Disbelief and embarrassment. It took a few moments for last night’s loss to UCLA to really sink in. This morning before I left for class I was trying to find a comparable loss that I’ve been a part of, and I’m not sure there is one (maybe Arkansas ‘99?). It’s been awhile since Tennessee can really truly say it was upset like it was last night.

Even my two roommates – neither of whom are the most diehard of fans – were nearly speechless after the game. Most Tennessee fans were expecting a relatively easy win, though I wasn’t totally convinced just based on last year’s West Coast trip. Few people, if any, outside L.A. expected a UCLA win.

After a quick cleanup of the apartment, quickly finishing off some (water), and getting a midnight snack out of anger, I ventured onto VolQuest for some comic relief. I didn’t read much from those message boards, but the meltdown was epic. Some of what I saw from the crazier side of our fanbase:

• “Fire Fulmer!”
• “Chavis and Slade still need to go!”
• “Who’s ready for basketball season?”
• “Clawson sucks” and “Clawson belongs back in the FCS”
• “Crompton sucks” and “I miss Ainge”
• another thread bashing Arian Foster for his fumble
• “Thank God for DEER SEASON!”

The scapegoat on much of Facebook last night was Daniel Lincoln (unfairly). Campus today was more or less ho-hum. I didn’t really hear much talk about the game as I expected, but then again those who cared the most were probably still emotionally, mentally, and most of all physically recovering from it (i.e., skipping class – I sucked it up and went). The team hadn’t arrived back as of an hour ago either.

Me? I’m over it. No use overreacting after just one game, especially after last year’s ups and downs. Admittedly I bailed on the season at least six or seven different times last year and learned my lesson. I would be foolish to do so this early.

As for my thoughts on the game itself, it’s simple: we got outcoached. I don’t want to say we got outplayed, but UCLA wanted it more later in the game. We should have won the game and put UCLA away in the third quarter but gave it away. Why? Coaching.

I liked what I saw with the defense. We shut down UCLA for all but two drives really for the first three quarters, but to Norm Chow’s credit, he adjusted and John Chavis did not. Chow went to quick three-step drops and easy throws to get Kevin Craft into a rhythm and raise his confidence after 4 INTs in the first half. Chavis? He went all ‘07 Bama-soft, letting the best safeties in the country play 25 yards off the ball while UCLA dinked/dunked down the field.

It’s not that Craft was throwing into tight spots against double coverage – dudes were WIDE OPEN. Again, can we not put a whole game together defensively? Chavis failed to make adjustments.

Offensively, it was U-G-L-Y. I’m not as down on the playcalling as much as everybody else, other than obviously we should have pounded the rock ALOT more. Arian Foster and Montario Hardesty were running well and it was working and obviously Dave Clawson should have stuck with it. The passes themselves that were called weren’t terrible – we had guys in spots to make plays.

That falls on Jonathan Crompton. First game jitters I can understand, but Crompton just wasn’t very good. The offensive line didn’t help with a poor game – the group was inconsistent running the ball and Crompton was seemingly hit every other play.

Being a student I’ve become very hesitant to directly blame players for losses (‘07 SEC CG and ‘06 Outback Bowl notwithstanding). Foster’s fumble definitely changed momentum but bottom line is that Tennessee should have put them game away by that point and still had opportunities to win afterwards. Crompton was decent when he had time to throw, but that wasn’t often.

UCLA’s gameplan wasn’t rocket science: play strong, physical defense and force Crompton to win the game, keep the game close into the fourth quarter and see what happens. The remnants of the Bruin offense came to life and they even got a special teams score to boot (no pun intended). Our coaches looked lost and confused.

Also, count me as one who now wants to see us playing Directional Schools for the Deaf and Blind to open up. These West Coast trips are good for recruiting and the program – when you win and NOT for openers. Last year and this year are just killing Tennessee’s national perception. I see no reason to risk all that in the season’s first game. Thankfully, we open up with Western Kentucky next year (followed by a revenge-filled visit by UCLA).

Like I said, I’m over the loss and I’m not bailing. Tennessee has LOTS of work to do, but to me the offensive problems are fixable. With a new QB and new offensive system there’s going to be growing pains. We’re just further behind than I think everybody thought.

I’m probably a bit more optimistic (if you couldn’t tell) than some of my fellow Vol bloggers. Beating Florida is possible, but work needs to get done. Beat Florida and this sick feeling will be soon forgotten. Obviously Tennessee will be a bigger underdog for that game with last night’s loss and (though overplayed) it’s worked out in the past. I’m just sayin’…

About the Author:  I'm from Memphis but I'm now entering my third year at the University of Tennessee here in Knoxville. I am majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media and hope to go into sports broadcasting/writing/something like that. I'm a huge Vol fan and have been going to games for as long as I can remember. I started my on blog called "The View From The Hill" but moved here to Gate 21 for bigger and better things. In addition to my passion for Tennessee football and basketball, I enjoy watching the NFL and the NBA as well. Basically, sports are a big part of my life. >> Read more from this author

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