MONDAY ON MY MIND

BUTCH JONES GOT FIRED; WE GOT RELIEVED: I came out of church and received a phone call from my great friend Snapper Morgan letting me know that Butch Jones had been fired as Tennessee’s Head Football Coach. I hope you don’t think ill of me that I was elated. I have no sympathy -nor should you- for guys that will continue to be handsomely rewarded for failing to do a job they were hired to do. Today is not a day for sympathy, it's a day for joy for another in a long line of unfit, mercenary coaches -who will soon land on his feet- has been sent packing. Today is a joyful, liberating occasion for all of Big Orange Nation. Jonestown has been shut down, the Ponzi scheme he pulled on the Tennessee program and it’s faithful has been exposed and the perpetrator has been banished. Our program had been under the thumb of an incompetent and unjust ruler that has been overthrown and -with apologies to Titan’s Bill- his kingdom has been torn down. We on the other hand are free. Liberated to once again enjoy and pull for the team of our youth, young adulthood and old age without fear that more damage than good will be done through victory. We can recover the feeling of hope that Jones promised but rarely delivered. We can once again eagerly anticipate fall Saturdays knowing that brighter days are ahead. Please don’t mourn for Butch Jones. This was never his program. It belongs to former players and support personnel but more so the great fans that make up Vol Nation. We are the owners and the ones who live and die with it, year-in, year-out. Not some interloper cashing checks he never earned.

MISSOURI TAKEAWAYS:

-We are extremely lucky Missouri had a C- offensive game. If it weren’t for dropped passes, ill-timed penalties and a merciful kneel-down the Tigers could have laid a 75 spot on us.

-That was one of the worst tackling efforts I’ve seen all year. I don’t think this team ever quit like Florida apparently has but this was certainly not the defense’s best effort.

-Bob Shoop was unfortunately once again shown to be misplaced at best and a fraud at worst. At a time when a beat up offense needed his unit the most they once again came up empty.

-Nigel Warrior showed why he arrived with such promise and once again makes one wonder how it took so long for him to get on the field

-The patchwork O-Line did the best they could but it wasn’t enough. No unit is more emblematic of the Jones era strength and conditioning program failure and inability to properly develop skills or depth.

-When you have an inordinate amount of injuries for two consecutive seasons it is more than just bad luck. It is systemic.

-John Kelly allowed all the negativity surrounding the football program to get the best of him Saturday night. It was uncharacteristic of the leader he has proven to be. It is totally understandable however. If we’re honest all of us have been on snap alert.

-Will McBride made a couple of mistakes resulting in turnovers but I am much higher on his potential after watching him play a full game than I thought I would be. He looks to have some intangibles that neither Dormady nor Guarantano seemed to possess.





WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK ELEVEN:

KICK YOUR DOG: They may have dominated their side of the SEC but Saturday Georgia found out just how challenging their appearance in the SEC Championship Game is assured to be. The Dawgs were cruising along at 9-0 and 6-0 in the league while holding the #1 spot in the CFB Playoff rankings. Though they knew the task versus ancient rival Auburn would be difficult their confidence level was probably bolstered by having won 9 of the last 11 in the series. Though hugely important for both, the Tigers were clearly the most motivated and desperate team at Jordan Hare. A loss would have eliminated them from SECCG contention, reduced the Iron Bowl to state pride only and possibly cost Gus Malzahn his job. Instead the Tigers thoroughly dominated all but Georgia’s first possession of the game. The destruction was so complete the Tigers mauled the Dawgs vaunted defense for 476 yards and 40 points while holding Nick Chubb and Sony Michel to a combined 48 yards on 20 carries.

IF THE CANES CAN WHY NOT US? I guess all the Miami is a fraud and Mark Richt will lose the big ones stuff can be momentarily put to bed. The Hurricanes thumped Notre Dame so totally that a game I expected to watch a large portion of became a glance at every-once-in-a-while affair. The Irish came in once-beaten and 3rd in the CFB Playoff Rankings and most everyone expected them to leave in even better shape. Instead the 3-point underdog Canes thumbed their nose at America for the second week in a row and took the Irish to a 41-8 woodshed.

VOL FAN BLOGGER’S INTERRUPTION: Miami’s resurgence should be both an inspiration for Big Orange Nation and a model for UT’s Administration. Miami had disappeared from the limelight due to many of the same issues that currently plague the Tennessee Program. Battles between the academic and athletic factions, booster disagreements changes in University Presidents and handing the reins to coaches ill-prepared for the big-time. If the Hurricanes can recover then I say why not us?

SOONERS TO INAUGURAL RENEWAL OF BIG-12 CG With an emphatic victory over TCU -one week after a shootout win over hated rival Oklahoma State- the Oklahoma Sooners took a giant step toward a berth in the renewal of the Big-12 Championship Game. Sooner Schooner now has a one-game lead in the league with the tiebreaker advantage over both the Horned Frogs and Cowboys who along with WVU all have two league losses. The Sooners can clinch a tie for the regular season crown with a win over horrific Kansas Saturday.

PAC WON’T GET BACK: With Stanford’s 30-22 win over Washington Friday night the PAC-12’s last hope for an entry in the CFB Playoff fell by the wayside. The Huskies were the only one-loss team remaining in the league coming in and the conference is not highly-regarded enough to get a two-loss entry into the Final-4. The Apple Cup and race for the Rose Bowl berth will certainly be intriguing but the league’s chances to play for it all came to an end in Pal Alto.

FINAL MONDAY MUSING: Take it away MLK

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