Tennessee Stat Book
Big man on campus
Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson didn't have the huge passing numbers he had last year against Tennessee (300 plus yards), but he didn't need them on Saturday night.
He played an understated, efficient game, coolly operating an offense that had but one turnover.
Wilson finished 17-of-24 for 188 yards, including 11 consecutive completions at one point and 7-for-7 in the second half.
The game changer
Despite Tennessee's Daniel Lincoln missing a field goal at the end of the first half, the Vols were optimistic since they had the ball to start the second half.
But the Vols went three downs and out.
On the first snap of the half, Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas blitzed untouched and nailed Tennessee quarterback Nick Stephens for a 9-yard loss to the Vols' 15-yard line.
The Vols punted three plays later, and Alabama racked up three straight scoring drives, two of them for touchdowns, to clinch the victory.
"They brought the corner, caught us in a bad play, and it just went south from there," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said.
Go figure
8-0: For Alabama coach Nick Saban, the best start of his coaching career.
11: Tackles for Tennessee safety Eric Berry, a season-high.
13:04: Left in the second quarter when Tennessee got its first first down against the Tide.
Odds and ends
The closest Tennessee came to a TD in the first three quarters was Berry scooping up a Glen Coffee fumble and returning it 47 yards for a TD that would have cut 'Bama's lead to 16-10 with 6:18 left in the third quarter.
The play was reviewed by instant replay official, and he determined that Coffee was already down on the ground before the ball popped out.
"Replay is supposed to help, but I didn't think that play was blown dead," said Fulmer, who lost back-to-back games to Alabama for the first time in his 16-plus-year career.
Berry got his long-awaited first snap on offense as a slot receiver with just more than four minutes left in the first half. As soon as he ran on the field, the Alabama sideline began screaming and pointing at Berry, who caught a 3-yard pass on a slip screen.
The Vols lost four defensive players, including two starters from Memphis, to injury. Linebacker Ellix Wilson of Melrose and defensive tackle Dan Williams (ankle) of East both were hurt in the second half. Also re-injuring a knee was defensive end Wes Brown, who has played most of the season with a torn meniscus.
Tennessee's 1998 national championship team was honored on the field during the pregame. They stood and watched highlights from their perfect season, and the Neyland Stadium crowd gave them a huge ovation.
There were more empty seats than you would imagine for a Tennessee-Alabama game. Outside the stadium, scalpers were unloading tickets at the bargain price of $50.
Alabama won the opening toss, and chose to receive. Perhaps 'Bama coach Nick Saban was playing the percentages since entering Saturday's game his team had outscored opponents, 95-3, in the first quarter. 'Bama scored a field goal on its first possession against the Vols.
Audible
"We've had resiliency as a team and a staff. There's a lot of disappointed guys in that locker room. We'll be back tomorrow and work like heck to get that win at South Carolina."
- Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer
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Comments » 46
TommyJack writes:
I've never seen CPF make less eye contact with the questioners. He's whupped. Stop it Mikey.
glenncandrews#217154 writes:
"It was like a home game out there for us," Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith said of the 25,000 or more Crimson Tide fans in attendance.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sec/0-1-71...
blitzshoot writes:
How many weeks in a row do we hear "work like heck."
nuff already...
tnbigg writes:
C'mon Bro'! I heard the "Dean of SEC Coaches" commenting last night on working to become Bowl eligible. We're still in the hunt mon amie!
TommyJack writes:
you betcha
tnbigg writes:
Last year the battle cry was that we were undefeated at home. Then earlier this year it was that we were undefeated at home at night. Now what? We're undefeated at home when snail darters are assembling for their annual mating ritual?
kantanuuv writes:
The biggest rivalry game of the year. Your arch enemy in your house. A chance to salvage the season, the coach, and the franchise by beating the #2 team. A national TV audience.
And you don't even sell out???
You give up a quarter of the stadium to enemy fans???
More feeble excuses about conspiring officials???
If I hear one more word about Big Orange Tradition I'm gonna puke.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Did you miss our new concept? We are going to "work like heck"!
Bet that startled ol' Steve Superior.
My 7-5 predict is in trouble. I am 8-0 as to W and Ls, but I saw SC as a win.
Very much doubt it, now.
Will 3 be enuf for an extension?
olozbal#646632 writes:
Does this offense ever audible? No I mean that as a serious question. I have never seen Stephens see something then call a different play at the line of scrimmage. The blitz down on the goal line was obvious, plus I've seen a couple of plays where a QB sneak was the right call but he never checked to it. Has Clawson even taught them that yet?
- It's not the losses that tell me we need a new coach. It's the punk players not showing any respect for the coaches. Today it was a smiling and laughing Briscoe but if you watch there's one of these every week. Every time a coach gets in their face they're laughing and smiling about it. THAT's my indicator this program is lost more than the stats.
The right thing to do for Hamilton is to QUIETLY line up one of these hot coaches by putting feelers out now and secure him. Then at the end of the year tell Fulmer he's gone and pay him whatever he wants to make him leave by "retiring" and coincidentally having a new coach already lined up. I feel bad (kind of) for Clawson because he's probably toast.
posivol writes:
sorry i posted this earlier on the wrong thread:
you guys put way to much blame in the wrong direction.we have a offensive coordinator (some called a genius) who has let us down in a huge way.this fellow had all spring to get this offense in line to consistantly move the ball and back up his words of we will use our weapons.he makes me long for the days of dink and dunk.last year we put up 3500 yards thru the air 35 td's and averaged 33 points a game.we have the same team minus erik but add warren and up till yesterday a healthy g.jones.i dont know what our offensive numbers are this year but do know they are OFFENSIVE.
i have never liked to play the blame game,but this years version of offense just plum sucks.i beleive with all my heart,same players (bj/pryor qb)and coach cutt as o.c. and we would be 7-1 right now.better ball control o.c. keeps the defense fresh.
i think we should have ponied up more cash for cutt and kept him on the field and moved phil to the box ala joe pa at penn st.we would have kept our best leader on the field (probably recruited pryor for q.b.)and our recruiting closer in the box out of harms way.
i doubt we would be seeing the comedy of errors we are enduring this year and economically it would have made sense.now instead we are in deep for a huge buyout and a new hefty payday for whomever we bring in.lets hope the right choice is made are we may endure many more seasons of these comedy of errors.
TommyJack writes:
Right or worng, I doubt Clawson makes it to the end of the year.
rockytoptilidie writes:
I keep hitting refresh on this site, hoping to see the headline "Fulmer Resigns" or "Oval Fired".
arkvol writes:
It was another inept performance, but I think I believe in a little conspiracy by the SEC to make sure Bama didn't lose. It reminds me of the early 90's when a hold was called on UT while Bama gets away with murder. When we were good we rarely got any calls like that, thus we had to overcome bad calls. The pass interference, the non fumble(even if they had reversed the call the ball would have been UT's at the spot it was recovered because the whistle had blown, which means it would have been another backwards drive probably. But if they hadn't blown it dead, and they had reversed the call the game would have been very different. I could see the defense just deflate emotionally after that, while Saban knew that the dissappointing outcome of that play meant it was dagger time. He drove it home because he is a great coach. He knew when and more importantly how to break our defense's spirit. It was another game that was closer than the score. If we could have scored at least 24 points in every game, we'd be undefeated. Our defense is very good and has been all decade, but they can't score enough points and the offense can't even at least give em a rest.
writer#358485 writes:
Right on ArkVol. The defense is strong until it wears down because of being on the field the whole game. Give this defense a few breaks and they could stop anybody. Stephens seems to be a decent quarterback but the play-calling is atrocious. The calls don't give anyone a chance to get into a rhythm, Stephens or the runningbacks.
I realize Clawson is new and it is a new system, but calling a flare when you've been moving the ball and need more than 10 yards on third down, against the Alabama defense is foolish. I could do better than that and I didn't even play the game. The two-minute drill at the end of the first half moved the ball. There are playmakers available and they will make plays if you give them a chance. Someone else needs to be calling the plays!
TommyJack writes:
writer: Someone else MAY be calling the plays.
OrangePride writes:
The play of Tennessee has been inept, undisciplined, and unacceptable from UCLA on this year! I have to agree with some of the posts I have seen......with Cut and Trooper, a lot of the undisciplined, disrespectful, and unthinking player behavior we have seen would just not be there. This is, and has been all year, a coaching nightmare. Clawson was the better option to Troop at OC???? Sure doesn't seem so to me. And without those two, our incoming recruits were 36th best and that's "nothing to worry about?" Can you imagine Sabin, Meyers, or any top coach saying that and meaning it? Even if we get a new coach, this program is in such disarray right now, I believe it will take 3-5 years to put it back in the top tier of the SEC. We have slowly been wasting away for years and someone ought to do something about it before Neyland becomes a museum instead of a football stadium.
BigVolinCarolina writes:
Do we need to rewind the tape or "look at the film" to see what's wrong? Hardly think so.
I'm tired of hearing about our D and it being on the field too long. Eric Berry aside, we're not a good D. We're atrocious at letting teams convert on 3rd down--and have been for several years.
We're just not a good team, plain and simple.
govolsfan#214750 writes:
Its time we start to go after the OC from Texas as our new coach.
AlpharettaVol writes:
There's plenty of blame to go around here. Of course, it would be better if the D didn't spend so much time on the field, but some of that is on their own shoulders. If they stop someone (anyone!) on 3rd and long then they get off the field and take a rest. I prefer 3rd and 2 over 3rd and 14. We have a better chance of stopping them that way.
weliketoliealot writes:
Good thing we don't play Appy State or Tennessee Tech for that matter this year. The embarassment is getting tough to handle.
FLVol writes:
Dude that is complete speculation and something of which would never ever happen considering Fulmer is in complete and utter denial about his program. Cutt was a good offensive coordinator but has shown not to be a good recruiter over the long haul..see Ole Miss. His best scenario is what he's doing now where the expecations are not that high and the rewards are big. He should be an offensive coordinator in the NFL which you may see one day.
shoalcreekvol writes:
Helping the KNS out by writing copy for the next few weeks:
"We've had resiliency as a team and a staff. There's a lot of disappointed guys in that locker room. We'll be back tomorrow and work like heck to get that win at ___________ (insert SC/Wyoming/Vandy/Ky)." - Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer
orange71 writes:
this season brought to you by the fulmeeridiots and haslamaniacs that insist on runnin' things their way regardless (or as they would say, 'irregardless') of the results. no true vol can endure the current state of the play on the field and the never-ending 'getting less from more' talent. the UT football program should immediately be cleansed of haslam, his henchmen and, most importantly, his puppet. volnation demands this fiasco end now!
airvols#371403 writes:
He said it "we are going to work like heck", well maybe we should work like heck to fire up Mr. Hamilton to fire him. The time is now, we need to make this change. We are the laughing stock of college football and no one seems to care.
ghenry35#236736 writes:
Somebody might have mentioned this already but on the play where TN was flagged for 6 men on line of scrimmage, did anybody notice that TN only had 10 players. Looks like there was a tight end missing. Nobody noticed...The tackle, the wide receiver on that side, the QB or the coaches. Strange....
ggriggs939#223122 writes:
The loss wasn't surprising as I had predicted the sec would step in to ensure alabama didn't lose. This was just another biased performance by the stripes. I counted four game altering calls that went to the red elephants.
It appears those who have been in the pro ranks have a leg up on getting around the ncaa rules. Phillip said early on that he had no interest in coaching in the pros. Some experience there might have enhanced his recruiting techniques and given him a different perspective to present to recruits.
utmdm writes:
Phil seem a little looser and his face was not a tight in the show. Maybe some of the pressure is off as he senses the ballots are in.
volbald writes:
Have thought for several years that 31 points in an SEC game would win every one. UT's offense would help keep opposing offenses off the field for a significant amount of time. This year it would have taken fewer points. Something must have happened at Univ. Richmond that we don't know about. Richmond is still rolling 400+ yards a game with the coaches that stayed behind. Before the season started, I was wondering what Fulmer would do with an offense that could accumulate 400+yards a game. That was a dream. UT can't get five yards in four tries to score a touchdown. Hate to say it, but Clawson has been plain awful. We were throwing sideways and backwards last night when we needed to be trying to go down the field. Can UT stand another year of this amazing offense? Clawful may have to be sacrificed.
kdub writes:
Time for Phil to ride off into the sunset with his cool 6M. Hamilton needs to make a "Pearl" hire for football, someone young and aggressive who won't play not to lose, punt for field position and rely on field goals. Maybe someone like Graham at Tulsa, Kelly at Cincy, Mullen at Florida or if he wants to get really serious make a run for big name coach with instant recruting cred like Bob Stoops. I'm also sick of seeing guys on the sideline smiling and cutting up when we're getting embarrassed, Phil has lost control of the program, no discipline or intensity. Bring on Coach Pearl and the boys!!!!!
shoalcreekvol writes:
That's just it - based on the evidence of UT's offense and Richmond's offense, plus Clawson's history, the only variable that would make him suddenly terrible would be CPF. I can't back it up - I don't know that CPF is limiting Clawson or putting his thumb on the calls, but it's not obvious that Clawson is the problem either.
Couchdummy writes:
utmdm, I noticed that also. My first thoughts were that he probably had been in discussions with Hamilton, and knew that the Bama game was a MUST win to keep his job. He may have known this for a week or so. If not, he could just know intuitively that this was his last chance.
Saban_Palin writes:
Correction Editor:
Ingram #22 not Coffee #38 on the 'almost fumble' that Berry ran back in second quarter.
JimGorePFTN writes:
Been going to UT-UA games in Knoxville since the early Seventies. There are certain inevitabilities in life. Death. Taxes. Leaves changing colors in Autumn. And the semi-annual guarantee that the orange-clad fans in Neyland Stadium will live down to all our expectations. Rude. Classless. Alternately whining about the refs and cursing their own coaches. That's to be expected, as it has been for generations. What I found shocking, however, was the level at which the entire facility conspired to shout down the Alabama fans and the Million Dollar Band all night long. Every time a Tide cheer would begin to swell, the PA would hit some ear-splitting hip-hop garbage. The UA band strikes up "Yea, Alabama" and the AMPLIFIED Southland band is up and going within seconds. (Who else in America puts microphones in front of a marching band and pipes it into the stadium PA? If that's not NCAA-illegal, it darn sure oughta be!) At one point, as the Alabama offense was lined up at the Vol goal line and JPW is actually calling signals, the PA announcer proceeds to blare a live promo spot. He stopped short just as the ball was snapped, but that was the most absurd breach of booth etiquette I think I've ever heard. The rest of his inciteful ranting was just irritating. Obviously a frustrated play-by-play guy reduced to quoting names, down, and distance. As the evening wound down, and the stadium emptied, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad that a once-proud rival has been reduced to this kind of bush-league garbage.
JimGorePFTN writes:
Are there no depths you idiots will not stoop to embarrass yourselves? The sad thing is, this guy is dead serious. Get help.
jcherrie#219531 writes:
Rewind?? Rewind?? Damn it - I want Fast Forward!! Wait 'till next year!
jbc writes:
I think Cutcliffe cannot make himself drum up some charisma to manage the schmoozing with donors and alumni.
The alums at Ole MIss did not like him. What miniscule amount I have been around him he did not come across as congenial.
Head coaching at most college schools would be tough for him like you say. His dry business like approach would be suited for NFL assistant job.
KENVOL writes:
I don't know why everyone is blaming Clawson. It is pretty evident that Fulmer still has the o under his thumb. I still cannot see any difference in our play calling. I'm for letting Clawson take over for the rest of the year to see if he really does have a new offense.
Lawtonboy50 writes:
Your just showing how stupid you are by trying to blame the officials for UT losing. One of my former coaches always said "good teams create their own breaks and good teams overcome bad calls". That coach by the way was Tom Landry and I certainly feel that he was qualified when he preached that to us. And you also failed to mention some questionable calls against Alabama. You must be related to Fulmer. All both of you know is to make up excuses as to why UT lost. I guess that you must believe that every official in the country started this season with your conspiracy theory. Let's get Tennessee in every game. Keep crying and fight to keep Fulmer around. You can't accept the fact that UT is sinking faster than the Titantic because of knuckleheads like you.
jasonn1970 writes:
IT'S BUYOUT TIME IN TENNESSEE!!!!!!
1974Vol writes:
Yo Law - might work on your anger management a little. The calls probably did not change the outcome of the game, but certainly kept Tennessee from ever getting in it. The offensive interference call at the end of the first half kept the Vols from scoring and left the momentum in Bama's favor. Bama was much the better team and for Tennessee to have had a chance they needed the questionable calls in to have gone the other way.
Docrok writes:
THANK YOU! Our defense has let us down far too many times to be let off the hook! It just so happens that our offense is so bad this year that the defense looks good but believe me looks are decieving. To prove my point all you have to do is look at the UCLA game, the Auburn game, (who gives a reciever an 8 yard cushion on 3rd and 6 with 2 mins to go needing the ball back???????) See FL GA and AL if you need more proof
shoalcreekvol writes:
Funny, there is no record of a Jerry Higgins playing for the Cowboys. Lawtonboy50, exactly when were you in Big D? Or are you claiming to have played for Landry somewhere else?
arkvol writes:
The only questionable calls for Bama were a conspicuous lack thereof. JPW was close to getting sacked many times, yet not one holding call. They only had 3 penalties. The 2 pass interference calls were clearly correct, but they were only called because the game was over by then. That was a fumble, but whether it was or not, the whistle was too quick which would have taken away the touchdown had the call been overuled. Had it been ruled a fumble, that call would have stood as well, but of course they would not have ruled it a fumble because Bama must win because they are the only undefeated SEC team. The SEC needs a Bama championship for some reason..
TTownTide writes:
ROTFLMAO !!!
Seriously, call Roy Kramer and see if he can still pull a few strings and get the score reversed. you putz!
By the way, speaking of all those Vol fans that wore their crimson costumes to neyland saturday night - I heard of Bama fans here as late as FRIDAY making plans to drive up because of the all the available tickets.
Remember next year - shoot for the Citrus Bowl again!
Docrok writes:
Dude keep winning, cause it will be needed for the one loss sec east team to leap Penn state to get into the National title game! AL will lose in the SEC championship game but I beg you please dont lose before then
arkvol writes:
I still think Bama would've won, but we were given no chance. We needed all the luck we could get and we got some luck, but the officials negated it. We suck for sure, but you still have to win the games if you're better and somebody usually slips up behind you. The Refs made sure it wasn't UT for some reason. The hometown usually gets the close calls...I guess the SEC thinks it's Bama's turn, better ratings, more money. The old Bear created a lot of national interest in his time, so now that Bama has a chance, they will prevail, until they face Florida or Georgia in the Championship game. Stafford has really come into his own since their loss to Bama. I don't think Bama could beat them again. In fact I would predict as big a blowout for Georgia next time. You still have LSU, with some big losses under their belt. Surely they must beat one of the best teams and they've lost to the other 2. Bama better take care of business and hope it is Florida in the Championship game.
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