Posted by nathan on September 19, 2007 at 7:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Yup. Perfectly said. Tennessee since 2005 (or since 2002 if you're thinking of bowls) has been more on the level of a Mississippi State than the elite teams of the nation. The only problem is, we're still too busy basking in the very, very faint glow of 1998 to realize that no one takes us seriously anymore.

Posted by tngeoff on September 19, 2007 at 7:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

John..."The whining just makes it look like Tennessee is a wounded gladiator lying on the sand of the Coliseum, an opponent’s sword pointing at their neck, left only to pray that the Emperor doesn’t give the “thumbs down” signal."

Except for that line...great column. A gladiator wouldn't have even blinked at the fate he would be about to suffer as a result of his failure. Some of the things I have heard remind me of when I coached one of my daughters softball team when she was ten years old. The common reply was, "They cheated!" No...they didn't cheat...they just won. Florida could have put up 70 if they seriously wanted to run it up. The "deer in the headlights effect" is all that happened to the complainers. Just get your butt up and attack! PERIOD. The crying serves to ignite the flames of fury in coming opponents who can't help but see it as weakness. We've revealed way too much weakness already. Time for men to step up and make a statement.

Posted by JOF20 on September 19, 2007 at 7:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This is the best column i have seen so far. The only thing better was the one liner from John Adam. "The powre "T" was no match for the power of Tebow"!!!

I agree 100% it's the offenses job to score and Defenses job to stop them from it. if someone scores 100 so be it.

Mr. Pennington...Great job.

Posted by tnorthern on September 19, 2007 at 7:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

UT couldn't lay 60 on Michigan or Notre Dame, however the offense could lay 60 on the defense if they quit pouting long enough.

Posted by tngeoff on September 19, 2007 at 7:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Who yelled, "Don't taze me bro'?"

Posted by txsvol on September 19, 2007 at 7:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Florida student got Tasered. We got Tebow-ed! Good column, John! Get the Gators next year! (Maybe LSU will get them this year, and then lose in Atlanta in the SEC Championship game, or vice versa.) Go Vols!

Posted by tngeoff on September 19, 2007 at 7:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ESPN - Replay of Loisville and Kentucky right now. Uh oh. The Big Blue looks really tough and of course the outcome is not in doubt. Applicable movie line "I think we need a bigger boat."

Posted by yeavols on September 19, 2007 at 8:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

SCOUT.COM= The decline since 1998 is hard to ignore. The numbers bare out a program that has struggled to approach the success of Fulmer’s teams of 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. Whether it is a case of complacency, lack of player development, staff stagnation, bad luck, or a combination of all of these factors, Fulmer hasn’t won an SEC Championship since 1998 and has only been to one BCS bowl, which Tennessee lost. In post season contests the last seven seasons, Tennessee stands 2-6, including two losses in SEC title games. IT"S CALLED A FAILING GRADE. THANKS for the INSIGHT SCOUT!

Posted by utwick on September 19, 2007 at 8:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Great article. Accurate and to the point. Quit whining and do something about it. The whining trickles down to the players. Who taught Ainge to seclude himself on the bench after the fumble? Coaches, get off your duffs and coach this young man. Set an example so that he might lead his team by example. Leadership is always in need and we desperately need it at this point.
No one feels sorry for us. We won't earn back respect by pouting. Take it back or else stay on the bench.

Posted by tngeoff on September 19, 2007 at 9 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Yikes. The Louisville, Kentucky replay just ended. I think Kentucky's passing game is the best I've seen so far this year. Not good.

Posted by shopsports on September 19, 2007 at 9:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We still own the point differential with the 45-3 wonderful evening in Knoxville with Spurrier. It won't be as sweet now but has been fun to look back on.

Posted by Pullingguard on September 19, 2007 at 9:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Vol players and coaching staff certainly did not act like big boys after the game.. They were mad because Urban did not pull his troops... This team has got to get tough, just does not have the toughness of Vol teams of the past... The entire organization meeds to get tough and maybe it will develope a running game.

Posted by madcow26 on September 19, 2007 at 9:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Great article. Appreciate the honesty. Hope the team does.

Posted by DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu on September 19, 2007 at 9:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Totally disagree with you, Pennington. Whine about Meyer running the score up? No. Be pissed off about it because it showed no class, no sportsmanship? Yes.

Sorry, but I'm old school when it comes to this. Keeping the first-string offense in with 8:00 left and up by 29? No class. Spurrier used to do it all the time because, he said, margin of win mattered in the polls and BCS. (We all know he did it because he could and because he's a lowlife swine.)

Fulmer and a lot of other coaches out there are old-school about this too, for which they have my respect. When the game is completely in hand, you don't humiliate the other team, period. That one game you mention where we did it might be the ONLY time Fulmer has ever done anything like that, if you are indeed correct on your facts.

Running up the score when your opponent has clearly lost is poor sportsmanship, period. The team and coaches have an absolute right to be pissed off because they know Fulmer would never do what Meyer did. How many times was Peyton pulled in the 4th quarter and the game was in hand? Tee? Clausen?

Get mad and get even, Vols -- because your gut is right: it was a classless thing to do.

Posted by dtaylor0730 on September 19, 2007 at 9:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mbumburu, you are way off course. It is a fact that in today's broken BCS system that STYLE POINTS do matter. If a #2 team beats a good opponent, the only chance a #3 team has of jumping them in the polls is to beat their opponent more convincingly. In another post I said clearly that I did not view this as running up the score. It is the defenses job to stop the opponent, and UT defense clearly did not stop anyone. Should UM have taken Tebow out earlier? Maybe so, but not to keep his team from scoring again as much as to spare him from possible injury.

I don't like seeing that many points hung on UT. I bleed orange. But, as it was pointed out in the article, we have hung large numbers on several opponents in the past. Most recently, we hung 50 on UGA last year, or did you not see that game?

Facts are facts. Our D is lame and our O can't control the ball long enough to keep the D off the field. Both of these are a reflection on the superior coaching job the UT players are under at this current time.

Posted by invisiblekid on September 19, 2007 at 10:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

An Al Wilson or Dale Jones wouldn't have allowed their teammates to lay down like we saw in the 4th quarter and I think that's part of the problem, no clear leader on defense. I think Meyer was disrespecting the Vols all week, the coaches with the "top 5 personnel" comments and then again on the field. To be honest, I would have rather heard Phil say what he thought instead of what amounted to a "no comment" on the subject, I think a little insolence would have done some good. If they want some respect from FL,the Vol Nation and everyone else, then go earn it on the field.

Posted by mtnvol on September 19, 2007 at 10:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Pennington is John Adams lite.

It's not the final score, its the way they got there. Throwing deep with the 1st string half way through the 4th quarter is no class. Throwing deep with the back up QB with about 4 minutes to play is no class. Count me as old school as well, but some things just aren't done, especially in conference where that kind of crap will come back to haunt you.

And you had to go back 13 years for an example? Pure John Adams! He's a hack too!

Posted by tngeoff on September 19, 2007 at 10:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Any of you guys remember a really, really old chat room from days gone by run by a guy called Grid Orange?

Posted by jaruk123 on September 19, 2007 at 10:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

UT....check that Fulmer has zero, no, nada, zippo of a chance of beating Florida by 39 points next year or ever. When Fulmer sees the F on the helmets across the field the pucker factor kicks in so hard I don't see how he can walk and clench his butt cheeks that hard at the same time.

Find a new coach Hamilton or go find another job. I hope Haslem, Thornton, and Goodfriend have a plan.

Posted by 99gator on September 19, 2007 at 11:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

spurrier's philosophy was that there is no such thing as running up the score. no one accuses a basketball team of scoring too much. should a player stop shooting the ball. should a batter intentionally make an out in baseball if the score is out of hand. these were things he always used to say. the only sport people complain about this is football. he also believed that a backup player practices just as hard as a starter. when the backup goes in, he should get the chance to throw the ball too.

he never was upset when florida took a beating. i have never heard him complain at south carolina. he always would ask the question, should an option team throw the ball if they have a big lead.

he also believed that beating a team badly gave that team less confidence the following year when you played them again.

Posted by DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu on September 19, 2007 at 11:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

dtaylor0730, of course I saw the GA game -- and it was 55 points, BTW. But the game wasn't truly in the bag until late. Fulmer pulled the 1s when that happened.

You refer to Pennington's other complete non sequitor: winning by large margins over directional schools in the past. You both don't get it.

Winning by large margins is fine and it ain't the point. Running up the score with your starters when the game is clearly won is the point. Do your homework and you'll find that the points scored in those directional-school games in the 3rd and 4th quarters (whenever the outcome was not in doubt) were scored by the 2s and 3s. Fulmer did not score those points using first string players.

You may have a point about the current BCS formula. I don't know because I don't follow it. Is margin of victory still a component to the BCS rating?

And how ya doing, invisible? I'm back from haitus...where's our Rhodes Scholar from a couple years ago?

Posted by DennisVols on September 19, 2007 at 11:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The last I looked the clock says there is 60 minutes from begining to end. As a DI in the Army we taught the young men to "kill them all, let God sort them out" In other words take no prisoners. Be men, suck it up, play ball and if you don't want your tail kicked then become better than your opponet.

Posted by utnutt on September 20, 2007 at 1:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

QUIT COMPLAINING ABOUT RUNNING UP THE SCORE IT FEELS GOOD WHEN YOUR TEAM WINS BY 39 POINTS. AT LEAST I THINK IT DOES ITS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE HAVE BEATEN ANYONE BY 39 POINTS. FULMER HAS ALWAYS MADE A POINT TO KEEP THE SCORE DOWN. THIS IS ONE REASON ITS HARD FOR US TO MOVE UP IN THE POLLS.

Posted by 55Vol on September 20, 2007 at 7:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

CRVol...the truth is the truth....what hurts is reading teh same drivel that comes from you. FUlmeron? YOu have created your own CRVolron.

Posted by TommyJack on September 20, 2007 at 8:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Calling time out with seconds to go so you can get you field goal team in (when you have a huge lead) is maybe grounds for bitchin...but what FL did was no big deal....was surprised at the Pumpkin's remarks...

Posted by BuckFama on September 20, 2007 at 8:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Man, being called a "Fulmeron" hurts so much. Especially being called that by the by the same uneducated fool, CRVol, who writes, in the same sentence, that "our own" fans and coaches are both "downtroden" (tyrannized; trodden down; oppressed) and "defiant" (boldly resistant to an opposing force)!

It's merely my theory, but I think that CRVOL has transposed the "C" and the "R" in his screen name, and the "R" stands for "Richard", and the "C" stands for "Cranium".

Yeah ... that's it ... RCVol, or "RichardCraniumVol"! Figure out THAT one, RCVol, er...CRVol.

Posted by jdcvols on September 20, 2007 at 8:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

mbum, crawl back under the rock you came from....if we had the chance to do this to FLA, we would. Every play on the field should be played at 100%+ effort regardless if it is 1st, 2nd or scout team. Our defense got what they deserved. If we had held them to no points in the 4th QTR against the FLA band, you Kool-aid drinkers would be saying we turned the corner! Our team has two choices, lay down for the rest of the season or get mad and take it out on the rest of our opponents. IT's FOOTBALL for gosh sakes. Hit somebody or get off the field.

Posted by clcvol on September 20, 2007 at 8:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)

There is a big difference between style points and running the score up. Not to mention, still scoring points with your backups compared to keeping starters in. Keeping your starters in that late in the game is running up the score. When pollsters look at a game, seeing a team win 42-20 and putting the 2nd team in is just as convincing a win as a 59-20 game with the starters in.

Posted by RocketVol on September 20, 2007 at 8:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Telling your men to stop fighting before the 60-min is up is a bad thing to do....it develops bad habits. I applaud UF for taking it to the Vols all 60 minutes - thus developing a good habit.

"Winning is not a sometime thing; its an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit." -Vince Lombardi

Posted by tngeoff on September 20, 2007 at 8:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)

BuckFama,

"It's merely my theory, but I think that CRVOL has transposed the "C" and the "R" in his screen name, and the "R" stands for "Richard", and the "C" stands for "Cranium"."

Priceless!

Posted by HomesickVol on September 20, 2007 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I remember when Coach Fulmer and his posse stepped in and pretty much showed Johnny Majors the door. Imaginative, fearless play calling, the boys played hard and had fun doing it. There was discipline, there was loyalty, and then history repeats itself. Right back to playing it safe, playing conservative, playing "Johnny Ball"..up the middle, around the side, pass, punt. Nobody has to spy on us anymore. That is one reason Steve Spurrier has always been successful. He is fearless. Win or lose, he is fearless and he holds his players accountable. When he was at Florida they came onto the field not "hoping" or "wishing" or "thinking" they could win the game. They had the damn game won before they ever came thrrough the tunnel. They "knew" it. Playing the game was almost an afterthought. I love the Vols, I will forever bleed orange, and I will always back them, but I do agree it is high time for a change. Not necessarily a physical change of coaches, but a change of mentality, discipline, and accountability. Things will get better, one way or another they will get better. I see how Alabama has suffered, how even South Caroline, low rung holders for so long, have turned back around. Rest assured, there is too much tradition for anything else but a turnaround to happen at our beloved UT. GO VOLS!!!!!

Posted by HomesickVol on September 20, 2007 at 8:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)

And as for quitters, they have no place in sports. Once you start quitting, it becomes and easier and easier thing to do every time you give in to it.

Posted by Ironcity on September 20, 2007 at 9:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The fact of the matter is UF was 39 points better then UT. The sad truth is we gave up just like we did against Cal.. Fulmer talks about this teams character. I don't see it.

Posted by auttat on September 20, 2007 at 9:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator took the words right out of my mouth (Hey, by the way, its Thursday, shouldn't you be on somebody else's site by now?) This defeat not only beats you this year, it beats you in years to come. Meyer is out to win at all cost. Any advantage he can get, he is going to take.

Fulmer backed off against Cal last year and they scored 18 points and gained confidence that they carried into this year. You seriously think we will have any confidence going into next year's Florida game?

Hell, Meyer went for it on his own 35. All we had to do was stop them.

Posted by Colliervol on September 20, 2007 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't see any big mystery here. Sure Urban ran it up because of exactly what dtaylor said above:
POLLS. I'm sure he is not happy that Florida is the national champ and, yet, all you hear about is USC and LSU and that they are ordained to be in the championship game this year. And Florida was sitting at what, fifth? Hang 59 on UT and you get back in the national discussion. Pretty simple to me and I don't blame him one bit. In today's BCS system, class and $3.00 will only get you that cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Posted by Colliervol on September 20, 2007 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

On another subject, you guys can sit around and call each other cute little names all day but I'd rather focus on the subject at hand. If you want to read a good article, go to www.commercialappeal.com and "sports" and then "other columnists". The first article should be Ron Higgins on the coaching situation.

He regurgitates a lot of stats that people have posted on here but he pretty well sums it up as to the ultimate reason a coaching change is needed. And, unfortunately, I can't find many reasons to argue with it. The coach isn't going to change philosophies and the program is stagnant. Same thing occurred with Johnny Majors and it has caught up with Phil now.

Posted by AVolFan on September 20, 2007 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The difference is that you could switch coaches- Meyer coaching the Vols and Fulmer the Gators- and give them a month to train and Meyer would probably still win. Maybe not by 40 points but several touchdowns wouldn't surprise me.

Posted by jlange on September 20, 2007 at 10:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The straw that broke Majors' back was getting drunk at a formal UT function and whining to the right folks at the wrong time about his contract. He made an ass of himself in front of the powers that be and paid the price.

Posted by tngeoff on September 20, 2007 at 12:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Here is the ultimate compliment ever paid to any coach and it was directed at General Neyland (please note that I have ignored the Majors comments - thank you), "He can take his'ns and beat your'ns and he can your'ns and beat his'ns." The ultimate compliment to a coach that knew how to get it done. This quote in today's environment here would have to reversed, "He can take his'ns and lose to your'ns and he can take your'ns and lose to his'ns." If you look around the league at all the rosy pictures (LSU, Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, etc.) it all boils down to one thing...COACHING. We don't have less talent than all those other schools. As a matter of fact, we have more than most. The reason for the wardrobe malfunction every week? You got it.

Posted by tngeoff on September 20, 2007 at 12:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'll be on the road back to Knoxville and won't see anymore of this Volunteer delight until tonight. Keep it rollin'!

Posted by StallionVol on September 20, 2007 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

While I agree we shouldn't publicly complain about it (and the coaches haven't) -but I've seen us take a knee many times when we could have been justified to keep on playing. Urban has his day coming. It always comes back around.

Posted by dtaylor0730 on September 20, 2007 at 12:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mbumburu: "Do your homework and you'll find that the points scored in those directional-school games in the 3rd and 4th quarters (whenever the outcome was not in doubt) were scored by the 2s and 3s. Fulmer did not score those points using first string players."

mbum, do your homework! The fact is, Fulmer doesn't install the 3rd and 4th string players except in 2 cases. 1) The Vols have such a huge lead that there is no way the game could be lost. 2) The Vols have been whipped so badly there is no way they could win.

The large scores that UT has hung on other opponents did not come at the direction of the 3rd and 4th string units. The 1st string scored the majority of the points. Sure, on occasion the lower roster players have scored, but they sure the heck didn't score the majority of the points. Get a life! This is football, and the object is to win. UM just clearly sent a message to the pollsters, and to the UT coaching staff. The messages were clear. "FL is a force to be reckoned with." And "Hey UT, here is how you win the big game."

I only wish the UT coaching staff had the know-how to prepare a team to play all out. Our current methodology of just get better as the year progresses is not championship football. Our coaching staff seems to believe that it is acceptable to start out on the bottom in the season, and try like heck to improve your standing through the year. UM's coaching philosophy is to start out on top, and put the burden squarely on your opponent to take you down. Thing of it is, UM knows that unless some serious changes are made at UT, he has nothing to worry about in the future from the VOLS. Any change will likely be another "good-ol-boy" promotion where the same mentality produces the same lack-luster results.

CPF said it was time to get the VOLS back to playing championship football. Take some notes Fulmer! UM showed you how champions play the game. It is 60 full minutes of we will not quit the game. It is 60 minutes of take the fight to the opponent, and do not let up. But before that 60 minutes, it is a lot of hard work to actually prepare the players and develop the talent. I am sick of hearing the VOL fans, of whom I am one, crying because our opponent actually played 60 minutes of football.

I can full well bet with the utmost of conviction that if UT had beat FL by such a large margin, we wouldn't dare be saying CPF shouldn't have run up the score like that.

Posted by aj_vol on September 20, 2007 at 1:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Fulmer did not whine.

The article said: "Fulmer admitted to biting his tongue."

Is that a big deal? Give me a break people. I'm sure any of us could have had less self-control after that kind of game Saturday.

Let's see how the season plays out over the next 4-6 weeks before we dump our coach and hire a Gary Gibbs, Paul Hackett, Dave Wannstedt or Charlie Weis to come in and "save" the program.

Fulmer's earned the right to finish the season and the team has earned the support of all true Vol fans. Let's see where we go from here and stop whining about all the games we will "probably" lose to UGA, Bama, SC, Vandy, & KY - the games aren't won or lost on message boards, but rather on the field.

Posted by jdcvols on September 20, 2007 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I wish we could set some rules about names. I'm sick of hearing about True VOL fans or fair weather fans. Just because someone writes something negative about UT does not mean they are NOT True Vol fans. Fans are fans.

Posted by Sheepscape on September 20, 2007 at 1:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I wonder what all these 'true vol fans' ie koolaid drinkers who accept mediocrity will do when their time runs out?

It's always give Fulmer time, give him a chance. Well he's had plenty of time to correct the mistakes of 05, and yet nothing has improved. Special teams anyone? Running game anyone?

Years have turned into months. What will they say when those months turn into weeks and days?

Posted by aj_vol on September 20, 2007 at 1:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Small Mike = "fan"....gimme a break

Posted by sampears on September 20, 2007 at 1:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I was kind of glad to see Florida run up the score, well felt sick about how we played, but somehow hoped that a good spanking would get the attention of the powers that be. Fulmer, lets face it, can not and will not get it done. We have seen it for years our team is flat, never fired up, he is a terrible motivator. How can other coaches come into a program that is "down" or "not much talent" or “injured players” and WIN right off the bat? We s###! It is coaching. Everyone knows our plays, heck my 11 year old son can figure that out. Where is the fire? Where is the creativity? Doesn’t it suck to be a vol, I say it sucks to be a vol! When does ladies volleyball start?

Posted by aj_vol on September 20, 2007 at 1:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Small Mike = "fanatic"...definitely

Posted by aj_vol on September 20, 2007 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

How is this season's start so much different than '94?

In 94 we started 1-3 (losses: 23-25 at UCLA, 0-34 vs Fla, and 21-24 at Miss. St) and no one was panicking or flipping out. We finished the season 6-1 with the only loss on the last play 13-17 vs Bama and started a run from 95-98 that ended with 2 SEC Championships and our 1st NC in 47 years.

With the past year's recruits I think this team is about to be very special in the next 2 or 3 years, but they are very young right now.

They just need bigger/better talent on the O and D lines to compete in the SEC.

Posted by jdcvols on September 20, 2007 at 2:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Come AJ, I was at the opening game in 1994, and we lost our starting QB on the first series and actually played 3 other QB's in that game..two of which were TRUE freshman and the other a baseball player. We were competitive in the game. We finished the season strong because Peyton grew up quick! No comparisons to this season with a senior QB and talent. How many years have you said "Wait till next year?" or as you so stated "2 or 3 years. Is this the Kool-aid talking???

Posted by Sheepscape on September 20, 2007 at 3 p.m. (Suggest removal)

94 was also Fulmer's second full year at the helm, not the second decade. Worst loss of his era was 9.15.07 and the most lopsided loss of the UT-UF series.

Posted by Basketball_Jones on September 20, 2007 at 4:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm with alot of you and am sick and tired of the snot bubbling whiners who complain about the score. I used to love watching Spurrier coach at Florida. They walked into a game knowing they would put up 40 on you and more if they could. Its like boxing, you keep pounding that person till they won't get up anymore. Florida made a statement to Tennessee last weekend, they basically said were better than you and there's nothing you can do about it. I have no probalem with that, it shows no mercy and if UT were the team dropping 50 on the Gators all of you would be singing a different tune. Don't be hypocritical and take your medicine and like it.

Posted by invisiblekid on September 20, 2007 at 4:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Doing fine mbumburu, doing fine although I have to admit there have been so many Rhodes Scholars come through here that I can't remember which one you are talking about LOL.

Posted by smokey65 on September 20, 2007 at 5:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thanks John Pennington for your honest and accurate assessment of Tennessee Football. Concerning the "tears", Tennessee fans should thank Coach Meyer for not scoring more points. If you call what Tennessee puts on the field a football team, then there is no streatch to the imagination.Also you alluded to Tennessee scoring 50 points on opponents....well look who those opponents were....but on the other hand Tennessee fans just look what we are getting for a bawdy $2.5Million/year.The right to be embarassed, ridiculed and of course scored 50 points or more on when we play a bonified top 10 team....just for kickers Mr. Pennington, why don't you go to some of the top businesses in Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis or anywhere else and see how long they would pay a CEO $2.5 Million with the same outcome Tennessee fans have had to endure for the past 7 or 8 years. Tennessee fans, Coach Fulmer will be right where he is now until 1000's of empty seats begin to be common place in Neyland Stadium...CHANGE? Everyone needs a change every once in a while!!!

Posted by yeavols on September 20, 2007 at 6:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Get this: I get an email from the UT alumni association chapter in Georgia that a bus trip is planned for the Georgia game. Bus fair, hoopla, and the ticket for just one low price of 85 dollars. WHEN was the last time you could take a road trip with ticket included for 85 dollars? Unheard of..the popcorn, cotton candy, and hot dog in a taxi to the local bar to watch the game for free would cost you more. WOW..I have never seen an offer like this one before! WHOOAAAAA NELLLYYYY..but I think I'll pass. Cost? Priceless!

Posted by UTFAN1993 on September 20, 2007 at 6:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

$2,050,000 annually

Posted by utvols1 on September 20, 2007 at 9:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The real story (I posted this last week) is that the great leader Ainge was involved in a pick up B-ball game prior to the Cal game. That's when he jammed and broke the pinky. It will come out eventually. This so called leader wasn't really thinking to well then nor when he gave FL fans the gator chomp last yr in K-town and then had to eat some humble pie as the D folded yet again. It starts with the coaches getting these kids to act mature and responsible OFF the field as well as on.

Posted by tnvolfan4ever on September 21, 2007 at 12:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank-You. Couldn't have said it better! Go VOLS!!!

Posted by VolnFlorida on September 21, 2007 at 8:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Has there been a player that played football for UT rather than themselves since Al Wilson.
It seems every year our roster is full of individuals. No one plays for Tennessee or the team.
It seems like Fulmer and staff cannot create a
'team." On and off the field, UT fotball has players doing their on thing and nothing has to do with winning as a team.
Also, about running up the score. If the defense is going to lay down, why not score. Florida did nothing wrong but exploit UT's "individual" play.
It wasn't long ago that UT knotted 70 on Arkansas.
What are we suppose to do next year with a new qb.
I believe the game and the players have past Fulmer. It happens to everyone. No matter what job you have, sooner or later, younger and mor aggressive people come along fit the job better.
It is time for Fulmer to leave. I just hope when they look for a new coach, they look for someone who can create and coach a team, not individuals.
Saban is good at that. He forces you to be a team or you're gone. Say what you want, but Look at Alabama after just a couple of games versus the past few years.

Posted by hiresanders on September 21, 2007 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Tennessee has been a program on the decline for the last 5 years. They have been passed in their own conference by the like of SC, UGa, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas and now Kentucky.

Posted by Ohiovol16 on September 21, 2007 at 11:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The announcers said it perfectly Saturday: "Urban Meyer hates to lose!" To me Phil Fulmer has accepted losing!

This is a RIVALRY GAME, if you can't stop them then get on your bus and go home, I don't care if your pissed. UT can use this as motivation all they want, but don't forget Florida whipped your butts by 29 points. You think Meyer is worried about UT using that as motivation, he's put the beleief in UT's head that he did it once and he'll do it again next year if given a chance!

I have been a Fulmer guy for a long time (starting to doubt that now), things will NOT change until our coaches change there approach! Quit clapping your dang hands when someone screws up, get pissed, get in there face and get them going! Football is an emotional game and Fulmer is not an emotional person.

Posted by mloaks on September 21, 2007 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I dont care how many the opponent puts up, as long as we dont become Bama, Miami, or OU. I'd like us to be like USC, Florida, and their fans. Decent player attitude and aptitude without the kiddie stuff, real students who play FB also. No more fake guns on I-40, or pickup hoops before FLA games!

Posted by spam247buster on October 8, 2007 at 5:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)

urban meyer probably now WISHES he had put in some 2nd- and 3rd-stringers to get a little DEPTH on his team. Lack of depth beat him against Auburn AND LSU.
And now I'm crying the crocodile tears.