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Tennessee Stat Book
Forgive the Kentucky Wildcats for not appreciating the historical significance of Saturday night. For them, it was like any other trip to Neyland Stadium.
They came. They lost. They went home.
For UT fans, this was the goodbye game for longtime head coach Phillip Fulmer. For Kentucky, it was routine.
The 28-10 victory looked more like the UT-Kentucky series than the UT season.
The Vols scored four touchdowns, didn’t commit a turnover and won their 24th consecutive game over the Wildcats.
It was an appropriate sendoff for a coach who has won almost 75 percent of his games in 17 years and never lost to Kentucky. It also was a totally out-of-character performance for a team that had already tied a school record with seven losses.
If you just dropped in on the tail end of the regular season, you would have never guessed the Wildcats were bowl eligible. They didn’t look any more competent than all the other Wildcats who spent an afternoon or evening stumbling around Neyland Stadium.
It’s hardly shocking that UT’s sixth-ranked defense strangled the life out of Kentucky’s ineffective offense. But who were those UT guys on offense in the second half? Better yet, where have they been all season?
Quarterback Jonathan Crompton completed a 63-yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore. Gerald Jones ran 55 yards to set up another touchdown. That’s dazzling stuff for a team that ranks 116th nationally in total offense.
Who says they never got the hang of first-year coordinator Dave Clawson’s offense? It just took them 11½ games.
Maybe they just needed more incentive.
Never mind that the team lost seven games. It wasn’t about to lose Fulmer’s last game.
“This team showed its true character the last two games,” Fulmer said before his players carried him off the field for the last time.
UT’s effort was apparent from the outset, even when its offense was struggling as it has most of the season. The Vols needed 12 plays to cover 35 yards on a tedious scoring drive to end the first half. But the bottom line is what mattered for an offense that has sabotaged itself on so many occasions this season.
The drive was more about persistence than talent. The Vols needed four plays to make the final yard to the end zone.
But they made it.
The second half was a breeze by comparison. And the rare runaway victory should have an impact on more than one UT coach.
Lane Kiffin was probably taking notes. It’s just a matter of time before the former Oakland Raiders coach is introduced as Fulmer’s successor.
The next coach saw more than a losing team. He saw a team that didn’t quit even though there was no championship or bowl bid hanging in the balance. He saw a team that didn’t lose its resilience even when it lost to Wyoming. He saw a team that was determined to send its coach out a winner even though it couldn’t save his job.
Kiffin learned something else about his next team. He learned that it doesn’t lose to Kentucky.
Ever.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
Vanderbilt 93, Tennessee 79, Feb. 9…
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Notre Dame beats Tennessee 72-44…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 38
blitzshoot writes:
Congrats Vols! Nice job. You sent your coach out in a nice way.
FWBVol writes:
Nice touch John. Well written and well said.
ncvol17 writes:
I hate the Cats 2nd only to UF, it's a personal and family thing. Kiffin keep the streak alive in 09..Let's keep beating the Cats, You to Pearl!!!!
It's a great day when UT wins
It's a good day when the Cats lose....
Now on to the BB Cats and as many losses as possible for them too.
ncvol17 writes:
Oh yeah, hating the Cats since 75 and Curci and Joe B Hall days.......
mempuss writes:
Kiffin better not lose to the cats.
Ever.
DennisVols writes:
The team showed character. Just like their coach has always showed and had.
Kiffin needs to understand the pride and character required to become a Tennessee Vol.
yeavols#228407 writes:
Has anyone seen tenbigg? This is the only place where I haven't seen him yet...
adamsck#591720 writes:
Wow, I'm pretty hard on Adams but that was a decent piece. I guess even the blind sow gets an acorn every once in a while.
MANVOL writes:
The Streak is still alive,,Turn The page...GO VOLS in 09
chrisw2967 writes:
this was the best chance for ky to beat our vols and still couldnt get it done.
rockytopatl writes:
There were some creative calls in the second half -- calls that made me think the old line coach and offensive coordinator took a more active role than he has in the past. Too bad we didn't see that creativity from the coaches -- and emotional play from the players, earlier this year when it could have make a difference.
It was great to see Coach Fulmer go out a winner. Godspeed Coach. We wish you well in all of your future endeavors, and we thank you with all our hearts for the wonderful days you have brought us on the Hill.
But now this season is past and now it is time for all Tennessee people to get behind the new coach as he forms his staff and heads out to recruit. All this bullheaded sniping needs to end. Mike Hamilton made a great hire in Bruce Pearl and now it is time for all Vols everywhere to support his latest choice. The future is now and it's high time we rejoin the elite in the Southeastern Conference.
Welcome aboard, Coach Kiffin. Go Vols!
TheVolMan writes:
ButchIsBack, what an ignorant comment. I guess you are angry that Phil was held accountable for his performance. I guess I understand your petty pissiness. Been a bad month for you... LOL
newtonrail writes:
I know you have 10 posts after this but I have to say Fulmer DID NOT lose to Wyoming, Lying Mikey Hamilton did. If he had waited until the end of season or even the Monday after Wyoming game, with off week ahead, we would have never lost the game. I too, felt a coaching change was necessary, but your sniping on every thread out here is despicable.
FWBVol writes:
Please, tell us all HOW, Phillip Fulmer should have gotten the team up for the Wyoming game five days after he was fired.
If you are talking about professional athletes that have the time and maturity to put things in perspective it might be one thing. But these were college kids being asked by classmates, teachers, family members and the media what was happening. In the process of dealing with the firing of their coach, they also were expected to attend class and study.
I think the timing of the firing was bad and might have cost us the Wyoming game, but that is history and it's time to move on to the Lane Kiffin era.
I supported Phillip Fulmer, and as of Monday, or whenever the official announcement is made, I'll support Lane Kiffin as long as he runs a clean program and doesn't disgrace Tennessee.
Kiffinville writes:
Hope they already had him clean out his desk.
Coach Kiffin is going to need to get right to work to secure up these recruits and get the mighty Volunteers back on track.
VOLinAthensGA writes:
Fire Adams.
kyvol98 writes:
UK Football - 24 Years and still our B1tch!
vance2002#327500 writes:
MH better make sure he hired the right one, even over inner circle protest. Perhaps he did, but Meyer, Saban, et.al., will confirm.
In any case, all positions are open on the team and no starter is safe. Except for a couple, the effort of the young men were subpar and effort has nothing to do with coaching.
The problems with the program are much deeper than what is apparent and the rebuilding job, regardless of who is coach, will take some time to unravel the damage that has been done..
vut56#231073 writes:
Let's see: twenty-five posts here, and counting. Some days, depending on the issue, hundreds weigh in.
Some hate Adams and say so; some cheer him on...if he throws out enough ugly and sarcastic "orange" meat.
Some support the coaches and team; others denounce them one and all.
Now, we welcome the next, great white hopes and wish them well...until they, too, lose a couple of games. Then, look out.
There is one common thread: from the comments, I see no evidence a single scribe here has ever written a newspaper column, or, been an editor for one. Further, I have seen no evidence a single scribe has ever coached...at any position..a Division 1A football team.
So, what is the significance of all these pros and cons? Why should any one reader find importance in any other writer? Further, lacking any professional relevance, what drives the venom and cyber death threats evidenced herein?
Just Sunday morning finger exercise; the bus will roll on whether or not we post and regardless what we think.
MidTennVol writes:
I've written this elsewhere but, with these new comments from Fulmer and Chavis, will write it again:
Mike Hamilton has condemned his name to infamy in the way he has handled what should have and could have been a graceful, respectful coaching change.
First, he decided to not wait until the end of the season to fire Fulmer. He leaks that news to Chris Low the Sunday after the SC game, throwing the entire program into turmoil.
Second (and utterly sleazy, in my opinion), he leaks news of Kiffin's hire on the eve of Fulmer's last game and "Philip Fulmer Day" at Neyland.
"Somebody either doesn't understand kids or it's not important to them," Fulmer said. "I was afraid of that throwing another wrench in everything." Darn right, Coach Fulmer.
Hamilton has completely disrespected Coach Fulmer and his staff in the way he has handled this. (Coach Pearl, are you paying attention?) And I am a guy who felt Coach Fulmer should have resigned after the 2005 season or at the very latest at the end of this season.
With his treatment of Fulmer, Hamilton has completely destroyed relationships with former players. Think Peyton was loyal to the program because he's an alum -- or loyal to the program because of Coach Fulmer? Don't expect Peyton to be on the sidelines of many games in the future.
Hamilton is not yet a Vol, nor is Kiffin. As Chief says: "It's been a long time since somebody sat at the end of the table that was not a Tennessee guy. People wanted change. They got change."
At least 10 wins per season and championships, Mssrs. Hamilton and Kiffin -- that's the Frankenstein expectation of excellence that this staff is handing to you. It's the Frankenstein that killed Coach Fulmer this year. He and his staff created this monster of expectations. Some of us out here remember how excited we were just to become bowl-eligible. Now, it's Atlanta or bust.
Deliver consistently and you'll perhaps start a new tradition at Tennessee. Deliver consistently and you will start earning your way to becoming a true Vol.
This fan certainly wishes you well and much success, Coach Kiffin but you had better deliver a lot, deliver it fast, and deliver it consistently ... or face Frankenstein.
shipperman#280095 writes:
I got news for you Bub, just because I don't make 3 million a year and have a 6 million buyout don't mean my life is not as good as Fulmers. I am happy and all is well in my life. Even with 6 million bucks, Fulmer isn't happy.
shipperman#280095 writes:
Extremely well said
shipperman#280095 writes:
It is called discipline my friend. Something UT has been lacking for a while now
shipperman#280095 writes:
For gosh sake man, get over it. Fulmer and his latest 5-7 season is gone. Who gives a phooey what you think anyway? And one more time, Fulmer was fired after the Bama game, he chose when to make the announcement. Quit being a crybaby
jcvol#215939 writes:
Is it out of the question for Chavis to be back on next year's staff?
asleep#212036 writes:
First, Fulmer was never going to resign based on his continued insistence, even in his post-game comments, that he could have turned it around. Hamilton had to fire him. Timing? Rumors were already out there and recruits were asking questions. I do think he should have waited until the Monday after the Wyoming game but then a bowl game would have complicated the coaching change/recruiting mess even more. Ten wins per season instantly? Even God, I mean Saban, at Alabama went 6-6 his first year and nobody said a word. For a sobering perspective, consider that if Lane Kiffin goes 7-5 for four straight years and splits 4 bowl games, he will have won more games and been to more bowls than Fulmer in the last 4 years. I am a fan of Fulmer because of his class and dedication to the program over the past few decades. BUT, we must move on, support our new coach, get out of denial about the last few years, and reject the notion that we, no matter who the next coach is, will be back in the national spotlight in one or two years. The program has slid further than that and it will take time to get it back. I'm willing to wait and see. Go Vols!!!
swclaw writes:
yes
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Think for yourselves and allow others the privilege to do so, too. Voltaire
This chapter has been closed.
A new one is opening as we speak.
Colliervol writes:
Denmark, you are wrong on so many levels that it isn't worth trying to comment on all of them.
1) This program has been in "turmoil" really since 2005. I still say that it would have been more cruel to wait until the end of the year. And besides, what real good would it have done if we had managed a sixth win and gotten to go to some schlock bowl in Shreveport?
2) I don't believe Hamilton leaked this news. It came from somewhere else.
3) This "not a Tennessee guy" thing is just plain ridiculous. Ever hear what in-breeding does to a family? Alabama tried that "family" thing for years and you saw how that worked out. Seems to me they've done just fine going outside the family. Kiffin may work or he may not but anything is worth a try at this point versus what we've had to look at since 2005.
Time to get over it and move forward. I for one am not interested in the past.
pammyvol1000 writes:
Hey pdhuff.. I hope the new book for next year opens with a chapter that will keep us glued.
The_Mayor writes:
FWBVol, you and Newtonrail are spot on. Hamilton is a gutless wonder, and if he had displayed even a fraction of Phil Fulmer's professionalism, UT would be going to a bowl game this season. He, in his puppet boy haste, dropped a BOMB on our team and coaching staff with 3 critical games remaining in a season that could have been somewhat salvageable. Hamilton's instant-gratification, foresight-lacking, waffling-alegiance, azz-kissing immaturity personifies so many of the gutless wonders on this forum. There are some good ones, and ones who I disagree with, but they stick by their guns, because they believe in their rationale, and I can only respect that. BUT to the putrid cowards who have spent the entire season bashing Coach Fulmer and his staff with juvenile name calling and ridiculing, not to mention those kids, who fought to the very end, you got what you wanted...basketball time in Tennessee.
It will be poetic Justice when Fulmer replaces Hamilton as AD.
leedsvol2007 writes:
I for one would like to congratulate Jonathan Crompton on his play Saturday night.
I've been critical of him most of this season. Listening to the broadcast last night it develops his ankle has been bothering him most of the season and limited his development.
Hopefully what we saw from him last night is a foreshadowing of next season. And I like the fact he hung in there and kept working to get better despite his problems.
Now that Fulmer is gone we need to get behind the new coach and staff and end the rancor. One thing is for certain a full stadium and supportive fan base does more to build the program than what we have seen this year.
And a final thanks to Coach Fulmer for 152 wins and a very classy departure that will help the next coach build his program.
GoVols!
Colliervol writes:
It is astounding that so many people fear change so much that they will put up with mediocrity year after year after year. I would suggest a healthy dose of the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" It will show you what happens when you are complacent in your business even after the business or market changes. It has a lot of similarity to what we've seen over the last 10 years.
TommyJack writes:
Tell Dupree that according to Butch, Newton, 55vol and 300 bowler, we've won the NC every year since '98.
gtown_vol writes:
Adams still smells like fish.
Go Vols! Fire Adams!
murrayvol writes:
You don't have to live here to appreciate what this means......but it helps.
Thanks Vols! It's going to be a good week.
murrayvol writes:
Monte Kiffin will be the DC.
murrayvol writes:
Absolutely true! One glance at the stands during last nights game spoke volumes. Thousands of very expensive and very empty seats.
Hamilton's only mistake in this process was extending Fulmer's contract after the November Miracle of 07'.
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