Locker room emotions run high for Vols

KNOXVILLE -- After losing their first game following head coach Phillip Fulmer's forced retirement, Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton and defensive end Wes Brown were visibly deflated Saturday.

The team's desire to defend their ousted coach didn't translate into a win on the field, however, as visiting Wyoming upset the Vols 13-7 in front of a sparse homecoming crowd in Neyland Stadium.

"Everybody feels like coach Fulmer is a second father, and with the decision that was made we wanted to prove they made the wrong decision. He is our coach until the day we die," Crompton said in a postgame interview.

"We're not going to make excuses," a choked-up Brown said. "This has obviously been a rough week. But there's no excuse for how we played. We wanted nothing more than a win for this team and for coach Fulmer and for the rest of these coaches."

Crompton would not comment on whether he was feeling shock, anger or frustration.

"Obviously everybody is emotional," Crompton said. "I mean it's been 17 years, you know, and that's hard to let go.

"I really don't know what to say, 'cause we're out there -- I mean busting our butts. We're playing with six, seven, eight receivers that can't walk after the game; they can't raise their arms. For anybody to say 'Oh they dropped a pass here or they dropped a pass there' is unfair and I don't want to hear that at all. ... I especially don't want to hear anything about the coaches.

"We're just trying to win the game and we came up on the short end."

After hearing the tail end of the player interviews, Fulmer said they didn't owe him any apologies.

"If anything, I should be apologizing to the fans and everybody for this whole week even coming about," Fulmer said.

"Our quarterback play has been less than what we would like to have. They ran the ball on us better than I thought they would have.

"I think our defense played well enough to win the game; offensively we just didn't get it done. Again."

But Fulmer said the week's emotions shouldn't be blamed for the loss.

"Tuesday, I probably wasn't worth a darn, in some ways ... I didn't let the kids know that. I was out there working ... I wasn't trying to do anything except get these kids ready for today."

But, he said that by Wednesday, he was back in it full swing, and the team worked hard.

"They practiced well; I thought they prepared well," he said. "In this day and age in college football, anybody can beat you, especially if you help them. ... We beat ourselves."

"It's been a tough week, but that shouldn't have caused the ball to be intercepted. We don't throw those, we win 7-0.

"You're always disappointed when you lose a football game, and you're particularly disappointed when you lose one you should've won ... It's magnified and complicated by this chain of events this week, and you just don't want to finish up that way."

Tennessee's bowl eligibility hopes went down the drain with the loss.

The team has a week off before facing Vanderbilt on Nov. 22 in Nashville and hosting Kentucky Nov. 29 in Knoxville to finish the season.