Quarterback B
Jonathan Crompton got off to a rocky start with an ugly interception that was returned for a touchdown, but he rallied with a strong throw on his next attempt and finished with a memorable overtime completion to Gerald Jones. He went 13-for-23 for 220 yards and a score.
Running backs A
Montario Hardesty saved some of his hardest running for the regular-season finale, and both of his first-half touchdowns included tough finishes near the goal line. But his 20-yarder in overtime was a signature highlight and a play the Vols won't soon forget.
Wide receivers B
Luke Stocker snagged a tying touchdown in the third quarter, but his biggest grab came on a long third-down conversion which featured surprising speed. He later coughed up a costly fumble, but Jones made up for it in overtime with the last of his five catches for 113 yards.
Offensive line B+
Crompton didn't seem to have nearly as much time to operate in the pocket as he's been used to, but he was only sacked once and it was hard to find fault with the run-blocking. The hole on the game-winning rush for Hardesty was enormous.
Defensive Line B-
UT's front responded after getting pushed around at times in the first half. The Vols deserve credit for stiffening their necks late. Tackles Dan Williams and Wes Brown combined for just nine tackles. Brown also had a tackle for a loss. End Ben Martin forced a fumble and batted a pass down at the line.
Linebackers B
Rico McCoy, whose 13 tackles led the team, forced a key fumble that LaMarcus Thompson recovered. The resulting offensive drive produced a 24-21 go-ahead score. On the downside, the Vols lost containment frequently and struggled to stop Randall Cobb when he ran the Wildcat.
Secondary B
Safety Janzen Jackson, who had a sack and two tackles, was solid in his return, but wasn't as mistake-free as before his suspension. He misplayed a downfield pass, which resulted in a big gain. Safety Eric Berry had eight tackles, one for a loss and a pass broken up. Cornerback Dennis Rogan had seven tackles but dropped an interception.
Special teams C
The Vols still have no legitimate options in the kicking game, and they were again gashed in the return game. UT struggled to corral Cobb when Kentucky wasn't penalized, but its surprise unveiling of Berry as a return man was a qualified success.
Coaching B
The Vols were lucky Kentucky didn't play Cobb in the Wildcat more than it did. He seemed unstoppable, even though UT's defense spent all week preparing for him. The Vols made some nice calls on offense, but the rollout on the goal line was a mistake.
Overall B
UT avoided a monumental loss. It's a good thing that Kentucky is Kentucky. And that they have been for a quarter of a century.
- News Sentinel staff
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
National Signing Day 2010
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group looks up during a timeout on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009 at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky.){kind=link}
Comments » 55
GatorHater326 writes:
We're still Tennessee and they're still Kentucky...goodnight
flatoutvol writes:
Same ole Kentucky......
smokies_old_soul writes:
a monumental loss ?? huh ?
i kinda figured going in that kentucky was probably due - finishing 6-6, especially after losing at home to ucla and auburn would have been ok for a first season of rebuilding.
the win, however, puts an extra glow on this program and this team, which fought and fought all season and has now become a feel-good memory in vols football history - there's a lot of memorable players on this team that never gave up after going thru the devastation of losing coach fulmer and then struggling so much early in the schedule - montario hardesty is at the top of my list, i am very happy for that guy.
tenuscvol writes:
Guess I didn't see as much negativity in the game I watched but some of your points are vailid. Think some of the big plays were huge though and ups the teams score in my book...
GBO!
surfmaster writes:
Monumental loss? This was a good football team. One that whipped Georgia and Auburn. With all of our injuries, a loss to KY would not be unexpected. Give the coaching staff a little credit please.
OldSmokey writes:
I'm proud of JC! What a turnaround year he has had. I am believing what CLK said about getting him drafted. He is a totally different player. Just imagine 3 or 4 years with him under this coaching staff.
VOL03_NC writes:
JC has become the man...now we get to see Bray become the man..
Fossilfiction writes:
I don't think Kentucky using Cobb in the Wildcat more would have helped. It seemed to me that Monte made some very good adjustments to stop the Wildcat in the second half.
Monte has been bashed by some lately. However look at the class we have coming in. Lots and lots of fast defensive players. I don't think it is that we have a tough time coaching against the Wildcat has it is that we don't have the needed speed to shut it down like we need to. Time will tell. I'm happy with this win. It was our first close game we won and the first one on the road for us. Good stuff!
greece6869#336093 writes:
A "Monumental Loss" would be losing to Montana, at home.
This team showed great fortitude all season. Whether it was at Florida or Alabama, or walk-ons and back-ups stepping up and making plays. But I think I am most proud of three of the seniors: Hardesty, Crompton and Brown. Each one responded to adversity with class.
BustaRhymes writes:
Great Game. Great Win and Great Season. There's no doubt that our program is back on track. Now we just need to rest, get healthy and WIN OUR BOWL GAME. For some reason, I think CLK will be a bit more focused on winning vs. "letting the kids have a good time."
tensie2004 writes:
great win and Jonathan Crompton is the turn around player of the year for the Vols. The Vol Nation is proud of all the Vols and the Coaching Staff.
volfan7 writes:
I believe Kentucky finished 7-5 after losing to us.
jawbreaker writes:
Monumental loss = losing to Wyoming last year!
ajwlfw#574737 writes:
Saying the rollout at the goal line was a mistake is a bit arrogant on the Sentinel staff's part. I liked the call. Crompton missed it by about a foot. If he had scored, it would have been a brilliant call. Talk about "Monday Morning" quarterbacking. We didn't stonewall the Wildcat, Wildcobb or whatever they call it in kitty land, but we contained it enough. I give the coach's an A and I definitely give the offensive line an A.
xvolx writes:
I agree. Scott missed his backside block. Crompton was run down from behind or he would have scored.
OrangePride writes:
I suppose from the perspective of some, a B on the coaching is fair given the fact that Kentucky pretty much did what they wanted in the first half. They really looked the better prepared..BUT......I have always called the third quarter and fourth quarters "the coaches quarters." Thats when they make the adjustments, coach up the players, and demonstrate their ability to make the right moves. MONTE should get his name on the trophy for what he did.....his defense shut DOWN the Cats entirely. They didn't do squat. And the offense just churned and burned and scored! So I give the coaches an A-/B+. Great win!! GO VOLS!
Ringside writes:
Whoever wrote this article, try giving Tennessee some credit. This KY team won at Georgia and at Auburn and is probably one of the best teams they have had. UT going to their place and winning was huge and I believe the boys in orange had something to do with. Giving B's to a squad they left it on the field is just plan STUPID! Your summary gets an F.
fundamentals83 writes:
Do they still pass the beer barrell for this game or did Tennessee have it for so long that it was forgotten?
bigorange61 writes:
No way the O-Line gets a B+ in my book. That's just below an "A", and I don't see it.
Brillovol writes:
A monumental loss given the longevity of the streak, I'll give you that, but to actually lose the game would not have been monumental. Given UK's hot streak, overall record, and home field advantage, they had all the tools to win. As it is, a great win for the program to finish with at least 7 wins in a transitional year!
Go Vols!
softball writes:
great win, should be A- for heart alone.
Ringside writes:
Several years ago some Kentucky players went to a bar and ended up in a fatal accident. It was decided at that point to end the "beer barrel"
tradition.
ULTIMATEVOLUNTEER writes:
are you suggesting a c ? you're nuts. the team rushed for 226 yards and gave uo one sack. that's an A.
ULTIMATEVOLUNTEER writes:
Kentucky pushed to stop it because: a) it will cause college students to quit drinking or b) it's been so long we forgot what the barrel looked like.
VolinCalif writes:
I couldn't agree more OP. I also don't want to bad mouth the first half. The Int. set them back right off the Bat,and they still came back. It took a little while to adjust and the Vols did it well. It was an open game in the first half and a knock down in the second.
chaos001 writes:
the real answer has already been given concerning the players for UK who died.
and fyi, the pc crowd started with the soccer mom types and church folk.
volhome#407234 writes:
It's a shame that it can't be brought back and simply called the Border Barrel. It wasn't UT's fault that we lost this tradition and need to revive it.
montanavolfan writes:
I don't think he is talking about Ky being 6-6, but saying after UT lost to Auburn and UCLA at home indicated that loosing to a good Ky team in lexington was possible, and would be acceptable for a rebuilding year.
bluesandbarbq writes:
The liberals would be FOR beer and beer barrels.
Go VOLS
lrhvol#1339804 writes:
No logic here. No one loves their beer or their politically incorrect jokes more than my liberal buddies and me. Just another case where the lunatic fringe right wingers have to point the finger at someone else for everything wrong. Bring back the barrell!
sidwalkvol writes:
I believe he meant if WE had finished 6-6 (after a "monumental loss" to KY), that record would still be pretty good in a rebuilding year. And given that KY dough-popped both Auburn and Georgia, such a loss (if we had lost) would not have been so monumental (or unexpected) as the KNS article indicated.
That make sense?
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Monte took away Ky's screens and swing passes in the second half which led to our total domination in time of possession; which made all the difference in the world. What can you say about Montario; No question the strongest;most determined back in the SEC!!! The third down play calling at times is pretty bad considering all the play action we run.Chaney should make better use of misdirection plays considering all the roll outs we do..Iam far from a offense guru but if you consistently roll right after a fake to the first back coming thru the hole than that back or a TE would be wide open standing 10 yards down the field on the left side; Crompton is more than capable of making that throw!! Not something that would work in the NFL(Chaney) but something Majors and Cutcliffe used with great success..Some of you may remember a roll out screen thrown back to the left that went for a 30 yard game winning TD in the immaculate comeback against Notre Dame...One of the greater moments in UT football!!
NobodyCares (Inactive) writes:
Keep up and pay attention PhilFan.
ncvol17 writes:
OK, if MADD & others do not like the Beer Barrel, let's call it the Ice Water barrel and keep playing for it. In my day, it was cool to see the players hoist it up. Some team plays for an axe, its not like it is a serial killer trophy.. Come on, bring back the 'ice water' barrel.. The UGA/UF game is still called the WORLD'S LARGEST COCKTAIL PARTY just not in print to keep MADD, et all happy....
lrhvol#1339804 writes:
Here, here. Just call it the "Battle for the Barrel."
asleep#212036 writes:
And nobody should forget that Monte has coached mostly in the NFL where the spread is rare. Why? Too much defensive speed. Give Monte another shot next year and I guarantee that running those offenses at us won't be quite so easy. As MK becomes more comfortable scheming against it and as LK and company give him better athletes with which to run those schemes, I think we'll be just fine. Go Vols!!!
asleep#212036 writes:
I think it's a whiskey barrel ("The Old Oaken Barrel"?), Jim Beam vs. Jack, and I don't know if they still [theoretically] pass it. I'm fairly certain the NCAA doesn't like the connotation but I think the tradition still stands. And for gosh sakes, we might as well keep it - dragging it to every game seems such a waste of energy just to drag it back to Knoxville again! Go Vols!!!
asleep#212036 writes:
OK, read other posts after I posted. Do believe it was a whiskey barrel as that would make much more sense given the large number of enterprising distillers that settled in these parts some years ago.
MadMax writes:
You forget the KNS is made up of LSU fans. They know a monumental loss when they see one. LMAO
allvol32 writes:
Political correctness is an invention of and a tool used by liberals. They use it to try to stifle opinions which differ from their own.
Case in point - anyone who disagrees with you is a "lunatic fringe right winger".
DennisVols writes:
Where we began: A 5-7 season left a bad feeling among most of the Vol Nation. A longtime figure along the sidelines was gone and a new, young and brash coach stood in his place.
There were more questions than answers at QB, along the offensive line, the offense in general(finish as one of the worst in UT history and in the nation in ’08), depth at key positions and a highly touted recruiting class that had no experience at this level.
Early predictions had UT finishing the ’09 season no better than 4th in the east division of the SEC and some had doubts that even a non-losing season was in question.
UT started out 1-2 with their only win against a team that no one in this conference should ever lose to. As disappointing as the UCLA loss was the one against UF in the Swamp gave fans some hope as UT battled the defending national champions throughout the game and where clearly competitive against a team predicted to win by 3-4 TD’s. An unimpressive win over Ohio was followed by a disappointing loss to Auburn and a 2-3 start and many predicting a no win Oct. with GA, Bama, and USC following.
UT was staring at the edge of a second losing season in as many years. Fans where screaming for a QB change, laying the blame for another poor offensive start on senior Crompton. Still Kiffin stood by his promise that he would not get into a quarterback carrousel and that he was sticking by Crompton.
UGA came to Knoxville and the plan Kiffin had promoted since day one back in Dec. ’08 finally came together. UT would go 5-2 in their final 7 games and lost to the #2 team in the nation by only a blocked FG in the final seconds.
Kiffin has had to work with a patch work defense riddled with injuries and little in the back to replace them with, a offensive line counting 2 walk-ons as starters and a QB that was being counted as the biggest bust in UT history. What we finished with was a QB ranked as one of the best in the toughest conference in the country, and offensive line that has allowed some of the fewest sacks and opened holes for one of the best rushing attacks, a defense that only one time this year got torched by an opponent’s offense and held 2 of the teams that lit them up last year to 23 and 12 points respectively. UT finished 2nd in the SEC east with its only loss in the division coming to UF, they will play in a New Year’s day bowl under 1st year coach Lane Kiffin but more importantly they have won the respect of their competition in the conference.
While there were some setbacks during the year UT finished strong and deserve to be recognized for their heart, competitiveness and the improvements many thought not possible.
Keeping it Real
Go Vols!!!
chaos001 writes:
I don't know about you, but that statement is as far from political correctness as I can think of at the moment.
case-in-point = fail
Hounddog writes:
As a liberal I vote for the "a barrel of smoke", but I would like to see the politics out of these discussions.
Let's play football. Hounddog.
chaos001 writes:
If Tebow can have his lame speech put on a wall, so too can this (lame is for Tebow only, not said poster). Either that or print it out and send it to recruits.
The next few years are gonna be good!
old_number1 writes:
plastic, you've got it . Hands down, without a doubt, the play of the game! If he doesn't make that play, we loose!!
old_number1 writes:
Truer words were never spoken!
asleep#212036 writes:
I will defer to your knowledge sir. Beer barrel it is then. After reading prior posts, I can understand why it was discontinued but you hate for the SEC's second oldest rivalry not to have some symbol for us to keep!
drvol writes:
The hole was so big on the game-winning run that Hardesty would have scored even if it was two-hand touch.
OwensboroVol writes:
I think everyone is missing a valuable point, this team has improved considerably. Kentucky would have beaten us by 14 points if we were the same team we were in September. I've got one other thing to say about Jon Crompton. I think this young man has as much character as any person I have ever seen. It would have been easy for him to fold back in September when everyone was booing him and begging Kiffin to replace him. This kid is the real deal and I hope someone gives him a chance to play on Sunday. I seen my 6th game this year last night. I'm telling you, this kid has a arm as powerful as anyone I have ever seen. He can throw a football faster than most baseball pitchers can throw a baseball.
mercuryvol writes:
Gentlefolk,we have a coaching staff that for the 1st time in many years ADAPTS to the game as it develops,and does it well.Therefore an A. And DennisVols should be writing for KNS.
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