Adams: Mitchell's tackle may have saved season for Vols

Then came all the crucial SEC games against the likes of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, LSU and Arkansas. Below them were games with division rivals Kentucky and Vanderbilt, and a non-conference in-state game with Memphis, which had a recent history of playing its best against the Vols.

Next to last was Marshall, which extended UT in the fourth quarter before losing by 10 points at Neyland Stadium in 2003. And finally, there was Air Force, picked to finish in the bottom half of the WAC. In preseason, it clearly was the least significant opponent on the UT schedule.

But now, when you look back on UT's 9-3 season, the Air Force game was as significant as any it played -- for a couple of reasons.

Never mind how well UT played in routing Cal in the season opener. Whatever momentum and confidence it gained from that victory would have been lost if it hadn't beaten Air Force.

Air Force was one two-point conversion away from winning the game when defensive end Xavier Mitchell brought down halfback Chad Hall behind the line.

"We had to make that stop," UT defensive coordinator John Chavis said after his team's 17-12 victory over Kentucky on Saturday. "Had we not made that stop, there's no telling where this season would have gone. That's probably as big a play as we've made all year."

And it might have saved more than one game.

With that game-saving play in a 31-30 victory, UT did as much to distance itself from the 5-6 season of 2005 team as it did in the 35-18 victory over Cal. By turning back Air Force's upset bid, the Vols proved they could win a close game -- no small accomplishment after losing three games by four points or fewer in the last half of the 2005 season.

But the Air Force game also had negative ramifications. UT lost defensive tackle Justin Harrell to what proved to be a season-ending injury. He tried valiantly to play --basically with one arm -- against Florida before undergoing surgery. Cornerback Inky Johnson also suffered a season-ending injury in the Air Force game.

Other UT defenses might have overcome the losses of a two defensive starters. But this defense didn't have the depth of talent present in Chavis' best defenses.

What it lacked in talent, it sometimes made up for in tenacity. Maybe that's why Chavis found it so appealing.

"It's been one of the most fun teams I've ever been around," he said. "It was fun to see these guys bounce back and perform the way they have performed. Even though the numbers aren't what we're accustomed to seeing from a defensive standpoint, it's still one of the most fun years I've had in coaching."

Certainly the numbers weren't good against Kentucky. But while the Wildcats managed more than 400 yards, they only scored 12 points -- thanks to UT's goal-line stand in the final minutes.

"Last year, we were all embarrassed," Chavis said. "Nobody felt any worse than the staff and players. We could not make a play when we needed to make a play to win a football game. We were not a terrible football team, but we had a terrible season.

"I think our kids are stronger because of that. Last year, the way we were mentally, we couldn't have won this football game."

And it couldn't have won the Air Force game, either.