Dave Hooker's Podcast
Event Details
- What: Tennessee vs. Arkansas
- When: Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007, 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Where: Neyland Stadium
- Cost: Not available
- Age limit: All ages
Tennessee Stat Book
Tennessee's defense this week can appreciate how Davy Crockett might have felt at the Alamo.
Or, perhaps, how Custer's cavalry felt hunkered down on Last Stand Hill.
In short, nobody's giving the Vols much chance of surviving the assault that's on the way Saturday when Arkansas romps into Neyland Stadium.
General, uh, defensive coordinator John Chavis, however, has not spent the past week looking for a white flag to wave prior to the 12:30 p.m. kickoff (TV: WVLT).
Chavis has never been much of a spin doctor, but he's clearly trying to buck up his troops' confidence to face Arkansas (6-3, 2-3 SEC), the nation's No. 2 rushing team, and its deadly backfield tandem of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.
"Rather than it being a challenge, it can be an opportunity also,'' Chavis said this week.
"I may be saying something different after the game but we're excited about going out and seeing how we can match up.''
On paper, the 22nd-ranked Vols (6-3, 3-2) don't match up favorably.
Arkansas is coming off a 531-yard rushing stampede in a 48-36 win over South Carolina. The Razorbacks rank 12th nationally in total offense and are not one-dimensional now that star receiver Marcus Monk is healthy again.
Tennessee remains in contention for the SEC East title despite a defense that ranks among the worst the program has ever seen.
"This won't be a Tennessee defense that is going to go down in history, so to speak,'' said Chavis, "but we've had some moments where we played well against some very good football teams.
"And then we've had some moments where we've been pretty bad.''
The bad outnumber the good. In all three of UT's losses, the defense was torched by big plays. Even in a win over South Carolina, the Vols gave up 501 yards of offense.
And yet on Oct. 6 Tennessee dominated Georgia, 35-14, holding the Bulldogs to 69 yards rushing.
Somehow the Vols have to tap into that Georgia effort and channel it again Saturday.
"That's a starting place,'' Chavis said, "but this will be a totally different scenario.''
It wasn't a pleasant scenario last year when UT went to Arkansas. McFadden, Jones and Monk took turns making plays in a 31-14 Razorback victory.
The Vols hang some hope on the fact that Arkansas did almost all its damage in a second-quarter whirlwind last year.
"If you take care of business like we did in three of those quarters and get off the field, you don't let them get in a rhythm,'' said senior defensive end Xavier Mitchell.
"Once they got in a rhythm, that's what made it tough on us.''
To avoid Arkansas getting in a fatal rhythm, Chavis said it will be critical for the Vols to maintain confidence, even when the Razorbacks make plays.
"We didn't get it done last year (in the second quarter),'' he said, "but that's where confidence comes in, that we didn't get it done that third down but we're going to get it done the next third down or we're going to get a turnover.
"We're going to stop this drive and get this swung in our favor.''
It's asking a lot. McFadden and Jones may be as good a 1-2 punch as Tennessee has faced in a long, long time. Their combined 487 rushing yards against South Carolina was an NCAA record for two players on the same team.
As Chavis said, it's a great opportunity.
Davy Crockett couldn't have put it better.
History Check: Six backs have rushed for 200 yards against Tennessee. The only one to do it on Chavis' watch was Nebraska's Ahman Green in the Orange Bowl following the 1997 season.
The record, 217 yards, is shared by Bobby Humphrey of Alabama (1986) and Mike Pritchard of Colorado (1990).
The Vols have survived a 476-yard passing day by Tim Couch of Kentucky in 1997, as well as 521 yards of total offense by Whit Taylor of Vanderbilt in 1981.
But rushing yardage takes a greater toll. UT is 7-0 when an opponent passes for 400 yards, but 0-7 when an opponent rushes for 400 yards.
Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.
Memorable moments in Pat Summitt's…
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Phillip Fulmer through the years
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 42
zbbb10#212690 writes:
f em go vols
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
Tennessee is classic when it is the underdog. Just when everybody wants to write them off and there is no logical chance... they go out and get it done.
Question: Will this be another one of those crazy things that should have never happened.
e.g. TN 38 AR 10 MacFadden 76 yards, Jones 38.
Or, will it be an onslaught of running?
Any takers for this one? Do you think they can rise up and do it or do you think we will just be trying to hold on?
BigOrangeVol29 writes:
I keep holding out hope that this will be like Tennessee at Miami(FL) a few years ago and we pull the stunning upset, but for that to happen our beleaguered D has to step it up and play more akin to what it did against Georgia and the 1st half of the South Carolina game and create turnovers and have our offense keep their running attack off the field. Everybody knows what the Arkansas game plan is, we can just hope to stop it.
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
It's all about redemption. Our defense has heard the "worst ever" talk all year. This is their biggest chance to change their legacy (apart from ATL, hopefully) and they know it.
Will they be known as the worst TN D ever... or will they be known as the D that shut down the most powerful backfield since who knows when?
Let's see who rises up.
mbradshaw1#655539 writes:
I hope we show some emotion and get really fired up. Play it like you stole it. All out, for two half's'.
Hixson_Vol writes:
How much more of this defense (or lack thereof) are we going to take? Does anyone really think putting 8 in the box is going to help? It would be different if Chavis had any athletes back there, but he obviously has been slipping on the recruting trail and he has never been a great schemer. Asking this bunch to over-achieve twice in the year is asking too much, I'm afraid. The Georgia game was a fluke.
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
Hey, I know. I'll go to every story and post "yawn....."
Aw shoot, VolCR already beat me too it.
vol4jesus writes:
__CR.....YAWN!!! Yes a true VOL fan wno pulls for his taem even when prospects are ugly as in this one. I'll give you credit for keeping your negativity to a minimum of 4 letters. GO VOLS pen the hawgs up!
oldbasshead writes:
Why has the Vols defense been so bad this year? Do they lack speed? Are they not talented enough? Strong enough? Is it coaching? Why have they been so bad? I would like to hear from some of you who know football. Not looking for short, sarcastic comments, but good comments from people with a trained eye.
takebkknox writes:
Strange is so clever with his General Davy Crockett Custer jabs. No one would ever guess that he works for a newspaper whose home office is located in Ohio and who just happens to employ a sports editor from Louisiana. The KNS is not the gospel. They have an agenda. Heck, you can't even get on over there unless you join them in a dark room and chant "I hate orange, I hate orange" while turning in circles. Cancel your subscriptions and read it for free online, if you must.
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
takebkknox,
SHHHHH!!!! Their watching. Don't turn around. Just keep smiling and everything will be ok.
1974Vol writes:
The hogs SC game was like TN's GA game - an aberration! Neither team will likely play that well again. So two relatively mediocre teams make enough mistakes to keep each other in the game until the 4th qtr and someone loses it on a turnover, blown coverage , missed tackle, penalty; whatever - way more football games are lost than won. Hey I will take a MCFadden wild hog shot gun fumbled snap returned for a TNTD by say Ryan Karl for the game winner! Can't be too proud this year; I mean we took it in '98 when their guard stepped on the QB's foot & caused a fumble & neither team resembles their '98 versions. So -Go Vols win ugly - just win!
imnotwithphil writes:
vol4jesus - Can you give the "real fan" talk a rest... please... Supporting Fulmer does not equate to supporting the team.
BigUn writes:
"This won't be a Tennessee defense that is going to go down in history...." John Chavis
Uhh..yes it will coach, and not in a good way. As Clay Travis says, if you mapblast Darren McFadden, it takes right down Phillip Fulmer drive, thru Gate 21 and right to the endzone.
bobo_the_vol writes:
On college pick 'em on ESPN:
55.5% Arkansas
44.5% (#24) Tennessee
The only other game the higher ranked team is picked to fall?
50.6% Cincinnati
49.4% (#13) Connecticut
agentorange writes:
volunteers fight. posters complain. buy a ticket and go to the game. of course half the people on here haven't been to more than 5 games. try going to college, watching 15+ years of football, then telling everybody what to do. i am ashamed to be from TN. this site may as well be fag central.
LargeOrange writes:
1) It is a fact that after a big win, and last week was the only Hog big win of the year, the winning team often has a bit of a let down the next week.
2) The VOLS are always (even before CPF) at their best when they feel disrespected, I hate it when they are favored by the media.
3) The VOLS are still playing for a championship, ARK is not.
4) Virtually all of the fans other than a few fair weather fans that plague this board,
will be rocking the house at Neyland on Sat. If we fans do our part, we can expect Dick to have 1 or 2 delay or illegal procedure penalties due to crowd noise.
5) Ark has not played a ranked team on the road and been successful this year.
6) It will be a great game, tough and will come down to the fourth quarter, where ARK has been outscored this year several times, even by inferior teams.
Add it up and call it a major upset if you want, but I got to believe that we will come out on top.
Go VOLS! Fans do your part, the boys do theirs and we will be OK.
newtonrail writes:
It bugs me when people bring up the '98 Ark. game and Clint Stoerner fumble. I was there on that end of field, and have a copy of game. Yes, the guard apparently stepped on his foot, AFTER Billy Ratliffe blasted through, knocking "Said" guard backwards. This is something if enough people repeat it wrong long enough, it becomes gospel. We caused the fumble people. It wasn't a gift from Allah.
agentorange writes:
volr cr, that's what your boyfirend says when you drop shorts.
LargeOrange writes:
Newton, you are exactly right, I was there also and saw the same thing, also it was easy to see on TV, that was a forced fumble, the only thing lucky about it was that Stoerner tried to use his ball hand with to keep his balance, never a good idea, but it was not gift. If you ask me, if we got a gift it was the pass interference at the end of the Syracuse game, but then again, the play before the flag was an obvious interference that was not called, so we got a make up call. But the bottom line in both games we capitalized by getting the points on the board and won the game. I was lucky enough to be able to be at every game that season in person but one (it's a long story on that one) but it was a season of a life time. People that don't remember or know what happened in the 98 Ark game are just not informed.
volfan73120#211815 writes:
Newton you are right and so is Large Orange. A great defensive play by Ratliff caused that fumble. There was still a minute and forty three seconds left in that game. We blasted their defense with five running plays, mostly by Travis Henry, and moved the ball forty plus yards to score and win the game. Go Vols.
steve22043#233791 writes:
Why can't Proctor get his cartoons posted on time? They're sometimes good enough to pin up in my office (especially against a team like Arkansas) but by the time he posts he might as well not have gone to the trouble.
firefulmer (Inactive) writes:
FireChavis---I'm beginning to think the same. Since the Cal game, our defense has not improved. Our freshmen and sophomores will be no more improved their senior year than they are now. If anything, they will probably be worse. The GA game was not a fluke. It's just that GA is not that good. Fla is not that good (except Tebow), and that is why several teams played them close and a couple of those beat them. With all there is to play for, I'm anxious to see how fired up we are. If I were betting, they will probably come out scared to death---thanks to our pathetic coaches.
With your username, it will not be long before the likes of newtonrail and iowavol are on your case. They seem to be Fulmer/coaching staff butt-kissers. But, look at newton's post above and you will see (like most Fulmer butt-kissers) that he is still stuck in the '98 season.
vinnievol writes:
firefulmer and the rest of the Legion of the Miserable - why do you have to slam everyone who doesn't share your pessimistic outlook as "butt-kissers"?
Why do you people even bother following the Vols? I know alot of people like you personally, and you are miserable before the season ever starts.
What's the point of this attitude?
DennisVols writes:
The keys to winning this game for UT are:
1) Establish the running game. Ball control is very important. AK does not have a strong pass defense. If UT can develop the running game this will cause bigger opportunities for the passing game. Keeping UT offense on the field is the best defense against AK running attack.
2) Limit the mistakes: In the Bama game it was mental mistakes causing penalties that gave them extra opportunities on offense. In the Cal and Florida games it was fundamental mistakes like missed tackles, fumbles,& being out of position on kick returns that cost UT the opportunity to win. The excuse of youth is past now, we are 9 games into a 12 game season.
3) Force AK to play catch-up. AK has a very suspect passing attack with Monk out or limited at receiver. If UT takes the lead early and can keep the pressure on with their offense then AK will be forced to go to their passing game which is plan B or C for them not plan A which is to run down hill with McFadden and Jones.
UT has the ability, the talent and the weapons to win this game as they have had throughout this year. Can they put together a complete game as they did against GA with a swarming defense and balanced offense that kept their opponent off guard the entire game? Or do we see the team that in their 3 loses left a lot of opportunities on the field.
UT controls their destiny but destiny is a prophecy that is yet unfulfilled. It all comes down to passion, desire and execution on the field that will be the final judgment of whether this team deserves a shot at the SEC championship in Atlanta .
1974Vol writes:
Sorry, guys but when the other QB goes down having been tripped by his own player its a stretch
to call it anything but an unforced error. It was justice through as the refs missed the call when the Hog punter kicked the ball through the back of the end zone. That's illegal touching, a 15 yard penalty from the spot of the foul. Should have been TN football at the 2 yd line (foul at the 4 - 1/2 the distance) 1st & goal instead of a safety.
phi0129 writes:
I would argue that the people who want to see Fulmer go and are realists when talking about this game are the TRUE fans. Because they love TN football enough to not only talk about the good times, but the bad as well. They have enough sense and it means enough to them to raise suspicions as to Fulmers ability and question his ineptitude. They care about the TN football program enough to not blindly follow a guy who has so obviously been leading a sinking ship for many years now. I think you guys are the ones who need to grow up. Take a look around. Things aren't peachy all the time. What fantasy world do you guys come from? None of us don't bleed orange and root on the football team. It just gets really old when you give your soul to something and they continously string you along only to ultimately let you down and fail, leaving your heart broken. There's only so much we can and should take. So shut your mouths and quit your whining.
Hixson_Vol writes:
FireFulmer, if Georgia is not that good, where does that leave Tennessee? Georgia whipped Alabama for 56 minutes, and let them in the game on some Fulmer-like play calling from Richt. Did you happen to catch the Florida-Georgia game? Saying Georgia is not very good does not give enough credit to the game that UT played despite Chavis's ineptitude. The GA game was a combination of flatness on one side, and over-achieving on the other.
vscebail#247785 writes:
No sweat. Tennessee will beat Arkansas and Vanderbilt handily, just to get all of our hopes up. Then we will go to Kentucky and get blown out -- just like we did against Cal, Florida, and Alabama. I have been saying this for over a month now, and I would lay money down that it's going to happen. Hold on to your money fellow alumn's -- Don't go buying those tickets to Atlanta yet. Just remember this -- There are three things that Fulmer is known for: 1)A good winning percentage; 2)Saving his job, when his back is against the wall; 3)Under-achieving and dissapointing the fans. See you guys in the Peach Bowl against Georgia Tech. go vols.....
kkebean#233101 writes:
USING THE THE CUSTER COMPARISON IS A BAD EXAMPLE!!! DON'T THEY KNOW ( KNS ) OUR DEFENSE IS LED BY THE CHIEF!!!!!!! THAT SHOULD TELL YOU MY PERSPECTIVE!!!!!!!!
Concerned_Mother_Focker writes:
I'm pretty sure that Arkansas is going to have to play defense as well, when they dont have the ball. G'ARNGE!
Orange4life writes:
Well, we have X-factor in Ainge. Easy to pack it in and go after second stringer last year. Arkansas doesn't exactly stop the run either, o I think last week's duo should do well this week to. So I say let it fly and we outscore em!
Go vols baby!
auttat writes:
phi, are you serious? You invested your soul into watching a game? You watch, they play.
asleep#212036 writes:
There is no talent deficit at UT, unless Rivals and Scout have been grossly wrong for the past 5 years. Only once (after 2005) were we out of the Top 10. That leaves coaching. Definitely got some issues there, but not irreparable. I just don't see Chavis or Fulmer off the sidelines next year unless we lose all 3 remaining games, therefore (at 6-6) likely missing a bowl. Chavis might be gone if AR and KY go career on us but we know how long the UT administration will suffer a fool if that fool wore orange in the past. It took seven years of steady decline in the offense before Sanders was let go. Seven years!! How long do you think Chavis gets? And Nick, you are right. I would much rather see UT as an underdog with their (or Fulmer's) backs against the wall - we just tend to play better. As a home favorite, we have stunk it up the past few years. I still say KY is a tougher matchup for us than AR, which doesn't bode well if we lose Saturday. Go Vols!!!
10ACVOL writes:
1974Vol
"It was justice through as the refs missed the call when the Hog punter kicked the ball through the back of the end zone. That's illegal touching, a 15 yard penalty from the spot of the foul. Should have been TN football at the 2 yd line (foul at the 4 - 1/2 the distance) 1st & goal instead of a safety."
WRONG, it's a safety. The punter caused the ball to be ruled dead in their endzone = SAFETY
west_tn_volfan writes:
Agentorange:"I am ashamed to be from Tn."
Pal your not as ashamed as we are that your from Tennessee. If you wont tell anyone we sure wont.
I may not be satisfied with Fulmer's coaching and I may disagree with alot of people on this sight, but people have the right to speak their minds on this or any other subject. When your so fragile, that you can't handle someone with a different point of view and you feel like you have to silence all opposition, your only showing your own weakness. So I'll tell you what, you just tell people your from Alabama and we wont tell them any different.
firefulmer (Inactive) writes:
FireChavis---I don't know what is wrong with the football program but something is. Personally, I think it is the coaching (except Taylor). Right before the GA game, Pennington's article (which I still believe to be very accurate), was published, so maybe Fulmer/players were motivated by that. Maybe we need similiar articles before each "big" game??? I'm just hoping TN can win.
firefulmer (Inactive) writes:
sjt18, here we are the 10th game of the season, and our defense has not improved at all. You would expect some improvement. Except for GA, we have slowed nobody. As for Cutcliffe, I agree with most of what you say, BUT in the big games, we struggle to score 17-20 points. I guess by this time tomorrow, we will know.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
oldbhead, its simple for me. They can't tackle on the rare occasions when they are in position to make a play. Lbs are slowest I've seen in 20 years and defensive lineman are simply out matched almost every outing. This leaves are DBs on an island with opposing QBs having 4-7 second counts to deliver. Maybe, the Lord will smile and put off realism for another week. Go Vols!
Titan writes:
VolCR - why don't you and your attitude just stay at home? Two more spaces would give all the rest of us fans a little more butt room. We won't miss you.
AF_CE_VOL writes:
Stopping McFadden and crowd is obvious first task...but offense will win or lose this game. If the VOLS run the ball well, they'll win. If they rely on the pass, and Eric Ain't continues to rely on his 3 yd passes (which have been inaccurate last 3 games) it'll be a long day.
1974Vol writes:
10ACVOL get a rule book, or just go to this link and look at rule 9-7. Ehttp://football.refs.org/rules/NFsumm...
At the time the head of SEC officiating apologized to Fulmer for blowing the call. If an offensive player intentionally kicks or bats a ball out of play to avoid a fumble recovery by the defensive team it is a penalty. 15 yards and loss of down. Of course it is a judgement call by the officals, but the ARK. punter obviously intentionally kicked the ball to avoid a potential TD.
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