Body of work: Is it Ainge or Clausen at QB?

If Tennessee's on-going quarterback battle lasts much longer, Erik Ainge and Rick Clausen can settle things the old fashioned way.

"We'll probably just throw them on a table and let them arm wrestle," UT's offensive coordinator said Wednesday.

He laughed when he said it, but this is quickly becoming one of those gut-wrenching decisions coaches annually dread.

Ainge and Clausen are running neck and neck for starter duties.

The closer it gets to the season opener with UAB - now 16 days away on Sept. 3 - the more urgency is felt to name a starter and get your first-string man a majority of the reps with the starters.

"It's going to be tough," Sanders said. "They're like my children. I love both of them. When the time comes, I'm going to be tickled to death for one of them and sad for the other one.

"Choosing one over the other is not going to be an easy thing."

It's also nothing new for Sanders or this coaching staff.

All Sanders had to do was look back to the 2000 season. Sevier County native Joey Mathews was named the starter for the season opener, only to be replaced by A.J. Suggs in game two. Suggs was later pulled in favor of a freshman named Casey Clausen.

"That's the hardest part about coaching from an emotional standpoint," Sanders said. "It's not the hours you put in, or the criticism in the paper or on the radio, the hardest part is sitting down with someone you really like and saying we're going in a different direction.

"You have to be honest with them because you know how much that hurts every competitor who wants to play."

Ainge and Clausen aren't making it any easier. They both look good.

At Saturday's scrimmage, Clausen completed 10 of 13 for 159 yards and two TDs. Ainge was 11 of 17 for 129 yard and one score.

"They graded out a little lower than they expected, but it was higher than a lot of first-scrimmage grades for quarterbacks," Sanders said. "There was a two-percent difference."

The Vols have another scrimmage set for Saturday night.

It's another opportunity for one or the other of the QBs to earn some separation. Sanders, however, doesn't anticipate any major shift over the weekend.

"The way these guys are going, I don't think we'll have any better idea after Saturday," he said. "They're both getting better and they're both doing a lot of good things.

"They're both doing some things that still need to be improved. I'd be shocked if one of them just went out and did that much better than the other one on Saturday."

Ainge earned a 135.89 efficiency rating a year ago as a true freshman. He passed for 1,452 yards and 17 touchdowns before suffering a separated shoulder on the final play of the first half against Notre Dame.

Clausen came to the rescue down the stretch, earning a 130.23 efficiency rating with 949 yards passing and eight TDs.

Ainge has more arm strength and is 80 to 85 percent ahead of where he was a year ago, according to Sanders. Clausen has a great feel for the game, sees the field and has had a strong fall.

UT coach Phillip Fulmer said there's still plenty of time to make a decision. A two-quarterback system hasn't been ruled out, but Fulmer said it's too early to think in that direction.

"The whole situation is a little old hat for the team and it's old hat for us," Sanders said. "It doesn't make it any easier, but we've done it before.

"Last year, rotating the two guys (Ainge and departed Brent Schaeffer) and then going through three quarterbacks during the season, I don't think our offense really cares right now. They're used to different guys being in the huddle and calling plays at the line of scrimmage."

But Sanders knows it does matter to Ainge and Clausen.

"Whether they're both playing or not," Sanders said, "getting your name called out over the loudspeaker still means something to the guys even if it doesn't matter that much in the coaches' eyes."