At the beginning of this year, I said the season depended on Ainge. If he had stayed healthy, I believe UT, not LSU, would have clocked ND in the Sugar Bowl.
That said, UT lost to PSU for two reasons. Foster's fumbles and the fact that PSU dominated the bubble. The Vol DT's were undersized due primarily to the loss of Harrell but because of a known lack of depth too. The run game which had been poor all year looked better but Foster put it on the ground leading to 10 PSU points and preventing 7 by UT... a 17 point swing. The game could have and should have been 20-10 the other way without the TO's or worse. It would have been much worse without the 50-100 lb advantage their OL had against the DT's. The D couldn't get off the field.
I know Mitchell was a hero to alot of folks here but he was blocked all day and offered virtually no resistance to the run game.
What are the Vols chances?
They need to find 2 WR's that can catch and block. The TE's will take up the slack from there.
They need a rotation of 4 DT's with size and strength and a MLB that plays with a really bad attitude at 240 to 250 rather than the light weights they normally have.
Ainge should be good. The OL, in spite of the nega's here, is very young and will develop into a very good unit. The OLB's are among the best in the country and the DB's should be better than the Vols have historically had with Hefney, Fellows, Morley, Gaines, Kemp, Wardlow, plus Berry and a bunch of other athletic recruits. The JUCO Willingham looks like a guy who can make a contribution.
I still think Foster needs to become a FB but he will probably fade behind a healthy Coker/Hardesty rotation anyway. The run game's improvement will be the like Ainge this year. Night and day.
In case you missed the Army game, Berry played the part of Santa... he was everywhere. The West ripped the East secondary but threw away from Berry all day.
Bottom line: If UT finds at least 2 good WR's and 2 or 3 serviceable subs and the right DT's and MLB's to stop the run, they'll be a 10 win team... and there is enough material for the coaches to have it done by August.
If I were king, this would be Fulmer's last shot... and I like the guy. I don't particularly blame him for Foster putting it on the ground twice or the Ainge and Harrell injuries except that the lack of DT depth was a known problem. However, next year's team will be as talented as any in the conference except possibly LSU if Russell returns. Everyone else is upgrading at coach. CPF needs to prove he belongs or Hamilton needs to find him a desk to sit behind- offering him the opportunity to graciously bow out for "health reasons" or something.