When was the last time you saw a team in Neyland Stadium as overrated as ninth-ranked Cal?

Let's see, uh ... OK, Tennessee last year. But that storyline has been exhausted.

My only criticism of UT fans for chanting "overrated" at the Golden Bears on Saturday night was their timing. In this case, "overrated" was overdue. In fairness to the fans, they had so many other things to shout about, they didn't get around to "overrated" until the fourth quarter of UT's 35-18 victory.

"Overconfident" would have been even more appropriate. I don't think Cal had a clue what it was getting into. Its plan was as flawed as its play.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford's decision to start redshirt sophomore Nate Longshore at quarterback proved to be a huge mistake. Never mind how talented Longshore might be. He hadn't played a half of football since high school. Yet, there he was in his first college road game at Neyland Stadium.

No big deal -- right, Coach.

The mistake was exacerbated by Tedford's delay in replacing Longshore with Joe Ayoob, a more experienced and mobile quarterback. Would Cal have beaten UT with Ayoob starting? No, but the loss would have been less embarrassing.

Cal also misjudged UT's speed.

Tedford was asked via teleconference last week if UT reminded him of any other teams he played.

"They're pretty similar to most teams we play," he said. "There's a lot of speed in the Pac-10 as well. I don't see any noticeable thing that really jumps out and says these guys are different from the people we're used to playing."

You could see it Saturday night. UT was faster almost everywhere.

You saw the difference in speed when UT receivers pulled away from the Cal defensive backs. You saw the difference in speed when UT cornerback Jonathan Wade broke up a deep pass to DeSean Jackson on Cal's second possession.

Wade was beaten initially, and Longshore's pass was on target. Yet UT's cornerback, who also happens to be an All-American sprinter, overtook the receiver and the ball.

You saw the difference in speed when UT running backs turned the corner of Cal's defense. You saw it again when Cal's running backs appeared to be a step away from a big gain, only to have a UT linebacker or defensive back cut them down near the line of scrimmage.

For example, take Justin Forsett's first-down carry on Cal's last possession of the first half. Forsett only had to beat one player for a big gain around left end, but that one player -- safety Demetrice Morley -- tackled him with ease after a 2-yard gain.

Contrast Cal's plan and play with UT's.

I realize how hokey UT's preseason slogan sounded: "Fired up, focused and prepared." But the Vols brought those words to life.

Prepared? It was as though UT knew the Golden Bears better than they knew themselves.

Get Them "Rewrite": Fortunately, I kept my preseason college football magazines, including Athlon's, which ranked Cal's defensive line as the best in the country.

After this weekend, I would take Mississippi State's defensive line over Cal's. And I also would take Mississippi State middle linebacker Quenton Culberson over Cal All-Pac-10 linebacker Desmond Bishop.

Making A Run: UT's performance wasn't the only reason for its fans to be encouraged about the opening weekend. There also was the SEC East competition to consider.

The stats might be more telling than the scores.

UT rushed for 216 yards against Cal. Florida rushed for 143 yards in a 34-7 victory against Southern Mississippi. Georgia rushed for 136 yards in a 48-12 victory against Division I-AA Western Kentucky.

UT's offensive line was questionable in preseason. Yet, it performed better against a stronger opponent than any other offensive line in the SEC East.

QB Issues: Now that Arkansas coach Houston Nutt has figured it out, you wonder if Georgia coach Mark Richt will do the same.

It took one game for Nutt to choose talent over experience. On Sunday, one day after a 50-14 loss to Southern Cal, Nutt named true freshman Mitch Mustain his starting quarterback against Utah State.

Starter Robert Johnson lost his job to Casey Dick after seven games last year. He lost it after one game this season.

Mustain was impressive in a fourth-quarter drive against Southern Cal. Never mind that USC had the game in hand. Mustain demonstrated a deft passing touch and surprising quickness on a 4-yard touchdown run.

Georgia senior Joe Tereshinksi completed seven of 17 passes against Western Kentucky. Did I mention that Western Kentucky is I-AA?

As a pure passer, there's no comparison between Tereshinksi and true freshman Matthew Stafford, who has a much stronger arm and a quicker release. But Stafford has to prove he can manage the offense and adjust to the speed of SEC defenses.

For Georgia's sake, he better prove it fast.

Stafford didn't have any problems on a fourth-quarter drive against Western Kentucky. He ran once for 19 yards and completed three of five passes for 40 yards.

Off And Running: Auburn's Kenny Irons didn't get nearly as much preseason publicity as either Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson or Cal's Marshawn Lynch, but he had the best game of the three star running backs.

Irons rushed for 183 yards on 20 carries in Auburn's 40-14 victory over Washington State.

"He's as good as I've seen, and he was good (Saturday night)," Washington State coach Bill Doba told the Huntsville Times. "There were a lot of times I thought we had him, but he ran right through out arms."

Quite A Switch: Auburn's Will Herring started his first game at linebacker after starting three seasons at safety. He had three tackles, an interception and ran 42 yards on a fake punt.

Quite A Rivalry: After beating Louisiana-Lafayette 45-3, LSU leads their series 21-0. The Ragin' Cajuns have managed only 22 points in the 21 games, or six points fewer than LSU had by halftime.