‘05 Cotton Bowl. VOLS massacre A&M

[ksgovols]

Those were the Good Ole Days.....

Look at that O-Line. TE Victor McClure LT Michael Munoz LG Rob Smith C Jason Respert RG Cody Douglas RT Arron Sears. All over 300.
RB's were Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs Jr.
WR's included Robert Meachem, C.J. Fayton, Jason Swain
Weak spot was QB. Two freshmen in Eric Ainge and Brent Shaeffer and a transfer in Rick Clausen. All 3 played that season.

Vols beat Florida by 2, Lost to Auburn, beat Georgia by 5, Ole Miss by 4, Bama by 4, USCe by 14, Lost to ND by 4, beat Vandy by 5 and UK by 6. Won 6 SEC games by less than a touchdown.

 

[VolDaddy61]

I literally just watched this replay. The talent we had on offense ?! Wow ! Probably the most complete WR core we've had in a while. Overall team speed was insane ! R.I.P. Jesse

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Well yeah, Fulmer had great teams. When you have John Henderson and Albert Haynesworth together for example, as your DT’s, that’s about as good as it gets.

That ‘01 team was something else. Still makes my heart hurt. That’s probably a bit dramatic, but that’s one that will always stick with you . You don’t get many of those.

 

[1Big_Orange_Fan]

I ran into a guy at a conference for work just a couple of weeks ago and when he found out I was a UT fan he brought up this game. He said he was there and talked about what a beatdown it was. He remembered it more than I did. He said that a couple of years after the game someone found a meme of him on the web. He didn't know it was out there. I asked him to send it to me since my daughter is at A&M. Pretty funny stuff.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

That ‘01 team was something else. Still makes my heart hurt. That’s probably a bit dramatic, but that’s one that will always stick with you . You don’t get many of those.

If anyone wants a swift kick to the nuts the ‘01 team is on the SEC network right now. Take a guess which game.

 

[NeverWe'llSever]

I actually watched some of this for the heck of it.

For all the “Fulmer got complacent and lost that fire in the belly” talk, there is a hell of a lot more physical talent on display than there is with the current team.

It’s not close

Not to be rude, but duh. That team won 10 games and the SEC East. This year’s team will win 8 at best and that is probably unlikely. Most likely 7.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Those were the Good Ole Days.....

Look at that O-Line. TE Victor McClure LT Michael Munoz LG Rob Smith C Jason Respert RG Cody Douglas RT Arron Sears. All over 300.
RB's were Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs Jr.
WR's included Robert Meachem, C.J. Fayton, Jason Swain
Weak spot was QB. Two freshmen in Eric Ainge and Brent Shaeffer and a transfer in Rick Clausen. All 3 played that season.

Vols beat Florida by 2, Lost to Auburn, beat Georgia by 5, Ole Miss by 4, Bama by 4, USCe by 14, Lost to ND by 4, beat Vandy by 5 and UK by 6. Won 6 SEC games by less than a touchdown.

I think that ‘04 team was Phil’s best coaching job, unfortunately followed up the next season with his worst coaching job. With the exception of the ND game when Ainge went down, that team always did just enough to win. Auburn was in a different league that year, but beating #3 UGA on the road with a Freshman QB, beating UF at Night and beating Bama is never easy, plus destroying aTm in the Cotton Bowl that’s a helluva season. Also, weren’t Ced and Riggs both thousand yard rushers? That was a fun year to be on campus.

 

[ksgovols]

Yep, 2 1000 yard rushers. We ran a lot of unbalanced line with McClure on one end and really had 3 inexperienced qb's. The next year those tough home games were on the road and we let a couple get away from us. We were lucky to beat LSU in Baton Rouge. That was the game where Ainge just flipped the ball out of the end zone when he was about to be sacked and gave up 6 instead of 2.

 

[MWAVolfan]

I think Ohio State figured in there too, which is why it was such a big deal when Texas won an early season classic up there at the Horseshoe.

Yep. I hosted a party for the OSU/TX game that year (I was living in Cleveland and had many Buckey neighbors). OSU was a big deal that year with Troy Smith at QB and AJ Hawk. Had they beat Texas it could have been them playing for the NC against USC. Penn State was also a beast that year.

 

[MWAVolfan]

Those were the Good Ole Days.....

Look at that O-Line. TE Victor McClure LT Michael Munoz LG Rob Smith C Jason Respert RG Cody Douglas RT Arron Sears. All over 300.
RB's were Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs Jr.
WR's included Robert Meachem, C.J. Fayton, Jason Swain
Weak spot was QB. Two freshmen in Eric Ainge and Brent Shaeffer and a transfer in Rick Clausen. All 3 played that season.

Vols beat Florida by 2, Lost to Auburn, beat Georgia by 5, Ole Miss by 4, Bama by 4, USCe by 14, Lost to ND by 4, beat Vandy by 5 and UK by 6. Won 6 SEC games by less than a touchdown.

Didnt they lose to that Auburn twice that year? That was their undefeated year, wasnt it?

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Didnt they lose to that Auburn twice that year? That was their undefeated year, wasnt it?

Yep.

 

[lukeneyland]

You know what they say about hindsight. If we knew then what we know now Fulmer would probably be the HC. Crazy to think if Ainge didnt get injured we could have had a great season in 05 and that could have easily bought Fulmer more time. Is what it is

If Ainge didn't struggle in 05 and with a little Luck that 05 team could have won everything. Probably the best 5-6 team in history

 

[05_never_again]

If Ainge didn't struggle in 05 and with a little Luck that 05 team could have won everything. Probably the best 5-6 team in history

The 2005 season was probably the most disappointing season in school history. Preseason #3, Gerald Riggs was thrown around as a dark horse Heisman candidate, picked to win the SEC and potentially have a spot in the title game. Our offense was absolutely atrocious that year.

Season started with a near-loss to UAB, then lost to Florida, then we thought we had a great team after all with a come from behind win at LSU at night.

 

[lukeneyland]

The 2005 season was probably the most disappointing season in school history. Preseason #3, Gerald Riggs was thrown around as a dark horse Heisman candidate, picked to win the SEC and potentially have a spot in the title game. Our offense was absolutely atrocious that year.

Season started with a near-loss to UAB, then lost to Florida, then we thought we had a great team after all with a come from behind win at LSU at night.

What's crazy is that every game we lost was close except for vs Notre Dame. Could've been 11-1 with a little fortune

 

[05_never_again]

What's crazy is that every game we lost was close except for vs Notre Dame. Could've been 11-1 with a little fortune

Yeah - multiple wins were close too though. Beat UAB by 7, LSU by 3 in OT, and Memphis by 4. The offense in particular that year was absolutely maddening...we allowed 6 points to a #5 and then undefeated Alabama team but lost. Allowed just 16 to an Urban Meyer Florida team and lost. Allowed 16 to South Carolina but lost. You're absolutely right that the only game we had any business losing was at Notre Dame.

That was definitely the most frustrating season I've ever seen because of what the expectations were relative to how they actually played. Inspiration for my user name.

 

[StarRaider]

We were lucky to beat LSU in Baton Rouge. That was the game where Ainge just flipped the ball out of the end zone when he was about to be sacked and gave up 6 instead of 2.

Except this happened in the 2005 season, not 2004.