Multiple outlets have reported that Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer will step down at the end of the 2008 football season.
A press conference will be held at 5 p.m. at Neyland Stadium this evening.
The Vols got several chances to score but failed to capitalize and came away from the first half with only three points.
Sound familiar? If you’ve been following the Tennessee football team this season, it should.
Tennessee made two big special-teams plays in the first half, forcing that fumble on Arenas and blocking P.J. Fitzgerald’s punt. On each of the ensuing drives, the Vols went backwards.
Unless Alabama gives the Vols a couple more gifts, it’s hard to envision a scenario where the Vols rally from a double-digit deficit in the second half.
Nine points in one quarter? This is a shootout compared to the Mississippi State game. Speaking of shootouts, Big 12 football broke out in Georgia’s win over LSU. Never thought I’d see a team score 52 on that Bayou Bengals’ defense in Baton Rouge.
Tennessee is giving it all it has. Emotionally, the Vols are fired up and intense. Schematically, they’ve gotten Eric Berry the ball. Berry’s been the return man on both kickoffs, and caught a screen pass from Nick Stephens for a 3-yard gain.
That screen, by the way, was Stephens’ lone completion in the first quarter that reaped positive yardage. He looked out of sorts on Tennessee’s first two possessions trying to solve Alabama’s mix of pressures and coverages. The offensive line hasn’t been exactly dominant either.
Stephens did just miss on a deep ball to Austin Rogers toward the end of the frame. A diving Rogers came up just short. You’d have to think Denarius Moore would have caught that ball with ease.
Greetings from the press box! We’ve got a packed house with all kinds of special guests to see the Vols and Crimson Tide lock horns.
There’s a whoooole lot of Alabama fans wandering around the stadium, and I expect a sizable crimson presence in the crowd once the game kicks off.
Still think this is a game Phillip Fulmer has to win. A loss would put Fulmer 3-9 in the past four seasons against Florida, Georgia and Alabama. If nothing else, you’ve got to beat your perennial rivals.
Back with more at the end of the first quarter.
The Big Picture: Tennessee put together its most complete performance of the season and got its first Southeastern Conference win. Nick Stephens continues to give the Vols reliable quarterback play, Lennon Creer continues to make a case for increased playing time and Eric Berry continues to construct a legacy as one of the greatest ever to wear a Tennessee uniform.
GAME BALLS
Offense: I’ll go with Lennon Creer, who carried it 12 straight times on the Vols’ final possession of the game, which resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run. It was the first chance to see Creer in extended action, and he ran with both speed and toughness. Maybe someone else will get the “hot foot” next week, but it’s hard not to make a case that Creer needs a major role in the offense.
Defense: Yet again, Eric Berry. You’d like to spread the wealth but Berry continues to be the best player on the field for Tennessee on a weekly basis. His 72-yard interception return for a touchdown was tremendous.
Special Teams: Dennis Rogan made a strong 40-yard kickoff return to open the second half and set up Tennessee for a 53-yard drive that ended with Montario Hardesty’s 1-yard touchdown.
ANALYSIS
Offense (6/10)
Grading on a curve? Perhaps. But Tennessee committed no turnovers, ran the ball well to close out a game and made enough plays downfield to keep Mississippi State from bottling up the Vols’ running offense.
That’s not a tremendous accomplishment, but given the struggles of the Vols through the first six games, it’s a substantial one.
The offense looks completely different with Nick Stephens at quarterback than it did with Jonathan Crompton. It looks much more like the offense Dave Clawson ran at Richmond. No one’s saying it outright, but it’s obvious to me Crompton was not capable mentally of running Clawson’s scheme. The Vols had to stick in bland two-receiver sets as a result, and paid the price by presenting an attack that was very easy to scheme against from the opposition’s standpoint.
Stephens still isn’t great, but he’s getting the job done. He also hasn’t thrown an interception through his first three starts. He and Denarius Moore comprise an electric combination on deep balls, but it’s time to start getting Moore more overall touches.
The running game, as mentioned earlier, took a step forward. Arian Foster, Montario Hardesty and Creer each made a play for 10-plus yards during the course of the ballgame. I still think Creer’s the best runner, but the Vols are better off splitting time among all three than not playing Creer at all.
Gerald Jones’ injury is a huge concern for the wide receiving corps. Aside from Moore and perhaps Lucas Taylor, no one else has been a consistent playmaker this season. Might this actually create more chances for Brandon Warren, or is that just false hope at this point?
Defense (9/10)
Lost points for a few third-and-longs where Mississippi State made Tennessee look inept, but all in all it was a strong effort by the Vols. It’s hard to argue with five sacks, eight tackles for loss, two interceptions returned for touchdowns and just three points allowed. Tennessee has given up just one offensive TD all season at home, and that was at Florida.
Phillip Fulmer indicated that Walter Fisher should be ready for Alabama, which improves UT’s defensive tackle depth. Andre Mathis played early against Mississippi State, ostensibly giving the Vols four options at tackle.
Ellix Wilson continues to have a fine season at linebacker, while Rico McCoy continues to be noticeably absent from the postgame stat sheet.
Tennessee has the type of talent on secondary to give John Parker Wilson fits. That’s the key matchup this week.
Special Teams (4/10)
Nothing great but nothing awful, either. Daniel Lincoln’s inconsistency on very viable field goals continues. This time he missed a 34-yarder. Keep in mind Lincoln was as regular as the mail for most of last year. What’s the difference?
Britton Colquitt shanked one punt for 26 yards, but still finished with a 44-yard average.
Dennis Rogan’s kickoff return was a big play. Maybe Jones’ injury gives Berry a chance on kicks and punts?
Coaching (9/10)
Not a lot to criticize. The Vols gave all three running backs a chance, continued to showcase more of the offense with Nick Stephens under center, and defensively contained Mississippi State. Moving John Chavis to the coaching box seemed to make a major difference. Tennessee committed only one penalty. That kind of execution must carry over to next week.
Overall (8/10)
Tennessee’s best all-around game of the season. It will take an even better effort to beat Alabama.
So, on October 18, the Vols finally get their first Southeastern Conference win. The offense takes a major step forward, the defense makes a slew of big plays and confidence builds heading into next week’s game against Alabama.
More after the jump.
Houston, we have a touchdown. Sparked by Dennis Rogan’s 40-yard kickoff return, the Vols went 53 yards to the checkerboards to open the third quarter.
A very impressive drive. Nice mixture of runs and passes, and a gutsy fourth-and-2 quick slant from Stephens to Lucas Taylor kept the possession alive.
Mississippi State has handed the Vols a few nice chances to add to their lead, but Tennessee has not capitalized.
“Mind numbing.”
That’s how Trey Williams, Johnson City Press colleague and Friend Of The Blog, described this ballgame.
With 30 minutes in the books, it’s hard to disagree. On paper, it looked like a matchup of redoubtable defenses and inept offenses and so far the game has lived up to that billing.
Perhaps the one bright spot? Tennessee has 119 yards of offense to Mississippi State’s 120 despite running 25 plays compared to 34 for the Bulldogs.
The Vols are getting smoked in time of possession again, with MSU holding the ball for 17:09 in the first half.
You get the feeling the first team that can put it in the end zone wins the game.
The two meekest offenses in the SEC scoreless after one quarter? Imagine that!
Tennessee ran 9 offensive plays, not counting punts. The Vols ran Arian Foster out on the first series, Montario Hardesty on the second and Lennon Creer on the third.
UT has suffered two significant injuries: wide receiver Gerald Jones hurt his ankle on a nasty looking hit when he came forward awkwardly to field a punt, and offensive guard Anthony Parker also hurt his ankle on the Vols’ second series and hobbled off the field on crutches in the final minute of the period.
Mississippi State has dominated time of possession, and a promising opening drive stagnated when quarterback Tyson Lee sprained his knee getting sacked by Chris Walker, and Wesley Carroll failed to move the Bulldogs any farther forward. MSU settled for the field goal try and came up empty.
After some tech support difficulties, we’re finally live and running here at the Neyland Stadium press box.
You wouldn’t expect a lot of buzz when a pair of 2-4 teams meet, but it is dead around the stadium. I got here at approximately the same time as the Vol Walk, and still encountered very little traffic. I’m talking less traffic than you see on an average Tuesday morning on campus.
I’ll be very interested to see how Tennessee starts this game. If the Vols come out flat, you have to wonder if they’ve packed it in for the season.
The Bulldogs are rocking the all-white uniforms, which pleases Wes Rucker, the UT beat writer for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, as well as a Friend Of The Blog and erstwhile Uniform Fashionista.
Back with thoughts after the first quarter.