University of Tennessee Athletics
UT-South Carolina Set for Evening Kickoff
October 20, 2008 | Football
Oct. 20, 2008
The Southeastern Conference announced Monday Tennessee's Nov. 1 trip to South Carolina is being televised by ESPN2 and kicks off at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The Vols' last appearance on ESPN2 was in 2006 at Arkansas.
UT leads the series against the Gamecocks 21-3-2, including an 8-2-2 advantage in Columbia. The Vols have won 14 of the last 15 overall meetings and are riding a seven-game winning streak at Williams-Brice Stadium. In eight meetings this decade, the average margin between the teams is 5.8 points. Two of those eight games have been decided in overtime, the Vols winning both times including last season's 27-24 outcome.
Other games being televised that weekend involving SEC teams are Auburn at Mississippi on Raycom (12:30 p.m. Eastern) and Georgia versus Florida in Jacksonville on CBS (3:30 p.m. Eastern).
UTSPORTS.COM INTERVIEW WITH COACH Phillip Fulmer BEFORE ALABAMA GAME
1. Much has been made of the Vols' more physical practice agenda. Will that continue heading into Saturday's showdown against Alabama?
A - "Absolutely. You don't mess with something that's working. We had been practicing well but not really playing that well. So we changed a number of things, looked at schemes, looked at personnel, looked at our practice schedule, moved Coach Chavis upstairs -- trying to get us where we wanted to be. Some of it or all of it helped us and we will go into practice with the same routine as last week. Certainly we will cross our fingers that we don't get anybody banged up in practice too badly because there are spots where we are very thin."
2. Is your defensive unit -- the combination of pass rush and secondary play -- starting to blend together like you thought it would in the preseason?
A - "Last week was our best week of a pass rush, period. The young ends and older guys both did a nice job, we got some pressure from our tackles and a lot of that led to a quarterback trying to hurry a throw. Our DBs have been really good about breaking on the ball, getting tips and those kinds of things anyway. So, yes, I think last week was our best effort thus far this year them combining to get turnovers."
3. Tailback Lennon Creer capped Saturday's win over Mississippi State with an impressive fourth quarter. Talk about his development rushing the football.
A - "We're blessed to have three really good tailbacks and are excited about all three of them. Lennon is becoming a more complete back, both a route-runner and pass-protector. The older guys have a little bit on him with those things, but he's certainly a natural with his hands on the ball. Hopefully, we'll get more of the same as we go through the year and in this game against Alabama."
4. You probably have had as much coaching success against Alabama as anyone in the last half century. What does this game mean to you from a historical standpoint?
A - "Everybody asks that every year. To me it's one of those games that when you look at the great rivalries around the country, Tennessee and Alabama -- The Third Saturday in October -- is one of those games. I always relay the history of the series to our players, as I do each week. But this one is special because it's a border-state rivalry and two great programs, originally the two prominent programs in the Southeastern Conference and certainly one every year that's important we win."
5. The Crimson Tide enters Saturday's game ranked No. 2 in BCS standings. How have they maximized their strengths during the season's first half?
A - "They've done a great job. They don't make many mistakes at all; their offense is very physical in how the run the football; they don't ask a lot of their quarterback, but when they do he produces. He's a guy that can make plays and throws and does a really nice job. In their receiver corps, the young Jones kid is a very special football player. That combination on offense has been good for them. Defensively, they give a lot of looks. It's not tremendously complicated in the front but very sophisticated in the secondary, so they give a quarterback a lot of problems. They're darn good in the kicking game. So they are well deserving of their No. 2 ranking as a football team. We're going to have to obviously play our best in this game, take care of the football and do the things like we did last week to win the football game."
