Live Blog: Tennessee vs Auburn

Orange Clockwork

Published Saturday, October 3 2009 - (0) Comments

10:49--One final update before crunch time. A personal foul in special teams in the first half was attributed to No. 17 for Tennessee. Nick Stephens wears No. 17, but the guy who committed the penalty was reserve defensive back Derrick Furlow.

Furlow had been weairng No. 6, which is also worn by wide receiver Denarius Moore. Furlow switched to No. 17 for this game.

I guess he knew something about who would, and wouldn't, be playing on offense?

9:44--Halftime stats. Auburn 19:31 TOP, Tennessee 10:29. That long catch and run by Luke Stocker boosted Crompton to 62 yards passing on 4 of 16 completions. The Vols have had only 13 designed running plays so far.

Tonight, we'll see how the coaches and players actually can make adjustments.

9:13--After a big run by Auburn's Ben Tate deep into UT territory, the Vols call a badly needed timeout. UT looks completely blown up on defense. Tate was pinballing off several guys trying to make tackles out of desperation. As I said earlier, you can't expect miracles when you can't get off the field.

9:06--Tennessee's passing game has gone from bad to laughable. Crompton's stats with 6:29 to go in the first half.. 2 of 11, for 9 yards. NINE.

9:00--After an Auburn touchdown put the Vols in a 13-0 hole, UT's players just had an all-hands-on-deck huddle on their sideline with Chris Walker, Wes Brown and Vladimir Richard trying to rally the troops. We'll see if it works. You can't fault the way the defense has played. They just haven't been able to get off the field because the Vols' offense can't make a first down.

8:48--Another Tennessee punt. For those of you keeping score at home, the Vols have TWO first downs, on Nu'Keese Richardson's big run to open the game and Montario Hardesty's 21-yard run on the recently completed drive. You notice who was absent from either play, aside from handing off on the latter.

8:38 P.M.--End of the first quarter. Auburn enjoyed a nearly 2/1 advantage in time of possession. Monte Kiffin and the defense have adjusted and kept the Tigers from doing anything too crazy on the last couple of possessions.

Tennessee's offense, however, remains horrible. Is there another player on any other team in the entire country who could make as many mistakes as Crompton has and still keep his job?

8:15 P.M.--Vols buckle down and stop Auburn deep in Tennessee territory but the Tigers have been moving the ball at will aside from a chop block penalty that scuttled Auburn's opening drive. Tennessee looks a little lost on defense. You've got to wonder how much of a factor Reveiz' absence is.

7:59 P.M.--Wes Brown took a nasty chop block from Auburn on the Tigers' first offensive series of the night, but he appears to be fine on the sideline now. Still, a scary moment for a guy who already was fighting some significant knee issues.

By the way, LOVED the play call to go right to the "Nukular Option" fresh out of the gate.

7:44 P.M.--Injured linebacker Nick Reveiz joins the other captains at midfield for the coin toss. Got a nice round of applause. Classy move by the Vols.

7:32 P.M.--They just played a video with UT basketball player Renaldo Woolridge doing a rap about Eric Berry. Pretty cool.

7:23 P.M.--Listed as starters tonight...

LaMarcus Thompson back at SLB
Savion Frazier, as expected, at MLB in Nick Reveiz' place
Cory Sullins at LG and Aaron Douglas at RT for a second straight game (which doesn't say much for the contributions of Jarrod Shaw...)
Quintin Hancock and Gerald Jones at receiver

7:05 P.M.--Chris Walker and Wes Brown, two vital defensive linemen who've been trying to play with pain, are dressed out and on the field.

Offensive lineman Vladimir Richard, who's battling an Achilles ailment and a knee injury, is not among those taking part in warmups.

6:50 P.M.--Forgot to mention that there are a ton of Auburn fans here.

Ton of folks were ready for the don't-call-it-a Tiger Walk. I'm talking elbow to elbow crowd. No band or cheerleaders, though, that might have caused safety problems.

Incidentally, for those who missed it, my pick tonight is 16-13 Auburn.

Quintin Hancock is dressed out and taking part in warmups. Hancock missed the Ohio game with a jaw injury.

6:35 P.M.--The Fightin' Creamsicles are in the house!

Tennessee's specialty unit is on the field and the Vols are wearing their orange jerseys and orange pants tonight.

If memory serves, that's the first time UT has gone with that ensemble since the 2007 SEC Championship Game.

Discuss This Story

Be the first to comment: Sign In or Create Profile

To comment, you must register.

Comments are the sole responsibility of the registered user participating in online discussions. You agree not to post comments off topic, abusive, obscene, defamatory, vulgar, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned.

Click here to review our complete user agreement.