This is the last of a four-part series on the top off-season questions leading into the 2005 football season for the University of Tennessee.

No. 1. How will this team handle sky-high expectations?

There have been just two teams in the Phillip Fulmer era that have created as much of a buzz as the 2005 unit.

In 1997, UT seemed poised for a championship run with Peyton Manning at the helm. The Vols finished 11-2 and got hammered by co-national champ Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. In 1999, the Vols returned most of a 13-0 national championship team. Then, individualism proved to be the culprit behind a 9-3 season.

Fulmer’s best coaching jobs seem to have come in underdog roles whereas UT has fallen short when they’ve faced high expectations. With so much on the line in 2005, will UT coaches show underdog aggressiveness or more of a leader’s mentality?

Team chemistry is something that can’t be truly measured until the 2005 Vols suffer their first setback of the season. Will there be finger pointing? Will UT’s leadership quickly right the ship?

Fulmer has seen how not to handle such issues. He admitted his mistakes after the 1999 season, saying he allowed players to "think about the name on their jersey instead of the T on their helmet." This year’s team has more than its fair share of young stars ready to make a name for themselves. Will they continue to put team first?

Fulmer and his team’s inner leadership have done a better job of handling rough spots lately. The quarterback situation never blew up as it could have last season and the Vols bounced back after a heart- (and bone-) breaking loss to Notre Dame in which starting quarterback Erik Ainge was lost for the season.

Fulmer already has had plenty of off-season tests this year. Eleven UT players have been arrested or issued a citation in the past 14 months. It will be up to UT’s captains to make sure younger players walk the straight and narrow. UT’s six captains this season seem to be a strong group.

Fulmer learned the importance of such leadership after the 2002 season when only three players were named captains because the distinction was limited to seniors. Despite high expectations, that team limped to a 8-5 record.

Since then, UT hasn’t been hesitated to name juniors as captains. That gave 2005 captains Parys Haralson and Jason Allen a head start after serving as captains last season during their junior years. This year, another junior was added to the ranks. Rob Smith is one of the most well-respected and toughest players on the team.

Quarterback Rick Clausen also was named a captain after being the ultimate team player last season. Two intense linemen, Cody Douglas and Jesse Mahelona, round out the strong group of leaders.

Prediction: On paper, this team is one of the most talented, deepest teams in the nation, and in Fulmer’s tenure. The schedule doesn’t do UT any favors. Problems at center and safety will cost this team a game somewhere. 11-1, SEC champions.