OneManGang
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Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Missouri
DATE: 12 November 2022
PLACE: Neyland Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 101915
FINAL SCORE: Tennessee 66 Missouri 24
In honor of Smokey X. Unlike every other mascot in the SEC, Blue Ticks have a purpose …
The folks at SEC Shorts put out a video earlier this year about “Retraining the Tennessee Fan.” It is a humorous look at Vol fans' difficulty in dealing with this season's success. At the end, after all the efforts to correct Vol Fan's behavior, the “trainer” has to resort to using a cattle prod to get the point across.
After Missouri closed the gap to 28-24 about midway through the third quarter, your Humble Scribe had his own bout of severe BVS. I was there with Younger Son&Heir and turned to him and blurted out, “G----mmit, Mizzou is going to win this thing!”
He looked at me with the patience of one 35 years younger and said, “No way. In fact, if Mizzou wins, I will personally march to mid-field and do the entire dance routine to “Cats.” Which was interesting since he's never actually seen the play!
Of course two plays later, 0:25 of game time, Hooker hit a wide open Jalen Hyatt on the same play Bama ran with such effect and 68 yards later the score was 35-24.
Sheepishly, I told him if I ever started that crap again to feel free to get out the cattle prod.
Mizzou took the opening kickoff and promptly did nothing. After a penalty, the Vols marched 71 yards and Jabari Small scored on a 10-yard run,
Missouri punted but UT turned the ball over on downs. The Tigers then drove and scored on a jet sweep by Luther Burden. Tennessee was driving as the quarter ended.
End of 1st Quarter
Score: Tennessee 7 Mizzou 7
The Vols scored on the first play of the second canto when hooker found Jalen Hyatt for a 30-yard TD.
They then scored again on a 19-yard pass from Hooker to Princeton Fant.
The Tigers answered with a pass from Cook for 43 yards and a TD to Tauskie Dove.
Tennessee then took the challenge and Hooker scampered 14 yards for a touchdown.
The Tigers closed out the half with a field goal.
End of 2nd Quarter
Score: Tennessee 28 Mizzou 17
Tennessee got the ball to start the second half and were victimized by penalties and ended up punting. The Tigers drove the ball 85 yards in eight plays capped by a 38-yard Brady Cook pass to Dominic Lovett for a touchdown. Tennessee fans began to show some concern.
No fear, though, as TWENTY EIGHT seconds later, Jalen Hyatt was on his way to the end zone completing a 68-yard swing pass play. And after that the roof fell in on the Tigers.
The Vols next drive ended in a 2-yard TD pass to Princeton Fant.
The last Vol drive of the quarter resulted in a 1-yard TD plunge by Jaylen Wright.
End of 3rd Quarter
Score: Tennessee 49 Mizzou 24
The fourth quarter was the Joe Milton and Dylan Sampson show. After a Chase McGrath field goal, Milton ran, then ran over a Tiger defender and then launched a 46-yard TD strike to Ramel Keyton.
Joe then heaved a 58-yard strike to Squirrel White which hit him in stride as a defender was all over him and he landed on the Mizzou 2. Mr. Sampson did the honors with 0:36 left in the game.
Final Score
Score: Tennessee 66 Missouri 24
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Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf was an erudite and educated man, a rarity among the thugs and thieves that made up much of the Ba'ath Party in Iraq. He held a degree in journalism from Baghad University and an MA in English Lit. As an idealistic youngster he had joined the Ba'ath Party in 1963. He eventually found his way into the Foreign Ministry where his skills of language and diplomacy carried him far up the ladder. He was named Ambassador to Sweden, Burma, the U.N. and Italy before becoming Foreign Minister in 1992.
Unfortunately, he ran afoul of dictator Saddam Hussein's son Uday and was moved sideways and named Minster of Information. As war clouds gathered in 2002 and early 2003, he was the front man for the Iraqi government and its face to the western media.
The coalition the U.S. had put together to end the reign of Saddam Hussein in Iraq crossed the border between Kuwait and Iraq on 19 March 2003.
al-Salaf almost immediately began holding press conferences in the streets of Baghdad. His over-the-top emoting and strident claims of massive defeats inflicted on the Americans and their coalition partners earned him a nickname. He became “Baghdad Bob.”
American forces led by the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) on the west and the 1st Marine Division to the east. Sandstorms and scattered Iraqi resistance slowed the advance but by 1 April the two divisions were approaching Baghdad.
On American television various chin-pullers were evoking memories of Stalingrad or Aachen, grinding city fights that took weeks and many, many casualties before being successful.
Maj. Gen. Buford C. Blount III, CO of the 3rd Infantry Division, had a better idea. He ordered his 1 st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) to approach from the west and seize Baghdad International Airport and open it as a resupply and headquarters nexus. The 2nd BCT led by a Task Force from 1st Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, would use major highways coming from the south, identify pockets of heavy resistance, by-pass or neutralize them and then turn west and link up with the 1st BCT at the airport. C Company (callsign Cobra) would be the lead unit with A Company following.
5 April 2003, Highway into Baghdad
It is here that we will depart from the usual written description of the fighting, Why, you ask?
Well, it seems the CO of A Company put a camera on the roof of his M-1A1 Abrams and filmed this “Thunder Run.”
As you watch this, you will hear “whooshing” noises. Those are RPG rounds whistling by. You can also hear that weird “zeep zeep” of bullets going by punctuated by an occasional ping as a round hits the armor. The faster American machine guns are the 7.62mm coax guns and the deeper ones are the M-2 50 calibers operated by the tank commander.
Glossary: RPG is a rocket launcher similar to the American Bazooka of WWII, but far more powerful. BRDM is a wheeled Soviet designed and built recon vehicle. BMP is a tracked armored fighting vehicle carrying 8 infantrymen and mounting a 76mm cannon and an anti-tank missile launcher. Technical Truck is a term from the fighting in Somalia where insurgents would mount a machine gun or rocket launcher on a civilian pick-up.
This film is raw combat footage and tells their story far better that I ever could. To get the full effect put on some headphones and crank up the volume.
The column lost a single M-1, callsign “Charlie one-two” commanded by Staff Sgt. Jason Diaz, when an RPG hit the rear of the tank and penetrated a fuel tank starting a fire. The crew was unable to put out the flames and abandoned the tank. Explosive charges were set to deny the Iraqis a prize and Air Force fighter bombers finished the job but not before Baghdad Bob got a photo op standing on the wreck.
********
So, how did the team do against the Maxims?
1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook boasted that they could handle the crowd noise at Neyland. FOURTEEN penalties, many of them procedure calls, for 120 yards, say otherwise.
2. Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way … SCORE!
Both sides played remarkably error free ball Saturday. The sole fumble by Mizzou resulted in a Chase McGrath field goal.
3. If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don't let up … PUT ON MORE STEAM!
While the Tigers never led in the game, they were only four points behind with 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Momentum seemed to be on their side. However, in the ensuing 23 minutes of football, the Vols roared back with 38 unanswered points. During those last 23 minutes the Vols, even allowing for TV timeouts, snapcounts and when Mizzou had the ball, seemed to be moving at about 30 mph.
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.
Despite seeming to be slowed considerable by the Tiger defense, the Vols posted nearly 400 yards of offense IN THE FIRST HALF! The roof finally fell in on the Tigers and they were left quoting Butch and Sundance, “Who are those guys?”
5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle … THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.
Tyler Baron had a monster game with four solo tackles, one of which was a sack, and all of them were behind the line. The Vols also posted 264 yards rushing which is a tribute to the offensive line, Dylan Sampson led all rushers with 98 yards. 48 of those came on a dandy run by him in the 3rd quarter.
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.
Once again, the special teams duel was pretty much even for most of the game. However UT's punts and kickoffs kept the Tigers on their side of the 30. Tennessee's coverage units again were up to the task.
7. Carry the fight to Missouri and keep it there for sixty minutes,
Dylan Sampson scored with 37 seconds left in the game, 'Nuff said.
Let's be clear on one thing: Tennessee did not “run up the score.” The Vols' last two touchdowns were scored by the reserves. UT was simply running its offense. Add to that, Mizzou had their starters in the entire game.
Now Coach Heupel takes his high-flying riflemen to visit Shane Beamer's poultry farm. Expect the feathers to fly and Tennessee to dine on fried chicken on the ride back to Knoxville.
So long, friends and neighbors. Get me outta here, Percy!
Suggested Reading:
Capt. Jason Conroy, USA, and Ron Martz, Heavy Metal: A Tank Company's Battle to Baghdad
COL Gregory Fontenot, USA, (Ret'd), LTC E. J. Degen, USA, and LTC Davbid Tohn, USA, On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom
David Zucchino, Thunder Run
M-1s of 1-64th Armored on the road to Baghdad (US Army)
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