Worst decision. Rico McCoy, for trying to lateral the ball to a teammate at the end of the half dangerously close to Southern Miss' end zone after intercepting a pass. Nice interception, son, but remember this: pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered.
Best blood pressure. Coach Fulmer, who nearly sprinted toward McCoy as time expired in the first half to "have a word with him" after the aforementioned Worst Decision. I thought that Fulmer was going to rip the bulging, sinewy veins out of his neck and beat McCoy mercilessly with them. The man was maaaaad.
Best recovery. Rico McCoy, who executed a picture perfect tackle of Southern Miss QB Jeremy Young to end the third quarter. McCoy bent at the knees, kept his eye on the target, and exploded through the numbers, lifting Young off the ground like he was rescuing an old lady from fire, and creating a QB-sized divot after body-slamming him to the turf from six feet.
Best Wow. Tennessee's first drive of the fourth quarter was a thing of beauty for Volunteer running backs. Lennon Creer followed up a LaMarcus Coker two-yard dash with a seven-yarder that included one of the finest spin moves I have ever seen. He was there, and then he was gone. The defender was left wandering in the general vicinity looking like he had misplaced his car keys. Coker then rushed for another two yards, and it was all Arian Foster after that. Foster first tore off another five yards, and on the next play, he sliced his way through defenders for a 16-yard rush. Two more carries of one and two yards respectively, and he was in the end zone.
Worst Tim Tebow Impersonation. For the second week in a row, Tennessee coaches substituted a QB for a special play. Last week it was Lucas Taylor at the goal line against Cal. Taylor ran an option and was nearly killed by a defender. This week it was the more Tebow-ish Jonathan Crompton's turn, and he ran to the left but got clobbered for a loss by two defenders who swallowed him whole.
Best introduction. Much of the game featured the "Tatum Tandem" -- Lennon Creer and Denarius Moore, both from the same high school in Texas -- back to receive kickoffs. They did well there, too.
Best turn around. The Tennessee defense, which was a mirror image of itself in the second half. As I said yesterday, somebody must have changed a lightbulb at halftime in the locker room because suddenly we could torce furnovers, quack the sorterback, and -- pop the stresses -- we had players who could actually take a mackle.
Best name. Southern Miss kicker Britt Barefoot. He uses a shoe. Go figure.
Player of the game, offense. Arian Foster, who shouldered the rushing duties for the Vols and racked up 125 yards on 23 carries for a 5.4 yard average. He had two touchdowns. Lucas Taylor and Austin Rogers, both of whom got over 100 yards in the passing game, get honorable mention.
Player of the game, defense. Rico McCoy, who led the team in tackles, a couple of which were absolute snot-knockers. Honorable mention: the defensive line, which showed much improvement from last week.
Am I missing anything? Leave your comments below.