Irish unable to catch up to Volunteers
By TIM CASEY
Sports Writer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
It seemed like Notre Dame saw it all in their first eight games of the season.
The Irish faced the strength of Michigan and Michigan State. They matched up against the pass-happy attacks of Drew Brees at Purdue and Oklahoma's Josh Heupel. Navy's unique wishbone attack was a cause of concern for Bob Davie and his staff.
Then came Saturday night against Tennessee.
And its speed.
"They're so fast," freshman Julius Jones said in the Irish's 38-14 loss to the Volunteers. "We tried, but there wasn't much we could do. We haven't faced speed like that. Their speed was remarkable."
Past opponents had a couple of superior athletes that concerned the Irish. Michigan State's
Plaxico Burress, USC's R. Jay Soward and Arizona State's J.R. Redmond all come to mind.
But on Saturday, Tennessee seemed to have the edge in athleticism in almost every position.
From reigning NCAA 60-yard indoor track champion Leonard Scott and running back Travis Henry on offense to linebacker Eric Westmoreland and safety Deon Grant on the defensive side of the ball, the Vols team speed proved the difference.
"You can't not be in a perfect position or not play a defense perfectly and cover those kids," defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said.
Facing the nation's sixth rated defense the Irish offense was never in sync.
Though the passing game was efficient with Jarious Jackson completing 11-of-18 passes for 127 yards and Joey Getherall turning in another solid performance with six catches for 61 yards, the running attack struggled against the Tennessee defense.
The Irish rushed for 121 yards on 43 carries, a mere 2.8 yards per attempt. While Jackson usually has a few option keepers or quarterback draws that gain significant yardage, on Saturday the Irish captain could manage only 38 yards on 13 carries. His longest run on the day was for nine yards.
In order to combat the Vols defensive speed, offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers tried multiple formations and schemes. He implemented a four wide receiver set to get one on one coverage with the defensive backs while also giving the offensive lineman less time to hold their blocks. Tennessee had never faced an option attack this year, so Rogers ran some option plays. It proved unsuccessful.
"All the option is based cut blocking, knocking them off their feet," Rogers said. "When you're real athletic and you run really fast, it's hard to knock them off their feet. They're as good as any defense in the country," Rogers said.
The Vols speed wasn't limited to their defense.
Their offensive athleticism could be seen in the two scores in the third quarter.
On third-and-14 midway through the third quarter, Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin dropped back and found Scott racing past Jason Beckstrom on a fly pattern for a 43-yard touchdown reception.
With 3:12 left in the third, Henry took a handoff from Martin and scampered 40 yards downfield for the touchdown.
For the game, tailbacks Henry and Jamal Lewis combined for 175 yards on 33 carries with Henry rushing for a season-high 132 yards.
Martin completed 18 of 32 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns. His three touchdown passes all went to players (Scott, Donte Stallworth and Eric Parker) who had never caught a touchdown before Saturday's game.
Following the loss, Davie pointed to the secondary's inability to match up with Tennessee's wide receivers as a key to the Vols victory.
"I think you can see we had a hard time covering them," Davie said. "I thought we played the run pretty good until they started going downhill on us but we couldn't cover."
Before the game, Davie said he couldn't disagree with those who said Tennessee was playing the best football of any team in the country. After seeing their talent first hand, Davie stuck to his previous statement.
"I give them credit," Davie said, referring to Tennessee. "They have a lot of weapons on that football team from top to bottom. That's an impressive team."
All Sports Stories for Monday, November 8, 1999
