Dooley and Vols look for “John Hancock” moment at Arkansas

John Hancock served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is remembered for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence, so much so that the term "John Hancock" has become, in the United States, a synonym for “signature”.  According to legend, Hancock signed his name largely and clearly so that King George could read it without his spectacles.

Derek Dooley and the Tennessee Volunteers (4-5, 0-5) will travel to Fayetteville Arkansas to play the 8^th ranked Razorbacks (8-1, 4-1) on Saturday and will be looking for more than their first SEC win of the season.

 

Every new coach that succeeds at his new school has a “signature win” that lets the team, the fan base and the college football world that he is “the guy” for the job and that his team is on its way back to the top.  Derek Dooley is still looking for that win. 

Last season’s near win at LSU might have been that win, so too the Music City Bowl in Nashville could have served that purpose well.  Unfortunately for Dooley and the Vols, both games were losses and a slew of injuries in 2011 have made sure that the big win that Big Orange fans crave, remains at arm’s length.

   

Saturday’s opponent offers an interesting opportunity for Dooley and the Vols.  The Arkansas program has provided several recent coaches their signature wins and even a close call for Vanderbilt’s James Franklin just two weeks ago. 

The 2005 Florida Gators had their share of wins for new coach Urban Meyer including defeating 4^th ranked Georgia in a close game in Alltel Stadium that many would have seen as a signature win.  Florida owns Georgia recently however, and even though the Gators won that game, it was the Bulldogs that represented the East and eventually won the 2005 SEC Championship. 

In 2006, the Gators defeated Tennessee in Knoxville, but for the same reasons Georgia can’t be a signature win for a new Gator coach, the win against a Tennessee team that ended up losing four games in 2006 can’t be looked at that favorably either.  

Later that season the Gators defeated 9^th ranked LSU but then fell to 11^th ranked Auburn the following week.  Questions still remained for the Gators until the SEC Championship game when the Gators beat 8^th ranked Arkansas 38-28 on way to their first SEC Championship since 2000 and eventual National Championship win against Ohio State.

Gene Chizik got his signature win in his second season with the Auburn Tigers during their undefeated run to the National Championship.  Auburn had begun the season 6-0, including a win over then 12^th ranked South Carolina which many would argue could have been that win for Chizik, but the eight point victory over a Gamecock team that hadn’t yet proven itself still made many on the plains nervous when the 12^th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks rolled into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.  Chizik and the Tigers answered the critics however with a 65-43 romp that let everyone know Auburn was for real and their QB Cam Newton was the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. 

When Nick Saban joined Alabama in 2007, he didn’t have as much to prove as Chizik and Meyer.  Everyone knew Saban was a winner, having won a National Title at LSU before his stint in the NFL.  Alabama simply wanted Saban to win, and even though 2007 saw the Tide lose four of their last five games to finish 6-6, it was the 3-0 start (the fifth Alabama coach since 1900 to start 3-0), which concluded with a 41-38 win over 16^th ranked Arkansas that propelled the Tide to a 6-2 start and set the stage for Saban to recruit well and finish the 2008 season 12-0 and win an SEC and National Championship in 2009.

Now, I’m not saying that a win over Arkansas on Saturday will lead to a 2012 National Title for the Vols, but recent history does show that it takes a big signature win to get a program back on track and reach that level. 

If Tennessee wins at 8^th ranked Arkansas and finishes the 2011 season with wins against Vanderbilt, Kentucky and a bowl opponent still to be determined, the 8-5 record would certainly make Vol Nation much more comfortable going into 2012. 

The Arkansas Razorbacks program has certainly done its share to build up SEC programs and new head coaches.  In fact, every Vol fan remembers the Razorbacks role in the Vols’ 1998 National Championship season. The “stumble and fumble” moment could be considered as garish and bold as a large fanciful signature on a document declaring Independence from your former King.   

What’s one more “John Hancock” moment between old friends? 

As 2010 Ends, Vols and Fans Should Embrace Future

The 2010 football season has come to a close for the Tennessee Volunteers.  New head coach Derek Dooley and the Vols finished 6-7 after the Music City Bowl “loss” to North Carolina and now they look toward the future. 

I for one am ready to do the same.

A week ago as the Vols were preparing for the bowl game everyone thought that after the game the Vols would be looking for their fourth defensive coordinator in as many years.  Rumors swirled that Justin Wilcox was leaving for Texas.

Most signs pointed to this happening.  Dooley gave comments that suggested he was already aware and annoyed at the prospect, saying that “a thousand other coaches want a job at Tennessee” and that he wasn’t worried about finding replacements for any coach that may leave. 

Texas’ search for a coordinator just suddenly stopped, suggesting “their guy” was going to wait until after his current team’s bowl game was over to make the move. 

I even spoke briefly with Wilcox in the lobby of the team hotel on Thursday, thanking him for being at Tennessee, “this year” and thought that the look he gave me as he shook my hand and thanked me for being in Nashville to support the team, suggested he was gone.

Well, he’s not.  Vols 1   Coaching Changes 0. 

As I write this, there are rumors that Graduate Assistant Peter Sirmon is about to receive a full time slot on the Vols staff.  This would be a good thing, but would mean someone is on the way out.  Most insiders say they have heard nothing of anyone leaving.  Only time will tell.

The Vols need stability.  They need it in the coaching offices, they need it in the weight room and they need it in the classroom as the next several months play out. 

The 2011 Vols will see more freshmen join the team and more than likely, more freshmen start and play in games.  In 2010, the Vols played 16 true freshmen at various times of the season.

Looking at the depth chart, the Vols may have 5 senior starters on the entire team in 2011. 

The Vols’ first opponents in 2011 are the Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse Montana Grizzles. 

The 2011 Grizzlies return 15 starters – seven on both offense and defense, and kicker/punter Brody McKnight. UM returns 45 lettermen from a team that went 7-5 in 2010. 

That is a step down for a Montana program that has been in the hunt for the National Title on their level for the past several years. 

Dooley told the Vols that as they lay in bed not wanting to work this offseason, that they should remember the end of the Music City Bowl and the end of the LSU game and then use that hurt and anger to work to get better.

For a program and its fans that have spent too much time looking back and casting blame, I hope everyone is ready to look forward and embrace the future as we forget the recent past.

Tennessee Vols and North Carolina Tar Heels Face Off In Music City

Well, it has been a long season and it’s not over yet.  In fact, some would say that their favorite part of the season is here.  It’s College Bowl Season and for the Tennessee Volunteers (6-6) and their fans that means an instate matchup with a border state rival named the North Carolina Tar Heels (7-5). 

Most young fans would not consider the Tar Heels a rival.  However, the two teams have met 31 times with the Vols holding a 20-10-1 advantage in the series, which hasn’t seen the two meet on the field since 1961 which was a heartbreaking 22-21 loss for the Volunteers.

The current versions of these teams may not know each other well or have a lot in common but there is an eerie similarity in the coach’s records. 

Tennessee’s first year head coach Derek Dooley has an overall record dating back to his years at Louisiana Tech of 23-26.  Butch Davis’ record at the University of North Carolina is 26-23. 

The Tar Heels’ last bowl win was in the 2001 Peach Bowl against Auburn. 

Tennessee’s last bowl win was the 2008 Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.

The Vols have opened as slight underdogs to the Tar Heels.  Various sources have them anywhere from 1.5 to 3 point underdogs which might be good news for the Vols.  Underdogs have won the Music City Bowl in six of the nine games.

The inaugural Music City Bowl was the 1998 edition which pitted Alabama and Virginia Tech.  The Hokies destroyed the Crimson Tide 38-7. 

True Freshman Eli Manning got his career off to a hot start in the Music City Bowl being thrown into action against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the fourth quarter in 2000. Manning led the Rebels to 22 unanswered points in a 49-38 loss. 

The largest crowd in Music City Bowl history is 68,621 which watched the 2007 contest between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Florida State Seminoles. 

This year’s matchup should be a mostly orange affair as the Vols should be the home team, wearing their orange jerseys and a good number of Tennessee fans bought up tickets before the Tar Heels even knew they were going to be attending the bowl.

This brings us to the statistical matchup of the two teams.

The Vols come into the game on a four game winning streak and playing as well as they have all year.  The freshmen and young contributors are starting to gel and Tennessee fans can only wonder how good their team will look after the bowl practices which amount to an extra spring practice session. 

The Vols are averaging 27 points per game while giving up 24.7 on defense. 

The Tar Heels are averaging 24.9 points per game and allowing 22.9 while they have won only one of their last three games heading into the December 30^th matchup with the Vols.

The Vols and Tar Heels shared a common opponent in 2010 and that was the LSU Tigers.   The Tar Heels faced LSU in Atlanta to open the season amid the cheating scandal involving most of their roster.  Since and including the 12 players suspended for that game, the Tar Heels have lost over 32 players this season to either injuries or suspensions at various times.  Obviously some of those players have since returned. 

Tar Heels senior quarterback T.J. Yates is second in the ACC in total offense.  He threw for over 400 yards against LSU, FSU, and NC St., as well as 325 yards against UVA. 

Two key players are injured and are unlikely to be back for the Heels. 

RB Johnny White, who was the Heels most explosive player this season, broke his collarbone in the FSU game and Yates’ favorite target TE Zach Pianalto broke his leg against UVA. 

Baring any injuries in practice, the Vols will have most of their players healthy and ready to play. 

The Vols will not care about personal achievements when they take the field in Nashville but several of them can reach milestones during the game.

Freshman quarterback Tyler Bray who didn’t play meaningful snaps until the second half of the Vols last loss at South Carolina, needs 463 passing yards to reach 2,000 on the season.

Senior wide receiver Denarius Moore should have an easier time with his milestone.  The Vols wide out needs just 88 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the season. 

Junior tailback Tauren Poole should have an even easier time getting his six rushing yards which will have him top the century mark for 2010. 

The Vols under the on field guidance of Tyler Bray should have a pretty easy time throwing the ball around the field against the Tar Heels.  The front seven of the Tar Heels is strong defensively and their quarterback and wide receivers are strong but the defensive backfield will be overmatched against the Vols size and speed. 

Bowl games are oftentimes won by the teams that show up focused and prepared.  Those are staples of Dooley’s game plans.  This game won’t be one that the Vols can show up for and prance to an easy victory, but if they continue what they have been building during the second half of the season, a fifth win in a row and a winning overall record await them.

Prediction:   Tennessee 37  Tar Heels 17 

One last thing, for those fans attending the game, don’t forget about the MusicFest and Battle of the Bands on Wednesday the 29^th from 5-7pm central.  MusicFest is the ultimate party atmosphere downtown the night before the game. Thousands of fans will converge on world-famous 2nd Avenue (corner of 2nd & Broadway) for the outdoor party featuring the bands and cheerleaders of the Tennessee Volunteers and North Carolina Tar Heels.

The band Little Texas will perform a FREE concert prior to the Battle of the Bands. Multiple venues will open their doors to Bowl fans for a memorable downtown event where various genres of live music will be played. Also Zac Brown Band will be performing at Bridgestone Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets for that concert are $25. 

Violations or Not, Above All, Pearl is a Salesman

Orange Light Special, Aisle Four.

Hello, Vol Mart shoppers, we have a special on one redeemed basketball coach over here on aisle four.

Bruce Pearl has had a rough few months. By now you have heard about all the recruiting violations, Bruce lying and then telling the truth about them, the punishments that Bruce has received for them and now its time for everyone to forgive him for them.

A lot of Tennessee fans might have already forgiven him. For those that were holding out, Bruce did what he does best on Monday.

He marketed himself as he always does. He symbolically climbed up on the lunchroom tables all over again and in one 33 word sound byte (which actually wasn’t supposed to be one since he had already asked for cameras to be turned off), he endured himself to any remaining Tennessee fans that were trying to find a reason to not like him as much as they did when he was taking the Vols to the Elite Eight last season.

“I’ve made mistakes, I clearly did, but what I was hoping for was that some other dumbass would get on the front page and take me off the hook,” Pearl said.”I miss Lane Kiffin.”

Bruce Pearl is not only my “homeboy”, he is a genius.

He couldn’t have done a better job at getting on a Vol’s good side if he bought Johnny Majors a round, told Kelley Washington that he is the greatest, handed Peyton Manning another Super Bowl ring, or told Pat Summitt that Geno Auriemma just retired.

Kiffin is still and will forever be public enemy number one for Vol fans. By invoking his name, and while doing so taking a shot at him, Pearl cemented himself as a Vol. He made it clear that he is “one of us”.

Not bad for a guy who has lied, been fined, and been suspended in the last few months.

Now the question is who’s buying?

Tis the Season To Be Fired.

Fa La La La La, La La La La

It’s already happened to Wade Phillips of Dallas, Tim Brewster of Minnesota and Dan Hawkins at the University of Colorado.

Today the Minnesota Vikings fired Brad Childress.

This is the time of year that universities and professional teams out of playoff contention often decide that they can “do better” than their current successes or failures and cut ties with the coaches and coaching staffs that have been working toward the common goal of winning.

Some administrators and general managers make the right decision. Some however do not.

Bottom line, there will be plenty of other people that will be fired this year.

Now I take a few guesses at who those people will or should be.

Vanderbilt - Robbie Caldwell. This was always a one year gig for Caldwell unless he won. 2 games won’t be enough.

Clemson - Dabo Swinney. Clemson made lots of mistakes with their change a few seasons ago. Not only did they fire an established coach and replace him with an unproven guy, but that guy hasn’t produced.

Washington State - Paul Wulff. The Cougars are about to go through a lot of changes in the new Pac 16 Conference. They can’t afford to sit back and not try to show a commitment to winning. Even though Wulff is a homegrown product, they need to act.

West Virginia - Bill Snyder. The Mountaineers haven’t had the success with Snyder that they did with Rich Rod. If they keep Snyder at the helm, they will stay in the middle of the pack in the Big East, which when translated to a REAL Conference, would be near the bottom.

Texas A&M - Mike Sherman. The Aggies turned a bad season around with two upsets of Oklahoma and Nebraska, so this firing will probably not happen. However, Sherman is not the man to lead the Aggies to Conference Championships…regardless what conference that is in the next few years.

USC- Lane Kiffin. Do they really need a reason?

San Francisco 49ers - Mike Singletary. Mike’s deal runs through 2012, but this season’s bad start after a more competitive 2009 is being seen as a step back in the Bay area. It can’t help that the Raiders are playing better.

Carolina Panthers - John Fox. Fox won’t be back next year, and it looks like he might not make it until the end of the season. The Panthers are 1-9 and the only saving grace is that the players haven’t given up on him.

Cincinnati Bengals - Marvin Lewis. The Bengals are awful. How can a team with the offensive fire power that they have, be playing that poorly? They should be either killing teams or at least winning high scoring games. They aren’t. They are 2-8.

Denver Broncos - Josh McDaniels was 8-8 in his first season and 3-6 so far in 2010, McDaniels also had a public dispute with a former QB which should have been kept in the locker room. I’m not sure if the Broncos’ ownership will give up on him this quickly, but it should.

Who do you think will or should be fired as we finish up 2010?

Post your comments below.

Predictions come easy this time of year.

It’s November in the Volunteer State and that means winning football is here again.

Since Phillip Fulmer took over the reins of the Volunteer’s program fulltime in 1993, Tennessee has had a record of 59-11 in the month of November and has not had a losing record in the month since 1973 (1-2).

This season’s final two opponents are a combined 1- 49 against the Vols in the last twenty-five years.

In 2010, Vanderbilt and Kentucky have their own recent histories plaguing them. We’ll look at those problems as we take a look at predicting the final two REGULAR SEASON games for the Vols.

Saturday November 20th Nashville Tennessee 7:30 Eastern Time
Tennessee (4-6, 1-5) at Vanderbilt (2-8, 1-6)
Tennessee has found itself of late with true freshman Tyler Bray at quarterback and a patchwork defensive secondary that has shown statistical improvement, all be it against inferior competition compared to the month of October’s schedule.

The Vols have scored 102 points in the last two games while holding their opponents to just 28 in 50-14 and 52-14 wins over Memphis and Ole Miss.

Vanderbilt is averaging 18 points per game on offense (12.29 in SEC Games), and they are allowing 31.6 points per game (35.29 in SEC contests).

Uh oh.

To make things worse on the Commodores, Tyler Bray has more passing touchdowns in the last two weeks (10), than the Vanderbilt offense has all season (9).

Double Uh oh. Want more bad news?

Last week in a 38-20 loss to Kentucky, the Vanderbilt defense gave up 263 yards……….on FOUR PLAYS.

Tennessee’s offense the last two weeks has gained and 509 and 441 yards respectively.

Seen enough? Me too.

Tennessee: As much as they want. (52)
Vanderbilt: 10

Now we move to the final home game of the season.

Saturday November 27th Knoxville Tennessee 12:21 Eastern Time
Kentucky (6-5, 2-5) at Tennessee (5-6, 2-5)* [*Predicted record]

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Tennessee beats Kentuc……. Oh, you HAVE heard that one?

Well, I guess you have. Tennessee has beaten the MILDcats twenty five straight seasons, 12 straight in Knoxville, 29 times in my 31 years on this planet, and 41 times in the last 45 years.

Seen enough? Me too…..but, I won’t leave you hanging without some statistical nuggets.

Mmmmm Nuggets.

You’ve already seen the gaudy offensive numbers that Tennessee has been putting up as of late and they should continue against Vanderbilt. What you don’t know are Kentucky’s numbers.

The MILDcats, (EVERY Tennessee fan should refer to them as this….if Ole Miss can adopt a black bear as a mascot, Tennessee can adopt a new name for a team that they own.) are averaging 34.7 points per game (28.57 in the SEC) and allowing 28.9 (34.6 against SEC opponents).

What that tells me sports fans, is that Kentucky’s four non-conference wins helped to pad their statistics, MILDcats fan’s expectations and Vol fan’s reservations.

Do not be fooled Tennessee fans; this IS your father’s Kentucky team. Hell, it’s your grandfather’s Kentucky team, and that STILL means a Vols win.

Tennessee: 41
Kentucky: 24

That will give Tennessee a 6-6 record and a trip to a bowl game.

Remember when Mike Hamilton canceled the series with North Carolina for next season because the Vols needed to “lighten the load”?

Too bad Mike.

Vols vs. North Carolina in the Music City Bowl in Nashville December 30th 5:30pm Eastern.
Tennessee: 37
Whoever Might Still Be Eligible (UNC): 24

Wins are good, but Friends Make a Game Great.

So this was just going to be another Tennessee football game for me. Game number 103 in person, and the 76th game at Neyland Stadium on a day after the new statue honoring one of the greatest coaches of all time was dedicated on the west side of the stadium bearing his name.

TJ McNamara who owns www.bringhomethevols.com and this site www.tradingo.com had told me ahead of time that he would have passes for me that would get me into the Tennessee Terrace.

That was going to be a nice addition to my game day ritual. I had never been inside the Tennessee Terrace, and quite frankly, being of modest means, I probably wasn’t going to be seeing the Terrace anytime soon.

My wife and I headed up to the Terrace before the gates opened to the public to help TJ with a set up for the bleachers and seats that he sells from Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium. The Terrace was great. It’s clean, neat and has better concessions than the rest of the stadium. My wife and I who normally sit close to the Terrace in the upper deck had just planned on using the passes to use cleaner restrooms and have better food choices.

That is until TJ sent me a message in the 1st quarter. TJ invited us over to the East sideline luxury boxes.
This was another place that I wasn’t going to be seeing anytime soon without the great friendship of TJ.

The Vols were already up 21-0 after Eric Gordon’s 46 yard interception return and here we were riding an elevator up to the highest level of the stadium and Aramark’s box, which is owned by VP of Operations Tim VanderMeersch.

Tim, his wife and the rest of his box were gracious enough to allow two people that they hadn’t met to experience a Tennessee game in a way that few fans can say that they have. It was a pleasure to meet him and I very much appreciate his hospitality.

We weren’t in the box very long before we noticed that we knew people in the box beside Tim’s.
Carter County Sherriff Chris Mathis who went to school with my wife’s brother and Keith Bowers who is the Carter County attorney and was recently hired by Bluff City to be their city attorney and his family were enjoying the game just on the other side of the glass.

Back inside Aramark’s box, we were enjoying the game even after Ole Miss scored twice in the second quarter and had cut the Vols’ lead to 28-14.

We were enjoying good conversation, meeting new people, and watching the Vols score just before half to stretch the lead to 31-14.

At halftime, we made our way to the area to get the complimentary food, and just before heading back to the box, we noticed former Vol QB and United States Congressman Heath Shuler. My wife is a Redskins fan so of course she had her picture made with him. Congressman Shuler was an absolute joy to talk to and could not have been friendlier.

Back inside Tim’s box, we were meeting new people and making new friends.

In a world where fans of SEC teams can come together to enjoy one other’s company, former Ole Miss’ football player and track athlete Lawrence Goodine and his wife (who are expecting a child) were also in Tim’s box.

Lawrence was taking the rough game in stride and was a pleasure to get to know. By this time, the Vols were up 38-14 and would add two more scores to win the game 52-14.

On a day that the Vols won their first SEC game and moved one step closer to earning a bowl game invite while piling up 442 yards and a season high 52 points as well as seeing freshman Tyler Bray rack up another 323 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, it was the time spent with friends old and new that made me feel like I was backing a winner.

As a fan, wins and losses are an important part of the experience.

But on this fall Saturday, on the banks of the Tennessee River inside of the stadium that Neyland built, I was much more than just a fan of a 4-6 football team.

I was a friend to many, and as wealthy as any person in any sky box.

Thanks to everyone for making Homecoming 2010 a day to remember.