BAD DAY AT TUSCALOOSA
Tuscaloosa, Alabama (HOUSEOFNEYLAND) After posting a signature SEC win for first year Volunteer coach Butch Jones last week over South Carolina, the Tennessee Volunteers tasted a big dose of reality yesterday afternoon here in Tuscaloosa falling to the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide by a score of 10 to 45.
Adding insult to injury, literally, the VOLS quarterback Justin Worley had to leave the game due to a thumb injury and safety Brian Randolph left early in the contest also due to injury.
On the plus side, however, freshman quarterback Josh Dobbs finished the game for Worley demonstrating skills that have the Volunteer faithful hopeful for better days ahead.
The VOLS will travel to Missouri next Saturday to face a team that lost in overtime to Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks yesterday.
Now, I want to reflect on the TENNESSEE vs. ALABAMA series.
These two SEC teams have met 95 times since 1901. ALABAMA has 50 wins, the VOLS have 38. There have been 7 ties.
Over the past 7 seasons, since 2006, TENNESSEE has been on the losing end of the stick. In fact, in the last 4 games UT has been outscored 39 to 167. In the last 3 games, the UT offense converted on just 7 of 39 3rd down opportunities.
This rivalry game has turned into not so much of a rivalry.
That fact proved to be all too true yesterday in the beating applied to the VOLS by the #1 team in the Nation.
But there is hope for the BIG ORANGE because we have "owned" ALABAMA before...and with Butch Jones and Company that very well could happen again.
Remember Coach Philip Fulmer. From 1995 through 2006, TENNESSEE's record against BAMA was 10 WINS and just 2 LOSSES. The last time UT beat the Tide was Fulmer's 16-13 victory at Neyland in 2006.
From 1938 to 1970, UT's record against the RED team was 13-5.
In my freshman year at UT (1966), our new coach Doug Dickey had a chance to defeat Bear Bryant at Neyland but missed on a last second field goal that went just wide of the right post.
During my sophomore, junior and senior years (1967-1970) Dickey led the VOLS to 3 straight victories over BAMA and added a fourth in 1971.
From 1971 to 1981, the TIDE ran their winning streak over the VOLS to 11 when Coach Johnny Majors upset the Bear 35-28 at Neyland. I was there and will never forget that great day!
TENNESSEE ran a streak of their own winning 7 straight from 1995 to 2001.
Football fans all across the country know the bottom line to winning is having a great head coach who can recruit the best players....coaches like General Robert R. Neyland, Paul 'Bear' Bryant, Johnny Majors and Nick Saban.
ALABAMA had not been winning for quite a while until Saban showed up in Tuscaloosa and brought the best players in the Nation to the TIDE program.
TENNESSEE has been down because, since Coach Fulmer, we have struggled to find a winning coach and the best players have gone elsewhere.
Despite the VOLS loss yesterday, Coach Butch Jones has already turned the program around. The players have bought in...the fans have bought in...and more great players are on their way to Knoxville.
We must tip our hat to ALABAMA.
You are deserving of your #1 ranking. We don't hate you any less, and we are looking forward to that day, which surely will come, that it will be the TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS who are back on TOP!
GO VOLS!
Shields-Watkins Field
South End
circa 1930s-40s
