Tennessee didn't look like a team on the verge of losing, even when it was losing.

Never mind that the third quarter ended with Notre Dame ahead by a point. Or that UT was down to third-string quarterback Rick Clausen.

The sights and sounds at Neyland Stadium on Saturday evening suggested a comeback was in the works. Why wouldn't they?

This team's bleakest moments have so often turned Big Orange bright.

Florida had a victory in hand until the Vols wrested it away on the last play. Ole Miss had the lead, the momentum and a home-field crowd behind it when the Vols rallied to win in the fourth quarter.

And when a conference championship seemed out of the question after a 34-10 loss to Auburn, UT took control of the SEC East a week later with a 19-14 victory against Georgia at Sanford Stadium.

So what was one more comeback?

Answer: Too much to ask.

Notre Dame might not have UT's talent, speed or national ranking. But in the fourth quarter, the Fighting Irish surpassed the Vols' intensity and resourcefulness. That was evident when they stopped the Vols on fourth-and-1 at the Notre Dame 34 and evident again when they drove 43 yards in 11 plays for a 39-yard field goal - the final points in a 17-13 victory.

The outcome had nothing to do with the "luck of the Irish." It had everything to do with a team that believed in itself as much as the Vols did.

The Irish did what Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama couldn't against UT. They capitalized on every opportunity and didn't falter when the Vols made their finishing kick.

Could Notre Dame have beaten the Vols if starting quarterback Erik Ainge hadn't suffered a separated right shoulder on the last play of the first half? Maybe not.

But that question is no more relevant than this one: Could the Vols have beaten Alabama if Tide quarterback Brodie Croyle hadn't been injured?

Even with a healthy Ainge, UT's offense was anything but robust. You could see the difference in speed between UT's wide receivers and Notre Dame's defensive backs. You could see the difference in speed when UT running back Cedric Houston turned a screen pass into a 56-yard touchdown.

But UT couldn't exploit that advantage often enough - no matter how hard it tried. In fact, it tried too hard.

The Vols were on their own 32-yard line with less than 25 seconds to play in the first half when center Chuck Prugh snapped the ball to Ainge in a shotgun formation. Ainge bobbled the low snap, then was sacked and injured.

Were the Vols too greedy? You bet.

Was it a boneheaded call? Without a doubt.

But you could have said the same thing about UT's last possession of the first half against South Carolina. Instead of running out the clock and playing it safe, the Vols gambled on a third-down pass with under a minute to play. All it got them was a 55-yard completion that turned the game around.

Offensive coordinator Randy Sanders believed the Vols also could overcome time and distance against the Irish. Head coach Phillip Fulmer signed off on the call.

The most disastrous play of the season was good to go.

UT still had the time and talent to rebound from a bad call and a bad injury. It also had the track record. In the last two years, the Vols have been both good and lucky in games like this one. So the players and fans had every reason to believe they could do it again.

Everyone was convinced except the Irish.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.