Vols Rally Past Xavier

The questions marks are not gone, but the Vols put an exclamation point on its NCAA resume with today's 82-75 win over the Xavier Musketeers.

In a physical, foul-heavy game, the Vols relied on its depth, defense and hustle to get past a tough Xavier team. The game seemed to be Xavier's for the taking in the second half as the Vols struggled to score or gel offensively, but Pearl's masterful substitutions allowed Tennessee to keep its defensive intensity as the Musketeers seemed to run out of gas.

Pearl went to his bench early and often during the game, getting major minutes from J.P. Prince, Ryan Childress and Ramar Smith. Even if the Vols do not have a bunch of 5 star recruits on their squad, they can go 9 or 10 deep without losing too much momentum.

That depth and Pearl's willingness to play his bench allowed the Vols to get into the passing lanes and on the floor after loose balls in the final minutes while Xavier labored to match the intensity. The play of the game involved Ramar Smith coming off the Volunteer bench and laying out onto the floor to get to recover a loose ball. There were three Musketeers with a chance at the ball, but Smith beat them all to the floor and created the turnover for the Vols.

The defense bailed out the Vols throughout the afternoon as the offense struggled. A continuing concern for Pearl and the Vols is the lack of rhythm, chemistry and effectiveness out of the Vols half-court offense. With Xavier hugging Chris Lofton at all times, the other Vols needed to shoulder the scoring load. Only J.P. Prince answered the call, putting 23 points up off the bench. The Vols still have no back-to-the-basket game without Duke Crews and got next to nothing out of JuJuan Smith, Wayne Chism and Tyler Smith in the half-court. If Tennessee is going to advance to the Sweet Sixteen and beyond this season, the half-court offense must improve.

The question marks, however, do not overshadow the positives coming out of Cincinnati. The Vols overcame some tough officiating (including one of the all-time worst technical fouls ever whistled), a raucous crowd and a tough Xavier opponent. Without a doubt, this was the biggest win of the year for the Vols and will look impressive to the NCAA tournament committee in March.

Next Saturday - the Vols travel to Gonzaga for it next biggest road test of the season.

Taylor, Bolden & McCoy Out For Wisconsin

Phillip Fulmer kept making cryptic comments about academic reports coming this Friday and, sure enough, the news was not good. Lucas Taylor, Demonte Boldin and Rico McCoy are all out of the bowl game against Wisconsin for academic reasons.

To me, Boldin is the biggest problem since Wisconsin likes to run the ball and our line has been iffy all year. We do seem to have some depth there, so hopefully someone like Mapu can step into the void.

I've never been overly impressed with McCoy, but he is only a sophomore. Our linebackers will have to play well against the Badger run game, so whoever gets the call to fill McCoy's shoes will need to play big.

From what I've read on message boards, people seem to be most concerned with Lucas Taylor. I'm not. I like him, but he doesn't strike me as much better than Rogers, Briscoe or Jones even if he did get over 1,000 yards for the season. We can throw it to those guys, Brown, the Cothams and Foster out of the backfield. One receiver doesn't bother me.

Is it just me or does everyone care as little about this game as I do? For whatever reason, I cannot get excited about being back in the Outback Bowl or about playing Wisconsin. Maybe it is the LSU hangover or maybe I've just moved on to basketball, but for some reason I have thought very little about this game.

Vols Thoughts From Virginia

The Carpenters are on the road for the holidays (all of us - wife, baby, baby-in-womb and two dogs) and blogging with be spotty at best. In fact, if I'm writing on this, you can assume I'm either neglecting my fatherly duties or just hiding from my in-laws.

Or possibly both.

There is lots happening in Knoxville right now, so let's get to it:

Offensive Coordinator News

If you didn't catch the wonderful Duke/Pittsburgh basketball game last night from The Garden, you missed a quick interview with new Duke football coach David Cutcliffe. Man, I like that guy. Duke got itself a great coach and seemingly a great guy. I hope he can get the Blue Devils to respectability and even a bowl game at some point. Or I hope he fails miserably and has to come back to Knoxville to be the OC for a third time.

Besides Cutcliffe, the Vols lost Trooper Taylor this week. Taylor, who was a rumored candidate for the Vols offensive coordinator position, took a job with Mike Gundy ("I'm a man! I'm 40!") and Oklahoma State as a co-offensive coordinator.

Here is my question - how does that work? Co-offensive coordinator? Either I don't understand the position or that makes no sense to me. Will they alternate calling the plays? Why can't every offensive position coach be called a 'co-coordinator? Is that just an excuse to bump up salary? I bet it is.

As I mentioned on Monday, the lose of Taylor was expected. He was too unproven to be given the OC job in Knoxville, but too desired elsewhere to stay as a position coach. He was supposed to be a key to the Volunteer recruiting efforts, so here is hoping Fulmer finds an impressive replacement in that department.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that Clemson offensive coordinator Rob Spence is interviewing for Cutcliffe's job. I never watched a Clemson game this season, but was impressed to see how many people want this guy. He apparently turned down Minnesota last year and spoke with Alabama and the Oakland Raiders as well.

The same reports mentions that the Vols have contacted Detroit Lions wide receivers coach and former Vol assistant Kippy Brown about the job as well.

Basketball Vols vs. Xavier

The Vols play an odd Xavier team Saturday afternoon on ESPN. The Musketeers have an impressive win over Indiana on its resume, but also were blown out by Arizona State on Saturday.

Regardless of which Xavier team shows up this Saturday, Tennessee needs to worry more about itself than their opponent. The Vols have been mildly disappointing this year even with just one loss (to an excellent Texas team). Chris Lofton still hasn't found his stroke, Duke Crews is out indefinitely with heart issues, Wayne Chism and Ramar Smith are not playing up to their potential and the Vols are missing Dane Bradshaw more than anybody outside of the team expected.

The good news is that Bruce Pearl's cupboard is still loaded. Tyler Smith is starting to look more and more comfortable on the floor and J.P. Prince is now eligible as well. The frustration among Vols fans is that all this talent isn't clicking on the floor as expected.

The Vols have already built a decent NCAA resume (wins over Temple, West Virginia and Western Kentucky), but can really help themselves with a win Saturday in Cincinnati and another one next Saturday at Gonzaga. They could also enter their SEC schedule with a couple of deflating road losses and an all-of-the-sudden mediocre NCAA credentials. The problem probably will not be getting into the Dance, but seeding could be an issue.

I'm getting nudged to get off the computer - I've been aloof for long enough I suppose.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Cutcliffe Leaves - What is the Future in Knoxville?

We all knew it was too good to last, but the David Cutcliffe era is, once again, over in Knoxville. The Tennessee Offensive Coordinator took the head coaching job at Duke over the weekend.

Personally, I was a little surprised he took the job. Duke is a wonderful school, but it is about as miserable a football college as there is in the BCS. In fact, I cannot imagine the Blue Devils competing for the Southern Conference championship with any consistency. Duke is a basketball school, a lacrosse school, a women's basketball school - not a football school. I know Cutcliffe wanted another shot at being a head coach, but I'm surprised this was the opportunity he seized.

Before looking ahead, the 2nd Cutcliffe Era in Knoxville deserves a quick retrospective. I have never felt stronger affection for an assistant coach than what I felt during the first quarter of the 2006 game against California. After years of watching the Randy Sanders learning experiment play out with mediocre results, the way Tennessee's offense purred that evening was exhilarating. The players looked sharp, the plays were run crisply and the results were yards and touchdowns.

Not everyone may love the Cutcliffe style of offense, but it is hard to argue with the results. The man knows how to exploit defensive weaknesses, he knows how to get the most out of talent (look at the job our receivers and offensive line did this year) and he knows how to put points on the board. He will never be a spread offense guy or a Fun & Gun guy, but he does keep the defense off the field and puts drives together.

From a personel standpoint, Cutcliffe is directly responsible for the dramatic improvements of people like Erik Ainge, Robert Meachum, Lucas Taylor, Austin Rogers and Chris Brown. The biggest complaint most Vols fans had with Randy Sanders was his inability to make players better while they were in Knoxville. With Cutcliffe, the improvement was obvious.

Finally, it is not out-of-line to say that Cutcliffe saved Phillip Fulmer's job. The vultures were swirling after the 2005 5-6 season that saw Sanders depart from Rocky Top. Another mediocre season and those vultures might have swallowed Fulmer as well. Cutcliffe brought new life into the program that is directly responsible for back-to-back successful seasons and Fulmer's job security.

Looking ahead, there are a few schools of thought on what should happen next. Trooper Taylor's name has been mentioned as a potential replacement. Nobody in Knoxville wants to lose Taylor's enthusiasm and recruiting ability, but he has never been a coordinator at any level. He is/has interviewed for the OC job at Baylor (his alma mater) and, frankly, that is probably a better fit than Knoxville. Fulmer tried the learning-on-the-job approach with Randy Sanders, and I doubt he will go that route again. In my mind, there is no chance Taylor remains on the Vols staff next year.

*As I type, Taylor has been offered the Baylor OC job. Kiss him goodbye...

The name swirling around among the Volunteer fanbase is Kippy Brown. In many ways, Brown sounds too good to be true. He is a former Volunteer assistant, a former NFL offensive coordinator and even did a year in the XFL as the Memphis head coach. He is a proven recruiter and knows how to elevate individual players to greatness. Brown is currently working with the Detroit Lions as their wide receivers coach.

The biggest question is: why would Brown take the Knoxville job? It seems to be a lateral move in many ways and might even be a backwards move if his ultimate goal is to be in professional football. He does seem to be aboard a sinking ship in Detroit that could get overhauled this off-season, so that plays in Tennessee's favor. He might also be intrigued by the $$$ UT can offer. Cutcliffe was supposed to make about $375,000 next season, so Brown's deal might approach half a million by the end of it. He might also notice that Fulmer is entering the twilight of his coaching career and think that he could be the heir to the Rocky Top throne.

Greg Adkins' name has been mentioned for the position as well. The current offensive line coach has never been a coordinator, but does lead the Volunteer recruiting efforts. There will be a collective groan if Adkins is picked, even though we don't have any idea what kind of offensive system he would implement. The groan would be frustration with the perceived 'same old, same old' mindset that fans have pegged on Fulmer over the last few years. We all know Fulmer is an old dog at this point and he seems uncomfortable learning new tricks. He is fiercely loyal to his players and assistants. Promoting Adkins to the post would seem to be an indication that the winning 8 games is good enough. It would not be a shocking move, but it would be an initially disappointing one.

What about outside of Knoxville? Fulmer is not likely to go down this route (old dog again), but there have been some names floated about. Tulsa's Gus Malzahn has been mentioned, but I hope Fulmer quickly scratches that name from consideration. You might remember Malzahn was part of the whole Mitch Mustain-Houston Nutt-Arkansas Razorback soap opera from two years ago. I cannot see Fulmer bringing that potential soap opera to Knoxville.

The other avenue I hope Fulmer avoids traveling is grabbing a coordinator to impress a particular recruit. Terrelle Pryor is the kid everyone wants and he publicly stated his disappointment that Cutcliffe would no longer be a Volunteer. There is surely an assistant out there who would entice Pryor, but that is a short-sighted solution to the problem. What if Pryor is not the real deal? What if another Malzahn/Mustain situation happens (after all, Malzahn was hired in part to whoo Mustain)? Fulmer is too smart to make this mistake.

What about Randy Sanders? The man has done wonders for Kentucky and Andre Woodson. He is a Fulmer guy, an SEC guy and kind of hot commodity all of the sudden. He also left Knoxville for a reason - he was not doing a very good job as coordinator. There is no way Sanders would be brought back into the fold. I don't think...

Looking from the outside, I'm pulling for Kippy Brown to be the new man running the offensive show. For everyone hoping Fulmer will become Urban Meyer overnight, expect to be disappointed. We are going to keep running the ball with pro-style quarterbacks who don't make big mistakes. That is who Phillip Fulmer has been, who he is and who he will always be. It has won him a bunch of games and a National Championship. Heck, it works for plenty of people involved in the BCS right now (Ohio State, LSU, USC, etc.) The best hope for all of Rocky Top is someone who can lure the best athletes to Knoxville and coach them up.

Or we can hope the Duke deal falls through somehow and Cutcliffe returns to Knoxville.

Referee Behavior - Policing the Police

"You moron!"

"Do you need glasses?"

"How could you possibly make that call?"

Let's face it - a referee's job is a thankless one. How many of us go to work each day in front of thousands of people who hate and jeer us? How many of us work beside huge athletes who try to intimidate us into seeing things their way? How many of us get blasted in the papers and on TV for a single mistake and never recognized for being correct?

Public school teachers, you can put your hands down.

Being a referee isn't easy, but that does not excuse the behavior of officials in football, basketball and baseball over the last eight months. For whatever reason, there has been a rash of deplorable actions by umpires and referees toward athletes during the course of games.

*NBA referee Joey Crawford ejected Tim Duncan during a game against the Dallas Mavericks after Duncan laughed on the bench about one of Crawford's calls. As Duncan left the floor, Crawford allegedly shouted, "Do you want to fight?"

*MLB umpire Mike Winters provoked a reaction from San Diego outfielder Milton Bradley about a moment earlier in the game when Bradley disagreed with a strike call made by another umpire. After Winters called Bradley a name, the outfielder injured his knee during the ensuing argument and missed the Padres' playoff game against the Colorado Rockies.

*NFL linesmen Phil McKinnely allegedly called Baltimore Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle "boy" during an argument over penalties issued during Monday night's game against the New England Patriots.

In each of these situations, it seems that game officials took the low road with the athletes they are paid to control and protect. In the first two cases, the officials were suspended for their actions. The NFL is currently reviewing Rolle's allegations against McKinnely.

Umpires and referees today seem to be caught in a Catch-22. On one hand, fans do not want them to be the focus of the game. We do not want them to eject players unnecessarily or make calls that affect the outcome. We expect them to take the verbal abuse they get from managers, players and us the fans and turn the other cheek.

On the other hand, we expect them to have authority and control over the proceedings. How can a referee be considered in control when he takes a verbal undressing and cannot respond in kind? How many times can a person be berated before responding?

In many ways, referees are like cops. There are the obvious connections - they enforce the rules, they protect people from rule-breakers, they must make quick decisions about right and wrong, and they are rarely thanked for doing their job.

The are also similar in the type of person it takes to do that job. The best referees tend to be arrogant, combative and cocky. There is not an NBA referee more respected than Steve Javie, but the man walks around like his stuff doesn't smell. There is a reason he is good at his job and it has as much to do with his personality as it does his knowledge of the rules.

The problem with this personality trait, however, is that it can easily explode into something that should not be. While it is clearly an exaggeration to compare a police beating to a referee calling a player "boy," the two events originate from the same place. It is an abuse of power.

We give our police men and women the tools they need to protect us, but we expect them to only use those tools in the most extreme of circumstances. We know they face verbal and the threat of physical assault in their daily work, but we do not condone the use of excessive force because of it.

The same is true of professional sports officials. They have the ability to enforce the rules of the game in a variety of manners, but we expect them to avoid using these abilities if at all possible. We know that players say ridiculous and insulting things to referees during the course of a game, but we expect officials to be above responding back in the same manner.

It seems that more and more game officials are failing to live up to this lofty standard.

Bruce Pearl Steps Up - The Vols Visit Chattanooga Tonight

Bruce Pearl is a little different from his coaching contemporaries. After all, the man painted his chest to support the Lady Vols last year in their game against #1 Duke.

Can you picture Bobby Knight doing the same?

He is also a little different with his scheduling philosophy. Tonight the Tennessee Vols travel to Chattanooga to play on the home floor of the UTC Mocs in a game that has my hometown buzzing. It is the first time the Vols have come to McKenzie Arena since the building opened in 1982. It is the single biggest game at the Round House since UNC brought Michael Jordan to the arena.

It is also, at least on the surface, a lose/lose situation for Pearl and the Vols. If Pearl takes his Final Four contenders into Chattanooga and whips the Mocs, nobody notices. If Pearl gets ambushed by a hot crowd and a team whose season would be made with this one victory, the Vols are a laughing-stock.

This is the reason so few big schools are willing to play road games within their home state. Jim Tressel and Ohio State might schedule every MAC team in Ohio, but they sure aren't going to play the game on their field. It happens all the time in basketball as well. There is just too much to lose and not enough to gain for the big boys.

That, however, is not Bruce Pearl's philosophy on scheduling. Since taking over the Tennessee program three years ago, the Vols have played neutral site games in Nashville and tonight will play UTC on its own floor.

Why?

According to Pearl, if his team cannot win a game in Chattanooga, it is not a legitimate Final Four contender. For a master motivator like Pearl, it is a great challenge to see if his team will play with as much energy and passion against UTC as it will Florida or Kentucky. After all, a team like UTC will likely be Tennessee's 1st round match-up in the NCAA tournament. What better way to prepare?

Beyond that, Tennessee's ability to recruit across the state is only enhanced with exposure across the state. Though most basketball fans fail to notice it, the state of Tennessee has some of the best basketball in the country. Last year there were three teams in the Sweet Sixteen from the Volunteer State (Memphis and Vanderbilt being the others). No other state can made the same claim (basketball hot beds Indiana and North Carolina had one each, Kentucky had none). There is great talent in the state, but it isn't easy to keep in Knoxville. By playing across the state, Pearl increases his chances of grabbing players from Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga.

It also helps build the basketball fanbase. Tennessee is a football state and UT is a football school. While Neyland Stadium has 107,000+ for home games, the basketball Vols have often failed to fill their building consistently. In fact, it is easier for Kentucky fans to get tickets at Thompson-Boling Arena than at Rupp Arena. As Pearl takes his pressing, dunking, dominant squad across the state, he generates excitement for his program. Suddenly the half-empty arena is sold out and the Vols have a serious basketball following.

Finally, Pearl knows what it means to coach at a mid-major school and to be ducked by the big boys. He paid his dues at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, building a program that scared Big 10 schools out of visiting his campus. He understands what it means to host a game like this and has actually put his money where his (considerable) mouth is.

Kudos to Pearl and the Vols for coming to Chattanooga tonight. Whatever happens on the floor, there are nothing but winners in this situation. It is a shame that more teams and coaches don't follow Coach Pearl's lead.

Legacy Defined - Erik Ainge Leads LSU To SEC Championship

If Saturday was Erik Ainge's chance to cement his legacy as a Tennessee Vol, he took full advantage of the opportunity, only not in the way either he or the Vols hoped he would. The senior quarterback never found his rhythm on Saturday afternoon and made two inexcusable throws that helped LSU win its first SEC championship under Les Miles.

The game was the tale of two halves as LSU dominated the first part of the game, but still trailed 7-6 at intermission. The Vols dominated the second part of the game, but found themselves on the losing end of a 21-14 final score.

It was an odd afternoon of football in many ways as Tennessee's senior quarterback looked more flustered and confused than the back-up he was facing on the other side. The much-maligned Tennessee defense was physically taking it to an LSU team that had physically dominated teams all year with its giant offensive line and tough-as-nails tailback Jacob Hester. Both surefire kickers looked shaky & missed easy field goals. Down was up. Black was white.

Maybe it was the orange pants.

Last week I called yesterday's game a "defining moment" for Erik Ainge whose career as a Tennessee Vol has been full of highs and lows. Would he be remembered as a one of the greats or remembered as one of the also-rans.

After yesterday, there is no doubt about his Tennessee legacy. After the opening drive of the ballgame, Ainge could not get anything going offensively in the first half. While not taking sacks has been a bright spot of the season, Ainge's inability to stand in the pocket long enough for a receiver to get 10 yards downfield was being exposed by the blitzing, man-to-man coverage attack from the Tigers.

The second half started promising for Ainge and the offense. The Vols opened the half with two solid drives and seemed to have the Bayou Bengals on their heels. Tennessee entered the 4th quarter up a point and poised for its first SEC championship since 1998.

Then, with one throw, everything changed. Just as the television commentators mentioned that the Vols had committed no penalties and no turnovers, Ainge took the cue and threw a Pick-Six to Jonathan Zenon. The senior cornerback sat on the receiver's route and Ainge never should have thrown the ball. It was a deflating blow the Vol cause, but not a dagger in the heart.

Now - the dagger. A huge play to Arian Foster had the Vols inside the red zone, but Ainge failed to notice a giant linebacker standing in front of his intended receiver and threw his second pick of the 4th quarter, ending the Vols chances for the afternoon.

With two throws, Ainge became Casey Clausen instead of Peyton Manning. He had the ballgame and his legacy in the palm of his hand, but could not lead the Vols to a championship. Fair or not, Ainge will forever be known on Rocky Top for his short-comings and failures more than his accomplishments.