Good news Tennessee fans. Lee Corso picks the Gators to win. You can't ask for a better boost for your team than to have the goofy ESPN analyst pick your opponent to win. Kirk Herbstreit, the one knowledgeable member of the panel, picks the Vols to pull out a win. If you remember back to week one, Good ole Lee picked the Cal Bears to roll over the Vols in Neyland Stadium. Well, we all know how that pick worked out for him.
ESPN already stirred up quite a controversy this week when they decided to host Game Day for USC, when there are huge SEC match-ups between Auburn-LSU, and Tennessee- Florida. It just happens that ABC, the parent company of ESPN, is broadcasting the USC game.
The numbers look heavily favored in Florida's favor. You have to look at who each team has played and how they played, however. Tennessee has played Cal and Air Force while Florida has played UCF and Southern Miss. The bottom line is that these numbers mean nothing for Saturday. It is a whole new season.
Justin Harrell is a Man. No, not a man, but a MAN! Harrell ruptured his bicep on Saturday against Air Force. The ruptured bicep tendon will require surgery to repair and Harrell was supposedly out for the rest of the season. The news all week has been about how Tennessee's Defense would be unable to recover from the loss of Harell and Inky Johnson. That is what we mere mortals thought.
"Justin Harrell came to us and said, 'Coach, I feel like I can play,"' Fulmer said. Doctors said Harrell cannot make the injury worse. Harrell is not in pain, Fulmer said.
Fulmer said he was unsure if Harrell would get "5 snaps or 50 snaps" but he was going to get to play. Talk about heart. Harrell is going to strap it up on Saturday against the Gators, ruptured bicep be damned. Florida can talk about having a tough defense all they want. They got nuttin on Harrell. The Vols another great moment during Wednesday's practice. Inky Johnson was released from the hospital and visited the Vols.
"Inky came out to practice and that was a very emotional moment for all of us," Fulmer said. "He got them excited about the game. His spirits are really good. I told him we were all praying for him and he said, `Coach, I'm blessed.' He just had a lot of energy about himself.
Johnson will be going to the Mayo Clinic go get nerve damage repaired. The visit by Johnson and Harrell playing will provide a huge boost to the Vols.
The Gator defense has a very high opinion of itself after two very impressive wins over perennial powers UCF and Southern Miss. Florida safety Tony Joiner is currently playing the role of Don King for the Gators.
"We feel we really do have the best defense in the nation," Joiner said. "That's how we feel, that's how we are going to play and that's what we're going to look forward to doing, week in and week out: Shut a team out."
According to Joiner they are capable of shutting out Tennessee this weekend. But it gets so much better (have to give credit to EDBS for this), get this quote from Joiner:
"We really want to get into somebody else and take their cheese. Make a sandwich in the kitchen. Ham and cheese with a little turkey, mustard and mayonnaise."
No doubt, these quotes are up in the Vols locker room. I am sure there will be plenty of sammich talk on the field come Saturday.
It is that time of year again. It is the Tennessee - Florida game, and what better time to open up old wounds. Chris Leak was a highly recruited QB coming out of high school and, his brother CJ was a back-up at Tennessee. Chris was doing an on-line diary for ESPN and had some harsh words to say about Fulmer.
"For weeks now, I haven't been able to get the thought out of my mind. I can't talk to a coach, shake a hand, or head to a school for a visit and not wonder: Who's telling the truth? I've seen first hand what happened to my brother at Tennessee. I was with him when he decided to transfer from Wake Forest and picked Tennessee because he believed coach Fulmer cared about his future as a quarterback. Coach told him that he would have a chance to compete for the starting job. But it never happened."
"...Coach Fulmer never gave C.J. the opportunity he promised him when he transferred to Tennessee -- a legitimate chance to start. Because of this and everything else that happened with my brother this past season, deep in my heart, I could never trust what the Tennessee coaches tell me. So I'm finished with the Vols."
After his diary entries, the rumor was that Tennessee was no longer recruiting Chris. The Leaks word was they no longer wanted to go to Tennessee. Brother CJ never played significantly for the Vols. He became a Gator Grad Assistant in 2005. It was rumored that in he was brought on to the Gator Coaching Staff last year to help decipher the Vols Offense......Like they needed any help last year. (By the way, CJ was actually signed to the Buffalo Bills practice roster.) What is the point of all this? Who knows. Actually, It just demonstrates how deep the emotions run between Tennessee and Florida, and how big this game has become.
Like the sign in the picture says, "Thanks #12 for Not Being A Volunteer".
The Air Force game was costly for the already thin Tennessee Defense. The Vols lost both Justin Harrell and Inky Johnson for the rest of the season. Harrell went out for a bicep injury that will require surgery. Harrell had a great 2005 season and will be missed. Johnson may be missed even more due to a thin secondary. Johnson was knocked out late in the 4th Quarter. The crowd in Neyland Stadium was silent for several minutes while he was loaded on a stretcher and taken out of the stadium. According to the Tennessean:
The injury to Johnson could be career threatening. He was still in the hospital on Sunday night and listed in stable condition after undergoing vascular surgery to repair torn blood vessels in his right shoulder area. Head trainer Jason McVeigh said Johnson would also require additional surgery to correct nerve damage.
Turk McBride now start at Tackle and Xavier Mitchell, who saved the Vols from defeat with his game saving tackle against Air Force, will start at Defensive End.
Running Back Arian Foster and Offensive Lineman Ramon Foster went down with ankle injuries but should be able to play on Saturday against Florida.
You can forget the huge win against Cal. You can forget the near catastrophe against Air Force. Those games mean absolutely nothing. Tennessee's season begins for real on Saturday when Urban Meyer and the Gators come to Knoxville on Saturday. This game will put the winner in the lead of the SEC East with only Georgia in the way of a trip to Atlanta.
The Vols defense must have been preparing for Florida because they obviously were not prepared for Air Force. It will be the last visit to Knoxville for Chris Leak, and there will be no tears shed when he leaves. Leak has been at odds with the Vols since he trashed Phil Fulmer in an ESPN diary while still a high school recruit. Leak did not like the treatment his brother CJ received with the Vols so he let the world know via ESPN. I am sure the Vol defense would love noting more than giving Leak nothing but bad memories of his last visit to Neyland Stadium.
But what about the Cal game you say? Merely a scrimmage. What about Air Force? Just another practice session. The Vols season begins on Saturday, and if Tennessee has any hopes of winning an SEC championship, they must beat Florida.
Erik Ainge continued to erase the demons of 2005 with another impressive performance against Air Force. In the win against Air Force, Ainge looked nothing like the Erik Ainge of 2005. He was confident, poised in the pocket, and made great decisions all night. The once exception was an interception late in the game that led to an Air Force Score.
Ainge was 11 of 18, for 291 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception against Cal. Ainge proved that performance was not a fluke after he threw 24 of 29 for 333 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception against Air Force. At one point in the game, Ainge completed 15 straight passes. The NCAA record of 23 straight completions is held by former Volunteer QB Tee Martin. Coach Philip Filmer said:
"Erik was outstanding," Fulmer said. "He was throwing the football well, and he was very sharp. The line protected well and the route-running was good. ... He managed the game extremely well."
Offensive Coordinator David Cutcliffe has obviously had a huge impact on Ainge. The Vol QB has a totally new mindset and looks nothing like the Erik Ainge that many Vol Fans remember from the 2005 LSU game. If Ainge has a big game against Florida, it will be like 2005 never existed in the minds of Vol Fans.
Good news Tennessee fans. Lee Corso picks the Gators to win. You can't ask for a better boost for your team than to have the goofy ESPN analyst pick your opponent to win. Kirk Herbstreit, the one knowledgeable member of the panel, picks the Vols to pull out a win. If you remember back to week one, Good ole Lee picked the Cal Bears to roll over the Vols in Neyland Stadium. Well, we all know how that pick worked out for him.
Justin Harrell is a Man. No, not a man, but a MAN! Harrell ruptured his bicep on Saturday against Air Force. The ruptured bicep tendon will require surgery to repair and Harrell was supposedly out for the rest of the season. The news all week has been about how Tennessee's Defense would be unable to recover from the loss of Harell and 
The Gator defense has a very high opinion of itself after two very impressive wins over perennial powers UCF and Southern Miss. Florida safety Tony Joiner is currently playing the role of Don King for the Gators.
It is that time of year again. It is the Tennessee - Florida game, and what better time to open up old wounds. Chris Leak was a highly recruited QB coming out of high school and, his brother CJ was a back-up at Tennessee. Chris was doing an on-line diary for ESPN and had some 
I will do a weekly wrap-up highlighting how some of the Vols in the NFL performed each week.
The Air Force game was costly for the already thin Tennessee Defense. The Vols lost both 
You can forget the huge win against Cal. You can forget the near catastrophe against Air Force. Those games mean absolutely nothing. Tennessee's season begins for real on Saturday when Urban Meyer and the Gators come to Knoxville on Saturday. This game will put the winner in the lead of the SEC East with only Georgia in the way of a trip to Atlanta. 
Erik Ainge continued to erase the demons of 2005 with another impressive performance against Air Force. In the win against Air Force, Ainge looked nothing like the Erik Ainge of 2005. He was confident, poised in the pocket, and made great decisions all night. The once exception was an interception late in the game that led to an Air Force Score. 
