I picked this up off of the SEC web site: 3:30 p.m. ET * Knoxville, Tenn. * Shields-Watkins Field at Neyland Stadium (102,038) LIVE TELEVISION: CBS Sports [Verne Lundquist, play-by-play; Gary Danielson, color analyst; Tracy Wolfson, sideline reporter] SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO: Alabama [Channel 128]; Tennessee [Channel 143] ALABAMA (5-2, 2-2 SEC) Head Coach: Mike Shula (Alabama, '87) Overall/Yrs: 25-19 (.568) / 4th Season UA/Yrs: 25-19 (.568) / 4th Season National Rankings: RV - AP / RV - USA Today Coaches / NA - Harris / NA - BCS Formations: Offense - Multiple * Defense - 4-3 Internet Web Address: www.rolltide.com Key Players RB Kenneth Darby (5-11, 205, Sr., Huntsville, Ala.) Had his best game of the 2006 season with 25 rushing attempts for 162 yards (6.5 average) in the win over Ole Miss ... Darby had 19 rushing attempts for 141 yards in the second half ... He had runs of 37 and 21 yards in the second half, his two longest rushing attempts of the season ... In seven games this season, Darby has 134 rushing attempts for 586 yards ... In 41 career games, Darby has 626 career rushing attempts for 3,075 yards and 11 touchdowns ... He is just the third UA player in history to top the 3,000-yard rushing mark. QB John Parker Wilson (6-2, 209, So., Hoover, Ala.) Wilson is 5-2 (.714) as Alabama's starting quarterback following a 26-23 overtime win over Ole Miss ... Wilson completed 16 of 28 passes for 206 yards and two TDs in the win ... He has seven consecutive 200-yard passing games this season ... This year, Wilson has completed 120 of 197 passes for 1,579 yards, with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions WR DJ Hall (6-3, 186, Jr., Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.) For the season, Hall is Alabama's second-leading receiver with 29 catches for 603 yards (leads team) and five touchdowns (leads team) ... Hall has 94 career receptions for 1,465 yards and 11 TDs ... He is seventh all-time in yards and eighth all-time in receptions ...Hall also recorded his fourth consecutive 100-yard game of the 2006 season to eclipse the previous record of three straight 100-yard games. CB Ramzee Robinson (5-10, 190, Sr., Huntsville, Ala.) Recorded his first interception of the season when he recorded a two-yard interception return versus Duke.. Has 113 career tackles with three interceptions and 17 pass deflections ... Had 32 tackles last season with two interceptions...Pre-season first-team All-SEC by league's coaches and SEC media ... Only returning starter in Tide secondary. TENNESSEE (5-1, 0-1 SEC) Head Coach: Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee, '72) Overall/Yrs: 133-38 (.778) / 15th Season UT/Yrs: 133-38 (.778) / 15th Season National Rankings: 7th- AP / 9th - USA Today Coaches / 8th - Harris / 11th - BCS Formations: Offense - Multiple * Defense - 4-3 Internet Web Address: www.utsports.com Key Players QB Erik Ainge (6-6, 220, Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) Ainge ranks first in the SEC and seventh in NCAA Division I-A with a 171.57 passer efficiency rating this year ... Ainge ranks seventh on UT's all-time passing yards chart with 3,846 yards through the air ... Ainge's five best career games (yardage-wise) have all come this season. WR Robert Meachem (6-3, 210, Jr., Tulsa, Okla.) Meachem ranks second in the nation in receiving yards per game (112.5) through six contests, as the junior has emerged as one of the leading candidates for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's best receiver.... Meachem has piled up 675 yards on 34 catches for six touchdowns to help pace the SEC's most prolific offense. PK James Wilhoit (5-10, 195, Sr., Hendersonville, Tenn.) Wilhoit is the SEC's active career scoring leader with 276 points... He also ranks tied for fifth with Gene McEver (1928-31) on UT's all-time career scoring list...For his career, Wilhoit is 48-of-68 on FG attempts and 132-of-135 on extra-point tries...The Hendersonville native has converted on 15 of his last 16 field goal attempts dating to 2005. OT Arron Sears (6-4, 320, Sr., Russellville, Ala.) Has made 29 consecutive starts (29 overall) ... Pre-season first-team All-SEC by league's coaches and SEC media ... Pre-season All-America in several magazines...The other offensive line starters have 27 starts between them...Tennessee has only allowed five sacks this season. SERIES/GAME NOTES Record: UA leads, 44-37-7 * Last: UA, 6-3 (2005 at Tuscaloosa) Tennessee and Alabama will write another page in the storied history between the two schools, as the longtime rivals meet for the 89th time Saturday at Neyland Stadium...Dating back to the first meeting in 1901, the Crimson Tide lead the all-time series 44-37-7, but the Vols have won nine of the last 11 meetings. Alabama won a low-scoring affair in Tuscaloosa last year 6-3, giving fourth-year Alabama head coach Mike Shula his first win against UT in three tries...Generally, though, UT head coach Phillip Fulmer has made things tough on Alabama, running up a 10-3 record against the Crimson Tide since taking over for the Vols in 1993. The Vols edged the Crimson Tide 17-13 in the last meeting in Knoxville in 2004...Tide running backs coach Sparky Woods is the father of current Vols junior Casey Woods. Casey handles UT's holding duties on special teams and also plays wide receiver... Sparky Woods began his coaching career at Tennessee as a part-time coach in 1976.
You usually post those cartoons, do you have one with Phat Phil at a donut shop in Alabama...you know jelly on the corner of his mouth, saying " Y'all be good now" as he walks out the door! Terry
BTW does anybody but me see a resemblence in appearance and speech between Fulmer and former Sen Fred Thompson of Tenn? Terry
Does Tennessee have a mental let down after the 4th quarter of the Georgia game? I don’t think so. Does Alabama have anyone ready to fill in for Wilson? I don’t think so. That has to be weighing heavy on Shula’s mind. Tennessee has a good defense. I look for Tennessee to pressure Wilson and put his back on the ground often. He was limping in the game with Ole Miss. The Cheetah has seen the weak link in the herd and will pick it out and kill it. Bama must protect the QB or it will be time to turn out the lights early! Early prediction with a line of 11 points: Tennessee 41 Alabama 14
Rather than making the typical, dumb, stereotypic Northern joke in response to Tom's remark about everybody from Tennessee sounding alike, I instead say "Celebrate Diversity"!!!!
Wilson is fine, Darby is running well, but we don't have the defense we had last year. Ainge to Meachan is hot as a poker. Who knows, Tom you may be right but I don't think so. We have played like crap against crummy teams but we gave Arkansas all they could handle for 2 OT's. We couldn't get into the endzone and we missed 3 FG's. Then we played Florida to a standstill for 3 and half quarters. If the offense can get into the endzone on half of its redzone visits we will at least make it competitive.
I will be shocked if Bama takes this game...especially with the way that the Vols have been playing as of late. If Duke could hang with Bama for a half..imagine what the Vols will do to them :shock: Vols Cruise. Go Gators!!
SS82, You could be right. Alabama has been kind of playing to the level of our competition this year. We barely win when we win, but we also barely lose when we lose.
Seems Like James Wilhoite has been kicking for the Vols for about ten years. Is he pursuing his doctorate or something? :wink:
James Wilhoit is a senior this year. For our opponents, it feels like he has been here for an eternity due to his 50+ yard accuracy. :lol: It feels like an eternity to Vol fans when he misses those chip shot extra point tries.
for the record <t>this is one of my favorite southern football rivalries. this is like islamic jihad vs the IRA. Both sides are f'ing nuts. Neither side will ever admit defeat. They just keep coming back at their opponents, and the whole damned thing is so violent that it should be outlawed, but its just too fun to watch.<br/> <br/> There are a few 'bench marks' that mark the various parts of the football year for me. Bama/Tennessee is mine. We're now officially in the heart of the football season. From here on out, its seperation time.<br/> <br/> The matchups in this one are bad for Bama. At the same time, I am curious to see Jimmy Barnes if he gets called on. I watched that kid play in HS and he has a cannon for an arm. I am not sure how Shula is using him, but IMHO he would be a better deep threat than JPW</t>
Not to belittle Florida in any way, but this is my favorite game of the year as well. … not the most important one, but the favorite none the less. Florida is the most important since we are both in the Eastern division. Alabama/Tennessee is what I grew up listening to. Every year it was “Beat Bama” this time of year. Our first game with Florida during my term here on Earth was in 1969. We had been playing Bama every year (except during war time) since 30 years before my birth. Bama was THE Tennessee rivalry back then and it is the best rivalry for me to this date. Come on in Bama. Come on in to the friendly confines of Neyland Stadium. Let’s show the rest of the world that we don’t have to stomp on emblems… we don’t have to have a huge brawl… we are going to have fun in a big SEC rivalry that has roots deeper than the mightiest Oak tree. Tennessee… Bama… Let’s get it on!
... also, Bama leads this series by 7 games... 44-37-7. I want to see that reversed by 2025. We can suffer only 6 losses to Bama in the next 20 seasons and we will lead the series 51-50-7. That would be a winning percentage of 70% over that 20 year period. Over Phat Phil's tenure, he has won 76.92% against the Tide.
There is a Fan Vote going on for the best offensive play in recent Tennessee history at UTSPORTS.COM. This week pits a 2003 reverse in the Miami game against Peyton Manning's roll out against Georgia in 1996. Of course I voted for Peyton. The reason I mention it here, there are three plays against Bama of which only one is still in the running. I would bet that the one remaining play against Bama is the one that will win. Play #13: Manning Bootlegs as Vols crush the Tide. It will be that one or the one I voted for this week.