Last year Tennesse put a big whooping on Cal that was much worse than the final score indicated as Cal managed late meaningless scores. Unfortunately, this years Cal team probably has revenge on its mind.
From: UTSPORTS.COM
Tennessee and California have met three times previously on the gridiron, with all meetings taking place in Knoxville. The Bears posted a 27-17 win in 1977, and the Vols triumphed over Cal by a score of 38-12 in 1987. Most recently, in last year’s season-opener, UT defeated California 35-18 in Neyland Stadium.
One of Tennessee’s biggest special teams challenges heading into the 2007 season is the effort to replace departed placekicker James Wilhoit. A four-year starter for the Vols from 2003-06, Wilhoit ranks second on the school’s all-time scoring chart with 325 career points.
Junior punter Britton Colquitt earned first-team All-SEC honors a year ago and enters 2007 as the SEC's top punter according to the league's head coaches.
Following Tennessee’s practice on Friday, Aug. 24, head coach Phillip Fulmer announced that seniors Erik Ainge, Jonathan Hefney, Xavier Mitchell and Eric Young would serve as the Vols’ captains for the California game.
Quarterback Erik Ainge enjoyed a tremendously productive junior year in 2006 that saw him rank among the national leaders in numerous passing categories and climb in the UT records book.
Tennessee’s defense has allowed just six opposing ballcarriers to rush for at least 100 yards in the last 37 games. During that span, the opponents’ top rusher has averaged 77.2 yards per game.
Senior free safety Jonathan Hefney has a chance to stand atop Tennessee’s all-time list for starts by a position player,* as he enters 2007 with a streak of 36 consecutive starts.
Cornerback Eric Berry is one of the top three cornerbacks on the Vols’ defensive depth chart coming out of summer camp and could join select company if he is given the start at California. Berry would be the first defensive player and only the third player overall in the Philip Fulmer era to start a season-opener as a true freshman.
It always scares me when our pre-season press is talking about our kickers. Sure General Neyland made it plain that football is a game that consists of controlling territory . And the kicking game is a huge part of that. But is that all we have?
We couldn't stop Penn State's running game back on January 1st. Have we gotten that figured out now?
Is Berry that good at cornerback? Or are our other cornerback's that bad?
Tune in Saturday night and we will see if any of these questions are answered.
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