Tennessee prepares for trip to Miami

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Posted 7:28PM on Tuesday, November 4, 2003

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - Tennessee's visit to No. 6 Miami on Saturday looks like a horrible scheduling faux pas. The No. 18 Volunteers (6-2) struggled in a 23-6 win over Duke last week at home and still found themselves back in the hunt for the Southeastern Conference championship. Now Tennessee has another non-conference game against a much tougher and very motivated opponent. The Hurricanes (7-1) are coming off a 31-7 loss at Virginia Tech, which dropped them from second to fourth in the Bowl Championship Series ranking. Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer believes the Miami game provides a chance for his team to turn a so-so season into an extraordinary one. ``We have an opportunity in front of us as a football team to certainly make a very memorable November. We have and will continue to concern ourselves with what we can control, and that's improvement at practice and working with a sweat and a purpose to get ourselves to be as efficient as we need to be,'' Fulmer said Tuesday during his weekly news conference. ``Our goals right now are the same as we had at the beginning of the season, and we are one of the teams that has an opportunity to win the Southeastern Conference.'' Losses to Auburn and Georgia last month dropped Tennessee from contention to win the SEC's Eastern Division and play for the league title. The Vols needed Florida to beat Georgia last week to get back into it by giving all three teams two league losses apiece. The Gators came through with a 16-13 victory. If Georgia and Florida win their remaining two SEC games and Tennessee beats its final three SEC opponents, the three teams will be tied atop the division at the end of the season. The tiebreaker would likely be a vote of other SEC athletic directors not directly involved with the situation. No such vote has ever been needed, but many believe the highest-ranked team would have the best case to be voted to play in the SEC championship game. If Tennessee was somehow able to pull off an amazing upset in the Orange Bowl, it could have a good case. Georgia doesn't have another ranked team on its schedule while Florida finishes the season against No. 3 Florida State. ``We've had a quality win at Florida and a quality win at Alabama,'' Fulmer said. ``Obviously this would be a big measuring stick of our football team if we were able to go down there and get a win.'' Anyone who watched Tennessee's performance against Duke might wonder how beating Miami would be possible. The Vols had fewer first downs, rushing attempts and offensive plays than the Blue Devils, who rolled up 180 yards rushing and 299 offensive yards. Fulmer believes it's a matter of better execution for the Vols, who have had a hard time running the football and defending the run. ``To win this football game, we'll need to put it all together, play our best game of the year,'' Fulmer said. ``I don't think anybody has to be superhuman, but we have to play up to our potential.'' Fulmer doesn't believe trick plays or abandoning Tennessee's regular offense would be necessary to play well. The Vols have succeeded often using a hurry-up spread offense with and without a huddle throughout the season, most notably against Auburn. Fulmer maintains Tennessee must continue to establish the run, however. ``We've got plenty of plays in our offense to win. It's just a matter of executing those plays,'' Fulmer said. ``We have to make them respect the run. That's going to be crucial in the ball game.'' Starting tailback Cedric Houston returned to practice Monday after missing last week's game with a sprained ankle. He was listed as probable for Saturday. Safety Rashad Baker is likely to miss a second straight game with a sprained knee. Defensive tackle J.T. Mapu hyperextended his elbow against Duke and is questionable for Miami.