Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer has heard enough of the questions this season.

"You guys are amazing because if we weren't throwing the ball well, you'd want to know why we're not throwing the ball well," Fulmer said to the assembled media this week.

UT's running attack, or lack thereof, has been a recurring topic on talk shows and message boards. The Vols are averaging 106.2 rushing yards per game this season. If that holds up the last two games, it will be the lowest average since 1964, when the Vols only managed 83.9 yards per game on their way to a 4-5-1 record.

The Vols are in danger of falling under 100 yards per game for just the third time since 1950. UT rushed for 85.4 yards per game in 1958 and finished 4-6.

The No. 22 Vols (7-3, 3-3 SEC) hope to improve their running game against Vanderbilt (1-6, 4-7) on Saturday (TV: WVLT, 12:30 p.m.).

Perhaps UT's coaches should be commended for overcoming the inadequacies of the running game. The Vols can reach 10 wins this season if they beat Vanderbilt and Kentucky and win their bowl game.

In Fulmer's eight 10-win seasons, UT has averaged 173.1 rushing yards per game. In his four 11-win seasons, the Vols have averaged 173.95 yards on the ground per game. In Fulmer's two championship years, the Vols have averaged 181.2 in ground-attack yardage.

The Vols seem to have improved lately, if only modestly. UT's top tailbacks, Montario Hardesty and LaMarcus Coker, ran for 71 yards on 13 carries in the first half in last Saturday's loss to Arkansas. Then, UT fell behind 28-7 and was forced to pass in hopes of catching the Razorbacks.

"I think we've made some progress that way," Fulmer said. "One of the things, we just haven't called the run a tremendous amount this year.

"I think if we really, really focused our attention to it, we can be better."

The Vols have clearly been more of a passing team than a rushing team this season. UT is ranked 11th in the nation in the air and 91st on the ground. Senior left guard David Ligon said the inequity could have contributed to UT's rushing woes.

"We threw the ball more and, game experience-wise, we got more pass protection in, so we developed a lot faster pass protecting than we did run blocking," Ligon said. "Here late in the season, we're finally starting to take those steps, getting better."

"It sucks that we're getting there when we get into Vanderbilt and Kentucky. If we come out and run for 200 yards and throw for 300, then we're not a whole lot better."

Part of the problem may be that "pounding the rock", as Fulmer likes to say, just isn't what it used to be. With the new rules, teams have fewer possessions to wear down defenses. The long runs that used to come late in games might not come at all.

"With the clock, you run out of time," Ligon said. "You have two or three fewer possessions. It's really tough to get that going."

Fulmer maintains that he's not fixated on being a great rushing team. And over his career, he's proved that he can win with either the run or the pass.

"I want to be balanced," Fulmer said. "If you can be balanced and do both, you're very hard to defend."