MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINLMICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINELA popular battle cry around Tennessee football has always been, "They remember what you do in November.''

If the Vols don't take care of business this November, there won't be anything to remember about late December.

Sitting at 3-5 after a 41-21 loss at Notre Dame, Tennessee has three games to play and its back pressed against the bowl-eligibility wall.

The Vols have to beat Memphis (4-4) on Saturday at Neyland Stadium (2 p.m., pay-per-view) and follow up with wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky the next two weeks.

Win out and at 6-5, the Vols would likely play in one of two lower-tier SEC bowl affiliations.

The Independence Bowl is played in Shreveport, La., on Dec. 30, the same day the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl is played in Nashville.

But if UT fails to win all three games, a 16-year bowl streak is over.

"If you look around the country,'' head coach Phillip Fulmer said Sunday night, "we're third in streaks behind Michigan and Florida State.

"That's certainly something we'd like to keep alive. ... I've heard the kids talking about it. They don't want to be the ones that break that streak.''

Tennessee last missed a bowl in 1988. Even a five-game winning streak to end the year wasn't enough to make up for a 0-6 start.

The Vols returned in 1989 to win the Cotton Bowl and finish 11-1. They haven't missed a postseason game since.

The closest call was 1994, when a 1-3 start necessitated a similar predicament to this year. At 3-4, UT ran the table against South Carolina, Memphis, Kentucky and Vanderbilt to get to the Gator Bowl at 7-4.

Fulmer said he doesn't expect the frustration over this year's unexpected collapse to undermine an effort to get bowl-eligible.

"This football team hasn't shown any indication it's ready to roll over and play dead,'' he said. "I fully expect we will go after this thing full force.''

In a scenario no one could have predicted in August, the Vols could end up in a winner-take-all bowl battle with Vanderbilt on Nov. 19.

If Vanderbilt beats Kentucky on Saturday to get to 5-5, and UT beats Memphis, the loser of the Vandy-UT game will be eliminated from bowl consideration.

The Commodores haven't been to a bowl since 1982.

Tennessee would still have to win at Kentucky on Nov. 26 to become eligible.

South Carolina (6-3) became the sixth SEC school to become eligible on Saturday and is certain to take a large following to any bowl game.

Tennessee or Vandy -- or neither -- would be the seventh.

The SEC has an eighth affiliation with the Houston Bowl, but there won't be an eighth league team with six wins.

The Vols have never played in the Music City Bowl, which pairs the SEC with the Big Ten.

Likewise, UT has never played in the Independence Bowl, which includes a Big 12 opponent.

Tough Catches: Asked about a scarcity of his receivers making plays this year, Fulmer pointed back to C.J. Fayton's diving touchdown catch against UAB in the season-opener as an example that has become way too dated.

"I don't think we've done anything spectacular since (then),'' Fulmer said. "We've got to make some plays.''

Robert Meachem had a chance at Notre Dame to come up with a couple of long Erik Ainge passes but didn't.

"He had a couple of deep balls where he was there,'' Fulmer said, "but he's just got to make a play, lay out and catch it or reach out further and catch it.

"There's definitely a couple of plays we should have made.''

Fulmer said various injuries to Meachem, Fayton, Jayson Swain and Bret Smith have been a major factor in the failure to make tough catches.

"If I thought they weren't giving all they've got, they'd be sitting over there with me,'' he said.

"It's been a mess, really.''

Ainge, For Now: Fulmer wouldn't commit Sunday to going exclusively with Ainge at quarterback the rest of the way. Rick Clausen didn't play at Notre Dame.

"We're committed to have the best guy out there who can help us win three games,'' Fulmer said.

"Erik is our guy right now. ... If we need to change, we can do that, too.''

View Up Top: Fulmer anticipates quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders staying in the press box the rest of the season.

"I thought it went fine (at Notre Dame),'' Fulmer said. "David, uh, Randy was really on top of the game and knew exactly what was going on.''

David?

David Cutcliffe was quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 1993-98 and is considered a leading candidate to replace Sanders, who resigned as offensive coordinator last week.

He's No. 1: Memphis brings the nation's top rusher to town in DeAngelo Williams.

Williams averages 184.5 yards per game, 6.8 per carry.

Tennessee has the nation's No. 4 rushing defense and has not allowed a 100-yard rusher all year.