MONDAY MUSINGS
WHERE DOES IT RANK? I was trying to quantify exactly where Saturday’s victory over the Gators ranks in Tennessee games that I have witnessed in-person. It may be the newness of it but considering the unquestioned relief it brings both from a personal and program standpoint it is very high. Here is my immediate reaction:
Blogger’s Disclosure: I did not attend the Sugar Bowl win over Miami opting instead to stay home and watch it with the family. I have never regretted that decision as it was one of my Dad’s all-time favorite Vol moments and he passed away a little over a year later. Special memory.
1-1998 National Championship Game: Self-explanatory
2-1982 Alabama: Broke the other 11-game losing streak against the #2 team in the country which made it a more surprising result
3-1985 Auburn: The Tigers and Bo Jackson were #1 in the country and my all-time favorite Vol team spanked em and sent em home
4-1991 Miracle at South Bend: An even better comeback than Saturday at a college football shrine against Dr Lou and his 5th ranked Irish
5-1998 Florida: Much like last evening it was a rare physical beating at the hands of the Vols and the stakes were higher then.
6-2016 Florida: Who knows? At season’s end I may look back on this win with the reverence given those above. That said Top-6 for a fossil like me is pretty dang impressive.
After further blogger review I forgot 1995 ALABAMA. It would probably tie yesterday's game for 6th or rank slightly higher.
FLORIDA GAME THOUGHTS
A TURNAROUND LIKE NO OTHER: It was palatable. Another Florida win was inevitable. Another undistinguished, Ordinary-Joe QB was making plays for the Gators while the Vols came away empty on point-blank opportunities to draw closer. Florida was the most physical, intense, opportunistic team on the field and it appeared yet another Vol roster and staff had no answers. Then the second half started. And though the Vols once again blew a red zone chance it looked like they could move the ball against the previously impenetrable Gator D. The Tennessee defense sprinted out on the field and did what the Gators have done so many times after their offense turned it over. They stoned the Gator offense and did it in a physically-imposing fashion. The crowd then sensed a turnaround and became as unrelentingly, full-throated as I can ever remember a Neyland crowd being. The team and fans fed off each other for the remainder of the contest and the Gators were overwhelmed in every phase of the game from that point forward.
TAKE A BOW VOL FAN: I’ve always felt that Neyland Stadium is underrated as an imposing place to play. I bet the 2016 Florida Gators and Purdue transfer QB Austin Appleby agree with me. In all my years I can’t remember a more sustained level of intensity and volume from the Vol faithful. It was an absolute volcano that even the board-meeting-a-minute SEC Officials and CBS (Constantly Breaking System) couldn’t keep from erupting. Congratulations Vol fans; you were terrific.
REPENTING OF PAST SINS: In the biggest of games last season the Vols displayed a mish-mash of errors including -but not limited to- failure to make timely plays, kicking FGs shorter than extra points, unwise clock management, inability to get late-game stops and a deficient level of intestinal fortitude. Saturday night in the second half the Vols freed themselves from all of those burdens. They were clutch and aggressive on both sides of the ball, ran the play clock once a double-digit lead was attained, held the Gators to one second half score and made them use most of the remaining clock to do so. Put all of that together -after a dreadful first half- and you have a resilient, mentally tough football team.
JENNINGS WITH A PLAY FOR THE AGES Jauan Jennings made a highlight reel catch reaching around a face-guarding defender for a huge first down but it wasn’t the one that will stick in our minds. His juggling 67-yard TD reception to give the Vols a lead they never relinquished will be watched for decades to come on the Neyland Jumbotron and our home big screens.
DESERVED REWARDS; Josh Dobbs hurt the Gators more with his arm than with his legs; Colton Jumper kept the defense properly aligned; wasn’t deficient as a pass defender and led the team in tackles. Emmanuel Moseley had a pbu and 7 tackles a couple coming on an island. The offensive line was solid enough for the Vols to put almost 500 yds total offense on the vaunted Gator defense and Mike DeBord kept the Florida defensive staff off-balance. The much-maligned receiving corps overcame a shaky first half to keep drives alive and get four TD receptions against a defense that hadn’t allowed a passing TD in 2016. Butch Jones won a signature game and climbed the Peyton Manning ladder to direct the Pride of the Southland in a joyous rendition of Rocky Top. It was a wonderful day of retribution for a lot of people that more than deserved it.
WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK 4
MILES WAS IN BIGGER TROUBLE THAN MALZAHN: The review went to Birmingham and LSU Nation went off. The result was a TD taken off the board, a Derek Dooley-like loss to Auburn and Les Miles taken off the payroll (uh, eventually). Meanwhile Gus Malzahn got a brief Governor’s reprieve. No less authority than former LSU Tiger and current ESPN/SEC Network analyst Marcus Spears said -and I only slightly paraphrase “I thought Les should have been fired last year and the reasons I said it then are still apparent like subpar QB play and late-game clock mismanagement”. If Spears was willing to go public in his role you had to know Jeaux Fan was over it and the LSU Administration and the Less of Les machine was working. I said last year that when you walk a guy to the edge of the plank you might as well push him into the sea because rarely do coaches recover from lost confidence. I did think however it would take more than four games for that sad prediction to become reality.
BRIAN KELLY MAY LOSE HIS “GENIUS” STATUS: Notre Dame fell to 1-3 on the season (1-2 in Notre Dame Stadium) at the hands of previously struggling Duke (2-2) whose only win coming in was against lowly North Carolina Central in Week 1. The Irish’s other losses came to once highly-regarded Texas and Michigan State squads who have since had issues of their own. Kelly afterwards peeled off a layer of insulation firing Defensive Coordinator Brian Van Gorder whose unit was surrendering 41 ppg (103 in overall defense). Kelly’s side of the ball -though much better than Van Gorder’s- ranks only 46th in total offense and as has been the case since his arrival turn the ball over far too much (3 Ints and 4 fumbles lost). Be careful Coach Kelly; soon you will look up and there will be only one Brian left to fire.
WE WON’T HAVE TO WATCH B ARRY ALVAREZ COACH A BOWL GAME: Paul Chryst and his Wisconsin Badgers went to East Lansing and thrashed previously unbeaten Michigan State 30-6. Wiscy moved to 4-0 and into the AP Top-10 (#8) after successfully navigating the first leg of a three game gauntlet that includes matchups at Michigan and a visit from Ohio State straight ahead. If Chryst’s team keeps this up it might be enough to keep the meddling Barry Alvarez out of his office and off the bowl site sidelines.
BLOCKING THE LANE: Though it’s very early and the opponents haven’t been Murderer’s Row (Missouri, Youngstown State and BYU) Embattled WVU Coach Dana Holgorsen’s Mountaineers are 3-0 heading into the Big-12 slate that early on doesn’t appear to be the grind many thought it would be. You can bet Lane Kiffin will be paying close attention to how WVU’s season goes from here. There is a strong belief that if things go sour and there is a change in Morgantown that Kiffin will be in play for the job. If Rich Rodriguez is home sick the job is his but even if that occurs some think Arizona would then turn to Kiffin. I’m not sure that either opportunity will come to fruition but I do believe Kiffin is in his last season as Nick Saban’s offensive guru in Tuscaloosa. If not Morgantown or Tucson someone will consider the scoreboard more important than Lane’s sketchy maturity issues.
MONDAY MUSING: I’m neither a player or coach so rather than “snap and clear” I think I’ll savor this one a few more days.
