Talking Points: Lane Kiffin installing a championship mentality

by Joel Hollingsworth on Sep 8, 2009 7:36 AM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Football

Wes Rucker has more on the killer instinct/championship mentality Kiffin is still attempting to install. Noting that Kiffin and company laid into the team at halftime when they were up 28-0 and ready to enjoy a little post-game celebration while the game was still going on, Rucker suggests that Kiffin knows that that's not how elite teams think and provides the evidence:

Reigning national champion Florida had a 42-0 lead over Charleston Southern at halftime Saturday night, and the Gators continued to punish until the late stages of a 62-3 win. Texas turned a 38-10 halftime advantage over Louisiana-Monroe into a 59-13 fourth-quarter lead.

The attitude adjustment obviously worked, and I hope that that kind of thinking becomes habitual for the team and its players.
Yeah, so it was Western Kentucky, and yeah, Tim Tebow tends to run for TDs as often as he throws for them, but still, Tebow's never thrown five TD passes in a game. Unlike Jonathan Crompton. Heh. Stats are fun!
Bryce Brown, on his punishment of the WKU defender who dared intercept a Crompton pass:

Well, I just wanted to come in here and play with effort. Never give up on a play, and I saw the ball pop up and immediately I was thinking, "Get it knocked down." But the guy had caught it already, so I just tried to knock it out of his hands. Was it that bad? I didn't even know, I was just in there trying to get the ball out.

Yeah, it was that bad. The Vols couldn't recover, but the ball did come loose.

Since 1980, Pac-10 teams have a 3-16 record when traveling to an SEC town. Oh, and Rick Neuheisel says that "both" of our running backs are sensational. Nice compliment and all, but if he thinks we only have two good RBs, I wonder how much he really knows about our running game. Of course, it's still early in the week.

At USC, Lane Kiffin beat the UCLA Bruins 66-19, 27-0, 52-21, and 47-22. Those were different UCLA teams, of course, but as Ed Orgeron said on Kiffin's TV show this weekend, "[Y]ou will not find anybody else in the world that wants to beat UCLA more than Ed Orgeron and Lane Kiffin." See? The Kiffin Chimera even talks as one!

John Adams closes the loop on the whole "Lane Kiffin should shut up until he's won something" that festered all summer. Like we kept saying back then, he thought he needed to make noise, and he couldn't do that by winning games in the summer, now could he? Now that he has won at least something, he's letting the games do the talking for him.

Offensive tackle Chris Scott, who lost 30 pounds in the offseason, earned SEC offensive lineman of the week honors. He had six pancakes. I don't even know whether he and defensive end Chris Walker play on the same end (yes?), but that summer adjustment could explain how Walker went from being unblockable in the spring to merely very good in the fall.

From a GVX notes column (same as Scott link above): Gerald Jones ran sprints on Monday, and the team hopes to have him back for UCLA this Saturday. . . . Quintin Hancock earned the highest grade of the WR corps, followed by freshman Marsalis Teague. . . . Art Evans graded out as the best of the defensive backs, followed by Eric Berry and Dennis Rogan. Secondary coach Willie Mack Garza also commended freshman safety Janzen Jackson for maintaining coverage on a WR on a trick play in which the cornerback was fooled.

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Ready for UCLA week

I must have asked 43 people “Didja see Bryce Brown run over three defenders for his TD?” on Saturday. It’s amazing how quickly I can morph into Super Homer Vols Fan with a little fire water in me.

Loved BB’s hit on the kid who intercepted the pass. He could be an all-star LB in Monte’s system. I bet it raised the elder Kiffin’s eyebrows a bit.

Ball, oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle... for this is the WINNING EDGE.

by pound the rock on Sep 8, 2009 8:46 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

I couldn't believe the sportscasters missed that one

It was a slobber-knocker and the ball shot out of the interceptor’s hands. If WKU hadn’t recovered, maybe they’d make a bigger deal about it.

I also loved the still running over people 5 yards into the end zone.

Now, if he’d just learn to finish off those 30+ yards runs (Eddie Gran is thinking….) by not running out of bounds…..

by memphispete on Sep 8, 2009 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions

What part couldn't you believe?

That Dave Neal didn’t catch it, or that Andre Ware didn’t call Bryce Brown by the wrong name on the play?

Lou Brock loves Lamp.

by birdjam on Sep 8, 2009 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions

I think you're dead on

on Chris Scott/Chris Walker, with Walker getting better in the spring and Scott getting better in the fall. And that’s good news for us all around.

Will - Rocky Top Talk

by Will Shelton on Sep 8, 2009 8:54 AM EDT reply actions

Don't pass to:

Rahim Moore, the UCLA D-Back, who had 3 interceptions against SDSU last Saturday and was last week’s National Defensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

However, it should be noted that he only returned those INTs for a collected 29 yards. Mike Nixon of Arizona State also had 3 INTs for 56 yards and 1 TD, and Shamiel Gary of Wyoming (damn you ~~hooper~~ Wyoming!!) had 3 INTs for 4 yards.

Kirk Herbstreit: And this years Heisman Trophy goes to .. TIM TEBOW, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA!!!
[ Begin music]
Jim Ross: My.. My god, is that Eric Berry's music??!!
Kirk: I hope not ...

by bobo_the_vol on Sep 8, 2009 9:03 AM EDT reply actions