of Darby's hands.
--Robert Meachem gets 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns. I've been predicting big games for players other than Meach for a couple of weeks now, thinking that opposing defenses' focus on stopping #3 would open up plays for everybody else. I've been wrong. With Jayson Swain not being 100% for Saturday, look for Meachem to continue putting up big numbers.
--Tennessee scores 30 points, again. UT has scored at least 30 points in each win this season. The Vols are second in the SEC in scoring average with 35.2 points a game, behind LSU at 35.6 points per game. Tennessee might not match their average, but around 31 points sounds right. In fact, lets say Tennessee wins, 31-17.
GO VOLS, BEAT BAMA!
Third Friday in October
Today's Great Thing about Tennessee/Alabama is a personal favorite of mine. 1995: The Vols end years of frustration by destroying the Tide 41-14.
GO VOLS!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
BlogPoll Mid-Season Roundtable
Thanks to My Opinion on Sports for hosting the mid-season edition of the BlogPoll Roundtable.
1. Which coaches are clearly on the hot seat at this point? Who is surprisingly not?
The hottest of hot seats have to belong to John L. "What Did Five Fingers Say to the Face?" Smith and Larry Coker. I believe Coker should be replaced by Angelo Dundee.
Surprisingly not on the hot seat is Bobby Johnson at Vanderbilt. Johnson is in his fifth year in Nashville and will be around for his sixth, a feat not accomplished by a Commodore head coach in about 20 years. Normally by year four, Vandy is looking for their next ex-head coach, but Johnson's got the 'Dore fans (all three of them) fired up and showing their gold.
2. Pick three of the undefeated teams and state your case as to why they won’t run the table.
Rutgers--Scarlett Fever will be cured by one, if not all, of Pitt, Louisville, and...
West Virginia--I'm just not a believer. Maybe if they played somebody, they could make me believe.
USC--It's time for the Trojans to lose. I just hope they lose to somebody besides Cal, else the horribly stupid linear logic I used on my last BlogPoll ballot will become circular and my head will explode.
3. Which conference is playing the best football right now?
SEC. Next.
4. Which team is playing above and beyond your expectations this season?
Tennessee. I was hoping for, but didn't expect, a 5-1 start. But record aside, I really didn't expect Tennessee to be playing the kind of lights-out offense they've been displaying.
5. Which team is crashing and burning in regards to your expectations?
Georgia. I learned this from experience last year: uncertainty at quarterback + loss to Vanderbilt = crash and burn.
6. Is your pre-season BCS championship game prediction still alive?
Yep: Boise and Rutgers, still rollin' along. Okay, I didn't really make a BCS prediction. But if I had, it would have involved Michigan. Or Ohio State. Promise.
Third Thursday in October
Today's Great Thing about Tennessee/Alabama: The Vols beat Alabama 35-18 on the way to a national championship in 1998. Highlights include a 100-yard kickoff return by Peerless Price.
And a preview of tomorrow's Great Thing:
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Third Wednesday in October
[I'm having computer issues, so this might not work. If it doesn't I'll fix it this afternoon-CFAJ]
Today's Great Thing about Tennessee/Alabama? This song:
Go Vols!
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Bama Week
Smoke 'em if you got 'em: Erik Ainge says he learned how special the UT/Bama game is when CPF pointed out the traditional victory cigars the winning team smokes: "We don't get cigars after any other game," said Ainge. One of the knocks on some of Tennessee's nationally-recruited players is that they don't understand how important games like this are to home-grown Tennesseans. It's a view I used to hold, too, but one I'm gradually letting go of. Once these guys get into the program, they adopt the traditions and passions that we all share. I don't think Ainge cares less about this game than Walter Fisher just because Fisher went to Hillsboro High School in Nashville and Ainge went to Hillsboro High School in Hillsboro, Oregon.
Close to home: To counter my own argument from above, the Tennessee/Alabama game may be more special to Phillip Fulmer because of where he grew up. We all know the story, right? Fulmer grew up in Winchester, TN, and almost committed to Bear (Paul) Bryant before choosing the home-state Vols. When asked what he thinks the Bama game means to CPF, Jayson Swain replied: "Alabama is the game for him...there's some hate blood around that." Fulmer is 10-3 as a head coach against Alabama, which eats Tide fans alive.
Change clothes and go: Thankfully for the Big Orange nation, Aaron Sears didn't make like Fulmer and play for his in-state school. Sears grew up as an Alabama fan but saw the light and joined the good guys. And a good thing, too, Sears is the leader of a steadily improving offensive line. Erik Ainge summed up the left tackle's performance against Georgia and the state of the offensive line as a whole: "Arron Sears went out there with one arm and one leg and beat up a potential first-round defensive end. He’s the one leading the example for the rest of them. And they’re all playing as hard as they can. They’re just kind of feeding off each other."
Now if they can get the run game going against Alabama...
National Measure: They Started It
Yeah, there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident...
Unintentionally funny: if you do a Google search for "miami fiu brawl", it returns: "did you mean miami fsu brawl?" No, actually this time I meant Miami/FIU. But Miami gets into so many brawls, they all kind of run together, so thanks to Google for trying to clarify.
Say what? University of Miami president Donna Shalala was interviewed on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike show this morning about the UM/FIU brawl. What I took from listening:
--Shalala is happy with the ACC-minimum one-game suspension for the 13 Miami players involved in the fight. She added that Miami officials reviewed the tape frame-by-frame and concluded that all the other players were trying to break up the fight. Yeah, right.
--FIU started it, so their players were dealt with more harshly: two payers were kicked off the Panther team and the other 16 players deemed to have been involved have been suspended indefinitely. Seriously, the president of the University of Miami used the excuse they started it for why her student-athletes were not punished more severely.
--Only one Miami player was suspended indefinitely, safety Anthony Reddick, he of the slinging a helmet like a medieval mace.
--Anybody who has ever played football at any level knows that football pads offer a pretty good amount of protection. Trying to punch a guy wearing a helmet and shoulder pads isn't that effective, anyway. But football pads aren't designed to protect you from being stomped on while lying on the ground. The University of Miami apparently doesn't see it that way.
--Shalala added that there are additional penalties for the 'Canes involved, including (double-secret?) probation and community service. That'll learn 'em.
--Also, when asked about the stomping-on-the-Cardinal incident from the Miami/Louisville game earlier this year, Shalala pointed out "that was not a fight" and that Miami didn't know that dancing on the other team's logo was taboo. Yes, she really said that.
Okay, so the dead horse has been beaten thoroughly here, so I'll stop now. I just find it amazing that the president of the university doesn't want to add to the conference's minimum punishment. Anyway...
I'm not the first person to point this out, but who did Ron Franklin p.o. at ESPN? Ron is stuck doing games like Boise/New Mexico St. on a Sunday night, while Brent Musburger is in primetime on Saturdays. Whatever functionally retarded monkey in a suit made that decision should be hanged, shot, drawn and quartered, and then somebody should go to work on him. Franklin is the best in the business, and should be treated as such.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Third Tuesday in October
How about 3 Great Things about Tennessee/Alabama for your Tuesday:
1) General Neyland never lost to Bear (Paul) Bryant (5-0-2).
2) Tee Martin never lost to any team from Alabama:
3) Although Johnny Majors did lose to Alabama more than a few times, this picture is always priceless:
Go Vols!
Monday, October 16, 2006
Bonus Coverage
Add this to today's Great Thing about Tennessee/Alabama:
Go Vols!
BlogPoll Week 8: The Rough Draft of Discomfort
Hey CFAJ, it was a big weekend of college football, huh? I wouldn't know, I spent most of it painting my house.
Oh, well, what games did you see? Florida/Auburn, Michigan/Penn St. Also: listened to UGa/Vandy on radio.
How about your BlogPoll rankings? I'm giving (1) Michigan the nod, just barely, over (2) Ohio St. Why? Because while UM's blowout of Notre Dame is equally impressive as OSU's steady beating of Texas, Michigan's next best win against Wisconsin is looking better than the Buckeye's next best win, at now-devalued Iowa. Really, I think the two teams are pretty evenly matched and should put on a good show in November, and voting Michigan over Ohio St. shouldn't be too controversial.
Are you saying that this is about to get controversial? Ummm...yeah. I'm ranking (3) USC next, then (4) Arkansas WHAT!, (5) Auburn, (6) Florida, (7) Tennessee, and (8) Cal. There's a pretty simple line of logic there, each team rank just ahead of a team it beat.
You got some 'splainin' to do. Do you really think Arkansas is the fourth best team in America? Well, yes and no. I do expect Arkansas to lose some more games this year. But I also expected them to lose to Auburn, and you see where that got me. One of the general rules that I've used to rank teams is that if team X beats team Y, and team X has an identical or superior record to team Y, then team X should be ranked higher. I feel that Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee are all top ten teams. I think two of them are top five teams. I wouldn't rank Florida ahead of Auburn, or Tennessee ahead of Florida at this point of the season knowing how those head-to head games went. So why should I shaft Arkansas? Is their win over Auburn any less impressive than Auburn's win over UF or UT's win over Cal? One of the basic tenets of the BlogPoll, as I understand it, is that teams should be ranked based on what they've done this year. Also, it's a ranking of who would beat who on a neutral field. Well, we don't need a neutral field, these teams are all intrinsically linked. I don't plan on ranking by who-beat-who all year, come November it should be a little more clear which teams belong where. For right now, I'm looking for at least one signature win from each team. So even if the Hogs aren't the clear-cut #4 team in the nation, I feel they've done enough to warrant that ranking, for now.
Oy. Continue. (9) Texas is pretty interchangeable with (10) Notre Dame. Where's Louisville and West Virginia? At (11) and (12), respectively. Ludicrous. Most people have WVU and/or Louisville in their top 5 and at least in the top 10, yet you've got Arkansas at 4 and these two at 11 and 12. Defend. Okay, where is WVU's or Louisville's signature win? UL beat Miami, which is kind of nice, I guess. WVU has a good looking offense, but is that really enough? At this point, I'd love to see either team play Pitt or Rutgers just to get some comp.
Can you just finish this train wreck up? Yes. (13) Clemson has been semi-impressive at times. I'd really put them on about the same level at WVU and UL. (14) Wisconsin is looking better weekly. (15) Oregon is still better than most Pac-10 teams, but not at the top of the conference. I'd say that (16) Georgia Tech is the best team in their division, but I still haven't figured out how the ACC divisions work. I've got no read on (17) LSU, other than they feast on the weak and shrivel against the strong. (18) Rutgers picked up a nice win against Navy. It's hard to tell just how good (19) Boise State is, playing in the WAC and all. (20) Boston College appears pretty solid. (21) Nebraska's trying. (22) Oklahoma without Adrian Peterson could be awful. (23) Pitt is improved, (24) Wake is surprising. Texas A&M should probably be here instead of (25) Missouri, and I might change that.
Happy? Not entirely. I'd like someone to make a compelling argument as to why Arkansas doesn't deserve the same treatment as the rest of my top 10. Also, someone please explain to me why Louisville or West Virginia should be in my top 10.
Ballot? Oh, yeah:
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | 2 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 3 | Southern Cal | 3 |
| 4 | Arkansas | 9 |
| 5 | Auburn | 9 |
| 6 | Florida | 4 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 3 |
| 8 | California | 3 |
| 9 | Texas | 2 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 1 |
| 11 | Louisville | -- |
| 12 | West Virginia | -- |
| 13 | Clemson | 3 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 9 |
| 15 | Oregon | 4 |
| 16 | Georgia Tech | 1 |
| 17 | LSU | -- |
| 18 | Rutgers | 2 |
| 19 | Boise State | 1 |
| 20 | Boston College | 6 |
| 21 | Nebraska | 3 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 23 | Pittsburgh | 3 |
| 24 | Wake Forest | 2 |
| 25 | Missouri | 17 |
Third Monday in October
Today's Great Thing about the Tennessee/Alabama rivalry:
1996--Tennessee 20, Alabama 13. My first Third Saturday in October as a UT student. Jay Graham scores two TDs (including a 79-yarder) to lead the Vols to victory. After the game, Vol DT Bill Duff has the following comments:
"We're No. 1. Alabama's No. 2. They can bitch and moan all they want about it, but they know they are."
"If Alabama wants to contend with us, they're gonna have to do stuff like we did and they just didn't do it tonight. So, hats off, they've got a good defense, but we're better."
"One of the greatest feelings in the world when you've got a chance to win a game like that. When you walk off the field, it feels like you're walking on clouds, man--smoke some cigars, drink a couple beers...and sleep."
I't great to be a Tennessee Vol.
Bama Week: A Constructive Approach
Hate Week II?
I had it all planned out. This was the week. I hate Florida, but I took it easy on them. This week I was all prepared to spew venom that would be felt from Huntsville to Mobile. Because it's Bama Week, and I hate Alabama.
But then I thought, that's what they would do. I would be as bad as them. I would be as bad as a Bammer. And I refuse to let that happen.
A backstory:
I had a high school football coach that like to use the phrase "I've seen two dogs fightin' and three goats f----n', but I ain't never seen nothing like this before." Pretty much sums up how I felt in Tuscaloosa last year at the UT/UA game.
I've been to a lot of Tennessee games. I've been to games in Tempe, Tampa, Atlanta, and South Bend. I've seen SEC football at every stadium in the conference, save Starkville and Fayetteville. As anybody who has seen any amount of SEC football live can tell you, sometimes it gets ugly. I've seen Vol fans do some pretty bad things to visitors. I've seen Gator fans do some pretty bad things to visitors and even their own fans. It's part of SEC football. We all get a little too passionate about our team and say/do things that are regrettable. The younger we are, the more regrettable things we seem to do. But what I saw in Tuscaloosa, Alabama last year (from the Tide fans) was, well...atrocious, appalling, disgusting, horrendous...whatever you want to call it, but it wasn't SEC football.
And I'm not doing it on this blog.
Ignore Alabama?
Nope, I'm going to celebrate this rivalry and this game. I'm not going to turn this into some Alabama love fest. I still hate Alabama. A lot. But I'm not going to focus on the hate. Rather, I'm going to focus on the greatness of the Third Saturday in October through the memories of a Tennessee fan who still considers this the greatest rivalry in Volunteer football.
It's Bama week. Isn't it great?
Friday, October 13, 2006
Two Minutes Hate
Today's reason to Hate Alabama:
8 days to revenge.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Closing the Book on Georgia
Not much can be said about the Georgia game that hasn't already been said. I do want to mention that this past weekend marked my 10th straight UT/UGa game to see in person, whether in Knoxville or Athens. As always, it was a great trip. I've never not enjoyed going to Athens, the fans aren't as disgustingly hostile as in Gainsville or Tuscaloosa but there is more of a competitive spirit than in Columbia or Lexington.
All week long leading up to the game, people were trying to tell me that "Tennessee's back" and "they're gonna roll though Georgia," but I wasn't buying it. Tennessee isn't "back" until they win some SEC games, but Saturday was a nice start in that direction. The game was much closer than the final score would indicate, and the Vols had to fight for every one of those 51 points. But the point is that they did fight for every one of those points and didn't give up even when the game and the breaks were going against them. Overall, it was a great weekend to be a Tennessee Vol.
Don't lose sight of reality, however. The Vols are only 1-1 in the SEC with games against Alabama and LSU and road trips to Spurrier's bunch and the surprising Razorbacks in the next four weeks. All of us fans can gloat about Saturday's win, but the players better be preparing for the road ahead.
But while we're gloating...
2004
2006Go Vols!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Bye Week Blah
Slow news week with the bye, but let's see what we can get out of it...
--I love Phil Fulmer. I really do. I think he's a great coach. I think he's underrated, which is hard to be when you're one of the winningest coaches ever. I don't think there is another coach in America that could do a better job of running this program. But sometimes, he just says things that I can't fathom. Like this quote about Gerogia returning two (2) kicks for touchdowns Saturday night: "It wasn't like, 'Oh, God, it's all broken.' It's an error here and there. Punt return's the same thing. We're almost trying to be overaggressive and trying to be too good. If it were an effort issue … that's different."
Coach, come on. We're giving up special teams touchdowns because we're trying to be too good? I'm sure the effort probably is there, but Tennessee has had kick coverage issues for a while now. But if that's the problem, how about coaching them to be just good enough.
--Antonio Wardlow's punt block from Saturday night makes the cover of Sports Illustrated. Maybe the Vols will escape the SI cover jinx with the bye week. Erik Ainge is getting a lot of national attention, too, being named SEC offensive player of the week along with the Walter Camp Foundation's national player of the week. Joel at Rocky Top Talk is uncomfortable with all the attention, pointing out that the Vols often melt under the spotlight. As Johnny Majors used to say, the wind blows harder at the top of the flagpole.
--Hoops season is just around the corner, and coach Bruce Pearl is trying to temper the expectations for his team: "Our challenges this year: We lose 50 percent of our scoring, we lose our leading rebounder, we lose our leading field goal percentage shooter and our leading assist man. Six out of the 11 players that will be on this roster as scholarship players will be playing in their first college basketball game. Those will be some of the challenges that we face, that lack of experience, if you will." More on the basketball Vols here, here, here, and here.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Hate Bama Early
Being a bye, the posts this week will be a mix of reaction to Saturday's win and preparation for Hate Week II. In the spirit of the latter, and just in case you forgot how to hate Alabama, watch this:
Yeah, 6-3. You just beat the hell outta us, Alabama. 11 days 'til revenge.
Blogpoll Roundtable
Apologies to our host, CrossCyed, for the lateness of my response.
1. We're about halfway through the season at this point. Have you gotten a gauge on your team's chances this year to make noise in conference play, or is the team still a total freaking mystery?
I was waiting until after the Georgia game to answer this question. Tennessee's performance between the hedges took the Vols from total freaking mystery to partial freaking mystery. It's a case of good news/bad news for the Vols. Good news: it looks like the Vols could run the table from here on in the SEC. Bad news: running the table will probably do no better than second in the division, as Florida would need to lose two games for Tennessee to make it to Atlanta. Good news: Florida's playing in the SEC, where any given Saturday yada yada yada (just ask Auburn). Bad news: Tennessee has to play those teams, too.
2. Many of the bigger conferences such as the Big 12 and the Big 10 use a rotating schedule to determine conference games each year. What are your feelings on the current system used in your conference? Does a rotating schedule work? Has your team always caught a break?
The original rotation in the SEC was five division opponents, two permanent opponents from the other division, and one rotating opponent from the other division. That system stunk. Tennessee’s permanent opponents were Alabama and Arkansas. That might not sound that bad, but Arkansas was a serious trap game for the Vols. The new system is much better with one permanent and two rotating opponents from the other division. It preserves old rivalries like Tennessee/Alabama and Georgia/Auburn while letting the fans see more of the other division’s teams on a regular basis.
The rotation pretty much keeps everyone from always catching a break. Mississippi State and Kentucky are each other’s permanent opponents, as are Vandy and Ole Miss. Seems like somebody’s catching a break there, but I can’t figure out whom.
3. In an effort to get to know more about college football, both nationally and regionally, what have you done to expand your college football horizons? Have you caught yourself watching games from other conferences, or taking an interest in games that show up on ESPNU or Fox Sports?
Getting into blogging was my effort to know more about college football, and it has worked. As far as watching games on TV, I’ll watch any and every college game I can. If I actually got ESPNU, I’d probably keep it on about 23 hours a day.
A cool side note: I ordered one day of the ESPN Gameplan package to get the Tennessee/Air Force game, and it never went away. I’ve been getting all the games for the last month without paying for them. Unethical? Maybe, but who cares? It’s free college football. I figure my punishment is in the form of the headache I get from trying to watch six games at once.
4. What would you change about the current exposure your team gets, either on the radio, television, print, or on the internet?
Ask me a year ago, and I’d say “I would like for Tennessee to get more exposure on the sports page than the police blotter.” But we’re getting better, I promise.
Is it widely known outside the South that many Tennessee fans think there’s an anti-Tennessee conspiracy at ESPN? The paranoia dates back to 1997, when many Vol fans believed that ESPN cost Peyton Manning the Heisman by over-hyping Charles Woodson. Unfortunately, ESPN was flooded by hate mail from overzealous Tennessee fans, and Chris Fowler regrettably referred to the situation as a “trailer-park type response.” Of course, fans ran to message boards to write “Fowler calls Vol fans trailer trash,” and it was on like neckbone between the Worldwide Leader and Big Orange Country. Then a couple of years later there was an alleged academic fraud scandal that led to...nothing. But it was unearthed by ESPN.com and many UT fans felt it was another shot at bringing down the Vols. And to top it all off, the infamous Gameday commercial that had to be pulled because soooo many Vol fans complained about it. I still think it's pretty funny, but I guess I see why many of us Tennesseans got offended by it, too. Overall, I take a "can't we all just get along" stance with ESPN, because like it or not, everybody watches ESPN and a major university like Tennessee can benefit from the amount of time ESPN spends talking about the Vols.
5. During last Saturday's game against I-AA Northern Iowa, Iowa State trailed 21-7 at the half. The Cyclone Marching Band played a variety of songs from animated shows, including selections from South Park titled "Blame Canada" and "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" Needless to say, the Cyclones outscored the Panthers 21-6 in the second half. If you had to pick one song for your favorite team to rally to, what would it be? Because we all know what they did for the 2005 White Sox, Journey and "Don't Stop Believing" are not to be considered.
I’m sure my SEC brethren would like for Tennessee to play anything but Rocky Top. And many would say that the next song the Pride of the Southland Marching band learns to play will double its repertoire. But really, there's no better song to rally to than Rock Top, is there? It worked in Athens last weekend...
There is a song that I always listen to after the Vols lose, however (and yes, I listened to it a lot in 2005). It's a little-known Hank Williams Jr. song called "Tennessee." The chorus goes: Tennessee, how could you do this to me? I gave you some of the best of my days, ain't no reason for me to stay. Tennessee, you took the life out of me, what little money I made, I either drank it up or I gave it away. It's to the point and would make more sense than hearing Rocky Top another ten times while walking out of the stadium following a UT loss.
Monday, October 09, 2006
BlogPoll Week 6 Rough Draft
The Ballot:
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | -- |
| 2 | Florida | 2 |
| 3 | Michigan | -- |
| 4 | Tennessee | 7 |
| 5 | California | 7 |
| 6 | Southern Cal | -- |
| 7 | Texas | 2 |
| 8 | Missouri | 14 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 6 |
| 10 | Clemson | 4 |
| 11 | Louisville | 6 |
| 12 | West Virginia | 5 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 13 |
| 14 | Auburn | 12 |
| 15 | Georgia Tech | 1 |
| 16 | Georgia | 6 |
| 17 | LSU | 9 |
| 18 | Boise State | 1 |
| 19 | Oregon | 6 |
| 20 | Rutgers | 2 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 4 |
| 22 | Wake Forest | 3 |
| 23 | Iowa | 3 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 3 |
| 25 | Nebraska | 1 |
The Rationale: Voting for (1) Ohio State seems kind of boring, but the Buckeyes have done more impressive things than anyone else. I had been impressed with Auburn's 7-3 win over LSU, until I saw (2) Florida's 23-10 win over LSU. (3) Michigan keeps rolling along. And here's where the poll gets difficult. Putting Tennessee this high on the ballot seems awfully homerish, but who deserves a higher ranking? Remember, this poll is about what teams have done so far, not what they potentially could do. So (4) Tennessee's 51-33 win at Athens along with a 35-18 win over Cal seems pretty impressive. Speaking of (5) Cal, they continue to shred everyone and are looking better than (6) Southern Cal, which is struggling more than they should, but are still dangerous. (7) Texas had a nice win over Oklahoma. (8) Missouri goes here because I refuse to put (9) Notre Dame any higher, followed by (10) Clemson. (11) Louisville and (12) West Virginia are hereby banned from my top 10 until they freakin' play somebody. (13) Arkansas isn't really that good, and (14) Auburn isn't really that bad, but the events of last weekend land them in these spots ahead of (15) Georgia Tech.
The rest don't really need much explanation because, well, they're not really contenders. Right now it's pretty much OSU/Florida/Michigan and a bunch of teams waiting for those three to slip. Of course, it is college football, so a slip could come at any time (just ask Auburn). As usual, questions, comments, and snarky comments are welcome by clicking the link below.
The Games I Watched: Bits and pieces of Arkansas/Auburn and LSU/Florida while tailgating for Tennessee/Georgia, which i saw in person.
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Georgia Predictions Reviewed
Got back from Athens late yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to post any reaction to Saturday's game, but wow. This was the only game I'll get to see in person this year, and I couldn't have asked for more out of a college football game. More about the actual trip to Athens later this week. For now, a review of Friday's predictions:
--Georgia returns a punt or kickoff for a touchdown. Or how about a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown. Didn't really see both coming, but Tennessee reacted to each the way they needed to. The Vols could have easily given up after the 86-yard punt return made the game 17-7 (or when UGa extended their lead to 24-7 the next time they got the ball). Instead, the Vols went out and made the plays they needed to to get back in the game. Then, when the 4th-quarter kickoff return cut the Vols' lead to 38-33, UT continued to "put on more steam" as General Neyland would have said and built the lead up to the final score of 51-33.
--LaMarcus Coker rushes for over 100 yards. For the second week in a row, I incorrectly guessed that a defense's focus on stopping Ainge and Meachem would lead to a big night for another player. Meachem almost had another 100-yard game for himself, and tied with Bret Smith to lead all receivers with 7 catches and a touchdown. As for Coker, he and Arian Foster combined for 115 yards, and averaged 3.75 yards per carry to go along with 4 touchdowns. Not a breakout night for UT's running game, but one that showed some reliability and produced some points.
--Tennessee scores over 30 points for a win. Going into the weekend, Georgia had only given up 30 points three times in the Richt era. They almost gave up 30 twice on Saturday. Some people didn't believe that Tennessee would need 30 to outscore UGa's suspect offense. Some people didn't think UT could score 30 on Georgia's vaunted defense. And some of us believed that an inspired Georgia team at home would make Tennessee need to score a bunch to get back to Knoxville with a win. But nobody expected 51 points. The Georgia defense was put in some bad situations with turnovers creating short fields for Tennessee's offense. And the punt-block TD was more of a special-teams mistake for the Dawgs than a defensive error. But anytime you hang half a hundred on a team that had only given up 6.8 points per game though almost half the season, it's something special.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
IFTIT: Georgia
Tennessee/Georgia. It's what makes the SEC great.
Oh, when you think "Great Rivalries of the SEC," you might think of Tennessee/Alabama, Tennessee/Florida, Auburn/Alabama, Auburn/Georgia, Georgia/Florida...and I could go on for a while before getting to Tennessee/Georgia. And while there's no question that those rivalries are fantastic, it's a game like UT/UGA that truly demonstrates the SEC's greatness.
See, the SEC is so deep, everyone is such a contender, that every game becomes a rivalry game. The Vols and Dawgs don't have decades of animosity like Tennessee and Alabama or Georgia and Auburn. They don't even have one decade of intense hate like Tennessee and Florida. But they do have a common goal. They have one seat at the table, and no room to share. The winner stays alive on the road to Atlanta, and the loser starts playing for the Outback Bowl.
Such is life in the SEC. It's great. And it's time.
IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!
Friday, October 06, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Friday Georgia Predictions
Better late than never...
--Georgia returns a punt or kickoff for a touchdown. And that's the first positive prediction I've made for the bad guys all year. This one scares me to death, so I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for when it happens. I hope the Vol players will have their minds right, too. If/when Georgia makes a big play in the special teams area, UT better remember the third maxim: If at first the game or the breaks go against you, don't let up...put on more steam.
--LaMarcus Coker rushes for over 100 yards. It could be a breakout night for the freshman with Georgia's defense keyed in on stopping the Erik Ainge/Robert Meachem conection. Of course last week, I said that Memphis would focus on stopping Meachem, and he still had 157 yards receiving.
--Tennessee scores over 30 points for a win. Cutcliffe's stated goal for this week is 30 points. Georgia has only given up 30 points three times in the Richt era, each time has been a UGa loss. Saturday makes it four. Tennessee finds enough ways to outscore Georgia between the hedges and heads back to Knoxville with a 31-24 Big Orange victory.
Go Vols!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Big Play Days
Hey CFAJ, didn't you say something last week about Tennessee relying on big plays? How's that going for you? Glad you asked. Last week, I pointed out that one of the keys to Tennessee's success this year has been the offense's ability to connect on big plays (plays of 20 yards or more). To update, the Vols have now had 29 plays of 20 yards or more, and 84% of UT's scoring drives have included a play of 20+ yards. For you visual learners, I have put this information into table form, color coded to indicate the result of each 20-plus yard play Tennessee has had this year. Plays in red did not lead to points. Plays in green either scored or led to points later on in the drive. Note the amount of green.
| Opponent | Yards/Type | From | Drive Result |
| Cal | 41 pass | Ainge/Meachem | punt |
| 20 pass | Ainge/Brown | INT | |
| 42 pass | Ainge/Meachem | TD | |
| 80 pass | Ainge/Meachem | TD | |
| 51 pass | Ainge/Swain | TD | |
| 43 run | Hardesty | TD | |
| 21 run | Coker | TO/downs @ Cal 3 | |
| Air Force | 44 pass | Ainge/Meachem | FG |
| 20 pass | Ainge/Meachem | TD | |
| 24 pass | Ainge/Swain | TD* | |
| 45 pass | Ainge/Taylor | TD* | |
| 28 pass | Ainge/Rogers | INT @ AFA 14 | |
| *plays occurred on same drive | |||
| Florida | 23 pass | Ainge/Meachem | FG |
| 48 pass | Taylor/Coker | TD | |
| 30 pass | Ainge/Swain | TD | |
| Marshall | 24 pass | Ainge/Meachem | missed FG |
| 48 pass | Ainge/Swain | TD | |
| 22 pass | Ainge/Smith | TD* | |
| 20 pass | Ainge/Swain | TD* | |
| 20 run | Hardesty | TD* | |
| 89 run | Coker | TD | |
| 29 pass | Ainge/Meachem | FG | |
| 23 run | Coker | TD | |
| *plays occurred on same drive | |||
| Memphis | 20 run | Coker | TD |
| 43 pass | Ainge/Meachem | FG | |
| 51 pass | Ainge/Swain | TD | |
| 84 pass | Ainge/Meachem | TD | |
| 25 pass | Ainge/Briscoe | TD | |
| 27 pass | Crompton/Hancock | TD |
That's a lot of green. Also note the number of times Robert Meachem's name appears in the table (it's 10, I won't make you go back and count). LaMarcus Coker's name is listed five times, more than any other running back despite only starting one game and having limited opportunities in the others.
Okay, so we know that Tennessee has racked up some big plays this year and they have cashed in on most of them. So what? It's a trend to follow, but it's a trend likely to slow down in Athens. Take a look at the plays of 20 or more yards given up by Georgia this year:
| Opponent | Yards/Type | From | Drive Result |
| S. Carolina | 41 pass | Mitchell/McKinley | fumble @ UGa 1 |
| 22 pass | Smelly/Newton | TO/downs @ UGa 3 | |
| Colorado | 29 run | Jackson | TD |
| Mississippi | 21 run | Green-Ellis | punt |
That's it, that's the list? Yes. I didn't bother to look at the stats for the UGa/Western Kentucky game because whatever Georgia did against the Hilltoppers has no bearing on this weekend. But in four games against I-A opponents, the Dawgs have given up only four plays of 20 yards or longer. One of those plays led to points, but two more could have had UGa not made plays at the goal line.
Of course, the teams Georgia has played haven't exactly been offensive juggernauts. But have those offenses looked inept because they are inept, or because Georgia imposed its will upon them? I'm inclined to think that it's a little bit of both.
I'm on to you, CFAJ. You just picked 20 yards to make your stats look good. Nope, I believe that a 20 yard play does several things for an offense. It picks up two first downs' worth of territory. It covers 1/5 of the total distance of the playing field. And it causes the defense to ask itself "Are we gonna hang our heads and let this happen all day, or are we going to bow our backs and stop it."
What if they want to stop it, but aren't good enough? You mean like Marshall and Memphis, who gave up a combined 14 20+ yard plays to the Vols? Then you get outscored like those teams did (by a total of 74-14). But against good defenses that can stop big plays, you're not going to rack up those kind of points.
Good defenses like Georgia's? Yep.
Crap. So the Vols are screwed? No, not quite. It's unlikely that Tennessee will be able to pull off as many 20+ yard plays against UGa as they did against their non-conference foes. But it's just as unlikely for Georgia to limit UT as much as they limited UAB, Carolina, Colorado, and Ole Miss. When the Vols do make a big play against Georgia, it will be imperative for them to capitalize on it, like they did against Florida.
Moron. Tennessee lost to Florida. Yes, three weeks ago. I'd like to think that Tennessee has improved in the last three weeks. Tennessee did some good things against the Gators, as in 3 big plays all leading to points. It was almost enough.
Well, this ain't horseshoes or hand grenades. It's college football. Almost enough doesn't cut it. Correct. So the question becomes: How does Tennessee change "almost enough" into "enough" against Georgia? By not being stubborn. Against Florida, Cutcliffe and gang went all conservative after hitting a big play to open the second half (30 yard pass from Ainge to Swain that led to a TD). Up 17-7 midway through the third quarter, Tennessee started looking at the clock rather than looking for more points. Even though running the ball to kill the clock obviously wasn't working, the Vols stubbornly stuck with it. The result was two drives featuring eight runs for a total of nine yards. During that time, Florida racked up two touchdowns, while Tennessee mustered only a field goal. When the clock finally did run out, Tennessee was one score shy of beating the Gators. One more big play could have made the difference.
Doesn't everybody try to run out the clock with a lead late in a game? Why should that strategy change now? Because of rule 3-2-5-E. The new clock rule this year is shaving off an average of 16 plays per game. Because the game is shorter, points are at a premium. Let the clock take care of itself, go score when you can.
How about bringing it all back to the Georgia game and wrapping this puppy up? To beat the Bulldogs, the Vols must play to their strengths. Tennessee is not an ultra-conservative, grind-it-out team. They are a scoring team. The big plays will be somewhat limited, but when they're there, UT has to go score. The Vols must continue to do creative/intelligent things, like getting out of the I-formation when it isn't working. Most importantly, Tennessee must dictate the game (like they did against Cal), rather than letting the game dictate what they are doing (like they did against Florida). Take care of that, and Tennessee should be in an excellent position for a win Saturday night.
Sounds good to me. Go Vols! Go Vols.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Georgia Wednesday
My QB's back and you're gonna be in trouble (hey na, hey na, my QB's back): Barring further injury in practice this week, Joe Terashinsky Krzyzewski Tarashinesiki Joey T will start at quarterback for Georgia Saturday. Read the various message boards out there, and you'll find that Vol fans seem to be split on the issue. In one camp are those who believe that this creates an advantage for UT because JT3 has a "dishrag arm" and is an "interception machine." Others believe that Georgia's best chance to win comes with the senior signal caller rather than freshman Matt Stafford under center. And some of us feel like having the homegrown Joe T coming off an injury to lead the team is reading like a movie script for the Dawgs.
I don't want to blame Randy Sanders, BUT... : In a Chris Low article out today, Jayson Swain finally kills the 800 lb. gorilla in last year's room. None of the players wanted to say bad things about Randy Sanders last season, but this quote from Swain pretty much sums up the Sanders era: "We just needed to get a coach in here that everybody trusted and have everybody jump in the boat. We didn't have that last year."
30 is the loneliest number: The same article in the Tennessean points out that the only time UT didn't score 30 points in a game this season, they lost. The Bulldogs have only given up 30 points in a game three times in the Mark Richt era. But, all three times, Georgia lost. Cucliffe's goal for this weekend is to score 30 points. UGa is holding opponents to 6.8 points per game this season. UT is averaging 32 ppg. Tennessee hasn't scored more than 14 against Georgia in the last four meetings. Is it just me, or is this week starting to get interesting?
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Headline Views
Looking over some articles in advance of the upcoming UT/UGa game, the whole weekend is starting to feel like a set-up. I'm seeing headlines like "Fixing Georgia's offensive woes," "Offense's ability, talent still questionable," or how about "Dogs need to get going on offense." Georgia can't be that bad, can they?
Compare to some recent Tennessee stories: "This season, Vols make it look easy," "Vols know how to silence the critics," "Vols hit Georgia week in top gear."
Here's a headline for you: "Vols tabbed to bring hellfire, brimstone to Athens; CFAJ not buying it." Tennessee will have its hands full on Saturday night. This is setting up to be a great night for Georgia. It reads like a movie script: the home team is disrespected and counted out until a gutsy performance brings the underdogs through for an impossible win that is talked about for decades. All the final cut needs is some hero figure like a third-generation quarterback coming off an injury to spark the team toward unknown glory.
Uh-oh.
Tennessee better not believe the hype. Even though they've struggled against inferior competition the last two weeks, Georgia's not as bad as the papers make it seem. And if Tennessee is really as good as they looked against Memphis, they better bring that same intensity they had against Cal when they visit between the hedges.
One more headline: "Vols ready for all QBs." I hope so.
Monday, October 02, 2006
BlogPoll Week 5 Rough Draft
The Ballot (without having looked at last week's ballot):
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 2 | Auburn | 1 |
| 3 | Michigan | 4 |
| 4 | Florida | 1 |
| 5 | Louisville | 1 |
| 6 | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 7 | West Virginia | 1 |
| 8 | Louisiana State | -- |
| 9 | Texas | -- |
| 10 | Tennessee | 3 |
| 11 | Georgia | 1 |
| 12 | Cal | 3 |
| 13 | Oregon | 4 |
| 14 | Clemson | -- |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 4 |
| 16 | Georgia Tech | 10 |
| 17 | Oklahoma | 2 |
| 18 | Rutgers | 2 |
| 19 | Boise State | 3 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | 2 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 5 |
| 22 | Missouri | 1 |
| 23 | Navy | 3 |
| 24 | TCU | 8 |
| 25 | Iowa | 15 |
The Rationale: This week I asked myself, "What's the most impressive thing each team has done so far this season?" What I came up with is Ohio State winning its two biggest games so far easily and on the road. Then Auburn's win over LSU being slightly more impressive than Michigan's win over Notre Dame, which was slightly more impressive than Florida's win over UT and so on.
You homer, why is Tennessee ahead of Georgia? Because the Vols have actually played two good teams and beaten one. Also because in the last two weeks, UT and UGA have played teams they should have blown out. Tennessee won those games by a combined 74-14, while Georgia won 28-22. However, I might swap those two before the final ballot, because I'm more comfortable with Tennessee being the underdog.
The Games I Watched: Bits and pieces of Miss. St./LSU, Col/Mizzou, Purdue/ND, Boise St./Utah, GA Tech/VPI, Houston/Miami, KU/Neb, Ohio St./ Iowa, Mich/Minn; Big Chunks of Bama/Fla, USC/Wash St., UGA/Miss; All of UT/Memphis.
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: National Measure
Turns out, they play football outside the SEC, too. Who knew?
--Cheer up, Larry Coker. Even though fans hired airplanes to carry banners demanding your dismissal Saturday, it could be worse. You could be John L. Smith. At least you're not slapping yourself at press conferences. At this point, John L. not only looks like a bad head coach, he looks like a crazy old man dragging a bag of aluminum cans down the street and mumbling to himself. Basically, if John L. Smith were a Simpsons character, he'd be the Crazy Cat Lady.
--When Michigan State, Miami, or whomever else goes looking for a new coach at season's end, I can't imagine looking anywhere but in Piscataway, NJ, first. I'm not saying Greg Schiano walks on water, but he's got Rutgers ranked, which is comparable. You don't have to follow recruiting closely to know that 5-star blue chippers aren't flocking to the State University of New Jersey. That means Schiano is either good at finding diamonds in the rough or knows the recipe for making chicken salad out of chicken excrement. There are plenty of schools that could use either.
--After seeing the altercation between Illinois and Michigan State Saturday, I wondered how long it would take the NCAA to outlaw flag-planting on an opponent's field. Turns out, the Big 10 beat them to it. A year ago. Talk about a rule with no teeth. I think flag planting should be a reward for schools with a good APR. Imagine, Vandy and Duke flags planted in fields all over the South. It's the only way that's ever gonna happen.
Closing the Book on Memphis [State]
41-7. That's the way it should be. The Vols have a history of playing down to their competition in a game like this. But on Saturday, the Big Orange rolled through Memphis on their way to 4-1.
I was most impressed with the way Ainge reacted to almost giving the Tigers a gift. After the interception return for a touchdown was called back, Old Ainge would have buried his head in the sand. New Ainge responded by throwing for 324 yards and 4 touchdowns. Then, after the game, Ainge pointed out that regardless of how good they looked Saturday, Tennessee is still 0-1 in SEC play. Many Vol fans had written Ainge off after the first scrimmage this Fall, but Ainge has shown incredible maturity this season in terms of quarterbacking ability and leadership. Of course, he also showed incredible immaturity by "chomping" at Gator fans in the third quarter three weeks ago, but it's all a work in progress.
The only negative I took from Saturday was the running game's inability to punch it in from the 1-yard line. There will be a game this season where the Vols will need to pick up a couple of crucial yards to win, and it's an area that obviously needs improvement.
So what's next? Of course, it's them hairy dawgs from UGa. For the Vols, the Georgia game marks the start of SEC play in earnest. It's a chance to atone for the Florida loss and to see how serious Tennessee should be taken this season. Both Tennessee and Georgia are hovering around the level of a top ten team, but both have question marks. How good is Georgia? Their defense looks pretty tough, although they have not been tested by an offense as good as Tennessee's. The Bulldogs are excellent on special teams, especially in the return game, which could cause problems for the Big Orange. FWIW, over the last two weeks Tennessee and Georgia have each played two teams that they should have blown out easily. Tennessee has won by a combined score of 74-14, while UGa has totaled 28-22. That, combined with the fact that Georgia has had a hard time finding a quarterback, makes me feel pretty good about the Vols' chances early.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Memphis [State] Predictions Reviewed
--Friday, I predicted that Tennessee would have 9 plays of 20 yards or more against the Tigers. The prediction was based on the Vols' dependence on big plays this season and the idea that the offense was rolling enough to get more big plays against Memphis State than against Marshall the week before. Well, the offense kept rolling (to the tune of 566 total yards) but came up a little short of the mark I had set for them. The Vols did have six plays of 20+ yards, however, and each of them resulted in or led to points.
--Also, I predicted 3 20+ plays and over 100 yards rushing for LaMarcus Coker in his first start for the Vols. Half right: Coker ended up with one 20-yard run and 125 yards. More importantly, Coker looked solid at tailback, especially in Tennessee's newly emphasised one-back and H-back sets. The real test for Coker comes now that the SEC schedule is ready to crank up.
--My final prediction was three plays of 20 or more yards for Jayson Swain and one for Robert Meachem. My thinking was that Meachem has been having a big enough year to draw double coverage and open up opportunities for Swain. At this point, it doesn't really matter whether Meachem draws double coverage or not, if defenses don't do a better job of tackling him, he'll continue putting up big numbers. Both Meachem and Swain had a big day: Swain caught 3 passes for 64 yards and two TDs (long of 51), and Meachem caught 4 balls for 157 yards (including passes of 43 and 84 yards) and a score.
While the Vols didn't quite meet the lofty predictions I made on Friday, the offense did have a banner day. It was a great tune-up heading into the meat of the schedule. And while it's unlikely Tennessee's O will continue to look so effortless, they have given SEC defenses a lot to think about.
Oh, and I forgot to pick a score Friday, but I was going with 41-7. Promise.