"It's the end of the world as we know it. And I feel fine." -- REM

Am I the only one surprised by the amount of negativity stirred up by last Saturday's 21-20 loss to Florida?

Sure, many in the Vol Nation had also gone the reactionary route following UT's win over Cal. Preseason predictions of 8-4 and 9-3 were ratcheted up to predictions of 10-2 and 11-1 on govolsxtra.com.

And, yes, on my TV show calls did start to come in regarding SEC Championships. Some on talk radio began to openly wonder if the Vols would jump Ohio State WHEN they both finished undefeated.

But still, I didn't expect the drain to be so forcefully yanked from the Big Orange tub after a 1-point loss to a top-5 team. I didn't think I'd be reading predictions of 7-5 and even 6-6 this week. I didn't think I'd hear as much "fire the coach" talk on local radio.

Many seem to think that this 1-point loss has signaled many terrible things to come.

Like a car swerving on an icy road, the masses' feelings about this season seem to have zipped from one extreme to the other. And that yo-yo syndrome isn't good.

Having to fight endless road construction and traffic jams in a town that isn't the size of Atlanta, Memphis or Nashville? That's depressing.

A disappointing, but close loss in a game in which you were the underdog? That's not depressing. Frustrating maybe, but certainly not cause for canceling the rest of the season.

And I would hope that the majority of Vol fans realize that the truth about this Tennessee team probably lies somewhere between the headiness of 11-1 and the doom and gloom of 6-6. But even if they know it, will those kind of results be acceptable?

"Where do we go from here? Now the night has come." -- Live

All this "the season is over" talk has got to be a little bit worrisome for UT coach Phillip Fulmer. If this is the reaction after a 21-20 loss to a top-5 team, what happens if the Vols drop a game they're supposed to win?

Most level-headed folks have been pointing to an 8-4 or 9-3 season since preseason. CBS analyst Gary Danielson admitted as much at a Knoxville function earlier this week, saying that the Vols should win eight games this year. That's the current talent level.

Will 8-4 or 9-3 be good enough to quiet the loudest critics of Fulmer? No.

Will it be enough to appease the great middle ground of "undecided voters" now weighing Fulmer's coaching tenure? Before the season, I would have thought so.

But after listening to and watching the reaction to the Florida loss, I'm no longer sure if 8-4 or 9-3 will be enough to put behinds on the Neyland Stadium benches in November.

Of course, all of the mourning that's been going on this week could be easily ended with a road upset of Georgia next month or a home win over LSU in November. Inevitably, some fans will even begin talking BCS again (which is still a possibility, if not a likely one).

But a loss to an Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas, Memphis or, dare I say, Marshall and all bets are off. If the Florida reaction is any indication, local police might want to put some extra men on area bridges if the Vols stumble when they're not supposed to.

"If you think a while you will find out that no one in this world of ours is perfect." -- Eminem

Three months ago, if you'd predicted that Tennessee's running game would put up negative numbers against Florida and that the leading weapon for the '06 Vols would have to be quarterback Erik Ainge, you'd probably be wearing a straight-jacket at The Trembling Hills Home for the Very Nervous right now.

As it stands, Ainge has been retooled and reworked by guru David Cutcliffe, and it appears, he will be Option A for the offense the rest of the way.

Has he been perfect? Far from it. But he has played at a high-enough level for the Vols to be 3-0 right now. And anyone putting the blame for last week's loss at the feet of the quarterback might just be looking for validation of the opinion they formed of him last year.

As you read in this column last Saturday, if Tennessee couldn't run the ball, they wouldn't win. Well, they couldn't. And they didn't.

Not many passers could have performed better with a non-existent running game and an offensive line that made, ahem, a couple of blunders on blitz pick-up versus the Gators.

If you're expecting perfection, no more interceptions the rest of the way, no bad decisions, and every open receiver to be found with perfect aerial strikes ... well, your expectations might be set just a tad too high. For Ainge or any other quarterback.

No doubt, Ainge will have to prove today that he can bounce back from a loss. But a quarter of the way through the season, what SEC quarterback would Vol fans rather have under center?

Florida's Chris Leak who pulled a hook-slide 5 yards into a third and 6 run? LSU's JaMarcus Russell or Auburn's Brandon Cox? Ole Miss' Brent Schaeffer who's found that quarterbacking in the SEC (even against Kentucky) is a little tougher than quarterbacking against junior college players?

Admittedly, Kentucky's Andre Woodson has put some very good numbers, but he's not done it against tough competition. Maybe Tennessee should just hire his quarterback coach.

Either way, Ainge is no longer the Vols' No. 1 worry. He's been their No. 1 weapon.