The Georgia Game: An Inevitable Turning Point

Coach Philip Fulmer’s back is against the wall once again, and it is a wall with which he has become all too familiar. This wall is the Georgia Bulldogs. The trend over the last two years has been that Georgia is a make or break game for our football team, as well as for the job security of our coaching staff.

Throughout the 1990s, Tennessee crushed the dreams of the Georgia faithful

I still haven’t forgotten the years when Tennessee fielded one of the most disciplined and scariest teams in college football. Week in and week out we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt we could compete and defeat any team in college football. From 1995-2001 Tennessee was 18-9 versus the Big 5 (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, LSU and Auburn being the five).

Lining up against Tennessee in the 90s was just flat out scary. Now it is just not the same with the Vols. – Terry Bowden, former Auburn Head Coach.

That old swagger and air of confidence is gone…

Let’s take a quick look at the decline that has plagued this program for the last 6 years.

Since 2002:

Records vs Big 5

Alabama                       3-3
Georgia                        3-3
Florida                         2-5
LSU                              1-2
Auburn                        0-4

Big 5 Total  9-17 .346

The Rest of SEC 23-3 .885

Total 32-20 .615

Combined Scores vs Big 5

Alabama – 150, Tennessee – 119
Georgia – 147, Tennessee – 146
Florida – 194, Tennessee – 120
LSU – 76, Tennessee – 68
Auburn – 76, Tennessee – 64

Total – 643, Tennessee – 497

Average – 26, Tennessee – 19

Let’s sum these figures up… Tennessee is 9-17 versus the Big 5, losing on average 26-19. Wow, that is a full touchdown worse than the other elite SEC teams over the last 6 years. Tennessee has become a middle of the road SEC school which is slipping into insignificance and mediocrity.

The descent into mediocrity is well on its way, but it can be stopped. The ascent out of mediocrity needs to begin this weekend against Georgia, and we need a win against them now more than ever. Philip Fulmer is not completely to blame here; I blame part of this slip on Mike Hamilton and the UT Athletic Department. They have begun accepting mediocrity recently, and that is prevalent in Fulmer’s new contract deal. Every year the Vols win 8 games, Fulmer gets a year contract extension. 8 games??? In the new 12 game NCAA schedule, this standard is for a team that either wins the Liberty Bowl to go 8-5, or loses the Music City Bowl to go 8-5. Is this acceptable for the historical juggernaut that is/was Tennessee Football? Mike Hamilton is squarely to blame for the insanely subpar standard that he is setting for our football program. With this standard, it sends the message that Hamilton and the athletic department are fine with the recent 9-17 record versus the Big 5.

So this brings up a question: what happens if Tennessee wins less than 8 games? Is Fulmer’s job in jeopardy? Most would say yes… This is why this weekend’s game against Georgia is so important not only to the Tennessee Football program, but also to Philip Fulmer.

If Tennessee loses, that will give us a 2-4 record, trash our confidence, and outrage fans even more. I believe it would set us up to get beat by Mississippi State, which is the ultimate Judas Kiss. That’s not even to mention that we have to play Alabama and Vandy. What, then, are the chances of Tennessee running the table against some very good football teams to finish 8-4 in the regular season? Very unlikely, I would say. Remember the bar is set at 8 wins, and that’s all we need, right!? A loss this weekend could lead to utter and total disaster. I see more along the lines of 5-7 or 6-6 at best if that happens. Either record is unacceptable.

Pray that Tennessee is never on this poster.

Let’s say, though, that Tennessee wins, which would move the team to a 3-3 record, with a VERY outside chance at winning the East, and give hope to VolNation again. The team would be excited and energized, rallying around their new quarterback, Nick Stephens. Confidence would be reinstilled into the minds of the players and coaches; the playbook would open up, and would hopefully get the right players take the field. Tennessee would have new life this season, and it would move in a great direction to compete and win the rest of their games. Nobody would disagree that 9-3 would look awful good right now, the way this season has gone so far. We have the talent to do this, but do we have the discipline and desire?

These are just two very general scenarios written by me, who has a lot of passion and pride in Tennessee football. I’d find it a long stretch to find someone that can match my passion and love for Tennessee football. I also have to be a realist and not always an optimist like I want to be. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe that the second scenario will happen. Don’t get me wrong, I desperately want to win this game more than any game to this point. However, nothing that has happened thus far this season leads me to believe that it is possible. As I started to get a glimmer of hope writing the last paragraph, I just moved back up the page and looked at our recent record against the Big 5. It depressed me even more… 9 victories, 17 defeats.

This weekend is a must win for Philip Fulmer. I believe if the Vols do not win this weekend between the hedges, there is no opportunity in the near future to reestablish ourselves as a premier SEC program under our current regime. We have to prove we belong in the same breath as Florida, LSU, and Georgia and we can not continue to live off the teams and legends of our past. Fulmer must win this weekend, or we will find our program at the end of a slide into mediocrity.