Adams: McNabb hard to handle for '98 Vols

(Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of columns commemorating the 10th anniversary of Tennessee's 1998 national championship in football. Fred White, who played strong safety on that team, offers his insight on the team after the season opener).

Tennessee's 1998 football team entered the season opener brimming with confidence and eager to prove it was a championship-caliber team. After a rigorous off-season of conditioning, it was ready for just about anything.

Or so it thought.

But the Carrier Dome offered a couple of surprises. First was the heat.

"In pregame warm-ups, we were perspiring," White said. "We thought it was from the adrenaline rush."

The adrenaline rush subsided. The heat didn't.

"It was like a microwave," White said. "Florida might have been hotter, but you had a breeze outdoors."

The heat would take its toll. White said almost every player on defense left the game at some point with cramps.

"I had an I.V. at halftime," White said.

The heat was just a warm-up for UT's biggest challenge, Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb.

"Watching him on tape, you could tell he was good," White said. "We saw the highlight tapes and thought, 'He won't do that against us.'

"But yeah, he would."

No matter what UT did offensively, Syracuse countered with McNabb, who repeatedly eluded a fierce pass rush that would bring down so many other quarterbacks throughout the season. Once, McNabb took a direct shot from middle linebacker Al Wilson, UT's hardest hitter, and simply bounced to the outside before completing a pass on the run.

"I remember thinking after the game, 'That's the best quarterback I ever played against,' " White said. "And I had Peyton Manning on my team.

"I had never seen anything like him (McNabb). He was phenomenal."

McNabb completed 22 of 28 passes for 300 yards and was virtually unstoppable in the second half when he rallied the Orangemen from a 24-13 deficit to take a 33-31 lead with 2:38 to play.

UT then responded with a game-winning drive, culminated by Hall's 27-yard field goal as time ran out.

The clutch comeback would set the tone for a season in which the Vols would make big plays against good teams when the game was on the line.

They would play better teams than Syracuse. They wouldn't face a better player.

"McNabb made them so much better," White said. "Their offensive line did a nice job. But it was more him than anybody else on their team."

White wasn't as impressed with Syracuse's heralded fullback, Rob Conrad.

"They made a big fuss about the fullback, but he was as soft as tissue paper," White said. "I remember hitting him in the hole, and he buckled. I thought, 'You're 6-3, 250-something pounds and I just made you go to your knees.' "

Hitting McNabb was a different matter. He led Syracuse to 445 yards and 23 first downs.

Those were staggering stats for a defense that thought it was as good as any in the country. But UT coaches put the game in perspective when they reviewed the video.

"The coaches told us, 'That won't happen on a weekly basis,' " White said. "McNabb was running around back there and avoiding the rush. Most guys, we would have had sacks on.

"I remember (defensive end) Shaun Ellis saying after the game, 'Whoever (Syracuse) plays next is gonna get it.' "

Ellis was right. The following week, Syracuse led Michigan 38-7 after three quarters in Ann Arbor before coasting to a 38-23 victory.

With that outcome, UT's narrow victory in the season opener looked even more impressive.

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