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Berry v. Rogan: Best Plays of 2007

All right, folks. First up in the Best Plays of 2007 Brackety-ish Thingy is No. 1 seed Eric Berry's INT-bow (a.k.a Hellooooo, Eric Berry!, a.k.a. Kryptonite) versus No. 4 seed Dennis Rogan's 53-yard punt return against Vanderbilt.

The contestants:

Eric Berry's INT-bow

At stake: Hey, it's Florida. They're always the chief obstacle standing between Tennessee and a chance at an SEC Championship. Two weeks earlier, the Vols had been beaten pretty severely at Cal, and losing two of the first three games of the season would not be good.

In-game context: Florida stormed out of the gate with a punt return for a touchdown and then proceeded to Tebow Tebow Tebow its way to a 28-13 halftime lead that would have been 28-6 if not for an Erik Ainge pass to Chris Brown for a touchdown with 25 seconds left in the half. So much for momentum, though, as Florida picked up right where it left off after the break, driving on the Vols at will and earning Tim Tebow comparisons to Superman. And then, Gary Danielson laus interruptus.

Impact: Eh. On our next possession, a botched handoff between Ainge and Arian Foster resulted in a fumble that a Florida defender picked up and returned for a touchdown, and in the end we were completely dishumiliarrassed. Still, Berry Woo!

Dennis Rogan's 53-yard punt return against Vanderbilt

This one needs a nickname, folks.

At stake: The Vols had mostly recovered from their 1-2 start to the season, and despite another bad loss to Alabama, they'd beaten both Georgia and Arkansas handily and found themselves in the driver's seat for the SEC East. Only Vanderbilt and Kentucky stood in their way.

In-game context: After only four series, Tennessee led Vanderbilt in yards 122-17, but due to some horrible kicking from Daniel Lincoln (he missed an extra point and a field goal), we led only 6-0. Vanderbilt then drove 78 yards in 9:02 and took the lead 7-6. Lincoln did manage to hit one field goal before the half, but Vandy was clicking and went into the locker room at halftime up 17-9. Immediately after the break, the Commodores went up 24-9, and the stage was set. Thanks in part to a roughing the kicker penalty, Tennessee finally found some momentum, ripping off a touchdown drive and an extra point and another TD. The two-point attempt after the second touchdown failed, though, and the score was Vandy 24, Tennessee 22. The defense pulled off a three-and-out, and the 'Dores had to punt with about six minutes remaining. Enter Dennis Rogan:


Apologies for the audio-synch problem with this one. Will have to fix later.

Impact: Rogan's fantastic return set the Vols up to win the game. Ainge and the offense drove 17 yards, and Lincoln hit a 33-yard field goal to put the Vols up by one. The defense held, and the Vols survived. They'd head to Kentucky the next week to play for the right to represent the East in the SEC Championship.

Which of these two will advance? That's up to you. Vote below.

Poll
Who advances? You decide.
Berry's INT-bow, a.k.a. Hellooo, Berry!, a.k.a., Kryptonite
33 votes
Rogan's key punt return against Vandy
21 votes

54 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 8 comments

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Comments

Display:

It might be even more fun if . . .

. . . we make a comment about why we voted the way we did.

I voted for the INT-bow because as kidbourbon said yesterday, it was Berry’s introduction to the rest of the world. It was also just a huge play at just the right time.

I see the case for Rogan, though, too, because in the end Berry’s INT didn’t really impact the game and Rogan’s did.

Go Vols!

by Joel on May 22, 2008 11:15 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Nickname for Rogan's return...

Rogan Blows Their ‘Dores Off

I've got something for you young man. Ooohh, it's...Thaa Claawww! Oh, you're afraid of The Claw!!

by XRayVol on May 22, 2008 11:53 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Also...

...see ” Brackety-Thingy: Set and Seeded” for more nicknames.

I've got something for you young man. Ooohh, it's...Thaa Claawww! Oh, you're afraid of The Claw!!

by XRayVol on May 22, 2008 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I voted for Rogan...

..because I figure everybody’s gonna vote for Berry pretty much and Joel’s right, that play really didn’t affect the game whereas Rogan’s punt return effectively kept the season alive. If we’d have lost to Vandy, there would never have been a SECCG for us and subsequently a worse bowl game.

I've got something for you young man. Ooohh, it's...Thaa Claawww! Oh, you're afraid of The Claw!!

by XRayVol on May 22, 2008 12:01 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Rogan

Although EB managed to juke “Superman” out of his shoes on his way to the endzone, it was a relatively uncontested run to the opposite endzone. And, as mentioned above, it really didn’t turn out to provide any type of turning point in the game (as most of us thought it would).

This round goes to Rogan. Aside from the requisite speed and skill of dodging 11 guys gunning to rip your head off (opposed to 10 guys behind you on EB’s return), this could definately have been a Pontiac Game Changing Performance, brought to you by Pontiac and the 2008 Pontiac G6 Coupe and the 2008 Pontiac G6 Convertible, so visit your local Pontiac dealer today!

by Aerobab on May 22, 2008 12:11 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Sorry D-Ro

This is a tough first round match up. Rogan’s play was game changing and ended up being key moment to our journey to Atlanta.

But I’m going with Berry… The Florida game was miserable on just about every account but the way this play occured it was like EB had the Gary Danielson audio playing in his helmet and just decided enough was enough!!

D-Ro’s return was certainly the more important play. But EB’s run back momentarily shut up the entire sports media’s Tebow love fest and gave us a great preview of what will surely be a heckuva career.

by Getoffmyvols on May 22, 2008 12:48 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Very close to the first round upset

but after hearing about getting a stud recruit all year and then he breaks out with a sweet play like that was awesome. Plus, its not his fault Ainge’s pinky and Foster’s hands were on different wavelengths. If they dont let that fumble go back for a TD (correct me if i’m wrong) there’s a good chance we dont get dishumilliarassed.

At least he's better than Esteban Yan.

by jacksonian on May 22, 2008 3:32 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

If the pick six had come in a winning effort...

I think it would have the potential here to win the whole brackety-ish thingy. Its just a great pick six. Look at Berry when he’s at about the 30 yard line and clearly at top speed. Everybody else is in slow motion.

by kidbourbon on May 24, 2008 10:26 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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