Thursday, June 14, 2007

Knoxville News: Cal's Longshore recalls long day - in shell shock

By JOHN ADAMS, adamsj@knews.com

Cal quarterback Nate Longshore's take on last year's season opener at Neyland Stadium isn't much different from everyone else's. "Shell-shocked" he said.   That applied not just to a quarterback starting his first college road game but an entire team of Golden Bears, who were blitzed by big plays and bedeviled by their mistakes while falling behind 35-0. In scoring the last 18 points, Cal succeeded only in producing a misleading score.   Otherwise, its much-anticipated opener was an abject failure. And it couldn't have come at a worse time.  The nationally ranked Golden Bears were a program on the rise, perhaps ready to challenge Southern Cal for the Pac-10 championship. UT was coming off a 5-6 season.   Cal spent the next eight weeks playing up to its preseason hype, scoring more than 40 points in five consecutive games and winning eight straight games. The more it won, the more inexplicable its season opener seemed.   "I think we were prepared (for UT)," Longshore said in a telephone interview. "We had practiced well. But sometimes, you have games that don't reflect what happened in practice.

"We didn't play well. They were on their game."  The Golden Bears actually wound up with a better record and higher ranking than the Vols. They finished 14th in both polls with a 10-3 record, which included a 45-10 rout of Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl.  Both teams will enter the 2007 season as consensus top-20 teams. UT has been ranked as high as seventh; Cal is ranked ninth nationally by espn.com.  The preseason rankings add luster to their season-opening rematch in Berkeley. But what happened last year at Neyland Stadium adds even more.  The defeat wasn't just an embarrassment for Cal. It was an embarrassment for the entire Pac-10.  The Golden Bears will have an opportunity to redeem themselves on national television Sept. 1.  Based on Longshore's comments, redemption isn't a rallying cry. But he's a veteran quarterback, which means he's frightfully susceptible to lapsing into coach-speak at anytime.

"We try to look at it as one game at a time," Longshore said. "Definitely when you have a history with a team (that can add to your motivation). We focus more on when the season is starting. We know we've got so much time."  Maybe I should have asked a Cal linebacker.   But quarterbacks come first at Cal since Jeff Tedford became the head coach. Longshore, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound junior, is a prototypical drop-back passer, rated as the No. 5 quarterback in the country by The Sporting News. His season opener against UT, which was only his second college game, was an aberration. He spent most of the rest of the season playing like an NFL prospect.

He's only one of the concerns for a UT defense, which will have three new starters in the secondary. Cal's top three wide receivers, including preseason All-American DeSean Jackson, also return.  Although the Golden Bears lost star tailback Marshawn Lynch, they return backup Justin Forsett, who has rushed for more than 1,600 yards the last two seasons. Also, three starters return in the offensive line, including All-Pac-10 center Alex Mack.  "Our backups (in the offensive line) played a lot last year," Longshore said. "Everyone is experienced. I'm impressed with the work ethic they've had. I think the offensive line will be improved."  So should the entire offense, which returns eight starters, including five players who have made either first- or second-team All-Pac-10 this preseason. That offense will have to make up for a defense that lost five starters.  A different venue also should help Cal, which seemed unprepared for the volume of Neyland Stadium last year.  "That type of noise ... I don't know if you can prepare for it," Longshore said. "It was a new type of loud. I was impressed."  And shell-shocked.

 

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

The more I reflect on the Tennessee game the more I realize that it wasn't as bad a blowout as it seemed at the time. The article suggests that it was worse than the 35-18 final score, but I think it was actually better. I think the "if we had played the game 10 times" adjusted score would have been somewhere in the 24-13 range. We gave Tennessee 3 free touchdowns because of a new corner and bad tackling. They gave us some points because backups were in the game. But when you look at it from the perspective of talent on the field and game-plan, although Tennessee would have won 8 out of 10 of the "ten games" it wasn't the blowout that the 35 unanswered points suggests.

Anonymous said...

Ken Crawford ~ Time has healed your wounds. I witnessed the game first hand. It was even worse than the 35-0 score. We would not have beaten them even if the game was at the end of the season and Longshore had 10 starts under his belt. They were clearly the better team in all facets of the game. I have no doubt that we would have lost 10 out of 10 games. Hopefully this year will be better. GO BEARS!

Dave said...

Hi Ken. I have to agree with anonymous. That game was a complete disaster, which I witnessed first hand in Knoxville. I can't think of a single positive thing to say about the game. If Fullmer hadn't called the dogs off Cal wouldn't have scored a point. I still can hear their drunken fans chanting "S-E-C" in the fourth quarter. Cal believed the hype and got burned. This year will be different. Even with a high ranking the team will be very weary of Tennessee. My guess is the game will be sold out, and Memorial can be very loud when our fans are excited. Prediction: Cal 42, Tennesse 14.

Anonymous said...

Before the Tenn game, I admit getting tired of hearing how intense SEC fans are, how electric the atmosphere is, etc. After the Tenn game, the only Pac-10 venue I have been at that is close has been Memorial Stadium in Los Angeles the last couple times the Bears played USC. I hope Dave is right and Memorial will welcome the Volunteers like we were welcomed last year at Neyland. Still, we will be over 30K fans short - even with a sellout - and the intensity/noise from many in the long-tme alum sections still lags behind the 'Big Time' venues. Sept 1 will be an electric atmosphere for Memorial, but IF Neyland is typical of SEC venues, then we still have a ways to go before we show the Volunteers anything they haven't seen - as far as fan noise goes. On the otherhand - I am certain Tedford will give the Volunteer defense a few things they've never seen before enroute to a 35-17 return of the favor!

Anonymous said...

I think you all are missing the part where our players are faster and tougher than yours.

Go Vols

Anonymous said...

I would agree the game was every bit the blowout that everyone says it was. I remember thinking at the time, why the hell dont we have a fullback out there so we can give it to lynch. This year cal will have a fullback, and probably wont lose stevens on the first play either. Will cal win? That i dont know, but it wont be like it was in tennessee....hmmm, i bet arkansas said the same thing after their blow out to USC... Go Bears!!!

Anonymous said...

Glad to see some discussion on this blog.

Perhaps I'm not being clear about what I mean. Of course it was a bad blowout. I'm not saying it wasn't a disaster. What I'm saying is that the talent and coaching on the Bears sideline wasn't as bad as the game made it seem.

I didn't go to Knoxville, but I have watched the game 4 times now, as recently as February. Every time I watch it, the more and more I think that the emotion of the day made it seem worse than it was. At the time it seemed like the Vols were stronger, faster, smarter, had better composure and were better coached. While they were definitely the better team that day, there was more parity on the field than it seemed. Don't forget that it was still 7-0 with less than 5 minutes left in the 1st half when Syd Thompson made his 1st big mistake.

I think a lot of people think similarly to the consensus here, but that just can't logically be the case. The talent on the two teams just hasn't changed enough (and the coaching staffs are effectively the same) that there is any reason to believe that a huge blowout last year can turn into a solid win for Cal this year if there aren't some caveats as to why it was a blowout. Unless the answer is something besides "the Vols were just a far better team", things like adding a fullback aren't going to make that much of a difference.

Either Cal could (word chosen carefully) have played a reasonable game last year, or this year is going to be a similar blowout.

But I could be wrong. I'll be watching the game for a 5th time in preparation for my pre-season review of the 2006 season on my blog and perhaps this time around I'll find myself agreeing with the consensus here.

Anonymous said...

ok, let me clarify...the fullback. I drove to the game, up from mobile, al. The place was loud. Longshore was making really his first start, and he wasn't on. I remember he hit the first big pass on the first play and after that not much. The bears had built a reputation as a physical running team. They had lynch, the offensive player of the year and an inexperienced quarterback. Why not put in the fullback and play some power football. Lynch had 12 carries for 72 yards in the game, he wasnt stuffed, why not give him 25 carries, open up the passing lanes and play tedford football. Instead, they had these 3 and 4 wideout sets, and they were trying to play cute against a defense that was too fast. The blowout was simply one game, Living here in alabama, i remember 2 years ago bama beat florida 31-3. Was bama that much better, no, but on that day yes. dont look too much into last years game. The bears have too much team speed to be considered inferior to tennessee. They just need to man up, and play some ball. I suspect playing at home, and the huge chip on their shoulders will help. While the game really hurt the bears season last year, it could do wonders with an early win this year. Ainge shouldnt throw 8 yard passes this year that go for 80 yeards, even if cal has another inexperienced corner. Early prediction.... Cal 27, Tennessee 20
I remember in the fourth quarter as well, the fans chanting "SEC" too. I remember to save face for the west i was chanting back "USC", sad i know.
Hey, anyone got a copy of last years game, i never saw it on tv, and would like to hear the commentators describe the game. I know it was probably pretty rough, but i would love to get a copy anyway.
P.s. hey guys, after evey game this season lets come back to this site and write in, lets get this site going!!!!

Anonymous said...

Well, let me ask you this. If you all were opening against FL, how confident would you be? How bout LSU? GA? Auburn? Tennessee preps for teams like these all year every year. We are no strangers to speed or strength. At least half of the teams in the SEC has a Lynch (or two). The differnce between the winners and loosers is who can put it all together at every position. That is the only way to win. Im not implying that Cal doesnt have the tools to make plays againt an SEC team. I am saying that top to bottom, more intense competition year in and year out breeds a better team. We regularly prepare for games in hostile environments (that have evolved into something much worse) like Neyland, Death Valley, The Swamp,and(Bear)Bryant-Deny. The SEC by far puts more players into the NFL. Four of our coaches hold a national championship and one was robbed of one(Auburn2004). My point? Win or loose TN has a hell of a lot less to prove than CAL. (Or for that matter USC.) Whompin on Arkansas two years straight doesnt mean much to me considering they only rise to the top of the SEC crop once or twice a decade and have managed only one SEC crown. LSU got disrespected in '03 with that split champ. USC earned one after that and then got wasted by TX. Don't think they'll be hauling in very many more if we get a playoff system in place.

GO VOLS

Anonymous said...

man thanks for that great post Vols fan, for half of the post i was in agreement with most and then you just started ranting your sec bias. Heres my response. Tennessee is a really good team from a great conference no doubt (However your in huge denial if you think they were ever on USC's Level at any time EVER) There is the USC's, Oklahoma's, Miami's (last 25 years), Nebraska's, Alabama's (you should love that) and Notre Dames'. Those are college footballs elite teams through the history of the sport. Tennessee is B+ stuff, not A Ball. Your team hasnt even won an sec championship in your great conference in almost 10 years! Your coach is on the verge of getting fired. No, not every sec team has a lynch or 2, Tennessee sure doesnt. I was in knoxville, i read your paper, i heard your sports talk shows, your fans were scared that this offensive power was going to run over the poor vols. But a strange thing happened you guys won. One game... I saw how your season went after that, a 1 point win against the national power air force. I watched on tv as your boys got destroyed against the once in a decade good team of arkansas. I saw your team struggle to a win at home against a bama team so great they decided to fire their coach during the year, then i saw you lay an egg against Penn state in your bowl. Your high point was that one game, the rest of the season was a let down. You guys may think of cal as being soft, but we think of tennessee as choking against Florida year after year. The Sec is one hell of a conference, however 2 of your teams will probably be on probabtion in a few years and everything will cycle around again. Cal is on the verge of building something quite nice. For most bears fans, cal has been horrible most of their lives. Now they are ranked every year (even this one where they are again ranked higher than the Vols). I cant wait until game time.
To answer your question, if we opened up against the other Sec schools we would be no more confident than we are now (acutally a little less if it was lsu). Cal needs tennessee and Tennessee needs cal. We need to beat you to prove on a nation stage that Cal is a viable top 10 football team. Tennessee needs to beat the new kid on the block (like they did last year) To prove they are still an championship caliber team.
Go Bears

Anonymous said...

Hey Go Vols...

let me also say i think its great that your posting here. Are you planning on going to Cal this year to see the rematch? I'm trying to pinch a penny or two to fly out and see it myself. Anyway, keep posting, we still got another 2 1/2 months!

Go Bears

Anonymous said...

well, i thought a little smack talking on a cal board would ease the long summer lul before Sep. I guess i'm a little wound up.;/ We are so eagerly awaiting our next meeting. It's almost sick.

It's a funny thing you mention the fine service men we defeated this past season from the Air Force. We know very well what can happen when a disciplined team trains hard and executes on the field. Tennessee's football program got it's real start in 1926 when Brig.Gen. Neyland (Who fought in both World Wars and was a hero)took the reigns of a mostly 'club' football team. His football MAXIMS, inspired at West Piont, still guide this championship caliber team. None of the greatest football programs of all time have an overall win average over 7. Few, in fact, have achieved that and Tennessee is at the top of the heap. Why did we loose to FL, LSU, AK, and PSU? Well, noone can win them all. And as it just so happens, we only needed 9 wins this season, feilding a damn fine team.

By the way, you Cal fans remember the last time you played the Air Force? 2002 23-21 L. Your boy Ted's got a good thing going there, don't get me wrong. But nobody has done it better than the Generals men up there in Knoxville since 1926. No other football program has won more games. No one. See the link to see where you are(if you dare). mmuhahahahaha!


Go Vols

http://football.stassen.com/cgi-bin/records/calc-wp.pl?start=1926&end=2006&rpct=30&min=5&se=on&by=Wins

Anonymous said...

hey vols fan....
the air force game, yes i remember it well. That was year one for tedford at Cal. Coming off a 1-10 debacle, Tedford guides the team to a 7-5 finish with better things to come.
Hey i know the airforce game was a trap game, coming off the big win against cal, and with florida up next week, not to mention the offense that no one runs anymore (hell not even air force runs it now).
Regarding Gen. Neyland, yes i am aware of him, i read the program when i was at the game. Wins are great, but championships are what makes dynastys.
Whats your take on your coach, are you ready for some new blood calling the shots, or you think he needs some more time?

Anonymous said...

Vols Fan...

No foul on the trash talking, we know there's no hard feelings.

I watched last years game for the 5th time last night and my opinion stands (you can see the 2006 "look back"/2007 preview on my blog). That game was a lot closer in the 1st half than everyone remembers. Cal was behind only 7-0 with less than 4 minutes left in the 1st half and while Tennessee had shown more offensive consistency, there was reason to hope that Cal would get their act in gear. There were a handful of good runs. There were some open receivers down field (in fact the interception that setup the 2nd Tenn TD should have been a TD for Cal but Longshore WAY underthrew the ball because he was hit as he threw). Point being, there were reasons to hope for Cal. They were competitive but misfiring. Why the wheels fell off the bus at the end of the 2nd quarter and the first portion of the 3rd quarter... well let's just say it's very disappointing to Cal fans.

It's a mistake to say that Tennessee is a far superior team and more prepared for tough opponents. I'll conceed the stadium noise point, but not battle tested one.

The SEC is the nation's best conference right now. There is no conference with the combination of Florida, Tennessee, LSU and Auburn. However, the SEC also has the likes of Vanderbuilt and Mississippi St. Until Stanford went into the toilet, the Pac-10 had ZERO weak teams. I can assure you that the Pac-10's worst teams are far better than the SEC's worst teams and would beat them routinely if they played regularly.

Is it tough to play 3 other teams that are regularly in the top-15 each year? Yes it is and I have great respect for Tennessee for being able to do it. However, it's similarly as tough to have to be able to beat 9 conference teams (no other conference plays 9 conference games) each year, each of which who is capable of knocking off top-25 teams. Obviously it was tough for Cal to go into that environment and perform up to their capability. I suggest that Tennessee would struggle for a few years if they came to the Pac-10 with the week in and week out level of competition. There is a reason the Pac-10 is the conference of cannibals, and it's not because the top teams are weak.

In summary, I think this year's game will be a much better representation of what Cal football is capable of (and I think that would be true even if the game was in Knoxville again).

Anonymous said...

More time to do what? To prove himself as a coach? The man has won more games since taking the helm than any other head coach in the league. I know, wins are only great, and not as important as being recognized by a media driven "championship" system. But what about the SEC? Ten years since the last SEC title? True, many are aware that the discipline and structure of our squad has suffered since the national title. Even before that, Florida was the main reason we were not playing in the conference champ game or major bowl. So, I will let you in on a little secret. Fulmer is no football genius.(In fact, he may be no kind of genius at all!) When your team suffers a blow out loss(rare for us), it is because they are not as good as the other team. When you loose by a small margin(there we go!), it is because you got out coached. Fulmer has been out coached many times at the hands of Spurrier and others. That has been a source of frustration for many Vol fans and makes for a great story line for those who wish to use his 4-7 record (vs. spurrier) as cannon fodder to attack a successful coach. Meyer? Saban? Richt? Tubberville? There is always going to be a new kid on the block with the tools and talent to steal one from the old man. The same can be said in the conferences of Coach Bowden, and Paterno whose own programs are chomping at the bits to get rid of them. These men are uncommon in thier dedication to the young men they coach, and the fans who support them. They have reached personal success, but also respect the Universitys and students who got them there. No, what is much more common are "spring board" coaches who see these schools as thier own chance for greatness, typically at another level. Some make it to bigger programs and some make it to the NFL where some succeed and most fail. Student based athletics are where boys become men and a coach has real influence over the team. Commitment runs deep. And nobody(since Gen. Neyland), has been more committed to Tennessee and it's students and community. You dont fire that. You don't fire an 82-24 all time SEC record and 11-2 record vs the evil Alabama either.

I am not trying to be inflammatory here, because I am enjoying our conversation. Urban Meyer Weiner will attempt this season to go 42w out of his first 50 games. A mark Coach Phil Fulmer has already achieved. Do you think after winning a national championship in his second season he will stay at that program and honor his commitment? Don't you think that that sort of mentality will eventually shroud over FL the same way it did at Miami and Alabama? Florida will implode due to its own success and there will be no consistent winner left there to pick up the pieces. Plus they like to wear jorts in Gainesville. They are like jeans, but made into shorts, and are really gay. They certainly are no coon skin cap!

So now to Tedford. 42w in his first 50? No, but he did manage 33. Will he continue with what he started at Cal? Will Carroll? When they leave, will the national interest in those programs go with them? Will the pac-10 ever be as big a power as the other major conferences? I answered "the question thats on everybodys mind" about my program and coach, now lets hear you guys justify yourselves in the face of your own championship record and record vs. USC. Oregon? AZ St.? I don't know how you guy's qualify the teams in your conference, but am interested to know. How do they rate in your opinion to the SEC? Who is the UCLA or Washington of the SEC? I really would like to know from a left coast perspective top to bottom how you rate our teams to yours. I may even write back and give you MY opinion!(lol)

GO VOLS

Anonymous said...

Hey ken....
Man, just throw out that damn game. There has to be some good momments in every game played, but there wasnt much in last years game. It was 35-0 in the third quarter! Yes about 4 of tennessees 5 touchdowns were give-me's but it was a beating. The whole game snowballed out of control, they could have played 8 quarters against the first team defense and probably wouldnt have scored on that day...
Thats ok, this is another year.
Go Bears...

Anonymous said...

Come on, i thought we were having a serious conversation here. The SEC isn't he best because we say it is or because some yankee sports writer says it is. Its the best because of it's great winning tradition.

Pac-10 all time record vs the SEC?
Since 1921(the SEC's first year) the pac-10 has gone 42-103 vs sec opponents.

AZ 1-5
AZ St. 0-1
Cal 5-11
S Cal 16-10
OR 3-4
OR St 0-11
Stan 5-1
UCLA 10-12
WA 1-6
WA St 1-7

Sounds to me that the Pac-10 has more to prove top to bottom in a head to head conference comparison. Why are your teams better(or for that matter, even the same caliber) as ours?

" ***I can assure you that the Pac-10's worst teams are far better than the SEC's worst teams and would beat them routinely if they played regularly.*** "

Say what????????

Go Vols

Anonymous said...

The biggest difference in Cal and UT is the offensive and defensive line. If you watch a replay of the game last year, you will see that Cal was manhandled on both sides of the line. We sacked Longshore 3 times but he was hurried the entire night. Unless you can find some much more physical lineman, you are going to have trouble again this season. UT is just much more physicall all the way around. On the long touchdown run by Hardesty, he literally ran through your entire defense and nobody could bring him down. Cal struggled against the two physical teams they played, UT and USC. Cal is not ready to join the elite of college football until they can find some tougher kids on the defensive side of the ball.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't me. I know how to spell physical. Good point though.

GO VOLS

Anonymous said...

hey vols...
yes, now the anonymous sign in is getting confusing, we have like 5 people using it. Anyway, let me give you my perspective of the conferences....
regarding fulmer... Not to prove himself as a coach, more time to prove he can compete in todays sec. Florida has owned him, even after spurrier, Georgia has gotten stronger with richt and now south carolina seems to be on the rise, and they had a hell of a recruiting class, albeit by the media driven recruiting rankers : )

Coach tedford has done a hell of a job, i dont remember what shape tennessee was in when fulmer took over but i already said cal was 1-10 when tedford received the keys. The simple fact that you and all my coworkers here in alabama, and the college world, as well as pesky nfl gm's know his name speaks volumes about the job he is doing. i was mad when he was named to the short list of coaches that alabama was looking at after firing shula. if he leaves, the program probably goes back to being a 4 to 7 win program. probably along the lines of a rutgers, or west virginia if they lost their coaches.
Our conference... well, simply put it goes through USC. They have the mose furtile grounds from which to recruit, and they do it better than anyone. UCLA, and Washington have had dominant teams through the years, but it is so hard to compete against USC. Cal currently holds that second spot, but northern california is not the diamond in recruiting that Los angeles is. If Carrol leaves, they would probably drop off a bit, i mean if he stays they will probably drop off at some point right??? But they are never going to be far from success. I believe had they been in the Sec in 04 and 05 they would have been undefeated. 04 definatley, they would have destroyed auburn as they did everyone else that year, and 05 they had some defensive issues, but who won the sec in 05? Georgia wouldnt have had a chance, 05 was actually not a great year for the sec. Anyway thats enoough about them, i am not a fan of theirs, but i do respect them. As far as your conference goes, i rank the state of it in this way...1. LSU 2. Florida 3. Auburn 4. Tennessee 5. Georgia 6. Alabama 7. South Carolina 8. Arkansas 9. Kentucky 10. Ole Miss 11. Vanderbilt 12. Miss St. University on the rise-Alabama on the fall-Tennessee. This not meant in any backhanded way. I think florida will stay up there, georgia is young getting better, south carolina is getting better and proving they can recruit. Tennessee had a great recruiting class this year, but i really think they have a lot to prove in the SEC.

Go Bears
-jason

Anonymous said...

one last point, regarding the physical defensive lineman that cal needs to find. Well, i'm here to tell you we find them, problem is they all sign with USC! Just kidding, California played a third physical team last year, Texas A&M. They dominated Both sides of the ball for the big holiday bowl victory.

Go Bears
-Jason

Anonymous said...

Hey Vol...

Numbers dating back to 1923 are meaningless. Cal has a losing record against Stanford (sadly) over their 115 year history but the teams have been in completely different places for the last 5 years. At best scouring the last 10-15 years can be meaningful for what the current story is. The numbers you provided are also meaningless for my contention that the bottom of the Pac-10 being stronger than the bottom of the SEC because you're looking at overall record against the SEC, not the weak teams. If you'd like to go find out Vanderbuilt and Miss. St.'s record agains the Pac-10 since 1990, I'm confident it'll support my point.

Anonymous said...

O.k., with a 103-42 record, which teams were the weak teams? Maybe I don't see your point. As far as number's from the 1920's being meaningless? Well, maybe tradition means more when you have it. Not many teams can boast the same winning tradition as TN, AL, MICH, USC, TX, etc. I'm sure it is a difference maker somewhere down the line come signing day. But, fair is fair. There has got to be some representation out there for the likes of Boise St, Va Tech, and Louisville(etc). TN places 5th overall in wins for the last 15 yrs.(behind FL St, Neb, FL, OSU) Nobody else. (Miami? Mich? TX? USC?!!!) Yeah? What about the last 10 yrs? Let me check here...(gosh! isn't this inter web neat?) Oops!Bummer, tied for 9th(w/FL, Miami, Neb) and ahead of USC. Just 7 wins from #1(darn 5-6!). Im sure our 5 year rank of 15 would be the decline you are refering to? Yeah, well, we're working on that. And history is on our side. Along with a Sr QB.


"The simple fact that you and all my coworkers here in alabama, and the college world, as well as pesky nfl gm's know his name speaks volumes" of how much time ESPN spends talking about Coach Ted. Thats it. Fulmer won the championship and ESPN wrote about the "trailor park frenzy" back home in TN. So I don't expect anything but bias and BS from them. Let's get one thing straight. Ted will never live up to the hype, AND stay at CAL. If he's as good as they say, why would he? Just asking. With all of Fulmer's success, the ESPN consensus is to fire him. (And that we suck) Then all the other sports writers abroad regurgitate the same thing like it was their own opinion. Seems to me that our program is rather enviable. Bet y'all never knew TN was a big deal! I can tell by how dismissive you have been of all the success i've described in these posts. Dont you think you would use the same logic and reasoning to pump your own program?

GO VOLS
Mr. Carroll
(seriously, no relation)

Jason, you live in Bama?(me too) You should know better round these parts! lol

Anonymous said...

True tradition is great to have, i suppose tennessee with all those wins just doesnt come to peoples minds when they think of the best. When you think Sec football, you think of the Bear and the Tide, recently you think of Florida and Spurrier, and now Meyer.
Anyway, if you are a Tennessee fan and live in alabama, you truly are the enemy from within! Tell us what Tennessee blogs you check out so we can go there are cause some trouble.
It is too bad this can't be a longer series, i saw that after this one is over, Tennessee is going to pick up a home and home versus UCLA. Thats very smart to do that, allowing the local kids to get a glimpse at your program to aide in recruiting.
After our little game on september 1st, i wish the vols all the best.
It would be nice if numbers going back to the 20's were still meaningful today. Cal had a nice 50 game unbeaten streak in the 20's. Cal does have some nice history as well, problem is most of the good stuff stopped after the 60's. Well, it appears they have started another feel good era.
Cal 27, Tennessee 20.
And Fulmer has officallly been put back on the hot seat.

Go Bears!!!!!!!!!
-Jason

Anonymous said...

rockeytoptalk.com is how i found this site. Thanks for the chat folks! I hope you all have a great season this year just like last year!(exactly like last year! lol) I think I've come up with a way to beat those pesky Trojans though. It would likely involve Brad Pitt building a horse, but that sure as hell would trump having Will Farrell on their sidelines!!

Have a great summer!

GO VOLS
Mr. Carroll
(He wanted to come to our family reunion but mom said he would just "eat all the wienies".)

Bear with Fangs said...

This is a bit of a tangent, but I wanted to quickly respond to a point alluded to earlier by "Anonymous," whoever it was this point.

The last time we actually played Air Force was when we opened our 2004 season against them, and stomped them 56-14. Doesn't really change anything in this conversation, but thought I'd clear that up.