Rockerbraves Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 Probably the premier game of the opening season. Number #15th ranked Tennessee visits #12 ranked Cal before a sellout crowd and a national TV audience in prime time. Odds makers have made the Bears a 5 1/2 to 6 point favorite. Gotta think Coach Fulmer wasn't too pleased with LSU's Coach Miles comments about the Pac 10. Game Hype from the Vols website The heaviest weight placed on Tennessee’s back is that of the entire Southeastern Conference. There are three games featuring SEC teams against BCS opponents on opening weekend, but only Tennessee faces a ranked team. “Anytime we go out of conference, I feel like we take it on our shoulders to represent the SEC,” junior linebacker Jerod Mayo said. “We are going to go out there and play our brand of football, and I think we can be successful doing that.” The hype only increases from here. For much of the offseason, college football fans and pundits alike have debated endlessly questions like who is the best player, who is the best team, and which conference is the strongest? What was the consensus on that strongest conference question? The SEC is first and the Pac-10 is second. As luck would have it, the Tennessee-Cal game is the only scheduled contest between schools from the two conferences this season. With no direct bowl tie-ins, this contest could be the only head-to-head game between the two conferences until Tennessee returns to the West Coast for the 2008 season opener at UCLA. The Vols’ game with Cal, though more than three months removed from the Dec. 2 bowl selection show, could come up in the debate about who gets to play in a BCS bowl, even if Tennessee and Cal aren’t the teams under consideration. In all, the SEC will play 13 regular season games against BCS opponents, and judging from preseason rankings, this weekend’s game sits behind only the LSU-Virginia Tech matchup when it comes to national title implications. Of course, anything can change by Nov. 24, when the final four of the 13 games are played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleeping King Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 This has been a pretty good game. Jackson is deadly fast. There is a lot of NFL talent on the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWPFFL BrianW Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Not a lot of defense from either team tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockerbraves Posted September 2, 2007 Author Share Posted September 2, 2007 Not a lot of defense from either team tonight. Typical Pac 10 type football game. Entertaining game with over 800 offensive yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcat2334 Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Typical Pac 10 type football game. Entertaining game with over 800 offensive yards. typical.........in a PAC 10 hanging some points on the board vs. NC foes. Where was this vaunted SEC smashmouth Defense? 45 - most points vs. the Vols In 12 years, or something. holla. CAL O looks LOADED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Not a lot of defense from either team tonight. Well, either that or some pretty damned good talent on O. Honestly, I would have enormously surprised to see my Vols pull this one out and was actually pleased to see their new no-huddle offense. Watching the Vols offense over the last few years has been painful. Ainge really had them moving and Foster looks special. That said, Cal is freaking quick. Those guys also made some insane moves in the open that broke more than one set of ankles. Not making excuses, because I think the Vols have too much reloading to do to warrant a top 20 ranking and Cal seems like a very, very good team, but the fact that Cal had some serious pay-back on their minds after last year's game had a lot to do with the outcome as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockerbraves Posted September 2, 2007 Author Share Posted September 2, 2007 typical.........in a PAC 10 hanging some points on the board vs. NC foes. Where was this vaunted SEC smashmouth Defense? Baton Rouge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spain Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 typical.........in a PAC 10 hanging some points on the board vs. NC foes. Where was this vaunted SEC smashmouth Defense? 45 - most points vs. the Vols In 12 years, or something. holla. CAL O looks LOADED Yes, Tennessee's defense didnt play exceedingly well, with according to Fulmer, 32 missed tackles. But alot of that had to do with the exceptional skill players of the Bears! Cal is a good football team that is loaded with speed. They were the better team and deserved to win the game. That said, Tennessee's defense wasnt as bad as the score would indicate. Cal scored on a returned fumble in the first quarter and later scored on a punt return. Plus, their special teams absolutely killed the Vols, continually putting Tennessee's back against the wall. So, with 3 out of 4 newcomers in the secondary and on the D-Line, Tennessee has some work to do if they want to compete against the likes of California. John Chavez is going to have a come to Jesus meeting with the entire defense today. Ainge looked very good to me. Very accurate and looked confident running the no huddle. He made some poor decisions like throwing short on thrid and long a few times, but overall he really looked sharp. Starting tailback, LaMarcus Coker, who is from the same area of Nashville that I grew up in, was suspended for this game for "unspecified medical reasons". In Fulmer parlance, that typically means he was smoking Josh Gordon again. But he has been reinstated and will be starting against Southern Miss on Saturday. That should give us more speed and a breakaway threat in the backfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeeman Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 As a big USC fan, I was kinda hoping the Vols could put the hurt on some of the Cal skill players, but still have Cal win for the P10. Oh well... Yikes - we have to go up there this year.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.