Penalties no problem for Vols

All but unnoticed in Tennessee's roller-coaster ride of a football season has been a crackdown on crime.

On-the-field crime, that is.

Tennessee leads the SEC and is tied for eighth nationally in fewest yards penalized - 39.2 - per game.

The Vols (3-2, 1-1 SEC) hope their law-abiding ways will be an edge Saturday when they visit Mississippi State (4-2, 1-1) at 2:30 p.m. EDT (TV: pay-per-view).

"You have to take your hat off,'' said UT coach Phillip Fulmer, "to the coaches on the job they do on both sides of the ball, and to the players, to be disciplined and not help people.''

UT has helped people plenty already, giving up big plays on defense and in the kicking game. Even the offense has gotten in on the act, forking over three touchdown-producing turnovers.

But when it comes to penalty yardage, law and order has been a crusade that starts at the top with Fulmer, several assistant coaches said.

"When you're not as talented at different positions as we've been in the past, like mine, the receivers, you have to be disciplined,'' said assistant coach Trooper Taylor.

"You can't afford to get us off task by getting a five-yard penalty.''

Avoiding penalties is a tremendous help to offensive play-caller David Cutcliffe by keeping down-and-distance situations manageable.

The offensive line is averaging only one false-start per game and hasn't had a holding penalty since the first series of the opener at Cal.

"We make it a point,'' said line coach Greg Adkins. "We have referees out there every day at practice. If they throw a flag at practice, we make the kids aware of those situations.''

Part of making them aware is punishment. When a penalty flag flies at practice, justice is swift, usually in the form of pushups or running laps.

"We tell the officials in practice,'' said Taylor, "even if it's close, throw the flag so we can teach 'em now and not have to deal with it in a game.''

If they do have to deal with it in a game, the punishment is worse.

"The personal foul we got (against Georgia)?'' said Taylor. "They paid a price for it (Monday). I promise the guys that were watching don't want to go down that road.''

Some penalties are more damaging than others, depending on timing and field position. Last year, a defensive touchdown was nullified by a penalty for a blow to the quarterback's head in UT's 21-20 loss to Florida.

Still, if the Vols are to be penalized, Fulmer prefers them to be penalties of aggression, not of technique.

Marsalous Johnson was ruled too aggressive when he intercepted a Georgia pass in the end zone last Saturday. He was flagged for pass interference, which allowed Georgia to keep the ball and eventually score.

"All I saw was two competitors going at it,'' said Johnson. "If I was to be in that position again, I'd do the same thing over and over again.''

Fulmer said minimizing penalty yardage has always been a focus. The Vols, evidently, are listening better these days.

They ranked No. 2 in the SEC last year, but were anywhere from seventh to 10th from 2002-05.

Whether penalty yardage is a significant winning edge is open to debate.

Iowa State (1-5) and Minnesota (1-5) are top four nationally in fewest yards penalized. Florida and LSU rank at the bottom of the SEC. Southern Cal is one of the most penalized teams in the nation.

Still, Tennessee will keep driving home the discipline message and figure it pays off in the long run.

"When you jump offsides,'' said receiver Josh Briscoe, "you're not just hurting yourself. You're hurting the whole team.

"We take it very seriously.''

Added Taylor, "Those third-and-fives are easier than third-and-fifteens. We don't have a lot of play calls for those.''

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.