A win at LSU was sweet. Two halves of good offensive football in one game would be even sweeter as far as Tennessee is concerned.

In three games, the 10th-ranked Vols have been held scoreless in three halves.

Against UAB, a 17-10 season-opening victory, it was the second half as UT held on for dear life.

At Florida, a 16-7 loss, it was again the third and fourth quarters as Tennessee never mounted a serious rally.

Monday at LSU, things were reversed. It was an ugly first half that led to a 21-0 deficit.

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer is just waiting for his team to put together four solid quarters when Ole Miss visits 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

"Our defense has done that consistently," Fulmer said of playing a full 60 minutes. "For our offense, we seem to have come out of our funk that we were in as far as stopping ourselves in the second half of the LSU game."

Is one half of scoring offense enough to carry over and create some momentum against the Rebels?

"I hope it does," Fulmer said. "It's that carry over and good preparation.

"I just think it's one of those things, hopefully, where we just had to get over the hump."

The Vols finally vaulted that hump when they scored 30 points in the second half/overtime victory against LSU.

"The biggest problem we had in the first half was six penalties, dropped three balls, missed a couple of open receivers and three turnovers," UT offensive coordinator Randy Sanders said.

"It wasn't so much what LSU was doing. It was what we were doing to ourselves. We felt like if we could ever stop making mistakes and putting ourselves in bad down-and-distance, we'd be OK."

Mistakes dwindled in the second half.

Confidence gained from the surge against the Tigers could be a huge key according to UT receiver Jayson Swain.

"It's all about confidence," he said. "Knowing that we put up 30 points in the second half. We're capable of doing that and we did it against a good LSU team.

"Now we're confident, so guys can relax and go out and have fun. It'll be easier to make plays."

Defensive back Jason Allen felt the second half in Baton Rouge was the first time all season the entire Tennessee team has clicked.

"Having that emotional high we had in the second half, I feel like that was just a foundation for us," he said. "That let us know what type of team we're capable of having.

"We go out and play like this for four quarters, there's no telling how good we can be or what kind of numbers we can put up."

Hardesty Absent: Tennessee freshman tailback Montario Hardesty was absent from practice but should return today.

"He had a death in the family and went home (Wednesday) night after practice," Fulmer said. "He should be back at noon (today)."

Fulmer hopes Hardesty and Arian Foster are ready to step up and see even more duty as backup to senior Gerald Riggs.

"We can't just continue to lean on one back all the time," Fulmer said. "We just haven't been in a situation to get him (Hardesty) in a whole lot. He did a good job in the (LSU) game.

"I think Arian Foster, the way he has practiced this week, is also read to help us. That would be ideal if we would get three guys in our rotation, Gerald taking the majority and those other guys helping out."

Smith Starting Center: Richie Gandy could see playing time at center, but Fulmer said transplanted guard Rob Smith would most likely start against Ole Miss.

Arron Sears and Cody Douglas are expected to start at guard and Albert Toeiana and Eric Young at tackle.

"But we're pretty flexible in there and we'll do what we need to do," Fulmer said.

Injury Status: Gandy and Smith were listed as probable on Thursday's injury report.

Linebacker Jerod Mayo (knee) and defensive tackle Turk McBride (ankle) were questionable.

Brooks Returns?: Junior linebacker Daniel Brooks is back on UT's dress roster after being suspended for the first three games.

"Daniel's ready to play," Fulmer said.

Whether he will or not is another question.

Fulmer said Brooks could play at linebacker, defensive end, and there has been some thought given to redshirting him this year.