Event Details
- What: Tennessee vs. South Carolina
- When: Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007, 7:45 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Where: Neyland Stadium
- Cost: Not available
- Age limit: All ages
Tennessee Stat Book
Any football coach will tell you a good running game comes down to balance.
And lately for the University of Tennessee backfield, it's become a balancing act, too.
For the Vols to be successful Saturday against No. 15 South Carolina, both must be better.
Tennessee ran the ball just 19 times in a 41-14 loss to Alabama last Saturday, despite averaging 5.4 yards as a team.
Those 19 carries mark the third time in UT coach Phillip Fulmer's tenure that the Vols have recorded fewer than 20 rushing attempts in a game.
Starting tailback Arian Foster averaged 7.0 yards per carry - but got the ball 13 times, only five of which came after halftime.
Foster would have taken more carries Saturday against the Crimson Tide - but only because he'd love more carries every week.
"Everybody in the nation wants to get the ball more, it's just natural being a competitor," Foster said. "But when you sign your letter of intent to the University of Tennessee, you put your trust in the coaches that they're going to put you in a position to get wins."
Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe said he was pleased with UT's balance until the score made it harder to run the ball.
"The score dictated that," Cutcliffe said. "At nine minutes to go, the game became a different game. That's the only time we abandoned the run."
Yet despite trailing at halftime by just seven points, the Vols ran five times in 16 third-quarter plays.
Foster carried twice on UT's opening possession of the second half, picking up 25 yards.
"When we went into the two-minute drill when the score got to be so bad, we had thrown 26 passes and run 19 times," Cutcliffe said. "That's good distribution."
Good distribution maybe, but the Vols needed points.
"What we didn't do was score, because we stopped ourselves," Cutcliffe said. "We were playing extremely well. Playing well, they don't give you any points for that. That's the bottom line. We didn't get in the end zone."
And Montario Hardesty didn't get on the field.
Carries are always tough to come by, especially with Foster and LaMarcus Coker in the backfield as well.
True freshman Lennon Creer earned playing time in practice as well, which is why he was on the field for a third-and-1 in the second quarter.
"We had put a package together to try to get Lennon more involved because he works hard," running backs coach Kurt Roper said. "When you come to practice and watch him work, he works hard. And he runs hard, runs physical. So we were trying to use that package just to get him involved."
Still, Hardesty expressed his displeasure following the game and missed practice Sunday night with a fever, although coaches were unsure of his whereabouts for a time that night.
According to UT, Hardesty had taken medication and gone to sleep after leaving a voicemail message with Roper, who did not check his messages until after practice.
Roper acknowledges some frustration on Hardesty's part, and said that Hardesty's lack of playing was not related to any other issue with the tailback.
"Is Montario really happy about not playing? No," Roper said. "I'm OK with him being unhappy. What he has to do now is go back to work, work hard - and that's his mentality. If you know Montario, he's a hard worker and a team-first guy."
Against South Carolina, the Vols would like to be a run-first team.
The Gamecocks' pass defense ranks No. 1 in the country with an average of 145.8 yards a game.
They've also picked off 11 passes this season and average two sacks a game.
"I think the run game is important every week," Foster said. "It sounds cliche, but you can't run if you can't pass. You've got to do both to be successful."
Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.
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Comments » 108
DennisVols writes:
Year after year I hear the same ol story from the brain-less trust of the football team. We are going to re-establish the running game, we will have more balance.
As it says in one of my favorite country songs "A little less talk and a lot more action" We have a talented running core here, probablly one of the best kept secercts in the country. Why? Because we don't allow them to take control. Foster could start for anyone this year, and I am still at a loss why we did not see Hardesty this past Saturday. Two 4th and short situations at mid-field or beyond in the 2nd half and we punt. Foster was averaging 7 yards a carry Saturday and we gave the ball to a rookie!!!!!
Our O line has stepped up, protected Ainge, opened holes but for whatever reason this coaching staff does not want to let go of the brakes.
This is a no brainer from what I see, maybe that's the problem though the decision makers are no-brainers.
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/Denn...
DennisVols writes:
Some wonder how this defense can give up so much yardage and points. The answer is simple. When your defense is on the field for 60-70% of the game there are more opportunties for the other team to rack up the stats.
As the defense wears down from playing so much the offense has a even greater advantage. It takes more engery to play defense than offense.
So run the ball, control the clock, wear the other teams defense down.
TommyJack writes:
Old axiom, but I say, "run the ball" til they prove they can stop you.. I like the wide open game as much as the next guy, but having NO running game (or not utilizing it) puts too much pressure on your QB. The play selection in the bama game was truly peculiar.
vtvol#210290 writes:
I wonder how the charts are coming along this week?
BigUn writes:
"Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe said he was pleased with UT's balance until the score made it harder to run the ball."
What?? Now Cutcliff is starting to sound like Fulmer. With 5 minutes to go in the 3rd it was 30-17 and we had the ball. If we run the ball and have a long 5-7 minute drive, if we score a TD, it's 30-24 with almost the entire 4th quarter to play!! I think Cut panicked and started throwing the ball all over the place, thus borne out by the fact out of 16 plays, we threw it on 11 of those in the 3rd, and thus you get a 3rd Saturday in October remiscent of what Bama used to do to us under Bear Bryant.
a10acfan1 writes:
Didnt we get Roper from Ole Miss? Enough said. Send him packing.
JDvols writes:
Cutcliffe said "What we didn't do was score, because we stopped ourselves."
Who says the coaches are not on top of their game? What a brilliant observation! I wonder if Cut considered the bonehead play calling and personnel usage as contributing factors to the vols demise in his analysis?
chrisw2967 writes:
"Is Montario really happy about not playing? No," Roper said. "I'm OK with him being unhappy. What he has to do now is go back to work, work hard - and that's his mentality. If you know Montario, he's a hard worker and a team-first guy."
hes the best back on the field and this jerk Roper talks about what Hardesty has to do ? give me a break. This just shows us how clueless this coaching staff is. They need tp throw Roper out on his head along with the rest of the idiots that calls themselves coaches.
Hunter writes:
"The team that scores the most points will win." - John Madden
Fulmer and Co. would call that "new-fangled logic."
We should have three backs and eight linemen rotating all the time pounding it away.
DroopyDrawers writes:
Too many egos on the coaching staff. They keep covering up their short comings with manure. Fulmer and Cut sound like a broken record. Same phooey every week.
Mr.Hamilton, your big donors WILL stop writing those big checks if you let this mess continue.
Irish_Volunt33r writes:
We have a great dynamic running game we just need to coaching to know when to put in the right back. When it’s 3 or 4 down and any less then 3 yards put in Hardesty, I do not believe he has been taking down by the first two guys in his career. When you need the speed to get to the outside or to get to the whole before it closes put in Coker, he has electrifying speed. When you need a back to run a route to serve as a safety option or you need a touchdown in the red zone put in Foster; he fights, twist and turns until he crosses that goal line. In other terms, will someone inform Chavis to bench Brent Vinson. If you watch any of the games this year, look at a majority of the big pass plays, the momentum-winning catches, and the wide-open touchdowns and you will find Brent Vinson in the same shot. It is embarrassing sometimes when I can only see the other teams’ player and I know if the camera zooms out you will see a number 13 and Vinson.
MrBamSeydu writes:
BLAH BLAH BLAH, these coaches sound like a broken record. If I were Montario Hardesty, I would transfer. If I were Lennon Creer, I would transfer. When is the last time we had a FEATURE BACK??? A: Travis Stephens
Noone wants to split carries with 3 or 4 other RB's. As for right now, Lennon Creer shouldn't even be playing. He shouldn't have played 1 single snap this year, he should've redshirted. He's done nothing to help us and we have 3 other RB's ahead of him that are better at this point in time. Arian Foster has proved to be the most consistant and deserves 20+ carries per. Lamarcus still has homerun ability but with his troubles and lack of production he should be 3rd team with about 3-5 carries per game. If he can't bust a long one in 3-5 carries, he'll average 3 yards per. Montario Hardesty should get 5-8 carries per, because he runs the hardest of all... he just doesn't have breakaway speed. He'll get 3rd and 1 8 out of 10 times, which is better than what we've seen out of the other 3 backs.
That's a total of between 28-33 running plays per game. In a game with around 70 offensive plays, that would be a perfect mix of run and pass (with 1-2 trick plays per game thrown in, and no an obvious reverse to K. Oneal is not a trick play). It's not rocket science. They're just trying to please everyone on the team instead of playing the best no matter what. Montario Hardesty is the only person that should be complaining because 19 total carries and giving Lennon Creer reps in a game vs Bama ahead of our 2nd string RB is exactly the type of coaching that has lead us to 4-3.
MrBamSeydu writes:
Oh, and Irish Vol --- Brent Vinson has only been playing CB for 2 and a half games. The only TD he was beat on prior to the Bama game was the TD pass MISS STATE got, in which he was in perfect position... the receiver just made a great play. Vinson hurt his shoulder coming down on that play, and even though he got beat he showed me something on that play. He's a true freshman and came in as a WR in the making, even though he did play some in the secondary at Hargrave. So don't blame it on him. Our entire secondary has been ravaged all season. The biggest let-down in the secondary is Jon "Mr Preseason" Hefney. He is the only SENIOR alongside 2 true freshman and a sophomore. And quite honestly, Eric Berry looks more like a SENIOR than he does. Jon Hefney is one of the biggest disappointments I can remember for a SENIOR year (I'd put Jerod Mayo up there but he's just a redshirt JR..... I also thought Kevin Simon was a bit of a letdown a few years ago his last year at UT).
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
Guarantee you Cut will come out against SC throwing. Guaranteed. Against the number 1 pass defense in the country.
To me, that could very well be a great strategy because they won't expect it. They are expecting us to pound the rock, of course.
So Cut will use the pass to soften up the run.
But only if Taylor's turftoe has healed.
burntorangeVOLffle writes:
Hefney should by playing corner. Since his move to Safety he's been close to a complete non-factor/
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
Wow, guys! Have you seen??! ESPN has picked us to be playing in the Autozone Liberty Bowl against Houston!! (CUSA No. 1 vs. SEC No. 7)
Wow! Can you imagine? A REAL BOWL GAME!!
But I think we might have to win another SEC game to really have a chance. So it's a longshot, I guess. Still, we can DREAM, can't we??
Here's the story....http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/st...
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
Only person playing wrong position in secondary is Slade as coach.
Volnut writes:
I have never been a Cutcliffe fan...EVER. Kelly, Schuler,and Peyton were solid players and extremely nice field generals in themselves. Having said that, they made Cut better than he actually was. His total lack of abandoning the running Sat proved my point.
cphil writes:
Back when Majors was on the hot seat, I remember one of the most common complaints concerned his play selection. "Run left, run right, run up the middle then punt." He got to being too conservative in play selection and didn't utilize the passing game.
If he'd had a back averaging 7 yards per carry, he'd have looked brilliant to the fans back then.
The bottom line: Majors got to the point of playing not to loose rather than taking a chance more in an attempt to win. It didn't happen overnight, he slipped into that mindset. Sound familiar?
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Man, this toic was like throwing meat to the lions! One positive is that NO ONE, MUCH LESS PHIL, has any clue as to what we'll do Saturday. Oh, there's a game plan, but what will we actually accomplish. Make Superion look good, excellant chance. Give us more fodder to grind on these blogs, excellant chance. Lose to S. Carolina, excellant chance. Odds I'll watch this one at home, excellant chance. Odds Phil will say "we're going to work hard to get better", excellant chance! Game results negative, excellant chance. Fell better now, Go Vols.
BIGEJ writes:
It must be great to be a D-1 AD, coach or player in the Internet age; just look at all the free advice from "the great educated football minds" from around the country; the vast amount of "coaching knowledge" being offered; the number of offers on the exotic places where the coaches can go now or after they leave the profession; the legal knowledge on how to manipulate coaching contracts; these players and coaches owe a great debt of gratitude to the great web log minds....UT's president should let go of the entire Athletic department, no better yet, let all the players go and recruit these great thinkers-commentators of the blog age to coach and to play in ALL the sports; better yet just GO VOLS
GreerVol22 writes:
OK God's gift to offensive coordinators, no one until this article has really attacked you about your performace thus far. You had your butt handed to you by a kid, and you were not prepared to overcome the shortcomings of the defense. Its obvious Phil is a bumbling, drooling idiot and if your still listening to him then make a trip to Wal-Mart and buy you that Montana sized fishing poll too.
Bet your a$$ that Spurrier will have tricks up his sleeve for saturday night. So if you have any real competancy past developing quarterbacks, this is a good time to prove it....and not with freshman runningbacks on 3rd and 1 and dumb reverses that you practice for about 10 minutes on Tuesday.
auttat writes:
dlskaggs, don't blame the offense one bit for what the defense can't do, get off the field.
I'm all about rewarding a kid for working hard, and putting Creer in on that play may keep his head up and win games in the future, but this coaching staff needs to win games now. Foster should not even be mentioning walking around lose and having fun. He should be so tired from the game before, that he can barely carry his own bag.
secten#238516 writes:
good posts by everyone! i couldn't have said it better. our coaching don't have a clue about the run.
vscebail#247785 writes:
"Against South Carolina, the Vols would like to be a run-first team." -- When and why the hell did we ever get away from this in the first place? Our running game used to dominate almost every team we played. We would control the game, control the clock, and use long, sustained drives to prevent the other team's offense from having the ball. It may not be the flashiest or most creative offense, but it won a lot of football games! And if we lost, it was usually a close battle -- not the blow-out losses that we are experiencing now. I say we hire Frank Solich from the University of Ohio and have him resurrect the Power I here at UT. Lord knows, it worked for Nebraska forever - and they sure wish they were still running it, today. -- Run the damn ball!!!
qball77 writes:
NO NO NO! There WAS no balance! We went away from what was working (the running game) and that is why we could not keep Joe Montana and Jerry Rice I mean John Parker Wilson and DJ Hall off the field.
bigbluevol writes:
A few things. First, it's really interesting to see how many people are high on Hardesty now after most people (myself included) had decided he hadn't lived up to his potential. He should have played Saturday, but let's stop acting like we've always thought he was outstanding. Second, Hefney is playing essentially every receiver on the field because he's surrounded by youth. He's played well for us and I believe he will show up more, especially this weekend. Third, Vinson gave up that touchdown against UGA, but he was in great position. That guy climbed his back to make the catch. Finally, Cutcliffe didn't get his butt handed to him by a kid. Cut calls offensive plays; therefore, he was matched up against Kevin Steele. Chavis was the one matching up with the "kid" Applewhite. That said, we should have run on third and 2, in my opinion instead of throwing it.
bigbluevol writes:
Instead of "playing" every receiver on the field, I should have said covering, my apologies.
jhen713#212078 writes:
I understand the need to spread some of the carries around, but what happened to the "feature back" first and then backups a few here and there. It worked well with Lewis and Henry and we were contenders. Let him put up big numbers let him go to the NFL and move in the next big recruit. Then Tennessee went to this two-three back system (i guess to try and keep the talent here longer) and it's been down hill eversince. Running the ball well wins football games. It makes a feature back look good, it makes the line look good. It even makes the defence look better by keeping them off the field. Thats how we put so many players into the NFL. That's what landed so many great recruits.
jweaver3#395614 writes:
What about Fulmer one more year then Bobby Petrino should be sick of Atlanta and ready to come back to college ball???
Run, Run, Run, Run.
GO VOLS!!!
TXVOLSFAN
jhen713#212078 writes:
I would love to see Petrino here as long as he stayed 100 miles away from the defence. I don't see it happening though. He is Auburn's guy. He will go there if Tubberville leaves for Arkansas or Texas A&M. I guess it's ok to hope though
webbofconfusion writes:
My concern is not that we abondoned the run game. I think the balance was good. The play calling was suspect.
You establish the run, 5 yds per carry. Driving the ball you set up with a spread offense with the QB in shot gun... No threat to run on that play... then you set up five wide... once again no threat to run.
The interception was a bad break on a bad call. We ran the same play in the first half and burned them deep. But to go to it again in the second half. The gimick wore off and they burned us, intercepting the ball.
Then the game was "Out of Control".
Cut panicked.
Had he gone back to the run(as said earlier) we were only down by ten.... but we panicked...
and disappointment ensues...
The Hardesty issue... it is a non issue. Foster was averaging monster yards, why pull him?
But to line up 5 wide when the run works???? What were you thinking Cut?
vick3333 writes:
Before Fulmer runs the program competely into the ground the Vols need to start their search....the leading candidates should be:
Stoops, Bob (it's the SEC baby, anybody who doesn't think UT is an upgrade from OU is one of those losers posting on this site)
Norm Chow (Titans)
Jim Harbaugh (calls out Carroll and then beats him)..the next Spurrier
Jason Garrett (O/C Cowboys)
Tedford (it's the SEC baby)
Leavitt ( now there's passion...was with Stoops on the K-State staff in early 90's as well)
Gruden
the real Boise St coach resides in Colo....Hawkins is the one who built that program!
the problem is the AD, just like at Nebraska....Hamilton is an ACC guy...let's hope to God he doesn't opt for Terry Bowden!
BigManVolFan writes:
BLAH, BLAH, WE GONNA RUN, BLAH, BLAH ,BLAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
KEEP ON HERING THE SAME OLE WORDS, WEEK IN, WEEK OUT!!!
DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU ARE GONNA DO AND RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN!!!!!! S. CAROLINA IS 1ST IN THE COUNTRY IN PASS D....AINGE CAN SHOULDER THE LOAD EVERY WEEK AND THROW FOR 300+ YARDS AND 4 TD'S EVERY WEEK...TIME THE COACHES OPEN UP THE RUN GAME AND POUND THE ROCK!
TommyJack writes:
Puh-leeeze...Stay OFF the Gruden kick...What is the facination with this guy????
BigManVolFan writes:
When Tennessee fires ole Fat, Lazy Phil, they need to replace him with a coach who dont give a damn about hurting someones feelings and will pull out all the stops to win...Just to name a few coaches:
1. Steve Spurier
2. Bo Peloni
3. Rich Rodreguiz
4. John Gruden
5. Norm Chow
6. The Auburn D-Cord. Muschamp
7. Bob Stoops(even though SEC football is an upgrade it's doubtful he will ever leave OU.)
8. June Jones ( He can score some points )
GreerVol22 writes:
bigblue, when you look at the performace of the two offensive coordinators last Saturday, which one out performed the other? Alabama's D was not good enough to stop us either, but bad play calls, bad decisions on personnel, and bad execution lies in Cut's lap.
TommyJack writes:
jwraymond: are you RELATED to Gruden? I'm not even sure Tampa Bay wants him....How can you compare the man to Bruce Pearl? You're way off on this one.
rbhobbs73#226545 writes:
No to Gruden and Garrett...they are NFL guys. No experience recruiting. Don't know if they will like it. We need proven winners on the COLLEGE level.
No to Chow b/c he is the poster child for.."great coordinator...bad head coach"..but he has never been a head coach, how can you say that? exactly...he is 60 years old, been a GREAT OC for years, never a head coach..that is telling enough for me.
Stoops will never leave OU, because UT is NOT a better job. It is a lateral move that comes with a less fertile recruiting ground and much tougher competition.
UT should focus on Petrino, Leavitt, Schiano, Patterson at TCU, and Kelly at Cincinnati. We could ask the Spurrier, but he will decline.
Tuberville is not going to Arkansas, as Auburn is a better job. He might go to A&M if they threw a boat load of money at him...but I don't think he is going anywhere.
orangebloodgmc writes:
Running game ... how bout a FULLBACK ???
Linebackers ... can anyone tell me if young Chris Donald at least played in the JV game a few weeks ago, or would that have been enough to mess up a red shirt season?
Feared_Mustang_Package writes:
Cutcliffe thinks he's some kind of Bill Walsh, West Coast Offense genius. I think he's just an idiot and should have never been hired back as a OC at UT. I didn't like him much when he was here the first time, don't like him now.
TommyJack writes:
JWRAY: Exactly what record of Gruden's would you use to evautate him? Driving record? I think your facination with the cute, blond boy may signal deeper problems for you, pal. Maybe you should look inward.
BigOrange1 writes:
BIGEJ at 7:38 - best post I've ever read...finally, someone with an actual brain!
Feared_Mustang_Package writes:
Norm Chow? You must be kidding me right.
BIGEJ- Sit on it Potsie.
bigbluevol writes:
Greer- I think Applewhite had it a little easier than Cut did. Bama's defense actually made some plays. Because Applewhite was scoring at will, I think Cut felt like he had to score a lot and quickly. Again, you can argue with why we run some formations and what not, but the fact that we're trailing plays a huge part.
RemembertheAlamo writes:
for all you Petrino lovers.....Petrino just cut the leading tackler on the defensive line...21 tackles, 5 for losses, and 1 sack to go with a rookie..Petrino doesn't have a clue either (1-6) I sure don't want him at Tennessee....
bigbluevol writes:
Not to mention that if Fulmer is fired, you owe him and his staff a buyout. To get Petrino from the Falcons is another buyout. Then you have to pay his salary. Then we'd get to watch and see how long it would be before he was looking elsewhere. He and Saban are nomads.
webbofconfusion writes:
Grudens record..
2002 Tampa... i would hardly call that his team.
+--------------+----------+
| Reg. Season | Playoffs |
+----------+--------------+----------+
| Year TM | W L T | W L |
+----------+--------------+----------+
| 1998 oak | 8 8 0 | 0 0 |
| 1999 oak | 8 8 0 | 0 0 |
| 2000 oak | 12 4 0 | 1 1 |
| 2001 oak | 10 6 0 | 1 1 |
| 2002 tam | 12 4 0 | 3 0 |
| 2003 tam | 7 9 0 | 0 0 |
| 2004 tam | 5 11 0 | 0 0 |
| 2005 tam | 11 5 0 | 0 1 |
| 2006 tam | 4 12 0 | 0 0 |
| 2007 tam | 4 3 0 | 0 0 |
+----------+--------------+----------+
| TOTALS | 81 70 0 | 5 3 |
+----------+--------------+----------+
His reults are looking like Phil's right now... If you hate Phil you will really hate Gruden.. good choice.
BOASoldier writes:
Holy phooey ... news flash... You know I have never liked Spurrier probably because the arrogance and the cockiness before the games he usually wins, but I just watched him at the press conference and his words went SOMETHING like this 'we're embarrassed on offense, I've apologized a few times about bad plays on offense cause I coach the offense and I probably should again' How much better would it be if any of our coaches manned up and made a statement like that... Spurrier just gained my respect (for what that's worth)
wyomingvol writes:
Thats BS Coach Cut,
You gave up on the run when it was still close.
'Fortunately' they ran up the score in the end, giving You a conveinient escape.
Way to screw the kids.
YOUR ABANDONMENT OF THE GAMEPLAN WAS RIDICULOUS.
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