SB Nation - Nick Stephens

Post-game awards: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Memphis Tigers

Joel — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:00:36 -0000

Best beginning. David Oku, who took the opening kickoff 69 yards and set the tone for the entire game.

Best stat. Jonathan Crompton, who now leads the ~~lead~~ league and is fourth in the nation in touchdowns. He's thrown more than Tim Tebow. More than Jevan Snead. More than anyone in the best defensive league in the nation.

Best old school. Bryce Brown, for going up over the top of the pile for the team's first touchdown. Kiffin called it "Goal Line Launch."

Worst beginning. Memphis, who failed to connect on its first snap of the game, the ball sailing over the QB's head for a 12-yard loss.

Best film study. Eddie Gran, who noticed during the week that one of of the Tigers doesn't watch the ball on kickoffs, which set up the Vols' onside kick. And we would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for an exceptionally close offisdes call.

Best return to action. Chris Walker, who played against his hometown team after sitting out for an extended period nursing a sore back.

Worst missed opportunity. A touchdown pass to Walker, which Kiffin said they had planned but didn't get a chance to call because they "didn't get to the right spot." I wonder what that was all about. That would have been special.

Best idea. Kiffin, who avoided a letdown by his players by leading by example and calling an exceptionally aggressive game in the first half.

Best attitude. Nick Stephens, who sometime during the first half went to Condredge Holloway to ask him what the touchdown record was because he wanted to see if Crompton could break it.

Best almost. Eric Berry, who finally got an interception with his legs under him and searched frantically for a hole leading to fifteen yards and the NCAA record for interception return yards. He found only six.

Best overused analogy. Kiffin's comparison of Crompton to a Jugs machine, which must have happened five times on the Lane Kiffin Show.

Best trick that worked. The fake spike play with time winding down, which led to a surprised defense and Crompton's QB sneak for a touchdown.

Best play, offense. Denarius Moore's first touchdown, where he got his fingertips on a laser from Crompton, bobbled the ball, dove for it on the run against coverage, and did a somersaulting dive into the end zone for six.

Best tackle, I. C.J. Fleming on one of Memphis's kickoff returns. The returner looked like he was going to get the corner against several Vols in pursuit with bad angles, but Fleming came out of nowhere with a perfect angle and put him on the ground by taking his legs out.

Best tackle, II. Fleming again on an end around, again taking the ball carrier's legs out from under him and this time treating the guy to a full sprawling head over heels cartwheel through the air.

Worst finish. The backups in the second half, especially the defensive backups, who ended up allowing Memphis a dump truck full of yards and 28 points for the game.

Best play, defense. Berry's interception, one that featured him pulling a tipped ball out of the air on the run and slithering back and forth several times sssssssearching for that elusive record.

Player of the game, offense. Jonathan Crompton, who went 21-27 for 331 yards and five touchdowns, added another TD on the ground, and did it all in one half and one drive.

Worst innovation. The Sunday Sports Sound Off with Jimmy Hyams (or whatever it's called), which decided to try to double its money-making potential Sunday morning by playing two commercials at the same time during one of their breaks. It was actually hilarious.

Whatcha got?

Recruiting Update: Black is the Color of My True Love's Jersey

Hooper — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:30:20 -0000

It's pretty amazing that, for all of the events surrounding Tennessee football since Lane Kiffin's hiring, few topics have achieved as much steady discussion and debate as the color black. It was a significant enough topic that we not only held a create-your-own-uniform contest, we added some swag as prizes for the winner and runner-up. Our busiest day at Rocky Top Talk for the entire month of October? In a month where Crompton turned the corner, Tennessee drilled Georgia, and Alabama very nearly fell to the Vols in Tuscaloosa, it was the day we talked about uniforms.

But if uniform color is a big deal to us, it shouldn't be surprising that color is a big deal to other people as well. It was important enough for Eric Berry and Montario Hardesty to talk to Mike Hamilton and request black for Halloween. It was important enough for Mike Hamilton to make the about-face on earlier statements and rush-order black uniforms with screen-printed numbers. It was important enough that Tennessee's recruiting may very well have turned a surprising and very exciting corner.

Commits Since the Black Jerseys

Shortly after the black jersey game, Tennessee earned the pledge of Ken Adams, Kenbrell Thompkins, and even 5-star basketball commit - point guard Kevin Ware.

Ken Adams could play either defensive end or tight end, but the roster numbers appear to suggest tight end at the moment. He's a Junior College player who was first an Auburn commit out of high school, but the changes in Auburn (which were more significant, offense-wise, than Tennessee) don't particularly suit tight ends very well and Lane Kiffin's offense should be a much better fit for him.
Kenbrell Thompkins is another Junior College player - a wide receiver who is a little bigger than most of the receiver stock currently in Knoxville. He's not a 6'-6" monsterbeastreceiver type per se, but he will fill the role that Brandon Warren was supposed to fill in the offense quite nicely.

I'm actually pretty happy that both of these players are junior college players. With a recruiting class that appears to be on its way of maxing out, having a few players who finish their eligibility earlier will help maintain a healthy scholarship rotation into the next few years of recruiting classes - something I think is very important for the long-term health of the recruiting program. Additionally, both players will play in positions that are thin in upperclassmen, which helps create cleaner, more uniform player distributions.

Here is a chart of the players by class to help visualize what I'm saying. In this chart, the years are years in which a player's eligibility is expected to end. If a player is a redshirt freshman (e.g. Aaron Douglas), they are listed as freshmen. Likewise, a playing freshman is listed as a freshman, so Aaron Douglas and Marsalis Teague are both freshmen in the chart. Ok? Good.

Untitled Document

		Senior	Junior	Sophomore	Freshman	Total	2010 Commits	2010 Total
OFFENSE	Quarterback	1	1	1	0	3	1	3
	Halfback	1	0	1	3	5	0	4
	Fullback	0	1	1	0	2	1	3
	Center	2	0	1	0	3	0	1
	Guard	2	0	0	4	6	1	5
	Tackle	1	1	1	2	5	2	6
	Tight End	1	1	1	0	3	2	4
	Receiver	2	3	1	3	9	4	11
DEFENSE	Tackle	2	2	0	3	7	4	9
	End	1	3	2	2	8	3	10
	Corner	1	2	3	2	8	0	7
	Safety	1	1	1	5	8	0	7
	Middle Linebacker	0	2	0	2	4	1	5
	Outside Linebacker	1	1	2	3	7	1	7
SPECIAL TEAMS	Punter	0	1	0	0	1	0	1
	Kicker	0	1	0	0	1	1	2
	Long Snapper	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
		17	20	15	29	81	21	85

The chart is very fluid; juniors who may leave early are still listed as juniors, but the potential early departees to the NFL (like Eric Berry) are not debited for the 2010 total. Also, recruits who may end up going JUCO are not discounted. There are more exceptions, but the basic point is that this is rough. But it does show some good details:

The current sophomore class is going to be bolstered by JUCO players. John Brown and Patrick Harris are both defensive tackle JUCO recruits, which is where the sophomore class is particularly thin. Adding a receiver and a tight end helps round out the numbers on offense, too. That's pretty decent for the JUCO portion of the class, and that's where JUCO players are valuable.
We still need offensive linemen. For clarity, I have Jose Jose listed as a guard, though some speculate that he will be a center. Either way, two more offensive linemen is a minimal must. The gap of linemen in our current junior and sophomore classes are so significant as to be irrepairable. We just have to fill in behind those classes and make do, and that starts with getting numbers now. It'll make an imbalance down the road, but at least things will be manageable then.
The numbers are shaping up very, very nicely. This may be more than just a top-ranked class. This may be a top-ranked class that actually matches the needs of the team across the board. If you're ever wondering how valuable Ed Orgeron is to the team, this is your answer.

Finishing Up

There are still several names floating out there. Rumors are getting very strong that man-beast middle linebacker Jeff Luc will commit to the Vols at some undetermined point in the future. Offensive linemen JaWuan James, John Cullen, Chaz Green, Dakota Mosley, and James Stone are the bulk of names still being floated about - roughly in order of apparent precedence/likeliness at this point. Michael Dyer appears to be taking a serious look at Tennessee, even though he's probably favoring Auburn at the moment. (The guy's a bowling ball; I'd love to have him here.) There are still people insisting that Jesse Scroggins will come to UT, but I just simply don't believe it. Matt Simms is a JUCO quarterback who might be added, but the odds seem slim there as well as he doesn't have an offer yet. That's alright; I'm perfectly fine with only having Tyler Bray in place. Between him, Nick Stephens, and Nick Lamaison, Tennessee should be alright in 2010. That would leave room for a quarterback in 2010's class. Chris Dunkley, Corey Lemonier, and Christian Jones are consistently tossed around as names as well, but it's really anybody's guess at this point.

Many of these players were in attendance during the South Carolina game, and they saw the players put the black jerseys on in the locker room. The impression was strong, as they all have stated in later interviews that the scene was intense and special. Black jerseys may seem like a silly point of conversation, but it's one of those things that somehow matters. It matters to us, and it matters to them.

And to top it all off, the retirement of Mickey Andrews - the soon-to-be-former Florida State Seminoles defensive coordinator - will surely open up a poaching free-for-all on FSU's current commits and prospects. Likewise, the defensive struggles of the Georgia Bulldogs will cast doubt on the future of Willie Martinez and the possibility that Charlie Strong may get a long overdue head coaching gig could loosen up a few Florida Gators commits. Meanwhile, Tennessee has a brand new staff that should be stable for the next few years - a staff who is proving their ability to coach players up to win games. The end of this recruiting season should be a wild one, with commits and decommits flying about from unforeseen directions. It should be fun.

Turning the Corner on Turnovers: Perspective is Everything

Hooper — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:07:59 -0000

One of the more interesting changes to the Tennessee Volunteers this year is found in the turnover statistics. Quickly now, and without peeking, answer the following questions to yourself. (Nobody's going to ask how many you know, so don't bother Googling; the answers are below the jump.)

How many interceptions has Jonathan Crompton thrown in 2009?
How many interceptions did Jonathan Crompton throw in 2008?
What was Tennessee's turnover margin in 2009? In 2008?
True/False: Tennessee is on pace to recover more fumbles in 2009 than 2008.
True/False: Tennessee is on pace to lose more fumbles in 2009 than 2008.

Courtesy of cfbstats.com, here is a table that summarizes all of the information for the answers to the questions:

Untitled Document

	Fum. Gain	Int. Gain	Total Gain	Fum. Lost	Int. Lost	Total Lost	Margin
2009	10	6	16	4	10	14	2
(Projected 2009)	(15)	(9)	(24)	(6)	(15)	(21)	(3)
2008	3	17	20	9	9	18	2
Current Difference	7	-11	-4	-5	1	-4	0
* 5 of Tennessee's 9 interceptions in 2008 were thrown by Jonathan Crompton (4 by Stephens).

Jonathan Crompton has thrown twice as many interceptions in 2009 as he did in 2008. Yes, he was pulled for several games while Nick Stephens started, and the passing offense was shut down after Wyoming. Still, there are four games left in 2009, which mitigates that difference somewhat. For all intents, Crompton has been more interception-prolific this year than last year. In both years, a few interceptions were due to receivers running wrong routes. Also, last year, the thingfense had Crompton throwing over 40 times in some games, increasing the opportunity.

It really speaks to the patience of the coaching staff that they stuck with him through the early troubles. At the time, that decision was purely speculative; now it's hindsight. They rolled the dice and it's working.

The turnover margin for both years is at +2. With four games to go, Tennessee has a chance to improve on that turnover margin. The only reason that last year's margin was positive was the 17 interceptions tallied by the defense, which far outpaces this year. More in a bit.

Tennessee already has recovered more fumbles in 2009 than 2008. If there's any indication of the difference in a Monte defense, it's the way the defenders hit the ball carrier. What UT did in interceptions last year, they're doing in fumble recoveries this year. One of Monte's scheme philosophies is to get defenders in position to make those hits immediately after a receiver catches the ball. Janzen Jackson, anybody?

Barring disaster, Tennessee will not lose more fumbles this year. This is twofold: for one, the offense actually knows what they're doing and we're not watching the quarterback plow into the running back on a handoff; for two, the ball carriers are doing a better job of securing the football, reducing the fumble risk. While fumble recoveries tend to be fairly random, the acts of causing fumbles and preventing fumbles are skillsets, and UT has improved on both skills.

Now, about those turnovers:

Looking a little more closely, here are tables showing the turnovers by game for the last two years. They are cut wholecloth from cfbstats.com, which I don't normally do, but there are only so many ways to present the information, and very few are good:

Untitled Document

Date	Opponent	Fum. Gain	Int. Gain	Total Gain	Fum. Lost	Int. Lost	Total Lost	Margin
9/1/2008	@ UCLA	0	4	4	1	1	2	2
9/13/2008	UAB	0	3	3	0	2	2	1
9/20/2008	1 Florida	0	0	0	2	1	3	-3
9/27/2008	@ Auburn	0	1	1	1	0	1	0
10/4/2008	Northern Ill.	0	1	1	2	0	2	-1
10/11/2008	@ 13 Georgia	0	2	2	0	0	0	2
10/18/2008	Mississippi St.	0	3	3	0	0	0	3
10/25/2008	6 Alabama	1	0	1	0	0	0	1
11/1/2008	@ South Carolina	0	1	1	2	1	3	-2
11/8/2008	Wyoming	1	0	1	0	2	2	-1
11/22/2008	@ Vanderbilt	1	2	3	1	2	3	0
11/29/2008	Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Totals	3	17	20	9	9	18	2

Date	Opponent	Fum. Gain	Int. Gain	Total Gain	Fum. Lost	Int. Lost	Total Lost	Margin
9/5/2009	Western Ky.	2	1	3	1	2	3	0
9/12/2009	UCLA	1	0	1	1	3	4	-3
9/19/2009	@ 1 Florida	1	1	2	0	2	2	0
9/26/2009	Ohio	1	1	2	1	1	2	0
10/3/2009	Auburn	0	0	0	1	0	1	-1
10/10/2009	Georgia	1	2	3	0	1	1	2
10/24/2009	@ 3 Alabama	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
10/31/2009	South Carolina	3	1	4	0	0	0	4
	Totals	10	6	16	4	10	14	2

In 2009, Tennessee lost the two games (UCLA Bruins and Auburn Tigers) where they lost the turnover margin. Against both the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide, the turnover margin was even and the games were close at the end. Against the Georgia Bulldogs and the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Vols won the turnover margin and won the games walking away. The perceived improvement in Tennessee's play has correlated very strongly with their turnovers on offense: more turnovers --> poorer offensive performance. In October, the Vols never lost more than one turnover per game, and lost none against South Carolina. They have taken away the ball eight times in that same span - better than 2:1 in favor.

If you want any further indication as to how bad Tennessee's offense was in 2008 (I know, you don't, but just hear me out), try to correlate turnovers to wins and losses. You can't. Look at the UCLA game, where Tennessee had a +2 turnover margin and couldn't win. Four interceptions in one half, and Tennessee couldn't build a substantive lead. 2008 is the exception rather than the rule, and is an exception traceable to the fantastic problems experienced on offense. (By the way, how in the world did the Kentucky Wildcats game end without any turnovers on either side?)

Moral of the story:

The Florida types will hate to hear this, but it's very true: control the turnover margins and your chances of winning are greatly improved. There's a reason the NFL plays to avoid turnovers: it matters. A lot. Is it boring? Only if it's not your team; otherwise, winning is never boring. This is why coaches - regardless of system - reduce risk. The consequences of a lost gamble are greater than the potential rewards. That's just smart coaching.

Looking forward, this may also be a reason that Nu'Keese Richardson saw limited action against South Carolina; his propensity to drop the ball on punts is a turnover waiting to happen. I don't know how practices are going in that regard, but if ball-catching isn't improving (and maybe ball security after the catch; I don't know), he may represent a liability.

Previewing South Carolina at Tennessee: Topics for Discussion on the Vols' Offense

Gamecock Man — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:16:37 -0000

Can we stop the run? The biggest question for our defense is probably whether or not we can slow down Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown. We've had trouble against the run in recent weeks, and it won't get any easier against these two backs and the Vols' experienced offensive line.
Perhaps even more importantly, can we stop the run without completely giving up on our pass defense? In a couple of words, probably not. I'm just not convinced that we're good against the run without safeties in the box, certainly not against Tennessee. Our interior just isn't playing well enough right now.
Does it matter whether we defend the pass or not? This time last year, you could basically stack the box and dare Tennessee to pass, as Jonathan Crompton and Nick Stephens simply weren't capable of making you pay. Right now, Crompton is playing a little better than last year. Is he playing so much better that he can really brutalize an aggressive defense for more than a play here and there? Perhaps we'll find out.
Relatedly, should we move Eric Norwood into the middle? Last night on Rocky Top Talk, cocknfire mentioned that it might be a good idea to move Eric Norwood to the middle so he could help out against the run. I'm a little torn on this. On the one hand, Norwood is big enough and is a good enough tackler to help plug the middle of the field. I love Shaq Wilson, but certainly, it would seem that Norwood would be a better ILB than Wilson. (And Wilson might be better suited to the outside.) However, what you lose by making this move is Norwood's ability to run around in the backfield and make big plays. Is that something we want to give up?

Tennessee Volunteers 45, Georgia Bulldogs 19: honk if you're having fun

Joel — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:03:40 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

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Commence the 15-minute immediate post-game mostly incoherent and questionable-impression-filled ramblings on Tennessee's 45-19 win over the Georgia Bulldogs. No reps or warranties on facts. ;-)

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming.

Yeah. I thought Georgia would have trouble running the ball against Monte Kiffin's defense, and it did. I thought that the defense would be able to make the Bulldogs one dimensional and make them risk throwing interceptions, which they like to do anyway, and they did. I even thought our offense would be able to score enough points to win. And they did.

But I didn't think this. Jonathan Crompton? Player of the game? High completion percentage? Four TDs? Throwing the ball to receivers who were selling out to make the catches and getting yards after the catch? Putting up 45 points? Getting Nick Stephens in the game because Crompton had beaten the opponent before the game was over? Seeing Josh McNeil on the field at the end of the game, taking the opportunity to mix it up a bit because this may be his last chance?

Denarius Moore flying five yards through the air, stretching the ball back in bounds as he was flying out, getting an honest-to-goodness highlight for ESPN's recap tonight?

Eric Berry finally getting a chance to run with the ball in his hands and him -- OF COURSE -- not disappointing?

Raise your hand if you think I could go on and on.

Yeah. Because it was one of those games. One of those we used to enjoy more often than not. It's been so long.

Perhaps Lane Kiffin does know what he's doing. Perhaps Jonathan Crompton's problem is in fact that he's had to learn five offensive schemes in five years and had his brain scrambled in the process. Perhaps he is the team's best chance at QB. Perhaps he can even salvage the season.

Brakes.

But let's not get too carried away. The 24-hour rule should apply to this one as much as to the heart-breaking losses. Enjoy it today. Tomorrow, because we have a bye week. But the team needs to turn its attention to getting healthy and doing their best against Alabama.

And don't go thinking that we're going to beat Alabama. Georgia is, for whatever reason, a middle-of-the-pack SEC team, and us beating them doesn't mean we're ready to challenge for the top of the SEC. It's merely progress. Improvement. A glimpse of where we're going if only we're patient and the team continues to work hard and root out any personnel or attitude problems.

This was a fantastic game for the Vols and for Jonathan Crompton in particular. They now need to focus on that next step forward, which is being competitive against the Tide in two weeks. They don't need to win; they just need to keep improving.

And if they do, days like these will continue to come more often than not.

Raise your hand if you like the sound of that.

How Much Is Tennessee's Offense Improving?

Year2 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:40:35 -0000

I hate that I-A teams play I-AA teams. The stats accumulated in those games don't make any sense for comparative purposes, and yet the NCAA doesn't subtract them from the I-A teams' totals. That gets on my nerves. When I unveil my stat-based voting system for the BlogPoll in another week or two, it will have all stats against I-AA teams eliminated.

I mention that because I noticed a great piece over at Rocky Top Talk looking at how much the Tennessee offense has improved over 2008's disaster. Unfortunately, they left the results against Western Kentucky in the figures. Now yes, technically WKU is a full I-A member, but it might as well be a I-AA team with the way they play. The Hilltoppers clock in at 151 in Jeff Sagarin's rankingsand are not good at all.

So, I decided to do a quick check of the same numbers to see how Tennessee is improving without the Western Kentucky outlier game included.

Category	2008	2009	2009 no WKU	Adjustment	Change over '08
Rushing Offense	122.92	188	140	-48	17.08
Passing Offense	145.83	188.8	166.75	-22.05	20.92
Total Offense	268.75	376.8	306.75	-70.05	38
Scoring Offense	17.33	29.4	21	-8.4	3.67
Passing Efficiency	99.79	115.5	96.91	-18.59	-2.88
Best Rusher	51.82	115	103.75	-11.25	51.93
Best Passer	108.3	114.2	96.91	-17.29	-11.39

The 2008 numbers are for the whole season, so as RTT warned, they include a more complete SEC slate than 2009 nascent numbers do. The 2009 column shows the current team stats, the next column should be obvious, the "Adjustment" shows what happens to the 2009 numbers when WKU is taken out, and the "Change over '08" column shows the difference between 2009 without WKU and 2008.

Even without the game against the Hilltoppers included, Tennessee's offensive stats are better than 2008. Total offense is up around 40 yards, scoring has risen by about a field goal, and 2009's best rusher Montario Hardesty is half a field per game better than last year's best rusher, Arian Foster.

The one area of decline is in passing. Passing efficiency overall has decreased a bit, and 2009's best (and basically only) passer Jonathan Crompton trails 2008's best passer, Nick Stephens. Not that Stephens was exactly setting the world on fire with his 108.3 mark, but Crompton's 96.9 is basically indistinguishable from his 98.1 of last season.

The overall verdict is essentially what we already knew: Tennessee's run game is better this year, but the passing game with Crompton is once again abysmal. That's not terribly surprising given that offensive transitions take time and aren't helped by a bad quarterback.

Tennessee-Auburn: The Edge of The Cliffs of Insanity

Will — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:08:57 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Speaking of insanity, what else did you expect when you saw the orange pants?

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Sooner than later, we've got to win one of these.

The Vols haven't won a big game since 2007, haven't beaten a ranked foe - which Auburn wasn't, but should've been and definitely is now - since Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl that season. And that's using a looser definition of "big game" than we're used to 'round these parts, because you'd have to go back to October of that year to find a win that this program could truly pound its chest over. In the two years between Georgia's last visit to Knoxville and their trip to Neyland Stadium at the end of this week, it feels in many ways like everything has changed. The last time Tennessee secured a win they could really feel good about feels like it was a million years ago.

The optimists among us will tell you that we're right there. We were right there against UCLA and couldn't finish drives, we were right there last night and missed two kicks. The realists know we're probably not as close as we'd like to think. And we all know that most of the good we acccomplish is in spite of ourselves in the passing game.

But sooner than later, we have to stop being close and playing hard and being excited about this or that aspect. Sooner than later, we have to win one of these games.

A few thoughts on why we didn't last night and where it goes from here:

Nick Stephens' only window of opportunity is in the bye week, and it's still not a very big window

You can hate it, you can question it, and you can dream of a day when things are different, but at this point you might as well embrace it: Jonathan Crompton isn't going anywhere. And this is who we are as an offense.

In the immediate postgame last night, Kiffin told Vol Network listeners that he was displeased with Crompton's start (7 of 22) and encouraged by his finish (13 of 21 in the 4th quarter). He can go back and watch the film, but he's going to find the same Jon Crompton that's always been there, only a little more hidden behind a month's worth of drops from his wide receivers. Note to Gerald Jones: no more complaints about not getting the ball thrown your way until you catch more of the ones that are. The fact that he still finished with 7 catches for 75 yards probably makes that point irrelevant.

The only way you're going to see Nick Stephens is if Crompton plays even worse this week. Because as it stands, Tennessee is still competitve in spite of their quarterback, and their quarterback will make a throw every once in a while that gives Kiffin just enough to think about. Just enough to dream.

If Crompton tanks again against Georgia - especially if he tanks in such a way that the game isn't competitive, unlike the losses to UCLA and Auburn, and really even Florida - I think Kiffin could give Stephens the keys during the off week and let him get two solid weeks with the ones. Throwing Nick Stephens to the wolves in Tuscaloosa is no more frightening than sending Crompton under center in Gainesville, and we "celebrated" a moral victory for a week over that one.

If the Vols fall hard against Georgia, the QB change comes at a time to reignite some spark in a 2-4 football team. And if Crompton actually finds a way not to hurt us just once, and the rest of the team takes advantage of a vulnerable Georgia squad, then Kiffin gets to keep riding his man under center towards the finish line. Crompton is Kiffin's guy, and that point has been made repeatedly and unwaveringly. Which is why Crompton going the rest of the way is still the most likely scenario

Is it equal parts insanity and depression that the best we can hope for is that our quarterback gets out of his own way and just doesn't hurt us? yes. And I'm telling you, embrace the madness, because the madness is here to stay.

Hey look, something positive about the offense:

Tennessee's makeshift offensive line? Not bad.

Montario "I don't care if everyone misses their block on the screen pass, I'm taking it to the house anyway" Hardesty has reached the point where he's going to look good regardless. But a group missing Josh McNeil and Vlad Richard and starting - not just playing, but starting - a guy at right tackle with no game experience at the position until last week? Against an SEC defense?

Really, not bad. Not too bad at all.

Maybe the future at this position group isn't as bleak as we thought.

Unless it's in Atlanta, Tennessee and Auburn won't play again until 2013. I hope Gus Malzahn is somewhere else when that happens.

Gus Malzahn is to Tony Franklin as Peyton Manning is to Jonathan Crompton. The Auburn offense died under Franklin and took Tommy Tuberville out with it, but Malzahn took most of the same pieces and resurrected it, and now every Saturday is like Easter.

Tennessee's defense played the kind of game I thought it would take to win last night: make an Auburn offense that's simply going to get their yards kick field goals instead of score touchdowns. But it wasn't just that they got their yards, all 459 of them.

It was how: there was no making this offense one-dimensional (235 passing, 224 rushing). For all of their different formations and looks, there were no mistakes: one fumble that Auburn recovered, and I don't know if this is Chris Todd or Malzahn or both, but how many passes did he throw that were even close to being picked off?

And with balance like that and because of their different formations and looks, it's impossible to know what's coming next. When Auburn had 3rd and 8 or more, they used the screen plays that have eaten our aggression alive all season. And when they had 3rd and anything less, there was no telling.

You tip your cap to an offensive performance like that. And you hope you never see it again.

Just because Eric Berry only has one interception doesn't mean he's in a slump

Tennessee's strong safety had 11 solo tackles last night. He was the first resort on some hits and the last on others, he added Ben Tate to his attempted murder rap sheet, and hangs out with equipment managers, Renaldo Woolridge and the UT Dance Team in his spare time. In case you weren't in the stadium and missed the latest video addition to Berry's Heisman campaign, the most important thing to take away from it is that Woolridge has apparently been hitting the weights to improve his image. Get to the hole, Renaldo.

Berry leads the Vols in tackles and is a factor at the line of scrimmage, in a hybrid/LB role in a nickel package, or in his old familiar territory at safety. Neither Chris Todd nor Gus Malzahn were dumb enough to put it anywhere near him.

Tennessee is hurting themselves in little ways and helping themselves in few ways

The Vols have been one of the least penalized teams in college football all season, and only had four flags thrown on them last night. But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was crucial at one point, and a snap infraction penalty came as a result of Brandon Warren lining up wrong and the center, I'm assuming, trying to get the play off in order to avoid what would've been our first delay of game penalty on the year.

Daniel Lincoln shanked his first field goal badly and had an extra point blocked, four points that equaled the final margin. It would've been a very different game had Lincoln made that FG, though obviously that's not the first or only reason we lost. Worse yet was Tennessee's kick coverage, which was ripped by Branon James once, beat for a touchdown by Ohio, and was routinely frustrating last night, especially on Auburn's final kick return. Eddie Gran has been sensational in recruiting and coaching RBs. We need some of that magic to spread out to cover special teams.

Bob Kesling said last night that the Vols have now forced 15 fumbles on the year and only recovered 6. Teams aren't throwing at Eric Berry and thus aren't throwing many interceptions. Ohio and Auburn combined for 88 pass attempts, and while the Vols generally got some pressure and did hold teams to field goals, that's 88 pass attempts with no sacks and no interceptions.

With our passing game struggles, Tennessee has lost the luxury to be good to the opposition in any other way. The little things become huge things with Crompton involved. And the defense, in turn, must be asked to go from merely holding a great offense at bay to turning them over.

Big things or small things, Crompton or Stephens, home or away...sooner than later the Vols need to put it all together, stop being close, and get a win. We're an understanding lot in a coach's first year, no one was expecting miracles and we're all excited about the process for the most part. But every now and then, we need our faith to be made sight. It's been two full years since the Vols really enjoyed that.

Two years later, we could really use another dose.

Saturday Lessons: September 19

Year2 — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:00:23 -0000

It was one of those weeks.

Every season, there's a week or two where we see top teams struggle. USC lost. BYU lost. Florida struggled with Tennessee. Cal struggled with Minnesota. I'm not ready to call this 2007 all over again, but there has been a lot of upheaval early on.

Florida is not the greatest team ever.

Even if the Gators run the table from here on out, you can forget about calling them the best team ever (got that, ESPN?). Without Deonte Thompson the Florida offense was dead of arrival, as the passing game was not able to do anything beyond 15 yards down field from the line of scrimmage. With everything being done up close to the line, Tennessee was able to crowd in close and limit greatly what Florida wanted to do.

The defense did its part, with the one touchdown allowed likely being a byproduct of having relaxed and assumed that Tim Tebow was not going to fumble it away in the red zone. This game was heading the way of the Florida-Arkansas game of a year ago, where UF lead 17-7 for most of it, scored right near the third/fourth quarter break, and pulled away for a nice final score. Instead. Tennessee never stopped fighting and kept it close. If Tennessee had Ryan Mallett, the Vols would have won.

I was wrong, wrong, wrong about Tennessee.

Tennessee did exactly what I thought it would, which is lean on the rushing game and not the passing game. What I did not expect was for the UT offensive line to repair itself so quickly and play an outstanding game.

Jonathan Crompton did his part fairly well, despite some bad throws and two basically inconsequential interceptions. If he could have been trusted, the Vols could have used the run to set up some down field passing and cause some real trouble for the Gator defense. This is why it is so critical for Lane Kiffin to find a quarterback for the future, whether it's Nick Stephens for part of this one and next, or current commit Tyler Bray or someone else. The running game should be set for years with Bryce Brown and David Oku. Without a quarterback though, they'll lose a lot of games in the same manner as this one.

I was right, right, right about USC.

I've been saying since the first week that I was not impressed by USC, even after they blew out San Jose State by 50. I said that there were Pac-10 losses out there because of the deficiencies of the passing game, and though I didn't call Washington to be the first one, I'm not as shocked as most everyone seems to be. I don't know that Matt Barkley would have made a difference, but someone who got the game in their area might be able to tell me. Anyway, this Trojan team is not done losing for the year.

BCS bustin' is down to three teams.

Boise State. TCU. Houston. That's pretty much it, and the Cougars are a major long shot. With BYU going down in flames and Oregon edging out Utah, the MWC took a shot. Oregon's win also helps out Boise State, as the Broncos need that first win of the year to stretch a loooooong way with the rest of their schedule.

Cal should stop playing noon ET games.

Everything will be covered up by the "OMG! Jahvid Best 5 TDs!!" hype parade, but Cal really didn't look that great against Minnesota. At least the Bears won this time, instead of staging a repeat of the giant egg they laid at Maryland last year. Of course, Best was fantastic. He really was, but the problem was that Best had three touches in three fourths of the the second half before Cal went back to feeding him consistently.

Georgia and Arkansas are applying to join the Big 12.

93 total points. 1,015 total yards. We knew that Arkansas would be all offense and no defense, but a 2-1 vote among early season games says that Georgia is too. That UGA-Oklahoma State game is really standing out as the bizarre score of the year so far, upsets aside. Neither team has played like that since, and neither appears likely to again. Arkansas meanwhile lived up to its billing offensively, as Mallett put on a show with his arm. He's the new Matthew Stafford.

Texas and Texas Tech will come back in the trade.

It was a defensive struggle for most of the game, and though Texas Tech kept giving Texas opportunities to break the game open, the Longhorns never could. Something is up with Colt McCoy, as he wasn't terribly sharp all night. Tech played a valiant game and could be close to as good as it was last year, even if they couldn't pull off a repeat of last year's win over UT. Given how Oklahoma State played against Rice this week (and how TTU did against Rice last week), I'm beginning to think that the Red Raiders are the third best team in the Big 12 South.

Auburn's rushing game might be human after all.

Anybody have Auburn throwing for 300 yards while rushing for only 100? Anyone? It was an important win to pick up over a pretty good West Virginia team, but it wasn't the most elegant. The Tigers were outgained by 109 yards, but they took advantage of six (!) WVU turnovers to take it by 11. While it is somewhat disappointing to see the leading rusher (Ben Tate) be held to 3.9 yards per carry, the passing game made up for it and that's an accomplishment in these parts.

Never doubt Brian Kelly.

Cincinnati picked up a nice win by going to Corvallis and beating Oregon State. I thought Cincy would be better than the experts think this year, to borrow Lee Corso's phrase, but I didn't expect them to look this good this early. Kelly is the best coach in the Big East, and the Bearcats will be right in the thick of the race again.

Kentucky is still a mystery.

I think we all can guess what expletive Rich Brooks thinks that almost giving away a game to Louisville is. The offense was nice, with Mike Hartline having a nice stat line even if his average was low. It concerning though that Louisville outgained the Wildcats and converted more than half of its third downs.

Mississippi State is not going winless in the conference.

The Bulldogs gave Dan Mullen his first win in an ugly one in Nashville. Ugly doesn't really describe the Vandy offense though, as it got only 157 yards and lost time of possession by an entire quarter. When your leading rusher has seven carries for 26 yards, that's a bad sign. MSU meanwhile rushed for 260 yards, led by Anthony Dixon, and picked up a conference win on the road.

Does Revenge Even Make a Difference?

Year2 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:15:14 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Here comes trouble. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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I don't believe for a second that Tennessee fans will be just fine with a blowout this weekend simply because they were expecting it. Watching your team lose badly is always an excruciating experience, even if you see it coming.

I don't claim to be a clairvoyant, or in this case unique, but I do think a blowout is coming for Tennessee. It also has nothing to do with stale news about off season chatter.

The Tennessee quarterback is the same.

Lane Kiffin might have a death wish for sticking with Jonathan Crompton. Crompton has already thrown a ghastly five interceptions already, not to mention his fumble problems, and Florida returns the entire defense that tied for the national lead in interceptions in 2008. One of the hallmarks of last year's Gator team was absolutely punishing teams for turnovers, and this year's outfit so far is a perfect four-for-four on converting turnovers into touchdowns.

The alternative is that he's trying the shield Nick Stephens. If he expects this game to be bad, then just go ahead and trot the punching bag out there to take it and give the backup a chance at actually winning a game. Crompton is this year's problem only; Stephens has to not only survive the year but start next year unless a freshman or JUCO transfer can win the role. This seems the more likely scenario because:

The Tennessee offensive line is a mess.

Tennessee sent out a center who couldn't snap in practice. On his left was a guard who spent time on the sideline in a walking boot and on the right was another who injured his ankle in the first half against UCLA.

The injuries were lined up in the heart of the UT offensive line in front of a surefire pro on the other side of the ball, and the Vols were nearly helpless to slow him down - and that was just one star. UT really isn't much healthier up front now, but it could use some rapid healing with about 10 more NFL prospects looming Saturday at No. 1 Florida.

That is how Go Vols Xtra began its article yesterday on the state of the Tennessee offensive line (only with more linebreaks, which I deleted). The options are to either play injured starters or play guys who aren't that good. Kiffin says that the line was the worst unit on the team against UCLA last weekend.

Now they will face arguably the best front seven in the SEC coached by arguably the best defensive coordinator in the SEC. They will face pressure from future high draft picks on the line and blitzes from future high draft picks among the linebackers and secondary.

With Crompton under center, Tennessee has to have a good running attack to keep things close against anyone with a pulse. Against a real defense last weekend, the Vols rushed for just over three yards a carry. If they had considerable trouble against UCLA, who has good players but isn't loaded like Florida is, then a disaster is coming.

The Florida offense is relaxed.

Florida's offense struggled at the beginning of last year. Tebow was trying to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders and the coaches weren't sure they trusted anyone carrying the ball but him and Percy Harvin. It led to confusion and unimaginitive play calling that kept the Gators from running up the huge scores they did later in the year.

None of that is a factor now. Tebow is playing loose and there are three different running backs who have earned the coaches' trust. The only way to stop the first team offense so far has been to hope it rains and the rain causes fumbles, but as of right now, rain isn't looking overly likely.

Tennessee's defense is still good, and I'm on the record already as saying the the Florida offense won't rack up huge amounts of points straight up against it. Even so, every normal drive that Florida scores on will only magnify any points of turnovers and the inevitable Brandon James punt return touchdown.

Okay fine. There's motivation on Florida's part.

Last year, Florida went up to Knoxville just hoping to win. They played a conservative game, tried to win with defense and running, and they declined to run up the score on the last drive by running Chris Rainey into the back of the line in Tennessee's red zone.

I will not recount all the things that have occurred over the past 10 months to reignite this rivalry. Just consider it reignited. This fact of course means that Florida will be out for blood, because Urban Meyer doesn't take kindly to slights and he isn't afraid to pile on the points when possible.

Since Tennessee is pretty much expecting a blowout, what can Florida possibly do to get it's pound of flesh? Winning by 30 would simply be covering the point spread. Winning by 40 is what they already did in 2007's 59-20 win. Holding the Vols to under 10 points is what they already did in last year's 30-6 win. How can Florida make Tennessee feel worse than it did blowing a winnable game against UCLA last week?

The only thing I can think of is a shutout. The Gators haven't pitched any kind of shutout since 2006 and haven't shut out an SEC opponent since Mississippi State in 2001. It's not something they do often. It is also the only way to show that Tennessee is worse off with Lane Kiffin's offense than it was with the hated "Clawfense" of 2008. It's the only way to say that the Vols have taken a step back since getting rid of Phillip Fulmer.

There are too many variables at work for me to give a score prediction. Just know that I'll be surprised if the Gators win and don't cover the spread.

Are planets aligning for a historic Florida beatdown of Tennessee?

Joel — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:55:59 -0000

Back in 1916, Georgia Tech and head coach John Heisman beat Cumberland 222 to 0. That doesn't just happen, you know, stars have to align and stuff. The story behind that catastrophe is that Tech wouldn't let Cumberland out of its contract to play the game despite the fact that Cumblerland had just disbanded its football program. So, Cumberland sent 14 guys to save the school $3,000 by fulfilling the school's contractual obligations, and Tech . . . well, the animated drive chart on that one would be something, wouldn't it?

I spent yesterday neck craned to the heavens, attempting to discern whether the planets were conspiring against the Vols this week, plotting annihilation of the team bus with an astronomical power wedge as it arrives in Gainesville next week. Consider the following:

Saturday's reality check against UCLA, a loss that Lane Kiffin termed "embarrassing."
Jonathan Crompton reverted to 2008 form, throwing three interceptions (four, if you count the one that was negated by penalty) and losing a fumble on a botched center-QB exchange. As Mike Griffith put it in his report card, "The senior stared down receivers, overthrew open targets and then forced UT into a play-calling shell as it missed an opportunity to pick apart a young UCLA secondary." Yep.
That play-calling shell neutered a Tennessee rushing attack that last week looked like it could rehabilitate the offense all by itself, and the running game managed only six yards on four tries when seven would have won it for the Vols.
Despite all of that, Kiffin never once considered replacing Crompton with Nick Stephens, and it doesn't appear, at this time anyway, that he'll consider it for Florida, either.
The disappointing loss even led to some finger-pointing in the locker room.

And now -- yay! -- we get to go to Florida to take on the Gators.

The same Gators who were responsible for the dishumiliarrassment of 2007 and the Vols' severe allergic reaction to the red zone in 2006.
The same Gators who won the national championship in 2006 and again in 2008 and who this year return their Heisman-winning and all-everything quarterback and all of their defensive starters.
The same Gators who, so far this year, have outscored their opponents 118-9, haven't allowed a touchdown, and whose scoring drives average just a little over 1:40 (I did this calculation myself . . . look, Ma! Math!)
The same Urban Meyer who Lane Kiffin falsely accused of cheating. Oh, and Kiffin publicly gloated after nabbing a couple of recruits who had been committed to Florida.
The same Urban Meyer who exacted merciless revenge against Georgia last year for its group celebration the year before, calling timeouts for the sole purpose of extending Georgia's misery.
The same Gators who, despite all of the personal barbs, are simply going to let their play do the talking this Saturday, which is perhaps the scariest thing of all.
The theme of the week has already surfaced in traditional media: "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

So are the planets aligning for a historic Tennessee defeat this weekend?

Maybe. But does it matter? Not really. Vol fans have heard the beatdown talk all summer. Our own almanac has predicted it, and I don't think there's any reason to resent it. I frankly have no idea how the Tennessee offense is going to score even a single point against the Gators' stingy D, and I know our defense has held up so far this year, but let's be honest, it really hasn't been tested yet, either, and for all of his experience, I don't think Monte Kiffin has ever faced a well-oiled spread machine.

But what does it matter? Rebuilding the Tennessee program is going to be a process, one that will take some time. (Thanks, UCLA, for the reminder!) And even if Florida was somehow able to beat Tennessee like Georgia Tech did Cumberland in 1916, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Just the beginning of the process.