University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee To Stay Focused On Duke
October 30, 2003 | Football
Oct 28, 2003
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KNOXVILLE (AP) - Duke's spirited effort in its first game under Ted Roof will probably ensure that Tennessee won't be thinking too much about what is happening in Jacksonville.
The No. 19 Volunteers will try to avoid looking past the Blue Devils when the teams meet at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
Tennessee (5-2) is taking a break from Southeastern Conference play this week, but will clearly be thinking about the SEC race. The Volunteers need No. 23 Florida to upset fourth-ranked Georgia, which would move Tennessee within a half-game of both teams for first place in the SEC's Eastern Division.
"I'll be pulling hard for the Gators," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "That's hard to do and even hard to say, but I'll be pulling hard for the Gators. We'll be taking care of our business first. I don't even know what time they play."
The Vols need to be focused on their own game, because the Blue Devils look to have improved since Carl Franks was fired on Oct. 19.
Duke (2-6) threw a scare into a good North Carolina State team on Saturday, losing 28-21. The Blue Devils got a touchdown and field goal late in the fourth quarter, and got the ball back with a chance to tie with less than a minute to play.
"N.C. State had 46 yards (actually 56) rushing in the game," Fulmer said. "We're going to have to do a great job of being focused on this game and attacking their style, not letting them make a big play along the way if we can help."
Tennessee will concentrate on stopping Duke's rushing attack, which ranks third in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 149.6 yards per game. The Blue Devils had 214 yards against the Wolfpack, including 125 from Chris Douglas.
The Duke game comes in between a draining contest and a marquee one for Tennessee.
The Vols snapped a two-game losing streak by outlasting Alabama 51-43 in five overtimes last Saturday. They follow this week's game by visiting No. 2 Miami on Nov. 8.
Casey Clausen was named SEC player of the week after throwing four touchdown passes and running for another score in last week's win. He has 15 touchdown passes this season and has at least one in seven straight games.
"The thing that really impresses me is the play of Casey Clausen. With all of his ability you can tell he is a gritty, gritty competitor," Roof said.
"He is well coached. He knows where he is going with the football. He knows what he is looking at. It seems to me that you get the feeling as you watch the tape that the football team rallies around him."
Tennessee is 68-4 in November since 1985, with two of the losses coming to No. 1 teams (Notre Dame in 1990 and Miami last year). The Vols won their last two November games last season by shutout and are 39-2 at home during that month since 1985.
"We've always said, 'they remember what you do in November,' and that's very true," Fulmer said. "We've been a good November football team. We've got some big challenges ahead of us this season, but if we can meet those challenges we have a chance to have a very respectable season."
The teams have played 28 times, with the series tied 13-13-2. The last meeting came in 1993, with Tennessee winning 52-19 for its largest margin of victory against Duke.
