troxel3
01-14-2005, 12:04 PM
No wonder why so many people make up lies about Fulmer.
Jealousy equals hatred........
In 12-plus seasons, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer has won 122 games – or 80 percent.
He has eight 10-win seasons. He is 15 games over .500 against ranked opponents. He’s 81-21 in the SEC. He’s 18-3 in games decided by three points or less. He’s 4-1 in overtime.
The three biggest knocks against him: He hasn’t won the SEC since 1998, he’s lost almost as many games at home (11) as on the road (12) and he’s lost four of his last six bowl games.
But after a terrific performance in the Cotton Bowl, in which the Vols started just four seniors in a 38-7 rout of Texas A&M, the future couldn’t be brighter.
As a Sports Illustrated correspondent, I submitted my top 10 for next season. Tennessee was sixth.
Pat Forde of ESPN.com projects Tennessee sixth as well.
Collegefootballnews.com has the Vols in the top five.
Each of those projections had one other thing in common: UT was the highest ranked SEC team.
Given a brutal schedule – road games at Florida, LSU, Alabama and Notre Dame, and home games against Georgia and South Carolina — another 9-2 regular-season would be a good to very good year.
All of which leads to this point – Tennessee fans should appreciate Fulmer.
Fulmer’s goal is to get Tennessee back into national championship contention, to get the Vols into the top 10 on a regular basis.
But when you look at some of the other elite programs, you appreciate the fact that the Vols haven’t sunk to the depths of USC, Oklahoma, Texas, Auburn and LSU in recent decades.
Before becoming dominant over the past three seasons, USC had a 12-year run in which seven teams won six or fewer games. The winning percentage was .560.
LSU won a piece of the 2003 national title, but the Tigers had eight losing seasons in 11 years (1989-99) and won four or fewer games four times. During that span, they won 47 percent of their games. Ouch!
Bob Stoops is 60-8 at Oklahoma since 2000. But in the 1990s, the Sooners went 61-51-3 with four straight non-winning seasons. They won six or fewer games six times.
Mack Brown is 43-8 at Texas over the past four years, but the Longhorns had six non-winning seasons from 1986-97, losing at least five games nine times.
Auburn lost at least four games in eight of nine years (1995-2003). The Tigers were 3-8 as recently as 1998 and 5-6 in 1999. The Tigers had five or fewer wins four times during that nine-year run.
Tennessee’s worst 10-year stretch since Gen. Neyland took over in 1926 was from 1973-82. The Vols were 63-49-4, winning just 56 percent of their games. Seven of those teams lost at least five games and two had losing seasons.
That makes you appreciate the fact that Fulmer has never won fewer than eight games in a season and wins at least 10 games 67 percent of the time.
And more high-level success appears on the way.
• The best addition to Fulmer’s staff during his tenure has been running backs coach Trooper Taylor.
Taylor pushed the right buttons with Riggs and got 1,000 yards each out of Riggs and Cedric Houston. His enthusiasm was contagious on offense.
And his recruiting has been nothing short of outstanding.
Taylor has helped the Vols land at least three commitments, and he’s recruiting several more blue-chippers who could select Tennessee.
• Riggs enters this season as arguably the SEC’s best back, even though Trooper Taylor said the team’s best natural running back is Arian Foster, a freshman who was redshirted in 2004.
Riggs rushed for 1,107 yards. Riggs, Alabama’s Kenneth Darby and Mississippi State’s Jerious Norwood are the only 1,000-yard returning rushers in the SEC. Riggs had the highest per-carry average of the trio at 5.7.
It’s interesting that both Riggs and Darby weren’t full-time starters. Riggs made just three starts. Darby became a starter at midseason when Ray Hudson suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Riggs was terrific in UT’s last two games, getting 182 yards on 11 carries against Auburn’s outstanding defense and 102 against Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. He finished the season with six 100-yard games, four against SEC teams.
Riggs is one of seven Vols who could be a preseason first-team All-SEC pick.
The others: safety Jason Allen, defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona, defensive end Parys Haralson, linebacker Kevin Simon, guard Rob Smith and tackle Arron Sears. Smith was probably the team’s most underrated player.
Second-team possibilities: cornerback Roshaun Fellows, linebacker Omar Gaither, defensive tackle Justin Harrell, receiver Robert Meachem, fullback Cory Anderson, guard Cody Douglas.
• Here’s an updated look at UT’s injury situation for the offseason.
Receiver Chris Hannon broke his arm in two places in the Cotton Bowl and had surgery two days later.
Others scheduled for offseason surgery: defensive lineman Turk McBride (wrists), offensive lineman Ramon Foster (toe), linebacker Omar Gaither (toes) and tight end Brad Cottam (shoulder).
Simon recently had surgery to remove screws from his surgically repaired ankle.
NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. published his list of top 25 juniors to watch for next season. One Vol is listed. Not Gerald Riggs. Not Kevin Simon. Not Jason Allen.
It was Gaither.
Jealousy equals hatred........
In 12-plus seasons, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer has won 122 games – or 80 percent.
He has eight 10-win seasons. He is 15 games over .500 against ranked opponents. He’s 81-21 in the SEC. He’s 18-3 in games decided by three points or less. He’s 4-1 in overtime.
The three biggest knocks against him: He hasn’t won the SEC since 1998, he’s lost almost as many games at home (11) as on the road (12) and he’s lost four of his last six bowl games.
But after a terrific performance in the Cotton Bowl, in which the Vols started just four seniors in a 38-7 rout of Texas A&M, the future couldn’t be brighter.
As a Sports Illustrated correspondent, I submitted my top 10 for next season. Tennessee was sixth.
Pat Forde of ESPN.com projects Tennessee sixth as well.
Collegefootballnews.com has the Vols in the top five.
Each of those projections had one other thing in common: UT was the highest ranked SEC team.
Given a brutal schedule – road games at Florida, LSU, Alabama and Notre Dame, and home games against Georgia and South Carolina — another 9-2 regular-season would be a good to very good year.
All of which leads to this point – Tennessee fans should appreciate Fulmer.
Fulmer’s goal is to get Tennessee back into national championship contention, to get the Vols into the top 10 on a regular basis.
But when you look at some of the other elite programs, you appreciate the fact that the Vols haven’t sunk to the depths of USC, Oklahoma, Texas, Auburn and LSU in recent decades.
Before becoming dominant over the past three seasons, USC had a 12-year run in which seven teams won six or fewer games. The winning percentage was .560.
LSU won a piece of the 2003 national title, but the Tigers had eight losing seasons in 11 years (1989-99) and won four or fewer games four times. During that span, they won 47 percent of their games. Ouch!
Bob Stoops is 60-8 at Oklahoma since 2000. But in the 1990s, the Sooners went 61-51-3 with four straight non-winning seasons. They won six or fewer games six times.
Mack Brown is 43-8 at Texas over the past four years, but the Longhorns had six non-winning seasons from 1986-97, losing at least five games nine times.
Auburn lost at least four games in eight of nine years (1995-2003). The Tigers were 3-8 as recently as 1998 and 5-6 in 1999. The Tigers had five or fewer wins four times during that nine-year run.
Tennessee’s worst 10-year stretch since Gen. Neyland took over in 1926 was from 1973-82. The Vols were 63-49-4, winning just 56 percent of their games. Seven of those teams lost at least five games and two had losing seasons.
That makes you appreciate the fact that Fulmer has never won fewer than eight games in a season and wins at least 10 games 67 percent of the time.
And more high-level success appears on the way.
• The best addition to Fulmer’s staff during his tenure has been running backs coach Trooper Taylor.
Taylor pushed the right buttons with Riggs and got 1,000 yards each out of Riggs and Cedric Houston. His enthusiasm was contagious on offense.
And his recruiting has been nothing short of outstanding.
Taylor has helped the Vols land at least three commitments, and he’s recruiting several more blue-chippers who could select Tennessee.
• Riggs enters this season as arguably the SEC’s best back, even though Trooper Taylor said the team’s best natural running back is Arian Foster, a freshman who was redshirted in 2004.
Riggs rushed for 1,107 yards. Riggs, Alabama’s Kenneth Darby and Mississippi State’s Jerious Norwood are the only 1,000-yard returning rushers in the SEC. Riggs had the highest per-carry average of the trio at 5.7.
It’s interesting that both Riggs and Darby weren’t full-time starters. Riggs made just three starts. Darby became a starter at midseason when Ray Hudson suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Riggs was terrific in UT’s last two games, getting 182 yards on 11 carries against Auburn’s outstanding defense and 102 against Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. He finished the season with six 100-yard games, four against SEC teams.
Riggs is one of seven Vols who could be a preseason first-team All-SEC pick.
The others: safety Jason Allen, defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona, defensive end Parys Haralson, linebacker Kevin Simon, guard Rob Smith and tackle Arron Sears. Smith was probably the team’s most underrated player.
Second-team possibilities: cornerback Roshaun Fellows, linebacker Omar Gaither, defensive tackle Justin Harrell, receiver Robert Meachem, fullback Cory Anderson, guard Cody Douglas.
• Here’s an updated look at UT’s injury situation for the offseason.
Receiver Chris Hannon broke his arm in two places in the Cotton Bowl and had surgery two days later.
Others scheduled for offseason surgery: defensive lineman Turk McBride (wrists), offensive lineman Ramon Foster (toe), linebacker Omar Gaither (toes) and tight end Brad Cottam (shoulder).
Simon recently had surgery to remove screws from his surgically repaired ankle.
NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. published his list of top 25 juniors to watch for next season. One Vol is listed. Not Gerald Riggs. Not Kevin Simon. Not Jason Allen.
It was Gaither.