Tennesse vs Akron

This week's travel took me to Tennessee.  What a great college football atmosphere!  We had a great dinner on Friday night with Jason Yellin and his sports information staff.  True to the advertisement, Calhoun's did have awesome ribs, and the honey mustard cheese dip for the soft pretzels was awesome as well!

This picture of an empty Neyland Stadium paints the picture of the frequent moments of silence I encountered on the sidelines...that is, until Tennessee pulled away in the 4th quarter.  While there were roaring moments of Rocky Top blaring from the sideline speakers and fans getting their cheer on, there were also moments of silence from the Tennessee faithful.   The silence was caused by the effective short passing game by the  Zips, and the multiple times Tennessee had to settle for a field goal in the red zone rather than a touchdown.

 

The guy pictured above, Dalton Williams, was the offensive leader for the Zips and has an interesting story.  Terry Bowden recruited Williams as a 5th year senior to play at North Alabama, but after Terry got the job at Akron, Dalton called Coach Bowden to say he wanted to come with him. Coach said, "Son I can't promise you anything, but you can come compete." Bowden thought he would never hear from Williams again since the two had never met face to face, but sure enough, Williams called coach and said that he was  coming to Akron to compete for the job.  With Dalton's maturity as a 5th year senior, Coach Bowden thought that he could help push the other Qb's to determine the clear starter.  Just the opposite happened.  Dalton Williams worked his tail off, and Coach Bowden simply said, "Persistence won, and this young man really understands what I'm trying to do here at Akron."
Even though Williams threw 3 interceptions against Tennessee, he clearly understands what Terry Bowden is trying to do, evident in the way Williams was able to move the ball down the field. Williams ended up connecting on 27-49 passes for 229 yards.

 

Before the game, Coach Terry Bowden told me his message to his team was not to worry about the crowd, and if they make mistakes to let it go early on!  Right off the top, his Zips made a statement, and by the time I interviewed proud Papa Bobby Bowden in the 2nd quarter the score was tied 13 a piece.

Bobby Bowden gave his son's team a pre-game speech with a simple message.... "All you can do is the best you can do, and much like David and Goliath, it can happen."
Bowden and his wife, Ann, were in attendance, and Bobby told me, "This is a real treat getting to sit in the stands with the common folk. I don't like sitting in the box, I like to hear the band and be with the people!" 
Besides traveling with his wife, Bobby chuckled when he told me that golf  has really become a fun past time for him. Who knew I'd have something in common with legendary Coach, we both dress 80, but in the end, shoot a 100 on the  golf course:(

When Coach Dooley spoke with me at the half, he dittoed the frustrations with  the lack of offense in the red zone, and like most coaches when they are frustrated stress "execution!' 

 

 Once Tennessee found their offensive rhythm in the 4th quarter, the rhythm of Akron's offense changed, along with the crowd's energy.  Tyler Bray threw 401 yards and 4 touch downs.
I saw a side of Bray on the side line Saturday that was contradictory to what I've read about him.  Through the battle, he was attentive and positive with his offensive each time they waited to go back on the field.  He made eye contact with his o-line and spoke to his receivers and running backs individually.  He even cracked a smile or clapped his hands from time to time.  Perhaps Tyler Bray is just misunderstood with his grizzly beard and his California roots. Perhaps the fans and the media will see a different leadership role from Tyler Bray as the Volunteers head into SEC play, or maybe I just captured a lone incident of the quarterback.

 What I can tell you from our meeting with him is that he is serious about his development as a player and a leader.   He respects the authority of  Coach Dooley, who earlier in the week gave a speech to Tyler about this being his year to really develop as a quarterback.  Dooley compared Bray's development to that of a QB who peaks in his 6th year in the NFL, also noting that Tyler's 3rd year here at Tennessee is the time for the California native.

 

Derrick Brodus was calm and cool on the Tennessee sideline. The kicker was flawless against Akron, connecting on all of his PAT's and field goals. Brodus received national attention last year when Coach Dooley had to phone Brodus on fraternity row 50 minutes before kickoff because his back up kicker pulled his groin in pre-game and the starter was already out with an injury.  Derrick Brodus gets to take his kicking game on road to Georgia this coming weekend.

After a career high performance rushing 151 yards, Rajon Neal took a minute to speak with us.  After Bray's 3-yard touchdown pass to Neal with 6:47 left in the third quarter broke a 23-23 tie and put the Volunteers ahead for good.

In the end, David didn't defeat the Giant, but they sure did hang around. The final score was 47-26 Tennessee.  If Terry Bowden's half time speech had held true, "If Tennessee makes more mistakes than we do, if we don't give up the big play, and if we continue to get productivity out of our quarterback, we really have a chance," then the final score could have been much closer.

I hit the road covering UVA vs LA Tech this weekend. The ACC on ESPN3.  Have a great week everyone!!