Hating the Gators from the west

Vols 6, Gators 30 All tied up with GodBlogCon/BlogWorld in Las Vegas, this was the first Tennessee-Florida game I’ve not watched in a decade, and it’s just as well.  Apparently it was all I expected and more.  Last year, I predicted that the massive defeat to the Gators marked the end of the Phil Fulmer … Read more

Junior League

Vols 24, Bruins 27 In football, experience can make or break you.  The fact that Tennessee had a young, inexperienced team this year was no surprise.  The fact that they were inexperienced enough to lose to a UCLA team that played like a mediocre high school squad was more a disappointment than a surprise. There … Read more

We don’t need no stinkin’ Badgers

Vols 21, Badgers 17 A mediocre game filled with mediocre moments and mediocre play was enough for Tennessee to defeat the Wisconsin in a mostly mediocre bowl game. With most of its offensive coaches in a lame duck session (David Cutcliffe, Trooper Taylor, and others are all departing for more senior positions), the Vols did … Read more

Wildcats left blue

Vols 52, Wildcats 50 For the second week in a row Tennessee tried to give a football game to the other team. And for the second week in a row, the Vols were told that their charity was unwelcome. Games like this — especially when it involves the Volunteers — are best watched in the … Read more

If teeth had skin

Vols 25, Commodores 24 If teeth really had skin, Tennessee just beat Vanderbilt by the skin of theirs. With Vandy missing a potential game-winning field goal, things just rolled the Vols way today. As another coach might put it: “God was smilin’ on the Vols.” All I can say about this game is that a … Read more

Barbecued pork, Tennesee style

Vols 34, Razorbacks 13 With defensive coordinator Johnny Chavis back at the helm of the Tennessee defense (he was gone for a few weeks, right?), the Vols held Darren McFadden to a mere (!) 116 yards rushing, effectively shutting down the Arkansas offense. Impressive play, and for the second time this year (Georgia was the … Read more

How homecoming is supposed to be

Vols 59, Ragin Cajuns 7 I didn’t go home for the Vols’ homecoming today (judging from the decade-low attendance, few did), but this is the way homecomings are supposed to be. And for one game of the year — this will likely be the last — the Vols routed a team. Granted, Louisiana-Lafayette probably made … Read more

Chicken fried football

Vols 27, Gamecocks 24 A fellow named Dickens once wrote a novel that began with the words, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” — words which would not be unfitting for the Vols overtime upset today of 16th ranked South Carolina. In a game that showcased both the best … Read more