Off weekend

Before we turn to this week's rivalry game, a quick note about my weekend in Knoxville, where I saw my Bruins eek one about against Kiffin State. First of all, Knoxville was fun town, a lot nicer than I had pictured, and the people could not have been better. I expected to be afraid for my life in Neyland, particularly if my team won. There was none of that. One guy pretty well summed it up, and I am going to crib his line the next time I see visiting fans in Lexington. "I hope you all lose, but I hope you have a great time here while you are doing it." That is the right spirit, and one of the reasons why I love college football. I wasn't ready for this kind of reception.
Secondly, it is hard to articulate how much Vols fans hate quarterback Jonathon Crompton. I actually had someone tell me he wished Crompton would be raped and murdered the night of the game. The dude wasn't some crazy overall wearing yokel with no teeth. He was a regular looking guy who gave me this information in a measured monotone. And he was dead serious. This sentiment was echoed, albeit less graphically, to us over and over again on Saturday night. UT fans also were acutely aware of the merciless ass whopping Urban Meyer will lay on them next week. I was pleased by this, as it is something I've been thinking about since the dustup. Not happy days in the Knox.

From a UK Football Fan standpoint the point is obvious. Tennessee is ripe for the plucking this year. They struggled at home against a middling UCLA squad, appear disfunctional and will be coming here on the tail end of what could be a trying year. It is a good takeaway, even if you aren't a former Bruin like me.

The bad news of the weekend, from a future foes standpoint, is that South Carolina apparently does have an offense. They showed something at Georgia. On the flip side, Georgia hasn't exactly looked like a world beater so far.

To kick this week off, I think John Clay hit the nail on the head earlier. There is a decided lack of buzz surrounding this game. If you have the doldrums, here is something to shake you out:

UK was the overwhelming favorite in week one and will have two more games (Monroe, EKU) they'd have to try hard to lose. Three games (Fla, Ala, @ UGA) are probably unwinnable. Two more are winnable long shots (@USC, @Aub), but still longshots. Four games (UL, Miss. St, @Vandy,UT) will make or break this season. Of the four, this is the one we absolutely cannot lose. It is the worst team on the schedule other than the three mortal locks, and it comes before a brutal four game stretch where we'll need to steal one or two to have a special season. Lose this one a bowl eligibility becomes a huge uphill battle, and you have a very real chance of starting the season 1-5.