The Rearview 9-21

What now? I wonder what is left in the bag of tricks. Any of that magic dust around? Lord, I hope so.

I think what we, and the media, need to realize is that Tennessee just isn’t that good anymore. I don’t think when the season is over that this win for Florida will be any better than the Hawaii win. I said before the season started that if we lose this game, again, then we simply become a potential stumbling block for the real contenders in this league.

Well I was wrong on that too. The only thing stumbling is UT football. A lot has been said already about the game, game management, mistakes, personnel etc….And all of it is more or less true. But it’s also at this time that I have to make an admission as well. The talent gap between these two programs is in fact wider than I originally thought. Add to that the fact that this team again looked lost, unprepared, and made a litany of errors, it was a perfect storm, if you will, that led to a blow out home loss.

More concerning than any of that to me, is that there still seems to be this notion that we just haven’t seen the real UT. I hear comments made from players and coaches alike “that’s not us” or “we know what we’re capable of”. Well, if that’s the case, no need to keep all those secrets to yourself. I’m ready to see the real UT anytime you’re ready to show us. But, if the last three games are any indication, you are what you are. A 1-2 team that will struggle to 7 wins……IF……

That’s another thing. IF. Quite possibly one of the worst words in the English language. It allows for the possibility of ……..well, anything. If we don’t turn over the ball twice on the 1. If we don’t kick to James twice. If Arian Foster doesn’t get a personal foul. If Hardesty doesn’t fumble. If ….If…If………I’ve just grown tired of it. Every year it seems there’s a list of things that had they gone our way, the outcome would be different….and that goes both ways folks….remember the last three games of last season….we were as close to 7-5 as we were to 10-2. I don’t think that will be the case this year though.

This loss is worse than last years in my opinion because it validated last year’s game. Looking back now, it wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t an aberration. Florida is that much better than us, and likely will be for the foreseeable future. That’s a tough pill to swallow. Equally tough to swallow is that in looking at this team vs. the 2007 Vols, I see an offense that reminds more of the 2005 Vols. So unlike last year, I don’t see any last minute heroics in the late season that will vault us to championship contender status. This team has simply proven apt to find ways to lose games, not the reverse.

I think you also saw a change for Phil Fulmer. The frustration was visible on his face yesterday. The clap and butt slap seem to be gone. The saddest part for me is that the expressions on his face seemed more surprise and disbelief, that later turned in to frustration as the mistakes and Florida points started to mount. Such is life. But I’m having a hard time finding sympathy or empathy for our $3 million dollar man.

What now? We hope for another colossal meltdown by Florida and Georgia. We hope for miracles against Auburn and Georgia…and Alabama. We hope. We hope field goals go our way. We hope. The most optimistic orange clad fan will say “it’s only one SEC loss, remember last year!!!”

Most of us though have just seen enough. All I hope for now is that the right people in the right places have seen enough.

See you on the plains next week. Go Vols.

A quick recap of yesterday:

Bad loss for ECU. They can still win the C USA, but NCSU is a team they should’ve beaten.

LSU and Auburn provided another classic in the SEC’s newest best rivalry. Les Miles just keeps on winning big games. How does he do that?

Don’t look now but Alabama looks to be rolling. That’s bad news for a lot of teams in the SEC.

Georgia wins convincingly on the road on national TV. Very good win for the ‘Dawgs.

Notre Dame is brought back down to Earth, thank goodness.

Butch Davis narrowly misses out on a marquee win. UNC is competitive though, they will be going bowling this year, which is a victory in and of itself for the Heels.

Paul Johnson’s offense got its first true defensive test yesterday and passed with flying colors.

Wake Forest continues to amaze me. Two in a row at the Doak. Down or not, very impressive for Grobe and the Deacs.

Making room on the “where are they now?” sofa of college football:

Tennessee—probably going to be here a while. Grab a Snickers.

Florida St.—We saved you a seat right here on the end next to Phil, Mr. Bowden.

Michigan—We think you’ll only be here for a couple of years, so you need to sit on the floor.

Notre Dame—go sit in the corner. Ten million dollars for that? Nice one.

Miami—Randy, your seat is right next to Rich’s.

Nebraska—Bo, you’re just here by default. You, Rich and Randy can sit down on the floor in front of the TV. Everyone else needs to get comfy. I don’t think y’all are going anywhere anytime soon.