Big Orange Nation Should Support the Vols

by Mo Johnson
(Virginia)

I've been surprised since the LSU loss last night (in the SEC Championship game) to get several submissions extremely critical of Coach Fulmer and Erik Ainge.

The gist of the complaints are that Fulmer and Ainge can't win the big one. They can't get the job done when the chips are down.

Gotta say, I disagree with that.

True, we didn't win the SEC Championship. But, the Vols did win the SEC East. They finished ahead of Florida and Georgia -- two teams with better talent than UT.

Tennessee DID get it done in the crunch this year. With their backs to the wall, they crushed Georgia. Then, down the stretch they pulled out 4 straight big SEC wins -- including 3 games that could have gone either way (South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky).

You'll remember Ainge's record 7 touchdown passes in the Kentucky win.

UT handily beat a strong Arkansas team that went on to beat LSU.

Those were a bunch of clutch wins in a row.

And, the Volunteers played well in the SEC Championship game. Take a couple bad throws by Ainge away, and Tennessee probably wins the game.

Now, Tennessee is off to a nice bowl game. Let's hope they finish the year strong and win their bowl game. But, any way you look at it, I don't see how anyone can be critical of Fulmer or Ainge this year.

Bottom line is Tennessee has had a great year. Tennessee fans should enjoy it. There is no room for disappointment or complaint in Rocky Top.

Tennessee now has a a big bowl game versus the Big Ten's Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. Let's hope they do better than last year.

It's been an exciting, successful, year for Big Orange Football. Let's enjoy it.

Go Vols!!