Derek Dooley and Tennessee Volunteers' Shutout Gets No Love From Press
Aside from Lou Holtz making a "Tazmanian Devil" like comment about how the Vols have returned to running the ball, the 50-0 pounding on poor UTM goes largely unnoticed.
Florida got more attention for their inability to demolish Miami OH, Ole Miss was demoralized by Jacksonville State, the coverage of which was so humiliating that Houston Knutt would've welcomed death, and LSU almost got...well "got" by a UNC team with depleted resources, and the media continuously rebounded off the Tarheels' misfortune. Even Kiffin going against a competitive Hawaii was coveted by the media hounds.
Next Saturday, however, will be a different story, when the Tennessee cover is much more interesting. It's full of juicy speculation for everyone. Will Oregon be exposed against a Justin Wilcox-prepared defense, or will the Ducks add to their list of shut-out victims? Either way you cut it, the media will line up to finally praise or eschew Tennessee's efforts to rise above the ashes.
With the loss of Masoli, Oregon proved they can score points, and the defense proved they can stop an inferior offense. It's arguable that the Vols did much the same as the Ducks and merely proved they could show up at game time.
That's what cupcakes are for, to prove you can do it. Oregon proved too much though.
Tennessee came close to being a bully, but much to Dooley's credit, he showed class over crass when given the opportunity to humiliate an already shattered team. If he had been given the same opportunity against the likes of Florida or Alabama remains to be seen, but it's a huge departure from Kiffin's "...excuse me while I step on your pride" attitude.
Win or lose, the Vols will be back in the news next game day, and you can be sure of this. If Tennessee beats Oregon, the showdown between the Vols and the Gators will be a media circus of epic proportions, especially since the Vols are markedly better than Miami OH.
