Tennessee Stat Book
Event Details
- What: Tennessee vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
- When: Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007, time TBA
- Where: Neyland Stadium
- Cost: Not available
- Age limit: All ages
When I tell you how tough the SEC is in football, I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir. If you follow this league on a regular basis, you understand.
And you know it's not just about all the talent SEC teams have. It's also about all the talent they lose.
The conference is so competitive and so physical, the attrition often determines who wins and loses.
You lose a cornerback one week and a receiver the next. It mounts up over the course of a 12-game season.
Take Tennesee, for example. Since the season started, the Vols have lost two starting cornerbacks and their starting offensive left tackle. None of those players will be back for the stretch run.
Take Kentucky, for another example. The Wildcats were down to their fifth running back at one point in their 31-14 loss to Mississippi State last week.
Vanderbilt can relate to that. The Commodores had to use their No. 3 quarterback in a 24-13 victory over Miami of Ohio last week.
Arkansas star wide receiver Marcus Monk finally returned to the field for the Razorbacks last week. Who knows how much his absence cost the defending West Division champions?
He's an SEC-caliber receiver on a team that struggles to throw effectively. Moreover, two of Arkansas' three conference losses have been by a total of four points. It's not farfetched to assume a player as good as Monk could have made a difference in those games.
Injuries don't have to take away a player to cost a team a game. They only have to take away a player's ability to perform at full speed.
That was evident in Florida's loss to Georgia on Saturday.
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow played with a bruised shoulder. Although he played, he didn't play anything like he played before the injury.
Because of the injured right shoulder, Tebow rarely ran. Since he's Florida's best runner, that was akin to losing a starting running back.
The injury also affected Florida's passing game. Without the threat of Tebow scrambling from the pocket, Georgia blitzed repeatedly with great results.
Even supposedly minor injuries can be significant.
UT quarterback Erik Ainge has played all season with an injured little finger on his throwing hand. The injury might seem insignificant, particularly in light of how well Ainge has played most of the season. But the injury was a factor in a botched handoff to Arian Foster, who fumbled the ball over to Florida.
The game wasn't close, but so many games in this conference are. And in close games, one player - or even the slightest injury - could alter the outcome.
Lucas Taylor, UT's top wide receiver, is playing with turf toe. He minimized the seriousness of the injury in playing last week against South Carolina. But if the injury costs him half a step on one play, that could be the play that decides a game.
Granted, injuries are a factor throughout college football. But they're magnified in the SEC because of the balance.
In a conference known for its competitiveness, the SEC East is more competitive than ever. All six teams enter the last month of the season with a mathematical shot of winning the division championship.
The winner might not be the best team. It might be the team with the fewest injuries.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.
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Comments » 35
james#216392 writes:
Ainge seemed to play better when the finger was first broken than lately. No doubt the Vols have had to battle injuries. Maybe they can hold it together for the stretch run. Go Vols.
dfreeman writes:
Arkansas wide reciever Monk is going to tear us a new one!! He did it last year with us having a little better secondary!! If DJ Hall can rip us to shreds Monk will destroy us!! That is disturbing news!!
MANVOL writes:
I don’t know if the coaches have preached to Ainge so much about not making a mistake, or he is too worried about his completion percentage; but he will not throw the ball deep. I sat in Tuscaloosa and he had four chance two hit a wide open receiver and didn’t let it fly. The one time he through it deep he missed the wide open guy and through it into deep coverage and it was intercepted. His pass efficiency is so high because of all the dink and dunk passing. I know you can’t play by the seat of your paints and throw the ball al over the field but you'll never know if you can hit the long one if you don’t throw it. Is it his finger or coaching????
SmokeDog72 writes:
Yeah, I can see it now in the news.
"MONK VIOLATES YOUNG CORNERS"
Wait a minute, wasn't there already a story out of Boston that dealt with that subject?
thevol writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
SmokeDog72 writes:
thevol,
Remind me not to watch.
newtonrail writes:
Myers system and all spread option offenses are similar to the single wing. It was inevitable Tebow would get hurt, and I'm surprised it took this long. When Tenn. had our last great single wing team with Johnny Majors at Tailback, Bobby Gordon was back there almost as much as he was, with a 3rd Tailback playing a lot.
tnmantravel#531151 writes:
florida's coach meyer....has found out .... running your quarterback on a regular basis will get him hurt...this ain't utah and the wac.....rest up vols......gonna need those final 3 sec games
spencer1989#206886 writes:
Simply put, the eastern division of the SEC race is far from over. We have three tough games to win before we let our heads get too big. Realistically, I have my doubts.....But I will still pray for a miracle (of playing with desire and being prepared in each game).
DarthVol writes:
Sooo...is your point that "I'm not ok and you're not ok. But that's ok because we're not all ok."? IMO We're an average division right now. And as per our history, we seem unable to rise above it.
GreerVol22 writes:
MANVOL, your onto something with the coaching thing. Cutcliffe would like nothing better than to have another NFL draftee and he's keeping Ainge's numbers high by doing exactly what you said with the dink and dunk stuff. Coach Cut has always has a big ego, the Mannings, made him almost "manic" about it. Herbtreit more often than not is right on and his comments about Tennessee players playing to get to the NFL is spot on.
wkjq#213863 writes:
One point I disagree with is the Fla. game was close when the fumble occured. UT even had the momentum at the time. I think we might have won that game had the fumble not occured, therefore I believe Ainge's injury may have already effected the race.
bowerst#242774 writes:
Amen, Reverend Adams. And don't forget we lost two defensive backs before the season even started.
What the dim bulbs who say the SEC East is average (and the idiots who never enjoy a win and hope UT loses so they can fire the coaching staff) overlook is that a. parity makes a conference filled with very good teams' records look average, b. momentum is the single biggest factor in any game with fairly evenly-matched teams, and c. college athletes feed off the emotion of the crowd and it helps to play at home and have lots of fans screaming, hollering and stomping their feet on every play -- not spending the whole game just criticizing the coaches and/or play calling.
orangebloodgmc writes:
Tnmantravel, I thought the same thing ... Qb been frequently running the ball and now he's hurt ... What a freak random thing to happen.
asleep#212036 writes:
thevol and smokedog72,
I'm offended. When I quit LMAO I'm gonna let you have it. That is bad - but absolutely hilarious! Good point though. Arkansas has a junior high passing game. We have a junior high pass defense. Call it even. We do OK stopping the run. Their D is average against the run, pretty bad against the pass. We're at home. I say we win that one. Still not liking the trip to Lexington. I never thought I'd have to say that. Go Vols!!!
Coach_Joe writes:
Overall, a good article! Remember this was by J. Adams. You know, the one who has a mancrush on Tebow!
asleep#212036 writes:
orangebloodgmc,
Good call. Who would have thought that running your QB into the heart of an SEC defense 25 times per game could turn out badly? Seems like things never change in football. If you can't run consistently, you can't win consistently. We've got that disease and apparently, the Gators now have it too. They'll cure it by running more. We'll try and cure it by throwing more. Ouch! Go Vols!!!
backwoodsvol writes:
how well Ainge has played this season??? I'd say average at best. We need a play maker at qb and some body to fire up their teamates(and fans). Least sacks allowed in the country and but the offense doesn't get much in return. Either need a better athlete at qb or someone who could complete passes like Peyton (beat those Patriots dad gum it). No offense Ainge, but from what I've seen over your career your no 1st round pick like coach Cutcliff quoted. I was shocked when I heard that during Saturday nights broadcast.
backwoodsvol writes:
I'm not saying he is horrible, but that he is overrated. Passing yards don't mean squat to me seeing how our biggest games were over after the third qtr. Many of those yards were insignificant.
vscebail#247785 writes:
Well, our defense is doing a heck-uva job trying to get back on track. As you know we lost two of our best starters in Justin Harrell and Inquorious Johnson. We're still waiting for someone else to step up and make some plays. We're not as deep this year as we need to be. But that's the nature of the game in the SEC....... Oh wait! -- That was last year.
1974Vol writes:
Someone may want to point out to Urban Meyer that for years all SEC teams have played 2-3 + running backs because they are going to get beat up - which is why no one runs an option attack in this conference - because your QB gets killed. The only surprising thing is Tebow lasted this long-tough kid.
cnalumni writes:
Ut may be just lucky enough to make it to the SEC Championship. Looking at their remaining games, It is quiet possible. I definitely don't see Ga making it. Last week was their big upset win for the year, and they will lose to Auburn and Ky. Ga is just not that good despite their win last week. Auburn will dominate Ga and Ky will beat them with their passing game.
GoVol writes:
We all know our best defense is to keep our offense on the field and score TD's, not FG's. We'll need to score at least 35+ pts against Arkansas & Kentucky to beat those teams.
As for as Tebow, it simply is a matter of time when a QB rushes an average of 17 times per game in the SEC before injuries are going to be a factor. The SEC defenses are simply too big & too strong and pride themselves at getting after the QB. I hope FL loses the rest of their games!
Volunatic writes:
I did enjoy seeing the Georgia defense "work" tebow's shoulder last Saturday.
Normally I wouldn't support that kind of bad sportsmanship, but I recall tebow and the rest of the uf starters being left in the game against UT until very near the end, even after Tennessee had punted and thrown in the towel midway through the 4th quarter. I also recall tebow running on a 4th down instead of meyer calling a punt after all that, against UT's 2nd and 3rd stringers.
It was already a blowout-- that was just adding insult to injury. Now the "injury" factor is getting to THEM, and I LOVE it.
I hope EVERYONE "works" tebow's shoulder from here on out, and I also hope that urban meyer gets his leg broken by a player being blocked out of bounds like what happened to JoPa last season. (I felt bad for JoPa when that happened, though-- poor ol' guy.)
mtnvol writes:
Jack A$$ has written another gem (sarcasm!). It sounds kind of like John Madden...."If players get hurt, that will hurt the team." DUH!
In his next article Jack A$$ will amaze us all with his new discovery: the team that scores the most wins.
BTW, does anyone know if Jack A$$ sent timmy (the object of his man-love crush) a Get Well card? I bet chocolates went with it!
asleep#212036 writes:
Indianavol,
I want Bama to lose, period. I live in Alabama and when they win, it is miserable. Like I say, when the Tide loses, you can't find an Alabama fan, when they win, you can't get away from them. I hope they lose to LSU, MSU, and Auburn. What we need to happen is for UT and Georgia to win out, and SC beat Florida. That puts Georgia in BCS with SEC champ, but leaves loser of title game (LSU or UT) in position for Jan. 1 bowl. I hate it, but if we end up tied with anybody for that last Jan. 1 bowl spot, we will get screwed. Tebow, Woodson, Saban, and Spurrier are all more attractive to the networks that we are. Go Vols!!!
yeavols#228407 writes:
OK i had a thought. How about we join Conference USA where Marshall and Southern Miss reside. WE would be awesome and playing in a BCS bowl every year. ANy thoughts?
west_tn_volfan writes:
Indianavol...Alabama needs to lose and lose and lose again and then pick up where they left off losing next year.
gohawks1 writes:
Hey John, Tennessee is spelled with two S's, dude.
paulvol writes:
If we played every game like it was the SEC champianship game we might just make it to the champianship game
Colliervol writes:
Posted this on another article but thought it worth repeating:
Listening to the radio while traveling today. One caller put it in a way that I hadn't thought about and it sort of puts it in a perspective that everybody can understand.
Here we are. Three wins against Arkansas, Vandy and KY and we go to Atlanta. As recently as five years ago, if somebody had said that, I would have said no question, sign me up for Atlanta. No way we lose those games. Today looking at the same three games, I can't honestly say that with any degree of confidence. And that, my friends is the difference between where the program was and where the program is now. (And I don't care how good AR, Vandy and KY have gotten. Five years ago it wouldn't have mattered.)
Well, OK, maybe I should have stretched that time frame to 10 years ago but who's counting.
jt1369w writes:
Least sacks in the country... It's hard to get that average up on 3 and out's.
wyomingvol writes:
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
pdhuff#552644 writes:
We're lost as a goose. Rudderless!
phi0129 writes:
Asleep: I agree completely. AL fans piss me off so bad. Never saw them in Chattanooga until a couple of years ago when they were decent. Then they dissapeared and with Saban are now back talking mad smack. Calling into radio shows, etc. etc. etc. Completely fair weather fans if you ask me.
Guys, who are we kidding? This is the most wishy washy team in TN history. Flashes of brilliance coupled with periods of high schoolesque football playing. No way we keep the ship afloat for 12 quarters in a row. I'd say our chances of winning out are approximately 15-20%
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