I feel that UT is dominating this state of Tennessee football thread. In the order of fairness I'm going to begin keeping my fellow TWWers up to date on the happenings of Memphis and Vanderbilt.

West pleased with offense's improvement

Quote :

" MEMPHIS FOOTBALL: West pleased with offense's improvement MEMPHIS - Memphis head football coach Tommy West said he was starting Tyler Bass at quarterback this past week to see if he could give the Tigers' offense a spark it had been missing in the first two games of the season. Advertisement It seemed to work as West said at his weekly press conference on Monday that the coaching staff liked what it saw from the sidelines. "We were able to do what we talked about last week," West said. "We played better than we did last week and played good enough to win the game. "We did some good things offensively which excited all of us. We had been a very unproductive offensive team and they gave us some things in the passing game that we were able to take advantage of them. We got the ball to our playmakers and they were able to make plays." Bass was effective in helping move the ball as he completed 22-of-28 passes for 293 yards and four touchdowns against UT Martin and rushed 16 times for 80 yards and a score. He hit receiver Duke Calhoun for an 85-yard touchdown pass, which is the longest offensive play for Memphis football since 2003. West said the offense did a good job of taking what the Skyhawks gave them. "We did that really well for just about the entire game," West said. "The only time we didn't do that was when it was third-and-6 and they had no one in the middle and we went ahead and threw the ball. "I'd rather him hand the ball off and get yards up the middle and take what they give us." West said he's concerned with inconsistency on the defensive side of the ball. "We go through stages where we are inconsistent," West said. "We go through quarters where we are really good and then all of a sudden we give up 14 or 17 points in a row. "Saturday night we were playing really well. In the second quarter we were playing as good as you can play, and then all of a sudden in the third quarter they score quickly." The Tigers enter Conference USA play this week with a home game against Marshall. The teams have played four times since the Thundering Herd entered C-USA in 2005, and the home team has won each game. West said his team will have to deal with a lot of size up front from Marshall. "

http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20090922/SPORTS/909220322

Conference play opens this weekend as the Tigers take on division rival Marshall.

9/22/2009 2:06:12 PM

Quote :

"Tdub trolls cant grasp it."

you:UT::everyone you rail on:NCSU

as if you'd let anyone slip with all this talk about recruiting or playing a close game against a big point spread

[Edited on September 22, 2009 at 2:23 PM. Reason : .]

9/22/2009 2:17:56 PM

M!..T...! STATE! MT STATE!

M!..T...! STATE! MT STATE!

9/22/2009 2:18:36 PM

^^ because there isnt a huge talent gap between NC State and anyone else in the ACC and last time I checked State hasnt been a 30 point underdog to one of their big rivals. We arent talking about being expected to lose by 10 and only losing by 8 or some shit like that. If UNC had won 2 out of the last 3 national championships, and State had their worst team maybe ever, and the spread was 30 and State played them really hard and only lost by 10 I would so be giving State credit, no doubt about it.

Quote :

"you can console yourself with all the placation's of "but they weren't even expected to compete!" or "they played really well!" but does that change anything? "

yes... because it shows progress from where the program was before... Of course a win would have been better, but if there is a loss, I would rather it show great coaching, hard work by the players, fundamentals, and marked improvement from the previous few years than not show that. As I said before, UT went from being shit against Florida the last few years to being one player away from perhaps beating the #1 team in the country at home. I dont see how that is not a good thing compared to losing by 40+

9/22/2009 2:30:17 PM

Again, not trolling.. but what am I missing? They don't have the talent?

UT's last four recruiting classes:

2006: 8 4*s, 8 3*s - 24th ranked class
2007: 4 5*s, 14 4*s, 10 3*s - 4th ranked class
2008: 2 4*s, 14 3*s - 35th ranked class
2009: 1 5*, 11 4*s, 9 3*s - 8th ranked class

So 2008 was a down year... but are you telling me they can't compete with SEC schools with that influx of talent annually?

[Edited on September 22, 2009 at 2:45 PM. Reason : all scout.com]

9/22/2009 2:43:36 PM

wasnt counting 2009, too early... but when competing against teams that are almost always in the top 10 recruiting, 35 and 24 suck ass.

look at the number of players drafted off the team from around 96-2006 and look at the number since

[Edited on September 22, 2009 at 2:56 PM. Reason : d]

9/22/2009 2:55:51 PM

^ well then include 2005, where you guys had the #1 recruiting class in the nation. But that makes sense though since so many players will redshirt and we don't know what kind of player a lot of these guys from 2009 class are.

Here are the average class ranking for all 12 SEC teams from 2005-2008 via Scout.com

School: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 - Average

Alabama: 16, 18, 22, 1 - 14.25
Arkansas: 32, 30, 34, 24 - 30.00
Auburn: 22, 9, 6, 18 - 13.75
Florida: 11, 2, 1, 12 - 6.50
Georgia: 4, 4, 17, 5 - 7.50
Kentucky: 62, 34, 58, 53 - 51.75
LSU: 19, 7, 5, 7 - 9.50
Mississippi: 29, 15, 31, 38 - 28.25
Mississippi State: 39, 24, 27, 33 - 30.75
South Carolina: 20, 33, 7, 34 - 23.59
Tennessee: 1, 24, 4, 35 - 16.25
Vanderbilt: 76, 61, 87, 74 - 74.50

So yeah... LSU, UGa and UF are a step ahead but it's not like you guys are Tennessee School for the Deaf and Blind or anything...

9/22/2009 3:13:01 PM

have you ever seen tennessee's quarterback?

[Edited on September 22, 2009 at 3:17 PM. Reason : .]

9/22/2009 3:16:57 PM

^^ never said that, but compared to those schools, which are the main competitors (along with Bama which has gone off the last 2 years), its been way down... compared to the years I cited its been way down

^ and then theres that...

[Edited on September 22, 2009 at 3:18 PM. Reason : d]

9/22/2009 3:17:14 PM

9/22/2009 3:22:38 PM

DP: What was Crompton's line vs. Auburn? Like 8 for 22 for 67 yards and no 2nd half completions?

and somebody needs to tell Kiffin that it's okay to start someone else, even a Freshman QB, others have done it this year... and won.... against him.... at home....

[Edited on September 22, 2009 at 3:34 PM. Reason : q]

9/22/2009 3:28:06 PM

ok ok, who is Jonathan Crompton?


forgot cheesy looking porn stache

9/22/2009 3:29:32 PM

because no one read it...

a loss is a loss jb, sure it wasn't as bad as it could have been but you know who doesn't care? this bit right here 1-2 and 3-0.

you can console yourself with all the placation's of "but they weren't even expected to compete!" or "they played really well!"

but does that change anything?

9/22/2009 3:32:02 PM

I replied right after that...

hell, I even quoted you, you stupid bastard

[Edited on September 22, 2009 at 3:41 PM. Reason : d]

9/22/2009 3:40:45 PM

lsufreek's latest

9/22/2009 3:50:49 PM

HAHHHAHAHAHAHA

9/22/2009 3:55:47 PM

9/22/2009 4:01:36 PM

9/22/2009 4:02:47 PM

<i just enjoy fucking with you>

9/22/2009 4:18:20 PM

Arab13 doesn't know football....

9/22/2009 4:37:48 PM

Another int by crompton. Imagine that

9/26/2009 7:26:02 PM

Quote :

" AUBURN, Ala. — Gus Malzahn never has been accused of being underprepared. Auburn’s offensive coordinator studies opposing defenses with a fine eye, looking for any kind of deficiency or weak spot to exploit when Saturday rolls around. In watching film of Tennessee, led by former NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, weaknesses have been hard to find. “There have been very few, if any,” Malzahn said. “We’re going to have to earn everything we get.” It will be a battle of wits when Malzahn’s fast-paced Auburn offense matches up with Kiffin’s give-nothing Tennessee defense in Knoxville this Saturday. Malzahn’s Tigers rank third nationally in total offense (526.3 yards per game) and scoring offense (45.2 points per game). Kiffin’s Vols rank eighth in total defense (233.0 ypg) and 33rd in scoring defense (18.9 ppg). “It’s going to be a good challenge,” Auburn running back Ben Tate said. “It’s going to be a real test to see where we’re really at. Tennessee is probably going to be one of the best defenses we face all year — if not the best.” The respect is mutual, judging by Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin’s comments Tuesday. “There’s so much stuff going on around it,” he said of Auburn’s offense. “I talked to my dad the other night, and he said it’s like trying to read a book with someone waving their hand in front of the book — trying to look at it, what’s going on, but you can’t really see it. You can’t really focus because there’s so much misdirection and so much shifting motion.” The 69-year-old Kiffin, who the Vols paid $1.2 million per year to leave his established position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and lead his son’s defense at Tennessee, is best known for the “Tampa 2” scheme, which values speed over size, stresses turnovers and is more concerned with preventing scores than giving up yardage. The Volunteers run some “Tampa 2,” Malzahn said, but Kiffin mixes in more traditional looks along the way. It doesn’t change what Tennessee’s defense is capable of. “They are great,” said Auburn head coach Gene Chizik, who looked to Kiffin for ideas in his formative years as a coach at Central Florida. “(Kiffin) is one of the best in the business.” Kiffin shouldn’t get all the credit. Tennessee had a formidable defense even before his arrival, finishing in a third-place tie with Alabama last year nationally in total yardage, a figure overshadowed by the Vols’ offensive ineptitude in Phil Fulmer’s final season. Tennessee safety Eric Berry is a big reason for that success. The reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year is on everybody’s radar, a potential top-five pick in next year’s NFL draft. “He’s not a good one; he’s a great one,” Chizik said. The 5-foot-11, 203-pound junior is an all-around threat. He’s already the SEC’s career interception return leader, taking 13 interceptions back for 487 yards, and he plays a physical brand of football needed at the safety position in Monte Kiffin’s schemes. “He’s a difference-maker,” Malzahn said. “They give him some freedom, and he makes plays. And he makes big plays. So we’re going to have to be aware of where he’s at, be smart and protect the football, especially when we’re around him.” Tennessee relied on Berry to shadow Florida star quarterback Tim Tebow a few weeks ago. Tebow had a solid but not spectacular day in the Gators’ closer-than-expected 23-13 win in Gainesville, throwing for 115 yards and a touchdown and running for 76 yards and another touchdown. Good stats but not what fans are accustomed to seeing from the former Heisman Trophy winner. “Their plan against Tebow, that was his guy, and they did a really solid job with it,” Malzahn said. “That’s a big task. That just tells you what type of player he is.” Berry fits Tennessee’s history of physical defenses. Tate, who has experienced the matchup first-hand, gave fellow Auburn running back Onterio McCalebb advice heading into what is expected to be a slug-fest on Saturday. “I just tell him to pop a couple aspirin before the game,” Tate said, “because it’s going to be hard-hitting.” "

I think Auburn has this one, the offense is just too good and you know who will fuck up as usual and they will just have too many shots with good field position, defense wont able to stop them every damn time. I wont be able to watch the game live though, taking the woman to a concert that night.

10/1/2009 12:19:46 AM

5 starters out on defense for UT... I predict 28-16 Auburn

10/3/2009 1:58:20 PM

10/5/2009 9:11:46 PM

lol

10/5/2009 9:18:35 PM

http://www.theauburner.com/images/tatesmash.gif

10/5/2009 9:35:59 PM

^ weak, he hit a guy running in the opposite direction who tried to jump back to slow him down while he had a full head of steam. The cut is much more impressive than the hit

10/5/2009 11:10:50 PM

if they call that an INT (as opposed to a fumble) Eric Berry just set the NCAA career return yard record


nope, damn, called it a fumble recovery.


Still a good play though

[Edited on October 10, 2009 at 3:12 PM. Reason : d]

10/10/2009 3:11:37 PM

good lord this is beautiful. Complete domination over my 2nd most hated team (after ND).

Just completely shut down their offense and Crompton has 4 TDs haha

10/10/2009 3:30:03 PM

wow, what an assraping

Congrats UT, you guys have the Dawgs number, especially in Neyland

Crompton with 4 TDs....I do believe Willie Martinez is going to get himself fired.

10/10/2009 3:33:42 PM

what I love is that their ST/Def outscored their offense haha.

Their actual offense only put up 3 points on our defense.

10/10/2009 3:41:17 PM

Woohoo! Crompton pulled his head out of his ass!!!

10/10/2009 4:03:51 PM

Rocky Top!

10/10/2009 4:04:05 PM

Quote :

"KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin didn’t defeat Florida as promised. He did deliver on another guarantee with a 45-19 win over the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. “(Kiffin) basically made a promise to us that we wouldn’t lose to them anymore, forever or until he leaves,” Volunteers safety Eric Berry said. “He’s not going to let Georgia beat us.” The first-year coach got some help from Jonathan Crompton, who passed for a career-high 310 yards and threw for four touchdowns. Kiffin had emphasized the Georgia game to his players due to its importance in recruiting. Because the state of Tennessee doesn’t produce many elite prospects, coaches traditionally have recruited in Georgia, and 12 current Vols hail from the bordering state—including Berry. “I told the guys last night, I don’t know all the Tennessee history or tradition of all the matchups,” Kiffin said. “There are a lot of great teams in this conference. But I told them, to me, this is the biggest matchup.” It was his first Southeastern Conference victory and kept the Volunteers (3-3, 1-2) from going 0-3 in the league for a second season in a row. Georgia (3-3, 2-2) dropped to 3-3 for the first time under coach Mark Richt. “They played better. They coached better. It’s very obvious their team was a better team by a long shot,” Richt said. The Vols’ passing game had faltered at times this season, with Crompton struggling with his accuracy and his receivers often dropping passes when he was on target. But by halftime Saturday, Crompton had already thrown for 205 yards and three touchdowns. He finished 20-for-27. Georgia’s offense never reached the red zone, and the Tennessee defense held it to 241 yards compared with the Vols’ 472. The Bulldogs found other ways to put up points. Brandon Boykin scored on his second 100-yard kickoff return of the season, and Bacarri Rambo returned Crompton’s interception 28 yards for a TD. Blair Walsh kicked a 52-yard field goal, and Zach Renner blocked a punt by Chad Cunningham that sailed through the end zone for a safety. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been involved in a game where the defense didn’t let a team into the red zone one time,” Kiffin said. Crompton was a perfect 4-for-4 for 67 yards on a drive late in the first half, finding Marsalis Teague on a 5-yard touchdown pass for a 21-10 lead with 2:40 left. He also connected with Gerald Jones on a 51-yard score, the Vols’ longest pass of the season. Despite being Tennessee’s most productive receiver returning from last season, Jones had struggled with drops and mistakes while recovering from an ankle injury and wrist surgery. He had a season-best 105 yards receiving and two touchdowns. It was Georgia’s Joe Cox who played the role of struggling quarterback. Cox finished 19-for-34 with 146 yards and no touchdowns. On the opening drive of the third quarter, Cox fumbled a snap, recovered and threw to Tennessee’s Dennis Rogan while under pressure. The interception set up a 30-yard field goal by Daniel Lincoln to give the Vols a 24-12 lead. “It’s so frustrating to come out and have so many things go wrong,” Cox said. “It’s embarrassing. We are not doing the things we need to do as players.” The SEC’s leading receiver, Georgia’s A.J. Green, finished with only 60 yards on eight catches. Its leading rusher, Tennessee’s Montario Hardesty, had 97 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Richt opened his career by winning four out of his first five meetings with Tennessee, but the Vols have won three of the last four. The game has often been one of the SEC East’s premier matchups, but for the first time in 38 meetings neither team was ranked coming in. “We’ve got a long way to go to become a good football team,” Richt said."

that red zone stat is insane

10/10/2009 7:23:52 PM

I really like this Lane Kiffin guy. He's got balls, and he's got a blind unbridled patriotism that you just don't see in most head coaches. He embraces tradition as perhaps the most important aspect of football. I wish ours could be so passionate.

I'm following this team the rest of the season. So long as they don't play NC State or Michigan, I hope they win.

10/10/2009 7:26:27 PM

welcome aboard

10/10/2009 7:27:15 PM

Wow! What a game. Kiffin and staff earned their pay today. It is especially awesome to beat UGA assess since their fans are such windbags. Go fuck yourselves dawgs and...

GO VOLS!!!

10/10/2009 7:28:43 PM

Georgia secondary = NC State secondary?

There's no way that's the same Crompton from the previous 5 games.

10/11/2009 3:18:56 AM

10/12/2009 7:58:05 PM

Quote :

"The Big Orange Invasion of Georgia has begun. Four days after dismantling the Bulldogs 45-19 on the football field, the Tennessee Vols went into the Peach State and plucked a top-shelf prospect in next year’s class. Gainesville (Ga.) 6-foot-3, 232-pound linebacker A.J. Johnson has pledged to play football for the Vols, according to Volquest.com and Insidetennessee.com. Johnson is a monster athlete who could potentially grow into a defensive end, but since the Vols are already loaded there (see Willie Bohannon, Stephen Fowlkes, Jacques Smith, Corey Miller, Brandon Willis, J.C. Copeland) it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to see him manning the middle of Monte Kiffin’s Tennessee 2 defense for four years. Johnson first fell in love with Knoxville after camping there this summer. He said after that visit that the Vols led for his services, and he impressed so much that he received an immediate offer. Johnson’s other firm offers so far were from Clemson, Auburn, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, and Stanford, among others. Recently, Alabama and Florida had been showing him a lot of love and were close to offering, according to reports. For those of you who are wondering/worrying about the possibility of the Georgia Bulldogs getting involved, don’t. Though Gainesville is a mere 20 minutes from Athens, the Dawgs were not showing Johnson much early love, and that did not go unnoticed in the Johnson camp. The same thing happened this year with athlete and Bama commit Blake Sims and wide receiver and Stanford commit Tai-ler Jones, two of Johnson’s teammates. UGA has lost — it seems — Gainesville, a small city in Athens’ back yard that is going to be a productive SEC pipeline for years to come. Johnson is very close with Sims, a target that UT has continued to pursue despite Alabama’s commitment being pretty firm. Though it would be an extremely tough pull to turn Sims, getting Johnson doesn’t hurt. Regardless, pulling an athlete of Johnson’s caliber is a major coup at this point of the recruiting process, and most of the credit can be given to Ed Orgeron and Lance Thompson, who were the main recruiters for Johnson. The LB said earlier this week that UT and Clemson led for his services, and he pulled the trigger Wednesday. Johnson’s commitment is the Vols’ third of the 2011 class, to go along with elite defensive tackle Anthony Johnson (thought to be a top-three player in the state of Louisiana next year) and North Carolina TE (who may grow into an OT) Eric Maclain. All three of those guys are potential Rivals100-type players and great early gets. A very nice start to the bye week."

10/14/2009 8:47:05 PM

sweet, Alabama is ranked #1 just in time!

10/18/2009 4:30:18 PM

already feeling it... I have no notion of us actually winning, but at least I feel like things are moving in the right direction this year as opposed to the last two and that they will come out prepared to play the best they can, but Bama is just too fucking loaded on defense and Saban wont let the shit that Tennessee did against Georgia work over and over and over

update: Bama is favored by 16





This one play will endear Clausen to UT fans forever. I aged 10 years watching this 5 OT fucker


[Edited on October 19, 2009 at 5:16 PM. Reason : d]

10/19/2009 5:13:07 PM

I'm really looking forward to see what Ingram does against the Vols D

see if this guy is for real or not

10/19/2009 5:43:57 PM

not related to the game really, but I just had a horrible horrible premonition of Eric Berry being in a Redskins jersey next year


oh god, anything but that

10/19/2009 6:39:59 PM

Saban is a bitch... why would you deny this?

Quote :

"Tennessee wanted to turn back the clock to the 1960s by wearing orange football jerseys Saturday. Alabama denied the Vols’ request. Head coach Lane Kiffin said Monday that UT received permission from the SEC to wear orange jerseys as the visitor in Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game in Tuscaloosa against No. 1 Alabama. However, the new NCAA rule that permits a departure from the visiting team wearing white also includes the stipulation that the home team grant permission. UT athletic director Mike Hamilton confirmed Alabama’s denial. Asked if Alabama gave a reason for the denial, Kiffin said no. Since the late 1960s, the rule was that the visiting team had to wear white jerseys, unless the home team chose to do so. LSU routinely opts to wear white at home. The contrast was better for black and white telecasts. However, black and white television is virtually obsolete, thus the loophole enacted last February by the NCAA football rules committee. The new rule stipulates that there must be contrast between the colors of the jersey. Alabama wears crimson jerseys, Tennessee a light orange. Last year UCLA (light blue) and Southern Cal (Cardinal) agreed to wear their colored jerseys in a UCLA home game. Southern Cal was penalized one time out for not wearing white. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel then burned a timeout to even the scales. The new rule states the visitor will be penalized 15 yards following the kickoff of each half if it wears a colored jersey without permission. Kiffin said the Vols aren’t good enough this year to absorb a 15-yard penalty at the start of each half."

10/19/2009 8:38:01 PM

Roll Tide Roll.

My cousins late husband was a 'Bama grad... so I have a rooting interest.

10/19/2009 8:40:25 PM

^^I don't think it really matters at all but it just shows that Saban is a petty little bitch.

10/20/2009 10:58:57 AM

^^^ That would be sweet.

10/20/2009 5:47:44 PM

I wonder when the last time a team played two number 1 teams on the road in the same season (not counting being the "road team" in a bowl game)

10/21/2009 12:43:44 AM

Quote :

"Alabama opened as a 16.5 point favorite over Tennessee. So I did what any self-respecting Tennessee fan would do when faced with this obstacle: I wagered my beard that Tennessee will cover that spread with Memphis radio host Chris Vernon, the man behind the cult classic video, Colonel Reb Is Crying. Given that I've been rocking the beard since 2002, I'm very confident in my bet, almost as confident that this will be a single-digit game that isn't decided until the fourth quarter. I'll explain why as I break down the game, but know this, right now Alabama fans are rolling their eyes and banging on their their talking typewriters -- as computers have yet to reach Alabama -- "Your an idiot," they're about to type in their magic invisible letters -- you know it as e-mail -- to me. That's because Alabama fans are one of the rarest of all fan species, drenched in self-confidence even when their team isn't good, swimming in a sea of crimson arrogance when they are actually good. No matter the situation Alabama fans refuse to believe they will ever lose. Ever. In fact, let's call them what they care: The most confident fanbase on Earth. Most fanbases greet the No. 1 ranking in the country with trepidation, seeing defeat lurking in unlikely corners. Not Alabama. They expect their team to squash all competition, including, if necessary, such lightweights as NFL champions. In fact, many Crimson Tide fans would argue that you can't be overly confident when you've won 99 consecutive national championships. (I'm citing the always reliable Paul Finebaum for that statistic.) And they have a point there. They have been successful. But more successful than any fanbase in the history of American sports? I think not. Next week maybe I'll rank the most irrational fan bases out there. Kentucky basketball, the New York Yankees, and Notre Dame football all figure in the equation, but for the present moment none of that matters, Alabama is going to win. Roll, Tide, Roll! And before we get further rolling with the ClayNation game breakdown, let me be clear, I like Alabama fans. Their irrational optimism, the range of fashion choices made by the men, from Little Lord Fauntleroy to 55-year-old men dressed in double camo gear, snuff in the back pocket alongside a Brodie Croyle bobblehead, and an unshaven, bedraggled look l like to call, Tuscaloosa Sunrise. I love them all. As Tiny Tim would say, God bless them each and every one. On to the breakdown. 1. Which Greg McElroy are we going to get in this game? The one in the first five games who threw for nine touchdowns, no picks, and completed 68 percent of his passes or the guy from the past two games who has completed just 46 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and two interceptions? In fact, McElroy's play has declined precipitously in every game since the 35-7 win over Arkansas on Sept. 26, when he was nearly perfect. Is there something that defenses have noticed in preparing for McElroy, like they evidently have with Chris Todd at Auburn, or is this simply a function of McElroy not playing well? 2. At some point, if you're a male Alabama fan with hugely drooping Bama Bangs, shaking a red and white pompom, wearing a bowtie above khaki pants that are too tight, and sunglasses hanging on a cord around your neck, don't you have to look at yourself in the mirror and think, "My God, I am a huge clown. Tuscaloosa is the only place on Earth right now where I could walk into a bar without people believing I was dressed up for Halloween as the biggest tool in America." 3. Which Jonathan Crompton are we going to get? Soon enough we'll know whether Crompton caught the Willie Martinez Flu -- unlike the regular flu it makes you play 250 percent better than you ever have before -- or whether Lane Kiffin has finally fixed the biggest head case in Tennessee since Elvis post-Priscilla. Kiffin, come Saturday the most confident man in the state of Alabama who is not an Alabama fan, has gone so far as to suggest that Crompton, Crompton! (uttered by every UT fan in the same tone that Newman! was uttered by Seinfeld) deserves a look as a first-round pick based on the Georgia game. Seriously. I'm terrified that the Tennessee Titans are going to end up with Crompton and we'll never be apart. At long last, Crompton put together a decent game against a decent opponent, but you can still draw a distinct line between Good Crompton and Bad Crompton. Regarding the former, in UT's three wins this season, Crompton has thrown 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. In the three losses? Two touchdowns and six interceptions. Which one will we get against 'Bama? I have no clue. Neither does Crompton. 4. Why do fans of both teams insist on wearing camouflage college gear? Hypothesis: Generally speaking deer do not care who the people trying to kill them root for. So who is this apparel designed for? People who are trying to disguise who they are rooting for? People who can't stomach the thought of being in the woods and not being able to support the team? Isn't it borderline taunting for Bambi's final image as she gives up the deer ghost to be a power T or a crimson A? I'm doing a whole column on this at some point. But come Saturday these people will be everywhere. 5. Is Monte Kiffin truly going to dominate pro-style offenses this season or will his defense fade down the stretch? Against Georgia last week, in his first chance to play a non-spread offense in a month, Monte Kiffin made Georgia look like a junior varsity high school team. They didn't get inside the UT 30 for the entire game. Can he continue that against Alabama? Probably not. But can he devise a gameplan that limits Julio Jones while still stopping Bama's rushing attack? Certainly. Will it happen? Tune in. 6. Why won't 'Bama let UT wear orange? Why do people care what color the team wears? In case you missed it, UT requested to wear their orange jerseys on the road and Alabama rejected the idea. Let me be clear on this, caring what color uniform your team wears makes you a girl. Period. (Pun intended.) There are no exceptions. Some Tennessee fans have been obsessed with whether or not we're going to wear black jerseys for months. I can't think of anything dumber. Same with an entire stadium doing an (insert color here)-out. If you've ever had a conversation about the color your team is going to wear with a male friend, you need new friends. 7. Which team can get their running attack established? Mark Ingram has been the warhorse for Alabama. He's currently leading the SEC in rushing yardage. meanwhile Tennessee's Montario Hardesty is in fourth place. Both men are in the top 12 in the country. What's more, both teams boast a standout freshman backup -- Trent Richardson for 'Bama and Bryce Brown for Tennessee. Given that there are questions at quarterback for both teams, if either squad can establish a consistent running game, look for that team to control the outcome. Given that Tennessee's rush defense is ranked 30th in the country, and Bama is ranked third, odds would favor the Crimson Tide in this battle. 8. What's the psychology of Alabama's new No. 1 ranking likely to be? Alabama has not played against Tennessee as the No. 1 team in the country since, wait for it, 1980. Were you as shocked by this as I was? And Alabama has played Tennessee as the No. 1 team in the country only twice all-time. Alabama fans are shocked right now as well because they believe that Alabama has been the default top-ranked team in America for the past 67 years. (The streak was broken when World War II broke out and every Alabama football player was simultaneously named a General.) In fact, Tennessee will play the No. 1 team in the country twice this season for the first time in the history of Tennessee football. And they've only played the top team in the AP poll 8 times since 1959. I say all that for this for one reason, playing the top team in the country is a big deal that doesn't happen very often. But I'm not sure Tennessee and Lane Kiffin are going to play like it is a big deal because they've already played Florida on the road. Which is a pretty big benefit because I think it eliminates the jaw-dropping, scared to death factor. Meanwhile, I think Alabama will come out a bit uptight with the new ranking. I could be wrong, but I think 'Bama will make a few mistakes early that keep this game close for the first two quarters. After that, we'll see. But I believe the psychology of being No. 1 will have an impact. "

10/23/2009 2:34:08 PM