Posts Tagged ‘Georgia Bulldogs’

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a pretty great new Tennessee Football preview annual coming out in only a few short days.  It’s from Maple Street Press and is entitled: “Rocky Top Tennessee 2009.”

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking to yourself “those previews are all the same, a bunch of the same basic statistics and information re-styled to make them appear shiny and new.”  In most circumstances you would be correct, but this preview is a little different than most.  You see, Maple Street Press does not approach these sorts of publications the way that some of the other publishers do.  They turn independent writers and bloggers who are passionate about their team and ask them to write on subjects that are near and dear to their hearts.

The result is a 128 pages of thoughtful insight, analysis, and perspective that the mainstream press simply does not offer.  Furthermore, if your a regular reader here at Gate 21 and other sites across the web, you’ll recognize some of the writers and be pleasantly surprised at the ways Rocky Top Tennessee 2009 differs from the run-of-the-mill preview magazine.

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Last year, during the off-season, I began a series on the Great Games played by the Tennessee Volunteers football team over the many years as seen through my eyes.  As I am wont to do, I seem to have lost my focus and have not exactly done a capital job of keep that series going.  Imagine that.

Since the off-season is once again upon us—paired with the fact that I have been coming up pretty spare in terms of ideas lately—I’ve decided it is time to once again take a walk down memory lane and re-live some of the greatest games in Tennessee history.  For those of you who missed the 2008 installments of this series, here are the ones I’ve covered thus far:

The “Great Games” Series:

• Ole Miss 1991
• Florida 1992
• Alabama 1995
• 1996 Citrus Bowl
• Florida 1998
• Lawvol’s All-time Top-10 Games

In addition to my list, Will, one of the sages over at RTT has been counting down the top-50 games of the Phillip Fulmer era in grand style.  Predictably, some of his favorites are on my list as well.  Trust me, his list is worth a look (and is far better researched, far more thoughtful, far better written, and … well … just far better than my little foray into the ghosts of games past).  Since I don’t want to be accused of stealing his thunder, I will be citing to his accounts of his favorite games liberally.

In fairness, it might be best to just skip this article altogether and just go read his work.  Lord knows I would but for the fact that I have to write it…

22 November 1997

vs.

(5) Tennessee 59 •    Kentucky 31

Commonwealth Stadium  •  Lexington, Kentucky

Some folks might think I am crazy for including the 22 November 1997 contest between Tennessee and the Kentucky Wildcats on my list of great games.  I can understand why they might question my thoughts on this (or my sanity).  This game was anything but a flawless game for the Vols and was hardly the Tennessee defense’s finest hour.  In fact, the game as a whole was pretty darn sloppy, as was the weather.  Still, for reasons which I will attempt to explain (a feat I will likely fail utterly to accomplish), this game still ranks as one of the great games in Tennessee football history.  The short answer as to why can be summed up in two words:

Peyton Manning

I make no bones about it.  I am a huge fan of the guy  who wore No. 16 for the Vols from 1994 to 1998.  As many have pointed out, both Andy Kelly (1989-91) and Heath Shuler (1991-93) could—in their own right—claim to be the greatest Vol quarterback in the history of the program during the time they wore an orange shirt.  Then, starting only a few snaps into the 1994 game against the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl, everyone in Orange Nation began the process of forgetting everything they ever knew about quarterbacks at Tennessee, as true freshman Peyton Manning took the reins from senior Jerry Colquitt, who quite tragically (and downright depressingly) suffered a career-ending injury in the first series of his first start at quarterback.

The rest, as they say, is history…

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Well, after failing to get my Oklahoma State preview up in time for the game, and given the quick end to the BasketVols‘ run in the NCAA Tournament, I really haven’t had a lot to offer these past few days.  Of course, when you set the bar very low—which has always been the policy of Gate 21—it takes extra effort to fail in grand style.  I guess I am running behind in my running behind…

In the meantime, here’s a little something that is worth giving a look.  I’m a bit behind in getting this up, but this is pretty funny if you ask me (which I realize you didn’t).

Here is a pretty hilarious look at the various coaches of the SEC in a way that I don’t think I have ever seen before.  As always, this comes courtesy of VolzRChamps and BlazerChronicles.com, with a Tennessee All-Sports Update.

The Blazer Chronicles: A “Quotetastic” Look at the SEC

That Bobby Johnson quote is simply priceless…

– So it goes …

Video Courtesy of: VolzRChamps / You Tube • Blazer Chronicles

Yes, I know that the logo above might not match what this post is about, but it’s the same gist as the posts from the fall I did each week: a preview of the upcoming weekend. It just happens to be this weekend’s SEC Tournament down in Tampa.

First, two things: one, this thing should NEVER be played in Tampa again. It’s like the ACC playing it’s tournament in Boston (for Boston College) or the Big East playing their’s in Milwaukee (for Marquette). These things are supposed to be played in central locations – Atlanta, Nashville, even Birmingham or Memphis (the SEC Tourney in Memphis would be better than the C-USA Tourney).

Second, don’t even think for a second I’m going to predict who will win this tournament, because neither I nor anybody else has a single clue. Partly because there’s no dominant team and the SEC this year was more or less a bunch of good mediocre teams beating each other up. I might as well put the 12 logos – er, take out Georgia and Arkansas – close my eyes and throw a dart and pick whoever said dart lands on.

Instead, I’ll go through why each team can win it all and why each team can’t win it all. Here’s your bracket and if you want to use the SEC playoffs as a warm-up for your office pool, here’s where you wanna go.

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Check out the Full Poll Results at Garnet and Black Attack!

Week 8

Through 26 February 2009

Well, I’m running behind as usual, but moving purposefully.  The teams of the SEC (with the exception of LSU, Georgia, and Arkansas who have pretty much landed where they will stay) are engaged in a slugfest to determine who gets the leftovers.  Bearing this in mind here’s my ballot for this week’s SEC Basketball Power Poll.  As always, you can see the final poll results which will be posted over at Garnet and Black Attack Thursday-ish.

Anyway, here’s my ballot for this first week in the SEC Basketball Power Poll, along with a feeble attempt at explaining why I’m such a moron.

In all its radiant glory:

So there you have it, my thoughts on the state of SEC Basketball for this week.

The Rest of the Power Poll

Now that you have wasted your time looking at my ballot, go check out what everybody else is saying over at Garnet and Black Attack, where the final poll results will be posted later tonight or early tomorrow.

– So it Goes …

Final Score: Florida 63 • Tennessee 79

Postgame: Quotes • Box Score

The BasketVols managed to get back in the win column versus the Florida Gators, grabbing a key win in the Tommy Bowl.  The win was the Tennessee Volunteers’ 4th straight and 6th win out of the last 7 games against the Gators.  More importantly, with the Kentucky Wildcats losing back to back games against first Ole Miss and then South Carolina, Tennessee moved back in the running for the SEC East, in a three way tie with Florida and the Wildcats (I know, they are technically a 1/2 game back, but who’s counting?).  At 13-7 (4-2 SEC), the Vols are very much in the mix as they enter the final month of the season.

The key feature of this game was the absence of mental lapses.  This was the first “complete” game the Vols have managed since beating Vanderbilt on the 20th of January.

Hopefully, this was a turning point…

'Scuse me! Comin' through!

The Vols only shot 49.2% from the field, but made up for it by shooting 42.9% from behind the 3-point arc.  The Vols were led offensively by Scotty Hopson, who scored 20 points, followed by Tyler Smith (16), Wayne Chism (12), and Bobby Maze (11).  Defensively, the Orange led in steals 10-5 over the Gators who gave up 18 turnovers.  This was probably the best defensive showing by Tennessee this season.  Of course, it is easier to play god defense when you jump out to a quick lead, which is exactly what the Vols did.

Starting out 6-0, Tennessee grabbed the lead and never relinquished it.  Leading by as much as 23 points in the second half (16:03 remaining), the closest Florida could get from there was 9 points (7:09 remaining).  The Vols responded by putting on more steam and kept it going down the the stretch, securing the 16 point victory.

Player of the Game Scotty Hopson seemed to really turn a corner, shooting 4-6 from 3-point range, along with his 27 minutes of solid defense and “smart” play moving the ball. Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism both did their part, each with 9 rebounds and a stifling presence.  Still, the win was a team effort with each of the Vols contributing in a positive and meaningful way.

• Stats Courtesy of: CBS Sports

With ESPN’s College GameDay crew in Knoxville, it’s nice to see the men in orange send a message to the nation.  What was that message?

We may be young, but we don’t quit, and we are getting stronger…

After the game, Tennessee Head Coach Bruce Pearl, said that he felt that the Vols were ready to beat Florida.  After losing to the LSU Tigers earlier in the week, he was heartened by the effort he saw getting ready to face the Gators, “After we lost Wednesday to LSU, we practiced hard Monday; they showed me at that time they intended to move on.”

Apparently, Bruce Almighty was right.

Now, if the Vols can capitalize on the momentum over the Gators and push forward as they get ready to take on Arkansas, Auburn, and Georgia, they can put themselves in a good position to compete for the SEC East title, with the overall SEC Title still within reach.  The Vols face the Arkansas Razorbacks 13–6 (1–5 SEC) on Wednesday, 4 February at 8:00 pm in Fayetteville.

– So it goes …

Image Courtesy of: ESPN.com / AP – Wade Payne

Check out the Full Poll Results at Garnet and Black Attack!

Week 3

Through 21 January 2009

Well, I’m beginning to conclude that this may, in fact, be a down year for the SEC.  With the exception of Kentucky, none of the teams seem to be able to find any consistency at all.  Bearing that in mind, here’s my attempt to read the tea-leaves for this week—in the form of my ballot for the SEC Basketball Power Poll.  As always, you can see the final poll results which will be posted over at Garnet and Black Attack Thursday-ish.

In all its radiant glory:

So there you have it, my thoughts on the state of SEC Basketball for this week.

The Rest of the Power Poll

Now that you have wasted your time looking at my ballot, go check out what everybody else is saying over at Garnet and Black Attack, where the final poll results will be posted later today…maybe.

– Go Figure …

Check out the Full Poll Results at Garnet and Black Attack!

Final 2008 Season Poll

Well, as we try to dig out of the snow that has covered everything in my neck of the woods, I am trying to get caught back up.  Yes, I admit it I’ve been lazy these past few days and haven’t posted a darn thing.

Back in the saddle, here we go…

Yes sports fans, the 2008 college football season is in the books.  We here at Gate 21, along with fellow fans of the other SEC teams hated to see it go so much that we drug out our final voting for as long as we could.  Try as we might, however, football season is over.  Thus, here is my last ballot in the SEC Power Poll for the 2008 season, along with an feeble attempt at explaining why I’m such a moron.

In all its radiant glory:

Well, there you have it.  My final ballot for 2008.  Hopefully, the powers that be will ask me back for another round in the fall.  Either way, it has been fun indeed.  Do not, however, be dismayed—I’ll be posting my SEC Basketball Power Poll ballot in the next day or so.

The Rest of the Power Poll

Now that you have wasted your time looking at my ballot, go check out what everybody else is saying over at Garnet and Black Attack, where the final poll results will be posted Wednesday-ish.

– Go Figure …

Check out the Full Poll Results at Garnet and Black Attack!

Week 2

Through 15 January 2009

Here is my ballot for Week 2 of the 2009 SEC Basketball Power Poll.  As always, you can see the final poll results which will be posted over at Garnet and Black Attack.

Anyway, here’s my ballot, along with a feeble attempt at explaining why I’m such a moron.

In all its radiant glory:

So there you have it, my thoughts on the state of SEC Basketball for this week.

The Rest of the Power Poll

Now that you have wasted your time looking at my ballot, go check out what everybody else is saying over at Garnet and Black Attack, where the final poll results will be posted Thursday-ish.

– Go Figure …

Despite falling behind by 10 points with just over 12 minutes to play in the second half, the Tennessee Volunteers managed their ninth consecutive victory over the Georgia Bulldogs this past Saturday, 86-77.  With this win, the BasketVols improve to 10-4 overall, and kicked-off conference play with a win.

But was it enough?

By most measuring sticks, Georgia is either the worst or second-worst team in the SEC—unquestionably the worst team in the SEC East.  Despite their weakness as a team, the Dawgs gave Tennessee all they could handle.  In a game which—on paper—should have been a rout, Bruce and the Barbarians found themselves behind with only minutes to play.  To their credit, the Big Orange refused to go down and played with tenacity down the stretch—perhaps spurred on by Bruce Pearl losing his suit jacket in the second-half as the Vols continued to flounder.  Whatever gave them the edge, credit their hustle and effort in helping to secure the victory.

Many have recently opined that this team is simply not as good as the 2007-08 squad.  I would not necessarily disagree with this estimation, but would add the qualifier “at this point.”  I add this slight caveat because I am still not entirely convinced that—at least from a talent perspective—this team is not in the same class as last year’s squad individually.  Of course, their play so far really does call that into question.

This team just seems to have a hard time playing together—especially in tight spots.  By all appearances, this inability to gel as a team does not owe to ego, a lack of cooperation, or a lack of effort.  To the contrary, with a few small exceptions, this team clearly wants and tries to play together as one unit.  For some reason, however, it just does not seem to click.

At times, some of this confusion seems to arise from the annoyingly “inconsistent inconsistencies”—one night it’s defense, the next transition, and the next free throws.  Each game seems to feature the debut of yet another weakness, along with the departure of an already established one.  It is the proverbial “one step forward, two steps back,” type of situation.

In other words, the ball keeps moving…

This every changing cycle of strength and collapse exacerbates the team cohesiveness problems.  To some extent, this is understandable—especially for the coaching staff as they try to fix what is not working.  Furthermore, if the teammate you count on to be a clutch free throw shooter suddenly goes 2-22 from the charity stripe, well that’s going to have a negative impact on both chemistry and confidence for the team as a whole.

In some ways, these changing problems which (in most cases can be fixed) are worse than consistently un-fixable ones.  If you know as a team that no one can hit a 3-point shot to save their life, then you can adjust by simply working that much harder to push the ball inside for the sure-thing 2 points.  When the problem seems to change every game, however, things get much more challenging since you simply cannot be sure where the obstacles will arise.

In the end, it seems likely that—for the time being—there are going to be very few “easy” wins for this team.  That said, I do have faith in this team—and more importantly this staff—and believe that they will find a way to get things running on all cylinders.  I just do not know when.

It didn’t hurt that Tyler Smith—who was not even expected to play against the Dawgs—took it upon himself to drag the BasketVols to victory with his 24 points (13 in the second half) and 11 rebounds.  All of this after he was on crutches on Friday afternoon.  So far this season, the Vols have had a real habit of relying on a single leader to pull them through games.  While that isn’t how it should work, for now it is working.

And a win, after all, is still a win…

Smith Grabs Rebound vs Georgia

With the Kentucky Wildcats coming into the Tommy Bowl on Tuesday night, the Vols are going to have to find a a way to rise to the challenge, not as a collection of talented individuals, fraught with intermittent failures, and teetering on the edge of disaster.  The Vols are going to have to find a way to rise together, and meet the Wildcats as a team.  The Wildcats are sure to put the Vols to the the test.

Prior to the Georgia game, Cameron Tatum was quoted as saying: “This is our season now.  This is what we’ve been working for.“

Hopefully, he is right.

– Go Figure …

Image Courtesy of: KNS / AP / John Curry