Senior Night wasn't much different from so many other Saturdays for Tennessee's seniors. It was a struggle.
But this time, they could appreciate how the struggle ended.
UT beat Vanderbilt 31-16 and became bowl eligible in its final home game of the 2009 season Saturday night. The fifth-year seniors know better than to take either accomplishment for granted.
They suffered through two losing seasons and never beat arch-rival Florida. They were on board for UT's first loss in 23 years to Vanderbilt and for the firing of longtime UT coach Phillip Fulmer in 2008.
In Year One of the Lane Kiffin Era, you couldn't help but flash back to those past losses when this team started out 1-2 or when Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster gashed the Vols for a school-record 282 yards rushing eight days ago or when the SEC's worst team knotted the score at 10-all in the second quarter.
Good thing the Vols didn't have to chase McCluster on Saturday. Just keeping up with the SEC's most inept offense was enough of a challenge.
Vanderbilt's 92-yard touchdown drive midway through the second quarter was a startling reminder of how vulnerable UT's injury-wracked defense has become.
The Commodores don't just have the worst offense in the SEC this season. They have one of the worst SEC offenses of this decade.
Yet there they were, running and passing their way from one goal line to the other against the Vols. And for all their well documented ineptitude, they twice threatened to tack on another touchdown in the fourth quarter. To put that in perspective: Vanderbilt scored only four offensive touchdowns in its previous seven SEC games.
But the two fourth-quarter threats produced only one field goal. That's even more significant.
These Vols have managed to do what the Vols of 2005 and 2008 couldn't. They have overcome adversity, which included last-minute losses to UCLA and Alabama, as well crucial injuries to their defense in the second half of the season.
In the 42-17 loss to Ole Miss and the 15-point victory over Vanderbilt, you were reminded of this team's shortcomings, especially its lack of quality depth. However, on so many other occasions, you have been reminded how passionately this team will fight to overcome those shortcomings.
Although the talent gap between UT and national championship contenders Alabama and Florida is substantial, the Vols lost to arguably the nation's two best teams by a total of 12 points.
When the Vols were healthier, they routed Georgia, beat South Carolina by 18 points, and doubled up Memphis 56-28 with ease at Neyland Stadium. You saw a glimmer of those performances when they broke a second-quarter tie with two quick touchdowns to take a 24-10 halftime lead on Senior Night.
But even on a night when UT didn't have the power to distance itself from Vanderbilt, it still had the resolve to win a game that often didn't go its way.
Only a UT senior could fully appreciate that.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 18
rockytopatl writes:
And win they did. Piece together a defense for just one more game and then get well for the bowl!
DennisVols writes:
The one big difference I have seen in this years team compared to the last several is "fight".
With the exception of the Ole Miss game, and the injuries had taken their toll by then, this team has fought tough in every game. Never let adversity stop them from continuing to go forward.
It is a shame the Crompton amd the other semiors did not have another season to work with this staff.
Keeping it Real
Go Vols!!!
ccVOLSdhf writes:
WOW! What a turn around for JC. Imagine if he had this staff for 3 yrs. We would ba calling him the 2nd PM. 20 TD's 3 int looks pretty PM like to me. Glad to see he has proved to everyone exactly what he can do!! GO..JC..GBO!!
londonvol writes:
I only expect the Vols to be tough and fight every play, not to win every game. Great job Coaches, the future is now, thankd again!!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Agree completely! No one deserved it more! I was equally pleased and amused by CLK's uninhibited and obvious joy for him. For once he dropped that stoic manner and let his emotions out. He has shown his youth in some less-appealing ways this season, so it was nice to see him let it out in open appreciation for a guy who will always be one of the favorite Vols of all time for many of us.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Words to live by there! Let's hope we all remember that next year when the Vols struggle early. We can all be optimistic, as all good fans should be, but the rebuilding job still has a good long way to go.
madcow26#524674 writes:
I do not think they can beat kentucky with that make-shift defense. They will end up 6-6 and a losing record in sec. I was encouraged early on with losses to fla and alabama in that we were always competitive. Then with horrible loss to Mississippi and with down to the wire win against vandy, I just dont think they have enough in them to beat Kentucky and I am not really sure how far we have come from last year..
6-6 is not that far removed from 5-7 and you could argue that we could just as easily have been 7-5 last year and 8-4 this year..
steamboatticket#484773 writes:
We should not discount this win against Vandy. I remember a lot of Vandy games that were in doubt until the end. Regardless of their record, Vandy played tough and forced our players to fight for the win.
Kentucky is a better team, and they will hit us with everythng they have. I hope our guys will be ready for the game and win it.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
The doubt about beating UK shouldn't be about how much is IN them as it is about having ENOUGH of them. In any case, 6-6 this year is still better than 5-7 last year because this team has had only one bad loss against Ole Miss while last year's had three--UF, UA, and Wyoming, the latter not so much by the score as by the mere fact that it happened.
There was no game this year the team was not still in late. Even in the Ole Miss game, we were only down by a TD late in the 3d quarter. There were several last year where it was evident that we had quit by half-time. We COULD have been as good as 10-2 this year, in retrospect; conversely, we could have been 3-9 last year, given our too-close wins over UAB and N. Illinois.
IMHO, it is wrong to focus solely on the won-loss record to determine whether the team had a better year this year than last. While everyone will agree that wins and losses are the ultimate bottom line, a rebuilding job involves not merely winning games today, it involves laying a foundation for more wins tomorrow. For my money, that part of the job is well-begun.
futurevols#247140 writes:
KY played even with a sad GA team last night. We're better than GA.
VOLinDAWGland writes:
How tall is Kiffin? He towers over players that I'd expect he'd be about the same size and Cottam is not that much taller than him and Cottam is 6'8". Kiffin must go 6'5 or 6'6.
tenuscvol writes:
Good Article John...
We're all very proud of these guys...
Those seniors won that game for sure...
GBO!
VOLinDAWGland writes:
Jawja and South Carolina were also bad losses last year. It was a train wreck with a much healthier team that included a couple of NFL picks. This year's team with less talent and a lot more injuries played far better than last year. It's improvement.
nocleats writes:
It takes a mile and a half to turn a battleship around. Have faith my friend, it is still going to take 2 or 3 More seasons before you see real progress.. but the foundation has been layed. GBO!
VolQB writes:
Ky beating the Vols is not likely or another way to view it would be a Ky win over the Vols is rare. Give Ky credit, they always play hard at the first of the game. Then the Vols crush their hopes in the 2nd half.
JACK8254 writes:
This team has shown a lot of backbone all year long. They were in every game ,except Ole MIss, to the end and they never gave up. One can be proud of a bunch of guys like that, even if they dont win every game. I was wrong about Crompton and if I ever see at an eatery, I will buy his food if he will allow it, What a gutsy guy he is to endure all the negativity he did and keep on doing his job. He has my admiration, Ditto - Montario & Rico.
JACK8254 writes:
The early Vegas line is out and the Vols are a 3 pt fave. That is a surprise to me considering how banged-up we are and also the game is at Ky . We have not won on the road to date, as we all know.
537081 writes:
I know just how they feel I've been there every play of every game. I'm ready for glory days again. I feel Kiffen & Kiffen are up to the job.
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