Adams: Vol nation split over East title

Tennessee's wild, unpredictable ride through the 2007 football season will have a predictable finish no matter what the team accomplishes or fails to accomplish in its bowl game. And the fallout will be predictable, too.

The Vols will finish in the second half of the top 25 at best. They won't play in a BCS bowl.

Bottom line: most preseason predictions were on target.

But the Vols weren't a consensus pick to win the SEC East. That was a pleasant surprise for UT fans, particularly in light of their team's 1-2 start and blowout losses to Florida and Alabama.

One surprising championship didn't lead to another. Instead, the 21-14 loss to LSU in the SEC championship game, reinforced the perception that UT's program can only ascend so high.

Some UT fans can accept that. They will savor a division title, a comeback from a 1-2 start in the first three weeks, and a near upset of a national championship contender Saturday night in the Georgia Dome.

Other fans will view the season and the championship game differently. They will bemoan UT's status in the SEC. In a best-case scenario, their Vols can make the SEC championship game, but they can't win it.

The more demanding fans also will have a different spin on the loss to LSU. Never mind that the Tigers are national championship contenders. They played the game without their starting quarterback and played the second half without their best player, All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.

The division among UT fans translates to detractors and supporters of Coach Phillip Fulmer. Depending on which camp you're in, Fulmer is the longtime leader of a successful, stable program or he's a 20th century coach who's way past his prime in the new millennium.

One camp or the other may gain new recruits depending on how UT performs in its bowl game. But win or lose, UT will enter the 2008 season as it began the 2007 season - with a divided fan base.

No one should be more aware of that UT athletic director Mike Hamilton.

Hamilton recently indicated that Fulmer deserved a contract extension and raise based on his team's accomplishments this season. The athletic director might want to rethink that.

Fulmer is making more than $2 million a year. At that salary, shouldn't an occasional division title - even a conference championship - be expected? And at $2.2 million a year, wouldn't you expect your coach to come within three touchdowns of his biggest rivals?

If Hamilton financially rewards Fulmer for this season, he won't help his coach's popularity. Even some fans who say they support Fulmer are opposed to his getting a raise for winning nothing more than a division championship. That was obvious when listeners to the News Sentinel's radio show, The Sports Page, were polled on the subject.

A raise and/or contract extension qualifies as a vote of confidence from the athletic director. It says the program is in good hands and is headed in the right direction.

Is that the message you want to send?

Answer: It depends on which fans you ask.

Based on starters returning, UT should field an improved team in 2008. But so should every other championship contender (i.e., Florida, Georgia and South Carolina) in the SEC East. All three of those teams will have an open date before playing UT.

Florida and Georgia should be the preseason favorites and the highest ranked teams in the SEC. And that should be fine with UT's coaches and players, who seem most comfortable in an underdog role.

Some fans are comfortable with that, too. They take heart from unexpected division titles and near upsets of college football's best programs.

Other UT fans remember when they cheered for one of college football's best programs.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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