OneManGang
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Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Florida
DATE: 12 October 2024
PLACE: Neyland Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 101,915
FINAL SCORE: Tennessee 23 Florida 17 - OT
If someone had told the Vol fans assembling at Neyland Stadium Saturday that the score would be 3-0 in favor of the Gators at half, people would have asked for a lid of whatever they were smoking.
Tennessee's offensive woes, carried over from the second half at Norman, were on painful display to a nationwide audience.
The Vols seemed to be reduced to a handful of offensive plays: Stumble, Bumble, Fiddle, F*rt, Fall and Punt.
Embarrassing is what it was.
Let's get to the football action – such as it was.
The Vols' first drive showed promise until Nico fumbled the ball on the Florida 28.
Florida drove to the UT 24 and kicked a field goal.
So much for the first quarter highlights.
End of 1st Quarter
Score:Tennessee 0 Florida 3
From last week: Tennessee's defense stood tall in the second quarter but the offense still was stuck in the Oklahoma City Airport. This week: the offense was still trying to find its way out of Arkansas.
How bad was it? Well, the Vols never made it out of Tennessee territory in the second quarter.
Florida had the ball for ten and a half minutes in the quarter and posted 142 yards of total offense but came up with bupkiss. They did drive down to the UT 1 but then fumbled.
Good Lord ...
End of 2nd Quarter
Score:Tennessee 0 Florida 3
Florida's second drive of the half ended with a Graham Mertz touchdown pass.
This seemed to remind the Vol offense they were actually in a football game and the subsequent Tennessee drive was capped by a 6-yard Dylan Sampson run to the end zone.
The Gator's Mertz had been injured and his replacement, DJ Lagway, promptly tossed the ball to Tennessee's Arion Carter who ran to the Lizard 20. The Vol offense went back to the play book referenced earlier and settled for a field goal.
End of 3rd Quarter
Score: Tennessee 10 Florida 10
Tennessee scored on their second possession after Jackson Ross pinned the Water Lizards on their own 6 and their offense went backwards. The redoubtable Mr.Sampson again did the honors.
Both sides exchanged punts for the next two series when a breakdown by the Vols' special teams put the Lizards on the Tennessee 31 from which Lagway then threw a touchdown pass.
Tie score yet again.
End of Regulation
Tennessee17 Florida 17
Florida missed a chip-shot field goal.
Finally, Dylan Sampson put everyone out of their misery with a 1-yard touchdown run that settled the Gator's hash.
Final Score
Tennessee 23 Florida 17
********
It can be argued that the U.S. Navy would be tongue-tied without acronyms. It starts at the top, the Chief of Naval Operations is almost never referred to by that title. Instead, that august personage is the CNO (pronounced just like it is spelled: See En Oh.) Similarly the admiral commanding the US Pacific Fleet is “CINCPAC.” The commander of all the submarines in the Atlantic is COMSUBLANT, and so on. Legend has it that when Adm. Ernest King was named both CNO and Commander in Chief US Fleet on the eve of World War II, he was outraged to learn that the acronym for the latter job was CINCUS. Yeah, sounds just like “Sink Us.” Of course, King being p*ssed off about something or other was nothing new. His daughter told his biographer, “My father was the most even-tempered man I've ever known. He was always in a rage.” He immediately changed it to COMINCH.
Indeed,the US Naval Institute Press used to publish a tome titled DICNAVAB or DICtionary of NAVa lAbbreviations.
One of the most exalted positions on a carrier, besides the Captain, is the Commander, Air Group (Air Wing on modern carriers) universally known as “CAG” (rhymes with bag). CAG is in charge of a carrier's main battery: the squadrons of fighters and strike aircraft.
In October 1944, Air Group 15 was embarked on USS Essex (CV-9). Essex was part of a vast assemblage of naval power known as the 3rd Fleet under Admiral William F. Halsey. 3rd Fleet boasted 17 carriers, 6 battleships with numerous cruisers and destroyers for escorts. Essex was part of Carrier Task Group (CTG) 38.3 with her sister ship Lexington(CV-16) and the light carriers Princeton (CVL-23) and Langley(CVL-27). There were three other CTGs in the 3rd Fleet.
Air Group 15 was made up of 51 F6F Hellcat fighters, 25 SB2C Helldiver dive-bombers and 15 TBM Avenger torpedo planes.
CAG-15was Cdr. David McCampbell.
TheMission: During the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 24 October 1944, radar spotted between 40 and 60 Japanese aircraft inbound: stop them.
The Machine: Grumman had begun working on a replacement for the F4F Wildcat fighter almost as soon as it went into production. The result was theF6F Hellcat. British test pilot Eric Brown referred to the big Grumman as a “welterweight” of a fighter. Building on the Wildcat's reputation for ruggedness and reliability, the F6F exceeded it in performance, range and firepower. Despite its size, the Hellcat's wings folded back parallel to the fuselage easing the ever-present storage problems on carriers. It was powered by the R-2800 Twin Wasp radial engine which cranked out 2000 hp, with methanol injection 2200 horses were available for brief periods. The Hellcat could do 400 mph which was a great deal faster than the Japanese Zero. It was armed with 6 x .50 caliber machine guns and could carry up to a ton of bombs and up to 10 rockets, Combat effectiveness? In the two years it was in combat F6F pilots knocked down over 5,000 Japanese planes. In fact, late in the war Admiral Mitscher proposed going to an all fighter air group with F6Fs and F4UCorsairs.
Something a Japanese pilot did not want to see, Hellcats on the prowl. (US Navy History and Heritage Command)
The Man: David McCampbell was born on 10 November 1910 in Bessemer, Alabama.He and his family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1920. Three years later he was enrolled in the Staunton Military Academy in Virginia. After Staunton he was accepted at the Georgia College of Technology (now Georgia Tech) but his father's business failed. Not wanting his education to further burden the family he applied to, and was appointed to, the US Naval Academy Class of 1933. Graduating at the height of the Depression, only the top half of his class was commissioned, he wasn't one of them. In 1934, though, monies became available to the Navy and he received his commission. He served in various junior officer assignments until he was accepted into flight training, earning his wings in 1938. He was initially sent to VF-4 (VF = fighter squadron) on the USS Ranger(CV-4). Shortly before America entered WWII he was transferred to the new USS Wasp ( CV-7) where he was an LSO (Landing Signals Officer) until Wasp was torpedoed and sunk on 14 September 1942. He was sent back to the States for a time before being assigned to VF-15 (“Fighting 15”) on Essex.
On 1 September 1943, Lt. Cdr. Campbell was made CO of Fighting 15 and in February was promoted to CAG.
On19 June 1944, he led the second group off the deck to intercept a large force of Japanese planes bearing down on the Task Force. He focused on a group of the fast and maneuverable “Judy”dive-bombers and shot down five of them, breaking up the attack and becoming an “Ace In A Day.” He flew a second mission later that day and bagged a pair of Zero fighters, bringing his score for the day to seven. Distracted during the attack on the Judys, he held his trigger down too long and burned out the gun barrels! Upon landing his plane was struck below and the guns were replaced in time for the second sortie.
By the time of the Leyte operation in October, 1944, McCampbell had run his total to 20 ½ kills. On 19 October, Essex was the only carrier with fighters spotted for launch. Admiral Frederick C. Sherman, commanding the task group, had forbidden CAG flying that day. Upon being told that even with McCampbell there would only be seven planes on the intercept, Sherman relented. McCampbell would lead six other Hellcats to intercept the large Japanese strike closing in on the Task Force and keep the Japanese at bay. In the back and forth, though, McCampbell ended up launching with only half the normal fuel load.
Spotting the Japanese bombers below him, he ordered his second flight of three to go after them. The order was misunderstood and all five planes went in, This left McCampbell and his wingman, Roy Rushing, to deal with the fighters. They attacked and the Japanese went into a “Lufbery Circle” which was a nose-to-tail circle that kept any attacking fighter from getting on the tail of any in the circle.
McCampbell and Rushing climbed to 18,000 feet and circled over the circling Japanese. After about ten minutes, the Japanese broke the circle and turned for home. McCampbell and Rushing swept in for attack after attack. It eventually got so hectic that McCampbell made a pencil tick on his knee board every time he or Rushing shot down a plane. After nine marks next to his name and others next to Rushing's, Rushing called to say he was out of ammo. McCampbell realized he was in a similar state and they had along flight back to Essex.
When they reached Essex they found her flight deck was full and they couldn't land. His fuel state was critical. Admiral Sherman radioed Langley and told her to get ready to land him aboard. As he made his approach he was waved off as the carrier wasn't quite ready. He came back around on his second try and landed As soon as his tail came down he gunned the engine to taxi out – it sputtered and conked out, he'd used his last drop of gas. The deck crew man-handled his Hellcat forward so Rushing could land.
McCampbell's score of nine victories on that mission still stands as the most enemy planes destroyed by a single fighter pilot on a single mission.
By the time the hot air jockeys of Air Group 15 were relieved from combat they had destroyed more that 300 Japanese planes in aerial combat. Cdr. David McCampbell had 34 confirmed kills.
The Navy recognized his achievement and on on 10 January 1945 he received the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commander, Air Group 15, during combat against enemy Japanese aerial forces in the first and second battles of the Philippine Sea. An inspiring leader, fighting boldly in the face of terrific odds, Comdr. McCampbell led his fighter planes against a force of 80 Japanese carrier-based aircraft bearing down on our fleet on 19 June 1944. Striking fiercely in valiant defense of our surface force, he personally destroyed seven hostile planes during this single engagement in which the outnumbering attack force was utterly routed and vitually annihilated. During a major fleet engagement with the enemy on 24 October, Comdr. McCampbell, assisted by but one plane, intercepted and daringly attacked a formation of 60hostile land-based craft approaching our forces. Fighting desperately but with superb skill against such overwhelming airpower, he shot down nine Japanese planes and, completely disorganizing the enemy group, forced the remainder to abandon the attack before a single aircraft could reach the fleet. His great personal valor and indomitable spirit of aggression under extremely perilous combat conditions reflect the highest credit upon Comdr. McCampbell and the U.S. Naval Service.
McCampbell stayed in the Navy after war and retired as a Captain in 1964.
David McCampbell launched on his last mission on 30 June 1996 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
*******
So, how did the Vols do against The Maxims?
1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
Florida's critical error would seem to be having hired Billy Napier in the first place.
2. Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way … SCORE!
How in the hell can a game be exciting and boring at the same time?
3. If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don't let up… PUT ON MORE STEAM!
Gerald at Gus's Deli will put more steam on your sandwich if you ask nicely.
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.
I have nothing to add to this.
From last week: Note to HeadVol Heupel: we get it. Nico is our franchise player and you want to protect him. However, trying to turn him into a Peyton Manning-style drop back passer is turning a phenomenal quarterback into one who is just adequate. Turn him loose and let him play his game!
5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle … THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.
The Vols trailed in virtually every statistical category except the important one.
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.
Jackson Ross was again very good, but lapses by the punt cover team nearly spelled disaster. One suspects the Crimson Tide will not be so forgiving.
7,Carry the fight to Florida and keep it there for sixty minutes.
Florida didn't deserve to win that game. Neither did the Vols but somehow they did.
Good Lord.
Suggested Reading
Samuel Eliot Morison, Leyte: June 1944 – January 1945, US Navy In World War II, Vol XII
Paul Stillwell (interview), Ace in a Day – Twice! Naval History,January, 2011
Barrett Tillman, Hellcat: The F6F in World War II
E.T. Wooldridge (ed.) Carrier Warfare in the Pacific: An Oral History Collection
Cdr. David McCampbell in his personal Hellcat, Minsy III. (Naval History and Heritage Command)
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