September 21, 2013
Petered out in the Swamp
Gainsville, FL: Welcome to the SEC Butch Jones!
In what Vol fans probably knew in their heart of hearts as another loss to the season, they did tune into the game with some shred of optimism given Florida had not performed well this season and, despite a bye week before the Vols, were whipped by their neighbor to the south Miami. What Vol fans got was the start of a not at all ready for Prime Time Nathan Peterman and a first half that resembled a team that Jason Sudeikis put together in the skit as a American football coach taking over a British futbol team. Both Tennessee and Florida looked horrible as mistake after mistake and turnover after turnover monopolized the announcers microphones.
Nathan Peterman, touted as the winning quarterback after a week of practice was honestly thrown into the deep end of the pool by starting in the Swamp. One could make the argument that this is the best of litmus tests as opposed to letting him have his way with a team the likes of Austin Peay or upcoming South Alabama, regardless, Peterman was not ready for Florida’s defense. So much so that he gets to sit on the sidelines for the next four weeks after injuring his hand and requiring surgery following the game. Welcome to the SEC Nathan Peterman!!
Worley was reintroduced to the offense in the second half and we seemingly improved our gameplan. I’m not sure if that was because Worley is better or Peterman just had an awful start, therefore, making Worley look improved. Regardless, Butch Jones has a tough task on his hands and we certainly can’t expect him to fix things overnight. This game, compared to last years, was similar in score as Dooley finished the game with a 37-20 loss. So give Butch 3 points!! The difference with this game, besides the 3 points and location, the team didn’t seem to let the wheels fall off and played through to the end. Having attended last year’s game in Knoxville, Tennessee got started off quick and fast then quickly careened out of control in the second half deflating Vols fans and starting the exodus of Dooley.
Tennessee can look forward to a slight off week with South Alabama next on the schedule before we walk down the dark alleyway with the cast of Sons of Anarchy at the end waiting to maul us but in the form of Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama. Who loves October? Not this vol fan but here’s to hoping I start looking forward to it sooner than later.
You can’t possibly believe that 5 years of driving southbound at the speed of a Ferrari F35 Spider and suddenly make a U-turn would land us back in 2007 do you? You see College Football is much lake a class in high school or college, you remember those don’t you? (hopefully) You would be cruising along with an A with all your pop quizes and assignments then drop a “Dooley” on your midterm test and watch that A fall to a D-. Then have to work, cheat, beg, borrow, and bribe your teacher just to get back into the B area. That is exactly where this football program is, having to beg its way back into the good graces of the SEC and college football before the dreaded expulsion letter.
October 5, 2014
Decade of Dominance
In a year that Vol fans had convinced themselves we could surprise a couple of teams that have had our number for years, Tennessee fell short in games against Georgia and Florida. Both games close but the Florida game was too close. Tennessee had performed well for most of the low scoring game keeping Florida out of scoring positions over and over.
Then came the 4th Quarter!
Tennessee starting letting Florida get back in the game and eventually taking down the Vols by 1 point 10 to 9. As depressing as this game was for fans hoping we would make a statement this weekend, even more depressing is that this capped Florida with a decade of dominance over the Vols. You have to go back to 2004 when the Vols took down the Florida Gators 30-28 at Neyland Stadium under head coach Phillip Fulmer. It always seemed that Steve Spurrier and the Gators had the Vols number winning the majority of matchups against the Vols and Fulmer.
This year hope was high but quickly fleeting as the Vols were able to hang into games but not seal the deal. Given the colossal screw up the past few years have been since the departure of Fulmer, Vol fans need to remain vigilant that head coach Butch Jones is just 1 or 2 seasons away from returning the Vols to the top of the SEC East and SEC. Next year’s game will be in the swamp and certainly the Vols will be underdogs. Will this be the year similar to the late 90’s where Vol fans carried “WE BELIEVE” signs for the team as they boarded the bus to Gainesville and eventually took down the Florida Gators in the swamp?
With the largest team in NCAA football with starting freshmen, the Vols could be on the cusp of quickly showing we are on the right track with the program and regaining the SEC and making Neyland, once again, a feared place to play football.
By The LakeVol Botch No comments Tags: Butch Jones, Checker Neyland, Florida Gators, Justin Worley, Knoxville, Neyland Stadium, Tennessee, Tennessee Volunteers, Will Muschamp