Bill Curry, College Football 19y

QBs could decide things for Tigers, Vols

Are you ready for some football? Allow me to tell you who is most assuredly ready: Tennessee coaches, players and fans are ready, and Auburn coaches, players and fans. That's who.

In the case of both schools, the offseason intrigue surrounding the programs has been as unpleasant as any in recent memory, and every football person in each environment is enjoying this young season with vigor unknown in recent years.

In terms of wins and losses, Phillip Fulmer of Tennessee is one of the most successful coaches in the game today. But if we were to ask random fans outside his state what they know about Fulmer they would likely respond, "Oh yeah, he's the guy who would not go to the SEC media days because he might have had papers served on him in that big lawsuit."

Or the academically inclined might say, "I recall him. He is one of those SEC coaches who refuses to accept responsibility for the academic performance of his student-athletes."

Ask rival coaches about Auburn's Tommy Tuberville and they will tell you he coaches sound, fundamental football, that he takes intelligent gambles at propitious times, and that he is tough to beat. But everyday fans might ask, "Isn't he the poor guy who had his bosses flying around trying to hire his replacement when he was preparing to play his biggest rival last year?"

Justified or not, public perception of coaches is shaped by the most recent headlines.

The $64,000 question
Just prior to the Auburn-LSU game I wrote the following in Center Stage:

"The prevailing atmosphere for the Auburn species of Big Cats is one of constant turmoil, confusion about administrators and coaches, and occasional wonder at midnight plane trips. Do not underestimate the capacity of today's student athletes for deductive logic. If their administrators got caught once, how many flights went undetected?

How does one coach or play football in such circumstances? The answer last year was clear: not very well. This year? Weather permitting, we are about to find out."

Weather permitted on Sept. 18, and there was an emphatic answer by Tuberville and his brand of Tigers. They played with intensity and purpose. They ran hard, tackled well and pursued the football with abandon. Jason Campbell, their fine quarterback, responded to his fourth offensive coordinator in as many years with poise and accuracy. They scratched, fought, caught a break or two and did what was required to come away with a vintage SEC win. It was impressive.

Tennessee has come out of the gate with some answers of its own. The anxiety of playing two true freshmen quarterbacks has become a cause celebre with a life of its own, but Brent Schaeffer and Erik Ainge have been simply amazing. Their grace and talent are obvious, but the most important aspect of their performances is preparation. Coach Fulmer and offensive coordinator Randy Sanders have a one-two punch that is the best I have ever seen at this stage.

 Brent Schaeffer and Eric Ainge have been simply amazing. Their grace and talent are obvious, but the most important aspect of their performances is preparation. Tennessee has a one-two punch that is the best I have ever seen at this stage.


Those two kids -- and they are kids -- take the field, survey the defense, look to the sideline, line up formations, wait for the defense to deploy, look back to the sideline, get the signal, approach the line of scrimmage, make their calls to each unit, milk the play clock down to two seconds, get the ball snapped, make proper reads and execute the offense.

When this happens occasionally it might be good fortune, but when it occurs play after play, drive after drive, and wins games, it is a product of outstanding coaching.

As the pundits and other assorted experts decide the quarterback "controversy," Fulmer and Sanders will continue to work their plan from the context of other similar experiences. Tennessee devotees will recall 1994, a time when Peyton Manning was a freshman and there were not one but two other highly touted freshmen at his position.

Todd Helton -- now an All-Star first baseman with the Colorado Rockies -- was one of them, and when Asked when he first knew he would be primarily a baseball player Todd said, "When I saw Peyton Manning throw a football."

Another gifted youngster named Brandon Stewart split time with Manning for awhile, but gradually gave way to the superior player and ended up transferring to Texas A&M.

In 2000, Casey Clausen and A.J. Suggs went back and forth as true freshmen for a reasonable time, and as Clausen took control Suggs opted to move on to Georgia Tech. In each case there was competition in game conditions, a starter was selected on merit, and the other guy moved on.

Quarterbacks transfer. The only recent exception in the SEC., and it is a notable one, is with D.J. Shockley at Georgia. He has shared time (though precious little) with David Greene, and is unlikely to see the field for extended periods unless and until Greene is injured or graduates.

So the veteran Tennessee staff is comfortable with its young two-headed quarterback situation. The Vols win with their decision as long as they win on the field. If both youngsters go into adolescent brain lock and the team gets hammered the way it did last year by Auburn and Georgia, controversy will erupt with a vengeance.

Deja vu
As for Auburn's defense against the double threat, coordinator Gene Chizik has a game plan handy. All he needs is to pull his call sheet from LSU, rehearse it and get it to Knoxville. Nick Saban has his own two-quarterback situation, and while one of his, Marcus Randall, is a senior, the other is of the "gifted freshman" variety. Redshirt freshman JaMarcus Russell split time with Randall and was held in check for the most part against Auburn.

Like Tennessee, LSU is loaded at tailback and has a big, physical offensive line. This reality should be a competitive advantage for Auburn, which has been tried in the fires of real competition. The Plainsmen not only prevailed but did so well enough to currently rank second in the nation in scoring defense at 6.5 ppg.

The game within the game this week involves Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis and Jason Campbell. If Campbell can continue his poised and steady performance, Chavis and the Vols defense will have real trouble getting off the field in third-down situations.

Already allowing conversions at the rate of 41 percent, Tennessee faces an Auburn offense clicking at a 50 percent rate on such conversions. And if Campbell is efficient, Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown will have lots of room, which was bad news for the Vols a year ago.

ESPN college football analyst Bill Curry was an NFL center for 10 seasons and coached for 17 years in the college ranks. His Center Stage examinations of marquee matchups appear each week during the college football season.

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