AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 03
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
This could be Fulmer’s biggest game—ever
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just one man’s opinion:
1. This could be Phillip Fulmer’s biggest game-ever: Not to put any extra pressure on Tennessee as the Vols prepare to host Georgia, but this game looks like one that could define the future of Tennessee football under Phillip Fulmer. A loss at home puts the Vols at 0-2 in the SEC. The folks who are already upset with Fulmer and the direction of the program will have a whole new round of ammunition. The folks who support Fulmer will be looking at a 2-3 football team that still has to play Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas and Kentucky. I still say that Fulmer will be the head coach at Tennessee next year. But the quality of his life in Knoxville is not going to be helped if the Vols lose to Georgia.
2. Alabama is about where they should be: The Crimson Tide looked like a tired football team against Florida State. After two physically and emotionally draining games against Arkansas and Georgia it had to be tough to play a complete game against a team that had had a week off. I thought going into the season that Alabama would split that four-game stretch of Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Georgia, and Florida State. They will be 5-2 when Tennessee comes to Tuscaloosa on Oct. 20.
3. Auburn had better not relax: The Tigers are coming off their biggest win of the year at Florida. All week people have been telling them they are good-the same people who were dog cussing them two weeks ago. Now they are going to play Vanderbilt at 11:30 in the morning. The team is going to wear throwback uniforms because they are honoring the 1957 national championship team. Vanderbilt is well coached. This is just a warning. Seems like a lot of distractions to me.
4. Florida relies too much on Tebow: Tim Tebow is a wonderful athlete. But he is playing football in the Southeastern Conference and by definition that comes with some risk. He was magnificent Saturday night when he brought the Gators back from 17-3 to tie the game with Auburn. But he carried the ball 27 times against Ole Miss and 19 times against Auburn. The defenses get bigger and meaner each week. Tebow cannot carry the ball 20 times against LSU and not pay some kind of physical price for it. Coach Urban Meyer has to find another option at crunch time.
5. Kentucky’s season will be defined in the next three weeks: The Wildcats go to South Carolina Thursday night and if they win that one-and that’s’ a big if-they get LSU and Florida at home. Do we think they will win them all? Probably not. Could they lose all three? Absolutely. But this team is good enough to do some special things if the defense can get a stop every now and then.
