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Event Details
- What: Tennesee vs. Alabama
- When: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, 3:30 p.m.
- Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium
- Cost: Not available
- Age limit: All ages
Tennessee Stat Book
AP Top 25 College Football
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Against all reason on this October Saturday, the hope that flickers within University of Tennessee football fans is as frisky as a bluetick hound.
Their team begins the day with a mediocre 3-3 record, while their opponents, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, are 7-0 and No. 1 in The Associated Press' poll.
"But you gotta have faith," says Ken Guthrie before the game. "I think we're going to win. I've just got a funny feeling."
Guthrie and his pals - Patrick and Laurel Bowker - drove down from Cleveland, Tenn., to join some Bama fan friends at a tent near Bryant-Denny Stadium.
They grill hot dogs and talk about the Vols' chances.
Hope needs courage, and theirs comes in orange cans of Bud Light.
The rival fans exchanged some good-natured ribbing. The Tennessee contingent helps their crimson-clad hosts erect a second tent frame.
"They brought us down here to help with the engineering," says Patrick Bowker, with an arched eyebrow.
Steve Merchant of Birmingham typically pulls for Southern Cal, but on this particular Saturday, he bleeds orange, because Bama is ahead of USC in the polls.
Hope, it seems, is contagious.
"It just takes a couple of passes to make a difference," Merchant says.
Tennessee is the underdog, but on the field, hope doesn't expire until the game clock does.
Hope wears orange in Tuscaloosa.
After a furious comeback, Tennessee is poised to pull off an improbable upset. The anticipation of victory makes orange hearts pound.
Problem is, reality wears red - crimson, in particular; No. 62, to be exact.
Terrence Cody, Alabama's 354-pound mountain of a lineman, blocks his second field goal attempt of the day as time runs out, allowing the Tide to escape with a 12-10 victory.
Though the Vols lose, hope hasn't died.
Afterward, at their tailgating tent, Guthrie and his friends are fanning the orange flame of their hope.
He says he has just witnessed the best Alabama-Tennessee game he's ever seen, and he's missed only six home games in 40 seasons.
"They never quit," Guthrie says proudly. "I'm more excited about Tennessee football than ever."
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 25
Bufforange00 writes:
This wasn't the best, but it was close. For most UT fans, I would say 1982 and 1995 were probably the best, although 2003 overtime game was great. Would have been the best if Tennessee had made the field goal at the end.
olozbal#646632 writes:
Despite the loss, this program is going in the right direction. Even our detractors have to admit that.
I'd rather be UT over the next 2-3 years than most other SEC programs.
Great job Kiffin for the Crompton coaching job.
SmokeyHound writes:
I think eric berry should defenetly be the very very first pick in the nfl draft. sam bradford is hurt, tim tebow would not be a good nfl quarterback due to his inability to quickly release the football and much more, eric berry last year was used in a coverage way. and he dominated. this year he was used as a "linebacker" and he is dominating. Eric Berry has about 60 total tackles versus gerald mccoys 13 tackles. even though gerald sat out for two games so far he isnt as much of a presence and eric berry. berry just dominates berry has 216 total tackles, 1.5 forced fumbles, 12 interceptions, and a few fumble recoveries, in his carrer versus, gerald mccoy's 50 total tackles and one interception. ndamucong suh has about 112 total tackles in his carreer. berry already has at least 100 more tackles AND HE IS A SENIOR!!! BERRY IS A JUNIOR!!! berry can play, quarterback, punt return, kick return, cornerback, safety, linebacker, blitz, cover, punt coverage, kick coverage, and for Tennessee he is on field goal blocking! Berry should unquestionably go in the first round to the titans who are getting KILLED in the secondary. the secondary is the titans weakness. if you dont think eric berry should go first pick in the NFL then your very crazy. help berry go first round!
LouisvilleVol writes:
Calm down there buddy, Berry will go in the first round. Mel Kiper has him going number 2.
titansfan2104 writes:
who is gerald mccoy??? rico maybe?? :)
UTVOLSFAN4LIFE writes:
This team is a lot better than the record shows. This is a team of winners. They have exposed weaknesses in the top 2 teams in the nation. Tennessee was the better team on the field today. If one of 3 kicks would have been made or if one kick of the 4 kicks from Alabama would have been missed the best team would have won. This team won the battle on both sides of the ball on one of the best teams Alabama has had. Jones and Crompton are looking like first class role models and players after the adversity they faced through the first couple of games. This team will finish 7-5 minimum. I believe they have a good shot at 8-4 if they keep playing with the same heart and intensity they have been playing with.
LibertyVolance writes:
There is marked progress that is exciting about these Volunteers. Crompton has really improved and the WRs have improved steadily. Jones, Teague (looks like he's goint to be a threat after the catch when he breaks out), Richardson, Stocker, Moore; Bryce Brown was muscling for all he was worth and gripping that football tight all the while. Hardesty has been terrif from the start, but these other guys that weren't early on are definitely getting tougher and stronger and better. Monty and the Vol Defense, what more can you say??? They've been there since day one and getting better and playing consistently tough D. So proud of this Vol team. If it stung us, you know it broke their hearts at the end. Go Volunteers! Keep the spirit.
kabulvol writes:
I've called for Crompton to be benched, I admit it. But, I will say that these last two games he has really come along nicely. That pass to Stocker was a masterpiece. And, Moore? He made some big catches today + he had the onside kick recovery.
Good job Crompton. I think the staff has figured out a way to build a game plan so that he remains in a comfort zone. And you could see his confidence increasing as the game went on.
Yeah, yeah, there are no moral victories. I get it. However, we took Bama to the last :04 of the game and had a chance to upset the #1 team in the nation. That's progress. In year 2 and 3, CLK will have UT winning these games. Give him time.
There are a lot of CLK haters out there. They'll slowly fade away.
Go Vols!
volman67 writes:
i just want to say we are not behind as a program like people believe ,we may not play like we are capable of playing ,which is hard to take,when you know we are a capable team, but it is not tallent,maybe it is heart at times,, especially last year.but this team can play with anyone period,, and has proved it all year,,as far as last year it was really the offensive coaching change that was the problem,mainly the line problems ,so no matter what skill players you have,nothing works,football is a timing a cemistry thing especially on offense,so you cant blam the skill pos. i dont know alot,but i see one heck of a football team,as M.K. put it when he came here,so lets stand behined this team no matter what the record..go vols
knoxtenor writes:
This is definitely not the same team that gave up about half-way through last season; neither is it the same team that allowed a pathetic UCLA defense to swarm all over them on Labor Day weekend. Certainly, some special teams could use some improvement, but even that's a new thing. (When was the last time UT had to worry about consistency problems with field goals?) The Vols have put the fear of God into the top two teams in the country. That goal alone was something very few Vol fans would have predicted at the beginning of the year.
The seed has been planted, the tree appears healthy and growing.
NJVolFan writes:
There is much to be happy about as the Vols are heading in the right direction In his very short tenure thus far Kiffin has turned around Crompton, installed new scheme's on both sides of the ball, landed the number 1 prospect last year and maybe most importantly proved that he CAN coach. There is still much to be done (i.e. special teams) but we can now expect that the Vols will be well prepared every week. This team NEVER quits. Go Vols!
TennTraveler writes:
In 1966 we missed a field goal against bama and the Bear for a 10-11 loss. Amazing, 43 years later it is 10-12 on field goal miscues. You gotta love the heart of this team. Go Vols.
volnnwbama writes:
you folks in knoxville let the team know we
support them. no more bad mouthing them.
VolsDoIt writes:
I'm disappointed we didn't win, but the reality is we were *very* fortunate to even be in position to win, if not for two lucky breaks (fumble & on-side kick), we would be complaining about how poorly we performed. Don't get me wrong, we played OK, but we had two weeks to prepare & Bama was at the end of an 8-week grind. Also, we should have been called for numerous holding penalties...it was was obvious we couldn't control the Bama defense straight-up. All this euphoria over a loss is setting us up to get spanked by SC.
savannahvol writes:
GREAT JOB!!!!
FreeTDTN writes:
FOOLmer loses to our arch rivals by a combined 63 points when they are not the #1 and #2 team in the country. Kiffin takes FOOLmer's same players and only loses by a combined 12 points when they are the nation's top teams and he had a chance to win both ballgames. You figure it out unless you are dumber than Dupree.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Bama was tired; we are thin in depth; so that argument is a wash, IMHO. There were also several holding penalties that could have been called on Bama; there always are; I have had officials tell me that they could call holding on nearly every play. To me, as to some others, it was revealing that the least-penalized team in the SEC--that would be UT--was called for TEN TIMES as many penalties as Bama was, though not all the ones called against us were accepted. The "euphoria" over the close loss is all in the FAN'S minds; the players and coaches all thought we should have won the game and they are PO'ed that they didn't. THAT is a good attitude to take into the SC game.
volatil writes:
Fulmer would have never gone for it on fourth down. Example not once but twice against Auburn fourth and less than a foot, Fulmer brings on the punter last year, the second time we never got the ball back. Kiffin has major stones and his players are starting to understand what it's like to have a coach who believes in them. Look the heck out SEC!!!!!!!!!!
notoriousBIGorange writes:
ESPN's Todd McShane was reviewing the NFL draft prospects last week on College Football Live and he said that he has Eric Berry at the top of his board as the number 1 draft prospect. FYI...
LibertyVolance writes:
We are not euphoric over a loss. Fans are trying not to place blame or criticize when we know how badly the coaches and team feels because they know the win was within their grasp and we didn't quite get it. So, that leaves them applauding the spirit and desire of this team which is all we are doing for the most part. Some fans might not express themselves perfectly, but there is a ground swell of support for these coaches and players that people haven't felt in years. It is a united support of the Tennessee Volunteers we're basically feeling.
WiseProfessor writes:
This kind of comment is what I can't stand. No loss is good not even if it is a close loss to the number 1 team in the country. Any team that feels good about a loss will never be a champion.
Plasticman writes:
I don't like losing either. However, I think most Vol fans (as well as other SEC fans) can appreciate what Kiffin has done with basically no depth and 1/4 the talent of FL and AL. THe excitement stems from what fans see happening over the next 2-3 years with Kiffin and Co. Recruiting is going great and it's obvious this staff can coach up their players. THe Vols will be a force once again in a couple of years!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Agree completely. It was the guy I was replying to who said we were "euphoric" over the close loss. We applaud the team's effort AND the fact that THEY were disappointed they didn't actually beat the #1--or #1-A, if you prefer--on their home field.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
If you have read the comments of the players and the coaches, you would know that THEY didn't feel good about the loss. Even the fans don't feel good about the LOSS, they feel good about the effort and a WAY better performance against Bama than we have had in several years. For a "wise professor", you surely are literal-minded and incapable of making fine distinctions. What are you a "professor" of, anyway? Clearly it isn't either football or fan psychology.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I've seen enough of your drivel on here to know that you don't really care to have your questions answered. However, I will give it a shot. No one is HAPPY that we lost to UF and Bama, let alone UCLA and Auburn. However, considering that last year we DID get blown out by UF and Bama and this year we DID NOT, we DO consider that progress--44-pt total margin last year AT HOME compared to a 12-pt margin this year ON THE ROAD.
We KNOW how bad UT WAS; that is why we got a new coaching staff. We HAVE gotten better game by game this year. Neither UCLA nor Auburn could stay on the field with the UT team that just played Bama. The problem is that our schedule is front-loaded nearly every year. It is stupid to think that a new coaching staff and a team that has at least 50% new starters would be completely in sync right out of the box.
What IS encouraging is that discipline and effort are habitual for this team to a degree that we haven't seen in years. When the talent improves, we will dominate. As you will see Saturday, we already have everything we need to barbecue the Chickens THIS year. Deal with it.
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