Fulmer serious about Vols focusing on Duke

Posted 5:23PM on Tuesday 28th October 2003 ( 21 years ago )

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - Tennessee players and coaches celebrated a grueling five-overtime victory over Alabama for about as long as it took to finish the game. The No. 19 Volunteers (5-2) ended a two-game losing streak and got back into contention for the SEC East division title with a 51-43 win over the Crimson Tide in a game that took nearly five hours. The schedule appears kind this week to the weary Vols. They host Duke (2-6) on Saturday for homecoming. The Blue Devils have lost 30 straight Atlantic Coast Conference games and haven't beaten a ranked team since 1994. Coach Phillip Fulmer wants his team to worry about Duke and quit remembering Alabama. ``We're real serious about it. We need to move forward. We have five games, big weeks of football that will really determine the success of this season, starting with Duke,'' Fulmer said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. ``If you're not careful this time of year, the little things will start slipping. We're not a team that does all those things well enough all the time that we can let anything slip.'' Many players were still sore from the Alabama game but energetic in practice on Monday. The coaches sent a strong message that this is not an off week. Duke will likely play three quarterbacks, a change since defensive coordinator Ted Roof was named interim coach Oct. 19 when Carl Franks was fired. Blue Devils quarterback Chris Dapolito is skilled running the option, which will test the discipline of Tennessee's speedy defense. ``(Alabama) is behind us. Our focus is on Duke, and that's what you have to do,'' defensive coordinator John Chavis said. ``The sooner you can get that behind you and you grow and mature from it, the better off you're going to be. We don't need to be sitting here on Tuesday thinking about it.'' The Vols will have two starters on the sidelines with injuries. Tailback Cedric Houston sprained his right ankle last weekend, and safety Rashad Baker sprained his left knee. Jabari Davis will start in Houston's place and rotate with Corey Larkins and Gerald Riggs. Fullback Troy Fleming and receiver Derrick Tinsley are other options at tailback, Fulmer said. Freshman Corey Campbell, who has an interception in each of the last two games, will replace Baker in the lineup. The Vols are looking this week for more consistency in effort, intensity and execution. ``There's been flashes of brilliance at times on both sides of the ball, but (we need) just more consistency so we can become the type of team we want to become,'' Fulmer said. The Vols have come from behind to win four games this year. Fulmer would rather get ahead early and stay ahead. ``When our kids have their backs to the wall, they perform pretty well,'' he said. The coaches have thought about going more to the pass-oriented two-minute offense, which has greatly helped Tennessee move the ball, but Fulmer is hesitant. ``If you're efficient it's a very good thing as far as an uptempo game, but if you're inefficient the defense is back on the field in sometimes less than a minute,'' he said. ``We've always said we would like to be balanced as much as we can. I think we're closer to that.''

http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/10/170046