Week 9.........South Carolina @ Tennessee

[E.T.G.]

Surprised but not shocked are my feelings today. I thought Vandy was the play this week just wanted a little better line. I ranted last week about the 2nd half vs. UNC and this game was UNC all over again, just for 4 quarters and not 2. SC was playing with borrowed time and eventually it was going to catch up with them, I thought UT would be the team to do it, not Vandy. Credit to Vandy, they played hard and they broke the code on how to defend the SC offense. Double Kenny, cover Cook, and rush 6.

Problems with SC:

• 6 quarters without a TD
• 2/23 on 3rd down in the last 6 quarters
• 3 different players making starts at guard in the last 6 quarters
• Turnovers
• Ineffectiveness of QB's
• Playcalling

Once again, the playcalling has me clueless. Who am I to question Spurrier 2 weeks in a row. I don't know, I do know that the following play selection is absolute garbage.

1) first and 10 from the Vandy 20yd line. Got here because of a punt return and it is right before half but enough time to run the offense. Play #1 = Screen to McKinnley which in turn is a double pass to TE Weslye Saunders. Now my issue with this play is that there is not enough field to run it, the back of the endzone is a 12th defender and you are not fooling anyone since its the only trick play we run. Why we didn't run the ball on 1st down blows my mind.

2) 2nd drive of the 3rd quarter with the score 17-6. Smelly is at QB and on this drive the Cocks have gone 9 plays for 63yds, most of it on the ground. Play #1 from the 20yd line is a pass to McKinnley who is double covered. There was no reason to pass here since we had run the ball perfectly and Smelley didn't make a read, he threw to a spot because there were 2 guys there and the guy underneath was open. From and I-Formation we call an audible to a 2 man route?

I can go on and on about the playcalling like why we threw on the 1st three downs of the 3rd quarter and every drive after that. Spurrier wasted the 3rd quarter so we had no choice but to throw in the 4th. Throwing for us is a problem and has been all yr. When you have exactly 1 WR and 2 QB's who lack the ability to make all the reads and throws it is a bit much to drop back 50 times, especially when you are not a passing team. Going down 17-0 in the 1st quarter wasn't that bad because there were 3 more quarters to chip away. We never chipped away just looked for the home run.

When you have 4-5 guards for 2 spots and you rotate them every week all the way into the 8th week of the season, the OL never has a chance to gel. They get a lot of flack but honestly they can't hold up for 12 seconds like the QB's want them to. They made holes to run through and protection would breakdown at times but it wasn't as bad as people want to make it. The playcalling and QB's were far worse.

Cory Boyd: 5rushes -49yds. Why he didn't get the ball more often blows my mind. Yea, he coughed a ball up in the 1st quarter, about the only time it will happen this yr but all of his runs were meaninful and picked up a lot good yards. When we had drives it is cause we ran the ball to get things started.

I didn't think we were #6 in the country nor top 10 and well we proved it this weekend. The Vandy game leaves a lot more questions than answers. We look like the NCAA version of the Chicago Bears. The defense plays good ( they gave up 17pts but Vandy got the ball inside our 35 for 10 of those points on turnovers), special teams play is good, and the offense is outright horrible to watch.

Now on to Tennesee. I never saw that beatdown coming, a loss, maybe, but not what happened in that game. Tennessee plays no defense at all but SC plays no offense so we have a push.

I got no clue what to make the line on this game, SC should not be favored on the road but Tennessee shouldn't be laying too much either. Customary -3 for homefield?

There are going to be some issues for SC on defense. We like to rotate a lot of guys and UT runs a no huddle.

Stoney Woodson who hasn't played the last 2 weeks is needed vs. Tennessee. There is a major dropoff when we put 5-6 DBacks in the game and true frosh Addison Williams has to play instead of Stoney Woodson. UNC and Vandy have both attacked him for TD's.

I will have more on this game in the coming week like practice updates and more thoughts on Tennessee.

The SEC-East is a 5 team race since SC pissed away their chance to take full control of it. Every conference game down this stretch is so important.

With 4 games left on the schedule, I thought 3-1 was doable but now I am scratching my head. The offense is painful to watch and unless we do what we do best (play defense, win special teams, don't turn it over, grind out yards) its going to be a long 4 games.

If you want to beat SC:

1)Make them drive the length of the field......Impatience will certainly show and you can force the offense into a mistake

2)Win field position battle

3)Double Kenny McKinnley

4)Rush 6 guys

5)Load up the left side of the line. It is where we run 80% of our plays.


It is not a hard blueprint to follow or execute.

 

[E.T.G.]

Forgot to mention;

Spurrier opened a can of worms playing Blake. Now we will go to Tennessee with no QB. There is no starter named yet and neither one played like they wanted the job. When he decided to go with Smelley it was a move for next yr to get him valuable playing time, let him learn from his mistakes, gain some confidence. I think Spurrier was planning ahead for UT and was looking for Blake to be an answer for the road game because he didn't feel like Smelley could handle the crowd and such. Why else change a QB that went 4-0 as a starter, most of which came at home.

Stoney Woodson is a huge key on defense vs. Tennessee. A vertern QB like Ainge will pick on true frosh Addison Williams if he is in the game. It is not in SC's best interest to get into a pissing match with UT, no matter how bad they play defense because our offense is just as bad at the moment.

 

[RetroVK]

Great analysis of what happened saturday and of the major concerns of this team going forward. Spurrier is one of the best play callers in the history of football but I agree with you 100 percent that he has made suspect play calls the last few weeks. The good news is that with all the struggles on offense the defense has continued to perform at a high level despite seeing considerable amounts of time on the field and being put on the wrong side of field position.

As a side note ... I think your analysis here gives you increased credibility... not that you were lacking any but with the gamecocks as your home team , it is nice to see objective analysis of their weaknesses. I can talk to homers all day about what their teams do well, and thank you for including analysis that one does not get from a "homer thread".

look forward to your thoughts on what the gamecock gameplan will be offensively and defensively for the upcoming game with the vols.

 

[E.T.G.]

Thanks VK. Good to see I'm not alone on the playcalling. It has been disastorous the last 2 weeks. SC played a miserable 1st half and still on the 2nd drive of the 3rd quarter, had the shot to make it a 17-13 game and 17-9 at the minimum. I think it is very concerning that Smelley made the throw he did. He has done this before, vs. Miss St, at the 20 on 3rd down he went for the endzone when being flushed from the pocket and makes an errant throw to the endzone which was picked. Instead of throwing it away and giving the offense 3points, he took the offense out of scoring position. That is the inexperience of a RS-Frosh and it was a crucial decision on 1st down which ended up killing all the hope SC had. It was also a questionable call at best to throw it there.


Reading the SC rivals forums has driven me nuts today.

Some of the rationale I've seen are "it was just an upset", "if we play 10 times, we win 9 of them", "its 1 loss get over it", "it we only beat clemson I'll be happy" and "we are still #15"

Its flat out annoying going back and forth with these garnet and black blind fans. UNC showed us we had issues, Vandy made them a real problem. I think if SC and Vandy played 10 times, we might win 6 of them given the state of our offense. I think if we go 6-1 to 7-5 that it is a miserable year. I think labeling this game as "upset" and only that is a way of comforting the loss and ignoring the real issues we have. I think people take solace in the fact of some stupid fuken ranking which is impossible to justify.

SC is going to try to beat UT like they beat UGA. Run the clock out, keep UT offense off the field, give the defense the needed rest, play the field position game, don't ask the offense to do too much, keep it low scoring.

As far as the starting QB goes, I got no idea who is going to get the nod. Does he have a competition this week for it? Smelley's inexperiene is clearly a problem. Both QB's lock onto Kenny McKinnley. Blake looks for the RB-Dump off 60% of the time. Neither QB is that mobile and neither QB makes quick enough decisions. If Steven Garcia was not out keying professors cars in the spring, he wouldn't be redshirting right now. I do think playing Mitchell this week is a telling sign that Spurrier feels he needs Blake down this stretch. I think HBC wanted Blake to do well so that he had no problem sliding him into the starting role vs. UT. At this point, I am not sure who I favor. Maybe play the 5th yr senior because the next 2 games are on the road and conference games.

I want Spurrier to pick 1 QB and go with him though. I am not a fan of switching QB's and neither is the OL which picked up 4-5 false starts AT HOME!!#@@ Imagine on the road, that would be about 8 of them.

The only bright note is the improvement of special teams in the return game and the defense. After losing Jasper and Nathan Pepper, I thought a lot of trouble was on the horizon but they have played sound defense. 5 of the top 6 tacklers are sophomores so its encouraging. Our DT is a true frosh and one of our LB's is a true frosh. We play about 4-5 frosh for significant time on defense. We will lose 1 meaningful player on defense this yr, Casper Brinkley.

 

[E.T.G.]

Phil Fulmer was so eager to erase the memory of Saturday's 41-17 lopsided loss to Alabama from Tennessee's collective memory he did something yesterday that he rarely does – conduct a Sunday night practice.

Fulmer, Tennessee's head coach for 15 years, hopes the strategy will work as the frustrated Volunteers begin preparations for the high-stakes clash with South Carolina Saturday at 7:45 p.m. at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.

"We want to get (the Alabama game) behind us and out of our system," Fulmer said. "We're going to watch the tape (Sunday) night and practice (Sunday) night, get the corrections made, and go from there."

The loser is virtually eliminated from the SEC East race, while the winner remains alive. At least two teams will have just two losses after this weekend.

Fulmer, 91-30 since taking over from Johnny Majors as Tennessee's head coach with four games remaining in the 1992 season, typically gives his players Sunday off before resuming workouts on Monday for the next opponent.

Tennessee received another dose of bad news on Sunday night when second leading rusher Montario Hardesty, a sophomore from New Bern, N.C., failed to show up for practice.

According to a published report on Volquest.com, "nothing about the situation sounds encouraging at the moment in regards to his status and what it says about the state of the team at the moment."

Hardesty, who had carried the ball 30 times for 148 yards and a touchdown in consecutive wins over Georgia and Mississippi State, did not play in Saturday's loss to Alabama, something Fulmer blamed on the large number of 'open sets' used by Tennessee.

"I spoke to him just briefly after the game," Fulmer said. "He wasn't very happy, but this isn't the right way to make that presentation. It's disappointing. He should be here with his teammates."

The bitter defeat to the Crimson Tide in one of the nastiest rivalries in the SEC dropped Tennessee to 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the conference.

Will Fulmer be coaching for his job on Saturday night? It's possible.

Alabama rolled up 510 yards on offense against the soft Tennessee defense, with quarterback John Parker Wilson connecting on 32 of 46 passes for a career high 363 yards and three touchdowns.

The Crimson Tide dominated time of possession, controlling the ball for over 38 minutes, and outscored Tennessee, 24-3, over the final 32 minutes of the game, including 17-0 in the second half.

"When you play a team like (Alabama), you have to play as a team and we did not do that," Fulmer said. "We didn't get ourselves off the field defensively. Alabama's passing game really bothered us a lot. Overall, we got out butts handed to us. There were some positive things that came out of the game but certainly a good number of negative things as well."

These are troubling times in Tennessee. Some UT fans are clearly dissatisfied with how the 2007 season has unfolded. However, the Vols play the next four games in the friendly confines of 108,000-seat Neyland Stadium, starting with Saturday's meeting with the No. 15 Gamecocks.

"I think it's great to be home four games in a row," Fulmer said.

As a result of the inconsistent start by Tennessee, the tension in Vols Nation is thick enough you can cut it with a knife. Tennessee closes the 2007 campaign with games against Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

Since the start of the 2005 season, Tennessee is 10-10 in conference play, 18-13 overall. The Volunteers have played in two bowl games on New Years Day in the last five seasons.

In Big Orange Country, that's not good enough.

Most of the blame for Tennessee's troubles this season must be placed squarely on a defense that ranks 11th or worst in the SEC in four of the five major team defensive categories.

The Vols are dead last in the league in scoring defense (32.3 ppg) and pass efficiency defense (133.9 rating), and next-to-last in total defense (406.7 yards per game) and pass defense (249.0 ypg).

Tennessee is starting a pair of freshman in the secondary to go along with Rock Hill, S.C. native Jonathan Hefney, one of the top defensive backs in the SEC.

"We're kind of green and growing back there," Fulmer said. "They're good athletes and we've made some good adjustments, but they're not where a veteran secondary would be."

So far this season, Tennessee has surrendered 45 points to California, 59 to Florida and 41 to an Alabama team that had been averaging 30.1 points in its first seven games. The Vols lost all three games.

"They played hard (against Alabama) and they were playing hard at the end of the ballgame," Fulmer said. "We've got some young guys out there that are having challenges. They get themselves into some bad positions sometimes. We need to get those things tightened up and get back to being ourselves or as close as we can. We need to slow down and make the corrections."

Tennessee is ninth in the SEC in rushing defense, allowing 157.7 yards per game on the ground.

Despite the defensive woes, Fulmer said Sunday he does not plan any changes in personnel.

Offensively, Tennessee has done a little better, ranking second in passing offense (268.9 ypg), fifth in the SEC in rushing (147.6 ypg) and fifth in scoring offense (31.9 ppg).

Erik Ainge, considered one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC, is averaging 256.7 passing yards per game. The only quarterback throwing for more yards is Kentucky QB Andre Woodson. Against Alabama, Ainge was 22-of-35 for 243 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Since Davis Cutcliffe returned to Tennessee as the offensive coordinator prior to the 2006 season, Ainge has completed 66.6 percent (402-of-604) of his passes for 4,786 yards and 32 touchdowns in 19 games.

"Erik Ainge can be the type of player our team rallies around," Fulmer said. "He takes the bull by the horns and makes the plays that can help you win a championship."

Lucas Taylor (43 receptions), the SEC's leading receiver, has battled injuries in recent weeks and managed just two catches for 15 yards against Alabama. He came into the game averaging 6.8 receptions and 103.0 receiving yards per game.

"My feeling is he'll be ready to go by this weekend," Fulmer said.

Leading rusher Arian Foster (625 yards on 110 carries) had 91 yards on 13 carries against Alabama and currently ranks sixth in the conference with an average of 89.3 ypg

 

[E.T.G.]

Hardesty no show for UT workout
Tailback unhappy over lack of carries
By Drew Edwards (Contact)
Originally published 08:46 p.m., October 21, 2007
Updated 11:20 p.m., October 21, 2007

Vol Report

A day after expressing displeasure with a lack of carries in Tennessee's 41-17 loss to Alabama, Tennessee tailback Montario Hardesty did not show up for the team's practice Sunday night.

UT coach Phillip Fulmer said he did not know why the sophomore tailback missed UT's hour-long practice inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center.

"You know, I'm not sure what's going on with Montario," Fulmer said following practice. "His roommate doesn't know where he is. We'll find out and deal with it."

A phone message left Sunday night with Hardesty's brother was not immediately returned.

Hardesty is UT's second-leading rusher this season with 184 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries, despite missing two games with an ankle injury.

Hardesty rushed for 146 of those yards against Mississippi State and Georgia, UT's two games before Alabama.

But after Hardesty did not play Saturday despite being healthy, he expressed his displeasure to Volquest.com immediately following the game.

"(Expletive) you tell me," Hardesty told the website when asked why he did not have a carry against the Crimson Tide.

Tennessee rushed only 19 times against Alabama. When asked why Hardesty did not play, Fulmer said Saturday that LaMarcus Coker and Arian Foster were better fits for the three-wide receiver sets UT ran because of its ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He echoed those comments again Sunday night.

UT running backs coach Kurt Roper said Saturday he "didn't do a good job of getting (Hardesty) in there."

Fulmer said Sunday that Hardesty's lack of carries against Alabama was not for disciplinary reasons.

Fulmer said he spoke with Hardesty briefly after Saturday's game, but did not share details of that conversation.

"He wasn't very happy," Fulmer said. "But this isn't the right way to make that presentation.

"It's disappointing, yeah. He should be here with his teammates."

Wide receiver Kenny O'Neal also missed practice Sunday, however Fulmer said the junior college transfer had "academic business he was taking care of."

 

[E.T.G.]

Without question, Saturday's 17-6 home loss to Vanderbilt left the South Carolina coaches and players disappointed and frustrated.

Discouraged? Not a chance.

Not when the SEC East is wide open with five teams having two losses, and a nationally televised matchup with divisional rival Tennessee (4-3 overall) upcoming this Saturday at 7:45 p.m. (ESPN).

"We're 6-2. We're not going to sit around here and beat ourselves up too badly," USC head coach Steve Spurrier said Sunday during his weekly teleconference with reporters. "We realize that Vanderbilt beat us. The way the game worked out, they certainly did."

USC is tied for first place in the SEC East with Georgia (off) and Florida (45-37 win over Kentucky) with 3-2 records, while the Wildcats and Tennessee are both 2-2.

"It's pretty much wide open. If we win all of our games, we're going to win it," Spurrier said. "We know that right now. We beat Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida two years ago, so that gives us hope it can be done. We just have to go one game at a time and find a way to give ourselves the best chance to win the game."

Right now, there are only two SEC teams with one conference loss – Alabama and LSU. The Crimson Tide trounced Tennessee, 41-17, Saturday in Tuscaloosa, while LSU nipped Auburn, 30-24, on a last-second touchdown.

"There doesn't appear to be any dominant teams yet," Spurrier said. "But we're only halfway through. Everybody has three or four conference games left. It's all pretty close everywhere."

Spurrier must quickly fix an offense that's been leaking oil the last couple of weeks. The Gamecocks haven't scored a touchdown in six quarters dating back to the second half of the 21-15 win over North Carolina.

USC totaled 282 yards, outgaining Vanderbilt by 13 yards. But four turnovers doomed the Gamecocks. The Commodore turned an interception and fumble into 10 points in the first quarter.

"Not much went right for us offensively," Spurrier said. "It was a struggle. We just got beat by a good Vanderbilt team. I don't know what else to say. In the course of a long season, some bad stuff is going to happen and we weren't able to overcome it."

The time has come for USC to return to the type of offense it had earlier this season, Spurrier said, one that features prominently punishing running backs Cory Boyd and Mike Davis.

Davis has just 11 carries for 44 yards in the last two games. Boyd carried five times Saturday for 49 yards, an average of 9.8 yards per carry.

Together, Davis and Boyd had just 11 rushing attempts for 65 yards against the Commodores. Spurrier feels that's not enough.

"There's no question we need to try to get back to what we were doing earlier in the year with Mike and Cory getting a whole bunch of carries," Spurrier said. "That's what we did the latter part of last year. They were getting 14, 15 carries a game."

The fact Vanderbilt was ahead, 17-0, by the end of the first quarter forced USC to throw more than it wanted, Spurrier said. USC threw the ball a season-high 43 times on Saturday compared to 22 runs.

The 2-to-1 pass-to-run ratio is not something Spurrier is looking for.

"Throwing the ball 35, 40 times is probably not what we're best suited to do right now," Spurrier said. "We wanted to give our game plan a chance. Even when we got it off, we didn't hit much."

In the first seven games of the season, USC averaged 32 passes per games. They attempted 11 more passes than their season average on Saturday.

"We thought we could hit some balls here and there," Spurrier said. "But we kept false starting. It was disappointing. That contributed to a dismal offensive day. Every time we changed the play, it seems like somebody was jumping around. It really hadn't happened all year. But we had five yesterday."

Spurrier must, of course, figure out what's wrong with USC's porous offensive line, which struggled mightily in pass protection during Saturday's loss to Vanderbilt.

Surprisingly, Spurrier said tackles Jamon Meredith and Justin Sorensen played worse than the guards on Saturday.

"The tackles weren't very good yesterday at times," Spurrier said.

A number of factors led to the poor showing by the offense yesterday, including a lack of protection (seven sacks), foolish penalties (five false start penalties) and poor field position, Spurrier said.

"It was tough back there (for the QB's)," Spurrier said. "It seems like we had 3rd-and-15 all day. We must have had about eight of those yesterday, it seemed like."

USC started five possessions inside its own 10-yard line. It's average starting position was the USC 22-yard line compared to Vanderbilt's average starting position of the VU 46.

While quarterbacks Chris Smelley and Blake Mitchell shared snaps yesterday, Spurrier hinted Sunday he would prefer to select one signal-caller and let him go deep into Saturday's showdown with the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium.

Everyone, including third-string QB Tommy Beecher, will get a look in practice this week.

"I don't know what we're going to do yet," Spurrier said. "It might be later in the week before we announce who's going to play quarterback. Whoever starts will have a chance to go the distance. We're not going to put a (new) guy in there unless someone gets hurt or goes bad, then we can always change to get a spark going. I think (Smelley and Mitchell) played fairly even, as it turned out."

With the offensive line struggling so badly, Spurrier conceded a more mobile quarterback might be helpful for USC right now.

"I just know it was so helpful last year when Syvelle Newton would back there and take off running and gain 10 or 15 yards," Spurrier said. "We weren't concerned as much about the protection. (Newton) played with less protection than what we're getting now.

"A mobile quarterback is so beneficial, a guy who can dart up into the pocket and make five, six, seven yards every now and then instead of getting sacked."

Spurrier wouldn't rule out shifting Kenny McKinley, a high school quarterback, over to QB occasionally, But taking the redshirt off heralded freshman Stephen Garcia, a dual threat QB in high school, is not being considered, he said.

"We could always put (McKinley) back there and let him run some plays and so forth," Spurrier said. "That's something he did in high school. But we haven't really worked on that yet. (Garcia) doesn't really know enough right now to go play. He needs a good full spring practice to see what he can do."

NOTES:

-- Spurrier said USC came out of the Vandy gave "very healthy" with no major injuries.

-- On a positive note, Spurrier said the defense played "very well" Saturday. Vanderbilt started both of its first two scoring drives in the first quarter from the SC 24.

-- Spurrier said the biggest difference between last year and this year offensively is the center and two guards. Right now, USC is "nowhere near" where they were offensively last year, he said. "But we weren't 6-2 at this time last year," he added.

-- SOS described USC's current rankings of No. 15 in Associated Press poll and No. 17 in Coaches poll as "fair". One of USC's goals is to finish in the Top 25, he said.

-- Spurrier acknowledged he heard the boo birds from the crowd yesterday. "That's the first time that's happened (this season)," Spurrier said. "I just assume they were booing me and the coaches for bad play calls. I hope they weren't booing the players. I don't think (the fans) should boo them," Spurrier said. "I hope the booing will cease."

-- Spurrier said USC used "sort of a new protection" (scheme) on Saturday where the running back blocked a defensive end "coming off the line."

-- Spurrier said QB Tommy Beecher will get a look because "sometimes he can run around a little bit better than the other guys."

-- Asked about Phil Fulmer being under fire at Tennessee, Spurrier reiterated he's fortunate to be the head coach at USC. "Coaches at the big schools that are used to winning big. . .that's part of our profession," Spurrier said. "That's why I tell people I have the best job in America. South Carolina really hasn't won big. We haven't done it yet. Hopefully, we're building something to have a chance in the future. Tennessee is a different situation."

 

[E.T.G.]

With out really diving into this matchup, I don't like how USC matches up with UT.



You beat UT with the pass and that is far from our strength right now.

 

[E.T.G.]

So much for being in control of things. Tennessee lost control of its own destiny in the SEC East and now needs help to be a factor the last month of the season. However, following their 24 point loss to Alabama, the SEC East is the last item of interest for the Vols. The 24 point margin of victory was largest by the Tide since the 56-28 loss in 1986.

We take one last look back at the Vols' loss to the Tide with the Monday morning grade card.

Rushing offense

Tennessee had 19 rushes for 103 yards. They did not have a negative running play and the only no-gain was the costly 3rd and one to Lennon Creer, but Tennessee was effective running the football. The cutback lanes were there. Arian Foster continues to see the field well and continues to be the "hot" back. Foster only got 13 carries and the game got away from the Vols to the point that running was not an option. But running the football is when this team is at its best and they were plenty good enough running the football on Saturday.

Grade: B

Passing offense

A failed 3rd and 2 and an interception in the third quarter, dashed any hopes of the Vols getting back in the game. Tennessee's passing game was limited with the turf toe injury to Lucas Taylor and then the concussion to Josh Briscoe, although Gerald Jones filled in well for Briscoe. Ainge had his moments of good play, but clearly did not appear comfortable with the younger receivers. In the first half, Ainge was 12 of 14 for 158 and a touchdown. In the second, he was just 10 of 21 for 83 yards and an interception. That is the second straight week that Ainge's second half numbers have been dramatically different. A low snap by Josh McNeil ended a drive.

Grade: C

Rushing defense

Terry Grant ended up with 104 yards and the Tide rushed for 147. Seventy-three yards came in the second quarter when Alabama wore the Vol defense down. The Alabama run game was not dominant but was effective especially in those two long drives in the second quarter. However, it was not the Alabama running game that gave the Vol defense problems on Saturday.

Grade: B

Passing defense

I could write a book here, but will save everyone the reading time. When Tennessee blitzed, the secondary gave John Parker Wilson the easy out by playing with way too much cushion. When Tennessee didn't blitz, they couldn't get there. Tennessee never had an answer for DJ Hall. They got beat all over the field in the passing game and when the Vols did do a decent job in coverage, they couldn't stop Wilson's feet. The Alabama signal-caller had six carries for 28 yards. Tennessee simply had no answers for the Tide's spread offense and short passing game.

Grade: F

Special Teams

In watching the replay, Alabama was off-sides on the onside kick, but the fact is Tennessee was not ready for it. They were not aware up front and that is something they spent time working on Thursday afternoon. Daniel Lincoln made a big field goal kick at the end of the half thanks to a great hold from Casey Woods on a low snap. They did not let Javier Arenas have any chances in the punt return game. In addition to not handling the on-side kick to start the game, the kicking game gave up a 62 yard kickoff return that gave Alabama a field goal. And if Jonathan Hefney doesn't want to field a punt then they need to put a different return man back there or they need to not drop anyone deep and try to block every punt.

Grade: C-

Coaching

Tennessee got no favors from the officials on a couple of pass interference calls, but Fulmer's team was not very disciplined with a costly off-sides penalty and two personal foul penalties. Tennessee finished the day with 11 penalties for 81 yards. Offensively, running 3rd and 1 without Foster, Hardesty, or Coker was a head-scratcher as was the third quarter 3rd and 2 where the ball was batted down. Tennessee consistently moved the ball on the ground when they called runs. Defensively, they simply don't have any answers for the spread offense and the secondary looked confused most of the day. Two weeks ago, Chavis spoke about his defensive plan against Georgia being overly simple. You have to wonder if they tried to do too much on Saturday.

Grade: F

The question now is where does this team go from here. Who on this team leads? And what motivates this team after not emotionally being ready for a game against one of your biggest rivals with so much on the line.

 

[E.T.G.]

Brent Hubbs
VolQuest.com Editor
<SCRIPT language=javascript> if ((bIEWindowBrowser) && (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 6.") != -1)) document.write("<div id=outercontainer style='height:220px;'>"); else document.write("<div id=outercontainer>"); document.write("<div id=contentcontainer style='font-size: " + currentsize + "pt;'>");</SCRIPT>Talk about it in The General's Quarters


In two of Tennessee's biggest rivalry games this year (Florida and Alabama), the Vols have been outscored 100-37. Saturday in Tuscaloosa, the final was 41-17 as the Vols were outscored 17-0 in the second half. Plenty of things went wrong for the Vols on Saturday, but here are my five reasons why the Vols are no longer in control of their own destiny in the SEC race.

The Plan - Defensively, the Vols gave up 510 yards of total offense and had no answers for the Tide spread offense and passing game. DJ Hall had a career day, John Parker Wilson had a career day and in watching the game you got the sense that Hall could catch a pass on every play. Had Wilson not missed some throws in the endzone a couple of field goals would have been touchdowns as well. I know Tennessee didn't design a plan to fail, but what they were trying to do didn't work and they didn't get it fixed at any point during the game. This defense has simply struggled greatly against spread offenses. After two weeks of having some success, the defensive staff replaced Nevin McKenzie and Ricardo Kemp in the mustang package with Jarod Parrish and DeAngelo Willingham. Tennessee has now given up 566 yards through the air. The last time a quarterback threw for over 300 yards and a running back rushed for over 100 yards was by Auburn in the 2004 SEC Championship game.

The 2nd quarter - It was good quarter for the offense. Ainge was perfect through the air and the Vols scored ten points, but Alabama scored two touchdowns and controlled the clock. Tennessee ran just seven offensive plays to Alabama's 27. One was a touchdown pass to open the quarter and the other was a pass inside the last 20 seconds of the quarter that aided by a penalty set up a field goal. The Vols had two rushes for two yards. Ainge was 5-of-5 for 56 yards and a touchdown. But the Vols had the ball 4:06 and had five penalties for 26 yards. Meanwhile, Alabama had 73 yards rushing on 13 carries. Parker Wilson was 11 of 14 for 92 yards through the air. Six of those completions and 61 yards and the two touchdown passes went to Hall including an unexplainable 3rd and 16 touchdown.

Discipline - From the onside kick on, it was a day of discipline struggles for the Vols. Tennessee had 11 penalties for 81 yards. Six of those penalties were defensive. They all game on possession downs and they all came in the redzone. Alabama scored 27 points on those defensive penalties. Now a few of those penalties were really suspect, but jumping off-sides on fourth down and two roughing the passer penalties were certainly avoidable. Throw in a low shotgun snap and Tennessee was simply not sharp all afternoon.

3rd and short - It again bit the offense in the rear on Saturday. It was not a large number of failed conversions, but they were critical. Trailing 17-14 in the second quarter and driving Tennessee made a puzzling call having freshman Lennon Creer in on 3rd and 1 and he was stuffed for no gain. And then trailing 27-17 in third and in need of an answer to a Tide field goal. On third and two, Ainge's pass attempt to Lucas Taylor was batted down. It was only two plays, but both plays were huge from a momentum stand point and came at critical times.

Where's the personality? - The last two weeks it appeared that Tennessee found their identity, but on Saturday they looked like the pre-open date Vols. With only 19 called running plays on Saturday, it was a different looking offense than what we saw against Georgia and Mississippi State. I understand the game got away from the Vols, but Tennessee was not being "Tennessee", at least not the team we saw the last couple of weeks. Against Georgia, The Vols ran it 44 times and against Mississippi State they ran it 42 times. As a result, Tennessee won time of possession the last two weeks. On Saturday, Tennessee was dominated in time of possession in large part because the defense could not get a stop and get off the field on their own. But the last two weeks, the offense has protected the defense by keeping them off the field. That certainly was not the case on Saturday.

 

[lindetrain]

I just don't know what to think about this SC team, ETG. I have a tough time believing they are better than 3rd in the division in all honesty. They just don't have any firepower on offense and their defense is really suspect at times.


I'm starting to get a little concerned about my prop bet, although they only need to go 2-2 the rest of the way for it to hit.

 

[E.T.G.]

I just don't know what to think about this SC team, ETG. I have a tough time believing they are better than 3rd in the division in all honesty. They just don't have any firepower on offense and their defense is really suspect at times.


I'm starting to get a little concerned about my prop bet, although they only need to go 2-2 the rest of the way for it to hit.

Valid concerns. The UNC game really put a lot into question for me and the Vandy game sealed it. Something happened to SC on offense and it started in the 3rd quarter vs. UK. They had -15yds in that 3rd quarter but were able to fix it in the 4th and go on long drives when they needed to. Against UNC in the 2nd half, the wheels came off on the offense and they haven't been able to fix it in 6 quarters.

The defense is not the problem, they are constantly set up in poor field position by the offense and they often spend too much time on the field. The defense is the reason we have wins over UGA and UK. The defense sacked Woodson 3 times, forced 2 fumbles and a pick. LSU didn't get to Woodson once in the game they played and not sure how many sacks UF got on him. The defense gave up 17pts in the 1st quarter vs. Vandy but 10 of those points came when Vandy had the ball inside the 25 of SC and the other 7 was a possession inside SC territory. The Vandy scoring drives were 9yds, 24yds, 43yds... What is the defense suppose to do?

We don't always look good on defense and that has to do with facing the spread option or a team with complete balance and a bend-don't-break philosophy. Losing Jasper and Nathan Pepper set us back but the plays have responded and they have played exceptional.

As far as my prop bet, it would have been nice to secure a push this wkend but that obviously didn't happen. If we lost out and went 6-6 on the yr I would lose my mind so I still think worst case scenario is a push which I said in August but I would be very disappointed with that.

With all of that said, they have 3 conference games left vs. UT, Arky, and UF. Anything can happen and winning the 1st two of those puts them in control of their own destiny. Beat UF at home and win SEC-East.

It is too early for me to guess how this SC-UT game is going to go but a win over UT and everyone in Columbia will quickly forget about Vandy.

 

[E.T.G.]

Some general thoughts and notes for the beginning of the week.


There is a lot at stake here so there is no reason to not be up for this game, play a full 4 quarters, and look somewhat like a competent SEC-Offense. I will be able to have a better feel for this game as the week goes on but here is some general info.

The winner gets to survive another week in the SEC-East
The loser is all but done in the race and can join the loser of UGA-UF on the sidelines.

After Saturday, 3 teams will be in the race for the East compared to the 5 that are currently alive.

SC is coming off of 6 straight quarters of bad offensive football without a TD. The defense has been fine but the offense has been non-existant.

UT is coming off of a drubbing by one of their bigger rivals showing once again they are inept on the defensive side of the ball, especially vs. the pass.

SC strengths: Defense and special teams although the coverage game has been slack.

UT strengths: Offense

Some interesting notes:

Vs. Flor, UT ran the ball 21x for 37yds. They lost 59-20
Vs. Arky St, UT ran the ball 37x for 188yds. They won 48-27
Vs. UGA, UT ran the ball 44x for 190yds. They won 35-14
Vs. MSU, UT ran the ball 42x for 211yds. They won 31-21
Vs. Bama, UT ran the ball 19x for 103yds. They lost 41-17

As you can see, the UT offense has the most success when they run the ball 35-45 times, something that you don't think of right away when you think of Eric Ainge and Tennessee. They do run a no-huddle offense but they are not dropping back to throw every play.

The UT defense is by far their weakest link. They have given up 45,19,59,27,14,21,41 points this yr for an average of 32points/game.

UT defense ranks 81 in total yards allowed, 84 in passing yards allowed, 65 in rushing yards allowed, 95 in points allowed.

UT offense ranks 40 in total yards, 30 in passing yards, 70 in rushing yards, 41 in points scored.

SC defense ranks 30 in total yards allowed, 1 in passing yards allowed, 82 in rushing yards allowed, 13 in points allowed.

SC offense ranks 95 in total yards, 62 in passing yards, 99 in rushing yards, 75 in points scored.

4 of the last 5 games have been decided by 8 points or less.

UT is 3-0 at home this yr, SC is 2-1 on the road

SC has yet to name a QB for the game.

I don't know what happened to the offense but something went wrong, the kids lost confidence, the playcalling in turn lost confidence in the offense's ability. SC might be 6-2 but their season will go upside down with a loss to UT and their backs are against the wall here. I don't know how the players have reacted to practice this week, how they will react to the QB this week, if anyone plans to step up on the OL and WR, but I do know if SC is going to win its going to have to:

1)win turnover battle
2)win field position battle
3)run the ball
4)win time of possession battle
5)pick spots to use the passing game but the bulk of the offense must come on the ground to set up the pass.

Which ever team lets their defense stay on the field longest will lose this game imo.

 

[E.T.G.]

Talk about it in The Insiders Forum


Steve Spurrier knows his hands are tied when it comes to trying to change personnel on South Carolina's much-maligned offensive line.

This isn't the National Football League, where players can be hired and fired on a moment's notice.

As a result, Spurrier and offensive line coach John Hunt have no choice but to try and ride out the storm, hopeful the line meshes like it did over the final four games last season when the offense roared to life.

"What do we do? We can't trade any of them," Spurrier said. "We're going to try and coach them as hard as we can. We're going to keep coaching."

While surrendering seven sacks to Vanderbilt in last Saturday's 17-6 loss is bad enough, the number that may have been the most disconcerting to Spurrier is the five false start penalties.

When you're playing at home against a two-touchdown underdog in an early-afternoon game, there's no justification for a lack of discipline to that extent.

"We just didn't play as well as we could," center William Brown said. "It just seemed like there were times when bad things happened at just the right time for them. We just couldn't get something good started. We had a couple of good drives but it always seemed something would go wrong at the last second."

Two of the false start flags came during a promising drive late in the third quarter that ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down.

Seconds after Blake Mitchell had connected with Kenny McKinley for a 31-yard gain to give the Gamecocks a first down at the VU 43-yard line, Seaver Brown moved early for a five-yard penalty.

The next play, Mitchell found Larry Freeman for an 11-yard gain. Under normal circumstances, the play would have produced a first down. But it didn't. Instead, it gave USC a 2nd-and-4 from the VU 37.

After three unproductive plays, the USC offense walked off the field dejected knowing they had shot themselves in the foot.

Where does the offensive line go from here?

Outside of the seven players that have dominated playing time this season – tackles Jamon Meredith and Justin Sorensen and guards Garrett Anderson, Seaver Brown, Lemuel Jeanpierre, James Thompson and center William Brown – there are few options.

Gurminder Thind started one game but has battled injuries for the last two seasons. Several lineman are either too inexperienced or intend to redshirt, including sophomore Hutch Eckerson (the coaches intend to redshirt him), redshirt freshmen Pierre Andrews, Heath Batchelor, Terrence Campbell and true freshmen Ryan Broadhead, Kyle Nunn and Quintin Richardson. Hardee Sanders is walk-on.

They'll have to wait for their chance starting next spring. Right now, their chances of playing this season are slim.

Kevin Young, named a starter earlier this year before he suffered an ankle injury, could be inserted into the lineup when he's physically ready.

Before the season, Spurrier said he wanted USC to quickly identify the five best offensive lineman and play them as much as possible. Obviously, that didn't happen. In fact, USC is still searching, particularly at the guard spots.

After the offensive line struggled in the second half of the North Carolina game, Spurrier opened things up and conducted tryouts last week leading into the Vanderbilt game.

Lemuel Jeanpierre and Seaver Brown emerged as the survivors out of that week-long battle. Garrett Anderson replaced Brown in the late stages of the Vanderbilt game.

"We've been working hard all year as a unit in practice," Brown said. "We've busted our tails to get our assignments down. But we're not performing like we do in practice. For whatever reason, things aren't going right. It comes down to having confidence in your teammates and the people around you. You have to go out there and do your assignment. One guy messing up can mess up the whole offense."

USC has allowed a SEC-worst 26 sacks this season, an average of 3.25 per game. Only one other SEC team has allowed more than 20 sacks, Ole Miss with 22.

The seven sacks by Vanderbilt tied a school record for the Commodores set on three earlier occasions, including a 31-17 victory over Ole Miss on Sept. 15.

"We just had guys getting beat on most of the sacks," Spurrier said.

The failure to protect the quarterback is one reason USC has converted just two of its last 24 third-down situations.

"We don't pass block very well," Spurrier said. "We keep thinking we can pass block a team. But we couldn't pass block South Carolina State or Louisiana-Lafayette, so I think we have to come to the belief that we need to throw the ball 15 or 20 times. Maybe that's our only chance to win."

The Gamecocks have been most vulnerable to blitzes, with linemen and running backs often failing to pick up defenders charging through the gaps. It happened on several occasions last Saturday.

Are the linemen feeling the pressure? Yes, Brown says.

"We always feel the pressure," Brown said. "We try to take pride in the fact our teammates are counting on us. You go out and have a day like we did (against Vanderbilt) and you feel like you let your teammates down. On the flip side, there were some good things we did (Saturday) but they just weren't enough to win the game."

Are more 'tryouts' the answer to finding out what is plaguing the offensive line? Maybe not. They might just need some TLC.

"As senior, I'm going to go into this week and talk to the guys and encourage them as best as I can as a leader," said Brown, who missed most of the practices last week after an elbow infection forced him to spend a couple of days in the hospital and doses of antibiotics.

"I've been here five years. I've seen a lot happen here. We've got something good going on right now. I don't want to lose it. I want to try to capitalize on every opportunity we've got. It's my job to encourage my teammates. I can't answer for their performance but it comes down to doing your best on every play."

Of course, from Spurrier's perspective, part of the blame for that rests with himself and the quarterbacks for failing to audible out of bad plays.

 

[E.T.G.]

Tennessee couldn't wait to get the Alabama game off its mind, so much so that Philip Fulmer's Vols took the unusual step of hitting the practice field on Sunday night. The unusual practice schedule was the biggest news in the aftermath of the Bama loss until sophomore tailback Montario Hardesty didn't turn up for said practice. On Monday, the reason given for coming out of the Tennessee program was that Hardesty's unexplained stance was a matter of miscommunication, and not a sign of mutiny on his part.

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</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>Fulmer said in a prepared statement on Monday that Hardesty was out with an illness on Sunday night.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- End Hardesty 250 Image-->Fulmer issued the following statement on Monday afternoon in regards to Hardesty's failure to turn up for the Sunday night workout.

"Montario Hardesty was sick in bed with a 102-degree temperature Sunday afternoon and evening. He had called and left a voice mail with Coach Roper, who did not get his message until after practice. Montario had taken medicine and slept through the evening and night.

"I talked to Montario this morning. He was sorry for any concern he may have caused. He has been to the training room this morning and is feeling better."

This is the kind of issue, particularly in the fallout of a loss like the one the Vols endured on Saturday, that can send up red flags around a football program.

Many did assume, and probably will continue to do so, that Hardesty 'no-showed' for Sunday's practice in response to the coaching staff failing to play him against Alabama. He entered Saturday's game as the second-leading rusher on the team (41 carries for 184 yards) despite missing much of September with an ankle injury.

He'd been particularly effective in the two games leading up to the Alabama contest, rushing for 146 yards on 30 carries against Georgia and Ole Miss. That recent productivity didn't translate into any carries on Saturday though, a decision Fulmer has said was predicated on the fact that the Vols relied on numerous 'open-sets' in the game.

Senior quarterback Erik Ainge had his teammates' back on Monday afternoon, telling media members that Hardesty had been ill even before Fulmer released his statement to the media on the subject.

"Montario was sick. It's not like Montario missed, or just didn't come to something. He's a good football player, he's done a lot of good things for us and will do a lot of good things for us. I'm not the one that's going to comment on that issue, that's coach Fulmer's deal. But I know as a player, we trust Montario to do what he's supposed to do and give us everything he's got," Ainge said on the matter.

"I don't want to get in all the details, coach Fulmer can discuss all that he wants to. I think there was some miscommunication, Montario just didn't decide that he wasn't going to come to practice. There was some miscommunication but I think that everything will work out with that situation."

Even though Ainge noted that Hardesty's absence on Sunday was due to illness, the quarterback said he could sympathize with any kind of frustration the tailback might have felt after not getting into the game in Tuscaloosa this past weekend.

"A lot of guys feel like they should play. I've been one of them who said 'why aren't I in the game'. Everybody goes through something like that at some point in time," Ainge said.

"It's not like we have a bunch of scrubs running the football for us right now. Arian Foster is playing as good as anybody right now. Lamarcus came in and did some good things for us. Of course he's disappointed, he's a good football player. He understands and needs to understand that there are reasons for things. As long as he comes out and has a good week I would expect him to do some good things for us this weekend."

Tennessee will be off today after Sunday night's practice, and will resume with normal game week preparations tomorrow.

Déjà vu?

With Tennessee standing at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the SEC, there are plenty of current parallels from a record standpoint to the 2005 season.

The Vols were 3-4 after seven games two years ago, when they finished 5-6, but the remaining schedule this fall looks a lot more daunting than the one two years ago, with four games remaining that could definitely go either way, to say the least.

Ainge can see why some observers might have that perception, but from his standpoint, the two seasons don't 'feel' anything alike.

"If you look at the wins and losses, yeah, it's similar right now. But from a team standpoint and what we're doing, the energy and just everything around here is nothing like that," Ainge said. "It's like we're playing good but we're not playing good enough to win in some big ball games and we're making some mistakes that are costing us some wins.

"I don't think it's anything like 2005. I think are playing good and we've made some mistakes to hurt ourselves."

Getting to Know You…

When Lucas Taylor went to the sidelines with a turf-toe injury in the second half on Saturday, after Josh Briscoe had checked out with a concussion, Ainge was suddenly looking at a very different set of receivers. And the 'newness' of the situation showed.

Ainge completed just 10 of 21 passes for 83 yards in the second half with young wideouts Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore as compared to 12 of 14 for 158 yards in the first half.

Jones saw the first action of his career against the Tide, catching two passes for 27 yards in the second half. Moore has played significant snaps, but Saturday was the most pressure he's been under to produce.

"It's tough when you don't throw to guys, and even more so on their part. Gerald Jones especially, going into the game thinking he's redshirting, and then coming out and playing like he did. I thought he did well," Ainge said of the situation. "I'll definitely get more practice time with Denarius, Gerald and Quintin Hancock and then obviously Austin (Rogers) and (Josh) Briscoe will be fine.

"Physically I think they're ready. There's no substitute for experience. A lesser player with a lot of experience is going to be better than a good player who has none. I'm not saying that about our receivers, I'm just saying that those guys could be ready if they take this week watching film, go out to practice every day and say 'did I get better today? Did I make that mental mistake?' and that's the same for all of us."

Back to Work

One of the most pressing matters this week will be trying to find some answers in a secondary that was lit up like the fourth of July against Alabama on Saturday. John Parker Wilson torched the Vols for 363 yards passing, and his favorite target, D.J. Hall, put his stamp on the Tide record books with 13 catches for 185 yards. In short, the kind of day that sends you back to the drawing board defensively.

The problem for Tennessee is, that with two freshman already in the starting line-up as replacements for older players, there may not be anywhere else to turn, and nothing to do but get better with what you have.

Fulmer admits that youth is an issue, but he also knows that nothing but time is going to make that situation look different.

"It does (limit you some). It puts you out there a little bit and you don't want to ask them to do more than they can do. Alabama was a very multiple-set team. They use a lot of shifts and motions and they can get you out-leveraged or out of position," Fulmer offered.

"We're green and growing back there. There are some good things out of them athletically. There are some good things from an adjustment standpoint, but they're not where a more veteran secondary would be."

The secondary played a huge role in allowing Alabama to pick up 27 first downs in the game, keeping drives alive for huge lengths of time. The Crimson Tide ran 80 offensive plays in the contest and owned a 37:38 to 22:22 advantage in time of possession.

The inability to just get off the field was crucial for the defense, and something that South Carolina will be looking to exploit on Saturday.

"We can go no where but up, pretty much, especially in pass defense and getting pressure on the quarterback," linebacker Jerod Mayo said. "So we have to get a lot better especially coming up this week going against Steve Spurrier and South Carolina. They always have a great passing offense and hopefully we can get the job done.

"Each week is really important, especially knowing that we gave up an opportunity like that against Alabama . We felt like we were the better team. We just didn't go out play good defensively. We have to get that fixed before this week."

 

[E.T.G.]

I am sorry but please read this post for entertainment purposes. Amazing what the mind will think.

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Spurrier is a Genius"

While I do not believe he intended to lose to Vanderbilt, it didn't seem that he was "all that bothered" by it either. You just cannot convince me that our team is that bad offensively. It's almost reminicent of the way we played SC State before Georgia.

Coach Spurrier has bigger fish to fry. I firmly believe that he was using this game to "try out" some things. He knows our defense is good enough to keep us in the game - he made the comment several times on his show "we still had plenty of time". It just got too much out of control too fast.

I was extremely disappointed, as was everyone else - expecting the Vandy game to be "the game" where it all came together, offense and defense, clicking on all cylinders. However, call me crazy, I just think there's more to this bizzare picture than meets the eye. I firmly believe we'll be leaving Knoxville with another win in our pocket.

If not, I'm going to be singing "Rocky Top" over the school's PA system. ( I made a bet before we started looking lousy)
---------------------------------------------------------------

Pure fuken comedy

 

[B.A.R.]

Great thread ETG. Nice to get some insight into the game a bit more from last weekend.

 

[E.T.G.]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 6px; PADDING-LEFT: 6px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; PADDING-TOP: 6px" vAlign=top>Practice tidbits from Monday's practice....</TD><TD class="" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 6px; PADDING-LEFT: 6px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; PADDING-TOP: 6px" vAlign=bottom noWrap align=right 1??>Reply</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<HR color=#cccccc noShade>The team reportedly arrived at practice yesterday with a lot of energy with the idea of immediately leaving the Vanderbilt loss in the past. The players know they still have a great opportunity in front of them, as they still control their own destiny in the SEC.

Chris Smelley took the majority of the first team snaps at quarterback with Blake Mitchell and Tommy Beecher also rotating in at times. I hear Mitchell will likely get the most reps at today’s practice. When the protection is there, Mitchell is the best QB, but he struggles when the protection breaks down and tends to make poor decisions. It remains to be seen whether Spurrier will announce his starter publicly this week or not.

On the offensive line, the first team group was the same one that started against Vandy. Gurminder Thind saw some time at left guard and left tackle and Jamon Meredith has been told he must perform much better than he has been as of late. Terrence Campbell, while not quite ready from a mental standpoint, has grabbed the attention of the coaches with his tenacity and effort. They think he’ll be a good one once he has a complete understanding of his assignments. Overall, it was another up and down practice from a protection standpoint, as it has been for the last few weeks.

Moe Brown has been more consistent in practice as of late, and his snaps in games have increased as a result. It would give them a boost if he could become the dependable receiver they expected him to be coming into the season. Dion Lecorn is also getting more and more confidence as he gets more game experience under his belt. They really need both of these guys to step it up down the stretch.

Defensively, the team knows Tennessee will show them a balanced attack on offense, and they have to be well prepared to stop the run and the pass. Their offense utilizes a lot of play action, so quick recognition will be a huge key on Saturday night. The safeties, in particular, have to avoid getting sucked in on those fakes to prevent Tennessee’s receivers from getting behind them.

This team will likely go one of two directions following the loss to Vandy. It will either be the best thing that happened to them and they’ll come back with a vengeance, or it will be the precursor to a disastrous finish. In terms of effort and attitude, signs are pointing to them coming back strong, but only time will tell. The offense has been challenged in meetings and in practice, and it’s up to them to respond accordingly.

 

[E.T.G.]

Welcome to The Tuesday Volmanac, as Tennessee returns home to start a four game homestand licking their wounds from a painful and critical loss to Alabama that took them out of control of the SEC East race. Meanwhile, South Carolina enters in the same boat after a devastating home loss to Vanderbilt a week ago.
<! --START SIDE-->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ff9700>SEC Power Rankings </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#dbcfc7>(1.) LSU, 7-1, beat Auburn 30-24
(2.) Florida, 5-2, beat Kentucky 45-37
(3.) Kentucky 6-2, lost to Florida 45-37
(4.) Auburn 5-3, lost to LSU 30-24
(5.) Alabama 6-2 beat Tennessee 41-17
(6.) Tennessee 4-3, lost to Alabama 41-17
(7.) South Carolina 6-3, lost to Vanderbilt 17-6
(8.) Arkansas 4-3, beat Ole Miss 44-8
(9.) Georgia 5-2, had an open date
(10.) Vanderbilt, 4-3, beat South Carolina 17-6
(11.) Mississippi State, 4-4, lost to West Virginia 38-13
(12.) Ole Miss, 2-5, lost to Alabama 27-24
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ebe6e3>The Number -
100 - That's the number of points that Tennessee has given up in their two rivalry games this year. The Vols have been outscored 100-37 in those to games. And in the second half of the Florida and Alabama games they have been outscored 48-7. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#dbcfc7>Mouthing off -
"I can't worry about (the potential of a negative environment). We're playing football. We have a 12-game season, and I'm going to support these young men and these coaches and let them see what they can do. We've got four straight home games, let's go win them." - Athletics director Mike Hamilton </TD><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ebe6e3>And you were thinking what?
After rushing 86 times the last two games for 401 yards, David Cutcliffe opened the game against Alabama with five passes and one rush. Tennessee finished the day with 19 carries for 103 yards. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<! --END SIDE-->What To Watch From Here

The biggest question is what direction is this Tennessee team headed in after Saturday's critical loss to the Tide. The Vols, at 4-3 need help to get back in the Eastern Division race, but for Phillip Fulmer, the biggest concern has to be the mental and emotional state of his team and how ready they are to play on Saturday after such a big loss.
Defensive end Xavier Mitchell believes that there is no concern about this team be able to bounce back or about everyone staying on the same page.
"We're all in the same boat," Mitchell said. "There's nothing that can keep us down. We're the ones running the 110s, we were the ones doing that awful, awful summer workouts. One of the hardest I've ever been a part of. We trust each other. That's what the summer workouts and the spring workouts are for, team bonding and team building."
For the Gamecocks, the concerns are similar after a terrible home loss to Vanderbilt. This time a week ago, both of these teams were in control of their situation in the SEC East. Now both need help and the fan bases of both schools are wondering if their team will be ready emotionally to play what is a key game for both teams in October.
Training Room
There has been a bug running through the team that has affected Mitchell and Montario Hardesty. Josh Briscoe is limited after a concussion on Saturday but should be fine for the South Carolina game. Lucas Taylor is still bothered by the turf toe that left him limited at Alabama.
For South Carolina, defensive back Stoney Woodson is still recovering from a hamstring injury and is not one hundred percent.








<! --START SIDE-->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ff9700>Who's hot and who's not </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#dbcfc7>Hot- - Arian Foster - The junior continues to play well. Foster had 91 yards on 13 carries and 74 yards receiving at Alabama. In the last three games, Foster has 328 yards rushing. Foster also has been a weapon in the passing game as well as pass blocker on blitz pick-ups.
Not - The Vol defense - The defense is last in the SEC in scoring giving up 32.3 points a game. The last two weeks, they have given up 566 yards passing and five touchdown passes. Tennessee, in the last two games has also given up a 100 yard rusher and ranks last in the SEC with nine sacks.
Hot - Montario Hardesty - And not in a good way. Hardesty after rushing for 68 yards against Georgia and 78 yards against Mississippi State was hot after not getting a carry against the Tide.
Not - Penalties - Defensively, the Vols were flagged six times on third or fourth down extending Alabama drives. The extension of those drives aided Alabama in scoring 27 of their 41 points.
Hot - Daniel Lincoln - The redshirt freshman continues to impress. Lincoln is now 13 of 14 on the year which leads the SEC in percentage made. Not - Third and short - After dramatically improving in that category the last few weeks, it bit the Vol offense at Alabama. In the second quarter, Tennessee could not convert a 3rd and one and in the second half the offense could not convert a key 3rd and 2.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<! --END SIDE--><! --START SIDE--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ff9700>Game Balls </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#dbcfc7>TE/FB/H-back - Chris Brown - The senior has at least one catch in 10 straight games. Brown has five touchdown catches on the season and for the year has 26 catches for 195 yards on the year. Brown is also very underrated as a blocker. DT - Demonte Bolden - Bolden might seem like a stretch given the way the defense played at Alabama. But Bolden continues to play the run well and is starting to become a consistent player. The junior has 11 tackles in the last three weeks. He only had eight the first four games.
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ebe6e3>Did you know?
In Steve Spurrier's 15 years as a head coach in the Southeastern Conference that the ol' ball coach has never had back-to-back games where he did not score a touchdown. Last week, Spurrier's team only generated two field goals. History says the Gamecocks find the endzone on Saturday. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ebe6e3>Did you know II?
Tennessee is 11th in passing defense. They have surrendered 13 touchdown passes, which is tied for the worst in the SEC. They are last in sacks and three of the seven quarterbacks they have faced have had career high performances against the Vols including the last two. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ebe6e3>Did you know III?
Erik Ainge won't miss playing Alabama, the senior finished his career against the Tide throwing 8 interceptions and 2 touchdowns finishing 2-1 as starter against Alabama. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!--END SIDE-->






<! --START SIDE-->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=630 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ff9700>...Dot dots </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#dbcfc7>Tight end Chris Brown has 26 catches on the season, and the single school record is 39 by Jason Witten ... Brown needs 22 catches to break Reggie Harper's career record of 98 ... South Carolina is the best secondary in the conference giving up just 146 yards passing per game ... Tennessee's 19 rushing attempts is the fewest attempts by a Vol offense since the 2003 Auburn loss when they had 16 rushing attempts ... Linebacker Ryan Karl leads the team in pass break up's with 6 and five of them came against Mississippi State and Georgia ... For the year, the defense has been credited with just 14 quarterback pressures the season low under John Chavis is 53 in 1998 they had 108 ... Ainge has not been sacked now in 234 attempts ... </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[hile75]

wow, lotsa great stuff in here.....being a tenn fan i wont post anything besides go vols (althought they are so overrated this year)

 

[E.T.G.]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 6px; PADDING-LEFT: 6px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; PADDING-TOP: 6px" vAlign=top>The part in bold about sums up the OL to this date. I think a problem is having too many options for 2 positions. Whenever a guy messes up he is just replaced. There is no chemistry on this OL because the same 5 never work together. Its week 8 and 6 players just auditioned for 2 spots.



Tidbits from Tuesday's practice....
</TD><TD class="" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 6px; PADDING-LEFT: 6px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; PADDING-TOP: 6px" vAlign=bottom noWrap align=right 1??>Reply</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<HR color=#cccccc noShade>In the opinion of one source, yesterday’s practice was a solid one but not great by any means. The offensive line situation is still unsettled. Garrett Anderson, Heath Batchelor, Terrence Campbell, Seaver Brown, Lemuel Jeanpierre and Gurminder Thind all saw time at guard yesterday. I hear Thind had the best practice of the bunch, but there wasn’t much separation. With all of the shuffling, there are still a lot of inconsistencies and a lot of mistakes being made, particularly in pass protection.

Blake Mitchell and Chris Smelley took about an even number of snaps as the first team QB. Tommy Beecher received more reps yesterday than he did on Monday. There isn’t much separation here either, but Mitchell may be the odds on favorite to get the start. When the pass protection is there, the feeling is Mitchell is the best candidate. The problem is he’s at his worst when protection breaks down and those are the situations that lead to his biggest mistakes.

The defense continues to prepare for a balanced offense from Tennessee. One focus of yesterday’s practice beating the blocker to the point of attack, especially where the linebackers are concerned. This is something Jasper Brinkley did so well, and the others are still getting to the point where they can read and react quickly enough to do it with consistency.

Special teams worked on punt coverage and players staying in their lanes, and there were some issues there that will need to be addressed as the week goes on. Jonathan Hefney hurt them last year with a big punt return, and they can’t afford a repeat there on Saturday night.

 

[sportfanatic71]

Lean towards the gamecocks myself this weekend. GL and great information

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:State><st1lace>South Carolina</st1lace></st1:State> coming off a home loss to vandy while <st1:State><st1lace>Tennessee</st1lace></st1:State> was blownout by <st1:State><st1lace>Alabama</st1lace></st1:State> on the road. SC banged up need to find out more about injuries. <st1:State><st1lace>Tenn</st1lace></st1:State> ranks 37<SUP>th</SUP> in total offense, ranking 70<SUP>th</SUP> on the ground and 30<SUP>th</SUP> in the pC is 28<SUP>th</SUP> in total defense ranking 80<SUP>th</SUP> against the ground attack and #1 in passing defense. <st1:State><st1lace>Tenn</st1lace></st1:State> ranks 1<SUP>st</SUP> in sacks allowed so SC wont be able to get too much pressure on ainge. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
<o> </o>
· Fighting Gamecocks are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings in <st1:State><st1lace>Tennessee</st1lace></st1:State>. <o></o>
· Road team is 9-0-1 ATS in their last 10 meetings.<o></o>
Volunteers are 11-28 ATS in their last 39 home games<o></o>
· Fighting Gamecocks are 8-0 ATS vs. a team with a winning record. <o></o>
· Fighting Gamecocks are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 road games. <o></o>
· Fighting Gamecocks are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. <o></o>
· Fighting Gamecocks are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 conference games<o></o>

 

[E.T.G.]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 6px; PADDING-LEFT: 6px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; PADDING-TOP: 6px" vAlign=top>Tidbits from Wednesday's practice....</TD><TD class="" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 6px; PADDING-LEFT: 6px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; PADDING-TOP: 6px" vAlign=bottom noWrap align=right 1??>Reply</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<HR color=#cccccc noShade>Wednesday’s practice was the best of the week. All three quarterbacks took about an even number of snaps, and Chris Smelley had the best night of the bunch. Spurrier will likely not announce a starter until Friday, if even then.

Cory Boyd is running with a chip on his shoulder and appears desperate for a lot more touches. Mike Davis, I hear, feels the same way.

Look for some new wrinkles, formations and plays on offense this week. Spurrier has never been one to beat his head against the wall and run an offense that doesn’t fit his personnel, and this weekend will be no exception.

Heath Batchelor and Garrett Anderson took most of the first team snaps at guard on Wednesday and appear set to start there on Saturday night. I hear Batchelor looks more natural at the guard spot than I would have expected. It will be very interesting to see how he and the entire line responds to the new combination of players.

Defensively, the front-7 seems to be responding to the challenge and is anxious to face a defense that is likely going to run the ball right at them 30+ times this weekend. Cliff Matthews practiced without his cast last night for the first time, so don’t be surprised if he has his most productive game yet since moving to outside linebacker.

Special teams had a good night and seems to have corrected the issues they were having with punt coverage men not staying in their lanes.

Overall, it was a productive practice and the kind of workout they needed. saturday's game is a turning point game, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many, so they really need to put it together and get the victory.

 

[docbarnes]

The vols are one of the hardest teams to handicap. Being a TN fan I would have to say that this game will come down to coaching and Spurrier will outcoach and out adjust Fulmer.

 

[E.T.G.]

Tony Morrell
GamecockCentral.com Senior Writer
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<TABLE width=550 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>The 6-2 and No. 15 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., this weekend to take on the 5-3 Tennessee Volunteers. Kickoff is slated for 7:45 PM and the contest will televised nationally by ESPN. This article takes a look at five Volunteer players the Gamecocks will certainly need to key on to notch the road victory.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>​

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width=550><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#000000>FIVE KEY TENNESSEE PLAYERS</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#990000>Erik Ainge, QB, 6-6, 220, Sr., Hillsboro, Ore. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#c7c3c3><!--photo-->

<!--photo-->Ainge is playing behind one of the best offensive lines in the conference as evidenced by the fact that he's only been sacked twice all season. Coming into this game, he's second in the conference in passing yards per game behind only Andre Woodson, and he has completed over 66% of his passes for 1,787 yards and 13 touchdowns with only four interceptions. The Gamecock defense must find a way to pressure Ainge and not allow him to stand tall in the pocket and scan the field for an open receiver all night long. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#990000>Arian Foster, RB, 6-1, 215, Jr., San Diego, Ca.</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#dddddd><!--photo-->

<!--photo-->Like Ainge, Foster has also benefited from the strong offensive front the Vols possess, as he is sixth in the conference in rushing yards per game at almost 90 yards per contest. He's a powerful back who can run through tackles, so it's important for the Gamecock defenders wrap up and not allow him many yards after contact. He's also a dangerous receiver out of the backfield and Tennessee likes throwing to their backs, so the Gamecocks will need to be aware of that as well.</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#990000>Jonathan Hefney, FS, 5-10, 185, Sr., Rock Hill, S.C.</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#dddddd><!--photo-->

<!--photo-->Hefney is the leader of a secondary that has struggled much of the season in defending the pass. Still, the Rock Hill native played a key role in last year's matchup between these two teams, and you can bet he'll be fired up for this year's game, too. Whomever is at quarterback for the Gamecocks needs to know where Hefney is on every pass play. He's also a big time threat as a punt returner, so Shane Beamer's punt coverage unit will need to make sure they stay in their lanes and not allow Hefney to get into the open field where he's at his best.</TD><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#990000>Lucas Taylor, WR, 6-0, 185, Jr., Carencro, La. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#dddddd><!--photo-->

<!--photo-->Heading into last week's game with Alabama, Taylor was actually leading the Southeastern Conference in receptions per game and had become Ainge's favorite target. He was bothered by turf toe against the Crimson Tide, leaving the game for good early in the third quarter. He's expected to be back this week, but it remains to be seen how close to 100% he'll be. If he's limited, look for Austin Rogers to play a key role in Taylor's absence.</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#990000>Eric Young, LT, 6-4, 310, Sr., Union, S.C. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#c7c3c3><!--photo-->

<!--photo-->Tennessee's offensive line may be the conference's best, and it's a unit anchored by Palmetto State native Eric Young. It took Young some time to develop, as it often does with offensive linemen, but it's been worth the wait for the Vols. How Young fares against Eric Norwood, Casper Brinkley, and the other Carolina pass rushers will be a key factor in determining which team comes out on top Saturday night. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" bgColor=#ffffff>.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[E.T.G.]

Scott Hood
GamecockCentral.com Staff Writer
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The offensive guard position has been a merry-go-round this season for South Carolina.

One more rider is about to get on board.

Heath Batchelor, a 6-foot-7, 304-pound redshirt freshman from Haleyville, Ala. that has spent the past several weeks as the backup to Jamon Meredith at left tackle, has received a long look at right guard this week and could play a significant number of snaps on Saturday when South Carolina faces Tennessee in an ESPN nationally televised 7:45 p.m. contest.

"There's a new name, Heath Batchelor," USC head coach Steve Spurrier exclaimed Wednesday. "He's been a backup tackle for eight weeks. He's probably played six plays all year. Maybe he'll be our right guard."

Spurrier's comments followed a two-hour indoor workout as heavy rains in the Columbia made the Bluff Road practice fields unplayable.

"We'll keep trying different guys and see if we can pass block a little bit and run block a little bit and get a guy open and try to hit him," Spurrier said. "We don't have any guys that can go deep. And it takes time to get off a deep one."

Spurrier said USC has tried about five different linemen at guard this week.

Batchelor signed with USC in 2006 and sat out last season. This year, he's played sparingly. Offensive line coach John Hunt said Monday he nearly sent Batchelor into last week's game against Vanderbilt as a replacement for the ineffective Jamon Meredith.

Seaver Brown (LG) and Lemuel Jeanpierre (RG) started the Vanderbilt game, the fourth different starting guard combination this season.

Batchelor played six snaps in the S.C. State game for his only action of the season. He's looking for his first career start.

Spurrier refrained from talking about the practice performance of the offensive line until the conclusion of the Tennessee game.

"The only thing that counts is the game," Spurrier said. "What we do in practice hopefully prepares you for the game. What happens in the ballgame is the only thing anybody sees. That's the only place it pays off."

Batchelor was one of three linemen selected by the Alabama Sports Writers Association as a finalist for the 2005 Mr. Football Award, as well as the Class 4A Lineman of the Year Award.

The move shifting Batchelor from tackle to guard is the latest by Spurrier to try to jumpstart an offense that managed just two field goals against Vanderbilt last weekend and has scored no touchdowns in the last six quarters.

"We had one of the worst offensive games I've ever coached in college," Spurrier said, reflecting back to the 17-6 loss to the Commodores.

"I've had some lousy ones. We didn't do much. Vandy played well. They have the third best defense in the SEC right now. We got thoroughly beat. We're going to bounce back and see if we can play a lot better against Tennessee."

This week the USC offense opposes a Tennessee defense that's struggled at times, surrendering an average of 32.3 points per game, dead last in the SEC. However, they bullied Georgia in a 35-14 victory Oct. 6.

"Tennessee has not played as well defensively as I guess they thought they would this year," Spurrier said. "But they're certainly very capable and they've got big, strong front seven guys up there. They're tough. They clobbered Georgia very well. We know it's going to be a struggle."

Spurrier attributed the mediocre performance of the Tennessee defense this season to the quality of the offenses they've faced.

"They've played a lot of good offensive teams," Spurrier said. "California and Florida are very good and Alabama ended up hitting some plays here and there. They have very good personnel like they always do. They've probably given up more yards than they're used to giving up. I know Coach Chavis and those guys expected to be better.

"And we expected to be a lot better on offense this year, too. We're really struggling on offense. Now we're just trying to make a few first downs and score a touchdown. As coaches, we all struggle a bit sometimes and we're struggling on offense probably more than (Tennessee) is struggling on defense, let's put it that way."

PARITY ARRIVES IN THE SEC: Both USC's Steve Spurrier and Tennessee's Phil Fulmer agree that the days of one or two teams dominating the SEC are over. Currently, five teams have two losses in the SEC East, while Alabama, LSU and Auburn are engaged in a heated battle in the SEC West.

"It's closer now with Vanderbilt and Kentucky and, hopefully, us up there beating some of the top teams," Spurrier said. "That very seldom happened in the '90's. It appears those three teams are capable of beating the other teams. On the West side, they're still awfully strong over there. The Mississippi teams are a little bit down. The Western Division's record against the East is pretty good."

Tennessee is 10-10 in conference matchups since the start of the 2005 season. The Volunteers haven't won a SEC title since 1998, an eternity in the minds of most Vols fans.

"Obviously, there's a lot more parity right now from top to bottom," Fulmer said. "Every team can beat every team practically, it seems like. That's a credit to the programs that have put themselves in that mix."

Fulmer believes one the primary reasons for the recent parity in the SEC is that the talent is spread out over more teams, especially at the skill positions.

"Everybody has good quarterbacks and they use more open sets," Fulmer said. "The passing game and the quarterbacks running with the football have forced people to defend the field a lot more than they're probably used to."

JARED COOK STAYS UPBEAT: Tight end Jared Cook has caught two or more passes in six of eight games this season. Along with the rest of the USC offense, he struggled against the aggressive Vanderbilt defense, catching two passes for a season-low 15 yards.

"We're surprised about last week, but we can still accomplish some goals, and we still have big dreams ahead of us," said Cook, who suffered from cramps in the second half of the Vanderbilt game. "All we can do now is improve. We have to get better. We can't have another performance like last week."

Cook, a native of Atlanta, has noticed a faster pace to this week's practices as USC prepares for Tennessee, a game many people see as an elimination game in the SEC East race.

"The tempo has been more upbeat, there's a more positive attitude, and everybody is looking forward to this week," Cook said. "Everyone wants to get better."

The fact USC's top three quarterbacks are engaged in a battle for the starting job shouldn't impact its preparations for Tennessee.

"Either way, you still have to do your job," Cook said. "Everybody has a role on this team and they have to do what they're supposed to do. The QB's will focus on what they have to do. They will get us the ball. They all have different strengths and weaknesses. They're different QB's. They can all throw the ball pretty well. We just need to find one that can get the job done."

USC must avoid the type of slow start that plagued the Gamecocks in the Vanderbilt game, Cook said.

"We've got to come out firing on all cylinders," Cook said. "We need to come out and play hard, or we'll shoot ourselves in the foot like last week. Practice is where you prepare to get ready for the next game, but if you wait until the game, then you'll be dead, period. It has to start in practice, by encouraging each other and doing the little things to help each other. You can't wait till Saturday or it will be to late."

MORE CARRIES FOR MIKE DAVIS?: Running back Mike Davis has carried the ball just 11 times for 44 yards in the last two games. He's not concerned about it, though.

"Coach Spurrier is the offensive coordinator and if that's the plays he wants to call, then I'm just going to go out there and do the best I can," Davis said. "If that's what the coaches want to do, then that's how we'll play."

Davis has worked hard in practice to make sure the Gamecocks don't suffer a hangover from the loss to Vanderbilt when they face Tennessee this week.

"We've just tried to brush it off and go to the next game," Davis said. "The coaches have told is to come out here and practice hard like we do every day. We have to move on. If you dwell on it, it will hurt you the next game."

TENNESSEE REPORT: Historically, most USC-Tennessee games have been close, hard-fought battles. The last two years have been no different. The road team has won the last two games, with USC stunning the Vols, 16-15, on a late field goal in 2005 before Tennessee rallied for a 31-24 victory in Columbia last season.

"It will be a challenge for us. From an offensive, defensive and special teams standpoint, they're a very fine football team," UT head coach Phil Fulmer said. "At times we've been a very good team when we don't beat ourselves. That's what we're working like heck to get back to. We're fighting to stay in the division championship race and, obviously, this is a huge game for that."

This year's match-up represents the third time since 2002 that Tennessee enters the USC game coming off a loss to Alabama. Not surprisingly, Fulmer has been asked about the mindset of his club this week.

"The only way you can tell is in practice," Fulmer said. "(Tuesday) was one of our best practices. I think our players have shown resiliency all year long. We had a tough start to the season (45-31 loss at California) then we won three in a row. We've had a couple of big wins, one of them on the road. I think we've bounced back well."

Tennessee was one of the least penalized teams in the SEC entering last weekend but committed season-high 11 penalties, including six costly flags on defense.

"It's been a fun team to coach because they've tried to be responsive," Fulmer said. "But we've been our own worst enemy with turnovers or kicking game issues or missed assignments. When we've played well and not done those kinds of things, we've shown we're a pretty good football team on the field. Hopefully, we're through that and we'll keep playing better."

Tennessee features several Palmetto State players on their roster, including senior left tackle Eric Young, who attended Union High School in Union, S.C. His high school teammate, Curtis Rice, played three seasons with the Gamecocks before sitting out this season with an injury.

"Eric has improved considerably in his time here," Fulmer said. "Not only physically, but from an understanding standpoint. He's really played well. We moved him from right tackle to left tackle this year to protect our quarterback's blind side. We've only given up two sacks all year and Eric is a big part of that. He's athletic and a big, strong guy. He had to fight through an ankle injury for three or four weeks, but he's played well for us."

Quarterback Erik Ainge, the leader of a Tennessee offense that's ranked fifth in the SEC in scoring (31.9 ppg) and second in passing offense (268.9 ypg), expects to meet stiff resistance from a USC defense that leads the nation in pass defense (145.9 ypg).

"South Carolina has a very good defense," said Ainge, who has completed 66 percent (169 of 256) of his passes for 1,797 yards. "Obviously, they're well coached. They do a lot of things on defense. We have to prepare for a lot of stuff. It will take a good week of practice. We're feeling good about it right now."

One USC defender has jumped out at Ainge while watching film – strong safety Emanuel Cook, who leads USC in tackles with 57.

"(Cook) is a very good player," Ainge said. "Their corners are good. They're linebackers are fast. They're D-line is good. There's no position on their defense where you can say let's attack that position."

Tennessee's offensive line has surrendered just two sacks all season, by far the lowest number in the SEC. Only one has come when Ainge was the QB. The second place team – Florida – has surrendered five sacks.

NOTES:

-- Spurrier said USC had a 'pretty good workout" on Wednesday at the Indoor Facility. "It was good to get a change in routine, go inside and avoid the inclement weather," he said. "I think we had a decent workout. Hopefully, it looked like we worked on (all aspects of football) when the game comes around." Spurrier noted that the only thing USC couldn't work on was it deep passing game. "We don't throw many deep ones anyway," Spurrier said. "It was perfect for us."

-- Spurrier said he has not yet selected a quarterback to start Saturday's game. "We'll probably say something on Friday," he said.

-- USC has won eight of its last 10 road games, something that Spurrier called 'encouraging' on Wednesday. "I think we'll play with a lot more smarts than we did last week," Spurrier said. "Obviously, our offensive guys weren't into the game. We had no excuse whatsoever. Hopefully, we'll give Tennessee a good game. It's just another big Eastern Division conference game that both teams need to mean."

-- Spurrier reported Wednesday that USC is "very healthy for this time of the year." USC sustained no major injuries in the Vanderbilt game.

-- Spurrier said he grew up as a Tennessee fan, first in Newport, TN and later in Johnson City, TN. His family typically attended one Tennessee game per year. "I dreamed about playing for the Vols someday, but after my senior year that was not the best place for me to go," Spurrier said. "The right opportunity and fit was with Ray Graves down at Florida, and that's how I ended up down there."

-- RB Cory Boyd said Wednesday he won't be talking to the media for the rest of the season.

 

[E.T.G.]

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<HR color=#cccccc noShade>- Steve Spurrier said Chris Smelley will likely start.
- The starting guards will likely be Garrett Anderson and Heath Batchelor but the coaches are planning to play a bunch of guys. Both Spurrier and John Hunt said that.
- Stoney Woodson is ready to play.
- Tyrone Nix said no changes to the starting lineup on D.



-----I am quite surprised Smelley is going to get the nod. Stoney being back is very big for the DB's. I hate what they are doing on the OL so hopefully the starting 5 they pick do the job and we don't have to switch up anymore

 

[aplous]

Green....you got a lean?

 

[E.T.G.]

Green....you got a lean?

yea I got a lean and I'll post it up in a little bit after I go over some stuff.


If you plan to bet this game, I hope you found the info you were looking for in this thread. GL

 

[E.T.G.]

5 KEYS

Tony Morrell
GamecockCentral.com Senior Writer
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Cory Boyd and the South Carolina Gamecocks will take on Jonathan Hefney and the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday night at 7:45 PM at Neyland Stadium. The game will be televised live on ESPN. This article takes a look at five things Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks must do to make sure they head back to Columbia with a victory in tow.

1. Pressure Erik Ainge

Tennessee possesses one of the best offensive lines in the Southeastern Conference, and they've only given up two sacks on the season. Given their strength in pass protection, it's unlikely the Gamecocks will be able to hit Erik Ainge as often as they'd like, but that doesn't mean they can't pressure him. They can't allow him to stand tall in the pocket and scan the field, as he's too good at finding the open receiver. Therefore, Tyrone Nix's unit must find a way to generate a consistent pass rush to force Ainge to get rid of the ball sooner than he'd like and not allow the Vols to get their dangerous passing game back on track.

2. Protect the quarterback

The Gamecocks are coming off arguably the worst offensive performance of the Steve Spurrier era last weekend, and many of their struggled stemmed from significant issues in pass protection. While Spurrier will also want to establish the run in this game, Tennessee has one of the worst pass defenses in the Southeastern Conference and they're dead last in the conference in sacks. They feature a young defensive line who has struggled this year, so this could be just what the doctor ordered for the Gamecocks to rebound and give their quarterbacks the time they need to crank up the passing game.

3. Early momentum

The best way to leave the Vanderbilt game in the past is to get off to a fast start offensively against the Vols this weekend. Starting strong would give the offense the confidence they need and could also serve to quiet the 107,000 fans that are expected to be in Neyland Stadium for this contest. If the Gamecocks get the ball first, as Spurrier typically prefers, an opening touchdown drive could do wonders for this team.

4. Limit the penalties

Unforced errors played a huge role in the loss to Vanderbilt, and the Gamecocks can ill afford a repeat performance this weekend. For the most part this year, Carolina has been a pretty disciplined team, and they need to get back to that frame of mind in this game and keep the penalties to a minimum.

5. Third down conversions

Carolina was 1-for-12 on third down against both Vanderbilt and North Carolina, and it's imperative that they fare much better on third down in this game. Converting on third down keeps offensive drives alive, which also allows your defense to rest on the sideline, both of which will increase Carolina's odds of winning this game. Their conversion percentage needs to be much closer to 50% on offense, and their defense needs to continue doing a good job of getting off the field when given the opportunity.

 

[spanishshark]

5. Third down conversions

Carolina was 1-for-12 on third down against both Vanderbilt and North Carolina, and it's imperative that they fare much better on third down in this game. Converting on third down keeps offensive drives alive, which also allows your defense to rest on the sideline, both of which will increase Carolina's odds of winning this game. Their conversion percentage needs to be much closer to 50% on offense, and their defense needs to continue doing a good job of getting off the field when given the opportunity.

This is the key IMO. If they can start converting, they should not have any problems. Also, I agree that the play calling by Spurrier has been suspect but I remember him doing the same thing when he coached Florida. It seems like he goes into these experimental stages once in a while. My feeling is that he will pull no punches against this Tenn. team. He HATES loosing to Tenn. I think he would cut off his left nut for a win against them everytime. hahaha. I'm leaning SC in this game. I havent made my mind up yet. Gonna run some numbers tonight hopefully. :cheers:

 

[E.T.G.]

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<HR color=#cccccc noShade>As usual, Thursday’s practice was in shorts and shoulder pads only. It was primarily a practice for fine tuning the gameplan. The scout team wore the orange jerseys to simulate Tennessee.

The offensive line had a solid day overall. One of the biggest focuses this week, as you’d expect, has been on pre-snap communication and picking up the blitzes. I think you’ll see improvement from the offensive line this week, but don’t expect miracles. The problems there having can’t be fixed overnight.

Chris Smelley again had the best day of the quarterbacks. His confidence has risen as the week has gone on, and he was clearly the most consistent of the three quarterbacks. He has been working on not tipping his hand with eyes and making life more difficult for the secondary.

The wide receivers have been more consistent this week, as well. One of the better weeks of the season, according to one source. The question is whether it will carry over to the game? Chris Culliver’s number of reps has increased, and he’s starting to look more and more comfortable with the offense and the receiver position. This may be the week he gets his chance, but, again, only time will tell.

Cliff Matthews is coming into his own at linebacker and looks even more confident now that he’s had the cast on his hand removed. It will be very interesting to see how he fares now that he’s at full speed. He should play a key role Saturday night both in stopping the run and in trying to disrupt Erik Ainge.

Cody Wells is becoming one of the leaders of the special teams, and they need to him to come up big on the coverage teams in this game.

 

[aplous]

If you didn't find the info in this thread.....you ain't gonna find it!

Thanks----

 

[E.T.G.]

I've gathered all my notes/thoughts and I will make a writeup in the next few hours on this game which will most likely look like a cliff notes version of this thread. 1 more article.








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Talk about it in The General's Quarters


"They are who we thought they were!" - those were the words shouted by Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green last year after a late game collapse against the Bears. You can see that sound byte routinely on commercials, television sports shows and on You Tube. I saw that clip this week and it got me wondering.

Who are the Vols? Or better yet, what is the identity of the Vols on offense? Coming out of the Georgia and Mississippi State games, it appeared the Vols had "found themselves".

Coming out of the 41-17 loss to the Tide, it appears the Vols are dealing with an identity crisis.

Hey, I don't think the Vols need to reinvent themselves. I just think they need to remember who they are. And they are at their best when they run the football.

David Cutcliffe has said since the Alabama game that his offense had good balance before things got out of hand in Tuscaloosa. And by the numbers, he is correct. In the first half, Tennessee had 13 runs and 14 passes.

But there is more to balance than just being 50-50. In Tennessee's first drive of the game, they ran six plays. Five were throws and one was a rush. In their only drive of the second quarter, they had three passes and two rushes.

But on Tennessee's two touchdown drives, they ran it 10 times and threw it five. For this Tennessee team, that's "balanced enough".

Through the years, Phillip Fulmer has always said they are going to "be Tennessee". And for years, no one has really known what that means. If you look at Fulmer's most successful teams, however, "being Tennessee" is about running the football and throwing on play action.

In fact, in 185 games as head coach, Fulmer has rushed the ball less than 20 times in a game a grand total of THREE times. In 1996, Tennessee ran it 18 times after falling behind 35-0 against Florida. In 2003, at Auburn, Tennessee ran it less than 20 times as they trailed 28-7 at one point in the second half. Number three occurred last Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

In Fulmer's four trips to the SEC Championship game, his team averaged at least 150 yard rushing per game that season. Of those four teams, only the '97 Peyton Manning-led Vols threw it more than they ran it.

Tennessee is at their best when they lean on the run. Especially at this very moment.

The Vol defense has problems.

There aren't immediate fixes to rushing the passer and defending in the secondary as October is about to become November. That is why the Vols' best defense should be their offense. Tennessee must hold onto the football as long as possible over the next five Saturdays.

Last week, Arian Foster averaged seven yards a rush on 13 carries. The problem is that Foster didn't get a carry in a third and short situation and he wasn't on the field in the second quarter and he only had one carry in the fourth.

The bottom line: it's time Tennessee gets away from the ever-changing identity that results from taking what the defense gives you. It's time they hang their hat on their best unit, which is the offensive line. When Tennessee is at their best offensively, it's not when they are evenly balanced with a run-pass ratio. It is when they are "balanced enough" with play action to keep defenses somewhat honest. Tennessee is 82-8 all time when a back rushes for over 100 yards and they are 56-5 when they rushed for over 200 yards as a team.

"Being Tennessee" right now is running the football.

There has never been a more critical time to "be Tennessee" than tomorrow night with "The Ol' Ball Coach" standing on the opposite sideline.