Tennessee's running backs got a head start on the football season Saturday. They spent the evening watching the USC-Virginia Tech game at assistant coach Trooper Taylor's home.

"My wife cooked for and we just hung out and watched the game," said the first-year UT assistant. "We watched the game and talked about the mistakes that were made."

The players noticed more than the two teams. An SEC officiating crew, headed by Knoxville's Rocky Goode, worked the game.

"Ja'Kouri Williams said, 'that (official) was just in our meeting;' now, he's on TV,' " Taylor said. "They came in to talk to our team about rules."

Taylor said he and the players noticed there was no celebrating after touchdowns in the USC-Virginia Tech game. "The officials have really been harping on that," he said.

Taylor won't have as good a view for the UT-UNLV game Sunday night. He'll be on the field. But that's by choice.

"The first two years (when he was a secondary coach at Baylor, I was on the sideline," said Taylor, who, based on preseason practice, is UT's most emotional coach. "Since then, I've always been on the sideline.

"Being in the box would drive me crazy. I like being a part of the atmosphere. Being around the players is more beneficial to me. I like seeing my guys' eyes and how they look. It's different from being up in the box."

The sideline vantage point isn't a handicap to a running backs coach. He doesn't need to see the whole play.

"I really just need to know how many down linemen and linebackers there were, and who made the tackle," Taylor said. "Whether the safety, linebacker or front guy made the tackle, that tells you a lot of what was going on. You want to know where (the tackler) came from.

"If the end made the tackle and the fullback was assigned to him, then you know who screwed up."