Game Review: Oregon v UT- Sept 11 2010

Any true southerner saw the conspiracy as it unfolded. The unranked, destitute Vols controlling the best team out of the PAC-10 threatened the much-anticipated humiliating season for the once premiere team. So the refs did what they could do: they began calling phantom personal fouls against the home team and ignored blatant ones by the Ducks. They allowed Oregon to ignore a punt returner’s halo and committed other such crimes in the eyes of fans. Great teams overcome bad calls. Tennessee is not a great team. Yet.

They looked it in the first half. They made breaks, forced turnovers, and capitalized on scoring opportunities. Not even the rain so severe officials suspended the game and evacuated the bleachers dampened anyone’s spirits. We fans, huddled together on Neyland’s ramps, kept in cheering practice by chanting “I say it’s great. To be. A Tennesse Vol” and pretending lightening bolts were touchdowns. We eavesdropped on the lucky few who managed to get cell service and thus checked the score and weather reports. We gawked at two popular Oregon fans donning shirts proclaiming: We hate Kiffin, too.

After the seventy minute impromptu tailgate party, the game resumed. Never have a fanbase and team been so in sync. For months, we had heard the Ducks brush off the hostile environment Neyland can create; the fans wanted to make Oregon respect our stadium. For months, we had heard how inferior our team is to every other team in the nation; the players wanted to make Oregon respect our game. Both parties proved their worth in the first three quarters. The stadium was raucous, causing several miscues and pre-play penalties. The team responded in kind, making huge stops against Oregon and prolonging drives past anything we thought possible. The game may have been slowly slipping away, but our spirits were not.

Then the Pick Six happened. We all tried to believe we could come back from a thirteen point deficit, but reality paraded itself on the field. Their offensive line outweighed our inexperienced defensive line by an average of twenty-three pounds per player. Their well stocked offensive line tete-a-teted with our offensive line—the offensive line with zero returning starters. Rookies make mistakes. They stare down receivers, try to force great plays rather than wrapping up a good play, misrun routes. Most importantly, rookies don’t know how to respond adversity. As fatigue set in, mental mistakes increased and morale decreased. The game’s narrative transformed from respect for hanging with one of the nation’s top teams to the pre-determined script of failure.

But is it really failure? Lost in the point differential’s gulf is the fact Tennessee exceeded everyone’s expectations. We fell apart due to inexperience, something time and coaching can easily resolve. A loss early in the season is worth every heartbreaking moment if the team can learn from their superior opponent.

Kudzu grows up to a foot a day. No one likes kudzu. Consider instead, the orange tree, which takes about three years to bear fruit. Mark your calendars.