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Georgia and Auburn will have better defenses than UCLA this year, and Alabama will be at least comparable. Georgia, Auburn, and Florida will all have better offenses than UCLA. In other words, the Vols have a lot of big picture issues to figure in an awfully big hurry.
PS -- What was so different about this "Clawfense" offense versus every other UT offense that we've seen for the past 20+ years. I saw some new formations, but it fundamentally looked like the same old thing. Only it was less productive than the Cutcliffe version.
I'm in a giddy state of bliss.
PWD
40 comments:
I usually am all about rooting for SEC teams against everyone else, but I took an undeniable joy in watching Tennessee choke that game away.
Fulmer's in deep shit.
Actually, I was pulling for UT. I figured the Clawfense would have been exposed by AU earlier, and we had a bye week so there was no ill will against UT in this one. Good thing they made the SEC look like crap. One thing that I am sure will be brought up later is that recent history has shown that SEC schools struggle mightily when they have to go out west and play a PAC 10 team on the road. You have to take in to account that Arkie and Auburn both went out to USC while it was under the Pete Carroll regime so that had something to do with it (I believe). Still as much fun as we poke at the PAC 10, one thing I know for certain is that Arizona State is a lot better than UCLA.
Dang, there's 2,000 people on volnation and it's 1AM
Phoenix is about 90-100 minutes by Air further than Fayetteville.
I don't think 90 minutes is going to kill us. If we take them serious and we hydrate properly, we should do really well.
I think that we'll be the trendy pick to be upset and that'll be the attention getter we need.
Dawgs need ASU to beat Stanford on Saturday so we don't over look them.
I hate it for the SEC and us Dawg fans that UTK lost. Especially with the hype the ESPiN talking heads were rattling off about the returning OL for UTK and how tough it would be for UCLA to bust in on their QB Crompton. The UTK OL looked like they'd busted into Fulmers office and stole his stash of doughnuts! They played weak and soft against what turned out to be a very strong UCLA defensive front against the pass. If UTK had stuck to the run, which was working for them despite Foster coughing the ball up in the red zone, they would have walked away with the win.
I don't know what Clawson was thinking with all the pass play calls but you never go away from what's getting you yardage consistently just to look flashy on TV. Clawson looked overwhelmed and indecisive many times when they showed him on the camera during the game. Maybe it was first game butterflies...I don't know.
And how do you allow your defense to play soft in the final minutes of the game and give cushion to the UCLA receivers? UTK had problems on both sides of the ball tonight and they made their kicker out to be the goat. The game should have never been his to win in the first place.
The ESPN message board is crawling with Pac-10 fans triumphantly beating their chests to the utter dominance of their ENTIRE conference. Almost makes me regret rooting for UCLA...almost...
- SavDawg -
I wouldn't be that hard on this UT team yet.. No they did not look very good, but I really think most of the loss falls on the playcalling and the poor game by Crompton. Tennessee's defense played well enough to win, but on offense they simply did not run the ball enough and Crompton was inefficent. Tennessee got completely outcoached in this game and they didn't take advantage of oppurtunities in the 1st half. Having said that, I'm glad they lost. I hate them
I'm blown away by the fact that on January 30th, there were over 44,000 people on the Rivals UT board at the same time.
44 THOUSAND. Good God..
You really think Auburn will have a better offense than UCLA? 27 passing yards through 3 quarters against La Monroe begs to differ.
This game just goes to show you how much you can take from a pre-season game.
Crompton looked like Ainge Jr. in that one.
But, at UCLA, he was a joke.
Just a thought...
Since 2001, UGA is:
62-5-0 when scoring more than 20
45-3-0 when scoring more than 30
22-0-0 when scoring more than 40
3-0-0 when scoring more than 50
Seems like 30 points is just about the magic number we need to hit.
But, that 20+ record isn't bad at all.
Paul, you nailed what surprised me the most about the game - the (lack of) clawfense. Granted, I spent more time watching the UGA vs GSU replay than I originally expected, so I didn't see the whole game.
But it looked like the same UT offense since forever too me. I didn't pay close enough attention to individual play calls to notice if there were any subtler changes.
PWD,
You have just made my Tuesday! I couldn't finish the game last night. I went to bed with UT winning and driving for another score! And now you brighten my day with this surprise!!! I NEVER EVER pull for Tennessee, not against Florida, nt against Auburn, not against Tech, not against the Taliban...
Obviously they won't play like that against us. They'll look like USC against us, but I am relishing this moment!!
Crompton looked awful for long stretches in the game. But, for the life of me, I can't figure out why Tennessee abandoned the running game. They ran for 5 ypc, but they passed the ball 42 times compared to 34 rushes (of which only 25 went to Hardesty or Foster). If they continue that balance, Tennessee will finish with five or six losses.
RE: Auburn's offense
Yeah, I don't know where that came from. We'll see. I may have pulled that out of my butt.
Think about what Urban Meyer is feeling right now. 59-20? That was a good game compared to what UF can do to Tennessee this year. UCLA will be in the bottom half of the PAC-10, and they hung in with UT when they should have been dominated. Meyer can't wait, I promise.
Just a note: The kicker was 1 for 4 missing 3 (what turned out to be) game winning field goals and could have potentially put the game away earlier.
BobcatDog summed it up. Waking up to a VOL choke fest on the DVR made my day!
Hey -
It seems whenever Tennessee plays anyone but us, they choke and make mistakes and blow the game. A blocked punt for a touchdown, three missed field goals, fumbled snap, interception, a fumble inside the opponents ten. They left over 20 points on the table...
I wouldn't count on the same thing in Athens, but I'll sure take it. Just seems to usually go down that way.
Guys,
Don't laugh at the Vols and shout "schadenfreude" just yet. They'll be ready by the time we play 'em 'tween the hedges. Despite their bumblesome first game, they have talent all over the place, except for QB which appears to be an achilles heel. That Hardesty kid can tote it and we all know what their D is capable of doign against the run. Jeesh, I hope we use the short pass to effectively counter their pass rush.
I remember thinking last year how much the Vols sucked after taking a beating from Cal and then thinking how easy it would be for us to beat them.
As much as I'm thrilled they lost last night, I'm not ready to assume they're gonna suck through SEC conference play (especialy against us) again.
Hilariously awful no-call on the downfield linemen during UCLA's last drive in regulation. I have no idea how you can possibly miss that. Even Penn Wagers would have gotten that right. UCLA might as well have had 20 guys on the field.
UT looked a lot like UGA circa '06. Playing for the FG, general farting around in the other team's side of the field, giving up big yards at the most inopportune time. If Willie can't figure out the Vol offense this time, I don't think he ever will.
I'm glad Arian Foster's mom could provide me with a morning laugh...
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=7&f=1372&t=2904742
Awesome melt
I agree that the UT game this year is put up or shut up time for WM. On a side note, did anyone else think it was strange that UT changed the wristbands with the plays in the middle of the game? I remember after UT beat Cal in 06 a story coming out about how they had figured something out on Cal's defensive signals. Then, the story just disappeared. That, coupled with them shredding our D the last two years by basically lining up, then looking over to figure out the play after we'd lined up, really made me wonder if maybe they didn't have something on our signals. Then this paranoia with the wristbands. I'm not saying anything's going on, I just thought it was all curious, that's all.
You CANNOT whine all summer about how Georgia and Florida is getting all the pub and nobody respects you, and then lose the very first game of the season to a team which throws 4 INTs in the 1st half.
anon 9:02
I did not think the non call was ridiculous at all.
Whoever was doing the broadcast (Craig James?) screamed it when it first happened, but on the replay, the blue line, the LINE OF SCRIMMAGE line was cutting the receiver in half. I would assume it is the same as a quarterback, you have to be PAST the los.
If the pass is not completed past the line of scrimmage, the linemen can be whereever they want to be.
I'm no vols fans, but they got screwed on several calls.
That was definitely a safety that got spotted on the 1.
On UCLA's second to last TD, the running back did NOT break the plane with the ball.
The illegal man downfield no-call was so bad, I don't know where to start. The umpire was in perfect position to call it and didn't.
That being said, ut still blew this game. In OT, I told my girlfriend, "Tennesssee's field goal luck has to run out sooner or later."
Bingo...
dawg19
I think he did break the plane.
the plane extends beyond the pylon, and his arm was inbounds.
Its a bad rule, and the nfl has changed it, but in college, that is still a td.
For all of the reasons already mentioned, UT lost this game. However, in my mind it came down to allowing a marginal UCLA offense to drive the field in just over a minute and score the go ahead TD. Yes, UT tied the game and sent it into OT, but it never should've come down to that.
All I can say to Willie Martinez, I hope you were watching and let this be a reminder as to what happens when you decide to play the cover 2 defense late in the game because we've been on the losing end from it before.
How classic! The volnation thinks last night's loss embarrassed the SEC and not their normal toothless, sister kissing, convict jumpsuit wearing ways.
p.s. florida sucks
PWD- don't get ahead of yourself... The Vols lost to Cal to open the season last year and still romped us....
dawgnotdog, his left arm break the plane but the football was in the OTHER arm. The football has to cross the line inbounds.
No, the football does not.
That is why the rule is bad....
He was not considered OOB until his arm hit the pylon, and by that time the ball was past the plane extending beyond the sidelines.
Again, bad rule, and the NFL has changed it (based primarily on a few Michael Vick plays), but in college dat was a score.
I just noticed UT has a brtual schedule early on. Florida, Auburn, UGA. They could be 2-4 by the time they hit Miss State.
While I hate the Vols, I don't like them losing, on national television, to a Pac-10 team...
This is a big issue for us this year since its very possible we will be campaigning for a 1-loss invitation to the Big Game based on the strength of our schedule versus the other contenders, namely OhSU and USC...
In short, we need SEC teams to look dominant in ALL non-conf games (thank you Bama)
Go Dawgs! Get well soon, Jeff!
Since we've had our butts handed to us by the Vols two years in a row, I'll save my trash-talking until after we beat them this year.
However...
How awesome is it that they lost on a missed field goal after winning so many games (Kentucky and Vandy for sure; South Carolina, too?) on opponents' missed field goals?
Karma made Fulmer her bitch last night.
Just pisses me off more about UT's SCU-Vandy-UK stretch last year.
Dawgnotdog...
Thanks for the correction.
Indeed...it's a dumb rule. I thought for sure it was always where the ball is...not the body.
Any time UT loses is a good thing. But this reminds me so much of last year and UT's loss to Cal. Then we still couldn't get it done.
We have a bye week before we play UT, so hopefully this year will be different.
-Cambios
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