Commence the 15-minute immediate post-game mostly incoherent and questionable-impression-filled ramblings on Tennessee's 45-19 win over the Georgia Bulldogs. No reps or warranties on facts. ;-)
Raise your hand if you saw this one coming.
Yeah. I thought Georgia would have trouble running the ball against Monte Kiffin's defense, and it did. I thought that the defense would be able to make the Bulldogs one dimensional and make them risk throwing interceptions, which they like to do anyway, and they did. I even thought our offense would be able to score enough points to win. And they did.
But I didn't think this. Jonathan Crompton? Player of the game? High completion percentage? Four TDs? Throwing the ball to receivers who were selling out to make the catches and getting yards after the catch? Putting up 45 points? Getting Nick Stephens in the game because Crompton had beaten the opponent before the game was over? Seeing Josh McNeil on the field at the end of the game, taking the opportunity to mix it up a bit because this may be his last chance?
Denarius Moore flying five yards through the air, stretching the ball back in bounds as he was flying out, getting an honest-to-goodness highlight for ESPN's recap tonight?
Eric Berry finally getting a chance to run with the ball in his hands and him -- OF COURSE -- not disappointing?
Raise your hand if you think I could go on and on.
Yeah. Because it was one of those games. One of those we used to enjoy more often than not. It's been so long.
Perhaps Lane Kiffin does know what he's doing. Perhaps Jonathan Crompton's problem is in fact that he's had to learn five offensive schemes in five years and had his brain scrambled in the process. Perhaps he is the team's best chance at QB. Perhaps he can even salvage the season.
Brakes.
But let's not get too carried away. The 24-hour rule should apply to this one as much as to the heart-breaking losses. Enjoy it today. Tomorrow, because we have a bye week. But the team needs to turn its attention to getting healthy and doing their best against Alabama.
And don't go thinking that we're going to beat Alabama. Georgia is, for whatever reason, a middle-of-the-pack SEC team, and us beating them doesn't mean we're ready to challenge for the top of the SEC. It's merely progress. Improvement. A glimpse of where we're going if only we're patient and the team continues to work hard and root out any personnel or attitude problems.
This was a fantastic game for the Vols and for Jonathan Crompton in particular. They now need to focus on that next step forward, which is being competitive against the Tide in two weeks. They don't need to win; they just need to keep improving.
And if they do, days like these will continue to come more often than not.
Raise your hand if you like the sound of that.