University of Tennessee Athletics
VOLS FARE BETTER WHEN TAKING THE LEAD
October 26, 2005 | Football
Oct. 26, 2005
|
Tennessee continued preparations for Saturday's SEC clash against South Carolina with a two-hour workout Wednesday at Haslam Field. The Vols are trying to snap a two-game losing streak and hope to break on top Saturday against the Gamecocks.
"Our team has gone back to work to get ready for a good South Carolina football team," head coach Phillip Fulmer said. "It's been a frustrating season for everyone concerned -- our team, our staff and, I'm sure, our fans. I guess if you stay in this game long enough, you're going to have some years like this and you have to fight like heck to get it corrected.
"Our kids have worked hard and played hard. They've had a tough schedule to deal with and we've kind of been a victim of our own mistakes along the way and, hopefully, we're getting to the point where we're getting some of that corrected."
In all three Tennessee losses, the Vols never led in the game yet stayed close and lost by an average margin of just more than eight points. Saturday's setback at Alabama was decided in the final 10 seconds.
UT has faced four ranked teams this season -- Florida, LSU, Georgia and Alabama all were ranked in the top six when facing the Vols -- and the Big Orange did not have a lead in any of those games. Tennessee scored first in wins over UAB and Ole Miss but needed a furious rally at LSU and finally took its first lead of that game on the final play of overtime.
The Gamecocks, 4-3 under Steve Spurrier, are not ranked but have consecutive wins over Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
"South Carolina is a good team," Fulmer said. "With (Blake) Mitchell, you see a lot of progress at quarterback and 64 percent is what he's completing. They have the receiver (Sidney Rice) that's leading the SEC in yards per catch. They are a good, big-play offensive team. Defensively, they're very multiple and you have to be on your toes to handle all the defensive looks. We're looking forward to playing again and getting back on a good track."
Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. Eastern time, with ESPN2 providing the telecast.
INJURY REPORT (South Carolina Week): Probable -- OG Rob Smith (ribs), DT Justin Harrell (wrist); Questionable -- DE Parys Haralson (illness); Out for Season -- TB Gerald Riggs (ankle, leg).
LIMITED NUMBER OF UT FOOTBALL TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR SOUTH CAROLINA GAME
A limited number of tickets for Saturday's Tennessee-South Carolina football game are on sale. Tickets for the game are $45 each and are those remaining from the unused student allotment.
Ticket office hours for phone and over-the-counter sales are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time at the athletics department ticket office in Thompson-Boling Arena. Fans also may order by calling 656-1200 or (800) 332-VOLS (8657) outside the Knoxville area.
SATURDAY SHRINES -- COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S MOST HALLOWED GROUNDS
St. Louis, Mo. -- What makes a College Football stadium come alive? Sporting News Books answers that question with their most recent release, SATURDAY SHRINES: College Football's Most Hallowed Grounds, which explores the very core of all that is the "religion" of college football, The Stadium. Each stadium is defined by the magic moments that give it its own unique, unforgettable personality.
Neyland Stadium fits the bill, one of 40 structures featured in this latest release.
For SATURDAY SHRINES, Sporting News, the most respected sports-information source for the past 119 years, asked their football experts to select the 40 best stadiums in which to experience college football. SATURDAY SHRINES brings the best college football stadiums in the country to life by detailing the setting, the structure, the fans, the mascots, the magnitude of the games played, the marching bands, the traditions - everything that makes watching a college football game a spine tingling experience. By the way, making the selections wasn't easy. That's why there are 15 other stadiums-plus six that are gone but won't be forgotten-added onto the tour.
The following schools are featured: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Army, Auburn, Brigham Young, California, Clemson, Colorado, Cotton Bowl, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Harvard, Illinois, Iowa, Legion Field, Louisiana State, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Pennsylvania, Purdue, Rose Bowl, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia Tech, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Yale.
The reader will take a journey like no other; you will feel hearts pounding, hear the roar of the crowd and smell the grills cooking away in the parking lots, with the turn of each page. The section "101 Things That Make a Stadium Special" will give the reader a new appreciation for the little things like "cheap seats," hot dogs, team anthems and synchronized hand movements that put "the wave" to shame.
Keith Jackson, the legendary college football commentator, penned the foreword for SATURDAY SHRINES and makes a simple yet poignant statement regarding the awe that is a college football stadium, "Memorable things have happened at all of the stadiums covered here - things that have grown beyond being just stories and into legends. And legends are entitled to have a proper home."
