First the good: I thought it was really important to be able to send Fulmer out on a good note, and losing to Kentucky would most definitely not be that. It was also important to not break the winning streak over Kentucky and to avoid becoming Tennessee’s Worst Team Ever.

It didn’t look like it was a sure thing until this play. Fairly well blocked, Moore completely burned his defender, and Crompton threw a perfect pass to hit Moore in stride. The play also created some momentum and catapulted the Vols to a 28-10 victory and a graceful exit for Fulmer.

But . . . we still have Corkscrew and Clobber (two plays that, as I said yesterday, were the only positive, nationally-relevant things to happen to Tennessee last year), That’s Beautiful (a great play against a great opponent at an important part of an important game that we were still in), and Berry All the Way (which was both fun and important to the season).

And you’re probably not going to like it, but hear me out. I’m going to vote for Eric Berry Clobbers Knowshon Moreno.

This is based on three thoughts. The first is that I sat back and asked myself: do the Berry plays really deserve that much praise or are they getting extra hype simply because Berry’s involved? In this case, I think the Moreno hit can be seen this way.

The second thought is this: was the play a success? The more I watch that play, the more I am beginning to believe the play was a success for Georgia. It was a running play around the left end of the offensive line: nothing complicated, just an attempt to move the line of scrimmage and keep the drive going. Georgia did exactly that. If you watch the line play, Georgia’s offensive line did a great job blocking and opening up the necessary hole. The delayed exchange allowed the blitzer to overpursue the quarterback and take himself out of position. The skill players on Georgia’s offense blocked the second level nicely. By the time it was all said and done, 10 UGA players took 10 UT players out of the play (counting the QB and the blitzer with the delayed exchange). That is exactly the definition of successful blocking. The difference between this being a TD or a tackle is whether the 11th guy is out of position or otherwise beat by the running back. And really, for UT, that is the only good piece of news on this play: Berry was in position. But even at that, Moreno got 7 yards and a first down. This play was a success for Georgia. Clearly.

Lastly, the hit itself. First the good: Berry was in the right position and took the right angle, allowing himself to bring a ferocious amount of energy to the point of contact. This was very, very good. The bad: the only reason UGA didn’t gain another 15 yards on this play was the capricious judgment of the officials. Berry did hit Moreno in a way that could have been called for helmet-to-helmet. It would have been a weak call, sure, but so was the non-call. With the incredible emphasis on safety and caution in the interpretation of the rules, the officials would have been justified in flagging that hit – especially since it sent enough force to Moreno’s head to effectively end his day. I don’t think the officials screwed up the call because (a) Berry was coming shoulder first, (b) he was obviously not intending to lead with the head, and © Moreno didn’t help the situation when he lowered his own head. But if that flag had been thrown, I could have understood it.

In summary, it was a fantastic play for the sheer entertainment of it. But from any other perspective, UGA beat UT on that play and got exactly what that play is intended to produce – yardage and a first down.

Yeah, I’m sure that’s not going to be popular with pretty much any other UT fan. But the other remaining plays were simply better plays.