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If you were looking for another example of the decline in Tennessee football, you got it Saturday evening at Neyland Stadium.

The last time UT played a Sun Belt Conference opponent for homecoming, it won 70-3 over Louisiana-Monroe in 2000. Seven years later, the Vols celebrated another homecoming with a measly 59-7 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, the second-worst team in the Sun Belt.

Of course, I'm kidding. Never mind if the Ragin' Cajuns are a Division I-A bottom feeder. The Vols held them to seven points. That's a success story for a defense that's on pace to be remembered as the worst in school history.

Keep in mind that ULL's offense isn't nearly as bad as its team.

The Cajuns even scored 14 points on South Carolina. And no one else has held them to single digits.

Here are a few more reasons to feel good about UT's defensive effort:

n No one from ULL had a career day. In UT's previous three games, six opposing players had career days.

n Not since the fifth game of the 2006 season has an opponent scored fewer than 10 points on UT.

n The defense is starting to make highlights of its own and not just for its opponents. UT scored on a 70-yard interception return by defensive end Antonio Reynolds, and Antonio Wardlow scored on a blocked punt. Couple that with the four forced turnovers the previous Saturday against South Carolina and you have a trend.

n ULL runs the option, and you know what that usually means. If a team announces its intention to run the option against UT, it's appropriate to give it 14 points before kickoff. In this case, you would have had to take points off the board.

n UT safety Jonathan Hefney made a one-on-one open-field tackle in the first half. Granted, he missed two others on ULL's scoring drive. But as poorly as he has played this season, one out of three is progress.

Obviously, this wasn't all about defense. The Vols hadn't scored this many points since the sixth game of last season.

And the finish was more impressive than the start.

You knew that starting tailback Arian Foster would be able to make yardage against ULL's porous defense. You knew that Erik Ainge would be able to complete passes.

But you didn't know about the reserves.

Finally, you got to see wide receiver Kenny O'Neal's speed - on a 49-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Jonathan Crompton. You also got to see Lennon Creer's speed.

You have to consider the competition. But watching Creer run against ULL made me wonder if the Vols would have been better off dismissing tailback LaMarcus Coker in preseason, instead of last week.

Coker made more headlines for his off-the-field problems than he did on the field. And he was a more effective runner last season than this one.

There aren't enough plays for four running backs. But when Creer joined the threesome Saturday, he made the most of his opportunities, rushing for 109 yards on only seven carries while demonstrating the speed and toughness that he showed in preseason scrimmages.

He's faster than fellow tailbacks Foster and Montario Hardesty. He also has better running instincts than the departed Coker.

Creer gives UT more hope for the future, and I'm not referring to next year. The Vols are three consecutive wins away from the SEC East championship.

Maybe there's still time for their much-hyped recruiting class to contribute on offense.

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

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.