Vols back home, back in SEC race after LSU victory

Now coach Phillip Fulmer wants the team to keep climbing, starting this week against Mississippi.

The Vols (2-1, 1-1) lost their chance to take control of the East division by losing at Florida, and the whole season looked bleak when they trailed No. 4 LSU 21-0 at halftime Monday night.

In one of Tennessee’s biggest comebacks ever, the Vols took control in the second half to tie it and then won 30-27 in overtime.

“What it can mean is going to be determined by what we do with these next games we have in front of us. I believe they understand that completely,” Fulmer said Wednesday.

“I think we’ll get to celebrate it and enjoy it a lot more if we build on it and do the right things.”

Tennessee has one less practice day this week to prepare for Saturday’s home game against Mississippi (1-2, 0-1) because the LSU game was moved to Monday due to Hurricane Rita. The Vols are 21-point favorites over the Rebels, who have lost to Vanderbilt and Wyoming.

Fulmer does not believe a shorter practice week should be an issue, likening it to NFL teams that play on Monday night and then follow with the next game on Sunday.

“I think that’s a mindset. We’re going to do our part to make sure we handle the time on the field and the physical part,” he said. “Our conditioning is good. I don’t have any doubts about that. We have a couple of guys banged up that need to get back to 100 percent. If we can do that, we’ll be fine.”

The coaches used extra time on Sunday and Monday to break down film of Ole Miss. Tuesday practice was spent mainly correcting mistakes from the game.

Coming out of the LSU game, Fulmer said the defense needs to continue playing the way it did against Florida and LSU. The Tigers were held to six points after halftime, including just a field goal in overtime that allowed Tennessee’s offense to win with a touchdown.

Jonathan Wade, who had four tackles and a fumble recovery at LSU, earned a starting spot at cornerback ahead of Roshaun Fellows, Fulmer said.

With Rick Clausen replacing Erik Ainge at quarterback at the end of the first half, the Vols got the offense rolling the way Fulmer wanted to see at the beginning of the year.

“I think we took some real good strides there,” he said.

Clausen was 18-of-28 for 180 yards in the second half, and he threw a touchdown pass and had another on a sneak at the goal line. Clausen will start against Ole Miss.

Special teams also struggled in the first two games, and Fulmer said there was some progress at LSU.

Freshman Lucas Taylor got his first chance to return kicks. He handled two kickoff returns with runs of 20 and 25 yards and returned three punts.

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