Maybe All Is Not Lost for Tennessee

It’s a tad early to make flight plans, book hotel rooms or form a Bourbon Street security task force, but Tennessee can at least start thinking about the Sugar Bowl after Saturday night’s 38-14 victory over Notre Dame before another oranged-out crowd of 107,619 at Neyland Stadium.

In the battle of top college football programs present and past, the defending national champion Volunteers proved to be faster, quicker, stronger and smarter than the Irish--last champions in um, 1988--whose season took a downward turn toward the Insight.com Bowl.

Yes, it must be November, as Tennessee improved its record to 54-2 in the month since 1985 while quarterback Tee Martin, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, appears primed for another national title charge.

Chances for a Rocky Top repeat appeared to be a longshot at best after a 23-21 loss to Florida on Sept. 18, but Tennessee has won six in a row since to repair its national standing and improve its stock in the Bowl Championship Series computer.

After a two-touchdown win at Alabama on Oct. 23, Volunteer Coach Phil Fulmer challenged his team with a “Why not us?” campaign.

Why not?

Tennessee (7-1) entered Saturday’s play ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls and No. 5 in the BCS rankings, but No. 2 Penn State’s 24-23 loss to Minnesota and shaky performances by No. 3 Virginia Tech and No. 5 Florida have put the Volunteer back in the race.

Before Saturday’s game, Fulmer delayed his team’s traditional walk to the stadium so that he and his players could watch the end of the Penn State game.

Fulmer said, at one point, he tried to move the players along.

“And we almost had a mutiny!” Fulmer said.

Tennessee watched the happy ending in Happy Valley.

Penn State’s loss inspired a Tennessee team that needs to catch a few breaks. The Nittany Lions’ loss even put an extra hop in the coach’s step.

“They said I had a 41-inch vertical leap after that,” Fulmer said of the game-winning field goal by Minnesota’s Dan Nystrom that downed Penn State.

Martin made sure the Volunteers took care of matters on the field.

“The leaders on the team brought us down really fast,” Martin said. “If we don’t take care of our job, it doesn’t mean anything.”

As it stands, Tennessee will likely move up to No. 3 in both polls today and might even make a run at No. 2 Virginia Tech, which needed a last-second field goal to defeat West Virginia, 22-20.

The road to the Sugar Bowl for Tennessee could be as straightforward as this: If Miami beats Virginia Tech on Saturday, Florida beats No. 1 Florida State in Gainesville on Nov. 20, and the Volunteers defeat Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, Tennessee will get a chance to defend its national title.

Remarkably, the Volunteers can get to the Sugar Bowl without winning the Southeastern Conference’s East Division, which has been all but cinched by Florida.

Why not Tennessee?

Is there a school playing any better at the moment?

Saturday, the Volunteers pounced on a Notre Dame mental mistake in the second quarter and didn’t look back.

There’s a reason the Irish are 5-4.

Here’s why: In the second quarter, Notre Dame had cut a 10-0 Tennessee lead to 10-7 on David Givens’ three-yard scoring run and then had seemingly forced a Volunteer punt late in the half.

But on Martin’s incomplete pass on third-and-two, Irish defensive end Lamont Bryant was called for lining up off-sides, which gave Tennessee a first down at the Irish 42. Eight plays later, Martin connected with Eric Parker on a two-yard scoring pass with nine seconds left to give Tennessee a 17-7 halftime lead.

“Their TD before the half hurt us,” Notre Dame Coach Bob Davie said.

Yeah, just a little.

Tennessee made it a 24-7 game in the third quarter when Martin threw a 43-yard scoring pass to Leonard Scott, the defending NCAA champion in the 60-meter dash.

“They really made a mistake not covering the fastest guy in America,” Martin said. “I almost threw my arm out.”

Travis Henry, who finished with 132 cards in 16 carries, scored on a 20-yard blast with 3:03 left in the quarter to make it 31-7.

Instead of running out the clock late in the game with a 31-14 lead, Tennessee went for it on fourth-and-one at the Notre Dame 14.

That move might have inspired cries that Fulmer was trying to run up the score. But with the BCS computer likely to determine its fate, you could understand why the Volunteers wanted to score again.

Seven of the eight computers used in the BCS formula consider margin of victory, so Martin raced 14 yards for a final touchdown on a play that might be remembered as “BCS bootleg right.”

Fulmer called the performance Tennessee’s most complete game of the season. Martin completed 18 of 32 passes for 196 yards and rushed for 46 more in six carries.

The loss was Notre Dame’s fifth in a row on the road, and it left the Irish struggling to salvage their season. Notre Dame closes against Pittsburgh, Boston College and Stanford.