Butch Jones, the master of post loss spin jobs and the commander of a football program dangling delicately on the precipice of another disappointing season, showed his usual poise in Tennessee’s weekly press conference on Monday. Fans, however, no longer have the patience for poise. They can’t stomach another moral victory, particularly one that comes in the form of a close loss to a team that served as a benchmark for Tennessee in its more prolific years. From the opening game of the season against Utah State to the recent loss between the hedges the tone in Knoxville has changed from cautious optimism to a hungry clamor for victory over Florida.
This particular victory could propel Jones’ young but talented second year team out of the depths of the cellar the Vols have occupied for nearly a decade now and to the next level. The losses to Alabama may have been excusable –it’s not just the Volunteers who have lost to the Tide– but, for a major rival, Florida has been vulnerable to defeat several times in the past few seasons, particularly since the departure of Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow. Over and over again, the Vols have been unable to win this game, from Erik Ainge’s interception in 2006 to the realization that Sal Sunseri’s defense wasn’t worth the Charmin extra soft Derek Dooley ordered in bulk to his office restroom in 2012. Fans have suffered through humiliation to Florida for too long, and after two promising losses (that’s a thing in Knoxville) Big Orange Country is preparing to explode after what they have deemed imminent victory this weekend.
The confidence from Tennessee fans makes sense. A talented (albeit depleted) receiving core has been revealed by the sudden emergence of Justin Worley as a real threat moving the ball downfield. Freshman running back Jalen Hurd has become the first five-star recruit since Janzen Jackson to live up to his billing early and we’ve seen a defense that has experienced a dramatic turnaround thanks to–you guessed it–young speedy talent from Jones’ last recruiting class. To win this game Worley and company will have to be near perfect regardless of the talent or circumstance coming to Neyland Stadium from Gainesville because the Vols will surely find themselves in a dog fight at one point or another. The significance of the game can’t be understated: if Butch Jones finishes 5-7 on the season, which isn’t altogether unlikely, he must include the Florida Gators in that 5-win column to avoid terms like “hot seat” from coming up too often in the offseason.
Tennessee Football has plenty of demons that extend far beyond the Florida Gators–one could point to Mike Hamilton’s tenure as the athletic director, more specifically his firing of Phillip Fulmer, as the creator of the Vols woes, and they would be right. But regardless of why Tennessee has been on the wrong end of close games, questionable calls, and highlight reels of season-defining plays for other teams, all that matters for Jones and his staff when they take field on Saturday is leaving those experiences in the past. Regardless of what Vegas predicts, the odds are certainly against them–this team is bound by the chains of a curse, one that may exist only in the mind of its biggest fans but feels real enough nonetheless. Winning is the only cure, and winning against Florida for the first time since 2004 would be the heaviest brick off the shoulders of Coach Jones since he took over the program.
Other Notes:
Jalen Hurd made history for the Vols against Georgia with 119 yards rushing, the first Vols back to eclipse the century mark since Jamaal Lewis sprung for 127 yards in the 1997 SEC Championship game. The Vols must find a reliable 2nd back however, if they intend to keep improving their ground game. Marlin Lane has yet to find his rhythm and Devrin Young is still inconsistent in his productivity carrying the ball.
Ethan Wolf is a monster; this guy may technically be the biggest steal of the 2013 class in regards to production on the field early, his ability to provide a reliable blocker next to largely unreliable tackles has been nothing short of a miracle for the Volunteers. In addition to his blocking prowess Wolf is a legitimate threat downfield as a receiving option, something the Vols played without all of last year. Freshman Daniel Helm has also shown flashes, but for now UT has found its permanent fixture at Tight End.
Nathan Peterman is the unluckiest Quarterback at UT since…well actually since Matt Simms and Justin Worley. Peterman, the 2nd string option for the Vols thanks to a reportedly productive offseason, found himself once again thrown into a volatile situation on the road in Athens. Most fans will remember his fumble, which was absolutely his fault as he tried to keep the ball for a read option run and failed to hold onto it, handing the ball right back to the Dawgs at a pivotal time in the game. What no one is talking about is the fact that Peterman had, on average, two seconds maximum to get rid of the ball, and his one clean throw to Marquez North should have been a 1st down had North not dropped it. Tennessee will look to take an early lead against Chattanooga two weeks from now, and assuming Justin Worley actually survives the Florida game, rest their starters to get Peterman some valuable reps against a much friendlier UTC squad.
Jalen Reeves Maybin is the Vols impactful linebacker, not the best (A.J. Johnson is still elite, but Maybin has a nose for the ball and possesses an extra burst that has eluded Johnson since his freshman year. Along with a defensive line that has wildly exceeded preseason expectations the Sophomore Linebacker is the brightest spot on the defensive side of the ball this year.
Shoot em up: I don’t know where Tennessee players picked up all the gun play celebration routines, but I’m a huge fan. I’ll be the first to acknowledge that if (God forbid) another gun related incident occurred at Tennessee these actions would need to cease, but in the meantime A.J. Johnson and Evan Berry fired off a variety of air guns on Saturday, from Machine Guns to (assumedly) a double barrel shotgun. Anything to get the crowd going is a good thing for this team.
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Kevin Hughes
Blogger for Sportsanimal99.com
@KAHughes88
