This isn't a report card; it's an autopsy. The Vol offense was pronounced dead shortly after 5PM Saturday evening.
Philip Fulmer:
"I'm obviously very disappointed,'' Vols coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We played against a really good team. Defensively, we probably played well enough, but offensively we did nothing.''
The Vol offense managed 218 yards, 74 on the second play of the game. The rest of the stats are here if you're interested.
I'm not.
Report Card:
Quarterbacks C-.
The offensive line was so outclassed that I can't blame the quarterbacks too much. Clausen performed at about the same level he has all year, which is to say, barely adequate. Banks wasn't allowed to throw much by Sanders, or the Miami defensive line for that matter, and spent most of his snaps running for his life. CJ Leak didn't get enough time to really show us anything.
Receivers D-.
Couldn't get open, and couldn't hold onto the ball when they did get open. Witten was limited to one catch, two if you count the miscall by the ref.
Running Backs C-.
It's hard to run when you don't get a hole. But when you have a 10 yard lead on the nearest defensder, you really should make it into the end zone.
Offensive Line F.
Last week the offensive line played their best game all season. This week they were completely outclassed and outmanned. I'm not going to credit the play of Miami's defense, since Big East powerhouse Rutgers was able to stand up to them for three quarters
Defensive Line/Linebackers B-
The Vol defense bent but rarely broke, limiting Miami to a single touchdown in the second half.
Secondary B-
Once again, Julian Battle seemed to be everywhere. The secondary played soft as usual, but only got burned badly twice. Against Miami, that is an accomplishment.
Special Teams D-
Colquitt shanked a couple punts, but to be fair, his leg was probably getting pretty tired. MArk Jones grabbed a punt on the one inch line, rather than let it go into the end zone for a touch back. Kick and punt overage, usually a strength for the Vols this season, was sub par.
Coaching incomplete.
How much of the team's lack of character can be laid at the coaches' feet? The players have to take part of the blame, but at the same time, Fulmer's continued reliance on the obviously ineffective Clausen has got to put a strain on the rest of the team. Maybe we ran up the middle all day because that's all Sanders believes his offense can do. But when it doesn't work, how can trying something else be worse?
Officiating Not worth worrying about. Yes there were bad calls, like ruling Witten out of bounds when he was clearly in bounds, but that wouldn't have made a difference today.
Overall D.
Next we face a Mississippi State team that is 0-5 in the SEC, and maybe the only offense in the SEC worse than UT's. They look to break into the win column against UT, but as long as our defense continues to play wth a little pride, that won't happen. There are rumors that Clausen is out for the season. This can only help the Vols.
Early prediction:
Tennessee 27 Mississippi St. 6
UPDATE: SKBubba expected me to be harsher than I was. Well, I probably would have been, except Miami really is a great team, despite a couple of lack luster performances. I'm not surprised we looked as bad as we did.
Posted by Rich at November 10, 2002 10:49 AM