Rocky Top Nation

      I would like to start out my first ever RTN report by saying a late merry Christmas to all!  I hope everyone got to spend valuable time with their familes and just had a good time.  I will be giving a report of everything Miami Heat and Tennessee Vols every week from now on. Hope you enjoy.

     Let me start with Miami Heat basketball.  Yesterday, they played the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Christmas day.  The Knicks had won 6 of their last 7 games but the Heat came to spoil the party.  Dwayne Wade and co. beat the Knicks 93-87.  My boy Dwayne Wade scored 30 points while also gaining 9 rebounds and 4 steals. Michael Beasley had another solid offensive night with 19 points.  Jermaine O' Neal added 11 points. The Heat must continue to have solid productivity of the bench if they want to keep this up. At 15-12, the Heat would currently be a 5th seed in the East.  Also, expect Beasley to be depended on more as the Heat advance in the season.  Beasley will be a huge factor for the Heat this season.

   The Tennessee Volunteers Basketball squad picked it up against North Carolina A&T after what head coach Bruce Pearl called "the worst loss of the season" against USC.  On of the bright sports for Tennessee in the 99-78 victory was Skylar Mcbee.  Mcbee hit a much needed three straight 3's in a row and finished with a total of 12 points off the bench.  Tennessee three point struggles have been highlighted throughout the season and players such as Mcbee need to be making three's on a consistent basis.  Freshman forward Kenny Hall also got to play when Wayne Chisim was tooken out and responded by adding a total of 16 points in 13 minutes. The Vols must improve though as a critical stretch of the nonconference season approaches. Tennessee plays cross-state rival Memphis on Dec. 31, a Charlotte team on Jan. 6 that is receiving votes in the Associated Press top 25 poll, and finally a home date with top-ranked Kansas on Jan. 10.

   The Tennessee Volunteers Football team arrived in Atlanta on Friday.  After working out for the first time in Atlanta at Decatur High School, the Vols had a welcome party at Dave & Buster's.  Later in the week they'll visit the Georgia Aquarium and a hospital. They also have banquets, a trip planned to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and a handful of media events.  Though the Vols main  priorities are dealing with the  No. 11 Virginia Tech looming on New Year's Eve (TV: ESPN, 7:30 p.m.).  As far as the starting kicker for this game, Lane Kiffin said this: It’s still open,” Kiffin said. “We kicked all three of them again today and we’ll go back and watch this film, and we’ll figure it out pretty soon. It wasn’t very good again today."  Freshman running back Bryce Brown is still dealing with the effects of his concussion on Monday and was held out of practice, but both Dan Williams and Wes Brown returned from their head injuries.  Right tackle Aaron Douglas was also back on the field, though he was limited by his sore left ankle. The freshman is expected to be back at full speed Sunday.

    There are plenty of rumors going around in the recruiting front.  One of the newest rumors is coming from scout.com.  It basically states that Tennessee has a shot a landing Lache Seasnstruk, Corey Nelson, and Ahmad Dixon.  If this is true, it would be a huge achivement for Texas native and defensive backs coach Willie Mack Garza. UT wide reciver commit Markeith Ambles, also told fans that he "isn't going anywhere."  UT soft verbal commit Brandon Willis is expected to be choosing between UNC and UT during the Army All-American game.  I don't expect Brandon Willis to go to UNC because of his close relationship with Corey Miller but we shall see. UT commit Delvin Jones is visiting Arkansas and Ole Miss during the coming weeks to.  Georgia commit Nickell Robey is waiting to see who Georgia hires as their defesnive coordinator before he decide which school he will attend. It's also believed that the staff has their eyes set on a 3 sport and 3 star athlete out of Decatur, Georgia. His name is Marcques Johnson and on November 16 he states that: "Tennesse coach Orgeron has been recruiting me hard." On December 16th he said this: "I like Tennessee the best," he said. "I went down there and I love their facilities. Their facilities are about two years old so I like Tennessee. I know Alabama and Tennessee want me at cornerback and I talked to old man Kiffin and he said he'd use me at cornerback and maybe use me like Eric Berry and move me around to different spots." The next day he said: "I've been talking to Tennessee and plan on taking a visit there in January." It looks as if the recruiting front is heating up for Tennessee and i'll be sure to keep you up with the latest.

-Gorockytop

Sweetwater, Tenn.-native Kippy Brown has returned to the Volunteer coaching staff as wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator.

"This is a great day for Tennessee football. When hiring assistant coaches you sometimes feel like you hit a homerun. By bringing Kippy back to the Tennessee family, I feel like we hit a grand slam," said Head Football Coach Lane Kiffin. 

"Having known Kippy since 1990, I never imagined being able to add him to our staff, but we always start our searches at the top. Six of our nine coaches have now come here from NFL teams. Not only is he one of the best wide receiver coaches in the college or NFL ranks, he has a great connection to the Tennessee family and was an unbelievable recruiter in his two previous coaching stints here under Coach Majors and Coach Fulmer.

"Kippy will be coaching with us tomorrow as we begin preparations for the Chick-fil-A Bowl. I'd like to thank Dr. Jan Simek and Mike Hamilton for their support in this hiring."

Brown, who most recently served as assistant head coach and passing game coordinator for the Detroit Lions, brings an extensive amount of experience to the Vols - including 13 years in the college ranks and 13 years in the NFL.

Brown began his coaching career at Memphis State University (now University of Memphis), where he served as running backs coach and wide receivers coach. He has also served as wide receivers coach at the University of Louisville. He joined the Vols under head coach Johnny Majors in 1982 as wide receivers coach. During his first stint with the Vols, Brown helped Tennessee acquire the nickname "Wide Receiver U," coaching numerous pass catchers to greatness, including Anthony Miller, Tim McGee, Alvin Harper and Carl Pickens. He left the Vols in 1990 to serve as running backs coach for the New York Jets from 1990-1992, before returning to Rocky Top in 1993 as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach for Phillip Fulmer. During his second stint with the Vols ('93-'94), UT compiled an 18-6 record and outscored their opponents 847-383 over the course of those two years. Peyton Manning also benefited from Brown's guidance during his freshman campaign as the Vols' signal caller.

"Kippy will be a great asset to the team. He has a lot of ties in Tennessee, and he's a great coach," said former Vol and NFL star Alvin Harper. "He was like a father to me. He showed me a lot and helped me grow as a man. I learned more at UT than I learned in the pros, and a lot of that is because of Kippy and the invaluable experience he brings."

In 1995, Brown returned to the NFL as running backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. From 1996-1997, he served as running backs coach for the Miami Dolphins before being named the offensive coordinator from 1998-99. He spent the 2000 season with the Green Bay Packers before becoming head coach of the XFL's Memphis Maniax in 2001. After the demise of the XFL, he spent four seasons as the Houston Texans wide receivers coach before joining the Detroit Lions in 2006.

Tennessee has collected a Class of 2010 commitment from highly-sought four-star, defensive lineman Calvin Smith of Hialeah Senior (Hialeah, Fla.).

The 6-foot-3, 265-pound Smith was also offered by Notre Dame, Arkansas, South Carolina, Central Florida, Purdue, Mississippi, Pittsburgh, Florida, Florida State, New Mexico and Illinois.

ESPN's Craig Haubert added, "While the loss of two fine recruiters from the staff likely has Tennessee fans a little worried, Vol nation can at least take solace in the fact that they just added another key defensive line recruit. With the No. 6-rated class Tennessee has done a good job on the recruiting trail, but an area that they have really done well with is the defensive line and they just got a little better."

"Now in the fold is Calvin Smith an undersized, but active defensive tackle. He needs to add bulk to his frame, but he can be quick off the ball and active with his hands in taking on and shedding from blockers. He moves around well and if he can keep his mobility while adding size he could be a real handful."

"Tennessee now has nine defensive linemen on board from the high school and JUCO levels with three ranked among the top 20 at their position including Smith."

He is the 23rd pledge for the Vols.

On Eddie Gran 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The first of what will likely be several new hires on Florida State's coaching staff took place Sunday.

Warchant.com confirmed through sources inside the University of Tennessee that running backs and special teams coach Eddie Gran has been hired to become an assistant coach on Florida State's staff.

Prior to his one season at Tennessee, Gran spent 15 seasons as an assistant under Tommy Tuberville, first at Mississippi and then at Auburn. Gran coached running backs at both stops and added special teams duties to his Auburn assignment.

During his tenure at Auburn and Ole Miss, Gran tutored seven NFL running backs, including Carnell Williams, Ronnie Brown, Rudi Johnson and Deuce McAllister. Gran's current class of running backs at Tennessee is having a very productive season. Montario Hardesty is just 158 yards away from becoming the Vols' all-time single-season rushing leader, and the running backs have not had a fumble on a running play this season.

Gran also produced an SEC special teams player of the year in Auburn kicker John Vaughn, who won the award in 2006. That same season, Gran's special teams units led the SEC in kickoff coverage, field goal percentage, PAT percentage and punting.

With Gran unavailable for comment, it is uncertain what position or positions the 44-year-old coach will oversee at FSU. Neither current running backs coach Dexter Carter nor defensive ends/special teams coordinator Jody Allen are expected to be a part of Jimbo Fisher's future coaching staff. Since Gran has extensive experience coaching both running backs and special teams, he could coach either or both at Florida State.

In addition to his accomplishments as a position coach, Gran has a reputation as an outstanding recruiter. He has recruited the south Florida area for both Tennessee and Auburn. Gran was the primary recruiter for two of Tennessee's current four-star commitments - Delvin Jones and Ted Meline. He was also recruiting recent FSU commitment Jeff Luc and other targets such as Matt Elam, Merrill Noel and Keion Payne.

Based on the terms of his current two-year contact with Tennessee, Gran will reportedly owe somewhere between $50,000-100,000 over the next 24 months

On Frank Wilson

TigerBait.com has confirmed that Frank Wilson has accepted LSU head football coach Les Miles’ offer to replace Larry Porter as the Tigers running back’s coach.

Wilson a New Orleans native just completed one season at Tennessee with Lane Kiffin.

Porter, who was hired as the head coach at Memphis, will handle LSU’s running backs in the Capital One Bowl. The Volunteers are projected to be participating in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

     Tennessee senior running back Montario Hardesty had a career night as the vols won 30-24 in OT. Hardesty scored three touchdowns including a game winning touchdown run. The victory against Ketucky makes the streak 25 straight victorys for the Vols over Kentucky. At halftime the score was 21-14. To start the half Tennessee marched down the field, but was stopped on 4th and goal from the 1 yard line. When Tennessee got the ball back they responeded with a strike from Johnathon Crompton to Luke Stoker for the touchdown. Devin Mathis also added a 30 yard field goal. Tennessee went into the fourth quarter leading 24-21. In the fourth quarter the game seemed to be over when suddenly Stoker fumbled the ball. The crowd was into the game when Kentucky offense got on the field. Kentucky started off with a 13 yard scamper from Alco native Randall Cobb. However, Tennessee defensive back Dennis Rogan made a huge play by shedding a blocker and tackling Morgan Newton to hold Kentucky to 4th and 3. Knoxville native Lones Seiber kicked the 21 yard field goal to tie the game. Going into overtime the score was all tied up at 24 a piece. In overtime, UT won the coin toss and chose to play defense. Knoxville native Lones Seiber missed the field goal. Tennessee would captalize off the missed field goal as Hardesty score the game winning touchdown.

     Montario Hardesty carried the ball 39 times for a total of 179 yards. Johnathon Crompton was 13 of 23 for 220 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.  Gerald Jones had 5 catcheds for 113 yards while Luke Stocker had 5 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. UT had 22 firstdowns while kentucky had only 13. UT had a total of 466 yards. Tennessee did a good job of avoding penalties as they only had 2 for 24 yards. Kentucky had 6 penalties for 64 yards Tennessee was 7-15 on third down conversions. Both teams accounted for 2 turnovers.

      With a win over Kentucky, Tennesssee clinched a 2nd place finish in the SEC East, a likely Outback Bowl apperance, and continued the streak of dominace over kentucky for a 25th straight year.  Kuddos to Lane Kiffin for the way he has led this team. There could have been no better way to end this season. Tennessee is back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Gorockytop, Rocky Top Nation site owner

By Chris Perkins, for NBA.com

Posted Friday November 27, 2009 11:16PM

MIAMI (NBA.com exclusive) -- It's rare when Washington guard Nick Young is a bigger story than Miami superstar guard Dwyane Wade. But that was the case in the Wizards' 94-84 victory over the Heat Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Young, the third-year player from the University of Southern California, scored a season-best 22 points one game after scoring a previous season-best 20 points against Philadelphia. And this is from a guy who was inactive two games ago and hadn't played in three of the Wizards' previous five games.

"It was just going out there and playing hard, really," Young said.

Even more impressive was Young, along with help from reserve guard Randy Foye, held Wade to 18 points (nine fewer than his season average) on 6-for-19 shooting. The defensive combination of Young and Foye was so good Wade, who entered the game averaging 11.1 free throws per game, only attempted seven.

Washington's defense was so effective that it held the Heat to 41.5 percent shooting and a season-low 14 free-throw attempts.

"We had very good defensive concentration," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said.

Washington's defense really affected Wade. Although he ranks among the league leaders in free throws per game, his numbers have been down recently. Wade has attempted fewer than 10 free throws in four of his last seven games. Friday marked the second time this season he hasn't attempted a free throw in the first half. In Miami's 105-90 loss at Atlanta 10 days ago Wade didn't attempt a free throw in the first half. In fact, he finished that game1-for-2 from the line.

Wade thinks the problems stems from the offense.

"We've got to find a better way to get me the ball in better positions," Wade said.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra agrees.

"We have to break him free and get him some better opportunities where he can get to the rim, get to the free-throw line and get a little bit more space," Spoelstra said.

Washington (5-9), on the other hand, had no such complaints. Forward Antawn Jamison finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds and now has double-doubles in four of his last five games. But Jamison is traditionally trouble for Miami. He had three double-doubles against the Heat last season, averaging 21 points and 10.3 rebounds in four games.

"He's always going to be there when you need him," Saunders said.

Among Wizards bench players, 5-foot-5 guard Earl Boykins (10 points, nine assists in 21 minutes) and forward Andray Blatche (eight points, nine rebounds) kept the pressure on Miami in a game the Wizards practically led wire-to-wire. Boykins played so well that Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas (nine points) didn't play at all in the fourth quarter.

Washington punished Miami badly in numerous statistical areas, including second-chance points (Washington had 26, Miami had eight) and points off turnovers (Washington had 20 points of Miami's 14 turnovers).

Miami (9-6), which has now lost five of its last eight games, had its only lead at 2-0. The Wizards took a 67-64 lead into the fourth quarter. The Heat had a chance to take the lead going into the final period but it misfired on its last four shots.

That started a streak of poor possessions by Miami and good defense by Washington that led to the Wizards taking what was then their biggest lead of the game at 82-70. The Heat were content to fire up 3-pointers -- they shot a season-high 26, making just six -- and ill-advised jumpers, and the Wizards, when not harassing Miami into poor choices, was simply grabbing rebounds and going the other way. Washington crushed the Heat on the boards, 48-36.

But everything started with the Young-Wade matchup.

"I knew I had a big assignment," Young said. "My goal was to try to keep him under 40 [points]."

Mission accomplished.

Notes: Washington forward Antawn Jamison hit the 16,000-point mark for his career. He joins Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan as the only active players to reach that level...Washington center JaVale McGee has 11 blocks in his last three games. He had a career-best six blocks in 14 minutes against Philadelphia on Tuesday...Arenas is now 1-19 against Heat guard Dwyane Wade. ...Heat center Jermaine O'Neal made it to back into town just in time for Friday's tip-off. O'Neal was with an ill uncle.

     The charges of attempted armed robbery have been dropped and Janzen Jackson will start against Kentucky.  Head coach Lane Kiffin had this to say about the manner, "As I've said before, we wanted to take our time and get all the information in regard to his situation," UT coach Lane Kiffin said in a prepared statement. "These were very serious allegations and we had to make sure we handled this properly."  Lane Kiffin went on to say, "After an extensive and thorough investigation by the Knoxville Police Department and the District Attorney's office, they've cleared Janzen of any wrongdoing in this situation and he had no prior knowledge of this incident. Janzen will join team activities today. As I've said before, we hold our student-athletes to an extremely high standard on and off the field, and Janzen has seen the effect personal decisions had on his former teammates and he is excited to rejoin our team activities."  Jackson had missed two straight games and the defense in his absence.  "He's very rested," joked Kiffin, at his weekly press conference. "He'll be ready to play. He's a great player for us, and we expect him to have a really good week of practice and he'll contribute for us on special teams like he has."  Former teamates Nu'keese Richardson and Mike Edwards are still charged and have been dismissed from the team.  Jackson, 6-foot, 174 pounds from Lake Charles, La., had 33 tackles before missing the Ole Miss and Vanderbilt game during the suspension.

-Gorockytop, Rocky Top Nation Owner

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin has had to reach so far down his depth chart because of injuries that even he wasn't sure who was on the field.

The Volunteers beat in-state rival Vanderbilt 31-16 on Saturday night playing with a third-string middle linebacker, a walk-on outside linebacker and walk-on placekicker Devin Mathis.

"That's the kicker, right?" Kiffin quipped when asked about Mathis.

After missing the postseason last year, the battered Volunteers (6-5, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) became bowl eligible with the victory. Tennessee hasn't missed out on a bowl game in consecutive seasons since 1977-78.

The Commodores (2-10, 0-8) finished without a conference win for the first time since 2002.

Tennessee entered halftime with the momentum, but Vanderbilt had plenty of chances to take advantage of a Vols defense fielding inexperience players and guys like senior linebacker Rico McCoy, determined to play despite having an injured knee.

"We just couldn't take advantage of some opportunities," Vandy coach Bobby Johnson said. "It's a tough way to end the season."

The Commodores had a chance to tie the game before halftime but stalled on fourth-and-2 at the Tennessee 38 with 51 seconds left. Instead, Tennessee drove for a quick touchdown to go up 24-10.

Vandy's Steven Stone was called for a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty, and Jonathan Crompton was perfect on four pass attempts. His 16-yard TD pass to Luke Stocker capped the 30-second drive.

"That was a big momentum shift," Vanderbilt linebacker Chris Marve said. "That just put us down even further, so we had to come out for the second half with an ever larger deficit."

Crompton finished 20-for-34 for 221 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Montario Hardesty ran for a career-high 171 yards and a touchdown.

The Vols struggled to move the ball in the second half, and Vanderbilt had a shot to pull within four points with about 6 minutes left.

On third-and-goal at the 3, MacKenzi Adams attempted a pass for John Cole in the end zone. The ball bounced off Cole and into the hands of Tennessee's Dennis Rogan, but a pass interference call on Rogan kept the Commodores' drive alive.

With a fresh set of downs, Vanderbilt couldn't move the ball, and Adams took a sack for a loss of 9 yards. Ryan Fowler kicked a 32-yard field goal to make the score 24-16 with 2:54 left, and the Commodores couldn't pull any closer.

Adams was 19-of-35 for 174 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Vandy's Warren Norman had 73 yards rushing and 61 yards on kickoff returns. Norman's 1,923 all-purpose yards broke Herschel Walker's SEC freshman record of 1,805. He also became the Commodores' single-season leader for all-purpose yards.

"It doesn't mean too much to me because I'm not about breaking records," Norman said. "It's an honor though, just being mentioned with Herschel Walker. That's pretty cool."

Crompton's third-quarter interception ended a streak of 142 straight pass attempts without one, one shy of Casey Clausen's school record of 143.

After struggling to find consistency on field goals with an injured Daniel Lincoln and punter Chad Cunningham, Tennessee called on Mathis for the first time this week. Mathis hit a 25-yard field goal and connected on three extra point attempts.

Mathis was a walk-on last season and nearly earned a starting job as Lincoln struggled. He spent the spring semester studying in Mexico and did not participate in the Vols' fall camp.

Tennessee finished its senior day in style when senior defensive tackle Wes Brown, who's played with injured knees for the past two seasons, intercepted Adams' pass and ran 25 yards for a touchdown with 3 seconds left, carrying Norman on his back for the last 5. His teammates piled on top of him in the end zone.

"Everybody was saying, 'That might have been the ugliest thing I've ever seen,'" Brown said. "I felt [Norman] hopping on my back, but I didn't want to be denied. I wanted to score, and I couldn't ask for a better ending."

MIAMI (NBA.com exclusive) -- Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade liked what he saw from center Jermaine O'Neal in Wednesday's 115-93 season-opening victory against New York.

O'Neal, the former Indiana Pacers All-Star now in his 14th season, finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds in perhaps his best performance in 28 regular-season games with the Heat.

"That's the (O'Neal) I like," Wade said, "And that's the (O'Neal) I disliked in Indiana."

New York, on the other hand, struggled all around. The Knicks tied a franchise record by attempting 39 3-pointers. They only made 10, which translates to a miserable 25.6 percent.

"I thought we were going to win 82 (games) this year, but now it's only 81," New York coach Mike D'Antoni said, tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Wade, who led the league in scoring last year at 30.2 points per game, had a tidy 26 points, and second-year forward Michael Beasley, the No. 2 pick of the 2008 Draft, finished with 21 points.

Overall, it was a good home opener for the Heat, which shot 56.6 percent from the field and led by as many as 31 points. After the game was tied at 46 with 2:49 left in the second quarter, the Heat went on a 44-15 run through the end of the third quarter. That allowed Miami to take a 90-62 lead into the fourth quarter, and at that point the game was over.

"We couldn't make shots, we couldn't stop them," D'Antoni said. "That's not a good combination."

The Knicks, who have had eight consecutive losing seasons, are in their second year of D'Antoni's up-tempo offense. And after one game things don't appear any more promising now than they did in last year's 32-50 season.

"A number of people did not shoot the ball well," New York point guard Chris Duhon said.

Knicks center David Lee (22 points, nine rebounds) was back to his usual pogo-stick ways, but he had very little help. Forward Al Harrington started 3-for-4 from the field but then missed eight of his next 10 shots to finish 5-for-14. Second-year forward Danilo Gallinari, the No. 6 pick of the 2008 Draft, missed six of his first nine shots and got hot after the game's outcome was determined. Reserve guard Nate Robinson missed all eight of his shots. Swingman Wilson Chandler missed nine of his first 13.

Wade, who missed eight of his first 11 shots, was more low-key than he was in last season's two home games against New York. Wade averaged 50.5 points in those contests, finishing with 46 in one game and 55 in the other. On Wednesday, Wade only flashed his dazzle. In the third quarter, after a Beasley field goal, Wade stole an inbounds pass meant for Chris Duhon, did a 360-degree turn in the air, and converted the layup for a 73-53 Miami lead.

Wade said he wasn't concerned about starting slowly on offense.

"I know what I can do in the flow of the offense," he said. "I just want to make sure everybody else is doing well."

O'Neal, who suffers from creaky knees, did just fine. Coach Erik Spoelstra thinks it's a result of O'Neal's offseason work. O'Neal, the 31-year-old known to teammates by his initials, J.O., spent six weeks working with the Heat's trainers in Miami and eight weeks working with well-known trainer Tim Grover in Chicago.

"We called him 'The young J.O.' tonight," Heat guard Daequan Cook said.

Notes: New York center Darko Milicic went down with 8:28 left in the third and left the court limping on his left leg. He returned to the bench a few minutes later. ... Former Heat guard Tim Hardaway had his jersey (No. 10) retired in a pregame ceremony. Hardaway played five-plus seasons for the Heat. Attending the ceremony were Hardaway's former Golden State teammates Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, the trio that formed the famed "Run TMC" combination. ... Beasley got called for back-to-back traveling violations in the second quarter as he tried to create off the dribble at small forward. ... New York rookie guard Toney Douglas, the 29th pick in the Draft, ended 1-for-4 from the field in just 6:13. ... Heat forward Udonis Haslem, a starter the past six seasons, came off the bench for eight points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes. Beasley, who played 36 minutes, got the start at power forward. Miami used former Knicks player Quentin Richardson (five points in 17 minutes) as its starter at small forward.

1) Stop the Run - Tennessee struggled early on against the wildcat package, but picked up the slack as the game went on.  Mark Ingram was held to just 99 yards. All in all, Alabama just didn't do as good as they normally do against this Monte Kiffin defense.

 2) Control time of possesion - Tennessee did a very good job of this. Tennessee was always marching down the field and getting first downs. Problem was that they weren't converting their drives into points.

 3) Get off to good start early - Tennessee and Alabama were tied 3-3 to begin the first quarter, but going into halftime the score was 9-3 Bama. Not a great start for Tennessee.

4) Play great on special teams - Tennessee failed this part. Kickoff coverage was crappy. 2 field goals were blocked and 1 was missed. Unfortuantley, special teams cost Tennessee the game.

5) Create turnovers - Tennessee didn't get a lot of turnovers. However, the one turnover they did get was huge. Causing Mark Ingram to fumble the ball changed the game.