2007 Tennessee Football: One Last Run For Philip Fulmer
Phillip Fuler had coached Tennessee since 1993. Over the previous 14 seasons, the Volunteers had been a consistent SEC contender. It was a stretch that included six finishes in the national top 10, four Eastern Division crowns, two conference championships and the national title in 1998. In 2007, the Vols added Fulmer’s fifth SEC East crown to his resume.
FOSTER & AINGE LEAD THE WAY
Arian Foster had a solid NFL career ahead of him and the running back was the key to the Tennessee offense in ’07. Foster ran for nearly 1,200 yards behind a line anchored by All-SEC guard Anthony Parker.
Erik Ainge was at quarterback. In a league that included Tim Tebow, Matthew Stafford and Matt Flynn, no QB put the ball in the air more this season than Ainge. He completed 63 percent of his passes. And while the yards-per-attempt was a modest 6.8, Ainge also posted a 31-10 TD/INT ratio.
Lucas Taylor led the receivers with 73 catches for 1,000 yards. A balanced group was rounded out by Austin Rogers and Josh Briscoe each catching over 50 passes, and tight end Chris Brown added 41 more. The Tennessee offense wasn’t dynamic, but it was respectable, finishing 38th in the country for points scored.
The offense needed to cover up for a defense that had some issues. While linebacker Jerod Mayo was All-SEC, there were no real playmakers. The Vols didn’t have anyone who really got after the quarterback and they finished 62nd nationally for points allowed.
A SHAKY SEPTEMBER
Tennessee was ranked #15 in the opening polls and started the year with a high-profile game at 12th-ranked Cal. While the Golden Bears ended the year at 6-6, they started fast and rose as high as #2 in the nation in early October. One reason why was the 45-31 defeat they handed the Vols on the first day of September.
Fulmer brought his team home to host bowl-bound Southern Miss and Tennessee rolled to a 39-19 win. That set up what was now the traditional Week 3 game against Florida, a game that often defined how the SEC East race would unfold. The Gators were the defending national champions, they were ranked fifth in the nation and Tebow was on his way to the Heisman Trophy.
Tennessee went to Gainesville and came out on the wrong end of a blistering 59-20 beatdown. While they bounced back to blow out Arkansas State 48-27, the Vols concluded September 2-2, out of the polls, and offering no reason to think they could reach Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.
ROCKY TOP RISES
Georgia was #12 when they came into Knoxville for what was now effectively a must-win game for Tennessee. A nine-yard touchdown run by Foster gave them an early lead and then the second quarter was all Vols.
Taylor threw a 56-yard touchdown pass off a trick play. Two more TDs, including another one by Foster followed. The maligned Tennessee defense was coming through. They shut down Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno, holding him to 33 yards, and forced Stafford into an erratic 16/33 for 174 yards performance.
It was 28-0 by halftime and the second half was uneventful. Foster capped off a 98-yard game with his third touchdown. Ainge finished 17/22 for 165 yards. Tennessee’s 35-14 win got them back into the polls at #25 and kept them alive in the SEC East.
THE CHAOTIC SEC RACE
The Vols went to play Mississippi State, a respectable, bowl-bound team and won 33-21. Then they regressed. A visit to Alabama, where Nick Saban was in his first year and still dealing with a so-so team, resulted in a 41-17 blowout loss.
Tennessee returned home to play another team headed for .500 in South Carolina. They again looked in trouble, trailing 24-21 late in the game. Kicker Daniel Lincoln came through, with a 45-yard field goal to tie it, and another in overtime to win it, 27-24.
As October came to an end, no one in the SEC could find their footing in what was a wild year for college football. Georgia had blown out Florida, handing the Gators their third conference loss. That meant that the Bulldogs and Vols were tied in the loss column, at 4-2 and 3-2 respectively in SEC play. And that meant, inconsistency or not, the head-to-head tiebreaker meant Tennessee controlled their own destiny in the SEC East.
SURVIVAL
A brief foray into non-conference play gave the Vols the chance to blast Louisiana 59-7. A week later, they hosted Arkansas, a good eight-win team with SEC Offensive Player of the Year Darren McFadden in the backfield. Tennessee sent the Razorbacks home with a 34-13 loss.
In the meantime, Georgia kept pace by beating Auburn. A week later, the Vols flirted with danger against a pedestrian Vanderbilt squad. They trailed 24-9 after three quarters. With the Bulldogs on their way to winning and closing out the conference schedule at 6-2, it would have been fatal for Tennessee’s division hopes. Ainge answered the bell with a pair of fourth quarter TD passes and pulled out a 25-24 win.
At 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the SEC, the Vols would play to win the SEC East at Kentucky on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
THE BEER BARREL CLASSIC
Tennessee looked ready to put a wrap on this division without a lot of fuss. Ainge found Foster on a 65-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, and the Vols moved out to a 14-7 lead. Ainge later threw another TD pass, and it was 24-7 by halftime. The quarterback’s fourth scoring toss extended the lead to 31-14 by late in the third quarter.
But one of the most dramatic games in the long history of the “The Beer Barrel Rivalry” was just getting started.
The Wildcats, led by quarterback Andre Woodson, scored two touchdowns to close the deficit to a field goal and then marched into the red zone as the clock wound down. The Vol defense actually had to come up with a stop just to force a short field goal and get it to overtime at 31-31.
Ainge threw his fifth TD of the game in the first overtime to answer a Kentucky score. In the second OT, disaster nearly struck. Ainge’s pass was tipped and intercepted. The Tennessee defense, for the only time in this OT session, forced a field goal attempt. With the season on the line, the Vols blocked the kick.
The teams traded touchdowns again in the third overtime. It was now 44-44, with Ainge up to six TD passes on a day he also threw for 397 yards.
Tennessee had the ball first for the fourth extra session and it appeared disaster struck again. Foster was hit with a disputed delay of game penalty for tossing the ball after he was out of bounds. The Vols were pushed all the way back to the 40-yard line.
No problem. Ainge threw his seventh TD and then converted the two-point play. It was 52-44. Kentucky answered with a touchdown of their own—but couldn’t answer on the conversion attempt. At long last, the 52-50 win was secure, and Tennessee was the champion of the SEC East.
JUST MISSING IN ATLANTA
The Vols were at #14 in the polls, so there were no national implications for them. The same could not be said of SEC West champ LSU, who was ranked #5 and hoping for enough breaks to get into what was then simply a two-team national championship game at the end of the regular season.
Tennessee got a break before the game even started when Tiger quarterback Matt Flynn proved unable to play after a late injury in the regular season finale. The Vols took a 14-13 lead into the fourth quarter. The upset and a Sugar Bowl bid was theirs for the taking.
But they couldn’t move the ball consistently against an LSU defense led by SEC Defensive Player of the Year Glenn Dorsey. Early in the final period, Ainge threw a Pick-6 deep in his own end and Tennessee went on to lose 21-14.
LSU got the breaks they needed and went on to win the national championship game. Georgia, surging down the stretch, got the call to go to the Sugar Bowl. Tennessee settled for an Outback Bowl invite to play Wisconsin on January 1.
BEATING THE BADGERS
Wisconsin was renowned for one of the most consistent running games in the country and were able to control the line of scrimmage, shutting down Foster and outrushing the Vols 192-66. But the Badgers couldn’t do anything in the air. Ainge could.
In a 7-7 tie in the second quarter, Ainge threw TD passes of 29 and 31 yards, 3 ½ minutes apart. Tennessee suddenly had a comfortable 21-7 lead and forced the Wisconsin offense into a game they weren’t suited for. It got close, but Ainge finished 25/43 for 365 yards with no mistakes. Tennessee held on to win 21-17 and finished #12 in the final rankings.
THE END OF AN ERA
After a 5-7 finish in 2008, Fulmer’s long tenure ended. The 2007 Vols were far from a perfect team. But they were a competitive one and they were the last contending team for their coach, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.