Look! It's the return of Talking Points!

• Beating a MAC school by four points? Downright embarrassing, says Volball. Coming to the "self-realization that we have to play well to beat MAC teams now," says Clay Travis. Right on. Meanwhile, Fulmer's Belly is doing the really smart thing and pretending it's a Vandy blog.
• Some positives, though. Gate 21 acknowledges that the Northern Illinois game was a nail-biter that never should have been but says it's a step forward toward improvement. Southeastern Sports Blog points to the week heading into the Georgia game last year and says here we are again. And -- watch out, it's contagious! -- Ghost of Neyland says one thing and does another: he cautions himself not to compare 2008 to 1994 and Nick Stephens to Peyton Manning, and then does just that. It's easy when, as Ghost says, "maybe the future doesn’t look quite as bleak as the present."
• And in other good news . . . if you believe Gary Danielson and Mr. SEC, The Spread is a fad that will start to disappear eventually. Unfortunately, that will be about the time we adopt it. By the way, Mr. SEC finds it interesting that "many Vol fans claimed 'big win' after their team's hard-fought, 13-9 victory over NIU . . . which shows just how far the program has fallen." I concede that I am behind on my reading, but I haven't seen anyone call Saturday's game a big win unless you count hooper's scarcastically (leaving that typo because I like it!) -titled post-game post. If that's Mr. SEC's source, well then, we know they're at least reading headlines from blogs. Baby steps, people.
• John Adams puts his weight behind the Good is the Enemy of Great meme:
  

  UT needs a receiver who can make a defender pay for tight coverage. It needs a running back who can turn a 15-yard run into a 50-yard touchdown.

  That's why players like Moore and running back Lennon Creer should get more opportunities. And that's why strong safety Eric Berry should be used on offense as well as defense.

  Again, what have you got to lose?

  Uh-huh.

   

• Whatever the case . . . we are ten business days away from basketball practice, and The BruceBall Blog continues his countdown with today's 10th best moment in the Bruce Pearl Era, UT demolishes the other UT in Austin. Ooh, "demolish" has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?