Adams: It's too soon to panic

The Vols have had an entire week to figure out what went wrong in last week's 45-31 loss to Cal. That's almost enough time to get through the first half.

Despite all the first-game mishaps, there was plenty for UT fans to feel good about:

- Senior quarterback Erik Ainge managed UT's no-huddle offense like a pro and completed 32 passes despite playing with a broken little finger on his throwing hand.

- Placekicker Daniel Lincoln made a clutch 41-yard field goal in his first game.

- Tailback Arian Foster looked like a 1,000-yard rusher.

- The offensive line showed improvement.

- True freshman defensive back Eric Berry played well enough to win a starting job.

- No radio personality in East Tennessee climbed on top of a billboard or rooftop, vowing to come down only when the Vols won a game.

I now interrupt this column for a public-service announcement: DO NOT PANIC!

Just because I mentioned this team in the same sentence with the 1988 team, which lost its first six games, doesn't mean the Vols are headed for a 5-6 season. They already did that (See 2005 season for details).

Tennessee 30, Southern Mississippi 13: Many UT fans are still grumbling over their team's last possession in the loss to Cal. With the Vols trailing by two touchdowns with about a minute and a half to play, UT coach Phillip Fulmer elected to punt from UT's 13, rather than go for the first down on fourth-and-17.

What do you want? A miracle finish?

Then go pull for Boise State.

Sure, the Vols could have gone for it. Maybe they would have gotten lucky and made the first down. Then, maybe they would have gotten even luckier and scored on a long pass, recovered an onside kick, scored a game-tying touchdown in the final seconds, and won the game in overtime.

But suppose UT had gone for it and failed to make the first down. Then, suppose Cal scored another touchdown in the final seconds. A fairly respectable two-touchdown loss would have become a less-respectable three-touchdown loss.

Let's review. Best-case scenario: You pull out a miracle victory. Worst-case scenario: You lose by three touchdowns instead of two.

That's an easy decision for a coach concerned about his job.

Georgia 23, South Carolina 20: Remember when coach Steve Spurrier used to dominate the Bulldogs?

A couple of things have changed since then. One, Spurrier isn't coaching Florida; two, Ray Goff isn't coaching Georgia.

Georgia's Mark Richt has won five consecutive games against the Gamecocks and is 2-0 against Spurrier, whose offense has managed a mere 15 points in the two losses.

The last two times Spurrier matched wits with Goff, the Gators scored 52 points in each game.

Sabama 27, Vanderbilt 23: As reported here Monday, Nick Saban is not interested in the head-coaching job at Michigan.

Despite what Michigan fans think, Michigan has a head coach. His name is Lloyd Carr. He won a national championship in 1997 and - according to Wolverine old-timers - actually beat Ohio State once upon a time.

I repeat: Nick Saban will never be the head coach at Michigan.

LSU 13, Virginia Tech 3: Mississippi State quarterback Michael Henig gave LSU's defense a nice tune-up for Hokies quarterback Sean Glennon. Both quarterbacks have a habit of finding a favorite receiver on an opponent's defense.

Henig threw six interceptions in LSU's 45-0 victory. Three of those went to LSU safety Craig Steltz.

Glennon threw three interceptions, including two to linebacker Tony Taylor, as Virginia Tech blew an 18-point lead to Georgia in last year's Peach Bowl.

Look for LSU's defense to squeeze the life out of Virginia Tech's offense. And look for LSU's conservative play-calling to squeeze the life out of LSU's offense.

Missouri 37, Ole Miss 27: It's questionable whether any Division I-A school has played two tougher games to open the season than Missouri.

I'm not talking about tough for the football team. I'm talking about tough for Missouri's highly acclaimed journalism school.

Only a sportswriter could fully appreciate the challenge faced by the journalism students who cover Missouri football for the school paper. First, they had to deal with Illinois coach Ron Zook, who in two head-coaching jobs has yet to complete a sentence; second, they encountered Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, dubbed the "Cajun Ron Zook" by Memphis sportswriter Ron Higgins.

In case you're wondering, Oregeron didn't get that nickname by completing sentences.

Kentucky 38, Kent State 23: Last year, Kentucky coach Rich Brooks probably was one losing season away from losing his job. Now, he's a regular Spurrier. At the end of Brooks' press conference Monday, he volunteered: "How was that Notre Dame offense last week, by the way?"

In a 33-3 loss to Georgia Tech, Notre Dame managed a meager 121 yards, or about what Kentucky gets in an average quarter these days. The Wildcats have averaged 458 yards in their last five games.

In other words, Kent State's Doug Martin probably won't recognize his alma mater. Martin, a graduate of Oak Ridge High School, played for the Wildcats in the early 1980s.

Mississippi State 31, Tulane 24: After Henig threw six interceptions in a 45-0 opening-season loss to LSU, he received a text message from Archie Manning, which read: "From me, Peyton and Eli, keep your head up."

A more appropriate message during the game would have been: "Keep your head on." Six interceptions aside, surviving a game against LSU's ornery defense was a victory of sorts for the injury-prone Henig.

The good news for Henig and the Bulldogs: Tulane ranked 113th nationally in scoring defense last year. The better news: Tulane returns eight starters from that defense.

Florida 48, Troy 13: In preseason, you had to wonder if the Gators would be prepared for Tennessee after opening with those cushy first two opponents. In fact, UT should be an appropriate follow-up to Western Kentucky and Troy.

UT, Western Kentucky and Troy have something else in common besides playing in The Swamp in September. Each of the three gave up 45 points or more against nationally ranked teams on the road.

Auburn 27, South Florida 17: Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox is ahead of last year's pace, and that's awful news for the Tigers. Cox, who was sacked 35 times last season, was sacked five times, including four in the first half, against Kansas State last week.

Afterwards, Cox said he had a sore shoulder, a bruised thigh and a hurt neck. He also complained of being "a little fuzzy" for parts of Auburn's come-from-behind victory over Kansas State. For laymen, "a little fuzzy" is a medical term which refers to someone who hasn't been hit quite hard enough to lose his memory, but just hard enough to wish he had lost his memory.

Medical advice to Cox: Stay clear of USF defensive end George Selvie, who had four sacks last week.

Top 25: West Virginia 45, Marshall 13; Oklahoma 27, Miami 13; Wisconsin 45, UNLV 14; TCU 23, Texas 20; Cal 45, Colorado State 24; Ohio State 41, Akron 13; UCLA 27, BYU 20; Penn State 24, Notre Dame 17; Nebraska 31, Wake Forest 24; Hawaii 55, Louisiana Tech 24; Georgia Tech 41, Samford 7; Washington 30, Boise State 27; Clemson 52, Louisiana-Monroe 13; Texas A&M 38, Fresno State 20.

Record: 20-3 (.869) overall, 7-10 (.412) against the spread.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.