Vols' defensive linemen ready to prove they're ready

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - The last time Tennessee played Wyoming, the Volunteers went wild and racked up a school-record 13 sacks that still stands. <br> <br> Tackle Rashad Moore doesn&#39;t care if the current Vols walk off the field Saturday without a single sack to their credit - just as long as they win. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re just trying to go out and do what we&#39;ve got to do. If we set a sack record, we do. If we don&#39;t, we don&#39;t. We&#39;re trying to come out of the game victorious,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> How the rebuilt defensive line performs Saturday in the season opener for No. 4 Tennessee and Wyoming is the big question for the Vols, aside from seeing how the receivers perform with Kelley Washington sidelined by a sprained knee. <br> <br> Of the 10 Vols lost to the NFL draft last April, three came off the defensive line including two first-round picks - John Henderson and Albert Haynesworth, plus Will Overstreet. They also lost end Bernard Jackson. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s a big opener for us, and it will show us what we got and what we&#39;re working with this year,&#39;&#39; Moore said. <br> <br> Coach Phillip Fulmer likes what he has seen from his defensive linemen, a group challenged since January. <br> <br> ``This group has had an excellent attitude about taking coaching, they&#39;ve had a really good work ethic and they&#39;ve played with exceptional pad leverage,&#39;&#39; Fulmer said. ``I&#39;m anxious to see if their quickness and speed can make up for some of the lack of experience we might have at that position. <br> <br> ``It will be fun watching those guys play.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Volunteers have won six consecutive openers and 17 of their last 20 games. Atoning for last season&#39;s loss to LSU in the Southeastern Conference championship game that kept them out of the national title game has been the overriding theme of the off-season. Now they can play instead of remember. <br> <br> ``Everybody&#39;s kind of anxious,&#39;&#39; said quarterback Casey Clausen, who has at least seven receivers to help fill in for Washington. ``For myself, I&#39;m kind of sick going against our defense for the past two months. I think everybody&#39;s kind of ready to hit someone else.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> For Wyoming, it&#39;s the second time in four years to open the season against Tennessee, and the Cowboys&#39; timing remains poor. The Vols were the defending national champions in 1999, and they easily won game 42-17. <br> <br> Now the Cowboys are coming off a 2-9 season, and they accepted $2.35 million to move their home game from Laramie, Wyo., to Nashville and The Coliseum, home of the NFL&#39;s Tennessee Titans. <br> <br> Coach Vic Koennig said he doesn&#39;t have control over the schedule and that Mountain West Conference officials encourage its schools to schedule teams from leagues like the SEC, which is included in the Bowl Championship Series. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re going to worry about our schedule and what we&#39;ve got to control. I know sometimes it&#39;s hard. It also affords opportunities,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Wyoming does feature plenty of offense, returning 10 of 11 starters from a unit that ranked 15th in the country last season in passing offense. Casey Bramlet was the 14th-best passer in the nation, and his favorite receivers Malcom Floyd and Ryan McGuffey are back. <br> <br> The Cowboys are experienced on the offensive line with three who played in that 1999 game against Tennessee. They will be without their leading returning rusher, with Derek Armah suspended for the game due to his involvement in a fight in July, but the Vols expect plenty of passing because Bramlet averaged 277 yards per game in 2001. <br> <br> Vols defensive coordinator John Chavis knows that will pressure his line. <br> <br> ``We&#39;ve been a pressure defense for eight years now, and that&#39;s not going to change. We&#39;d like to be able to rush four from time to time, and we&#39;re going to do that. But we&#39;re going to bring our guys. That&#39;s just us,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> The Cowboys are 30-point underdogs, but Koennig said that doesn&#39;t diminish ``our intent or our desire.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``We&#39;ll see how we match up. It&#39;s going to be a great challenge for us,&#39;&#39; he said.

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