OXFORD, Miss. – Tennessee better call Alabama “the red team” this week in practice.
Otherwise it will be up to UT fans to shower Lane Kiffin with organized profanity in order to make this week of football in Knoxville remotely interesting.
After scoring four touchdowns against in a 35-32 loss to Georgia on Sept. 27, the Vols’ offense is touchdown-less in its last 31 possessions against SEC competition.
The bumbling wreck needs to make a 180-degree turn and channel the potency it showed against Georgia, or the no-touchdown streak will continue for a third straight SEC game when UT welcomes the Crimson Tide to Neyland Stadium this Saturday night.
After back-to-back bad weeks, Alabama throttled Texas A&M 59-0 on Saturday. The Aggies entered the matchup averaging 44 points per game.
If Nick Saban’s minions are capable of shutting out a team with actual offensive potency, just imagine what they could do to Tennessee’s frail, delicate offense.
UT’s offensive line stands as much of a chance against the Crimson Tide as Robert E. Lee’s rebel troops would against a modern-day nuclear attack.
Defensively, the Vols are plenty capable of holding Alabama at bay like they did with Ole Miss in a 34-3 loss to the Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday.
But what does it matter unless someone other than kicker Aaron Medley starts scoring points for UT?
Though the once great UT-Bama rivalry appears destined for another blowout chapter, the variables surrounding the game could still make it the most entertaining date remaining on the Vols’ schedule.
Leading into the matchup last year, UT referred to Alabama as “the red team” and it would be wise to continue doing so this year if it wants the term “rivalry” to remain associated with the Vols-Tide matchup.
Head coach Butch Jones explained last year that “the red team” was simply a ploy to help his team avoid the awe and intimidation that comes from hearing the name Alabama.
But then-Tide quarterback AJ McCarron interpreted the gesture as slanderous and used it as motivation in a 45-10 beating of the Vols in Tuscaloosa.
If you can’t beat Alabama, you might as well make them mad.
Make no mistake, UT won’t beat Alabama. Not with this offensive line.
Extra point: If Vol fans accept the reality of what will transpire against Alabama before they enter the stadium, they could still leave feeling better than when they entered.
Saturday will provide the first in-person opportunity for them to thank Lane Kiffin for his head-coaching stint at UT, and doing so should help fans release years of pent-up anger.
Chancellor Jimmy Cheek and athletic director Dave Hart signed an e-mail to students after the Florida game condemning profane chanting as “totally unacceptable.”
Unless Hart and Cheek have some sort of creative anti-cussing marketing campaign up their sleeves for this week, the verbal berating of Kiffin will likely surpass anything heard during the Florida game.
That will be more entertaining than anything that happens on the football field.
David Cobb is a senior in journalism & electronic media. He can be reached at [email protected].
