Tennessee Vols: A Long Way To Go

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

As good as Tennessee's offense was against the worst team in the nation, Western Kentucky, last week; it was almost as bad in the loss to UCLA.

Those of us who thought Jonathan Crompton's terrible 2008 was an aberration were proven completely wrong after the underwhelming signal caller threw four interceptions.

UCLA's defense was pretty good. Crompton's receivers were covered up all day long and he was forced to throw into coverage multiple times.

The running game was held in check for during the crucial second and third quarters as well.

Sound familiar? I thought so too.

This team looked largly the same as it did in '08 in the loss. Miscommunication between wide receivers and Crompton plagued the final drive. At one point Crompton threw three straight interceptions.

The Vols inability to run the ball in the middle of the game coupled with Crompton's ineffectiveness sealed their fate against the Bruins.

The most disturbing aspect of the loss is the fact that things have apparently not been fixed. Not at all.

First year coach Lane Kiffin staked his first season on Jonathan Crompton when he allowed B.J. Coleman to transfer to UT-Chattanooga. He further solidified that fact when he named Crompton the starter instead of Nick Stephens.

Once again the defense was stout, only allowing 186 total yards. And only allowing one touchdown after Crompton gave UCLA a short field.

This could be the game story of just about any Tennessee loss from last season.

Maybe the pundits are right. Maybe Tennessee doesn't have the talent to compete right now. Maybe the Vols are a year or two away from being a true competitor against decent teams. Maybe things aren't that bad. My guess is they are that bad, maybe even worse.

This is one that I had down as a win. I predicted the Vols to go 8-4 with losses to Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss. Of course no one knows how the season will play out, but for those of us who try to figure such things out ahead of time, it just became really hard to see eight wins for the Big Orange.

The Vols offense still has a long way to go before getting to where it needs to be. Funny, I could have swore I said the same thing last year at this time.