Adams: UT's Groove is lost in Grove

The Vols can forget about a possible top-25 finish or a New Year's Day bowl.

Ole Miss played a game worthy of its preseason billing. Tennessee played a game worthy of last season.

You know what that means. The Vols can forget about a possible top-25 finish or a New Year's Day bowl.

The Vols looked like a tired, overmatched team in a 42-17 loss to the Rebels on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway. Worse yet, they looked more like the wayward bunch that stumbled through a 5-7 season in 2008 than the team that has made so much progress over the last month.

UT rarely resembled the team that had won three of its last four games, improved its record to 5-4 and almost upset third-ranked Alabama. And Ole Miss looked more like the team with a consensus top-10 preseason ranking than the one that has already lost three SEC games.

The difference between the two was magnified every time a player tried to tackle Dexter McCluster of Ole Miss.

Have you ever seen one player embarrass a UT defense in such spectacular fashion? Not even in Florida's finest hour against UT did Danny Wuerffel or Tim Tebow or Percy Harvin or Jacquez Green make so many Vols look so foolish.

McCluster rushed for 282 yards while demonstrating speed, defender-defying moves and way more power than you would expect from someone listed at 5-foot-9, 165 pounds.

No one has ever rushed for that many yards for Ole Miss. And no one has ever rushed for that many yards against UT.

Not bad for a guy designated as a wide receiver in the press guide.

The game didn't just showcase McCluster. It showed you the value of a day off.

Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt didn't play McCluster the previous weekend against Northern Arizona. He said he wanted to rest him for the stretch run.

Nice call, Coach.

This wasn't all about McCluster's fresh legs. It also had something to do with a worn-down, injury-depleted UT team that has played so hard and consistently for the last month.

It's not as though the Vols gave up. They just gave out.

You knew depth could be an issue for UT this season. That was never more evident than Saturday when the Vols opened the game with their third different starter at middle linebacker.

The game underscored the value of recruiting and the work yet to be done for first-year head coach Lane Kiffin and his staff. Fortunately for the Vols, they now have Ed Orgeron recruiting on their behalf, rather than against them.

The former Ole Miss head coach deserves most of the credit for assembling the imposing defensive front that repeatedly thwarted UT's rushing attack.

Ole Miss played without its best pass rusher, Greg Hardy, who is out for the season with an injury. Another defensive end, Kentrell Lockett, wasn't at top speed after running a high fever as recently as Friday night.

But the Rebels have Alabama-like depth on their front four. That depth was second only to McCluster in significance Saturday.

You build up that kind of quality depth through recruiting. You find playmakers like McCluster through recruiting.

You also bolster your special teams through recruiting.

UT's Chad Cunningham opened the game by kicking the ball out of bounds. Placekicker Daniel Lincoln cut Ole Miss' defense off at the knees with a fourth-quarter, field-goal attempt that Alabama's Terrence Cody could have blocked from a sitting position.

It was that kind of afternoon for the Vols. And it only got worse when McCluster got the ball.

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

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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