University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Much Improved at Avoiding 'Gimmies'
November 21, 2007 | Football
It???s simple, really.
Keep the ball and win the game. Turn it over? Different story.
Tennessee???s rousing success at home of late could have taking place most anywhere based on the number of turnovers the Vols had during their four-game sweep toward the top of the SEC Eastern Division standings.
UT committed only two turnovers in consecutive wins over South Carolina, Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, the Vols forced a combined nine turnovers in those games and now stand at plus-6 for the season to rank third in the conference.
???This week will be a huge challenge for us and we just can???t afford any gimmies,??? head coach Phillip Fulmer said. ???Kentucky is an outstanding football team and we don???t need to help them in any way.???
The Vols provided plenty of ???gimmie??? help in losses earlier this year to California, Florida and Alabama.
Cal and Florida both returned a fumble and a punt for touchdowns -- 14 points to stout opposition in games that were within reach well into the second halves. And Alabama forced two turnovers without committing one of its own to pull away in the final 30 minutes of that ballgame.
??????We???re not even the same team we were five weeks ago and I hope it shows on Saturday,??? Fulmer said. ???I???ve seen our team improve from the standpoint of the pressures of practice, the no ???gimmies,??? the sense of urgency to do things correctly in practice and how it leads to good things in games.
???It???s a maturing process. Some of it has come the hard way, some of it has come naturally and some of it has come because they have listened, paid attention and worked hard.???
Kickoff Saturday is set for 1:30 p.m. Eastern time on CBS and the Vol Network.
ROGAN NAMED CAREacter STAR ATHLETE
Return specialist and defensive back Dennis Rogan is this week???s CAREacter Star Athlete of the Week.
Rogan???s second recognition since Monday follows his SEC Special Teams Player of the Week notice. In that game, the freshman returned three kickoffs for a combined 74 yards and three another punts for a combined 72 yards. Included was a sparkling 45-yard punt return that set up the winning field goal in the final three minutes.
A product of Knoxville???s Fulton High School, Rogan???s positive personality made him a local favorite before his UT days. He has kept those connections alive and found a much greater opportunity to make a difference in the community as a college student-athlete.
