CBS might pass on UT-Alabama game

The Tennessee-Alabama football game is in danger of not being televised nationally for the first time in almost two decades.

CBS has requested and been granted a third and final six-day selection period from the SEC for games on Oct. 20. The SEC's television network partner will have until Monday to decide between carrying UT-Alabama or Florida-Kentucky at 3:30 p.m.

Lincoln Financial will carry whichever game CBS doesn't select regionally. ESPN already has selected Auburn-LSU for the other nationally televised game.

The last time UT's game with the Crimson Tide wasn't carried nationally was in 1988, when UT was 0-5 heading into the traditional rivalry.

As for this week, Tennessee's game at Mississippi State on Saturday will be pay-per-view. It will be UT's first SEC game televised on pay-per-view since the Vols played Arkansas in 1995.

By carrying the Mississippi State game, UT's homecoming game against Louisiana-Lafayette will not be televised. It will be the first UT game not televised since it played Memphis in 1994.

UT was granted its one allotted exemption by television network partner CBS to air the Mississippi State game, opposite CBS's broadcast. The Louisiana-Lafayette game is set to kickoff at 4 p.m.

UT has no plans to move the Louisiana-Lafayette start time in order to accommodate television because of homecoming activities.

Double Duty Salute: Punter Britton Colquitt was named the SEC special teams player of the week. The junior punted six times for a 42-yard average against Georgia. Three of those punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.

Colquitt, having healed from a quadriceps muscle injury suffered during preseason practice, also kicked off for the first time this season, notching two touchbacks.

Thanks in part to the hang time on Colquitt's kicks, the Bulldogs averaged only 18.3 yards per return. Georgia's average starting field position was its own 21.

Hardesty Report: Tailback Montario Hardesty received his first carries on Saturday since the Southern Miss game on Sept. 8, having been slowed by a sore ankle.

Looking plenty healthy, Hardesty rushed for 68 yards on 14 carries against Georgia.

"I'm feeling good," said Hardesty, who added the sore ankle was still a bit bothersome.

Hardesty, who missed all but two games with a torn ACL in 2005, also was slowed by a pulled hamstring in preseason camp.

"I definitely feel real fresh right now," Hardesty said, referring to the time he's missed.

Punting It Around: Coach Phillip Fulmer said UT nearly unveiled its spread punt formation last year against Georgia - instead of last week.

In 2006, the Vols decided against its debut when the Bulldogs recognized the difference and called a timeout to adjust.

"It's something we've had," Fulmer said. "I felt like it was time to break it out."

It certainly worked. Georgia returner Mikey Henderson only gained 11 yards on two returns. Fulmer said the new formation allows UT to get more athletes on the field, such as receivers, defensive backs and linebackers.

However, future opponents won't be taken by surprise as Georgia might have been last Saturday.

"People start scheming it up and we're going to have to do a good job about answering the questions about it," Fulmer said.

Injury Report: Fulmer reaffirmed that freshman cornerback Brent Vinson is expected to be fine after suffering a slight shoulder injury on Saturday.

Drew Edwards contributed to this report.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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