Rocky Top Talk

Tennessee Volunteers vs. East Carolina Pirates: open game thread

2009-11-20T20:00:29Z

No pretties this afternoon. Just what I'm hoping are helpful links. If you're able, first count yourself lucky and then leave your comments below.

RTT on Sports Animal 99 today at 1:45

2009-11-20T18:30:15Z

Don't forget to listen to WNML at about 1:45 today (and every Friday) to hear Will's weekly appearance on Sports 180 with Josh Ward and Will West. Listen live here.

Tennessee Senior Day 2009: Rico McCoy

2009-11-20T18:15:11Z

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

2 months ago: Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (15) fumbles the ball as he is hit by Tennessee defensive tackle Montori Hughes (93) and Tennessee linebacker Rico McCoy, left, during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Gainesville, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. Tennessee recovered the ball, and went on to score a touchdown. Florida won 23-13. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Browse more photos »

Before we get to our last senior spotlight, here's a look at the other names you'll hear called on Saturday:

TE Jeff Cottam ends his Tennessee career with 7 catches, 2 for touchdowns going into Saturday's game. Played together with his brother Brad in 2007.
CB Marsalous Johnson saw duty in UT's nickel and mustang packages over the last three seasons, finishing with one sack and one interception.
DT Andre Mathis saw spot duty at a variety of positions in the defensive front in his four years, seemingly never finding the right fit. He has 9 career tackles going into Saturday.
Others include DB Derrick Furlow, the snapper/holder combination of Morgan Cox and Bram Cannon, and walk ons Johnny Harrison, Steven Hensley and Sean White. Austin Rogers is applying for a sixth year of eligibility, so I'm not sure if he's running Saturday or not.

Our last spotlight senior has been that one that's contributed the most over the course of all four of his seasons in Knoxville, a four year starter at linebacker...

Rico McCoy

McCoy was a freshman All-American in 2006, picking up the start late in the season and leading the team in tackles as a freshman against Vanderbilt. He was a second team All-SEC selection in 2007, with 106 tackles on the year, sixth best in the conference. He played tremendously well in the 2007 SEC Championship Game, with 8 tackles and a forced fumble. In 2007 & 2008 he had seven double digit tackle games.

This season, McCoy has continued the tradition of fast, hard-hitting Tennessee linebackers, leading the defense with four forced fumbles. He set a career high with 16 tackles in the Auburn game, and now has ten double digit tackle games for his career after getting 12 at Alabama and 10 more against South Carolina. His 84 tackles this year are currently good for fourth best in the SEC, which will again make Rico a candidate for all-conference honors, and give him a chance in the NFL Draft.

My personal favorite Rico McCoy moment?

Around the SB Nation: Farewell to UGA VII

2009-11-20T17:30:16Z

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

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Football

Dawg Sports pays tribute to UGA VII, who died yesterday of an apparent heart attack.
In advance of the LSU-Ole Miss game tomorrow, And the Valley Shook and Red Cup Rebellion exchange Q&As.

Basketball

Carolina March and We Will Always Have Tempe both react to last night's 77-73 victory by North Carolina over Ohio State. (Language alert for the loser; imagine that.)
Maryland blog Testudo Times reacts to Tobias Harris choosing Tennessee.

Tennessee Senior Day 2009: Wes Brown & Dan Williams

2009-11-20T17:30:11Z

Defensive tackle was a huge question mark for Tennessee entering this season, but these two seniors have done a tremendous job answering it.

Wes Brown joins Josh McNeil in the bad knees club, but has made it through ten games this season without missing much action. Lane Kiffin moved Brown from defensive end to defensive tackle, and Brown hasn't missed a beat. He's recorded 3.5 sacks and 5 TFLs this season, to go along with an interception picked up last week at Ole Miss. He took a position in question and turned it into a solid answer for this defense.

We knew Dan Williams was good coming into this season, but his play has been simply outstanding. An All-SEC and All-America candidate, Williams has 6.5 TFLs and 8 QB hurries this season to go along with 52 tackles, leading the way in the trenches and blowing up running plays by himself on several occasions. And remember, without Dan Williams' block, Lones Seiber makes this kick and Georgia goes to the SEC Championship Game instead of us:

Montori Hughes and the other Vols who will step in next season have big shoes to fill on both counts at defensive tackle. Meanwhile, Dan Williams could join Eric Berry in the first round of April's NFL Draft.

Tennessee Senior Day 2009: Offensive Linemen

2009-11-20T16:45:13Z

As much as we may appreciate these guys now, it'll be next fall when these six experienced starters will truly be missed.

Jacques McClendon, Josh McNeil, Vladimir Richard and Chris Scott are all veterans of the 2007 offensive line that allowed an NCAA-low 4 sacks in the entire season, keeping Erik Ainge safe and paving the way to an Eastern Division Championship. Their success as a unit helped turn the eyes of NFL scouts on them individually, especially McNeil, who was projected to be one of the top centers taken in the 2010 NFL Draft.

McNeil's career essentially came to an end before his senior season ever truly got started, with his knees finally betraying him in full. That didn't keep him from continuing to work out and dress with the team, getting some action in the final moments of the Georgia blowout and serving as an excellent example to those around him.

And with McNeil going down and others banged up, Cody and Cory Sullins have stepped in and played literally above their heads this season. Undersized but at times undervalued, they helped keep Jonathan Crompton safe long enough for him to find himself in this offense, and have paved the way for Montario Hardesty in what has become a truly balanced Tennessee attack. It's fitting - even if it's unfortunate for us next year - that these six linemen have taken every step of their Tennessee football journey alongside the quarterback and running back they've been asked to protect here in their final year together.

While the Sullins Boys aren't likely to show up on Mel Kiper Jr.'s big board, there may be football still out there for McClendon, Richard and Scott. Either way, it leaves a gaping hole for next year, where Aaron Douglas will serve as the lone returning starter, and Jarod Shaw is the only other player with real game experience. Perhaps above all others, these guys will be missed.

Tennessee Senior Day 2009: Quintin Hancock

2009-11-20T15:15:24Z

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

2 months ago: Tennessee Quintin Hancock (87) out runs UCLA's Akeem Ayers (10) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. UCLA won 19-15. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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Hancock is a senior that feels like a sophomore, because he's only seen real action in two seasons. In 2007, Hancock had 16 catches and 3 TDs, including this beauty in the fourth overtime of the Kentucky game with the Vols 40 yards away:

He then became one of the poster children for the futility of the Clawfense, catching zero passes in 2008. Though he's been injured off and on this season, Hancock has shown the most reliable hands on the team and grabbed 24 receptions in 7 games, including two touchdowns. He is the lone target that will not return in the Vols' passing game next season, but his perseverance is to be commended now in his final appearance at Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee Senior Day 2009: Montario Hardesty

2009-11-20T14:00:20Z

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

19 days ago: Tennessee's Montario Hardesty (2) gets away from South Carolina's DeVonte Holloman (21)during the second half of a NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee won 31-13. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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We've mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again: although Arian Foster, LaMarcus Coker, Lennon Creer, and Bryce Brown were all talked about more than he was, Montario Hardesty has outperformed them all.

Hardesty has 956 rushing yards thru the first ten games of the season, and will almost certainly become the first Vol to run for 1,000 yards in a season since Gerald Riggs and Cedric Houston both did it in 2004. If he can pick up 334 yards in the final three games, he'll have one of the five best individual seasons in UT history. And he is currently 13th on UT's all-time rushing chart, where those same 334 yards would get him into the Top 10 all-time. He has already joined an elite club of Vols to run for over 2,000 yards in their collegiate careers.

What makes Hardesty great?

The final nail in Cal's coffin, way back in 2006:

The big run against Georgia:

Setting the tone this season:

The Spin Move:

Hardesty's name takes its place in the great tradition of Tennessee running backs, a tradition that felt broken in these last few years, but one #2 has worked hard to restore this season.

Tennessee Senior Day 2009: Jonathan Crompton

2009-11-20T13:15:09Z

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

about 1 month ago: Tennessee's Jonathan Crompton (8) throws to a receiver ahead as Georgia's Kade Weston (91) defends during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee won 45-19. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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Is it just me, or has this football season flown by?

Part of it is because this time last year, we couldn't wait for it to end. 2008 just refused to put us out of our misery, seemingly getting worse every week and giving us pain of both the on and off the field variety. We played miserably on Saturday, then talked about our championship coach getting fired Sunday-Friday, before and after it happened. And so, the season dragged on.

And part of it is the other end of the spectrum: the 2009 Vols haven't played any of the life-or-death games the program was used to in the late 90s/early 00s, the sort of games that make Sunday-Friday drag on for all the right reasons, because you can't wait for Saturday to get here. These are the games where it feels like everything is on the line, where winning means you're still celebrating into the next week, and losing means it'll take the next week to get over it. These, we hope, are the type of games Lane Kiffin has in his future.

As such, 2009 has been an interesting breath of fresh air: lower expectations, new attitude, a few surprises and all learning experiences along the way. And without epic misery or epic matchups, these last eleven weeks have moved at an incredible pace.

And so we arrive once again at Senior Day, where this year 20 Tennessee seniors will make their final run through the T on Saturday night. This is a senior class that's seen more of the roller coaster than any UT class in recent memory: the fifth year seniors have been around for both the 2005 and 2008 seasons, meaning a trip to any bowl game will still be a big deal this season. But there are also plenty of contributors from the 2007 team that won the SEC Eastern Division Championship in this group. And there are several names on this list that we didn't think we'd miss as much in August as we do now.

Throughout the day, we'll be taking a look back at some of the best moments from the notable players in the Class of 2009, starting with the man who's been at the center of it all...

Jonathan Crompton

So, last week I wrote one of these "everything is going really well!" pieces that you should never, ever write in the midst of the season. I finished it up Wednesday night, set it to auto-publish Thursday morning at 10:00, then woke up and headed out the door before 8:00. Which means I missed the Janzen Jackson/Nu'Keese Richardson/Mike Edwards story by mere minutes, which was exactly the moment when things stopping going really well for this team. Since we were all immersed in that story for the remainder of the day, allow me to revisit something I said in that original post:

At some point during the first half of the Auburn game, while trying to come to terms with the fact that Kiffin simply wasn't going to pull him, I was imagining Crompton running thru the T on senior day against Vanderbilt as the quarterback of a 3-7 team, being the first Vol in history to get booed in his final run. And now I feel like I owe it to him to be there next week against Vanderbilt, to join in what will be a hero's welcome if the Vols take care of business this week.

Tennessee has made a habit of putting the same quarterback on the field for several consecutive seasons: Casey Clausen started every week he was healthy during his four years, Erik Ainge started for most of his four years, and we've seen Crompton under center for part of 2006, most of 2008 and all of this year. As such, the fanbase builds a long term relationship with these guys that has the ups and downs of a marriage; even Peyton Manning spent a few nights on the couch after long weekends in Florida.

We've tried to divorce Crompton, and more than once. I was going to joke that we've tried to kill him, but at one point the kid received actual death threats. But in these last four weeks, Crompton has changed his ways...and so have we. And now we're like the older couple that's been through the worst of times together only to have a greater appreciation for the best of times. Crompton knows he wasn't playing well, and maybe we feel like we were a little too hard on him at some points, though we both had our reasons.

No, the Vols didn't take care of business against Ole Miss. But to be fair, Crompton wasn't responsible for tackling Dexter McCluster either. Saturday's loss may have dampened the mood...but Saturday is also your last chance to cheer for Jonathan Crompton.

The rights and wrongs of fandom are always up for interpretation, while the highs and lows of Crompton's career are simply a matter of looking at the numbers. Either way, we've been hard on this kid. And either way, he's kept playing and finally, finally started playing well. We owe him a good sendoff on Saturday.

The Record of Wrongs: Vanderbilt Commodores

2009-11-20T11:54:59Z

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

All right! Now somebody bring me a banjo!

Browse more photos »

Hear ye, hear ye. It's Time. Time for Tennessee Volunteer fans to gather for the ceremonial reading of the Record of Wrongs, a litany of the offenses committed by the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Probably not true

Al Gore was dismissed from Vanderbilt University in 1964 when he discovered a knotted bunch of cables between the sofa cushions in his dorm room and insisted it was the internet. The administration held fast to its belief that it was simply a tangled mess of wire not actually attached to anything, and Gore left in a huff screaming something about "inconvenience" and "truth." The administration's refusal to acknowledge Gore's discovery set the information age back decades.
The black and gold star logo of the athletic program is actually a registered trademark of the Southern Man's Skull and Bones Secret Shhh Don't Tell Society.
Football coach Bobby Johnson winds down after big games by playing Foggy Mountain Breakdown on the banjo in his Dixie do-rag and wife-beater.

Actually true (sorta)

November 17, 2007. Tennessee 25, Vanderbilt 24. The 'Dores gave us a heart attack and a preview of Daniel Lincoln's propensity to kick the ball too low.
November 19, 2005. Tennessee 24, Vanderbilt 28. The end of the world as we know it. Tennessee's failure to convert on 4th down and inches within three yards of the goal line resulted in the Vols’ first loss to Vandy in 22 years, the first losing season in 17, and the bowl-less season in 16. Several players threw their helmets on the ground and left them there in the end zone after the game, and offensive lineman Albert Toeaina cursed at a cameraman and was accused of spitting on him to boot. He actually spat on the ground in front of the guy, and he did apologize for that, saying that it was done out of anger and frustration. Losing to Vanderbilt will do that to you.
2006-present. The school made a DVD of their 2005 win over Tennessee and continues to milk it for mileage to this day.
1982, 1975, 1964, 1959, 1954, 1948, 1937, 1935, 1920-1926, 1915, 1901-1913, 1892 (twice!). All losses.
A Vandy education costs over $200,000. If the school gives its football players scholarships, they're paying more to their players than any other school in the SEC even if you include Alabama's "supplemental" payments.
Their founder's name is Cornelius.
The University killed its athletic department. Who kills an athletic department?
A Commodore is "the commanding officer of a task force of ships." Crank up the RTT fact-checker:

Ah-ha! Just as I expected! Landlocked!

I'm certain I've missed some. Whatcha got?

Vote for the winner of the Tennessee-Vandy Hail Mary Haiku

2009-11-20T11:45:07Z

Cast your vote for the winner of this week's Hail Mary Haiku. Those that survived yesterday's whittling are re-published after the jump.

if the ’dores beat us
I will do something crazy
and get arrested

by kidbourbon

Blackout and bailout
Black and Gold falls in a rout
Bowl-bound turnabout

by ttocswob

Let’s win out and go
Music City Bowling in
House that Vanderbilt

by birdjam

my haiku is great
you´re haiku is not so great
Vandy sucks Vols rule

by PdxVol

Which coach has two thumbs,
hopes Notre Dame hires Johnson?
Spurrier: this guy.

by rustytanton

My alma mater
Used to be good, but no more
Vols vanquish Vandy

by VolnVA

Poll

Which entry should win this week's Hail Mary Haiku?

Tobias Harris signs with Tennessee

2009-11-19T23:21:43Z

In what could be considered the biggest recruiting pickup in the history of Tennessee Basketball, 6'8" power forward Tobias Harris - Rivals' #1 power forward and #5 overall player in the 2010 class - has signed with Bruce Pearl and the Vols. Harris revealed his choice tonight on ESPNU.

Harris, a native of Glen Head, New York, was also considering Syracuse, Maryland, Louisville and our friends at Kentucky, among others. This is a huge get for Pearl and the Vols, and Tennessee's ability to go up to New York and get the fifth best player in the country is the most recent example of the difference Pearl has made in changing the basketball culture in Knoxville.

Harris joins 2010 signees Trae Golden (Rivals overall #55) and Jordan McRae (Rivals overall #42), both guards from Georgia. Fellow big man Jayvaughn Pinkston has elected to wait until the spring to sign, though the Vols were thought to be among the leaders. And the saga of Josh Selby also continues, as the former Vol commit continues to test the waters. But regardless of Pinkston's or Selby's decision, the presence of Harris ensures a great recruiting class for the Vols in a year where Rivals already had Tennessee ranked 18th on just Golden and McRae alone.BruceBall may lose four senior starters this year, but Pearl is working hard to ensure that the Vols will no longer be rebuilding, but reloading. Harris looks to be the biggest piece of the 2010 puzzle, and continued evidence that Bruce Pearl is getting it done.

What Tennessee Volunteer fans should watch, record this week

2009-11-19T23:15:12Z

Watch these live

Thursday, 11/19/09
Colorado	@	Oklahoma State	7:30 p .m.	ESPN
Saturday, 11/21/09
Mississippi State	@	Arkansas	12:21 p.m.	SECN
LSU	@	Mississippi	3:30 p.m.	CBS
Vanderbilt	@	Tennessee	7:00 p.m.	ESPNU

Flip between/DVR these

Saturday, 11/21/09
Ohio State	@	Michigan	12:00 p.m.	ABC
Kentucky	@	Georgia	7:45 p.m.	ESPN2
Oregon	@	Arizona	8:00 p.m.	ABC

All times EST

Whittling the Tennessee-Vandy Hail Mary Haiku

2009-11-19T17:30:13Z

You know the drill. Go check out this week's Hail Mary Haiku entries and rec the ones you like (actions --> rec). The ones that make the cut will be posted for voting tomorrow.

Around the SB Nation: a little help with the hate

2009-11-19T17:15:23Z

More photos » by Kiichiro Sato - AP

You. How's your hate?

Browse more photos »

Football

We Will Always Have Tempe provides a public service to Ohio State fans struggling to drum up the hate for Michigan week:
I have attempted to combine the reasons for hate into an easily digestible, four-part format, and in the future, I hope this will serve as a simple compendium of anti-Wolverine knowledge; a Buckeye manifesto for this special time of year.
Now that's just mean. Black Heart Gold Pants lists the ten coolest things about Minnesota.
Blogger So Dear tackles the question of which of the ACC and the Big Ten is better.
Team Speed Kills has the results of this week's SEC Power Poll.

Basketball

In advance of this week's Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament, Cal Golden Blogs, Nunes Magician, Carolina March, and We Will Always Have Tempe engage in a four-way hoops roundtable.

Neyland Stadium -- The color orange - ESPN

2009-11-19T15:52:14Z

Neyland Stadium -- The color orange - ESPN

Great stuff, from freelance writer Eric Angevine.

Should junior Eric Berry run through the T with the seniors on Saturday?

2009-11-19T12:35:06Z

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Browse more photos »

I don't know why Lane Kiffin is even talking about this -- hopefully he was asked the question by some media member -- but the man has said that junior Eric Berry can run through the T solo on Senior Day Saturday against Vanderbilt. Normally, that privilege is reserved for seniors. Kiffin does say that he doesn't believe Berry would want to do that, so I'm guessing the loaded question did in fact come from someone with a camera and/or digital recorder.

The whole thing makes me uncomfortable. I'm a huge Eric Berry fan. Who isn't around here? Shoot, he's like Tim Tebow in that he has fans who root for other teams and those who don't follow football at all. But should he get a solo run through the T on Senior Day as a junior?

There's no question that if Berry decides to hang up the college cleats and head off early into the NFL sunset that he'll be drafted. But what about next year and the years after that when juniors of the future are either just considering going pro or thinking that they can, and then find out they can't. We'd want them if they changed their mind or learned they wouldn't go as high as they'd wished. But would they then run solo through the T again the next year? Would the whole idea of having juniors do it dilute the meaning of the tradition for seniors?

Juniors in this dilemma probably have an NFL career ahead of them. Is that enough to compensate for missing the senior tradition? For the seniors without moneybags in their futures, should they get something that's special?

Yet Berry's almost certainly leaving, and we know it. Shouldn't we have a chance to say goodbye? To devote a mere 30 seconds to acknowledging that this will likely be his last home game in orange?

What do y'all think? Should junior Eric Berry be permitted to run through the T by himself like the seniors on Saturday? Why or why not?

Poll

Should Eric Berry be permitted to run through the T with the seniors on Saturday?

Tennessee Volunteers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores: game preview

2009-11-19T12:26:23Z

A weekly look at our upcoming opponent's recent history, with animated drive charts and links to SB Nation game pages.

This is a long post full of moving pictures and stats, so I'm putting the conclusions and predictions both at the beginning and at the end.

Conclusions

To say Vanderbilt's passing attack is woeful is generous. They have had some success running the ball this season, though, so expect them to live or die with that.
The Commodores do an excellent job defending the pass, but have a Montario Hardesty-sized and -shaped hole in the running game. It's perfect for us!
Special teams should be an absolute battle of averages. They're nothing special, but neither are we.
Watch out for Warren Norman. Challenging Herschel Walker's freshman all-purpose record while dressed in a Vandy uniform is cause for amazement.

Predictions

Tennessee 24, Vanderbilt 6

Schedule and Animated Drive Charts


Western Carolina Catamounts	9/5/09	win 45 - 0	coverage
@ LSU Tigers	9/12/09	loss 9 - 23	coverage
Mississippi St. Bulldogs	9/19/09	loss 3 - 15	coverage
@ Rice Owls	9/26/09	win 36 - 17	coverage
Mississippi Rebels	10/3/09	loss 7 - 23	coverage
@ Army Black Knights	10/10/09	loss 13 - 16	coverage
Georgia Bulldogs	10/17/09	loss 10 - 34	coverage
@ South Carolina Gamecocks	10/24/09	loss 10 - 14	coverage
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	10/31/09	loss 31 - 56	coverage
@ Florida Gators	11/7/09	loss 3 - 27	coverage
Kentucky Wildcats	11/14/09	loss 13 - 24	coverage

Vanderbilt and Tennessee against common opponents:

FULL SCREEN VERSION
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National Unit Rankings

Now on to the national rankings.

OFFENSIVE RANKINGS
Category	National Rank	Actual	National Leader	Actual	Conf Rank	Southeastern Conference Leader	Actual
Rushing Offense	47	163.36	Nevada	353.10	7	Florida	230.60
Passing Offense	113	144.73	Houston	428.20	12	Arkansas	310.00
Total Offense	108	308.09	Houston	562.60	12	Arkansas	450.10
Scoring Offense	114	16.36	Boise St.	43.60	12	Arkansas	37.60
Passing Efficiency	119	89.31	Cincinnati	170.01	12	Arkansas	159.97
Sacks Allowed	T-64	2.00	Boise St.	.50	8	Alabama	.90

Offensive observations. Yikes for them. A mediocre rushing attack coupled with a rotten passing attack that sifts out to triple digit national rankings in the majority of offensive statistical categories. I repeat: Yikes on them.

DEFENSIVE RANKINGS
Category	National Rank	Actual	National Leader	Actual	Conf Rank	Southeastern Conference Leader	Actual
Rushing Defense	107	197.55	Texas	50.40	12	Alabama	72.80
Pass Efficiency Defense	33	115.47	Florida	87.18	8	Florida	87.18
Total Defense	60	357.36	Texas	232.30	9	Florida	233.90
Scoring Defense	47	22.64	Florida	10.50	8	Florida	10.50
Pass Defense	7	159.82	Air Force	127.91	2	Florida	139.60
Sacks	67	1.82	Pittsburgh	4.10	8	Florida	2.90
Tackles For Loss	56	5.82	Cincinnati	8.80	10	Mississippi	7.20

Defensive observations. Well, this is better. Vandy is excellent at defending the pass, so much so that when balanced with their rotten rush defense, the total defense climbs all the way up to middle-of-the-pack. Of course, that means that they have a huge hole in their defense, one that is oddly sized and shaped just like Montario Hardesty.

SPECIAL TEAMS AND TURNOVERS RANKINGS
Category	National Rank	Actual	National Leader	Actual	Conf Rank	Southeastern Conference Leader	Actual
Net Punting	70	35.28	Georgia	43.73	7	Georgia	43.73
Punt Returns	115	3.96	Central Mich.	18.47	12	LSU	16.23
Kickoff Returns	40	23.15	Stanford	30.78	9	Florida	26.12
Turnover Margin	48	.27	Rutgers	2.33	6	Arkansas	1.20

Special teams and turnovers observations. Eh. Okay at kickoff returns and turnovers. Not so much at punting and the opposite of okay (inokay? imokay? non-okay? misokay? malokay?) at returning punts.

Stastical Comparison

Here's how the two teams stack up against each other in each of the key statistical categories in Hooper's wizbang BlogPoll Computerer:

Team	WL	SOS	PED	RD	3DO	TD	PEO	OPPG	TO	3DD	RTT RANK
	64	24	17	60	72	25	41	31	57	25	36
	112	30	33	107	93	60	119	47	108	47	97

Well that's the first time this season that that's happened. All orange make Jackson say woo. Vandy's not shabby on defense, though.

Players to watch for

Category	Player	National Rank	Actual
Rushing	Warren Norman	75	64.55
	Zac Stacy		49.11
Passing Efficiency (Min. 15 Att./Game)	Larry Smith		88.01
Total Offense	Larry Smith		148.78
	Warren Norman		64.55
	Zac Stacy		49.11
Receptions Per Game	Cole		3.56
Receiving Yards Per Game	Cole		37.67
Interceptions	Myron Lewis	T-39	.36
Punting (Min. 3.6 Punts/Game)	Brett Upson	24	43.25
Punt Returns (Min. 1.2 Ret./Game)	Alex Washington	54	4.72
Kickoff Returns (Min. 1.2 Ret./Game)	Warren Norman	29	26.73
Field Goals	Ryan Fowler	T-45	1.18
Scoring	Ryan Fowler		5.27
	Warren Norman		3.82
All-Purpose Runners	Warren Norman	13	162.64
Sacks	Theron Kadri		.33
	Greg Billinger		.32
Tackles	Chris Marve	T-16	10.00
	Patrick Benoist	89	7.73
	Brent Trice		7.00
	Sean Richardson		6.91
Tackles For Loss	Casey Hayward		.77

Observations

Running backs. All you really need to know here is this: "Stormin'" Warren Norman (1,789 yards) is very close to breaking Herschel Walker's freshman all-purpose yards record (1,805 yards), and it looks like he's going to get it against us. Nice. Still, that is about all they can do on offense.

Quarterbacks. Larry Smith is their quarterback. That is all. Wait. That is not all. Vandy's passing efficiency is the second-worst in the FBS. Now that is all.

Receivers/Tight Ends. Heh. Just who is this mysterious "Cole?" Poor man is missing his first name. Or his last name. And his position and class as well, unless "null" is oneathem fancy new classifications of the modern educational system. Now that I think about it, Nu'Keese Richardson's and Mike Edwards's positions and classes might as well be "null," too.

Defense. Sophomore linebacker Chris Marve is tied for 10th in the nation in tackling, and he's forced three fumbles this season. Theron Kadri and Greg Billinger combine to have nearly 2/3 of a sack per game. Perhaps the rounding occurred last week.

Special teams. Brett Upson is a solid punter, and there's that Norman guy again returning kickoffs. Somebody stop him because if he goes McCluster on us, well, I'd rather not think about that.

Head to Head Comparisons

			Best Comparable	Result Against Best Comparable	Prediction
UT rush v. Vandy rush defense	161.30 (#51)	197.55 (#107)	Memphis (183) (#101)	137	180
UT pass v. Vandy pass defense	226.60 (#50)	159.85 (#7)	South Carolina (163.64) (#8)	142	140
Vandy rush v. UT rush defense	143.10 (#60)	163.36 (#47)	WKU (177) (#38)	34	100
Vandy pass v. UT pass defense	171.70 (#13)	144.73 (#113)	WKU (148.70) (#110)	49	120
UT scoring offense v. Vandy scoring defense	30.60 (#34)	22.64 (#47)	UCLA (21.40) (#35)	15	24
Vandy scoring offense v. UT scoring defense	21.20 (#31)	16.36 (#114)	WKU (20.20) (#104)	7	6

Again, not math, but informed guesses. I think we'll rush for more yards than we did against Memphis (because we came out passing against Memphis, but probably won't against Vandy) and have about as much success in the passing game against the 'Dores as we did against South Carolina. Based on how our defense has been playing the last six quarters, I can't believe that we'll strangle Vanderbilt like we did WKU. In the end, though, I feel pretty good about keeping them mostly off the scoreboard and hopefully out of the end zone and about us putting up points to within one score of our average.

Conclusions

To say Vanderbilt's passing attack is woeful is generous. They have had some success running the ball this season, though, so expect them to live or die with that.
The Commodores do an excellent job defending the pass, but have a Montario Hardesty-sized and -shaped hole in the running game. It's perfect for us!
Special teams should be an absolute battle of averages. They're nothing special, but neither are we.
Watch out for Warren Norman. Challenging Herschel Walker's freshman all-purpose record while dressed in a Vandy uniform is cause for amazement.

Predictions

Tennessee 24, Vanderbilt 6

Around the SB Nation: about that Auburn pass play to the tackle

2009-11-18T17:00:27Z

Football

Red Cup Rebellion explains what exactly was supposed to happen during Auburn's bizarre pass to the offensive tackle play against Georgia last Saturday.
The Rivalry, Esq. looks to the stats and concludes that Michigan has a chance at upsetting Ohio State this week.
The BCS named Bill Hancock its executive director. BCS Evolution introduces us to the new top man and makes an excellent case that, even if pro-playoff fans get what they want, Hancock and the BCS should be the ones to administer it.
Corn Nation looks at the merely average performance of Nebraska's normally dominant defensive line against Kansas.
Mountain West Connection breaks down the possible candidates for the now-vacant UNLV head coaching job.
Should Rutgers consciously aim to establish itself in the New York City market? Protect R Turf is wary.
The Smoking Musket tackles the possibility of head coach Bill Stewart becoming Athletics Director.

Basketball

The Only Colors recaps Michigan State's 75-71 win over Gonzaga last night.
Purdue blog Hammer and Rails begins a preview of the upcoming Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
It's early, but SFBE says the SEC could be a mess of a conference (again) this year.
Blogging The Bracket has the complete rundown of Tuesday's marathon day of college hoops.
The Slipper Still Fits writes that while Gonzaga lost a close game to Michigan State, they won a lot of national respect for their performance.
OU beat Louisiana Monroe, but CC&M wasn't terribly impressed with the Sooners' win.
Mid-Major Madness treats readers to an interview it conducted with Arkansas State head coach Elwyn McRoy.
Rakes of Mallow previews the ND basketball team.
Northern Illinois hung tough in a loss to the Fighting Illini.
Troy Nunes: the schedule heats up for Syracuse with consecutive games against Cal, UNC-Ohio St winner, Cornell (beat Bama).

Humor

EDSBS takes aim at the commercials we're all getting tired of during this football season (language warning).
Black Heart Gold Pants, on the new Minnesota Golden Gopher traditions implemented by Tim Brewster.
OBNUG hits the weekly anagram-ization of the opponent. Starring for Utah State: Inbreed Drool and Jumpy Honker.

Word to the Wise: A Lesson Learned From Nyshier Oliver's Shoplifting Case

2009-11-18T15:00:18Z

More photos » by Michael H. Miller - AP

Headache. He has several. (AP Photo/Michael H. Miller)

Browse more photos »

Much like the case with Nu'Keese Richardson, Mike Edwards, and Janzen Jackson, details about Nyshier Oliver's incident at Knoxville's West Town Mall are coming forward in small pieces. Despite the incident occurring on November 7th, the first significant public mention came on November 17 - a full ten days after the fact. Initially, all that was known was that he was cited for shoplifting at the Dillard's in the mall, and that he had a court date in the future. But with further journalism inevitably comes further details. From Chris Low:

According to police, Oliver was spotted putting a brown Polo shirt valued at approximately $110 into a shopping bag. He was cited at 1:45 p.m., and Tennessee's game that night kicked off at 7 p.m.

That made me stop and think for a second, because the action taken by Nyshier borders on a bit of Tennessee state law that most people aren't aware of. As a wise lawyer once told me, always ask, "What does the rule say?"

From Tennessee state law, Section 39-14-103:

A person commits theft of property if, with intent to deprive the owner of property, the person knowingly obtains or exercises control over the property without the owner's effective consent.

Pretty straightforward. Now, with specific regards to merchandise, Section 39-14-146:

(a) For purposes of § 39-14-103, a person commits theft of property if the person, with the intent to deprive a merchant of the stated price of merchandise, knowingly commits any of the following acts:

(1) Conceals the merchandise;

...

There's more, but that's the part that pertains here. From Low's statement, the suspicion of shoplifting occurred when Oliver placed the shirt in the bag, which (knowingly) concealed the shirt. That action satisfies (a)(1) of 39-14-146. The part that remains unanswered is in 39-14-146 (a) itself: "...with the intent to deprive a merchant of the stated price of merchandise, ...".

Here's the rub:

In Tennessee, you can be cited for shoplifting merely by placing merchandise in a bag. If you go into a Wal-Mart with those nifty Earth-friendly bags and use one to hold your merchandise until you get up front to pay for them, you can be charged with shoplifting. It's happened before.

Now, conviction is another matter. Intent must be proven, and the burden of proof is on the state, not the accused.

So with the information that is currently available, we merely know that Oliver's actions were sufficient for the suspicion of shoplifting. The problem comes in that many shoplifters will try to 'lift in such a way as to pretend it was an innocent mistake. For example, they'll set an item in a coat pocket to answer their suddenly ringing cell phone and 'forget' about the item. Because of this problem, it's not unusual for the mere physical action to be sufficient to trigger legal action. After all, even if the whole ordeal was an honest mistake, aggressive and visible enforcement serves as a deterrent, which is quite important in the big picture.

Now, in Oliver's situation, the fact that he was placing the shirt in a bag is not going to help him. If it was a bag from a previous stop in the mall, why was he mixing unpaid merchandise with paid merchandise? If it was an eco-bag, why did he bring it into a clothing store? Situationally, it's not easy to find an innocuous reason why the bag was there. And the presence of the bag was probably what caused the store to watch him in the first place. But the bag is not sufficient to prove intent alone.

This gets into the circumstantial evidence of intent (since direct evidence - like an admission of intent - is often not available). Was he looking around to see if he would get caught? Did he try to bury the shirt under other items in the bag? Did he walk out of the store immediately after taking the shirt? Details like these are very important for intent, which is now the crux of the case - and we simply don't know anything about these details at the moment.

What I'm getting at is this: the details are not conclusive insofar as the public knows. That doesn't mean he's innocent, and I'm not trying to suggest that he is.

However, it is expensive for the state to pursue charges for a $110 shirt (which is below the $500 threshold for imprisonment), and the state would much prefer to resolve the matter in a cheaper manner that still serves as a deterrent. That's where the cite-and-release method comes in. Rather than arrest and initiate the full legal process, simply citing Oliver and letting the coaches handle the issue saves the state a lot of time and money, and still serves as a deterrent. By following this approach, Oliver was not arrested, but the incident was still stopped.

There are several possibilities for how this could have played out in reality, but the best option for us in the peanut gallery is to simply wait until the process reaches its natural conclusion.

(And here's where we see who read the whole thing: I am in no way defending Oliver. I'm not trying to excuse him. All I'm saying is that it's important to know the rules and how they apply. Oh, and don't stick groceries in bags until they're paid for. Tennessee really does cite and arrest for that, as do some other states. And no, I don't know from personal experience.)