By being quiet and allowing Fulmer to stay at UT in perpetuity, that would give Bama a chance to beat UT each season. Yes, he still owns Bama, but that is about the only arrow left in Fulmer's hat. Bowl victories, national prominence, SEC titles, and striking fear in the hearts of opponents has gone by the wayside.
For the last 3 or 4 years, many Bama fans have been myopic in their displeasure for Fulmer. So much so I wonder how many of them have noticed the distinct slide in the UT program.
UT is a very beatable program. Last season, the Vols finished a seemingly strong 10-3. However, the reality is that UT played 5 SEC teams with losing records, and struggled in 3 of those games (Bama and USC went to overtime, and UK trailed 13-7 late in the 4th quarter), and this includes a game with Duke where UT led 9-6 in the 4th quarter when Duke had the ball 1st and goal and failed to score as a result of two penalties called on the offensive tackle for lining up in the backfield.
The Vols were 1-2 against SEC teams with winning records, being flogged by UGA and having trailed Auburn 28-7 before some 11th hour scoring.
I do credit the Vols for a stunning upset of Miami in the Orange Bowl and a win over Marshall, which later beat Kansas State in Manhattan. The staff is to be congratualated for those wins. Still, the Vols were embarrassed for the 2nd straight year in the Peach Bowl, and the losing streak to UGA is now at 4.
More disturbing to me is that when the Vols fall behind they stay behind. Over the last 2 seasons, the Vols have lost 8 games (1 less than Bama this season, sorry, I couldn't resist). In 7 of those 8 losses, UT never led (UF, UGA, Bama, Maryland, Auburn, UGA and Clemson). In the other loss (Miami 2002), the Vols led 3-0 before losing 26-3. This tells me that in big games with comparable opponents, the lack of ingenuity and an offensive game plan is often fatal. UT does the same thing each week, at least on offense, irrespective of the opponent.
In big games, the Vols, when opposing a good coaching staff with commensurate talent, often find themselves trailing early and often. I can take the losses, but I can't take watching losses where UT trailed the whole game by double digits.
The program has returned precisely to where it was under Majors. The program remains equipped with great talent, but the Vols struggle against chief SEC rivals. The Vols pretty much beat the teams they should beat, and win about 1 of every 3 or 4 meaningful or so-called "separation" games. That translates to winning about 9 games each season and losing about 3 or 4. However, like Samson between the temple pillars when his hair had grown back, the Vols' talent remains capable of regaining its strength on a given Saturday (see Miami in the Orange Bowl in 2003, Notre Dame in South Bend in 1991).
In 2004, I look for the Vols to struggle with UGA, drop 2 or 3 other games, but get 1 big win when the Vols were predicted to lose by most of the media types.
