by special report to The Chattanoogan
posted October 13, 2008
 |
Final decisions will be made either late Saturday night or Sunday.
Tennessee trails in the series against Alabama 45-38-7, with the home teams owning a current four-game winning streak. UT's 17-13 win in 2004 capped a 9-1 Vols streak. Two years ago at Neyland Stadium, UT rallied for a 16-13 triumph.
Other games being televised that weekend involving SEC teams are Kentucky at Florida on Raycom Sports (12:30 p.m. Eastern) and Middle Tennessee at Mississippi State on ESPNU (7 p.m. Eastern).
UTSPORTS.COM INTERVIEW WITH COACH PHILLIP FULMER BEFORE MISSISSIPPI STATE GAME
1. How can three of the next four games at home help the Vols gain momentum for the season's second half?
A - "Certainly we need some momentum. We need our crowd into it, we need familiar territory -- both of those would help greatly. I think our young quarterback having that support would help him tremendously. Hopefully, we'll give them plenty to cheer about along the way.”
2. Did you foresee the superb play of Ellix Wilson, who currently leads the SEC in tackles per game?
A - "I did. I though Ellix had just an unbelievable spring. He’s done and great job and Coach Chavis has done a great job with him. He's taken charge of this defensive football team, especially, but also become one of the leaders on our team. I could feel that coming. So much of what we do is around our middle linebacker being in position to make plays, just like Jerod Mayo did last year."
3. Safety Eric Berry broke another UT record Saturday, this one for career interception return yards. Are you continually amazed by his accomplishments?
A - "I am amazed that he has accomplished so much in such a short time. Not that he has accomplished what he has, but just in a short time. The guy has started every game since he’s been here, he’s a great practice player, and he’s a great student of the game and student from an academic standpoint. He's just been a wonderful example of what you enjoy about college football and that’s coaching young men like Eric Berry."
4. How would you critique the play of quarterback Nick Stephens in his first SEC road start?
A - "I thought OK. I thought he managed the game well, the noise didn't seem to bother him, and he kept us in the game and didn't make any huge mistakes along the way. I just think he's going to continue to get better and better with experience and playing time."
5. How does Mississippi State's win over Vanderbilt give the Bulldogs added momentum coming into this Saturday’s game at Neyland Stadium?
A - "Any time you play well and beat a ranked team, that’s a positive. Vanderbilt was on a real roll, and to hold any offensive football team to 107 total yards is quite an accomplishment. And they’ve got their big back (Anthony Dixon) running hard again and we dealt with that last year. We know he's a good player. They’ve got some momentum and we've got to take it away from them. We've got to get a big win at Neyland Stadium this week."
WILSON ATOP SEC TACKLES CHART
Senior linebacker Ellix Wilson leads the SEC and stands 13th nationally in tackles with 10.2 per game. The Memphis native has 51 stops in five games played.
After sitting out the Northern Illinois contest Oct. 4 because of a shoulder injury, Wilson returned Saturday at Georgia to log a career-high 16 tackles including 11 in the first half. His performance against the Bulldogs put him over the 100-tackle milestone for his career.
VOLS-BULLDOGS ON PAY-PER-VIEW
The Tennessee-Mississippi State game this Saturday in Knoxville is being televised on a pay-per-view basis across the state of Tennessee. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern time (6 p.m. Central).
Cable systems across the state of Tennessee are scheduled to carry the telecast from the VideoSeat pay-per-view service. Fans should contact their local cable system to order the game and receive price information.
The game also is being made available as a pay-per-view event to Tennessee Dish Network subscribers and DirecTV subscribers. Channel numbers and ordering information for home dish owners will be forthcoming later in the week. ESPN GamePlan is expected to offer the game to fans living outside the state of Tennessee via the ESPN GamePlan package. The game is being blacked out on ESPN GamePlan in the state of Tennessee and cannot be ordered as part of ESPN's package.
The announcing team for the game telecast will be Randy Smith on play-by-play and former Vol and NFL quarterback Pat Ryan providing color analysis.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)
| Dining Out | Business | Movies | Focus | About Us |
| Church | Living Well | Memories | Outdoors | Real Estate | Student Scene | Travel |