Tennessee races to huge early lead against Memphis, coasts to 56-28 win

by Joel on Nov 7, 2009 10:35 PM EST in Tennessee Volunteer Football Comment 6 comments

Don't let the final score or total stats fool you. The Tennessee Volunteers 56-28 complete and utter beatdown of the Memphis Tigers was over long before the first half came to a close.

First half stats:

382 yards total offense
305 passing yards
5 touchdowns from Jonathan Crompton
18 first downs
Four trick plays, including a surprise onside kick that would have been successful if not for an offsides penalty
A 28-point second quarter
A 42-7 halftime lead

All of that allowed us Vol fans to see something we hadn't seen in years: an entire second half devoted to getting the backups real live reps, and a leisurely close to a game that had even the most knowledgeable of us crawling through the roster to see who was on the field. Just remind yourself that the buzz kill in the second half was because we are simply not used to being so far ahead that we burn game time preparing for next season.

And yes, it feels good.

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love the dancing monte

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lawvol: Gate 21 - Life, the Universe, & the Bounce of the Ball

by lawvol98 on Nov 7, 2009 10:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Back at the library.

A couple quick thoughts:

2nd string experience is a must. They tended to overpursue on defense and Memphis took advantage of it. That second half should provide long-term benefit.

Lane was intent on making sure the team went for the kill. Those fourth down attempts and that sweet onsides attempt were his way of telling them that they were not going to go on cruise control. That’s the stuff of killer instinct, and I’m looking forward to seeing where that goes from here.

by Hooper on Nov 7, 2009 10:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Also, after watching the backups play

How glad are y’all that Lane stuck with Crompton? I’ve appreciated his play, but I appreciate him even more after watching Stephens doing some staredown.

The 2nd/3rd string is pretty poor. Fortunately we don’t lose a lot on defense. And we have a year for them to get better.

The first string was very impressive. Hopefully, this carries over to next week. A win in Oxford would be Lane’s first on the road, and it would work wonders for bowl positioning.

by Incipient_Senescence on Nov 7, 2009 10:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

That's the biggie.

Our first-teamers are solid, but there is a lot of potential for challenging the backups for next year’s freshmen. Recruiting will be all over that in the morning.

by Hooper on Nov 7, 2009 10:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

That was my fear all along. There’s value in experience, even if it’s not translating into evident improvement. It wasn’t apparent then, but it is apparent now that there is in fact a learning curve, and both Crompton and Stephens need to work through it. Had we cut Crompton loose and went with Stephens, we would have just been starting over at the beginning and forfeiting the invisible progress we’d made.

Rocky Top Talk

by Joel on Nov 7, 2009 11:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs