Good Ole Rocky Top - A Tennessee Volunteers Dynasty

[the red c]

Arkansas State Red Wolves 0-1 @ Tennessee Volunteers 1-0

Date: Saturday, September 7th, 2013
Time: 12:00 Central
Channel: ESPN2
Description: The 1-0 Vols look for win #2 on the year against Arkansas State in Neyland Stadium.

Game Recap: The Vols got all they could handle from the Red Wolves and more. I don't know if they thought Arkansas State was going to be intimidated playing in front of a packed out Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, but TN did not look good in week 2.

The Red Wolves were led by QB Freddie Knighten who absolutely shredded the Vols defense through the air and the ground. Knighten would pass for 234 yards and 2 touchdowns, completing 23 of his 32 attempted passes. And with his legs he rushed for 168 yards on 20 attempts with a touchdown on the ground as well. Simply put, the Vols never had an answer for the opposing QB.

On the other side of the coin, the QB for the Vols had a terrible day. Justin Worley threw a grand total of 5 interceptions. He also only completed 54% of his passes going 24-44. The QB situation on Rocky Top does not look good at the moment.

Marlin Lane was one of the only positives TN had going for them. Taking over most of the carries because of an injured Jalen Hurd, he ran for a buck 26 and added a touchdown as well.

Overall, this is a game the Volunteers will want to forget about as quickly as possible. Having a team from the Sun Belt come in and dominate their way to a win is not a good look for the SEC nor the Vols. Fans were definitely not happy with the result of the game, and it looks like Butch Jones has a lot of work to do if he hopes to lead TN to a bowl game.

Up next, the Volunteers travel to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the #4 Oklahoma Sooners (2-0).

Final: Tennessee 17, Arkansas State 28

[Coach P]

Tough loss after a rocky start against Utah St... Could be in for a long season! Good luck!

[the red c]

Tennessee Volunteers 1-1 @ #4 Oklahoma Sooners 2-0

Date: Saturday, September 14th, 2013
Time: 7:00 Central
Channel: ABC
Description: The Volunteers and head Coach Butch Jones look to pull off the upset on the road in Norman, OK against Bob Stoops and the #4 ranked Sooners.

Game Recap: The Vols got a chance on national television to shock the college football landscape and finally prove to the country Tennessee football may be back after all. And through three quarters it looked like Butch Jones' squad would be able to pull of the feat. Entering the fourth quarter the Sooners and Vols were locked in a nail-biter, 7-6 with the edge going to the Sooners.

How did they get there? The Vols defense playing lights out, Marlin Lane having the game of his life against a top-notch defense, and the sheltered play calling when it came to Justin Worley passing the ball. Through the first three quarters Worley only threw one pass deeper than 15 yards. It was clear the coaches wanted to limit his opportunity for mistakes as much as possible. And Worley managed the game fine up until crunch time.

In the fourth quarter the Vols had no choice but to open up the playbook. The Sooners started stacking the box forcing the Worley to make plays with his arm. Unfortunately for the Vols, the senior QB couldn't get the job done. In fact, he completely took them out of the game by throwing 4 fourth quarter interceptions. The Sooners would take advantage and turn the turnovers into 2 touchdowns, consequently ending the game for the underdogs.

It was a tough way for Butch Jones and the Volunteers to lose. Especially considering it was on the road against a top 5 team. The young Tennessee team showed a lot of promise and hope, but this game also proved their biggest weakness comes at the most important spot, the QB position. It is going to be a long year for the Vols if they can't find a solution to the problem.

Final: Tennessee 6, #4 Oklahoma 21

[the red c]

Quote: Originally Posted by Coach P

Tough loss after a rocky start against Utah St... Could be in for a long season! Good luck!

Hey thanks for checking in Coach P! I definitely think we are in for a long season. That loss to Arkansas State still hurts haha

[smpipkin]

Good luck. Following. Love the vols! We looked good in the bowl game. Next year looks bright. Tough loss to Arkansas State but at least you hung with OU

[the red c]

Quote: Originally Posted by smpipkin

Good luck. Following. Love the vols! We looked good in the bowl game. Next year looks bright. Tough loss to Arkansas State but at least you hung with OU

Thank ya and I love the Vols as well!! We looked excellent in the bowl game, didn't we? The future is orange my friend.

And yeah, the OU game was a heart breaker. I couldn't believe in a NCAA football game I had a 7-6 score heading into the 4th quarter. I honestly would have been fine with that finish. Florida is next, hopefully we can break the streak!

[the red c]

Tennessee Volunteers Injury Report

Knoxville, TN -- Through three games the Vols are already pretty banged up. Highly coveted 5 star freshman running back Jalen Hurd has been nursing a bruised shoulder he received in week one. The injury has caused him to miss the last two games, and he is listed as doubtful for next weeks game against the rival Gators of Florida. In just 2 and a 1/2 quarters of action the running back tallied 59 yards on 15 attempts for a 3.9 yard per carry average.

The other injured Volunteers is the versatile wide receiver, Alton "Pig" Howard. The 5' 8" playmaker suffered a broken wrist against Arkansas State which caused him to miss last weeks game against OU. The team thought he might be able to return to the field in a few weeks but the injury looks worse than the team doctors originally thought. Unfortunately, he will be out for the remainder of the season. Pig Howard had 6 catches on the year for 76 yards. He also tallied 54 rushing yards on just 4 attempts, including a 30 yarder in the season opener.

Butch Jones on the injures and how it will affect the team going forward: "Well obviously anytime you lose a guy like Howard it's going to hurt your football team. We used him in a lot of different ways, not just catching the ball. He was a big part of our jet sweep scheme, using his speed to get the edge outside. So now we have to look for other guys to step up and fill in. And Hurd should be back soon. He won't play this week against Florida, but he should be back soon."

[smpipkin]

Are you going to use Lane vs Florida?