UTVols News and Opinions

Welcome to Coach Scooter’s College Football Diary weekend preview! I am glad there is a game on Saturday so I can start watching ESPN and reading the paper again. A week of having to watch QVC and Telemundo was just too much to take, so I am glad I can start watching sports again. This week we can forget the pain of last Saturday because the mighty Arkansas Razorbacks are next. A win would put us back in the top ten in all likelihood, and with the Louisville loss, we could sneak back into the big bowl picture. Let’s look at Thursday’s game, as well as the week ahead!

#3 Louisville 25
#15 Rutgers 28

Rutgers was one of the first teams to start playing college football in 1869. They played Princeton in the first game, which was also Paul McGuire’s first game in the announcing booth. Before last night, Rutgers had never played a ranked team while they were ranked too, so they made sure to make this one a memorable occasion as the Scarlet Knights came from a 22-7 first half deficit to stun the Cardinals 28-25. The win keeps Rutgers unbeaten, and ended the BCS hops of Louisville.

Coach Scooter’s Red Ass Minute

I have to take a minute to vent. I got a little sick of all the “Luah-vull” fans calling the sports talk shows here telling everyone they were getting no love, and they had tried to schedule SEC teams but no one would play them, yadda yadda yadda. Well, Cardinals fans, as Aunt Molly always says, “You let your alligator mouth overload your jaybird ass.” I will write this as close to the point as I can, and if there are children reading this, please cover their eyes for a few seconds. Louisville is just a flash in the pan, nothing happening team that plays a weak schedule yet expects the college football world to kiss their fannys because they were unbeaten. Who has Louisville every beat, huh? And as far as the Louisville fans go, instead of flapping your gums on all the sports talk radio stations blowing nothing but hot air into your rotary dial phones, just go back to that high school football stadium of yours and eat Poppa Johns pizza while you try to figure out what bowl you will be going to. I hear the Bulgaria Sugar Beets Bowl is looking for a team…

Sorry about that, fans, I just had to vent for a second. Now let’s get on with the real college football news of the weekend!

Weekend Games

#19 Georgia Tech (7-2) at North Carolina (1-8)
12:00/LF/Bill Rosinski/Dave Archer

The Jackets are one win away from a trip to Jacksonville to play for the ACC Championship. The Heels are one game closer to having Butch Davis on their sideline. I spoke with Georgia Tech SID Allison George last week, and she assured me the Heels would not have either Butch Davis or Roy Williams on the sidelines, and that was a huge sigh of relief. Roy has blasted the Jackets on more than one occasion and the sight of his presens sends Buzz back to the Beehive quicker than a Louisville loss. (Couldn't resist that line) No Roy means no sweat; Jackets clinch on Saturday. Is Chan pointing the way to Jacksonville?

South Carolina (5-4) at #6 Florida (8-1)
3:30/CBS/Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson

I wonder how much money Genius Danielson pays to whoever makes the game of the week decisions at CBS. “Oh, you don’t have to pay me any money, just put it in the contract CBS will do every game except for one or two in Gainesville this year.” How many times has that boil on the butt of humanity been in Gainesville this year to call the action of his beloved Gators? If I were Verne, I would call Pam Ward to see if she could hook him up at ESPN next year.

Alabama (6-4) at #12 LSU (7-2)
7:45/ESPN/Mike Patrick/Todd Blackledge

LSU? ARRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I just had a JaMarcus Russell flashback... I noticed the Bama fans wore bags on their heads last Saturday because the Unknown Comic was being honored at halftime...

#13 Tennessee (7-2) at #11 Arkansas (8-1)
7:00/ESPN2/Ron Franklin/Ed Cunningham

Talk about feeling like whale crap at the bottom of the ocean one day, then seeing “The King”, Ron Franklin doing a Tennessee game just makes you want to stand up and scream, YES!!!! I can’t wait to hear, “The line to make is…” and “He’s got five, he’s got ten.” For our sake’s though, I sure hope he doesn’t have to say that when Darren McFadden’s running the ball…

ESPN GAMEDAY HEADING TO FAYETTEVILLE THIS WEEKEND

For the first time in Arkansas history, ESPN College GameDay Built by the Home Depot will originate from the Fayetteville campus prior to the UT-Arkansas game.Tennessee has appeared in 16 games when the crew from GameDay was on site. The Vols record in those contests is 7-9, including a 5-4 mark away from Rocky Top. UT defeated South Carolina 31-24 on Oct. 28 in front of the GameDay cameras in Columbia, S.C.

VOLS NAME CROMPTON STARTING QB; SMITH AMONG FIVE GAME CAPTAINS

Redshirt freshman Jonathan Crompton gets his first collegiate starting assignment Saturday when Tennessee visits Arkansas in a Southeastern Conference matchup.

“Jonathan’s gotten most of the work with the ones this week and has continued to make progress,” Fulmer said. “He’s a young guy and he’s certainly going to compete, as we saw in the ballgame last week.”It’s important that he doesn’t go out there and make mistakes; those are the things that will get you beat. In the last ballgame, we had no offensive penalties and just the one turnover off the tipped pass. We had four takeaways and that gave us a chance to win the game. It’s going to be a very similar game this week.”

Asked about the effect on his young signal-caller of Saturday’s atmosphere, which includes an 8-1 Arkansas team undefeated in conference play and the hype surrounding the first-ever Fayetteville appearance of ESPN’s College GameDay, Fulmer seemed to shrug.
“I think he’s been a pretty cool customer about the whole thing,” said Fulmer, whose Vols enter at 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the SEC. “I was amazed at his confidence in the last ballgame, although this will be a bigger test for him in a hostile environment. It’s going to be a great experience.”

(Thanks - Rocky Top News)

Saturday’s game captains, announced Thursday by the head coach, are defensive tackle Turk McBride, linebacker Marvin Mitchell, offensive tackle Arron Sears, placekicker James Wilhoit and wide receiver Bret Smith.

Final Thoughts with Coach Scooter

I was listening to all the procrastinators, er, prognosticators this week, and all of them said the Vols would be pummeled by the Hogs. It reminded me of the line in A Few Good Men when Colonel Jessup was talking about surrendering their position in Cuba. Here is the way Coach Scooter and Coach B recited those lines earlier this week:

Coach Scoot: Let’s see here, Coach B. We have to play Arkansas and they are predicted to blow us out. Hmm, why don’t we call the NCAA and see if they will let us bring back Peyton Manning and Al Wilson for the game. Yes, I'm sure that's the thing to do. Wait, I have a better idea. Why don't we just forget going to Fayetteville? As a matter of fact, why don't we just cancel the rest of the season? Coach Cutcliffe, Coach Chavis, go on out there and tell those boys to come down off the plane. We’re staying in Knoxville for the rest of the year. Coach B?

Coach B: Yes, Coach Scoot?

Coach Scoot: Get me Coach Fulmer on the phone. Tell him we are surrendering our position in the SEC!

Coach B: Yes, Sir.

Coach Scoot: Wait a minute; don't call Coach Fulmer just yet. Perhaps we should consider this for a moment. Dismissed, Coach. You know, maybe we have an obligation to the young Vol fans out there. Maybe as writers for www.utvols.com we have a responsibility to our team to see to it that the men assigned to protect it are properly trained and are ready for action on Saturday…yes, I'm certain I've read that somewhere. And while the media’s suggestion of us being beaten senseless, while expeditious and certainly painless, might not be, in a matter of speaking, the Big Orange way. We are going to Fayetteville. We're gonna kick some Razorback ass!

For more college football news, don't miss my column on The Southern Ledger at: www.southernledger.com. The Southern Ledger is your source for news and culture in the southeast!

With that written, it’s time to get behind our brave boys in orange. It’s time to believe in what the coaches and players are trying to do. It’s time we throw all the naysayers off the Big Orange Bus and assert ourselves back into the top ten. Pull out those orange and white rosaries, repeat the game maxims, and never take Coach Fulmer’s name in vain. Send your questions and comments to volsdairy@yahoo.com. See you on Tuesday, Big Orange Nation! Go Vols!!

Around the SEC


Okay, class. Here’s a tough one for you: where was the first intercollegiate football game played, who were the participants, and what was the outcome? Here’s a hint: one of those teams took down one of the last unbeatens last night in Piscataway, New Jersey. That’s right, the Scarlet Knights defeated the Louisville Cardinals last night in dramatic fashion to have a say in the national title race and are relevant again in a national context.

That’s great, you say. But this is an SEC site—why should we care? Here’s why: he Scarlet Knight’s huge accomplishment last night of taking down the visiting Louisville Cardinals has huge implications for the national title aspirations for Florida, Auburn, and Arkansas. All one loss teams, each one of them has to win a big game this weekend to begin to make an argument for the number two BCS spot.

Florida has an emotional test when their old favorite son brings a fired-up Gamecocks squad to town. The Ol’ Ballcoach surprised the Gators last year, and Urban Meyer’s team needs to blow the doors off this hungry South Carolina group. There will be some surprises in this game; this much we’re sure of, as dynamic player Syvelle Newton is projected to play—but not at quarterback as some might expect. This week, he’s in a safety spot, which makes the fifth position he’s played as a Gamecock. This is the same Syvelle Newton that made a contest out of both the Tennessee and Arkansas games for Spurrier’s up and coming team. The thinking is that Blake Mitchell, the quarterback that Spurrier started the season with, gives the ‘Cocks a better chance to have success throwing the ball against a suspect Florida secondary. Syvelle Newton therefore becomes kind of a wild card, which Spurrier can play in various ways to crack open a game that Florida needs to win in a big way.

Auburn, likewise, goes down between the hedges in Athens to take on a Georgia squad that desperately needs to show they can beat a good team. After losing to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida, Kentucky (gasp!), and barely getting by a bad Mississippi State team, the Dawgs are nearly as devastated now as Tennessee was last year. Auburn will be looking to make up some style points to get their hat thrown back into the ring for the chance to play for it all. However, if the Bulldogs have a strength it is against the run—which happens to be Auburn’s strength offensively. Auburn will have to find a way to win this one through the air Saturday. The War Eagle needs to stretch its wings Saturday to prove to voters that this Auburn team deserves Auburn has the defense to make freshman quarterback Matthew Stafford a non-factor, and corral the Dawgs’ big tailback Kregg Lumpkin. It remains to be seen if they can put some huge points against a good run defense.

Finally, Arkansas plays host to a decimated Tennessee squad Saturday in Fayetteville. This Arkansas team just might be the best in the SEC. They are the only team to beat Auburn so far this year, and their only loss is an out of conference blowout to USC. With their absolutely mammoth offensive front, and two stellar running backs in Darrenn McFadden and Felix Jones, this group of Hogs will cause huge problems for Tennessee. The Vols’ young defensive line has been very average against the run this year, and with the loss of their best run stopper Marvin Mitchell at middle linebacker, are primed to give up a lot of big plays to the Razorbacks.

On the other side of the ball, redshirt freshman Jonathan Crompton gets his first start as Tennessee quarterback Saturday, relieving junior sensation Erik Ainge who is out with two sprained ankles. Robert Meachem, the nation’s third best receiver, as well as standouts Jayson Swain and Bret Smith could be beneficiaries of a well-executed passing game, on an Arkansas secondary that has shown it can be thrown on. The only other really strong passing attack they have faced so far this year, USC, did well through the air. Turnovers will play a huge role in this game. Tennessee has done a nice job of creating turnovers so far this season, but most of those have come as interceptions in the secondary. Those opportunities will be limited Saturday, as Arkansas no doubt will be content to leave the ball in the hands of their capable running backs. The Hogs have only fumbled the ball 10 times this year, and have lost it only 5 times. The deciding factor in this game will be time of possession: can the Vol defense get off the field to rest against a dominant Arkansas running attack? Can the explosive offense get on the field and sustain some drives to keep the Hogs on the sideline long enough to put some points on the board?

Predictions

Florida 33
South Carolina 37

Auburn 20
Georgia 3

Tennessee 31
Arkansas 38

Well, heartbreak has engulfed Big Orange Nation, and I know Coach Scooter is still not back to being my usual self, so I apologize for taking an extra day before being able to report about last week's game. Sunday night, my wonderful mother in law drove like a bat out of hell, sirens blaring, over to our house when she heard I got home, since she knew I was feeling lower than Mississippi State in the SEC standings. Despite her best efforts of a delicious chicken parmesan dinner and a hot fudge ice cream Sunday for dessert, I could not be cheered up and ended up crying myself to sleep. Sweetie just watched her Lifetime movies, drank the leftover beer from the tailgate and said, "Did you guys eat all the Funyuns?"

Last weekend was one of the best game day experiences I have ever been to in Knoxville. Well, up to the last nine seconds of the game. As you will see later, it was both the Tennessee and LSU people that made the day special, and as much as it hurts me to relive that moment in time, I have a responsibility to the readers of this website to report what happened. Pull up a box of Kleenex, Vol fans, here we go...

LSU 28 - Tennessee 24

The Vols found a new way to break our hearts on Saturday as JaMarcus Russell's four yard touchdown pass to Early Doucett with nine seconds left gave the Tigers a 28-24 come from behind win. You would have thought the Vols didn't have had a chance in hell of staying on the field without their starting QB, especially against the nations #1 defense. After Erik Ainge tried to give it a go, he gave way to freshman Jonathan Crompton, who went 11-for-24 for 183 yards and two touchdowns and almost pulled the game out. As good as he looked, don't forget about the man who got us this far, all right?

Tennessee News

Vols travel to play Hogs

It was announced on Wednesday the Vols are still not sure if Erik Ainge or Jonathan Crompton will start against Arkansas. However, LaMarcus Coker is expected to return from a knee injury, so that is great news. The game is at 7:00pm on ESPN2.

Coach Fulmer had these comments on the game ahead: "We're going to run the football better than we have. We have to take some pressure off the passing game, although the passing game has certainly been our strength. We have to take some pressure off our young quarterback and help our defense more. At the same time, when people challenge us in passing situations or man-to-man situations, our strength has been getting the ball to our receivers and we will certainly not change that. The emphasis from my standpoint is to be down there and see where we can get out running game better and focus on that."

"This has been an exciting team, a responsive team as I've said a number of times. There's a lot of pride in this group of young men and coaches, and I expect and believe that we will re-center ourselves and focus ourselves on what we need to get done these last three weeks. We will take the challenge that's in front of us and work like heck to get this win and go from there."

Vols announce suspensions

Coach Fulmer announced that Arian Foster will be suspended for the first half of the Arkansas game, David Holbert will be suspended for the entire Arkansas game, and Antonio Wardlow will be suspended for the Arkansas and Vanderbilt games. All three student-athletes also face internal discipline. "This team has been really fun to coach and very responsive to us as coaches. When we have had issues of any type, we have dealt with them firmly and quickly and moved on. Our leadership and our discipline have grown throughout the year, and have been reflected in our efforts on and off the field." "The three young men who were arrested let their teammates, coaches, administration and great fans down. Their behavior is an example we certainly remind them about, when immature male ego mixes with alcohol and stupidity."

Coach Scooter's comment: As much as I respect and appreciate the work of Coach Fulmer and the players, I was surprised by the punishment handed out. I thought he set a zero tolerance policy, and yet we have three players breaking the law while being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they get a minimal suspension. Does this mean zero tolerance should be upgraded to 1.5 tolerance? I was not privy to all the information that is involved with this case, but from my perspective, I was shocked Coach Fulmer did not lower the boom more than that, and wished he would have practiced what he preached. How long until everyone starts calling him the Donna Shalala of the SEC?

Coach Scooter's Weekend Diary

Friday - 1:35 p.m.

After stopping at the liquor store for a fifth of "Daddy's Apple Juice," Coach B reenacted the scene from Animal House when Otter tosses various items to Flounder, and just like Flounder, I dropped most of them. As we left I heard, "Irv, clean up on aisle seven..." The highlight of the trip was the attractive young lady wearing mukluks. Now, I am all for ladies looking hot, but wearing those in 60 degree weather made me want to ask, "Is there a sled dog convention coming to town?"

3:05 p.m.

Coach B and I were almost through the long trip up to Knoxville and were pretty bored. Among the highlights of our conversation were:

After showing me his satalite radio, Coach B switched from the heavy metal station, where we were being serenaded to Motorhead and Megadeath songs, to a bluegrass station. I became concerned, so I asked him if they would ever play, Red Necks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer, and he said no. It was then I became disinterested.

We listened to ESPN Radio for a while, but became bored since every story was about the Louisville victory over West Virginia. You would have thought nothing else exsisted in the world. Of course, once they took a break from that, they went to updated coverage of the Michigan-Ohio State game, which is not going to be played for three more weeks. I looked at Coach B and said, "Well, I guess we can switch it back to the bluegrass..."

Among the bumper stickers we saw that caught out attention were, "I'm not speeding, I'm qualifying," "I'm not following too close, I'm drafting," and the best one of the day, "GR8NBED." Many pillars of the community driving along I-75 today. I have to mention when the traffic got a little heavy, Coach B reverted to his Smokey and the Bandit days by uttering, "If this gets any worse, we might have to pull off a big Smokey Red Dog 22."

4:16 p.m.

We pulled into a gas station once we got into Tennessee and I noticed a great present for all the Vol fans on your Christmas list: a giant sized Big Orange lighter! Just using that thing would most likely torch your nose when you lit it so please try to be careful...

5:05 p.m.

Another must for the trip was a visit to Hound Dogs to stock up on supplies. Coach B immediately went to the car flags, and after seeing the camo flags, he proclaimed, "Those camo flags are just waiting to be bought!"

5:57 p.m.

We needed to pick up dinner, so where else would two Vol fans stop to get dinner? Buddy's BBQ! It's like pulling into the promised land after 40 years or wandering through the dessert! We pulled in and the aroma of BBQ hanging heavy in the air was heavenly! See that look on my face? I only get that look when I am about to eat dinner, or when Sweetie wears the little UT Cheerleading uniform I bought her last Christmas. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have brought that one up...

Saturday Morning

10:06 a.m.

We got on campus about 10:00 so we could get into the tailgate spot Flame had for us. One thing we noticed that I should mention to all Vol fans is about car flags. Coach B and I were trained from Uncle J.L. to always observe the two flag minimum. Two and over and great, but never fly just one. That looks like ass.

10:24 a.m.

We dropped by the Tap Room, well, actually, we opened the Tap Room since it was just us and the bartender. He smiled wide and said, "Hell yeah, we're open. It's gameday for God sake." We knocked back a couple of Millers, but were disappointed by the fact the Chex Mix was not put on the bar yet, and I could not find the jukebox. I was really wanting to hear Red Necks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer, since I was denied yesterday. The line of the morning so far came during ESPN College Gameday. I looked up at Rece Davis and after thinking about it for a minute, I proclaimed to the rest of the bar, "Doesn't Rece Davis look a lot like Peter Brady?" It got a laugh out of Coach B, and the bartender was so amused he gave us one on the house.

10:56 a.m.

After a successful show at the Tap Room (Successful since we weren't asked to leave this time) we headed up to our old stomping grounds, the Longbranch for our traditional slugging back a PBR tall boy. I write slug since you pretty much have to slug yourself to get it down, but hey, I'm all for tradition. The funny part about this is after I ordered the beers, an LSU fan smiled and extended his hand and said, "You two are the only people under 60 years of age I have ever seen order a PBR." We laughed about it, and afterward, I should have asked if he wanted one. I managed to catch Coach B in an inglorious moment coming out of the swanky Longbranch bathroom (the bathroom attendant must have either been on vacation or in jail). The second picture is Coach B chasing me out of the Longranch to report they just got another case of PBR's and we had to help them drink it all.

11:34 a.m.

I contacted Captain Riptide of the Big Orange Army and he told me to report to either General Jamison or Colonel Black for duty, so Coach B and I walked over after the Longbranch to find General Jaimison so he could enlist us in the Georgia Infrantry Division of the Big Orange Army. We both were honored and excited as the General gave us our official dog tags, then posed for a picture. He even let us wear his silver helmet. We called our wives to tell them the good news, but for some reason they were not enthused. Our thanks to General Jamison for showing us a great time! If you would like to join the Big Orange Army, go to: www.bigorangearmy.com

12:27 p.m.

On the way back to the tailgate we noticed several LSU fans who were posing for pictures with everyone in either orange or purple, so I did a little investigating. I talked to one of them, Tom, A.K.A. Busanut, who told me they pick one game a year to go to and get all dressed up and have a huge party at the game. There must have been 50 guys dressed this way and they were all a blast! I promised to include them in this week's column, as well as all the upstanding young Christian LSU girls who happend to be walking by and wanted to get into the column too. Busanut asked, "Don't you wish you were a Tiger fan after seeing those girls?"

1:45 p.m.

I spoke to a man named Butch at the tailgate, and he told me this was his first Tennessee game. He asked me what he could expect, and I replied, "There is no way to describe what you are about to witness for the next three and a half hours inside Neyland Stadium. We then discussed the finer points of Wrestling or "Rasslin," as he called it. We agreed Jerry "The King" Lawler was cool, and promised to find out what ever happened to the Mongolian Stomper (I was pretty sure he wasn't from Mongolia), "The One Man Gang" Ronnie Garvin, and if the foreheads of Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes have healed yet. The comment of the afternoon was Butch telling us, "Hell, son, those boys get paid millions of dollars to get their faces smashed in. I had my face smashed in for free in all the bars fights I've gotten into..." Thanks, Butch, it was fun hanging out with you on Saturday!

2:12 p.m.

Not to be outdone by the LSU Girls, the attractive and oh so sassy Tennessee girls at the tailgate posed for a picture for Coach Scooter's College Football Diary. The girl on the left is wearing a T-Shirt reading, "Tennessee girls rock." Ya gotta love that! And before you ask, that's not chef Paul Prudhomme in the background. By the way, I tried to get both the LSU and Tennesse girls to pose for one picture together, hoping for a tailgate wide catfight to break out, but alas, it was not to be...

2:27 p.m.

We decided to leave for the stadium at 2:30, so we mixed one last drink before leaving. Coach B decided to place a tiny Power T sticker on the car after each drink, which wasn't a good idea once we got home and the wife saw how many drinks we had. We also had a message from Mr. Daniels telling us that indeed, Jack lives here...

3:28 p.m.

I finally got to see the Vols run through the T. Sweetie and I missed it since we were out trying to scalp tickets before the Bama game, so this is my first sight of the T in 2006. And yes, I got teary eyed as they ran though...

Hat of the day goes to the gentleman three seats over. Instead of a giant Tennessee lighter, I would rather have that Smokey Dog hat for Christmas!

8:15 p.m.

Coach B and I bid a hasty retreat from the tailgate site since we were both broken hearted and couldn't bear the thought of talking about the game with anyone else who was there. However, we did get a chance to speak with one of Knoxville's finest, Officer O'Malley, who was directing traffic. We were going to offer him some of "Daddy's Apple Juice" to keep him warm, but we figured that was a huge conflict of interest that could of landed us in a lot of trouble, so we figured he could settle for keeping his hands warm with the heater while we sipped on an ice cold Dr. Pepper.

Sunday Morning

9:13 a.m.

We decided to get out of Knoxville early and head back to Atlanta. We were both feeling down in the dumps, so Coach B suggested, "How about I buy us breakfast at the Cracker Barrel?" That made me feel a little better, but we did have to make a stop so I could ring out my handkerchief due to the fact it was still a little wet from all the crying last night. Here is a picture of where we dropped the tears after we left...

10:56 a.m.

Fianlly, we were back on the road to Atlanta so we could let the healing begin. I have to mention these nuggets: I tried my hand at that infamous Cracker Barrel brain teaser known as the peg game. After the fifth try without leaving one peg, Coach B sipped his coffee and remarked, "Um, Scoot, the more times you play that stupid thing, you should be finishing with fewer pegs. I've watched you for a half an hour and you keep leaving more pegs." As we walked to the car, I noticed a licence plate reading, "Don and Betty," with the picture of a German Sheppard next to it. Coach B and I debated all the way back to Atlanta if the dog was supposed to be Don or Betty. See what happens when Tennessee loses and we are forced to think about these things on the drive home?

Mailbag

Coach:

Sorry I have been out of touch lately, but you know how that parole thing works. Anyway, I was happy to be back in Knoxville, and sorry I missed you at the Longbranch. Klondike told me you and Coach B were there. Sorry you missed my homecoming post game party. Anyway, I was disappointed, but, hey, you can't win them all and LSU was tough. The more we fought, the quicker they came back. Frankly, I think it was just piss poor coaching there at the end. We didn't stop 'em on 4th and 8.....argh. Not to mention, D was probably tired...they had been on the field all friggin' day. Russell looked like friggin Gumby. He would bend, but never break.

Aunt Molly

Hello Aunt Molly!

I heard you were back in town, and was sorry I missed you at the 'Branch. I know that was a tough one to take, but those things happen in the SEC. Remember Cousin Randy's going away party last summer? (He was leaving town to avoid two angry women) I told you if we could go 9-3 or 10-2, that would be a nice surprise. Well, look at where the Vols are now and have a realistic chance to do that. Whatever you do, keep the faith!

Coach:

Why does John (Chavis) keep running the zone and prevent defense all the time? He has done this for years and the other team knows what to get ready for. I don't think UT really plays hard like the other teams. The other teams have freshman and they do good. The only time UT does good when the other team has a bad day. Until they get down to really wanting to play and not act like some spoil brat could you remove the name Tennessee and call UT what you want it to be.

Bear

Dear Bear:

This wouldn't be Bear Bryant would it? I know things are bad at Bama after the loss to Mississippi State, but why are you capping on our boys? Seriously, Bear, I appreciate you taking time to respond and voice your opinion on the loss last Saturday. I disagree with some of your comments and I will tell you why. I think the top to bottom, every man in orange wants to win more than anything in the world and they give us 100% effort every time they step on the field. Now, I have to admit, I will write what I feel (See above on the Vols suspensions) but in this case, we have a football team that competes in the toughest conference in America, so we are not going to win every time we go out on the field. Since 1938, the Vols have only had two undefeated seasons. Bo Schembechler, the legendary coach at Michigan, never had an undefeated season. Steve Spurrier has never had an undefeated season. Bobby Bowden didn't have an undefeated team until his 40th season as a head coach. So you see, it's not that easy to run the table, particularly in the SEC. If we beat Arkansas this Saturday, Bear, I know we will all forget the sting of this loss and the Vols will once again be #1 in your book. You can bet on that one pardner!

Coach Scooter:

I hear rumor that Phil is possibly out at the end of this season from a reliable source within the Tennessee family. Have you heard any such news? I hope he is gone because he sucks as a coach. He is way too conservative and has no balls! He can't coach a team to finish a game. I pray at night hoping he is not the Volunteer coach after this season due to the big disappointment yet again. No SEC title game, no BCS game, what else is a big Vols fan to do except pray he is gone?

Sincerely,

John the Vols Fan

Hello John!

Thanks for the email, as well as expressing your feelings about the Vols. I spoke with my contact in the football office and I was told there was no truth to the rumor. We both laughed since the Vols have been ranked in the top ten for most of the season, and are only one game behind Florida in the loss column, yet the loss has brought out the rage in a lot of Vol fans.
I know this was a bitter loss, and you are upset about Coach Fulmer, but there are a few things to think about. The Vols played almost the entire game without their starting QB against a defense that was ranked #1 in the nation and still they had a chance at the end to win the game. Also, don't forget at this point last season, UT was 4-5, so this has been a year Coach Fulmer has made significant improvement.

If I would have said to you at the beginning of the season the Vols would be 7-2 with a great chance to be 10-2, you probably would have taken it. Don't lose heart since we dropped a tough one last week. With one play here or there, everyone would be sending me emails about how great Coach Fulmer is and how we are back. Keep the faith, John, we are all in this together and I believe the glory days have returned so don't let one loss shake your confidence.

For more college football analysis, check out my college football page at The Southern Ledger. They have all kinds of great stories and insigt for the college football fan. The Southern Ledger is your source for news and culture in the southeast. Visit them at: www.southernledger.com

All right Vol fans, I know it's been a tough week, but we can weather the storm and put a big foot print on the backsides of the Razorbacks season on Saturday. Rub those orange and white rosary beads, repeat your game maxims, and never take Coach Fulmer's name in vain. (Although after last Saturday, I am sure some of you forgot that request) If you have questions and comments, please drop me a line at volsdiary@yahoo.com. Until Friday, Big Orange Nation, this is Coach Scooter bidding you good-bye and Go Vols!

# posted by Coach Scooter : 6:30 PM  0 comments links to this post