Nice Win, Now on to Bammer

This low expectations thing is working.

When you have low expectations and you lose, it’s not really a big deal. When you have low expectations and you beat an SEC team 34-3 at home at night, it’s actually kinda fun.

I know Tennessee is 3-4. I know Tennessee didn’t win an SEC game til Saturday night. I know our two rivals have brushed the Vols off with relative ease, and our third is coming in ranked #2 in the country. So I definitely decided to enjoy the win over Mississippi State Saturday night in Neyland Stadium.

I know I was really negative last week, but I never really felt like Tennessee was going to lose. Does that mean I think the Vols beat Alabama Saturday night, or even keep it close? Not really. But, hey, a win’s a win. And in a season where getting six of them might not be a given, why not enjoy the ones you get?

See, told you I was a positive guy…

Please keep feeding #3...

The offense still isn’t very good. Was there improvement Saturday night? I would say slight, if for nothing else that Lennon Creer basically was the last TD drive for Tennessee and led the team in rushing. Nick Stephens continues to do two things well: (a) not throw INTs and (b) hit the deep ball to Denarius Moore. With Gerald Jones‘ ankle up in the air, Moore could become an even more important part of the offense.

This team continues to play hard, despite the rough times and empty seats. Sitting in the fourth row, I can see the team’s attitude starting the game, and they came out ready and played hard. There were also no turnovers and no penalties Saturday night – that in itself is improvement.

The defense played very well Saturday night. Mississippi State’s is obviously really bad. But there is slight hope, as outside of Alabama – and the Tide aren’t exactly a Big XII offense by any means – the rest of the schedule is slight on offensive powerhouses. State QB Tyson Lee is probably still (a) sore from being hit often and (b) tired from running around for his life quite a bit.

The best part of the night was easily Eric Berry’s pick six, and Demetrice Morley’s answer. Berry is a special, special talent, and that’s still not doing him due justice. It’s his third straight week with a pick, and after coming terribly close to taking them all the way back, he finally got one. I recorded it originally on the JumboTron replay, but managed to get the TV replay’s version later. It’s now on YouTube (from me) and here it is:

I’m hoping Berry keeps giving me these opportunities to put up videos of his awesomeness each week. If Tennessee was going to lose every game, I would still want to watch it, just to see Berry make something exciting happen. With the uncertainty with Gerald Jones’ status, why not try EB out on offense. What does Tennessee have to lose?

Oh, so Tennessee does have a deep threat?

So while that was fun, the reality is this next weekend can make/break the salvaging of the season. Let me put it this way…

I want to ruin Alabama’s season.

I hinted last week that beating Alabama was basically the only really exciting thing to look forward to the rest of the year. This is the truth. Beating Alabama would be sweet. Should be expect it? I don’t know. The Tide have played excellent in big games this year (Clemson, Georgia) but more ordinary in games against Ole Miss and Kentucky.

Front row AGAIN!

Ironically enough, the student tickets for the Alabama game are black. Black usually symbolizes death. Will Saturday night be the death of the Tennessee program? Could it be a potentially embarrassing home loss to our long-time hated rival?

Low expectations have worked well so far. That’s all I’m saying.

I’ll have more on this game this week, including my Five Reasons I Hate Alabama. I’m incredibly excited it’s a night game, and I hope the atmosphere is as if Tennessee was also undefeated. I don’t give a you-know-what how badly you want Coach Fulmer gone (I do too, remember) – who wants to lose to Alabama? Why wouldn’t you want to be their first loss?

My challenge: think all week long about how much you hate Alabama. Think why, how, all that. If that doesn’t work, then there’s something wrong with you.

Images Courtesy of: Wade Payne / AP (Daylife) • Wade Payne / AP (Daylife)

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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