FanHouse

It's Official: Tebow Coming Back for More

Ryan Ferguson — 2009-01-11T15:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Florida, SEC, Fans, General CFB Insanity, Heisman

Tim Tebow, the most beloved player in Gator football history, will return for his senior season at Florida.

Tebow made his announcement at Florida's national championship celebration in Gainesville, FL, setting up the crowd for a disappointing conclusion as he thanked his coaches and fellow players for, "the amazing time I've had here."

As Tebow began to walk off the stage, he appeared to suddenly remember something and jogged back to the center of the platform. "One more thing. Let's do it all again next year. I'm coming back!"

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Bowl Season '08: Vandy Wins Bowl Game. Yes, You Read That Correctly

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-12-31T21:31:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Boston College, Vanderbilt, Big East, SEC, Bowl Games

FanHouse gathers around the TV to bring you insights from Bowl Season '08.

Vanderbilt has won their first bowl game in 53 years. On the strength of three field goals and a big special teams play -- which resulted in the their only touchdown -- the 'Dores eked out a 16-14 win over Boston College.

Vandy finishes with a 7-6 record, their first winning season since 1982. It is truly a monumental accomplishment for the tiny school that competes in college football's toughest conference.

Winning in much the same fashion as their first six victories, the Commodores pinned their hopes on their defense. And it was a good thing that the stop squad was as good as advertised: Vandy's offense only managed 200 total yards and was a dismal 1-15 on 3rd down. The difference: being +3 in TO margin, and coming up with big defensive plays when they counted most.

The question -- beyond how crazy Nashville's gonna get tonight -- is whether this is a turning point for Vanderbilt. Can they springboard the surprise success of 2008 into another winning season in 2009?

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Randy Shannon's Clock Management Skills Could Use a Little Improvement

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-12-28T08:27:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: California, University of Miami, Coaching, Bowl Games

San Francisco's Emerald Bowl: not known for highlighting college football's best teams. But the bowl has been the lucky recipient of some formerly great ACC programs hitting the skids and adding some marquee value. Florida State won in 2006 against a terrible UCLA team. And in 2008, 7-5 Miami showed up to face a pretty marginal Cal squad led by Nate Longshore, a quarterback with "issues" to say the least.

But unlike FSU, Miami found a way to lose the game. They lost despite Longshore's utter ineffectiveness (10-21, 121 yards). They lost despite getting good play from freshman quarterback Jacory Harris -- the over-enthusiastic ESPN commentors were calling it his 'coming out party' which might warrant an excessive celebration penalty -- and good running from Graig Cooper, who averaged 5.3 YPC, but received only a mystifying 12 carries.

It came down to turnovers and terrible clock management. At the end of the first half, down 14-7, Miami was intercepted at their own 43-yard line; Cal promptly went four and out. Getting the ball back with 1:18 remaining and three timeouts, Shannon appeared to be running out the clock: fair enough, given that his freshman quarterback had just turned the ball over in Hurricane territory. But wait... no! After three passes resulted in a first down, Shannon called a timeout with :04 remaining. Hail Mary time, right? Nope: Harris completed a 3-yard pass to Graig Cooper. Miami walked off the field with two timeouts remaining with the ball on Cal's 49-yard line.

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Boomer'd Sooner: DeMarco Murray Won't Play in BCS National Championship

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-12-16T12:28:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Florida, BCS, Big 12, SEC, Injuries, Bowl Games

DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma's star running back, won't play in Miami against the Florida Gators on January 8th.

Murray injured his knee in the Big 12 Championship game against Missouri. Oklahoma's medical staff originally diagnosed the injury as a "deep bruise," but now say the sophomore has a "partial rupture of a hamstring tendon" in his left leg. Surgery is the only option now for Murray, but he'll be back next year.

In the meantime, what does this mean for the Big Game?

Looking back on this season, Murray has rushed for 1,002 yards and 14 touchdowns and caught 31 passes for an additional 395 yards and four touchdowns. And that's not counting his 774 yards in kickoff returns. Yeah, dude's good. He'll be missed.

But all is not lost for the Sooners.

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Heisman Race: Sam Bradford Has Slight Edge, but Tim Tebow's Surging

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-12-13T17:15:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Heisman

This year's race for the Heisman Trophy has been tight ... very tight. The three finalists -- Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, and Tim Tebow -- have each made compelling cases to win the award throughout the regular season.

Each have produced more than a handful of Heisman moments. And each has elevated his team: Oklahoma, Texas and Florida have combined records of 36-3, and of course the Sooners and Gators will face each other in the BCS National Championship on Jan. 8, 2009.

As such, it's the closest and most difficult to predict Heisman race in years. Stiffarmtrophy.com, who has correctly predicted the winner of college football's most prestigious individual award for the last six years, has released their final projection on Saturday afternoon. With 249 ballots and 670 votes recorded, they're predicting:

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Michigan: A Program Torn Asunder

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-20T14:32:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Michigan, Big 10, Coaching, Rumors

As far as misery goes, it's been a record-setting season for Michigan. The worst part: at eight losses, the pain isn't over yet. Barring a miracle of Walt Disney standards, the block M will log nine losses in Rich Rodriguez's first year -- and that will set a historical mark unlikely to be broken.

What has gone wrong in Ann Arbor? Scenario: legacy coach and staff depart under pressure, but gracefully. Hot, national-stature coach is hired to the delirious joy of the fans. Talk of a difficult rebuilding year commences -- but no one expected the wheels to catch fire, fall off, and the cart to explode into a thousand fiery fragments.

One of the first things to happen upon Rich Rod's arrival: defections. Quarterback Ryan Mallett to Arkansas was understandable; Mallett possessed every possible skill and ability not needed by Rodriguez's spread offense. His departure laid the groundwork for Nick Sheridan and Steven Threet. To say that these two quarterbacks have struggled would be an understatement.

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Brian Kelly 'Leading Candidate' for Tennessee

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-19T13:19:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Cincinnati, Tennessee, SEC, Coaching, NCAA FB Gossip, Rumors

GoVolsXtra has an unnamed source inside the Tennessee football program which has indicated that Cincinnati's Brian Kelly is now the leading candidate to replace outgoing coach Phil Fulmer. Also in the mix: South Florida's Jim Leavitt.

Notably absent? Mike Leach, whose Texas Tech Red Raiders can be found sitting happily in the BCS Top 2. According to Knoxville News Sentinel's Mike Griffith:

Mike Leach still has his name thrown around, but I don't see it. No one is going to come into the SEC and win with Xs and Os - it takes talent, not gadgets.
And, I just don't see Leach (47) being able to handle the level of scrutiny that comes with the UT head football coach job. It's a regal position - hardly a post for someone with erratic and eccentric personality traits.

Erratic? Eccentric? Mike Leach? Really?

Er... yeah. And frankly, it's not a stretch to say that Leach might be a bit of a square peg in a round hole when it comes to Tennessee football. He's an offensive wizard, clearly, but he hasn't recruited at a high level nor is it easy to fathom pirate talk out of UT's press rooms.

Meanwhile, Brian Kelly is a blue-collar candidate that has done well in his coaching career, without necessarily bowling anyone over in the process. Kelly went 19-16 as Central Michigan's head coach from 2004-2006 before accepting the HBC job with the Bearcats. In his first full season there, Cincinnati enjoyed a Top 25 ranking and went 10-3, including a win in the Papajohns.com bowl. But according to our own Chas Rich, Cincinnati doesn't really care about Bearcat football, so maybe Kelly is up for a change.

It's kind of hard not to see a "Phil Fulmer Lite" in Brian Kelly. And we're not sure that's what Vol fans want or need at this point.

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Rumors: Steve Spurrier to Retire?

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-18T12:53:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: South Carolina, SEC, Coaching, NCAA FB Gossip, Rumors

After the Gamecocks suffered their latest loss under Steve Spurrier -- this being the worst defeat ever suffered by the Visored One -- rumors have begun to circulate that Steve Spurrier could retire after this season.

College Football Talk writes:

We're hearing increasing chatter from our NFL sources that South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier will retire after the 2008 season.
Spurrier, 63, was thought to be leaning heavily toward retirement before Saturday's 56-6 debacle against Florida. It's unknown whether the 50-point loss will affect Spurrier's thought processes.

We've also heard that Spurrier is upset that South Carolina officials aren't inclined to give the head coaching job to his son, Steve Spurrier, Jr.

CFT also references an article in which a recruit suggests that he might choose Clemson over South Carolina because he "has a feeling" that Spurrier might retire soon.

FanHouse Gut Feeling^TM: Not happening. Spurrier is nothing if not a man of his word, and he's said more than once this season that he believes he has another 4-5 years of coaching left -- and that South Carolina is his "last gig." Still, it'd be hard to blame Spurrier if he chose to start focusing more on his golf rather than college football. Since his departure from Florida in 2001, he's gone 12-20 in the NFL and 28-20 at South Carolina, losing more SEC games than he's won (15-17). If anything the SEC has become even more competitive since Spurrier's return; 5 Southeastern Conference teams found themselves ranked among the Top 10 in the early part of the college football season .

Regardless, Steve Spurrier is still the Ole' Ball Coach and is a living legend. South Carolina might be a "hill too far", but we believe Spurrier will continue the fight -- at least for now.

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Is Florida's Offense Really That Explosive?

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-17T18:20:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Florida, South Carolina, BCS, SEC, Bowl Games

Everyone's raving about Florida's "explosive offense" thanks to their epic beatdowns of SEC opponents these last seven weeks.

And thanks to a 56-6 pounding of Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks, the laudations about the unstoppable Florida Tebows will continue.

But let's take a closer look at the Gators' smashing of the Palmetto State Poultry. What happens when you take away scores provided by Florida's superlative defense and special teams units? South Carolina found themselves in a 21 point hole after three horrible miscues: two Chris Smelley interceptions (one for a touchdown, the other returned to the Gamecocks' 26-yard line) and a botched lateral which gave the Gators another 1-yard scoring drive.

21 points in two minutes, 15 seconds. The offense might have wrapped the bow around two of those early Christmas presents, but in my mind you've got to give those points to the Gator D and kickoff coverage units.

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Texas Tech's Brilliant Heisman Campaign(s)

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-14T09:13:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Texas Tech, Big 12, Video, General CFB Insanity, Heisman

Witness Heisman candidates Mr. Graham Harrell and Mr. Michael Crabtree campaigning for each other... no wait, for themselves... wait... oh, just watch.

Brilliant! Just as quirky and unique as Tech's head coach, Mike Leach.

No one wants the clock to stop, Michael. And footballs most indeedily do not magically fly through the air, Graham. You boys had me at the first throw. You had me at the first throw.

If the Heisman vote was held tomorrow, it'd be a damn tough call. Both players are at the top of their game and hovering in the rare, thin air of college football greatness. But at this juncture we've gotta go with the quarterback, a player whom Steve Spurrier describes as "playing against air." For now, just keep cranking out the highlight reels, fellas, and we'll keep watching. The Heisman will work itself out.

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Lane Kiffin Interviews for Clemson Job

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-13T13:20:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Clemson, ACC, Coaching, Rumors

The Lane Kiffin Sweepstakes have begun. The former Oakland Raiders coach was interviewed last week by Clemson Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips, according to ESPN.

Initial impressions? Clemson seems like it would be a relatively good fit for Kiffin, whose NFL background and history of player development at Southern Cal would help the Tigers' recruiting efforts. Kiffin is known for being a good nationwide recruiter, although he tended towards west coast haunts in his college coaching career.

Kiffin would inherit a team with talent at many positions and would likely get the breathing room necessary to build the program into a competitive ACC squad. The current state of the Atlantic Coast Conference -- that is to say, woeful -- might also be an inducement for Kiffin, whose USC teams were routinely among the nation's best, leading many offensive categories. If any one conference is waiting for an alpha dog to take over, it's this one.

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Why Defense Will Cost Big 12 the BCS Title

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-13T12:53:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, BCS, Big 12, SEC

At this point, most pundits, bloggers, and college football fans expect to see some member of the Big XII South play the SEC champion. There are some teams outside the conference which still have a shot, at least in theory (USC anyone?) but everyone agrees that barring some kind of colossal shakeup, the Big XII will deliver one of their pinball wizard scoring machines to Miami.

They may get their shot at the crystal, but the stats nerds at Saurian Sagacity say that defense will be the Big XII's undoing.

Mergz tallied up the Big XII's top 5 teams' points allowed against non-conference and conference opponents alike. Here's what he found:

Non Conference Defense PPG - 16.5
Conference Defense PPG - 27.2

Then he tallied up the SEC's top 5:

Non Conference Defense PPG - 9.1
Conference Defense PPG - 22.14

Obviously, the SEC is allowing half the points to non-con opponents and defends better in-conference as well. Mergz goes on to point out that the SEC's non-conference opponents were arguably of higher quality. What does it add up to? Take it away, Mergz...

BCS history tells us teams that don't have good defenses don't fare well on the big stage, and the Big 12 doesn't have good defenses, even when accounting for their high powered offenses. Will this year be different, and a big scoring offense be able to overcome a stout defense? I doubt it, but we will likely see.

For more stats on this subject than you can shake a stick at, visit Saurian Sagacity.

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FSU Players Brawlin' at the Student Union

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-13T11:25:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Florida State, ACC, NCAA FB Gossip, NCAA FB Scandal, General CFB Insanity

Several FSU wide receivers were allegedly involved in a brawl at the Student Union midday on Wednesday.

According to Florida State PD spokesman Major Jim Russell:

"It allegedly involved some members of the FSU football team and members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity," Russell said. "I would say it was a large crowd, 10 or more people... There were four people injured that we know of at this time, two male and two female students."

Since this was a public brawl, unofficial reports as to the nature of the fight have been filtering in ever since. Scully from Saurian Sagacity found two such reports, unattributed to the original source, but echoed by other, more impartial bloggers:

The alleged score that needed to be settled had to do with disrespecting Nigel Bradham's girlfriend, although I am pretty sure that whatever the Sigma said she deserved it (just my opinion though). Lots of punches thrown, mace was brought out, lots of new tenants for the local facility - both football players and frat guys. The players that were recognized in the midst of this melee were Carr, Surrency, Reed, and Easterling - apparently you don't want to mess with the Seminole receivers. There were more football players there but not all were recognized due to the melee.

Bobby Bowden's comments on the situation? Utterly predictable:

"The incident today, I really have no comment on it,'' FSU coach Bobby Bowden said following Wednesday night's practice. "The police will look into it and let us know what they think. That's all I've got to say about that.''

Always a shining example for program discipline, Bowden offered up one final gem.

When asked about the recent rash of suspensions -- four players have served one-game suspensions the past three games due to missing too many classes or for failing to fulfill other responsibilities -- the veteran FSU coach said:

"Well, that's America for you, isn't it.''

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Spurrier Downplays Role in Gators vs. South Carolina Matchup

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-12T10:45:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Florida, South Carolina, SEC, Coaching

For just the second time ever, Steve Spurrier is returning to the Swamp to coach against his alma mater.

According to Spurrier, his presence won't matter.

"I think that's pretty old news. I don't think it'll be a big deal," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said of going to Gainesville to face his former Florida team this weekend. "It'll just be the Gamecocks against the Gators."

It's a classic setup for Steve Spurrier, who has to be pretty happy with the circumstances surrounding this year's version of the "rivalry" between South Carolina and Florida. Spurrier's team will slip into Gainesville completely under the radar. And while it might be a big deal to resident denizens of the Swamp, the rest of the country is probably over it. National hype for this game? Nonexistent.

Spurrier has his Gamecocks playing at a higher level than 2007. His much-mailigned defense of yesteryear is now statistically the best in the SEC. And his offense, being led now by a combination of talented freshman Stephen Garcia and sophomore Chris Smelley, is starting to click: the 'Cocks have won 6 of their last 7 games, their only loss coming to No. 13 LSU.

For the 'Cocks, their hopes of winning the SEC East are gone, but they can still play spoiler to the Gators' national title hopes. And while Spurrier might be downplaying his role in this rivalry, you can be sure he'll have something special schemed up for the Gators, a team he'd dearly love to defeat.

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Sources: Clemson's Interested in Phil Fulmer

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-12T09:45:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Clemson, Tennessee, ACC, SEC, Coaching, NCAA FB Gossip

The National Football Post says sources have informed them that "Clemson University may be interested in hiring current Tennessee Volunteers head coach Philip Fulmer to fill the vacancy left by Tommy Bowden."

This makes sense on many levels. Clemson could pick up a coach with a national championship and two SEC titles on his resume, not to mention 150 wins in Knoxville. Fulmer has not been competitive in the Southeastern Conference this year, but won 10 games in '07, that season culminating with an SEC Championship Game appearance and a bowl win over Wisconsin.

Fulmer had assembled the 6th-ranked recruiting class this year at Tennessee, and has recruited well in the Carolinas. And defensive coordinator John Chavis might well join Fulmer at his next gig, which would be quite the exciting package indeed for Tiger fans: Tennessee's defense has been relatively good this season under Chavis, despite being placed in an impossible position by the Vol offense.

At Clemson, Fulmer would likely never have to compete against Tennessee, save for a potential bowl matchup.

So with Fulmer, Clemson gets the full package: a proven head coach, possibly a good if not great defensive staff, recruiting ties, and championship prestige. Sure, Fulmer's had his issues lately. But perhaps a fresh start would the cure he needs to find his old winning ways.

Just one problem with all of that, however: Clemson's arch-rival? Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks.

For Phil Fulmer, that would have to feel like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Besides Spurrier, Phil Fulmer has six million reasons to relax and start fishing. Does the Great Pumpkin have another run in him? Only time will tell.

Previously at FanHouse:

Phillip Fulmer to Clemson?

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Sources: Butch Davis Tennessee's Top Target

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-10T16:45:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Tennessee, UNC, SEC, Coaching, NCAA FB Gossip

Butch Davis says he's happy at North Carolina and that he isn't going anywhere... but none of us believe anything a coach says anymore (thanks, Nick Saban) so the words carry less weight than Trindon Holliday on Weight Watchers. According to "ACC sources" Tennessee is not at all put off by Davis' hard-to-get act and are still squarely targeting the coach with green and orange championship rings. From Scout.com ($):

According to sources close to the UT football program, the North Carolina football coach's agent, Jimmy Sexton, was contacted this weekend by Tennessee representatives to discuss Davis as a possible replacement to Phillip Fulmer, who was fired last week after 17 years on the job.

It's hard to blame Tennessee for their interest. Davis fits the mold of what Tennessee would want in a coach. Besides Davis' obvious coaching pedigree, he's proven he can recruit well in the Vols' backyard, a critical area of importance given Tennessee's relative lack of in-state talent. If the Vols want to start winning again, Tennessee's next head coach must be able to hold their ground against aggressive recruiting efforts from Southeastern Conference teams like Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Tennessee's coaching hire will have a huge challenge on their hands. The new head coach will have to transform the 'entitled' culture that currently exists among Tennessee players, he'll have to win or at least be competitive against rivals Florida, Georgia and Alabama, and he'll have to restock a very bare cupboard talent-wise. Considering the early success Davis is enjoying at North Carolina, it would take a hell of an offer to lure him to Rocky Top, and UNC would be motivated to match anything Tennessee can put down.

FanHouse opinion: Davis isn't going anywhere, but he'll listen and benefit contractually from Tennessee's overtures.

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Urban Meyer Says It's Okay to Talk About Florida's Title Hopes

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-10T13:02:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Florida, BCS, SEC, Bowl Games

Standard coach-speak rules dictate that you focus on:

1) The next play.
2) The next game.
3) Nothing else.

But Urban Meyer recognizes that his talented Florida Gators, considered by many to be the "hottest team in college football" at present, are players on the grand stage. Win out, and they'll book a trip to Miami and a chance to add to Florida's crystal football collection. It's that simple. And there's no use avoiding the conversation.

"I'll go through that all with them because they're going to hear it," Meyer said. "And instead of from Uncle Jim or someone like that, they're going to hear exactly what's going on with the BCS. For us to just avoid that, I learned that's not the right way to do it. We're going to be talking about it, so let's talk about it, and then it's over, done."

"... There's a lot at stake. I don't mind mentioning it now; we're playing for a lot. The first goal is to get to Atlanta and the second goal is to be in the national picture. And we're in the national picture."

Timing is everything. Florida clinched a division championship with their win over Vanderbilt, but games remain against South Carolina, Citadel, and FSU before playing Alabama in Atlanta. Florida could lose all three of those games and still achieve goal number one, so for now, and to keep focus, it's kosher to talk about the BCS picture in Gainesville.

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Two Killed in Aftermath of Saban Bowl

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-10T11:26:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Alabama, LSU, SEC, Fans, General CFB Insanity

You knew that when Saban returned to the bayou, it was going to be emotional. It was going to be physical. It was going to be nasty. And somebody was going to get hurt.

Not the football game -- I'm talkin' 'bout the fans!

In yet another example of people taking college football way too seriously in Alabama, two LSU fans are dead after being gunned down by Alabama fan Michael Williams in Escambia County. Apparently, Dennis and Donna Smith made the unwise decision to call Williams after the 27-21 loss. The "telephone debate" escalated into the Smiths making a house call, the house call escalated to a fistfight, and finally the fistfight escalated to a firefight when Smith left the house and retrieved a handgun from his vehicle. Unfortunately for Smith, he brought a pistol to a shotgun fight.

Smith retrieved a pistol from his vehicle, and threatened Williams, who armed himself with a shotgun and fired two blasts, striking and killing Dennis Smith, officers said.
Donna Smith then threatened Williams, who shot and killed the woman, they said.

Oh, one more thing.

Investigators said alcohol was believed to have been a factor in the killings.

Surprise.

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Thanks, Iowa! Penn State Problem is Solved

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-10T10:46:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Alabama, Florida, Penn State, USC, BCS, Big 10, Pac 10

What is it about weak conferences and the teams that lord over them? Both USC and Penn State had shoe-in bids to the BCS title game and both blew it. Is it playing down to the competition? Clearly, there's something to be said about a tough conference slate. Look at the teams from the Big XII South and the SEC: brutal matchups week in, and week out, and the teams that emerge are warriors.

Thank the football gods that Penn State went down to lowly but gritty Iowa, 24-23. The Hawkeyes' win came thanks to a last second field goal... and the pigskin was delivered through the uprights by a former walk-on. Frankly, this makes the playoff argument more dubious; would these games be nearly as pressure-packed and exciting if there wasn't so much on the line, particularly in November? And isn't there something to be said for the notion that maybe Penn State was feeling the pressure, and choked?

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Is This The Worst Tennessee Team Ever?

Ryan Ferguson — 2008-11-10T09:07:00 00:00

by Ryan Ferguson

Filed under: Tennessee, SEC, Coaching, NCAA FB History

RockyTopTalk asks the question, "Is this really the worst team in Tennessee history?"

Of course, there's good reason to ask. On Saturday, the Volunteers lost to Wyoming, which is -- sorry, Cowboys fans -- one of college football's worst teams this season. It was a paycheck game, and Homecoming in Neyland Stadium.

Among other things, Tennessee's struggle against the 'Pokes guarantees the Vols will have a losing record in 2008, and that Phillip Fulmer's final game as head coach will be in November rather than December or January. And considering their 3-7 overall record, with two conference games remaining, the pain might not be over yet.

RockyTopTalk dug into the record books and identified three Vol squads that could vie for the dubious distinction of being the worst ever to wear Tennessee orange. Those three squads:

1. 1962: 4-6-0
2. 1977: 4-7-0
3. 2008: 3-7-0 (so far)

The 2005 Vols, which finished with a losing overall record at 5-6, also deserve mention. They were the first team under Phillip Fulmer to miss a bowl game. Despite an upset victory at No. 3 LSU, which in many ways saved the season, they lost to Vanderbilt, which Fulmer infamously described as "hitting rock bottom." But in retrospect, Phil was getting ahead of himself. Rock bottom was three years into the future -- that cool Saturday evening when Wyoming left Rocky Top with both a paycheck and a victory.

The '08 Volunteers will, if they're lucky, only tie Johnny Majors' 1977 team which also lost seven games. But considering both Vanderbilt and Kentucky are much better teams than Wyoming -- both own winning overall records late in the season -- Tennessee could find themselves 3-9 for the first time since the pre-General Neyland days.

It'd be a sad epitaph for Fulmer's great career on Rocky Top. The '08 Vols still have something to play for: Phillip Fulmer's legacy.

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