Another Vol giveaway, 14-12

As this scenario plays out week after week, Tennessee fans are no longer is shock, rather we are numb. .....Yes, Tennessee gave another game away by fumbling the ball inside their own 5 year line. This one came at the 3, on a botched handoff from QB Jonathan Crompton to RB Arian Foster. Had it not been for this fumble which was ponced on in the end zone by defensive tackle Jake Ricks for an Auburn touchdown, Tennessee would have won the game, instead of loosing 14-12. Perhaps this Tennessee team should consider punting on first down inside the 5.

It was a traditional SEC defensive struggle. Very physical, with both defenses playing very well. Hand it to Auburn. When they needed a critical stop, they usually got it. Auburn held Tennessee to only 191 yards of total offense. Auburn had only 221. The Tennessee punting was excellent in the second half, resulting in Auburn starting from deep in their own territory most of the time.

The Tennessee offense again sputtered throughout the game. What few drives the Vols were able to mount usually came to an end with questionable calls such as long passes on 3rd and short. QB Jonathan Compton was able to keep a couple of drives going by scrambling for first downs when his receivers were covered, but was unable to pass effectively. Credit part of that to the Auburn defense and part to bad decisions and poor throws.

The Auburn fans appeared disappointed in their teams offensive performance, at times booing, perhaps failing to fully appreciate the defensive efforts of the Vols. The biggest cheers came when Auburn inserted QB Kodi Burns late in the first half and again near the end of the game.
Burns was able to scramble effectively and complete some critical passes in the first half, but could not move the ball late in the game, except for a critical third down pass for a first down which allowed Auburn to run out the clock.

For Tennessee fans, perhaps the highlight of the day was the presence of Peyton Manning on
the Tennessee sideline. Auburn fans enjoyed seeing him as well. We missed out favorite song, "Rock Top" which was heard very few times.

Looking ahead, without drastic improvement in the offense, the Vols will be fortunate to come away with a 6 and 6 season. Next weeks game at home against Northern Illinois will likely result in many of the normally sold out 106,000 plus seats in Neyland Stadium being vacant, as UT fans show their displeasure.

My family and I appreciated the great atmosphere of Jordan-Hare stadium and the courtesy shown to the considerable number of Tennessee fans by the Auburn crowd. My daugher spent as much time talking to Auburn fans as watching the game. It again made me proud of the SEC, and this part of the country.

Congratulations to Ole Miss and to Alabama. Goes to show that anything can happen on any given Saturday,especially in the SEC.

Thanks.

Sad Start to UT's SEC Season

Hello Tennessee and SEC football fans in the Chattahooche Valley/West Georgia/East Alabama.

In the early minutes yesterdays of the Tennessee - Florida game, I almost thought I had fallen asleep and was having the recurring nighmares of past Vol-Gator games. Memories of the 1998 National Championship, and the solid UT teams under Doug Dickey and Johnny Majors and 1990's under current coach Phillip Fulmer are still engrained in all Tennessee Volunteer fans. Stories of the great Tennessee teams of 1951, 1938, 1939 are remembered with pride by many. Undefeated, untied and unscored upon. This feat by the 1939 Tennessee team will almost certainly never be duplicated.....but enough of that....back to today's reality.

How could this possibly be happening again? Predictions of a decent team with strengths which would allow it to be competetive in the SEC had come into question during the season opener at UCLA, but I preferred to think that the mistakes in that shocking loss would be corrected prior to the Florida game, and that we would be competetive with Florida in Knoxville. Were it not for the mistakes, we would have been.......but, mistakes aside, Florida was the superior team, and probably would have won in a close game......not the emabarassment we witnessed.

Even though the Vols outgained Florida in total yardage, and had an equal number of first downs, they were outplayed and outcoached. The explosive offense we were promised under new offensive coordinator Clawson has not yet materialized. QB Crompton has not yet matured into a QB of the mold of recent Vol QB's. In fairness to him, the numerous tight games UT found themselves in last year did not allow Coach Fulmer to get him enough game experience to step in and replace Eric Ainge without growing pains.

Can Phillip Fullmer dupicate what he has done in past seasons after slow starts, i.e, last years SEC Eastern Division Championship with questionable experience and multiple injuries at several positions? Can he bring UT back to a level of competiviness and respectability UT fans expect and deserve? More parity of recruiting and talent levels among SEC teams and the addition of more excellent coaches in the last few years make it a challenge to avoid the Vols being relegated to middle of the pack in the SEC, without a doubt the strongest and most competetive conference in the country. We will have to wait and see. I believe he can.

Hats off to Florida, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Auburn and Vanderbilit, who continue to make us proud of the SEC. They are playing well and deserve our respect.

True Tennessee and SEC fans will continue to look forward to the exciting matchups next Saturday, including Tennessee at Auburn and Alabama at Georgia. A good Tennessee showing at Auburn is absolutely essential to restoring some level of confidence among Volunteer fans.
Go Vols!