The Tennessee Volunteers (6-3, 3-2 SEC) can point to the stretch run of Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Kentucky, knowing a sweep puts them in the SEC championship game on Dec. 1.
It's a good time to see an experienced fifth year senior return to the field.
Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer said Vol fans should look for tight end Brad Cottam to hit the playing field Saturday. The Germantown, Tennessee senior injured his wrist in a preseason scrimmage. Cottamwas expected to team with fellow senior Chris Brown as anchors for the Tennessee passing game, which was dealing with the loss of all three starting wide receivers from 2006..
“We’re playing for a championship here over the next several weeks. Brad was ready and we were ready and he’s had his wrist re-evaluated. We’re glad to have him back. He wants to play now,” Fulmer said after Wednesday’s workout at Haslam Field. "We’re trying to get ready to play a really fine Arkansas team.”
Having Cottam back just might be the extra weapon Eric Ainge needs to keep the Razorbacks on their heels.
Tennessee makes its mark with smash-mouth football. The Titans are starting to resemble the Tennessee teams that were regular playoff players in the early part of the decade. The Titans have the league's second-best rushing offense (173.7 yards per game). LenDale White and Chris Brown have combined for 427 rushing yards this season.
“They really establish their running game and that takes a lot of pressure off of (quarterback Vince Young)," Atlanta Pro Bowl linebacker and defensive captain Keith Brooking said. "We have to be great on first down. They ran for 180 or 190 yards against Jacksonville, which has a pretty good defensive front. We’ve got to be great on first down and not allow them to establish a run.”
The Tennessee Vols (1-2) have lost 13 times in their past 29 games, but they hadn't lost as badly as they did Saturday in 26 years. It was Tennessee's biggest loss since 1981's 41-0 drubbing by Georgia. It was the most points the Vols have given up since 1995's 62-37 loss in Gainesville.
"We pretty much got our butts kicked by our biggest rival," Vols center Josh McNeil said.
The Vols ran for 37 yards on 21 carries. They had minus-11 rushing yards against Florida last year and 66 two years ago.
"You can't do too many things when you can't run the football," UT senior tight end Chris Brown said.
You can't do too many things when you give up 554 yards of total offense, either. Florida had 299 passing yards and 255 on the ground."We cannot continue to give people big plays," Phil Fulmer said. "We cannot help good teams that way, as we did with Cal and Florida."
The defense has to make tackles. Jonathan Hefney needs to step up and be the All-American caliber player he was hyped to be before the season. He's supposed to be the leader in the secondary and has looked awful all season.
Something needs to change damn it! Lack of running offense aside, we damn sure can't give up that much yardage.
The 72,516 fans at Memorial Stadium did their best to provide a homefield advantage resembling Neyland Stadium's edge, packing Strawberry Canyon well before kickoff and out-shouting the 10,000 Volunteer fans packed into the south endzone. Bears fans shouted at the top of their lungs when DeSean Jackson scampered 77 yards for his sixth career punt return for a touchdown. Jackson led the 12th-ranked Golden Bears as they avenged last season's humiliating loss to the No. 15 Volunteers with a 45-31 victory Saturday night.
Justin Forsett rushed for 156 yards and a score, and Nate Longshore passed for 241 yards and two TDs as the Bears (1-0) racked up the most points scored against the Volunteers in 12 years to win the opening weekend's only matchup between ranked schools. Tennessee's first trip to the West Coast since 1997 was hardly encouraging for coach Phillip Fulmer's defense, which hadn't given up this many points since a 62-37 loss to Florida in 1995.
Cal led 38-21 early in the third quarter. But the Volunteers pulled within seven points on Daniel Lincoln's field goal in the opening minute of the fourth at 38-31. Then Forsett's TD run with 9:10 to play pushed Cal back to a comfortable lead. Tennessee's no-huddle offense finally bogged down in the fourth quarter and the Cal defense finished off the Bears' eighth straight home victory since 2005.
Erik Ainge had 271 yards passing and three TD throws despite an injured finger. Ainge wore a white wrap on two fingers of his throwing hand after injuring his pinkie during practice this week. The senior was exceptionally sharp while completing 14 of his first 15 throws. Arian Foster rushed for 89 yards and Chris Brown caught two TD passes from Ainge.
The Volunteers also had a scare with 4:10 to play when starting defensive end Xavier Mitchell left the field on a stretcher with his neck immobilized after a hard tackle. Tennessee had no immediate word on the nature of the senior's injury.
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