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Tennessee fans Marty Bostrom and his son, Joshua, 11, from Knoxville fire up the Vols against LSU.
Related
- Ask Griff blog: Football future bright despite loss
- Postgame slide show
- Vol Report for Dec. 2 (PDF)
- UT-LSU box score
- Over after turnovers
- Venable: Vols' loss still win for some fans
- Venable: UT fans have competitions of their own
- Hamilton: UT likely headed back to Outback
- Adams: Ending doesn't follow usual script for the season
- Busy defense had to keep up with LSU
- Vols stand behind Ainge
- Perrilloux goes from backup to MVP
ATLANTA - In a season of comebacks, Tennessee needed one more Saturday night in the Georgia Dome. And why would you bet against them?
The Vols came back from a 1-2 start to open the season. They came back from a 59-20 loss to Florida and a 41-17 loss to Alabama.
They came back from a 15-point deficit against Vanderbilt. They came back in overtime to beat South Carolina and Kentucky.
And they came back to win the SEC East when you least expected it.
But after all those comebacks, they came back to earth in the SEC championship game. They couldn't hold a fourth-quarter lead and couldn't capitalize on the opportunities that LSU provided repeatedly in a game that was marked more by effort than aesthetics.
The Vols had been both lucky and opportunistic in the second half of the season. They were neither in the second half of the SEC championship game. Instead, LSU overcame injuries and its self-destructive tendencies for a 21-14 victory.
Never mind that LSU played the entire game without its injured No. 1 quarterback, Matt Flynn. Or that All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey sat out the second half with an injury. Or that the Tigers so often seemed intent on extending UT's inexplicable good fortune.
The Vols simply weren't good enough to beat an LSU team that lost its shot at a national championship eight days earlier in an overtime loss to Arkansas.
In fact, UT was fortunate to be within striking distance at halftime. The Vols led 7-6 despite being outgained 271 yards to 93.
At that point, the game was playing out like so many other UT victories. Forget the yards. The points favored the Vols.
The theme continued in the third quarter when UT freshman safety Eric Berry intercepted a Ryan Perrilloux pass and recovered a fumble.
But after taking a 14-13 lead with 3:09 to play in the third quarter, the Vols stepped out of character. And no one seemed more out of character than senior quarterback Erik Ainge.
Throughout the regular season, Ainge distinguished himself by playing it safe. He threw the ball away, rather than force plays. He played it safe - to a fault sometimes.
This time, he turned reckless in the fourth quarter against one of the nation's best defenses.
His first ill-advised pass, which LSU cornerback Jonathan Zenon returned 18 yards for a touchdown, was the game-deciding score. His second disastrous throw, which linebacker Darry Beckwith intercepted at the LSU 7-yard line, killed UT's final comeback bid.
The loss won't foster the anguish of UT's 31-20 defeat against LSU in the 2001 SEC championship game. Those Vols were a victory away from playing for the national title.
But these Vols had a wonderful opportunity to lift the program back onto the national stage. They could have won the school's first conference championship since 1998. They could have finished in the top 10 for the first time in six years. They could have gone to a BCS bowl for the first time since 1999.
And it's not as though they had to play a great game.
Despite its earlier No. 1 ranking, LSU has struggled in recent weeks. Moreover, it had to deal with the speculation of its coach, Les Miles, taking the Michigan job, and its defensive coordinator, Bo Pelini, taking the Nebraska head-coaching job.
Flynn's injury presented a more tangible problem. Although talented athletically, Perrilloux isn't adept at checking off at the line of scrimmage or even managing the play clock.
He sabotaged one LSU drive with an errant pitchout on the option. He stopped another drive with a throw that was close to no one except UT's Berry. But he also made just enough plays to win the game and the MVP reward.
The Vols can relate as well as anyone to Perrilloux's topsy-turvy performance.
Whenever you counted them out of the division-championship race, they launched a comeback. And when a conference championship was slipping away Saturday, they launched another comeback.
They just couldn't finish it.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.
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Comments » 51
VOLinDAWGland writes:
The Vols defense while it gave up some yards got itself sorted out and at times looked great, dominating. They played fast and hit hard. Tough to see a senior QB make the critical mistakes. Win the bowl game and reload for next year. I like next year's team. I'm looking forward to see the new QBs, love the O line, we'll be deep at receiver and it looks like we're going to have a DEFENSE next year.
GO VOLS!!!!
Feared_Mustang_Package writes:
Ainge is an average QB. Plain and simple. When the heat is on he goes blank.
txsvol#372416 writes:
I'm not surprised by the loss, but I am proud of the effort. In spite of all LSU's injuries and distractions, we just couldn't make enough plays to deserve to win. But the effort was there. Erik had one of his worst games, and his receivers didn't help him when they dropped slightly off-target but catchable passes. It's embarrassing to be blown out by California, Florida, and Alabama, but this is a loss where there is no shame. It probably saved us from being "Oklahoma-ed" by Hawaii, this year's Boise State. ViDAWGl, I'm not sure why you love an OL that can't run block unless their opposing DL is injured, and I think the tragedy is that our receivers ARE coming back. Maybe they'll be pressed by the likes of Gerald Jones and any recruits. Too bad that Creer didn't have an afterburner, or that the LSU player had an angle, or we may have won in spite of ourselves. And, Nevin McKenzie made SA proud before the year was up. Wonder who Adams was really pulling for this game. Probably LSU, but an objective article from him for a change. Go Vols!
Pullingguard writes:
The effort was good by the defense especially. The offense was dinky and the running game again did not perform very well... Under 100 total yards rushing, whereas; LSU had almost 250 and a very balanced attack. Cutcliff not performed very well this year, the running attack has not been good enough to give the Vols a balanced attack.. Lot has to change before 2008, even down to the game plan.. Vols cannot win on consistent basis verses the good teams with this dinky offense. Will be interesting to see who comes out with the QB job for 2008, it could be a freshman.
chrisw2967 writes:
the sayings goes as follows we are loaded for next year and wait until next year or after what I seen were going to be loaded next year , these are the same saying we say after every year and every year its the same story , just a different year.Nothing is going to change next year , it will be worse than this year cause we have Crompton.
I dont think we have but 3 plays in the whole play book on off. G. Jones looks good running the football from the QB position but we have no ideal if he can pass.
The def. held its on today and thats the hardest I seen them hit in a long time but this was pathetic off. called game and Ainge well he is what he is.
Wonder why Fulmer got his raise or extension before the SEC CG ?
CoverOrange writes:
"The loss won't foster the anguish of UT's 31-20 defeat against LSU in the 2001"
From Dictionary.com
fos·ter
1. to promote the growth or development of; further; encourage.
2. to bring up, raise, or rear, as a foster child.
3. to care for or cherish.
4. British. to place (a child) in a foster home.
5. Obsolete. to feed or nourish.
Editor alert, try a different word than "foster". "Salve" maybe?
eduardo writes:
Proud of the effort? What the heck? Are we know subjected to moral victories in this downward spiraling program? This is ridiculous people! Get real! We have a coach and coaching staff who is way overpaid. I mean we pay Foolmer to go out and get these stiffs. All of you crazies are calling for Ainge's and Heffney's heads. When in fact you ought to be calling for Foolmer and Cuttie's heads. Get 'em outta here! Horrible job of recruiting. How ya like that you recruiting geeks. Terrible job of getting these guys to play 60 minutes of hard nose football! Wake up!
MiserableFloridaVol writes:
I say no raises until we win a conference championship. Young receivers and a young and beat up secondary really killed us all year. I think Tennessee can be really good next season with better experience and a favorable schedule. Go Vols! Let's finish right and get ready for a championship in '08!
djstatik writes:
When your QB has a terrible game like that, nothing can save you. It's not the coaches fault the only player Ainge could throw a perfect pass to was wearing an LSU jersey. The defense, while allowing quite a few yards in the first half, played great with great intensity, and some HUGE hits.
I hope Ainge clears his head for the bowl game. If he has another performance like that he may not go until fourth or fifth round, if he makes the pros at all.
utclassof1992 writes:
Yes, this season ended just like it began. Our offense choked on it, we made mental mistakes at critical moments, and lady luck finally turned her back on us. The ending followed the script of this season perfectly.
murrayvol writes:
I can't speak for other visitors to this site but let the record show I'm pretty damned anguished.
takebkknox writes:
First of all, don't be fooled. Adams and Hyams are buying each other shots and celebrating their victory while laughing at all of us hillbillies for thinking we even had a chance.
Secondly, Ainge may never get over the shot he took against ND as a true freshman. It's a shame too. He could have been great. He was just 15 minutes away from greatness.
kb7398#233189 writes:
Proud of the effort? What the heck? Are we know subjected to moral victories in this downward spiraling program? This is ridiculous people! Get real! We have a coach and coaching staff who is way overpaid. I mean we pay Foolmer to go out and get these stiffs. All of you crazies are calling for Ainge's and Heffney's heads. When in fact you ought to be calling for Foolmer and Cuttie's heads. Get 'em outta here! Horrible job of recruiting. How ya like that you recruiting geeks. Terrible job of getting these guys to play 60 minutes of hard nose football! Wake up!
You're an idiot Eduardo...no one here likes moral victories at all and I don't like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, but NO ONE gave them a chance to even be there and NO ONE gave a chance when they got there. It stings, but it's not the end of the world. FULMER is here until he wants to leave much to your chagrin.
vol4good#206163 writes:
I am also disapointed, but I will not chunk rocks, for the glass shack I reside in cant take the beating. Ainge will rebound, Hefney, thank God he is a senior, will move on, and hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow. Should have won fellas, way to much meat left on that bone!
asleep#212036 writes:
WD40,
I read it that this loss won't foster (obsolete: nourish or feed) as much anguish to mean the coaches, players, and fans won't be as upset as we were in 2001 because this team had no chance at the national title. Does that mean I think like Adams? OMG! Help me!
DCSOvol - AMEN! Of all the chokes by a senior QB, this is right up there. Ainge has won plenty of games for us against lesser teams, but in the big games, against the big teams, he tends to make some pretty "freshman" mistakes. His numbers have been inflated all year because he gets credit for all the YAC (yards after catch). I heard Danielson say Pellini had decided to take away the short stuff and make Ainge throw long. Worked great, didn't it? Only 50% completions, two critical interceptions, scrambling throws behind receivers, etc... Sounds like a plan for our bowl opponent except their D isn't likely as good. Go Vols!!!
snafu14u#241639 writes:
We have big headaches at QB.Ainge will never play a down in the NFL. Crompton is not a first team SEC Championship QB.And that is unfortunate.bonzaivol
asleep#212036 writes:
Apparently the job may not automatically go to Crompton, despite his 5 stars and No. 1 recruit ranking. Stephens is supposed to challenge next year. I don't know if Crompton is SEC champion material or not - he hasn't played enough for me to decide. He certainly has the physical skills but as Perriloux will prove next year, there's more to it than that. He's bigger, stronger, faster, and tougher than Ainge, that's for sure. But is he able to run the offense? If he can, look out! Go Vols!!!
JETnTN writes:
ASLEEP........ don't forgetg BJ Coleman!! Great atmosphere at the dome today.... BAND.. why didn't you play at all in the 3rd quarter or half way through the 4th??? You helped our fans get flat..... I love the Vols and this was as good of a coaching job Phil has ever done...5 yr extention and 2.5 per year..... Thanks Phil!!
MAYO COME BACK NEXT YEAR PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
invisiblekid writes:
Nice post TXS/SAVol. I have especially been in line with your thinking about the offensive line on other threads, Cutcliffe apparently doesn't trust the running game enough to try and grind it out in the fourth with the lead. Also agree regarding the effort we saw in this game, they played hard to the end which is more than can be said in those earlier losses.
Murray, ditto on the anguish. It's 3 in the morning and I am still ticked off.
dlravol2 writes:
You guys keep talking about next year and next year you'll be talking about next year! It's deja vu all over again!
imnotwithphil writes:
I am always amazed (and disgusted) when the Phillbilly Nation tries to pin this program’s failures on the kids. I think recruits can handle a fan base that gets after the coaching staff – but not one that turns on the players.
So for djstatik and the rest of you player bashers that would rather throw Eric (instead of Phil-a-Puss Maximus) under the bus – consider the following:
• Our running game was totally ineffective
• Our play calling was predictable and stale (how many times did we run on 1st down)?
• Crompton was totally ineffective – but we continued to try to insert him in the game
• Jones was incredibly effective – so of course he sat out the 4th quarter
• Basic skills (blocking, tackling, catching) continue to be weak points for our program – which shows a lack of coaching discipline and attention to details.
There was one reason we lost yesterday – we were out coached and out classed by a better football program. Until you Philbillies get it through your THICK country skulls that Foolmer can no longer compete in this league, enjoy your SEC East Championship… because that’s as good as it’s going to get.
BTW – It must take a really big man to protect the ego of a multimillionaire coach by attacking the players.
vol52 writes:
Our offense is terrible. It was terrible again last night causing us the game. It may work if we we have 2-3 all Americans sprinkled in the mix but we don't. I have no hope of winning our bowl game and our AD mikey wants to give the coaches raises and extensions. We have lowered our standards.
chadriddle#645749 writes:
I see the Capital One bowl is listed for the SEC#2 team, yet no one has predicted Tennessee to go here. As the losing team in the Championship Game, would they not be number 2 in the SEC?
fencevol writes:
chrisw2967, I agree. We are, and have been for years, a mediocre(get used to it) team. I am SO DAMN TIRED of the young team excuse. Check the SEC rosters, FL,LSU,GA, and SC are younger than us. Our coaches have always used the "youth" excuse. Ga played 2 TRUE FR ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE. Yes, we beat them early, but I would not want to play them now and am not looking foreward to Athens next year. In 2001 LSU was without more that a few starters, just like 2007, but they dug down deep to beat us with thier young or inexperienced players. Being a Letterman at UT in the 60's, it is very discouraging to see where our program is headed. DOWN!!!! I bleed ORANGE, but 1998 cannot be a Coache's security blanket forever.
jobrando#216494 writes:
Game Plan - F+
Coaching - D+
Players - B for trying
mttallent#329252 writes:
I am proud of this team and coaching staff. Time for all of the negative people to start complaining. But I was at the dome. I saw an underdog team with alot of heart put on one of the hardest hitting games I have seen. Erik Ainge is a good quarterback and we would not have been in that game without him. I don't hear anyone blaming the o-line that could not open running holes or receivers who dropped balls or did not come back to catch passes. We were playing one of the top defenses in the country. What do people expect? 800 yards of offense? I will say it again I am proud of the vols.
TommyJack writes:
imnotwithphil: Except for the hillbilly references, I think you're on the mark.
I'll say again, STELLAR EFFORT by the players.
volintexas writes:
Coaches don't throw interceptions, but it is their job to recruit and prepare players to demonstrate the type of mental toughness and focus on which this program was founded. To see a senior QB fold under pressure like a cheap lawn chair was very disconcerting, but he plays the way he is coached. His decision making has always been suspect, and he has improved only marginally in this area. Bottom line, this program has gone without a title for NINE years and the AD was talking about raises before the title game. Coach Majors, who rebuilt this program when it fell on hard times, wasn't even two seasons removed from a title and was fired. Bill Battle came in when the program was on roll, as did Fulmer, and was summarily shown the dooor after 7 seasons and worse yet had to endure the trailer trash fanatics. Since we last won a title, LSU has won 3 (and a national title), Georgia 2, Florida 2 (and a national title) and even Bama and Auburn won one. Moreover, while the Vols made it to the title game, they were extremely fortunate to get there with last second victories over Vandy, Kentucky and SC, all programs which have little depth. They all imploded late in the year and should always be pimp slapped by UT in November. UT was embarrassed by Bama and Florida. They played an LSU team devastated by injuries and should have beaten them. The picks, the dropped passes, Hefney not being in the same time zone as he should have been are all symptomatic of the lack of discipline and focus in the Fulmer regime. Other than the all orange uniforms, which I liked a lot and were a page out of Coach Majors book, this coaching staff shows little imagination, poor discipline and little evidence that they are working in the house that Neyland built.
BY_HIS_WOUNDS_WE_ARE_HEALED writes:
MILES TALKED TO HIS TEAM ABOUT POISE. TENNESSEE IS POISED FOR A TITLE RUN NEXT YEAR. FOR ONE WE HAVE A YOUNG AND TALENTED SECONDARY COMING BACK. TWO, LINEBACKERS WILL BE THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY NEXT YEAR WITHOUT A DOUBT. THREE, CROMPTON AND G-GUN WILL GIVE OPPOSING DEFENSES FITS. FOUR, A TON OF TALENTED RECEIVERS ALONG WITH A PAIR OF TALENTED TIGHT ENDS. IF WE CAN STRENGTHEN UP ON THE D-LINE AND O-LINE WE COULD BE A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. GO VOLS!!!!!!!!
missrvrvol writes:
I think Ainge just threw another pick.
threehundredbowler writes:
RTYAB home sweet home to me.Good ole rockey top,rockey top Tennessee.
TommyJack writes:
Seven: Where is ALLVolinArkie?
TommyJack writes:
Geoff: Wow! Somebody mess with your wheaties?
waterskier3#226480 writes:
a moral loss or i'm ok with this loss???? WTF and OMG...... the coaches are paid to get us to a bcs game and win championships.... when was the last time we went to a bcs game??????? won a championship??? noT a bs east championship that just gives you the right to play for a real championship with the big boys...
lost to second string players, fragmented coaching staff and a team that was down.... they got motivated when they saw how bad UT's offense play calling was so they said hey UT is UT so lets wins this...
BTW LSU is not going to play for the NC.....
I love the all orange....... but hate the loss regardless of how it happened... no moral victories for me........ I EXPECT MORE
TommyJack writes:
skier3: Me 2
powert#205805 writes:
I find it amusing that some folks actually think that Crompton will be our saviour next year. These same people will soon be wishing Ainge and Casey and Rick Clausen were back.
I see a better defense next year. However, this is a defense that has been riddled all year (including 100 points by our two biggest rivals). Better doesn't add up to more wins. While Ainge has sucked at times, he won more games than any other QB on the roster could have. Does anyone with an IQ over room temperature actually think we would have won SC, Vandy, or KY with Crompton at the helm? I will go out on a limb and predict Coleman will be the starter before the season is over next year if not at the start of it.
Changes need to be made, starting at the top, unless we are content to continue the talk of moral victories and wallow in mediocrity. From a lot of the posters, I guess we are. So be it.
Go Vols.
TommyJack writes:
powerT: Agree. Problem is...if you DON'T want to wallow in mediocrity, you're called a loser/hater/commie-bedwetter. Apparently, there's no room on this board for dissenting opinion....
MemphisVol writes:
WIN THE BOWL GAME!!!!!
ncvol17 writes:
When was the last time we wore all orange? It is cheesy and ugly. I doubt it provides a boost to the players. Seems like a retro to the Majors era. Do we want to look like Syracuse?
Ralph_Crampton writes:
JUST WIN THE BOWL GAME, VOLS.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
PLEASE NO PEACH OR COTTON BOWLS....BOWL GAMES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE REWARDS...NOT HO HUM BOWLS SUCH AS THESE TWO BOWLS...PLEASE.
ggriggs939#223122 writes:
After 60 years of association with the Knoxville community, I am still at a loss as to what the
expectations are in relation to the university and its athletic programs. I have learned the locals expect the VOLS to get the top recruits whereever they might be, but want only the locals to play; to out perform the best pros in executing the perfect plays called by the sorriest coaches in the nation, and to know exactly what the other team will do on the next play and have it defended perfectly even though that bteam has the best coaching staff money can buy; aned to win every championship in every activity every year.
I have always believed the University made a big mistake in not moving out of Knoxville as it threatened to do in response to the suggestions voiced about every six months in the late forties by the small-minded city fathers. I believe Athens, Rockwood or Crossville would have appreciated its presence much more than Knoxville has done.
DennisVols writes:
Kids make mistakes and so do adults. I have seen Peyton make his share this year.
The worst decision of the game came when UT had it 1st and 10 on LSU's 15 with just under 3 minutes to play. UT had enough time and really needed to use as much of the clock as possible while attempting to tie the game. The choice to throw a pass was as bad as the pass Ainge chose to throw. RUN THE BALL. It was 4 down time anyways. Try to eat the clock while trying to score.
We have the talent returning next year so there is a lot to look forward to.
Go Vols
txsvol#372416 writes:
For the record, after the Bama loss, I went on record as being ready for a coaching change. I caught it from my sister, who remembers that Coach Fulmer and Bobby Majors, then freshmen football players who hung around her apartment building, noted her wrecked car, went to the hospital, returned her to her apartment, and carried her up a flight of stairs because her knee injury caused her to be unable to walk up. (She's finally having surgery on that knee this month, 39 years or so later--a partial or complete meniscectomy, etc.) She remembers Phil as a great guy, who because of his UT roots merits continued support. I realize that Phil will be around a while longer, so please, let's get him some new assistants. Other SEC programs can use freshmen players in September and have them contribute, and even star, but our staff did not begin to use our 2007 recruits well until November, with Eric Berry being the exception. If we have to return to scheduling a Division 2 team like Chattanooga for the opener to get the new recruits into production earlier, then let's do it, strength of schedule ratings be disregarded. Look at Kansas' schedule, for goodness sakes! I think that good coaches should develop the talent more quickly. Just because I'm not ranting doesn't mean that I'm happy with CPF and the losses to good teams. I predicted 9-3 or 8-4 before the season started, and we hit it, but....IT'S TIME FOR FLORIDA AND ALABAMA TO LOSE TO US FOR A CHANGE!!! Go Vols! SAVol
ien1#209990 writes:
The comments from some of you folks are just disgusting. The brainless, childless names you use for our coach, Foolmer? The I see comments about his weight? Wake up people, and get something you don't have and that is class!
Phillip Fulmer is a great football coach that most any major university would kill for to have as their coach. He was hired to take the program to the next level, which he has done.
I, too, was dissapointed after thge LSU loss, but not for me, but for the coaching staff and players who fought their hearts out in preperation and playing this game.
This staff and players have shown extroardinary courage in turning their season around.
So hey, if you want to hate on Fulmer, hate on Ainge, why don't you just make the logical choice...Cheer for a different team, the Vols certainly don't need you.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Tale a few seconds and read how many times "next year" appears in these posts. Next year was 2004-2005-2006-2007 etc. ien1 - appreciate your post, can't see Phil as "great football coach most any major university would kill for". We cheer for Tennessee, not Phil. Many of us quit cheering for Phil in the 5-6 year and many of us realize, "Man, we haven't won a ring in NINE years". It is your right and I defend it to be satisfied with Phil's results. Many of us are not. We should look forward to playing in a bowl game as a reward, not with dread for another possible flat outing. . We simply do not have the players on defense to compete. Merry Christmas to all!
TommyJack writes:
pdhuff: You loser/hater!! :)
DennisVols writes:
If you don;t believe in a better tomorrow you might as well quit living today.
ien1#209990 writes:
pdhuff
Thanks for your response, and I respect your feelings. Let's think for a minute...Who has dominated the national championship picture...Nobody. When you are a high-profile team such as Tennessee, everywhere you go, there is a target on your back. Fullmer has never shyed away from a tough non-conferenced schedule. Sticj with Phil, he is going to win another national Championship.
txsvol#372416 writes:
eduardo, What Vol fan wouldn't be proud of the way Mayo, McCoy, Hefney, Berry, McDaniel, etc., tackled fearlessly? They played their hearts out! While the result from the offense was 'offensive,' an objective fan couldn't fault the effort. Whether it was jitters or something else, the offense just wasn't running (at all) or passing well. I'd like to line up a burner wide every other play, just to stretch the defense. But Cut doesn't trust his OL and QB to risk the turnovers. What did we have? Two critical fourth quarter turnovers and a lost game. But, with a few breaks and a short yardage running game, we would have kept LSU from the BCS Championship game! (Where are the hated Gators playing?) Go Vols! SAVol
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