By Frank Gale / Chronicle columnist
Last Saturday night the Tennessee Volunteer football team was pleasantly surprised by a large turnout for the Vol Walk before their game with the Northern Illinois Huskies.
A larger than expected crowd turned out on this night to cheer for their Vols, but I suspect the real draw for many was new quarterback Nick Stephens.
Stephens did not disappoint the 99,000-plus, as he seemed poised and in control making his first college football start.
In fact, if he can take that type of performance on the road tomorrow in Athens, the Vols might just have solved part of their offensive woes.
Stephens did not have a huge statistical game going 10-17 for 156 yards but when you factor in the drops by the wide receivers (three) and the longest touchdown pass of the season (52 yards), it wasn’t a bad first game for the sophomore.
Of course, a 13-9 win against this level of competition points out that there is still work to be done with the offense.
Perhaps the coaching staff will get the running game jump started for the Georgia game. That will take a combination of getting the offensive line to live up to their preseason billing and finding a few other options at tailback. Arian Foster, quite frankly, has not had the dominating senior season that the coaches hoped for and it is probably time to use the speed of Lennon Creer and the tough inside running of Montario Hardesty to take some pressure off of Stephens in a hostile environment tomorrow afternoon.
The Vols are going to be a heavy underdog against a Georgia team tomorrow that seemingly has all the tools to compete for the SEC title. The good news is that the Vols have won the last two games very handily, and Fulmer coached teams have done well against Georgia.
Tomorrow's game should be a closer contest than the experts predict. With the defense playing well, and Britton Colquitt off his five game suspension resuming the punting, the Bulldogs should have to go the long field, barring offensive mistakes, to score.
Last week I wrote that the Vols were at a crossroad in their season.
The team played tough and showed they were not ready to fold the tents just yet. The rest of October with Georgia, Mississippi State and Alabama will test both the player’s determination and the coaching staff’s nerves.
Best case scenerio for the Vols would be for them to be at .500 or better by the end of the month and then take that momentum into November, when they would have a chance to salvage their season.
If by chance things go south, basketball is just around the corner, and with Coaches Pat Summitt and Bruce Pearl, Vol fans will have plenty to get excited about after football.
I would be amiss if I did not mention the fantastic start that our rival Vanderbilt has gotten off to this season. I am sure Jim Butler’s feet haven’t touched solid ground yet after they beat Auburn last weekend. It should make for an interesting Nov. 22 showdown in Nashville. In the meantime, I want all Vandy fans to wear their colors proudly while they can and enjoy this special season they are having.
If all goes well this weekend, the Vols might just come together and play like we all thought they would this season.
It is sad to know that had they eliminated the mistakes on offense and special teams, this team could be no worse than 4-1 right now. So, keep hope alive Vol fans and make sure the Bulldog fans hear "Rocky Top" loud and often this Saturday. Go Vols!
Frank Gale is a Chronicle correspondent, and his column appears regularly.
