Parker: Vols' frustration level rising

ATHENS, Ga. -- Starting the Southeastern Conference season with three straight losses wasn't exactly what Tennessee had in mind.

No one predicted back in the preseason that the Volunteers would not be getting a single vote for the Top 25, carry a record of 2-4 and be looking up at in-state rival Vanderbilt six games into the schedule.

The mood following Saturday's 26-14 loss to Georgia at Sanford Stadium was one of confusion and disappointment.

"It's frustrating to lose, period," said quarterback Nick Stephens after his first start against an SEC foe. "Anybody on the team doesn't like to lose -- coaches, players, anybody. (We) hate losing. It doesn't matter what the stats are. It doesn't matter what the score is. If you've got more points than the other team then you're happy. It's what you work for all week is a win. Nobody's happy with this."

The Vols haven't seen happy in quite a while. Even after their victories over UAB and Southern Illinois there was a general feeling of disapproval, knowing they haven't put their best foot forward.

About five questions in, coach Phillip Fulmer stood up from his chair in a cramped room to talk to look reporters in the eye. His voice raised when questions arose about how to keep the ship from totally sinking.

"It's like I told (the players), everybody in the world's going to talk about me, they're going to talk about the staff, they're going to talk about themselves and what kind of backbone we've got. Look them in the eye and say, 'I'm not quitting.'"

Fulmer first arrived in Knoxville as an offensive guard in 1968. He's in his 17th season as head coach. He earned a pass for the 2005 season when they went 5-6.

This snowball is quickly turning into an avalanche. Questions are spreading about whether or not he can survive another bowl-less, losing season.

"You stay in this business long enough, you have ups and downs," Fulmer said. "You look at the history, I think this is my 200th game I believe that we've played. We've won a lot more than we've lost. Been disappointed in every dang one of them that we've lost, felt like this. I'm not going to do anything but keep fighting."

Every position on the field has been suspect at one point or another this year. Against the Bulldogs, it was the running game and the inability to get the defense off the field.

They netted 1 rushing yard on 15 attempts. Georgia won time of possession 42:04-17:56.

"I don't know. I don't know where our run game has gone. They flat committed to stopping it," Fulmer said.

"We've got to make some plays on the perimeter so that people will back up a little bit and play some zone."

Stephens finished 13-of-30 passing for 208 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Not bad considering the pass rush that was in his face much of the afternoon.

Receiver Gerald Jones noted the blocking as the biggest difference between last season and this one. An inability to pick up blitzes in passing situations with a loaded box and no push up front when it's time to grind it out make it tough to move the chains.

Offensive coordinator Dave Clawson felt that, after the early season games, the running game was "the thing we needed to hang our hat on."

With their top six offensive linemen all back from what was on the field in the SEC championship last December, how can that be?

"The SEC's tough, but at the same time I feel like we have enough talent, we have the coaching staff, we have everything there," Stephens said. "We've just got to put it all together. Once we do that, I think we'll be a team to be reckoned with. We can't go out and make mistakes like we made tonight. It's going to hurt us against a good team like this."

Safety Eric Berry thwarted one Georgia drive by picking off a pass in the end zone and returning it 54 yards. It was one of few highlights for the Orange and White. The young leader said there's nowhere to go but up.

"Nobody's fragile emotionally," he said. "A lot of people have tough situations at home. So, a bad first half of the season is nothing for us. We've got people on our team that have parents that just died and things like that. This is really nothing right here. This is all we've got. We don't have any choice but to bounce back."

Danny Parker is sports editor of the Times-Gazette. He can be contacted at dparker@t-g.com.