Was it Knute Rockne or was it Adam Sandler (as "Bobby Boucher") who said that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger?

Maybe it was neither. But it's a good week for Tennessee to test that old axiom.

The deflating loss to LSU last Saturday officially killed Tennessee's goal of playing in the SEC championship game.

Barring a wild chain of events, it also unofficially killed hopes of playing in a Bowl Championship Series bowl as an at-large entry for the first time since 1999.

If that weren't enough, Sunday brought news of the post-game arrest of three players. It's now Wednesday morning and that story hasn't gone away yet.

"Yeah, that doesn't do anybody any good,'' UT coach Phillip Fulmer said Tuesday of the timing of the off-the-field antics.

That's a triple-whammy of bad news to digest at one time. And did we mention that the Vols are a pretty banged-up football team at this point?

In short, the 2006 season has been a feel-good story for the first two months. Now it's at an emotional crossroad.

We'll find out Saturday night against Arkansas whether the Vols are expired or inspired.

"Arkansas don't care about us not achieving our goals and being sad,'' said senior receiver Jayson Swain.

"They don't care. We've got to take that approach going in or, if not, we're going to get embarrassed.''

The Vols haven't been embarrassed this season, at least not on the field.

From opening day on, they have done an admirable job of putting the 2005 fiasco in the distance. Losing nail-biters to Florida and LSU is disappointing but it's no shame, given the cards Tennessee is holding.

However, as Swain said, a wounded, distracted, dispirited UT team is capable of getting embarrassed Saturday by an Arkansas outfit with everything to play for yet.

Fulmer and the coaching staff have a sales job this week. So do team leaders like Swain and cornerback Jonathan Wade.

"Things are going to come up,'' said Wade. "You've just got to keep playing, keep going.

"This is a time to refocus.''

Refocusing is inevitably what almost all teams have to do at some point. You set the bar high in August and then watch it lowered by events and failures.

Tennessee is 7-2 with three games to play. It will be favored to extend its 21-game winning streak against Kentucky and start a new one against Vanderbilt.

So let's presume a 10-2 or 9-3 regular season, depending on Arkansas.

While we're presuming, let's book a trip to Tampa and play Penn State or Purdue in the Outback Bowl. I like the Vols in either match.

Bottom line, 11-2 or 10-3, bowl trip to Tampa sounds pretty fair to an outsider.

But, presumptions aside, does it inspire a 20-year old athlete who has been thinking rings?

Hence, the refocusing business. It's a business muddied by the wee-hours arrests and the reaction -- internal and external -- to Fulmer's uneven suspensions: two games for Tom, one game for Dick, half a game for Harry the starter.

"I make judgments on an individual basis,'' Fulmer said, "and typically, there is some history with every kid here.''

Swain said everybody bites the bullet and goes on:

"They know all the work we've been through and all we've been through last year. They've been real remorseful.''

Remorseful is the first stage. Resourceful is the next one.

Saturday will tell if the Vols are up to it -- or if the last few days have sapped them.

"We've still got a lot to look forward to,'' said Fulmer.

He hopes his players are still thinking that way, too.