The execution didn't match the expectations Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium. A Tennessee team with best-in-the-USA aspirations barely got the best of Conference USA.

The third-ranked Vols beat arguably the third-best team in C-USA, 17-10. Feel free to hold your applause.

In light of preseason expectations, this qualifies as UT's most disappointing season opener since 1994 when it lost a game and a starting quarterback against UCLA.

The Vols didn't lose a starting quarterback against UAB. They didn't find one, either.

Neither starter Erik Ainge nor backup Rick Clausen distinguished himself against a pass defense that ranked 111th in the country last season. But if you're asking, "Who's the quarterback?" you're missing the point.

The more appropriate question: "Where's the offense?"

You knew where it was in preseason. It was practically in the UT Hall of Fame. Why it was just a matter of time before athletic director Mike Hamilton announced he was retiring the jersey numbers of all 11 offensive starters.

Offensive coordinator Randy Sanders said the starting offense was comparable to the one that won the national championship in 1998. Coach Phillip Fulmer said this could be his best offensive line ever. And practically every coach on the staff said the Vols have never had a better collection of receivers.

I didn't just buy what they were saying. I sold it.

It's not as though I was suckered into a pyramid scheme. I jumped on the bandwagon on the first day of 2005, when the offense was rumbling through the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M.

The Vols piled up 32 first downs and 474 yards in routing the Aggies 38-7. Wouldn't you expect even more against the Blazers, who gave up 45 or more points in three of their last six games in 2004?

Ah yes, expectations.

The Vols lived up to them on their first two possessions, with a 46-yard drive for a field goal, and a 33-yard drive for a touchdown following a UAB fumble.

UT fans were either thinking "runaway" or "run for the roses." But if the run for the roses goes through UAB, shouldn't it be a little smoother?

The Vols' preseason swagger turned to stagger. And their offense was more fizzle than sizzle.

The heralded offensive line started strong and faded fast. Receivers dropped six passes. Ainge looked awful, completing only five of 14 passes and throwing two interceptions; Rick Clausen, who was 17-for-24 but produced only one scoring drive, might have won the job by default.

"We didn't look very fast today," said Sanders in summing up a dreadful afternoon. "We looked fast the first couple of series. Then, it looked like we ran out of gas."

The offense with the rosy preseason glow turned pale in the second half. The Vols didn't score in the last two quarters against UAB, which was hard-pressed to stop Hawaii from scoring every two minutes in its last outing, a 59-40 loss in the Hawaii Bowl.

UAB's defense was a long way from Hawaii on Saturday. And UT's offense was a long way from the preseason when it was touted as having a dominant line and dynamic skill players.

There was no area of dominance against UAB. No position of excellence. No reason to believe this offense is ready for the challenges ahead.

Maybe it was just a bad day at the office. Maybe UAB played its game of the year.

Those explanations hardly seem adequate for an experienced offense supposedly manned by future NFL draft picks. You would think it would break from the gate with a vengeance. Yet it managed its fewest points against a non-BCS conference team since a 17-16 victory over Memphis in 1999. The Vols also scored only 17 points in a four-point loss to Memphis in 1996.

See, it could have been worse. Amidst all the preseason hype and the post-season hopes, UT was at least good enough to win Saturday.

But if your offense is running out of gas after two series in September, how can you expect to make it to the Rose Bowl's national championship game in January?