Of minds and hearts: Tennessee Volunteers and the LSU Tigers

Okay. I don't think that's how you pronounce it, but you get the Spaghettio's reference, right?

Anywho... according to ESPN (I'd put a link here but I have no idea how to but you can find it on the college FB front page), Glen Dorsey's knee is still bothering him and he's having back spasms and is far from 100%. Trindon Holliday injured an ankle vs Arky but expects to play.

Apparently, the most significant injury is Matt Flynn's throwing shoulder that he hurt last week. He has been limited in practice and by his own admission about how serious it is, doesn't know what will happen.

Enter Ryan Perrilloux? It seems to be a general concensus that he will see action this Saturday. How much action? Who knows. Regardless, this doesn't bode very well for us. I'm not sure how well we can handle a scrambling QB in LSU's offensive system. Not that Flynn doesn't scramble, but I'm pretty sure Perrilloux is more mobile. Although, I don't think either QB is our biggest concern.

Oh, and Miles...Michigan...Pellini...Nebraska...blah,blah,blah. I can't say anything here you haven't already heard or said. That will probably have an effect. We'll see.

And I have faith that our boys will be the more fired up team. They have to be. They have to know how big this is. They have to. Don't they?

goes to Tennessee.  Our team is healthier, particularly regarding the key players.  If Dorsey can be handled by single-blocking, our O-line will have a tremendous advantage, especially in the passing game.  (If I were game-planning, I would script a few plays early designed to wear down Dorsey; power runs, cutback runs, anything that makes him run.)  The battle of the trenches is winnable for UT on both sides.  If we do rule the trenches, we should be fine.

Flynn will be limited - particularly in long throws, where his range and accuracy will suffer.  They'll probably rotate the QBs to help him last until late in the game if need be.  However, if he gets dropped to the turf a couple times, he might be pulled permanently, which would be a coup.  Expect Perrilloux to have the bulk of the load; he's running the offense through most of the practice time this week to maximize the plays he can call.  I think he'll be very susceptible to being spied on by Berry or Mayo.

Holliday's tweaked ankle might not play a factor.  If it does, it'll be because he's a little unsure of its integrity and he therefore has a little reduced mobility.  Losing a step might be the difference between him being effective and him being contained.

The closer this game gets, the better I feel about UT's chances.  At the beginning of the season, this was a mismatch.  However, every week, our young starters are getting better integrated into the system, and it really showed during the overtime last week.  Rogan is now a force to be dealt with, and Berry will keep the LSU offense off-guard.  The only question is how well Ainge and Mayo can keep their respective units focused and energized.

Now, if we can just convince Chavis to call something besides a prevent defense sometime during the second half...

I am not going too far out on a limb here to say that i hope Eric Berry holds onto one or two of the chances he will certainly get at an interception saturday.

I want to hear:

"Pick 6 freshman sensation Eric Berry is SPRINTING down the sidelines with his second catch of a Perrilloux thrown ball!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As much as LSU's defense was heralded early in the season, I do think we will be able to score points on them at least in the early going. Cutcliffe for the most part has had a knack for putting together a stretch of plays and packages to put points on the board in the first few possessions. The issue as we all know this season has been our ability to handle adjustments made by our opponents. I think if its a situation where our game plan is to build a lead then protect it, I think we'll be in trouble. Other than that all the normal stuff is in effect, we must  have one or two key turnovers and must take advantage while playing disciplined and limiting our own mistakes.

PS The bitterness of the other coaches in the East just makes this even sweeter.