Shots Across the Bow

This isn't a report card; it's an autopsy. The Vol offense was pronounced dead shortly after 5PM Saturday evening.
Philip Fulmer:

"I'm obviously very disappointed,'' Vols coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We played against a really good team. Defensively, we probably played well enough, but offensively we did nothing.''

Insight like that is why he gets paid the big bucks.

The Vol offense managed 218 yards, 74 on the second play of the game. The rest of the stats are here if you're interested.

I'm not.

Report Card:
Quarterbacks C-.
The offensive line was so outclassed that I can't blame the quarterbacks too much. Clausen performed at about the same level he has all year, which is to say, barely adequate. Banks wasn't allowed to throw much by Sanders, or the Miami defensive line for that matter, and spent most of his snaps running for his life. CJ Leak didn't get enough time to really show us anything.
Receivers D-.
Couldn't get open, and couldn't hold onto the ball when they did get open. Witten was limited to one catch, two if you count the miscall by the ref.
Running Backs C-.
It's hard to run when you don't get a hole. But when you have a 10 yard lead on the nearest defensder, you really should make it into the end zone.
Offensive Line F.
Last week the offensive line played their best game all season. This week they were completely outclassed and outmanned. I'm not going to credit the play of Miami's defense, since Big East powerhouse Rutgers was able to stand up to them for three quarters
Defensive Line/Linebackers B-
The Vol defense bent but rarely broke, limiting Miami to a single touchdown in the second half.
Secondary B-
Once again, Julian Battle seemed to be everywhere. The secondary played soft as usual, but only got burned badly twice. Against Miami, that is an accomplishment.
Special Teams D-
Colquitt shanked a couple punts, but to be fair, his leg was probably getting pretty tired. MArk Jones grabbed a punt on the one inch line, rather than let it go into the end zone for a touch back. Kick and punt overage, usually a strength for the Vols this season, was sub par.
Coaching incomplete.
How much of the team's lack of character can be laid at the coaches' feet? The players have to take part of the blame, but at the same time, Fulmer's continued reliance on the obviously ineffective Clausen has got to put a strain on the rest of the team. Maybe we ran up the middle all day because that's all Sanders believes his offense can do. But when it doesn't work, how can trying something else be worse?
Officiating Not worth worrying about. Yes there were bad calls, like ruling Witten out of bounds when he was clearly in bounds, but that wouldn't have made a difference today.
Overall D.
Next we face a Mississippi State team that is 0-5 in the SEC, and maybe the only offense in the SEC worse than UT's. They look to break into the win column against UT, but as long as our defense continues to play wth a little pride, that won't happen. There are rumors that Clausen is out for the season. This can only help the Vols.
Early prediction:
Tennessee 27 Mississippi St. 6

UPDATE: SKBubba expected me to be harsher than I was. Well, I probably would have been, except Miami really is a great team, despite a couple of lack luster performances. I'm not surprised we looked as bad as we did.

What do you do with a muddy T-shirt?

This part of Tennessee is known for it's red clay. We have a few inches of topsoil, but beneath that is several feet of the hardest, stickiest, clay known to man. When I was digging my garden, I prayed to hit on solid rock, just to get away from the clay.

One year for Easter, I had the bright idea that instead of Easter baskets loaded with candy, I would get each child a tree, to plant for their very own. It would be a much nicer celebration of Easter than gorging on candy. I thought it would be nice to have a lasting reminder of the holiday each time we looked at the trees they had planted. While it didn’t turn out quite the way I had planned, I know I'll always remember it, that's for sure!

The kids loved the idea, and so early that Sunday morning, we went out to plant their new trees. The air was crisp and cool, with a slight breeze. The sun had just come out, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky; simply a beautiful day.
Then we began digging.

Well, I began digging. The kids quickly discovered that after the first three or four inches, it became really hard work, and they quickly found other things to do. I dug the first hole in about an hour, working through the clay, removing rocks, roots, the occasional grub, and some things better left unidentified. Once the hole was deep enough and wide enough, I called the first child back over, and we began to plant the tree. We mixed the clay and topsoil with more topsoil from the garden center, (Have you ever bought dirt? You'll never use the phrase "dirt cheap" again if you have), painstakingly breaking up all the clumps and mixing the two soils with a garden rake to achieve the proper consistency, and began back filling the hole. Then we opened the root ball, and placed the tree in the hole. Now, before you put the tree in the hole, you have to form a slight cone in the bottom of the hole, and spread the roots around it. This helps the tree overcome the shock of being transplanted. The only problem is that the tree has been wrapped in a burlap bag for 6 weeks, and the roots have grown into a tangle worse than my son's shoelaces, before we discovered Velcro. I patiently untangled the ball of roots, losing no more than three or four to breakage, and we put the tree in the hole and covered the root ball. We mounded the soil up and then soaked it with water to fill all the gaps, then added more soil, just like it said in the gardening book. We mulched around the base, and then staked the tree to keep it straight.

One down, five to go. (For the math impaired, yes, I have six children.)

The dew had evaporated off the grass, and the sun had climbed a little higher in the sky. The crisp air gave way to a warm breeze that did little to cool me off as I began the next hole. The pleasant morning passed into an unpleasant afternoon, hot and muggy, more typical of July than April. The next three trees became a back-breaking, mind-numbing routine: Cut the sod away, dig through 3 inches of loam, then swing the pick at the red clay, and scoop the pitiful handful of dirt out of the hole. Put the tree in the hole to see if the root ball is covered yet. Pull the tree out of the hole and begin to dig again. Repeat. Chase dog away from freshly planted tree, re-mulch. Continue on new hole. Check depth of hole. Curse the day you ever thought of planting a tree. Stop dog from digging up newly planted tree. Replant newly planted tree. Go back to new hole and dig. No, the dog won't dig here, only where you've already dug. Trust me on this one. Chase dog away from newly replanted tree again. Trip over guy wire, cutting shin and uprooting newly replanted tree. Lie on the ground and curse Johnny Appleseed, and everybody remotely connected with Arbor Day. Get up, replant newly uprooted, freshly replanted tree. Continue work on new hole. Decide that the root ball doesn't absolutely have to be covered completely and plant new tree. Cover with topsoil and chunks of clay, then mulch. Dig up tree to stop child from crying because he didn't get to plant it. Re-plant freshly dug up tree, with said child's assistance. Proceed to next hole. Repeat three more times. Rig lighting to continue digging in the dark.

The day was gone; the yard was covered in darkness nearly as black as my heart. I was tired. The blisters on my hands had broken, re-blistered, re-broken and scabbed over. My back was permanently deformed; only several hours on the rack would get me to stand straight again. I was numb below the waist, except for the cut on my shin. Somewhere during the day, I had begun to loathe nature. As I swung the pick, I dreamed of napalm drenched rainforests, and barrels of Agent Orange, ridding the earth of every tree. I fantasized about strip mines as far as the eye could see, and endless acres of asphalt. But I couldn't disappoint my kids. They were counting on Dad to help them create new life in our yard, and I couldn't let them down. This was a family project and we had to finish it. What could I do?

So, I called them back outside (they had been inside watching TV for the last 4 hours, sticking their heads out and asking me if their holes were ready yet) and prepared to dig the last hole. Then I noticed something. Right near the front of the house was a little depression where the grass grew greener than anywhere else. This little depression was almost the perfect size for the last tree's root ball.

I know what you're thinking; I was thinking the same thing. But I was exhausted, and I didn't care anymore.

I cut the sod, slashed the root ball, dumped the tree into the hole, and put the last of the topsoil and the last of the mulch around the tree, creating a volcano shaped mound that completely disregarded all the advice in my gardening book.

I'm sure that some day in the future, my plumber will curse the idiot who planted a tree on top of the septic tank. I will join him in that cursing, and blame it on the idiot who lived there before me.

So, like I said, the red clay here is bad. It also stains everything from clothing to shoes to small animals. I've spent a lot of time cleaning that clay off of shoes, trying to avoid tracking it inside. My children aren't quite so diligent, so despite my best efforts, my carpet, which was once gray, has assumed a ruddy hue reminiscent of a Burnt Umber Crayola crayon, which isn't too bad because it helps the paw prints from the dogs blend in.

While most people, myself included, look at something like that and see it as a nuisance, others see it as a gold mine.

I have a buddy at work who is of the second sort. He collects dirt and clay from sporting venues and uses it to die T-shirts and Polo Shirts, then sells them as memorabilia. Tractor pulls, short tracks, baseball fields, wherever there's mud and people playing in it, he's there. Think about that for a minute; he's making good money selling dirty shirts.

Is this a great country or what?

Some on the left aren't going to take this defeat sitting down. They have a plan.
From Talk Left:

Statistics from the Department of Justice show that 3.9 million felons are currently or permanently disenfranchised. That's a lot of potential votes--enough to affect the outcome of an election.

So what if he committed murder-rape? He is still entitled to a say in our government, right?

Wrong! Any society functions according to a social contract. We agree to be bound by certain rules of conduct in order to enjoy the benefits of association. We codify these rules of conduct into laws, and grant part of the society the right to enforce those laws. Those who fail to keep their end of the compact, ie obey the laws, forfeit their right to participate in the shaping of that society.

McAuliffe, Carville, Gore, Ms. Rodham-Clinton and the big man himself are all done. Hillary! may hang on to her Senate seat, but her national aspirations are history. Al Gore is now just a footnote to history, as are all Veeps who don't go on to win the Presidency.
The Democratic Party is reeling from the rejection they faced at the polls. The election that was supposed to erase the 2000 race instead confirmed it. Getting rid of Jeb Bush was "priority one," according to Terry McAuliffe; Jeb won easily. Taking back the House was target two; the Republicans picked up seats. Defending the Senate was considered a foregone conclusion; now it's just gone. I went back to the Democratic Underground website to see how they were taking it. Apparently not too well. This was what I found:

Due to the massive influx of people this morning, we are experiencing serious problems with server overload.
The forums were shut down at 11:00AM ET. Feel free to check back every half hour or so. But please don't hit the
"refresh" button on your Web browser every 5 seconds, or we'll never come back online.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

Use the free time to do something constructive. It's not healty to sit inside stewing over last night's loss.
Go for a walk outside. Or call an old friend. It will make you feel better.

For only the 3rd time since the War Between the States, the party of the sitting president has picked up seats in both the House and the Senate during a mid term election. For the first time in 50 years, Republicans hold both the Executive and Legislative branches of our government. While Democrats are screaming bloody murder, this is actually the best thing for the country. Bush finally gets the chance to put his agenda before Congress, which is basically split 50-50. This means that nothing too extreme will pass, as there are plenty of moderate Republicans who will vote across party lines if they see fit. The chief advantage is that Democrats can no longer keep things bottled up in committee. Judicial nominations should come through fast and furious, allowing the full Senate to vote. Extreme candidates will still face an uphill battle, but moderate choices should get approval.

VNS declared that their exit polling data was unreliable. Tell me something I didn't already know.

James Carville put a trash can on his head during CNN's Crossfire. He said that Democrats needed to run on the issues. Oddly enough, Rush Limbaugh on NBC said virtually the same thing, that the Democrats failed to offer the people a reason to vote for them.

In a related story, hell froze over.

New Jersey Democrats have announced that from now on, they will not name a candidate until 3 weeks before the election, in keeping with the New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling that voter choice should be maximized.

Jim Jeffords held a press conference today, announcing that he is rejoining the Republican Party. The RNC held a follow up conference, announcing that Jim Jeffords can go soak his head. Jeffords held a second conference, announcing that he would join the Democratic Party, and that would show those mean Republicans. The DNC held a final press conference, thanking Jeffords for his help, but "Don't call us; we'll call you."

In Florida, Jeb Bush won a second term as governor, despite heavy campaigning by Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Or maybe because of it.

In Tenneseee, Phil Bredesen defeated Don Sundquist for governor. Van Hilleary also ran.

Also in Tennessee, a constitutional amendment allowing a lottery passed, despite energetic opposition by several religous groups. The amendment also allows non-profit groups to hold raffles for fundraising purposes. The coalition of lottery opponents immediately announced a fund raising raffle designed to raise funds to defeat any pro-lottery legislation.

A collection of stories about glitches in the electoral process:
From Drudge:

Systematic problem statewide in Georgia confirmed: When placing vote, and touching the screen for a Republican candidate, the box is incorrectly checked for the Democrat candidate. Another similar situation is occurring when the review screen comes up and previously marked Republican votes are showing as Democrat votes... is happening in lots of different races, to both parties. Officials fixing problems as they arise when made aware of them... Developing...

and this:

FLORIDA TALKSHOW CALLERS CLAIM MACHINES 'BROKEN', VOTED FOR MCBRIDE, MARKED IT AS BUSH

"I voted for McBride, but the machine counted it as Bush. It did this three times. The polling worker finally said, 'We have to reprogram this machine. Another person was having the same trouble while I was there.'"

So claimed a caller to Southern Florida's WQAM-AM and the highly-rated radio talkmatch, NEIL ROGERS SHOW.

"I pushed the screen for McBride and it marked Bush. They called over a technician, he reset it," claimed a second caller.

"I'll tell you right now, this election is fixed!" roared Rogers, who has been in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market for more than 25 years. "Based on a few early calls, it is going to be a wild, wild time."

"You have not seen anything yet," warned Rogers. "It's not even 10:30 in the morning. This is going to be one of the great disasters of all-time."

From the Washington Post:

As residents of Maryland, Virginia and the District cast their votes in several closely watched races, technical problems plagued some precincts in Montgomery County, Md.

Montgomery residents using the new electronic touch-screen voting machines at all 30 precincts in legislative District 19 saw the word "Democratic" in the header of the ballots, according to Sara Harris, deputy director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
....
Another elections official, Marjorie Roher, said the step was taken "to preserve the integrity of the votes and to inform voters about what happened."

The notices state: "The ballot is correct and your vote will count. This ballot contains all candidates and questions. However, the heading on the instruction page contains the word "Democratic." This word should not have appeared on the instruction page and this line should have been blank."

from WOKV:

Among those precincts affected was the Mary Singleton Senior Center, the precinct that had the most trouble on Primary Day. Corrine Brown, congressional candidate, was outraged at the problems at the polls and told WOKV NEWS that she was aware of a similar problem at precinct 10J. Both of those polls are in heavily African-American precincts, and she wondered why those precints seem to have the most problems.

Reports from around the city suggest the problem is more widespread than just those precincts, we received similar reports from at least four other polling sites, including one in Clay county, though we understand all machines are now online and processing ballots.

From Boston.com:

Republican Mitt Romney's campaign filed a complaint several hours after polls opened Tuesday, saying union workers were improperly influencing voters in the city's Jamaica Plain section.

Romney campaign adviser Rob Gray said officials with the Service Employees International Union were seen entering voting booths with some voters in Ward 11, Precinct 4 of Jamaica Plain.

from Fox:

Three central Florida counties reported problems with optical scanners. Machines malfunctioned at a South Miami precinct. An electrician was called to a Broward County precinct running on battery power, where voters were reportedly putting their ballots in a box to be hand-counted.

Some who showed up to vote drove off before a precinct in the Orlando suburb of Winter Park, Fla., finally opened 20 minutes late.

Once the poll opened, some voters said they had trouble feeding the optical scan ballots through the machines -- and some English-speaking voters said they were given Spanish-language ballots.

In Cherry Hill, N.J., a computer glitch caused voting machines to malfunction in about three-quarters of the township's 46 voting districts. Some voters had to use paper ballots while repairs got under way

And the beat goes on....

You know, the dudes at the Democratic Underground want us to go pack to paper and pencil ballots, as if voter error and fraud were invented with the voting machine. By that logic, the way to reduce traffic fatalities is to go back to the horse and buggy.

I was curious. I wanted to know what the hard line democrats would have to say about the killing of Al Qaeda members in Yemen, so I went to the Democratic Underground forums, the habitat of choice for the fringe left. Not too surprisingly, I hit the mother load.

Here's a sampling:

• Is this now our MO to use unmanned drones to bomb anywhere at anytime? What kind of international law does this violate? Are we proud of this? What a sterile way to have a war. That way we don't even have to see the innocent people we kill.
  
• We should've arrested these people and sent them to the UN High Court if they were truly terrorists.
  
  It is time we get in line and stop pretending that we can decide what is right and wrong. The rest of the World is doing it...why cant we meet them.
  
  Because of some document written two hundred F*ckin years ago? Please. This is either a planet of progressive laws that we all submit to and support or it is chaos. I choose the former.
  
  I am ashamed to be called an American today.

(I'm also ashamed that you're called an American.)

• If you make of notice that document
  of which you make speaking of makes not such an authorization. We have in fact of such no war declaration in Yemen. This is of such meaning then that it is of rogue actions by Bush from outside of such the Constitution. If indeed these dead are of to be suspect then capture and trial is of course proper. But making for discard of Constitution is not of such that it is right because our own within American Constitution makes for not this act. Evil makes for this act. It is such of like Bush and evil in that there are making no trials for these men. Please make for no blaming of Constitution.

What?

• My guess is that this was a blown mass murder. With no evidense of military or political position, we have slaughtered undefended civilians. Credible witnesses must have blown the hit. If there was no attempt to detain, there should be murder charges.
  This reflects a high degree of racism on our part. Aribic people are human.
  Those of you giving approval to this must not be thinking of attending an "illigal" anti war rally. Well, you're probably okay if you're white.
  
• So you think...
  ...that the timing of this is just coincidental? The night before an election?
  These guys didnt jump in a car until now?
  
  Bullsh*t! If they were criminals they should've been arrested. Not blown away with a damned missile.
  

I was wondering how long it would take for this charge to appear. Shades of Clinton's cruise missile attack.

• Who gives a f*&@, eh? After all, they were suspects! No evidence is needed nowadays. Besides, they were brown skinned. Everyone knows that brown skinned people are savages. If they weren't guilty, they would surely someday be! Now stop ypur liberal whining! We have a master race to create! Plus, history has proven that the CIA are above suspicion! They are clean cut, All American patriots! They would never do anything so insidious as eliminating loose strings that could come back to unravel their web of lies. Never!
  Oh say does that star spangled hit man yet inform on his neighbors?
  
  O'er the land of the enslaved, and the home of the cowardly state police apologists.
  

This from the Washington Times

Mr. McBride's 36-hour weekend sweep of southeast Florida with former President Bill Clinton over the weekend drew lower-than-expected crowds.
Still, Mr. McBride yesterday promised his supporters a victory if turnout is sufficient.
"If we get the vote out, we'll win this election," he said at an Opa-locka rally alongside former Vice President Al Gore.

Tell that to Mr Gore....

A recurring feature with stories that prove we are living in "The Crazy Years."

Dem Bones!

Some Ecuadorian chefs use human thigh bones to add extra taste to their dishes and attract customers, according to an investigation by a local newspaper.

Newspaper Extra has sparked a scandal by interviewing restaurant and café owners who admit to cooking with bones taken from cemeteries.

Chef Carlos Acosta has told Extra he has cooked with the leg bones, known as femurs, for 40 years and that many of his colleagues do the same.

The New Generation hits a snag

West Salem High School cheerleader Andrea Boyes thought she had hit upon a great fund-raising idea for her squad — creating and selling Titan brand bottled water at school events.

Last summer, Boyes got a donation of $750 for startup costs, designed a label bearing her school logo, had 6,000 printed, found a supplier and ordered 15 cases, which were delivered last month.

But her plan hit a snag when beverage giant Pepsi got wind of it.

The company’s exclusive contract with the school district allows only its Aquafina brand water to be sold on school grounds.

Are profit margins at PepsiCo that thin?

Oopsie!

The white couple who gave birth to black twins after a mix-up at an IVF clinic are to be allowed to keep the children despite continuing uncertainty over their legal status, a judge ruled yesterday.

The twins are believed to be aged over two. The error came to light only as the parents became aware that the skin tone of their children was different from their own.

Stop that man! He's wearing a skirt!

Gay rights activists are set to converge on a quiet Mexican border town in the wake of moves to criminalise cross-dressing.
Tecate's new town ordinance, scheduled to go into effect in mid-November, bars men from wearing women's clothes.

Men who flout the rule could be arrested and fined.

Transgressors would not face a jail term, although officials said that in practice it may mean imprisoning people at least overnight.

"The majority of votes for this was to avoid Aids, and prostitution if possible," Tecate councilman Cosme Cazares said.

Here that ladies? Wearing a dress can cause AIDS. And all this time we thought it was a virus.

He said s(he) said.

JAMIE McCulloch had a big day yesterday. In the morning, the Gay Games athlete played in the Boston men's ice hockey team. In the afternoon, she was back on the rink for the women's team.

McCulloch is one of a handful of transgender athletes competing at the Sydney 2002 Games who have found themselves in the middle of growing consternation about who they should be competing against.

So, if (s)he's a girl, why is (s)he playing on the men's team? And which locker room did she use?

Saddam Hussein said Monday Iraq would consider cooperating with a new U.N. resolution on arms inspections as long as it was not merely a pretext for the United States to attack it.

and in totally unrelated news,

Yemen said Tuesday it was investigating the cause of a car blast that killed six alleged al Qaeda members after a U.S. official said the vehicle was destroyed by a missile fired from a U.S. drone.

Monday Yemen said the six, including a key suspect in an attack on a U.S. warship two years ago, were killed when the car they were traveling in exploded in eastern Marib province, but officials have refused to comment further.


"The investigation into the car blast is still under way," a Yemeni government official told Reuters.

A U.S. official in Washington said Monday the missile was fired by an unmanned U.S. CIA (news - web sites) aircraft.

While good for a grin, these two events are unrelated. Hussein's offer is more of his doublespeak, couched in the same vague restrictions we've heard time and again. Of course, the EUros will buy into it, as they continue their accelerating slide into irrelevancy.

OK, six, but one big one.

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. forces killed a top associate of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) in Yemen in a missile strike, expanding the war on terror with America's first overt attack on suspected al-Qaida operatives outside of Afghanistan (news - web sites), a U.S. official said Monday.

Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi was one of several al-Qaida members traveling by car in northwest Yemen when a Hellfire missile struck it Sunday, killing him and five others. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the attack was believed to have been conducted by a CIA (news - web sites) aircraft, possibly a missile-carrying Predator drone.

The official Yemeni news agency, local tribesmen and the U.S. official confirmed the strike killed al-Harethi. Witnesses said they saw an aircraft, possibly a helicopter, in the area. Hellfires can also be launched by attack helicopters.

You can run, you can hide, but we'll get you eventually.

Note the lack of civilian casualties.

SKBubba has the latest polling data on the Tennessee races.
He always gets the best info....

Jesse Ventura appointed an Independant to fill Sen. Wellstone's seat in the Senate until the elections are over, which brings the Senate back to a tie; 49-49-2.
Of course, the Democrats still control all the committees, so I don't expect anything to get done, particularly in the area of judicial appointments, which is too bad.

Die by the car bomb.

SANAA (Reuters) - A car explosion has killed six alleged members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, including a key suspect in an attack on a U.S. warship in Aden two years ago, Yemen said on Monday.

Yemen's Saba news agency quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying arms and traces of explosives where found in the car along with communications equipment after Sunday's blast in the Marib oil-producing province, 105 miles east of the capital Sanaa.

No word on whether they found legs as well....

It's a measure of how bad this season has been that Phillip Fulmer referred to yesterday's game as a "big win." It's a measure of the fans' enthusiasm that we are now saying we have a good chance to beat Miami. It's a measure of this weird season that we actually do have a chance to beat Miami. Just ask Georgia, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, or NC State.
This still was not the breakout game the Vols were looking for, although they did take a big step forward. 2 fumbles, multiple penalties, a missed PAT, substitution problems, all continuing problems with the Vol offense. This time, however, they played well enough to overcome the miscues.
Report Card:
Quarterbacks B-.
Clausen generally played well, despite a couple of problems handing the ball off early in the game, which may have been the tailbacks fault. 17-23 for 175 yards is respectable. Add in a bootleg run for a touchdown, particularly on a bum ankle, and you get a winning effort. IOf only we could teach him not to spit on camera...
Receivers B.
Witten had a good day, as did the rest of the Vol receivers. Without Washington to throw to, Clausen had to look for alternate receivers, and they came through.
Running Backs B.
This would have been an A, except for Gerald Riggs' fumble. Cedric Houston showed why he won the starting job this spring. On one particularly gruesome play, a Gamecock defensive player grabbed Cedric's injured thumb in an attempt to strip the ball. I saw his thumb, despite being wrapped and taped, get yanked backwards, yet Cedric held onto the ball. Excellent effort.
Offensive Line A
What a remarkable change from last game. There were holes for the running backs, but none for the defensive backs. The two groups, offensive line and running backs, worked together fed off of each other's improved play. The offensive line made some beautiful holes for Houston and Davis, who hit them cleanly, resulting in the Vols best rushing performance to date. Yes, it was just South Carolina, who ranks 9th in the SEC in rushing defense, but it was still a good performance by a line that hasn't lived up to it's preseason promise. UT is averaging just under 143 yards per game while giving up 21 sacks, a total second only to Kentucky. Yesterday, the line began to redeem themselves. Miami's rushing defense is suspect. We'll see if our O line will continue their comeback.
Defensive Line/Linebackers B
South Carolina had some success running the ball, but couldn't mount a sustained drive. They chalked up 3 sacks, and pressured the quarterback all afternoon.
Secondary A
3 picks, and only one pass over 10 yards adds up to excellent play by the secondary. Julian Battle played very well, racking up 8 tackles, despite being disappointed that he was the only starter not to get a pick yesterday.
Special Teams C-
Too many men on the field cost us a timeout, even though the end result was an improvement. A poor snap cost us points, as did a Mark Jones' fumble, and the usually reliable Dustin Colquitt shanked a punt. Not a good day for the special teams.
Coaching C.
I liked Fulmer's call to go for it on 4th and 1. The players said after the game that the coach's confidence in making that call gave them a spark, and it showed in their performance; the Vols held the ball for 13 minutes in the 4th quarter.
I still have a problem with the screen passes, though. Until the offensive line shows that they can block it effectively, we need to retire that play. Also, I still think we need to get Banks involved in the game. Clausen is one good hit from going out for the season. In a game where the defense is dominating and we have a lead, if Clausen is getting banged up, get him out of there, and get Banks some game time.
Officiating D+.
Multiple missed calls yet again. Both teams were getting away with holding, and there were at least two blatant block in the backs that went uncalled. Add in the mystery personal foul against South Carolina, and once again I understand why Joe Pa is getting ornery.
Overall B-
Bouyed by a marked inprovement in the offensive line and the running backs, UT played it's best game of the season. Granted, it wasn't against a team like Miami, but we looked better than we did against Rutgers, Wyoming, or MTSU. Miami is another story altogether. Yes, they've suffered let downs, and had to win in the 4th, but the fact is they have won in the 4th, every time they needed to. Does anybody think they will take Tennessee as lightly as they took Rutgers? How many times do you think they will watch the '85 Sugar Bowl?
Tennessee will need their best game, a flat Miami, and a few calls going their way to come out on top next weekend. Early prediction:
Miami 31 Tennessee 24