Some fellow named Einstein once stated “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one.”
In the days leading up to the game, hundreds of Vols fans participated in the Predict the Score of the WKY Game Contest on VolNation. The perception was that Tennessee would win 40-9 and Jonathon Crompton would throw for 202 yards.
The reality was 63-7 and JC threw for 233 yards with a nice caveat of 5 touchdown passes. The collective ‘perception’ of Vols fans (hats off to the winner and those who came really close) missed the reality mark by a good bit. But wait, a really smart guy said reality is an illusion. So what gives?
Before Saturday, covering the spread (30 pts) seemed a good reality. Now, the perception is the opening 6.5 point margin the Orange will be giving UCLA is not nearly enough. Is that an illusion? Well that depends. Because on closer inspection, there is lots of work to be done.
Maybe what Einstein was saying is that it matters on how and from where your looking at things. Well, lets take a look. Perhaps he would have penned a formula akin to this:
1tp/1i + 3f /1lf ~ 9m = v(O) < x (ns) v +20 - (119) Which would mean 1 tipped pass (there were three total) divided by 1 interception plus 3 fumbles divided by 1 lost fumble in the first nine minutes is equal to the volume of collective air that would have left Neyland stadium had it been a top 20 opponent as opposed to one of the lowest BCS teams. Granted, first game nervousness. Lots of talented new faces and a team that is only going to improve with time. There are however, better opponents and hostile environments waiting. That is NO illusion. Now UCLA is NOT a top 20 team. They are without question a more talented and experienced football team. The Vols opponent after the Bruins are better than WKY by a factor of light years. In other words, as good as it was to see a dominate performance, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The coaching staff will extract every bit of confidence available out of this win. But realities like five penalties in the first half and three turnovers for the game (especially the early ones) must improve. For all the good numbers that came out of the game Saturday, 75% pass completion by Crompton was nice to see. As was 10 different players catching at least one pass. It was a great Saturday! A nice opening win and a momentum builder. If the Vols build on the confidence, energy, and enthusiasm they had Saturday, this season’s reality should be something all Vol fans can live with.