I didn't VOLUNTEER for this! (UT legacy)

[olympia]

Taking over as head coach for the University of Tennessee, I'm looking at an up-hill battle to restore this once great program to his original glory. The team looks a lot like the current version - several good players on the starting line-up but not a lot of depth. Recruiting will be important as quite a few Freshmen can expect to start or get valuable playing time. We need to upgrade the talent in a big way.

 

I had played thru the first couple seasons, but then lost season 2 somehow (after a miracle bowl game win and a top 25 ranking). When I went back to replay after the mess-up, we had a better record but ended up not being ranked. I'll post some summaries to catch up to where I am currently.

[olympia]

the first season, I didn't keep very much in the way of stats and results. I honestly didn't expect to continue on. The Vols have fallen on hard times and are picked to finish 8th in the SEC.

 

Short version is - UT finishes 8-4

losses to Auburn, Georgia, Florida, and then upset by Arkansas.

Auburn has one of the best defenses in the world, and it was a close, tough, fought in the mud, kind of game. We just wore down as it went on.

UGA and Florida are the pride of the SEC East and whipped us. Arkansas was just a poor game. But 8-4 puts us 3rd in the SEC East....not bad for a team picked to finish 8th.

we got a bowl invite to Dallas to play Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl.

Vols turn up the defensive pressure and come away with a big win to close out the first year.

 

Recruiting wise - we need upgrades at just about every position and have lots of holes to fill. we end up with a #16 class (eight 4-stars, and six 3-stars). We signed two Juco players (De and Fb) to help with immediate needs at those positions. We signed only one guy who was listed on the ESPN 150 (ILB Woodall). He'll be a good player to build our defense around. Also added two offensive linemen who could very well start next year (and two others for depth). Plus a QB who will compete for the starting position with the senior (back-up from last year) and R/S freshman on the team. TE Miller will see back up The All-American Ed Fargas

On defense, SS Thomas will see a lot of playing time. Rice is expected to start at DE.

Though most of the players come from the Southeast, we did try to recruit nationally (as Tennessee does for real) and landed WR Gold from Ohio -- I'd like to build a pipeline to that talent rich state.

 

DT Greg Krager, 4-stars

Kentucky Country Day (Louisville, KY)

National Rank: 362, Regional: 88, Position: 31

 

ILB Dave Woodall, 4-stars

Seymour (Seymour, TN)

National Rank: 85, Regional: 23, Position: 2 (grades 2.5 of 5)

 

RB Bill Miller, 4-stars

Mountain View (Mountain View, AR)

National Rank: 156, Regional: 42, Position: 20 (grades 2.5 of 4.5)

OG Eagle Madise, 4-stars

Milton (Alpharetta, GA)

National Rank: 273, Regional: 74, Position: 9

 

OT James Rutledge, 4-stars

Valdosta (Valdosta, GA)

National Rank: 247, Regional: 68, Position: 23

 

SS Bryan Thomas, 4-stars

South Jones (Ellisville, MS)

National Rank: 252, Regional: 70, Position: 15

 

TE Lamar Miller, 4-stars

Starkville (Starkville, MS)

National Rank: 287, Regional: 77, Position: 12

 

QB Claude Sauter, 4-stars

Starr's Mill (Fayetteville, GA)

National Rank: 278, Regional: 75, Position: 26 (grades 2 of 4)

 

C Brandon Parker, 3-stars

Ely (Pompano Beach, FL)

National Rank: 405, Regional: 99, Position: 9

 

DE Vilnis Rice, 3-stars

East Mississippi CC (MS), Huntingdon, TN, HS - TN

National Rank: 558, Regional: 141, Position: 31 (grades 3 of 3.5)

 

WR David Gold, 3-stars

Milford (Milford, OH)

National Rank: 316, Regional: 68, Position: 40 grades 1.5 out of 4

 

FB Harry Thomas, 3-stars

Mississippi Gulf Coast CC (MS), Monroe, LA, HS - LA

National Rank: 525, Regional: 132, Position: 15 (grades 3 of 3.5)

 

DE Gary Machado, 3-stars

Briarcrest Christian (Eads, TN)

National Rank: 699, Regional: 172, Position: 38

 

OG Chris Rentzel, 3-stars

Clinch County (Homerville, GA)

National Rank: 651, Regional: 162, Position: 36

 

Granted this one recruiting class is not going to be enough to bring the Vols back to glory, but it is a good step in the right direction. It's not all about the number of "stars" they get....it's about well they develop and how well they fit into our system. Each one of these guys have the skills necessary to play for us next year. However, Rentzel and Machado will likely redshirt at this time so they can improve.

 

state by state:

We sign 3 home-state TN boys. 4 from GA. 2 from MS

1 each from Florida, Arkansas, LA, Kentucky, and Ohio

[olympia]

Season 2

 

Looking at things, it looks a lot like Tennessee next year for real:

a young offensive line. A Sr QB who hasn't shown much (Moran), a Redshirt (Little - who I will compare to UT's incoming Juco), and a hightly touted Freshman QB (Charles Sauter) who many think could win the battle for the starting job. Add to that a very good defense and a couple super running backs and a pretty good receiving corps. The irony is uncanny.

 

The AD did not give us a very tough schedule as it turns out. Wake Forest will finish last in the ACC, South Florida will finish last in the Big East. We also have Big East leading Syracuse for the last game of the season and they are the only non-conference game that looks like it could be a good one.

 

As the season goes on, I hope things go better health wise for the real Vols. With the young inexperienced line, all 3 QB's suffer injuries at one time or another. Sauter had won the starting spot and was doing well until he was hammered in the Auburn game (once again the War Eagles defense totally stifled us for our first loss of the year). After the Auburn game, the Vols drop another to Mississippi.

 

Things turned around when we pulled the upset of Georgia. Next week, we have the Florida Gators at home. They have one conference loss so a win puts us in a tie for the SEC East (and we'd have the tiebreaker). I'll pick up the season with highlights from that game - up next

[olympia]

Game highlights

week 9, home game vs Florida. We control the first quarter (12 minutes) and open a 10-0 lead. We swap FG's in the second before Florida gets off an 87 yard run - halftime score 13-10.

UT gets a FG in the 3rd and opens 4th with another (19-10). Florida misses a 3 yarder, but connects from 35 (19-13)

That's where the game ends as the Vol defense bent a little but did not allow Florida to get back past the 50. Our anemic offense ran just enough clock off to ice the game. I kept thinking the Gators high powered offense would be able to get off one big play to win the game, but the Defense came thru in the clutch!

 

Key Stats: We ran 53 carries for 178 yards (Johnson 27 for 84 yards) as Gators stacked the line and dared my freshman QB Little to beat them in the air. He had just enough success (13/19 for 122 yds and 1 TD) to keep a few drives alive.

we recovered 2 fumbles and 2 ints - no turnovers for the Vols. However 9 penalities for 79 yards hurt us in key moments. We won time of possion 37 to 23 - which I'm surprised we didn't wear them down to where we could run better

Big win for the Vols!

 

then the ugly: against 0-10 Wake Forest who ranks in the bottom 100 in every category, the Vols had no concentration. The O line missed 10 blocks, had their usual 5 false starts and 3 holds. The line allows 2 sacks, one cost us a Safety, Meanwhile the offense sputters. It's a sad day when the Fullback outrushes the star RB, but Thomas came up big, with over 100 yards rushing and we needed everyone of them!

 

Starter QB Little is a miserable 4 of 13 passing and blows out his knee, he'll be out of action again, this time for a month. Moran is adequate, and Sauter comes off the bench trying to play thru a torn tendon is his elbow. He connects on a pair of passes to spark the team a bit.

We score a meaningless TD as time expires to win 26-2. 4 FG's (40-46 yards) as we stalled most drives when we got to the 20 - usually penalties and stops in the backfield.

 

Defensively, no real complaints. Held them scoreless (not their fault on the safety). Kept the Demon Deacs to only 70 yards rushing (below our 101 ypg avg) and 170 passing (below the 200 ypg avg) so the defensive stats will improve in both areas.

No one was out of position and only a couple missed tackles. Reed returns from his injury to record 9 tackles at OLB. Coleman also returns to the line-up with 3 big sacks (gives him 12 on the year).

 

injuries have just decimated this team. We go into the last game against #23 Syracuse with 2 QB's sidelined, as well as the back-up TE, 3 offensive linemen (one with spinal trauma and our Monster guard Cappeletti who had 13 pancakes) and starting CB!

of 14 recruits, 9 have been forced into starting at one point or another this year (2 redshirted). Others are getting some extra playing time with the injuries.

 

In other news, Ed Fargas, our all-star Soph TE, is 6th in the Strong hands trophy race - despite sitting out 6 games due to his poor grades. We are glad to get him back in line-up (just in time for reserve to be injured, otherwise we'd be playing walk-ons like the basketball team....maybe not so bad after watching them against #1 Kansas over the weekend).

 

Florida and Georgia both imploded losing 2 more games each. That leaves UT all alone atop the SEC East. We have a tough non-conference game against #23 Syracuse as a tune-up for the Championship game against a top 10 LSU team. Highlights from those games will be next.

[olympia]

Final game of the regular season - two teams fighting for that top 25 ranking:

The Tennessee Volunteers (27th) host #23 Syracuse

 

simmed the game against Syracuse - how badly we got outplayed everywhere but the scoreboard. Syracuse out rushes 174-157 (so much for stiff defense). Out-passed 305-222 (total 479-379)

Defense bent with yardage, but held the Orange to FG's in the first qtr, then our offense had a spurt and we got to half LEADING 17-6

Syracuse marches downfield to open the 3rd qtr, but settle for another FG (17-9); Vols answer with a 46 yard strike from Moran to speedster Charles Hunter (24-9)

In the 4th, Syracuse once again drove deep and threatened to score their first TD which would make it a one score game - but LB Roche intercepts and races the distance - 97 yards for a TD. (31-9 with time running out, the defense relaxed a bit allowing Syracuse to get across the goal and add a 2 pt conversion. Final Score 31-17 - almost a miracle win for TN

Star of the game: QB Moran ended up the game 16 of 26 for 222 yards. Walk-on Chris Brown was forced into action due to injuries and he whiffed on 4 attempts. Their QB completed 25 of 38, but had 3 picked off.

After his 100 yard performance last week, Thomas only had one rush for 5 yards (CPU doesn't change game plans midstream like I did). Johnson gets 80 yards on 15 carries

Freshman guard Madise shows future promise with 3 pancake blocks. 4 others had 1 each. Freshman SS Thomas had 9 tackles. Freshman MLB Woodall had 7 (and an INT).

we finish 1st in SEC east and face LSU in championship game (but still not ranked in coaches' poll -- game does not give the same love to SEC as real life)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FROM THE GEORGIA DOME IN ATLANTA

#23 UT vs #7 LSU

the win over Syracuse gets us ranked 23 in media and #26 in coach's poll. LSU is ranked #7 and comes in as 14 pt favorites. They have a top 20 offense and defense which could make things tough for us to move the ball.

That was being generous as LSU blows us out 48-19, outgaining us 600 yds to 319. We were sacked 4 times and never got to their QB

our great rush defense allowed 259 yards (and we only got 90). Honestly, the only reason we made it this far was that Florida and Georgia both fell apart down the stretch - they were much better teams.

 

But we'll talke the experience, lick our wounds and wait for a bowl game - we're going to Orlando to face #10 Purdue - it's a couple weeks away so it should give time for a few injuries to heal up. Purdue has the 7th best offense in the land so we'll need all defensive hands on deck for the game.

 

Happy days as 5 walking wounded come off the DL and have a week to practice with the team as we prepare for one of the toughest challenges of the year

 

Awards:

DT Jack Coleman is first team all-american!!!

FB Thomas gets 3rd team all-american honors, as does TE Fargas

Don't guess there's an All-freshman team. Sure we'd have a few contenders.

 

All SEC: Fargas (TE) first team, Thomas (FB) and Lockett (K) 2nd team. Cappelletti (OG) 3rd team

Defense: Coleman (DT) and Dyer (P) first team.

Pat Glover (SS) 2nd team. Rich Bacon (FS) 3rd team with 6 INT.

 

QB from Texas: Cheek wins POY - 3500 yards and 34 TD's

 

The Bowl Game with Purdue is next. Let's hope it is a game worth watching - with time to heal up, scout and prepare, it should be.

[olympia]

Orlando Bowl - UT vs #10 Purdue

 

the Bowl game was a classic. UT played their hearts out scoring the first 14 pts of the game!! Then Purdue took over and ran all over the defense for a score, and passed all over the defense for another score to tie the game. Purdue ran a punt 68 yards for a score and takes the lead. I was furious. The one facet of the game we supposedly had a slight advantage in and they are beating us there too. Our offense goes nowhere and punts again. Defense holds and they punt. Bacon takes the ball at the 10 and races 90 yards to tie the game. Halftime was a 21-21 tie.

 

Things slowed down a little in the 2nd half as Purdue seemed content to pound our defenders into the ground.

They get the go ahead score on a 5 yard pass. Our offense sputters the entire quarter and at this point, I'm hoping we can keep it respectable - though I'd never tell the players that.

 

To start the 4th qtr, we drive into Purdue territory but the drive stalls on penalties. Lockett nails a 49 yd FG. Defenses ruled the 2nd half score-wise, but Purdue answers our FG with only 15 ticks left on the clock.

Trailing by 7, I had Sauter throw the hail mary - and holy cow - Sickles runs under it and races to the end zone to tie the game!! (with the extra point).

I really debated going for 2 - but we tie on the kick. Our team was exhausted and totally spent - momentum alone was not enough as Purdue marches for the score in OT - then stop us on 4 tries.

38-31 final.

 

Post Game analysis

We cover the spread, but moral victories will not set well back home…especially allowing 200 yards on the ground and only rushing for 99 ourselves. Passing wise we out gained them 233-228. We were only able to return one punt all game, and we took it to the barn. 6 penalties is better than most games, but still something to work on.

I threw every RB we had at them, but they kept shutting them down. Hard to depend on a Frosh QB coming back from an injury to carry us but I think he did an admirable job with 3 TD passes. For his efforts, he was named Player of the Game in a losing effort.

Our best receiver (Sickles) let 4 passes get away from him - but he made the big catch late to tie the game. They dominated the line of scrimmage - we had 2 pancakes while they had 7. They had 10 stuffs, we had 4. We did have 3 sacks though - 2 by Redshirt freshman DE Skip Blair and one by Chimura. They held the sack twins of Coleman and Lewis at bay (Coleman had 4 tackles and a hurry, Lewis was a non-factor). Film showed our OL had 10 missed blocking assignments. Our defensive backs were out of position 10 times. Bottom Line: that adds up to a 7 point OT loss.

 

Oklahoma beat Florida 40-14 in the Cotton Bowl, so we should not hang our heads after the game we played.

other bowls of interest: SUGAR BOWL: LSU 52 - Nebraska 14; Rose bowl: Pittsburg stuns USC 34-31, ORANGE BOWL: Texas beat Michigan 30-27\

Virgina Tech wins the national title 41-36 over Ohio State

 

Final top 10: Vtech, Pitt, Texas, LSU, Ohio State, Michgan, Miami, Purdue, Nebraska, Alabama

My Vols drop to #33. for some reason we just did not get a lot of respect all year. With a 10-4 record, I think we deserved a top 25 ranking - even if we had a lot of close game and won ugly sometimes

Auburn and Alabama are in top 15 both polls with 9-3 record.

 

we get a B- rating from the Board. C on expectations which I don't get since they picked us 7th in the SEC (unless its since we were not ranked - and not sure what to do about that)

they take $15,000 away from my budget leaving me with $2,230,000. Fargas (TE) is the only player publically putting on feelers on going Pro. As good as he is, he's not much help in study hall while we're playing games. I'll be looking for a replacement either way,

 

Illinois, Indiana, South Florida, Central Michigan, and New Mexico State inquire on my services. Of course I'm staying (though NMSU is interesting since that is the team I've always used to start the PS video games - loved the challenge of building them up from the WAC cellar to a national power) -

 

I hold a press conference to let everyone know that unlike Lane K, I will not be leaving unfinished business and bolting to another team anytime soon. This rebuilding process has only started and won't end until glory days return to Rocky Top. Tennessee is a dream job for any coach

 

 

ST Coach Keith Larson opted out of his contract to explore better paying offers.

That's fine because I hired Doug Pitt and upgraded our DC to Kwame Koman of Houston. Kwame is more in tune with scouting and developing, plus he's just as good at developing game plans. I expect big things from his tenacious D next season. Now let's get to work on recruiting some more talent to the VOLS

[olympia]

As I begin recruiting, I find out that two players will be transferring:

 

WR Gold and DT Krager both transfer (Memphis and Indy respectively). I liked Krager, but he was in my doghouse for grades at the end of the year. Gold just was never able to crack into the line-up

This leaves me with no one in reserve at DT and a little weak in reserve at WR too. But we are not going to tolerate laziness in the classroom.

Both those areas will be a focus in this year's recruiting. We also need a punter. Other areas - we need to shore up the Linebacker position and add depth to our DB's (especially CB where we graduated 2 and are left with a pair of upcoming Sr's)

 

 

While I put together the Recruiting Class, if anyone has suggestions or other things they'd like to see in the write-ups let me know (PM or Post)

[olympia]

Recruiting results

 

I spent some time scouting and comparing skills to my needs (not just getting the highest rated player on the board). As a result, several 3 star pick-ups end up being graded as 4 stars in the final rating - and one 4-star is upgraded to a 5-star.

 

CB Robb Dodrill, 5-stars

Cypress Creek (Orlando, FL)

National Rank: 86, Regional: 28, Position: 10

 

ILB E.J. Jackson, 4-stars

South Panola (Batesville, MS)

National Rank: 380, Regional: 102, Position: 25

 

FS Keith Ford, 4-stars

Tavares (Tavares, FL)

National Rank: 267, Regional: 66, Position: 19

 

RB Hannibal Semple, 4-stars

Butler (Augusta, GA)

National Rank: 139, Regional: 38, Position: 14

(will be converted to a WR. He has 90 rated speed!!!!!

 

RB Juqua Barry, 4-stars

Everglades (Miramar, FL)

National Rank: 239, Regional: 60, Position: 24

 

WR Tai Youngblood, 4-stars

Southwest Mississippi CC (MS), Springfield, FL, HS - FL

National Rank: 215, Regional: 56, Position: 24

 

ILB Neill Tinoisamoa, 4-stars

Screven County (Sylvania, GA)

National Rank: 541, Regional: 136, Position: 33

 

DT Chris Rodgers, 4-stars

Hollywood Hills (Hollywood, FL)

National Rank: 425, Regional: 113, Position: 26

will be converted to DE

 

DT Robert Burke, 4-stars

Belleview (Belleview, FL)

National Rank: 415, Regional: 109, Position: 24

 

SS Chris Johnson, 4-stars

Brookwood (Snellville, GA)

National Rank: 144, Regional: 39, Position: 14

 

OT Jerald Sweeney, 3-stars

Bremen (Bremen, GA)

National Rank: 612, Regional: 165, Position: 29

 

CB Ken Jennings, 3-stars

Russellville*** (Russellville, KY)

National Rank: 580, Regional: 153, Position: 64

 

P Mack Anderson, 3-stars

Royal Palm Beach (Royal Palm Beach, FL)

National Rank: 963, Regional: 262, Position: 13

 

FB Michael George, 3-stars

Rutherford (Springfield, FL)

National Rank: 561, Regional: 142, Position: 18

 

WR Butch Browning, 3-stars

Crim (Atlanta, GA)

National Rank: 476, Regional: 122, Position: 61

 

DT Chris Hamlin, 3-stars

Tioga (Tioga, LA)

National Rank: 399, Regional: 106, Position: 23

 

QB Walter Holmes, 3-stars

Whitwell (Whitwell, TN)

National Rank: 369, Regional: 98, Position: 25

 

ILB Sammy Ross, 3-stars

Chapel Hill (Douglasville, GA)

National Rank: 299, Regional: 74, Position: 19

will be converted to OLB - a postion we struggle recruiting too

 

K Todd Carter, 3-stars

Dobyns Bennett (Kingsport, TN)

National Rank: 807, Regional: 222, Position: 15

 

C Gary Mehl, 3-stars

Hampton (Hampton, TN)

National Rank: 864, Regional: 232, Position: 35

 

overall, this class in ranked #2 in the nation!!

 

 

Top 10 recruiting classes: GA tech, UT, Purdue, Texas Tech, Minnesota, UGA, Clemson, Oregon State, Florida State, Michigan

 

GA TECH has 7 5-star potential signees, several of those already 3-4 currently. They should be a force in the next couple years playing in the ACC

 

UGA 6th, Florida 11th, Alabama 15th are other top SEC recruiting classes

 

by loading up at ILB and DT, we are able to move a couple of them to other positions (OLB and DE) to shore up those positions. Putting Semple at WR from RB actually boosted his ratings! I'm looking for big things from him as he learns his new position. He and Youngblood will both likely start this year for me. Dodril should win a starting spot at CB as well. I am going to redshirt several of these guys - hope they understand and stick around. For example, will be hard for Barry to see much playing this year behind All-star Bob Johnson at RB. But next year, he should be the starter.

 

3 ESPN Top 150 players, but several good quality and smart football players. Expect several to contribute right away while others will give much needed depth and hope to develop over the next couple years. Solid class which gives us a solid foundation to build on for years to come.

 

This year raided our neighbors - getting 8 players from Florida and 6 from GA. 1 each from LA, MS, and KY. 3 local TN players

5-star: 1

4-star: 9

3-star: 10

each of my 3-stars come in with 4-4.5 potential and some improved to 2.5 after spring training. So our scouting and evaluation looks to have paid off. We'll see how well these diamonds in the rough develop and contribute.

[BHK1978]

While I put together the Recruiting Class, if anyone has suggestions or other things they'd like to see in the write-ups let me know (PM or Post)

 

Hire Dick Murdoch and JYD! Seriously I just wanted to come in here and say that I am enjoying this diary so far. So keep up the good work!

 

Actually I do have a guestion:

 

RB Hannibal Semple, 4-stars

Butler (Augusta, GA)

National Rank: 139, Regional: 38, Position: 14

(will be converted to a WR. He has 90 rated speed!!!!!

 

I do not own the game so I was wondering does the game have stats for hands? What I mean is, do you know how good of a WR he will end up becoming? And is it that easy to convert a RB into a WR.

[olympia]

Hire Dick Murdoch and JYD! Seriously I just wanted to come in here and say that I am enjoying this diary so far. So keep up the good work!

 

Actually I do have a guestion:

 

I do not own the game so I was wondering does the game have stats for hands? What I mean is, do you know how good of a WR he will end up becoming? And is it that easy to convert a RB into a WR.

 

haha, wish I could bring them in. Glad you're enjoying my side hobby.

internet has been out here all week, thus the slow reply.

 

yes, the game rates for Hands and also route running. Semple's hands are almost as good as my other WR's, but his route running leaves a little to be desired (56 compared to 69 for my best WR in that stat. Not sure how that actually compares yet. His scouting report says that "when he reaches the top of his game that he will not drop many passes. he has discipline and body control to develop good route running skills. There will come a day when his speed puts him in an elite class of receivers. While his main job is to catch the ball, he will surprise people with electrifying runs"

I think he can be a game breaker

[olympia]

2008 - New season starts:

 

Wake Forest vs UT

Deacons jump on the Vols who have first game jitters. 75 yrd pass play, then another drive capped by a 5 yard run gives them 14-0 lead. Vols replace Sauter with Little at QB - Rob promptly finds super frosh Tai Youngblood for the 65 yard bomb to close out the quarter and breathe a little life into UT. Defense wakes up too, while Little leads 2 more scoring drives to take HT lead of 21-17. Little finds Charles Hunter for a 73 yrd bomb and Vols go on to rout Wake 42-17 (3 rushing, 3 passing TDs). The new freshmen defensive backs Johnson and Dodril did ok once they settled down (10 tackles between them)> Woodall 7 tackles to lead team, also sack, fumble, and recovery.

 

The Vols pack their bags for an extended road trip - games at Air Force, Arizonia State and SEC West foe Mississippi State. We might find out what this team is made of in the next 3 weeks.

[olympia]

<p>Killer road trip begins - some hightlights:</p><p> </p><p>

<strong><span style="color:#4169E1;">UT at Air Force</span></strong></p><p>

UT travels to Air Force. AF kicks 5 FG's, and we get a lucky run by the FB to win 24-15</p><p> </p><p>

<strong><span style="color:#8B0000;">UT at Arizonia State</span></strong></p><p>

UT travels to Arizona State. Sun Devils moved the ball and controlled the clock, but RB Bob Johnson put the team on his shoulders: 247 yards and 3 TD's while passing game struggled. Defense stepped up and shut out ASU in the 2nd half as Vols win 23-15 in a dramatic road comeback victory.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong><span style="color:#8B0000;">UT at Mississippi State</span></strong></p><p>

SEC schedule begins in dramatic fashion - against #23 Mississippi State - it was an old-fashioned Southern knockdown drag out affair. Neither team could deliver a knockout punch and defenses were stingy (less than 300 yards total offense for each team. UT ran a little better, Miss State passed better against our #10 pass defense in the land). State takes the lead on a 36 yard pass midway thru 4th qtr. Vols answer with a strike from Little to Schoebel to put us ahead for good. Schoebel receives player of the game honors (6 catches for 108 yards) and may have played his way back into the starting line-up for good. Woodall 11 tackles and a sack was the leader of a tough defense. If the Vols could just land on a QB instead of the revolving door, they could be a force this year. The good thing is usually one of the QB's will be on even if the other is having a bad day (more often, one does well first half then falters). Johnson 82 tough rushing yards and a TD helped run out the clock at the end to seal the win.</p><p> </p><p>

A 4 point road win over a ranked opponent should build our confidence and give us some momentum. We need it as #8 Auburn comes the Neyland Stadium next week!</p>

[olympia]

next up: home game vs #8 Auburn -- TN still ranks behind Miss State in the "also getting votes" despite beating them on their home field. Auburn is a much better team and we can only hope to catch a few breaks.

 

it was a battle - our offense just could not move the ball against their tiger tough defense. We end up the game with 41 rushes for 21 net yards (Johnson 18 for 35). Passing wasn't much better 17 for 45, but 270 yards is pretty good. Defense kept us in it early with 5 turnovers which we turned into 5 FG's. In the end, the defense wore down and Auburn scored 3 TD's (one a 97 yard run that was a heartbreaker). We did finally get one in the endzone for a 22-21 lead, but Auburn was able to drive down and kick a FG.

 

We drove and had a good shot when Miller (TE) caught a pass in the open and took off for the endzone but he was hit and fumbled. That sealed the deal. We had one more chance, but we were so beat up - the WR's could not get open and our QB's were sitting ducks for sacks. we were sacked 8 times in the game (-35). We got 4 sacks, 4 ints, and 2 fumbles - but it was not enough for our impotent offense to get anything done against their tough defense. All receivers were equal in their dismal pass catching ability (Schoebel was the favorite target but only came up with 5 of 16 passes thrown his way. - including one for a TD). Tough game to lose, call it a moral victory if you want against a top 10 team. We were in it til the end, and I kept hoping our defense would make one more big play and take it the house to win it for us. We need some answers on offense - even we did just play the top defense in the land - we need to be able to move the ball and let our defense rest (we had TOP 35 to 25 thanks to the early turnovers and our feeble attempts to keep running the ball. Since they seemed focused on the run, I tried deep passes (sack), medium passes (drops), short passes (swarmed). Auburn is dialed in. That stupid lucky 97 yard run was the main difference in the game. They did not have much luck moving the ball against us either: they had 17 first downs to our 14, but 7 on the ground vs our 2. We lose starting OLB Kaufman and back-up OT Abdullah to foot injuries in the game. Neither look serious, but could hamper them for a couple weeks. Once again your final Score Tennessee 22, Auburn 24.

 

UT travels to Arkansas: We made it look easy early - but the game turns into a nightmare!!! We ran the opening Kickoff to the 4 yard-line, but star running back Johnson fumbles the first play and Arkansas gets a good return, then a pass for a quick 7-0 lead. But Vols bounce back as Johnson redeems himself with a 29 scoring run, then Sauter finds Schobel for a 20 yd TD. that's when the wheels fell off. First, Sauter is sacked in the endzone. Then on the next series he goes down with an injury. That's ok - right? Little has been the better QB all year, he can carry us.....except, then he gets hurt too!!! Johnson gets a 51 yard TD scamper - but then yards become very hard to find....so we settle for a couple FG's in the 4th qtr. Defense plays solid the whole day, but gives up a late score. Vols win 30-16, but loss of both scholarship QB's puts us in a precarious situation!!!

 

Redshirt Holmes will be forced into action for sure. I don't think he's ready for SEC caliber defenses just yet. I'm dismayed at how often my QB's get injured and maybe need to recruit more durable guys. Arkansas was held to 67 rushing and 197 passing yards. Vols rack up 200 on both sides (436 total). Both teams lost a fumble, both teams had 2 ints. My line allowed SIX SACKS (no wonder my QB's get killed!). My defense didn't get any - but only allowed 12 of 28 passing (after watching the hogs complete their first 5 passes, I am very pleased with the end result). Maese was one linebacker that got away from me, and he punished us the whole game, getting 11 tackles and 2 sacks. Their DE Lindsey got 3 sacks going against my best OT (Rutledge, who will be surely downgraded after the game. He was green, but bet he drops to yellow). Woodall was once again my star linebacker, 7 tackles, 3 stuffs, and an INT. I thought we had done a better job of hurrying them, but final stats only showed one. Their line held up good with pass protection - it was just the coverage and poor passes that sealed their fate. defense had a light day with only 41 tackles.

 

Doctor reports that Little has a strained quad and is doubtful for the game - he could be pressed into action if necessary. Sauter has a ligament tear in his foot - the injury seems to be progressing well enough that he could play

 

RANKINGS:

at the halfway point: the top 10 has LSU, Boston College, Clemson, USC, Purdue, Oklahoma, Florida State, Texas, Auburn, Georgia

Media has Clemson at #1. Boston 8th, and Miami replaces UGA at #10.

 

Neither poll has us ranked. Media has #32 (behind Alabama who lost to Kent State for crying out loud!)

 

Our defense is #15 in nation (passing D is #6). Total offense is a respecatble 42nd, 5th in rushing)

 

Clemson and BC will clash this week in the spotlight game - Vegas calls it EVEN despite being played at Death Valley (and home team Clemson is ranked #1). The big SEC game is #13 Georgia at #7 Auburn. UT hosts UK - despite a large advantage in offense and defense, the clouds around the QB situation only makes us a 3 pt favorites against the 2-2 Cats.

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UT vs UK:

Holmes looks nervous as he starts the game, and he drops the ball. Sauter comes back for the 2nd series but doesn't do any better. UK is stacking the line to stop our runs but our QB's cannot connect. Worst thing that could happen at this early point - UK gets a 87 yard punt return for the early lead. Johnson gets us in FG range to make it 3-7 at end of first qtr. UK was 0-5 passing and had -4 yards rushing. Could only wish to keep that up. No can do - as UK hits a 30 yard pass to start 2nd qtr and go up 3-14. All we can do is muster a couple FG's. By halftime, the stats would suggest a rout. UK has 41 total yards of offense (most coming on 3 short completions at the end of the half). However Vols racked up only 148. 3 of 13 passing, trying to keep it somewhat balanced. Holmes is a bust - even the walkons completed a pass last week. Receivers aren't helping though with several drops.

Nonetheless, the kicker and defense keeps us in the game and we trail 9-14 at halftime.

 

Coach reads the riot act in the lockerroom. Something about a 25 year winning streak against UK who is not having a good season. He points to DE Jim Lewis who is gutting out his injury and still trying to get it done.....during the game he broke a finger and sprained an ankle yet he keeps hobbling out there and making plays. That should inspire some of you guys on offense. A fired up Volunteer team returns to the field! Sauter responds launching a 79 yard bomb to Tai Youngblood. The Vols take their first lead of the game!! Johnson runs over the left guard for the 2 pt conversion and a 3 pt lead. THATS THE WAY TO START THE HALF!! Things don't stay that way as UK answers.

UK leads 21-20 and the Vols get a nice little drive that once again stalls in the red zone. All we need is the FG with 3:25 left in the game....IT IS BLOCKED!!!!! UK gets the ball back and tries to milk the clock. The defense stands tall and gets the ball back with 2:11 left in the game.

 

The fans rise and a loud roar is heard as injured QB Little makes his way onto the field. Little was not supposed to play today, but here he is! He completes a pass to Schobel, then catches the Cats out of position to hit TE Miller for another nice gain of 25 yards. time out. With the ball at the 20, we try the ground game - maybe to set up another winning FG try? Only a yard, then an incomplete pass to stop the clock. Little catches speedster Semple down the sideline....he races 15 yards down to the 5. timeout!! I have 45 seconds and am a nervous wreck.....UK is in the Nickel so we hand to Johnson for 2 yards (only 10 ticks off the clock, so we hurry back into our goal line offense). UK goes 4-4 and looks to stop the pass.....Johnson pounds the middle once again and finds paydirt!!! UT SCORES - in the excitement, they fail the 2 point try. 20 seconds left. After a touchback on the kickoff, UK gets off a couple pass plays - completing one for 19 yards and missing the other. WHAT A HARD FOUGHT GAME against what I consider an inferior opponent. It is a rivalry game and we came into the game with several key injuries. It was the strangest box score I've ever seen with our scoring looking like 3,6,8,9 = 26 points which was just enough. We outgained them 417-172. Special Teams and a makeshift passing game hurt us. Our D came up big at key points. 4 huge sacks (-26 yards). WE didn't get any turnovers though as Kentucky played smart (or conservative as the case maybe). We had a costly fumble that led to one of their scores, gave up a punt return, and had a FG blocked. Johnson receives his 3rd Player of the Game award in a row - 134 yards and a TD (28 carries as I tried to keep him fresh - using Miller and Glosson to lighten his workload a lot. They had 10 carries each, but only 30 yards. Fullbacks had 10 carries between them for 29 yards so that such how poorly the reserve RB's did). Woodall 12 tackles and 2 stuffs. No one else even had 5 tackles. He was a one-man wrecking crew as UK had 41 attempts, Woodall accounted for over a 1/3 of the stops (plus 14 incomplete passes). Youngblood's 96 receiving yards continues to open eyes. The usually dependable Schobel missed 5 passes thrown at him - but he came thru at a critical time. 26-21 win and the game ball goes to Kwame Kome on behalf of his defense

 

in the spotlight games: Auburn 31-20 over UGA. #1 Clemson 19-17 over Boston College. Virginia knocked off #12 Maryland. In Big 10 showdowns, Purdue squashes #23 Wisconsin 59-17. and Ohio State outlasts Iowa 50-40

LB Kaufman, QB Sauter, and WR Talemi are cleared by the medical staff for the next game. Hero QB Little continues to get better, but should rest his quad another week unless needed to pull out another miracle win.

Glosson suffered a bruised kidney in the last game and is doubtful - Johnson may have to carry a bigger part of the load. Jim Lewis with all his banging and scuffs in the UK game has inflammation in the shoulder but should be fine for the next game against Vanderbilt.

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we have a bye week: spotlight games between top 25: #15 Maryland vs #21 Va Tech. #11 Boston vs #12 Miami. #5 Michgan at #7 Purdue. #22 Texas Tech at #20 Colorado. #10 Texas at #13 Nebraska. The "upset watch" is on #24 Iowa as they travel to tough Penn State (4-2 and something to prove)

 

our gutsy performance last week puts us right on the edge of the Top 25 in both polls. Computers put us at #19. After the bye week, we travel to Vandy where we hope to win. But then should be underdogs against Georgia and Florida in a pair of games that should decide who represents the SEC East this year. Auburn and LSU are both unbeaten in the West and are once again the cream of the conference. As we continue to rebuild this program, I hope to be there some day.

Va Tech beat MD 20-10/ BC 23-9 over Miami. Several top 25 showdowns were routs: Purdue 49-21 over Michigan (who only drops a few spots to #9). Colorado 52-3 over TexasTech. Nebraska 44-6 over Texas. Penn State got their upset in a big way 44-22 over Iowa and replaces them in the top 25 poll #4 USC needed 3 overtimes to defeat 3-3 Arizonia, but Pac 10 saw one upset when Stanford knocked off #20 Washington 23-17. SEC saw some wipeouts too as Florida shut out Alabama 44-0 and Auburn 65-0 over South Carolina. with the few upsets, the coaches reward us with a #24 ranking. But with #19 Florida and #14 Georgia looming large, it could be short-lived. But let's take care of Vandy before we worry about either of them.

 

only 3 players hit the dean's bad list as grades slip to 1.95. RB Glosson, Redshirt CB Jennings, and walk-on punter Frances. I'm so happy we haven't had any academic casulties this year and trust these guys can get their grades up with a little extra work. Vandy has 4 guys suspended and UGA 2 (looking ahead to our next 3 games). As a whole, we only have 24 guys with grades LESS than a 3.0! four of those are redshirts this year and struggling around 2.1 - you'd think they'd have time to concentrate on studies since they are not playing.

 

It's Vandy week - but all eyes are on the LSU vs Auburn match-up in the SEC in battle of top 10 teams. #1 Clemson travels to #11 Florida State in what should be another thriller (FSU is a TD favorite at home against the top ranked team). Penn State tests their new ranking against #5 Ohio State. #4 USC travels to#16 Notre Dame

 

Vols win in a romp 38-17 over Vandy despite falling behind 14-0 early (can't believe we gave up a 76 yard bomb on the 2nd play). Little found Hunter for a score to close out the first qtr, then 4 long FG's gave us a 19-14 HT lead. For once it was our depth that helped wear the other team down at the end. 2 more TD passes (60 yard strike to TE Miller by Little. Then Sauter finds Hunter for his 2nd TD reception). I was a little disappointed in the pass defense for the first time all year - maybe taking the 'Dores for granted - giving up 263 thru the air. We matched that though with 269. We dominated the ground game 196-69. Little was impressive once again at QB, completing 9 of 10 for 153 yards and 2 TD's. Sauter 9 of 13 for 116 looked good as well against the lowly Commodores. Johnson carried the ground game with 30 for 168 - and another Player of the Game award. Woodall 9 tackles, 1 sack, 4 stuffs/ The Soph LB is a dominant force that we'll be watching on Sundays very soon. Oft injuried DE Jim Lewis suffered a concussion in the game. WE won't take any chances with him even though his presence would be a big boost against the Gators.

 

In the other spotlight games: LSU outlasts Auburn 52-45 in a shootout. Bengal Tigers jumped out 21-0 and it was 31-27 by halftime. SC upset UGA 35-23. #1 Clemson proves they are by routing the 'Noles in Tallahassee 34-19. (also in ACC, #24 Maryland goes down to defeat 13-10 to NC State). #13 BC loses at home to Wake Forest 24-21, #23 miami lost to GAtech 31-27. Ohio State23-9 winners over Penn State. So Cal went into South Bend and came away with 22-10 win to remain unbeaten.

we are ranked #21 in media poll, #19 in Coaches.

 

Gator Hater week in Knoxville: Florida comes in with the 4th best run defense in the nation - how will they fare against the 5th best running back in the land (in the latest award list)? Florida has a high powered offense (ranked 16th) going against our stingy defense (ranked 4th!). We are solid against both run and pass and this week we will find out what we are made of. Florida leads the SEC in takeaways - and we've had a problem putting the ball on the turf lately. That's something we need to work on this week, or it could be the difference maker.

those results will be up next!

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UT vs FLORIDA: we came in as 1 pt underdogs at home. In the end - it was Florida's defense that won the day (held us to 96 yards rushing) and they picked us apart in the air. Gators win 33-23. we were sacked 4 times, 1 int, 4 fumbles (lost 1) and gave up another punt return for a TD/ Woodall had 9 stops, but no big impact plays. Youngblood's 105 receiving yards was our highlight. Disappointed in all-star TE Miller who missed both passes thrown his way - this was his chance to shine if he wanted to garner some more national attention.

 

in other big games, Nebraska still lays claim to part of the top ranking as they defeat #14 Colorado 41-34. Texas Tech beats #11 Oklahoma 34-20. Both polls leave UT at #22. Media has Nebraska at #1. Coaches pick LSU. With 5 national powers undefeated, it's going to be very fluid at the top of the polls. We need to get focused on #15 Georgia. Jim Lewis says he's ready to go, and doctors hesitate but agree he could play if needed. DT Chimura and WR Schobel are the other casulties that are best held out for the next game.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Top games this week: #2 Clemson hosts #21 NC State. #5 Ohio State puts their unbeaten record on the line as they travel to #6 Purdue (8-1). #1 Nebraska could struggle at 5-4 Oklahoma State. Couple ranked Pac 10 teams are 1 pt favorites on the road, so look for an upset or 2 out west. now, it's #22 Tennessee hosting #15 Georgia. We are 3 pt underdogs, they have the edge in offense, defense, and special teams. But this is a must win game for us if we want to maintain our ranking and have a shot at the SEC East since we are tied with Florida who has a tough game against Ole Miss left on their schedule.

 

UT VS UGA: what a game!!! We've had the Dog's number the last couple years - and jump out to a 27-7 Halftime lead. 2 more FG's make it 33-7 - but then a 69 yard punt return (the 3rd we've given up this year) electrifies the bullpuppies. Our bend but don't break defense allows them to drive twice but settle for FG's (I nicknamed it the Red Carpet Defense). 33-20, it's a 2 score game with 10 minutes on the clock!! Our offense finally settles back down and gets a nice little drive capped off by a 4 yard TD plunge from Miller (2 pts failed), eating up some clock in the process. UGA gets a last minute TD to make the score seem closer that it really was. Final score UT 39 - UGA 27. Our defense came to play - holding them to 74 rushing yards and 197 passing yards (my benchmark has always been 100 rushing and 200 passing, so we met both!). Georgia's junkyard dog defense gapped the middle and held Johnson in check (29 carries for 70 yards. 96 for the team) - they had 10 stuffs as a team!. Sauter came thru with the best game of his young career and was the hero for us this week. In the first half he had TD passes to Schobel (62 yards) and TWO to our TE Miller who came to play today. I can overlook the 3 sacks (since we got 4) and the 2 ints (we snagged 1). Defense caused 5 fumbles and recovered 4 of them!! Rice was on 2 of them. It's the breakdown on special teams that was me worried and I'm not sure how to fix it. Nonetheless, our young team came of age today in a light rain.

 

In other games, Ohio State loses its first game 44-10 at Purdue. Nebraska held on at OKST 30-20. The PAC 10 "upset alerts" were not to be as both won going away. However, Oregon State upset UCLA and will move into the top 25 this week. For our efforts, we move up to #14 in media and #12 in coaches polls. UGA dropped to #22 in both (with a 5-4 record - makes me upset considering what a great record we had last year and could not get ranked)

 

South Carolina is the last game on our schedule. Florida plays Ole Miss next week too. Win and they are SEC east champs, lose and we are (assuming we beat SC).

[olympia]

UT vs South Carolina: 53,606 come out to watch their home team get their butts whipped good by a fired up Volunteer team. Final score UT 41 - South Carolina 16

 

WE rack up 479 total yards of offense. Little proved to he can be a good starting QB 11 of 16 for 216 yards (2 TD's), but Sauter is still right there with him 9 of 15 for 118 yards and 3 TD's/ Frosh WR Youngblood caught 5 passes for 89 yards, 2 TD's (one 64 yard bomb) was named player of the game. Converted WR Semple had 5 catches for 118 yards, 1 for a TD> Hunter also 5 catches, 59 yards, 2 TD's. RB Johnson 23 carries for 105 yards also had a good game. Meanwhile, our stellar defense holds USCjr to 213 yards TOTAL offense (83 on ground, 130 in the air). Thomas and Woodall 8 tackles each led the way. All in all, very pleased with this big road win.

 

But across the stateline, Florida routs Ole Miss 49-9 and sews up first place in the SEC east. In other big games, Kansas State knocks off #1 Nebraska 13-12. The only remaining undefeated teams are LSU, USC, and Clemson

Preseason favorite Georgia loses again - 45-35 to Alabama. They drop to 5-5 and finally fall from the Top 25 polls.

 

Volunteer Award finalists: TE Miller, ILB Woodall, Kicker Lockett, And I am in running for Coach of year - lot of top names and schools in the running for it.

 

Rivalry weeks:

#7 Auburn wins the annual Iron Bowl over rival Alabama 24-12. Miss State upsets #24 Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl 25-24. In other top 25 rivalry games: #8 Michigan 32-12 over #6 Ohio State. Oklahoma State upsets #11 Oklahoma 21-17. #22 Texas A&M beats #10 Texas 42-21, #3 USC outlasts cross-town rival UCLA 40-31.

next week Clemson puts their dreams of a national title on the line against in-state rival South Carolina. #8 Florida vs #14 Florida State, #9 Colorado vs #20 Col. State. And #13 Notre Dame vs #23 Boston College.....

wild games as FSU scores 21 4th quarter points to defeat Florida 52-48!!! (the final score, a 70 yard TD pass with 28 seconds left in the game! The other 2 were 60+ yard passes as well. Wow!) Clemson and Notre Dame win in routs. Colorado holds off a late rally to win 34-27 over Col. State.

 

Next a report on the Awards, the SEC Championship game between LSU and Florida, plus where will we go bowling>

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Heisman goes to Joe Harrison, QB of Purdue. 3853 yards, 29 TD's, only 6 ints. 65.1% completions. We faced him in the bowl game last year. Funny part is he does not make first team all-american (or all Big 10!)

Auburn's Julius Smith rushed for 1742 yards and 19 TD's to win the Doak Walker award

 

Horace Crumpler the aptly named DE from Colorado wins the Disrupter award. 38 tackles, 10 sacks, 10 stuffs. 13 hurries and 5 deflected passes. He recovered 1 fumble and ran it back for a TD. More on him later!

 

All-Americans

Ralph Malen of Iowa gets first team QB over the Heisman trophy winner. Ralph threw for 3586 yards and 34 TD's. Joe Harrison is 2nd team. Ray Dudley of UNC is 3rd team

 

No Vols win All-American honors. Auburn scores 3 first team picks. Florida, Ole Miss, and Kentucky rack up a couple 2nd/3rd team picks

 

We didn't get much respect in all SEC honors either. Harry Thomas wins 2nd team fullback (despite having twice as many yards as the first team pick)> TE Lamar Miller 2nd team. David Woodall, 2nd team at LB. 3rd team: Kicker Ed Locket, and DE Vinnis Rice. Though I might have expected more of our defensive players to be named, Woodall was our star and we played good team defense rather than several standouts. That helped us overcome all the injuries

Speaking of team stats>

We end up #43 total offense. (68th passing, 21st rushing) We were 3rd in total defense 295 yards a game (Utah 264, VA Tech 276). We were 5th against the pass (199) and 16th against the rush (96). Very impressive. #31 in turnover margin (24th in takeaways, just threw too many int's with the young QB's). Defense allowed less than 20 points a game which kept our sputtering offense alive and they came thru with almost 30 points a game.

 

in the SEC championship, LSU was only a 2 point favorite against Florida. They are both evenly matched, but Gators have a slight edge on defense. LSU remains undefeated 23-9.

 

the other undefeated team Clemson played Va Tech for the ACC title. Hokies spring the upset 33-26!!! 10-1 Nebraska beat 8-4 Texas for Big 12 title. Tulane beat Memphis and Western Michigan over Bowling Green

Tennessee gets invited to Dallas to face #7 Colorado. Orlando sees #8 Auburn vs #12 Ohio State. Tampa sees #20 Florida vs unranked Penn State

National title game in Orange Bowl has LSU vs USC. Rose Bowl is screwed up as 2 Big 10 teams clash: #5 Purdue vs #14 Michigan. #3 Nebraska vs #9 Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl. Sugar Bowl #10 Va Tech vs unranked Pittsburgh

 

Bowls don't start too well for the SEC as UK (#11 FSU), Miss State (#14 OK) and #19 Ole Miss (Michigan State) all go down in defeat. #15 Texas Tech got their butts handed to them by Washington State 49-6 in San Diego. Texas squeaked by Minnesota 19-12 in a battle of FG's (and one TD).

 

Cotton Bowl results are next - we will be major underdogs going against the Big 12 offensive and defensive players of the year! Can we neutralize the might Crumpler?

[olympia]

Cotton Bowl

 

Cotton Bowl -- #7 Colorado vs #13 Tennessee.

Can our defense stop their high-powered offense led by Big 12 POY QB Tommy McClendon? Will we be able to get anything going against their defense anchored by National DPOY Horace Crumpler?

 

68,252 attend. To say it was a defensive struggle could be an understatement. WE kept getting good field position due to turnovers, but could not move the ball until the end of the 2nd qtr and Locket gives us a 3-0 Halftime lead.

The defense holds the Buffs on their first possession to start the half and they pin us deep....however, Big Bob Johnson breaks a 77 yard TD run to put us up 10-0. The way the defenses have been playing, that is a big mountain for Colorado to climb (no pun intended). And it proves to be the case as neither team scores again until the final minute. Against our tiring heroic defense, Peerless Jones catches a 45 yard pass to break the shut-out. We recover the onsides kick and are able to run out the final 33 seconds.

Vols win 10-7

 

We had 486 yards to their 289. 257 rushing to 104. Passing fairly even 179-185. Sauter was 10 of 11 (130 yards) while Little struggled a bit and was sacked twice (8 of 16 for only 49 yards). Our defense racked up 6 sacks, a fumble recovery and 3 ints. Woodall had 9 tackles. Lewis and Hamlin 2 sacks apiece. Bacon had 2 ints. Johnson the other. Star of the game goes to Bob Johnson, 23 carries for 171 yards and the key TD. Their star Crumpler was pretty much a non-factor - only 3 tackles. WR Peerless Jones picked us apart for 100 rec yards and Byrd rushed for 93 yards.

This was a huge victory for the program, beating a top 10 team.

 

Meanwile, Auburn lost to Ohio State and Florida crushed Penn State.

USC beats LSU 35-32 to win the national title. Notre Dame 23-9 winner over Nebraska. Va Tech routed Pitt as expected. Purdue beat Michigan 23-10 in the Rose Bowl with its lowest tv ratings ever.

Final Polls: USC, Purdue, Clemson, Ohio State, LSU, Nebraska, #7Tennessee, Colorado, Auburn, Notre Dame, Va Tech, FSU, Michigan, Oregon State, Oklahoma.

 

Georgia with a 5-6 record still got votes believe or it not in the top 25 ballots (5) UT finished 11th in coaches' poll

 

We got A ratings for everything except Talent, which was B. Overall rating was A+. Experts predict we will fall short of winning SEC, but Alumni expect at least a top 12 ranking next year.

Alabama is among the schools who inquire about my services. Others of note include Tulsa, Boise State, MTSU, UNC, Maryland, Arizonia State. However, once again we have not finished the work we started here and decline.

 

UAB hires UCLA asst Jamal Hunter. Duke fires their coach and brings in Walter Neighbors (who was not employeed)

Our budget increases by $145,000 - a sizeable jump (and offsets the $15K we lost last year)

Special Teams coach Doug Pruitt announced he was leaving - with all the punt returns we gave up, he won't be missed. We signed Kevin Larson from Vanderbilt to replace him. Average at development but very good game planner.

Only 2 players announce they wish to transfer after being redshirted. Back-up K Todd Carter and LB EJ Jackson. Carter can be replaced, but hate to lose Jackson as he would be Woodall's key back-up this year.

Carter leaves for Marshal. Jackson heads to Texas A&M. We did not pursue any transfers as they all had low interest.

 

Now it's back to the dusty Recruiting Trails!!

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Final tally of recruits:

 

CB Derrick Alexander, 5-stars

Immokalee (Immokalee, FL)

National Rank: 13, Regional: 6, Position: 1

signed in week 11 as our first major signee. then a dry well until week 14 when 6 guys signed and the flood gates opened for the rest of the season

 

RB Max Malinchak, 4-stars

South Fulton (South Fulton, TN)

National Rank: 192, Regional: 44, Position: 22

 

DT Brad Carroll, 4-stars

Darlington (Rome, GA)

National Rank: 221, Regional: 49, Position: 19

 

TE Freddie Leo, 4-stars

Pickens County (Reform, AL)

National Rank: 235, Regional: 55, Position: 9

 

OLB Tommy Kemp, 4-stars

Memphis University (Memphis, TN)

National Rank: 329, Regional: 73, Position: 19

 

CB Todd Wright, 4-stars

Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville, TN)

National Rank: 115, Regional: 27, Position: 7

 

K Courtney Johnson, 4-stars

Mount Olive (Mount Olive, MS)

National Rank: 233, Regional: 54, Position: 7

 

DT Jack Abraham, 4-stars

Alexander (Douglasville, GA)

National Rank: 126, Regional: 30, Position: 12

 

ILB Steve Cercone, 4-stars

Ripley (Ripley, TN)

National Rank: 180, Regional: 40, Position: 10

 

DT Jeff Burgess, 4-stars

Mainland (Daytona Beach, FL)

National Rank: 415, Regional: 93, Position: 33

 

FB Charles Scott, 4-stars

Ogemaw Heights (West Branch, MI)

National Rank: 347, Regional: 65, Position: 13

 

QB Raymond Anderson, 4-stars

Kalamazoo Christian (Kalamazoo, MI)

National Rank: 399, Regional: 72, Position: 29

 

C Max Young, 3-stars

Portland (Portland, TN)

National Rank: 184, Regional: 41, Position: 10

 

OG Obafemi Hill, 3-stars

Hudson (Hudson, OH)

National Rank: 810, Regional: 147, Position: 43

 

DE Tank Eason, 3-stars

Raleigh Egypt (Memphis, TN)

National Rank: 980, Regional: 242, Position: 67

 

OT Alex Spilis, 2-stars

Warner Christian Academy (South Daytona, FL)

National Rank: 1052, Regional: 260, Position: 66

[olympia]

this stacks up as the #6 recruiting class (not bad following last year's #2 class - not much in the way of 5-stars, but mostly solid players).

 

the classes went to:

Nebraska (six 5-stars)

Maryland (five 5-stars)

Va Tech

Michigan

Missouri

UT Vols

Minnesota

Auburn

Colorado

Washington State

 

Elsewhere in the SEC

LSU 11, Florida 12, Bama 45, Georgia 33, MS State 23, Ole Miss 42, So Carolina 54, Ark 70th, UK 53, Vandy 93rd

 

We did it mostly on local in-state guys this year (6 from TN). We dipped into Florida for 3 and GA for 2. Went north for 3 players, 2 out of Michigan and 1 from Ohio. Then 1 from Alabama and Mississippi..

 

two guys that I chased very hard ended up going to LSU

Chesson (#1 RB out of GA) ends up 4.5 of 5 at RB for the Bengal Tigers, they also stole Han**** at LB who is 2.5 of 5 (four 5-stars overall)

 

we will start the year ranked #27 (#22 in coaches' poll)

Top 10 has Texas, Ok, Miami, Nebraska, Michigan, FSU, Purdue, USC, Florida, Clemson. WOW, Big 12 with 3 of top 4 teams. SEC has 7 top 25 teams

[olympia]

First game of the new season:

 

Tennessee vs Virginia

UT 20-16 winner over Virginia. Let's just hope it was a case of first game jitters. 8 penalties for 73 yards, 2 ints, 2 lost fumbles - several injures AGAIN, QB Sauter goes down with a skull fracture forcing true freshman Anderson into the game. We outgain them 471-351, but that is little consolation against a team we should beat by 2 TD's instead of a nail-biting finish. Our 2 Jr's QB's were a combined 16 of 28 passing for 257. Freshman Anderson 3-3 for 30 yards. If not for Orduna's 77 TD catch to answer their score in the 3rd QTR, this could have been a tough loss. It was running back by committee, trying to find someone to take charge. But aside from a couple big runs, we failed to move the ball. Line held up pretty good - it is the best offensive line we've had here in Knoxville in quite some time. They need to step up and enforce their will on other teams (cannot afford 8 missed blocks and 3 holding penalties again). Defensively, Woodall was once again a standout with 10 tackles. Lewis and Thomas were in the backfield all day, 4 hurries and 2 sacks. Ford made a TD saving tackle, forcing a fumble on the 1-yard line (a game saving play as it turns out). So we have some heroes, but we also have a ton of work to do before Army comes to town.

 

Notre Dame wins at USC 22-18 in the spotlight game of the week

[Neil_1113]

I just read through your play, and I must say I'm impressed! Haha I'm heading on over to Tennessee and starting my new diary there, which you're more then invited to check it out! Although it's more on the focus of a single kid, making his dream come true... so to speak. I just finished the training camp write up and am now starting the season, though this isn't mean to be a plug on my diary. I'm truly looking forward to reading more of yours rather or not you choose to look at mine, so don't feel obligated too.

 

But regarding your team, why do you think you're losing so many turnovers? Gratned, your stater QB went out early in the game but even so... 2 lost fumbles? It seems like you're lucky it didn't turn into an upset! I wonder how Anderson is going to do next week, or is Sauter able to play? I'm rooting for you guys against Army!

[olympia]

why do you think you're losing so many turnovers? Gratned, your stater QB went out early in the game but even so... 2 lost fumbles? It seems like you're lucky it didn't turn into an upset! I wonder how Anderson is going to do next week, or is Sauter able to play? I'm rooting for you guys against Army

 

I'm enjoying your diary so far and look forward to more. Need some positive distractions this year with the real Vols in bigtime rebuilding.

I'm not sure why we always have so many turnovers. Maybe it's youth and inexperience. injuries have killed me every year and my offensive line play can be sporadic. I recruit as many as I can, but they have just not developed like I would want them to. Just have to keep building up the depth for the inevitable injury bug. As for Army -- well IT"S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE.....

 

but first a look at the previous week (we had a BYE)

Notre Dame follows up their huge win last week by losing to Michigan State 31-29. 3 big games in SEC Miami beats LSU 33-26, UCLA beats Alabama 26-24. But Mississippi State beats Ohio State 27-24 In academic news, Starting freshman CB Alexander failed to keep up with his studies and will be sitting on the bench beside DE Burgess. Couple other players came close to failing as well - tough to use up all my extra tutors in the first week of the season, but maybe these will get it. They are students first - and since they can't see that, I'll just have to remind them that if they want to be athletes here, they will have to make the grades. now on to our game...

 

Tennessee vs Army

first qtr is scoreless, but VOLS move the ball to the one yard line. 4th and goal from the one and movement on the line makes the decision easier - FG for 3. We tack on another FG --Three defensive holding penalties have kept the defense on the field longer than they needed to be. Then a roughing the passer penalty gives the Cadets new life before the half, puts them in position to kick a FG making the HT score 6-3. UT starts an impressive drive to open the 2nd half, but a holding penalty stalls the drive and we kick our 3rd FG of the game. We go into the 4th qtr in this battle of FG's leading 15-9 - much too close for comfort. You'd think my "powerful" line could wear down their defense by now to where we have more holes for the runs instead of holds and false starts. Another FG makes it 18-9 and a little breathing room -- with under a minute to go our Defense holds Army deep in our territory, they go for it on 4th and 27 and fail. 3 plays later, Miller runs it in for a "meaningless" TD. However, Army runs the ensuing kick-off back to the FOUR YARD LINE! With 8 seconds to go, we are able to tackle their receiver in open field and time expires.

Final Score UT wins 25-9. Player of game with 6 FG's is our kicker Lockett. we outgain them 423 to 171 (164-3 on the ground). We threw passes to 9 different receivers and tried running with 8 different guys - the offense just sputters in the Orange Zone (maybe something to do with the O-Line missing 6 blocks). That's something we have to get better at. We can't just sit back and hope to reel off a big play - we need to score once we get inside the 20. Our defense played lights out - 5 sacks, 6 stuffs, a couple hurries, and 3 ints. QB's went 21 of 32 passing for 259 yards. Army was able to keep everything in front of them and prevent the big play. Frosh QB Anderson was 5 of 7 (only misses were a couple of hail mary's at the end of first half). He's been impressive in relief of Sauter who's out with a skull fracture (here we go again!!). Not that the starter Little is doing poorly, but he is also injury prone so it's good to give Anderson some experience now. I think the youngster from Michigan will be a future star if he stays healthy. Just like Tyler Bray (from the real-life UT), he needs to gain some experience and confidence - and not be thrown to the wolves.

 

during our next open date, Florida beats #13 Auburn 34-20 and leaps over 7 other teams to become the new #1 team in the land. Clemson, Texas, Michigan, Purdue, Miami all remain undefeated The media has Vandy ranked 24th and we're unranked - behind a 1 loss Alabama team. The way our offense struggles lends itself to this disrespect. We just have to keep taking care of business, and improve every week. South Carolina is up next.

[Neil_1113]

<p>Man Lockett was a lifesaver for you, wasn't he? It seems like not being able to capitalize in the end zone is a punishment for having new kids as your starting O. Though, I could've read wrong. You might not have it a newly based squad.</p><p> </p><p>

Your defense also looks like it might have been your saving grace this game as well. Though I must ask, it looks like Anderson is doing better then Little is currently, why not just let Anderson start? And with so many people running and catching on your team, do you not have any red shirted guys?</p>