Vols stand behind Ainge

Photo by Michael Patrick

Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer consoles Erik Ainge following his interception which give LSU the winning touchdown in the third quarter.

ATLANTA - Fingers will be pointed, and most of them will be pointing in Erik Ainge's direction.

But before the first critics had their say, Tennessee's senior quarterback had his.

Standing in front of his teammates moments after LSU dashed their SEC championship hopes with a 21-14 victory, Ainge pointed the finger squarely at himself.

As LSU accepted the championship trophy, Ainge accepting the blame.

Sorry for the two fourth-quarter interceptions. Sorry he couldn't make a play when his team needed one most.

Only no one wanted to hear it. Apology not accepted.

Because, nearly to a man, the Vols didn't think Ainge had anything to apologize for.

"He didn't need to," junior tailback Arian Foster said. "That just shows his leadership. A lot of guys would tuck their tail between their legs and hide in their locker.

"He stepped up. He apologized. He took responsibility. And it's not his responsibility; it's all of our responsibilities."

Those who want to pin UT's loss on Ainge certainly have ammunition.

Leading 14-13 in the fourth quarter, Ainge looked for Quintin Hancock.

He found LSU defensive back Jonathan Zenon, who jumped the route and ran the ball in from 18 yards out for LSU's final touchdown.

On UT's final two drives of the game, the Vols couldn't make a play on third or fourth down from the Tigers' 21-yard line.

And then just 14 yards from the end zone, Ainge threw his second interception when LSU linebacker Darry Beckwith broke in front of Gerald Jones and all but ended UT's hopes with 2:42 left in the game.

"He was trying to make plays," tight end Chris Brown said. "We'd rather him try to make plays than be conservative back there and take a sack or throw the ball away. He was just making the plays."

Ainge pointed to those two interceptions as the turning point.

"That first one for points, that will get you beat any time," he said. "SEC championship, second game of the (season), it doesn't matter. Practice, scrimmage, if you throw a pass like that for points, you put yourself in a bad situation."

Until that point, Ainge had put the Vols in a good situation.

He guided the Vols on a 70-yard drive to open the game, ending with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brown.

Those seven points were good enough for the lead at halftime.

And once LSU took the lead, he helped restart UT's offense in the second half.

On UT's second possession of the third quarter, Ainge completed five of six passes for 67 yards on a 66-yard drive.

The last pass was 6 yards to Josh Briscoe, who finished with eight catches for 79 yards.

"He's made so many plays for this team and this university in his time here," Foster said. "To put it on his shoulders, it's just not fair to him."

During the postgame press conference, UT coach Phillip Fulmer said the same thing - while his quarterback was answering a question.

"We play as a football team," Fulmer said. "(Ainge) played a heck of a football game and got us to Atlanta to play in this game, so I'm not going to sit here and let him take all the blame."

Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe took plenty of blame afterwards, too.

"I put us in harm's way, obviously, in the second half when we needed a play," Cutcliffe said. "I don't think I put them in the right situations to be successful.

"I never punched the right buttons."

When it comes to Ainge's legacy, many will wonder what buttons could have been pushed.

On Saturday, Ainge became just the second UT quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season.

The other, Peyton Manning, led the Vols to the SEC championship as a senior in 1997.

But Ainge's ending was much different.

"He's probably going to get crucified. Unfairly," Foster said. "Everybody's going to form an opinion.

"There's going to be some that love him, some that don't like him too much. He's in my heart. If that's the way his legacy winds up being remembered, that's ridiculous in my opinion."

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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