Tennessee could have practically made its season by beating Florida or Alabama. Now, it can make its season by beating everybody that's left.
The consensus best-case scenario for UT in preseason was 8-4. It's still attainable. But there's little margin for error and no room for a letdown following a last-second loss to previously No. 1-ranked Alabama on Saturday.
Another UT team made the best of a 3-4 start and a close loss to Alabama. The 1994 team won its last four regular-season games by a 172-35 margin, then beat Virginia Tech by 22 points in the Gator Bowl.
Putting that late-season surge in perspective: Peyton Manning was the quarterback, and the last four regular-season opponents were comprised of South Carolina, Memphis, Kentucky and Vanderbilt - none of which finished better than 6-5.
This team's stretch running is considerably more daunting. Kentucky is proof of that. So are Ole Miss and South Carolina, which are both ranked in the top 25.
The 1994 Kentucky team, which UT beat 52-0, belongs in the conversation when you're discussing the worst SEC teams of the last 25 years. It went 1-10, was outscored 405-149 and lost to Florida 73-7.
The current Kentucky team is 4-3 and only two victories away from a school-record fourth consecutive bowl game. And its losing streak to UT (24 and counting) has to end sometime, doesn't it?
Ole Miss fans might be asking the same question. The Rebels haven't beaten the Vols since 1983. Their losing streak in the series is 12, including nine losses by double-digit margins.
A popular top-10 pick in preseason, the Rebels stumbled to a 3-2 start but have played better in winning their last two games. Like Kentucky, they will have the home-field advantage against the Vols.
UT's more immediate concern is South Carolina on Saturday in Neyland Stadium (TV: ESPN, 7:45 p.m.).
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier no longer has the intimidating sideline presence he once did at Florida. But the Vols usually bring out the best in the East Tennessee native.
Spurrier was 8-4 against UT as Florida's head coach. More relevantly, he's 2-2 at South Carolina. The Gamecocks handled UT with relative ease last season, 27-6, and were statistically dominant in the overtime loss to UT two years ago.
South Carolina and UT have a couple of things in common. They have improving quarterbacks - Stephen Garcia for the Gamecocks and Jonathan Crompton for the Vols - and are better defensively than offensively.
The biggest difference is in the running game. UT has one.
And this is the game to use it.
South Carolina ranks second in the SEC in pass defense. Not only does it have another in a long line of solid secondaries, it has two of the conference's most feared pass rushers in linebacker Eric Norwood and end Clint Matthews, who are both having All-SEC seasons. Norwood leads the SEC in sacks with six, and Matthews is tied for second with five.
Attacking the middle of the South Carolina defense offers more promise. The Gamecocks rank eighth in the league in rush defense and lack depth in the middle of their defense.
Running the ball is sometimes as much about effort as talent. And you have to wonder how much effort UT can summon after a last-second loss to Alabama.
Arkansas came out flat against Ole Miss on Saturday, a week after a last-minute loss to No. 1-ranked Florida. South Carolina struggled to beat Vanderbilt following a hard-fought loss to Alabama.
Such lapses become more and more common in the second half of the season in a conference as taxing as this one. UT's challenge is to put the Alabama game behind it while maintaining the same emotional edge it had for both the Tide and the Gators.
If it can accomplish that, it might beat more than South Carolina. It might beat everybody else on its schedule as well.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 50
caverunner writes:
It must have taken ja all weekend to figure that out! GBO!!!
clariail#233203 writes:
granted it it was against two of the top defenses but 119 against Florida and 77 vs. Alabama does not look that great of a running threat.
And don't compare it again to last year with this, that is like comparing apples and oranges. Last year they tried an offensive experiment that backfired badly and it cost games and jobs.
What concerns is 0-3 in close games (not counting the Auburn game UT had to play catch up in). Its not like UT is starting an all Freshmen team.
jhayes0926#638474 writes:
No problem with the article. UT has the potential to finish 8-4. My gut feeling is that we stub our toe in one of the games and finish 7-5. Still a great season.
FWBVol writes:
Time to stir up some Tennessee Volun-FEAR!!!
GahLee writes:
Not sure if I consider our remaining schedule a gauntlet.
We should be able to win out and at worst we lose 1 of the remaining games.
Note to Adams'...the streak against Kentucky doesn't have to end, I will say this about Kentucky.
They have Randall Cobb, he will present problems for us but we should handle our business as usual against The Kentucky Nails.
UTByrd writes:
Coach Kiffin got his MOJO workin' in the Bama game. There's a MOJO thats gonna work, not just this year, but for years to come.
Search Muddy Waters for "Got my MOJO workin" and give it a listen.
Go VOLS!!!!!
VoL4LiFe86 writes:
Win our remaining games. Win our bowl game. Finish 9-4 and UT finishes the year with a respectable record. 9 wins is miles ahead of last year. Don't make no mistake, we still have a lot to play for! Recruit Recruit Recruit! No 6 in recruiting right now just behind of bamma and just ahead of FL. We have three four star WR, and the No 2 kicker in the nation.
chrisw2967 writes:
8-4 will be more like it, ole piss dont have enough off. if bama can shut them down then tn can shut them down.
VoL4LiFe86 writes:
If we win out and win a bowl that will be 9-4. I agree, our defense will completely shut ole miss down. SC and kentucky will be a test but nothing we can't handle.
trace5254 writes:
You guys have some swagger because you played Bama close. My guess is that you will loose 2 more games and finish 6-6. All teams play their rivals hard - let's see what you do this week against SC
VoL4LiFe86 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
crimsonviper writes:
Hardesty will be having his way with them by the middle of the 3rd.IMHO
crimsonviper writes:
If the Vols continue playing the way they have been barring injury,they will win out.
marinevol writes:
If only we had do-overs for UCLA and Auburn. I still can't believe we lost to Auburn. They haven't won a game since then, and at times are not even competitive.
vut56#231073 writes:
Let's see: At present, UT is 3-4; five games left; win five and we are 8-4.
Amazing! What a whiz! Who else would have thougt of that?
That is why JA is where he is and I are where I are.
BrassMonkey writes:
Yeah, good luck with with 8-4. I see 6-6 with a Music City Bowl on Dec. 27th. Nashville anyone?
MoralVictory writes:
I think we lose 3 of 4 and call them moral victories
vol88 writes:
IMO, we split Ole Miss/South Carolina and win the others. Not bad in a rebuilding year with a new coaching staff, no depth and a QB who waited 6 games to show up.
JacksonvilleVol writes:
Just need some more talent. You need players to win in this league, and Saturday's game proved it. Can't have a pair of undersized twins and a guy with a tweaked quadricep win the game for us against that monster beast on the other side of the ball.
7-5 lose to Ole Miss, win the rest.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Nobody is HAPPY with a 7-5 record, but it IS a heckuva lot better than what we had last year with all the crushing losses, the plummeting morale, the poor sideline demeanor, etc., etc. I said we would go 7-5 at the beginning of the season and laughed at those who thought we would go 10-2. Now I look back and realize that, by golly, 10-2 was not out of reach. That said, I am thrilled with all the better habits of discipline, effort, competitiveness, etc., that this staff has instilled and I am more certain than ever that we will be back in the thick of things sooner than most people would have imagined last spring.
volaholic45 writes:
The 12-0 or nothing types would be terrible ADs. They're the kind who would fire HCs by the week, and spin their wheels for decades on end. They'd have fired Saban in year one, too, I suppose.
Those who cannot see a decided difference in the performance and trajectory of the TN program are fools (or maybe trolls undercover). We should all be glad that this site is as close as they'll ever get to being able to actually influence personnel decisions.
steamboatticket#484773 writes:
All I care about right now is beating South Carolina.
paul5170 writes:
I'm glad to hear that you've been that good at ever thing you have tried ,guess you were born that way.......Vol88,thats called coaching!!!!!!!!
punkin writes:
The "gas pumpers" are coming to town and their bringing their senile "ole ball coach" with em. Kick their a$@, Big Orange.
punkin writes:
ESPN Radio, Colin Cowherd: When Lane Kiffin gets his players in, "Tennessee is going to be a BEAST".
Cldvols1 writes:
Well, at the beginning of the season I predicted either 8-4 or 7-5 and I'm sticking to it! The last 2 games the Vols have proven to me that their on the right track with a thrashing of UGA and a last second loss to Bama. Chin up UT fans there's still a lot of victories to acquire this season! Go Big Orange!!!
Cldvols1 writes:
EXACTLY!
calvolfromkingsport writes:
Playing Kentucky at the end of the season is always a plus because of their lack of depth(as the injuries mount), the difference this year is better than 94 because this coaching staff will keep STOMPING on the peddle! These players have bought in and will not look back.
Cldvols1 writes:
Pitiful? Your tv must have went out the last 2 games. We'll make it 24 in a row over KY, 13 in a row over Ole Miss and right the ship against USC by finishing the 2nd half of the season undefeated or with 1 loss. Go Vols!
Book it!!!
Fryinpansvols writes:
I agree totally! But the UCLA loss was terrible! UCLA might not win 5 games this season and we lost to them two straight years and I hear this junk at work.
Fryinpansvols writes:
Your profile name says a lot about what you post on here. At worst, I think we will be 7-5 as I predicted before the season began. With one loss either coming to South Carolina or Ole Miss. Of the last five games I think our toughest challenge is this weekend against the Gamecocks. Our boys need to put the Bama loss behind them and concentrate on the Old Ball Coaches team. We'll beat Memphis, Kentucky and Vanderbilt for sure! And may win the last five if we play with the heart we did this past weekend against Alabama. We have to shore up the Special Teams though!
givehim6 writes:
Is not it funny the difference in how you fill after a good nights sleep. I'm assuming your a Bama fan, and Sat night you had a hard time sleeping because of the bad dreams of us kicking your butt. Then by Sunday you realized you had excaped by the skin of your teeth. Now you fill all cocky. Now you have all year to think about this, you've got to cometo our house next year and get your butts kicked. GO VOLS 2010 is the year!
stratocaster54 writes:
All we need is Manning!
CDRKen writes:
Dude, It's "feel", not, "fill". Might, also, want to check out the differences in they're, their and there; too, two and to; lose and loose;sight, site and cite; and all other heterographs, homonyms, etc. Agree with the post though. Leave the dog$&!^ English to Alabubba fan.
tennesseebee writes:
What's the gauntlet? Is that ran out of a three back set, or maybe some kind of trick play? Just kidding. Gosh,Adams.
DennisVols writes:
Comparing this UT team to years past is a waste of time. The coaching staff is not the same and neither is the roster of players. Last year’s team was spanked by Bama and UF. They quit fighting in most games once they got behind. There are no Peyton Manning’s on either side of the ball in any of UT’s remaining games.
UT’s defense just shut down a Bama offense that was averaging 34.6 PPG and a running back being talked about in the Heisman race that was averaging greater than 150 yards PG to less than 100.
Crompton threw for close to 250 yards against Bama’s #1 defense. Not just #1 in the conference but #1 in the country.
This game should not be viewed as a let down by UT. It was disappointing to lose but they know they could have won. Could you honestly say that last year in either the UF or the Bama games?
This isn’t a CPF coached team that we saw quit, not competitive, low energy the past several years. This is a team with a can do attitude that went into the Swamp and into Bryant-Denny Stadium and played two #1 ranked team to the final whistle. I am not say the games will be easy but this team has a better shot at running the table than any I have seen in more than a decade. Adams is comparing apples and oranges here. SC and Arky came out flat after their losses. Do they have the same coaching staff as UT? Did they go through the same conditioning program that had UT looking fresher than Bama at the end of Sat.’s game?
You can search for negative anywhere you look if that is your goal. You make a choice every morning to search for success or dwell on failure. Adams has taken the low road, again, in how he writes concerning the Vols.
Keeping it Real
Go Vols!!!
MemphVol writes:
7-5, the Vols beat SC, Mem, Vandy, UK and loose at Miss. Go ahead Rebels, enjoy the RARE victory over UT.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I feel your pain, but that ship has already sailed! When I was a GTA at UT about 15 years ago, I gave my freshman class an ungraded quiz on the first day on just those words. When they got it, they all complained about how silly it was and questioned what it had to do with the subject they signed up for. I simply said that any person literate in English who deserved to be at UT should know these words cold. Do you know that NOT ONE of my 30+ students got 100? Sad but true.
We are entering a post-literate society. In another generation, the average HS grad will be incapable of reading and understanding the Declaration of Independence, let alone the Constitution. Our whole democracy will be conducted on the intellectual level of last summer's "tea parties". I hope I don't live to see it; I'm an old man, so I may not have to see it.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
On topic, UT WILL win out. The team knows they have a score to settle with SC. If all our guys are reasonably healthy, they will NOT have a let-down Saturday. If last year's Jevan Snead resurfaces, Ole Miss MIGHT take us down, but I doubt it. UK may give us more of a tussle than they usually do, but we will win it. Early and big or late and close, we WILL prevail; they don't have enough offense and Monte's boys will smother whatever they do have.
y9since80 writes:
wont be happy with 7-5 but damn proud to be a hillbilly
volsftw1535 writes:
GREATNESS!
orangepridenation writes:
yea, lets run the ball down their throat guys.
GO BIG ORANGE!!!
hallmo11 writes:
Just South Carolina. Just South Carolina. Take them
ONE GAME AT A TIME. Take care of Halloween's game
this Saturday and *then* think about the next one.
This team certainly has the potential to do something
really good. Coach K, please don't get suspended....we
need you!
SIMSVOL writes:
Hey Jacksonville - the game saturday proves we have talent and a ton of it. Tennessee is the better team by far. We win out.
pikavol writes:
this game.
this week.
we need a "w" at home.
worry about next week next week. Time to stop crying about last week. This week. Just this week.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Good advice! In fact, I think that this is the most important attitude adjustment this staff has instilled in the team. JC could not have improved as he has if he were unable to put the past behind him and work to get better. It is also shown in the spirit of competition; players have to prove themselves in every practice and every game. We may not in fact win them all, but I just don't see this team as being subject to emotional swings as much as it has been on occasion in the past.
Shake_Bake writes:
I'm with you! Just get one win at a time. With good coaching, I believe we can go the distance and finish the regular season at 8-4. That UCLA loss just kills me every time I think about it!!
RollTideJoe writes:
Granted your team played their hearts out last Saturday and I am NOT taking anything away from that. But, we had not had a week off since the beginning of the season and were tired. Also, our QB has been playing too conservatively and that will change beginning this week. Also, as good as you played, the freakish events of the last 3.5 minutes of the game made a 12-3 game a 12-10 game. Finally, you might win next year in your house, but you might not. Too many Vols go overboard with the hype and sacrasm. We will be strong again next year, we have the #1 QB in the nation coming in for two years down the road, we've had the top recruiting classes the past two years and are having another highly ranked one again and it isn't over on this class. So, I suspect it will be a hard fought game again next year, but don't say you'll kick our butts because we won't be laying down for you and it will be a well fought game!
Cldvols1 writes:
Oh ye of little faith, goodbye!
marvinVol writes:
In response to johngOO#206211, I happen to be a supporter of the "tea parties" and believe my intellectual level is fairly high, as is most of those I know. I graduated from the U of Chattanooga with an Engineering-Physics degree and was employed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in Langley Virginia as an aeronautical engineeing scientist, then became a member of NASA on the signing of the bill creating NASA, retiring after 25 years. I have attended graduate studies from three different Universities, from management to nuclear engineering. I served four years in the USAF of which three were overseas. I am a patriot and a diehard Vol fan, in that order. I resent the slur that anyone standing up for what they believe makes them less intelligent. Being 78 years old, I feel I have a right to vent my feeling. Having said that, GO BIG ORANGE!!!!!!!
Sorry for the venting. Older guys do that.
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