Watching the '98 Arkansas game on SECN

[Hacksaw]

On Deon Grant's blocked FG in the 4th quarter, when Al Wilson scooped-up the ball and ran it back to the Arkansas 37, I caught myself thinking how well the Vols got back and made blocks to help maximize the return yardage.

The thought occurred to me: "How did he not go all the way for the TD?" And just as quickly as I thought it, an Arkansas player streaked in from off-camera to make the tackle along the sideline.

I guess I had forgotten the details of that play. It was a potential game changer for both sides. If Al scores, we go up by a FG and the pressure shifts to the Hogs to have to come from behind. The circumstances that led to the famous Clint Stoerner fumble would have been different. And who knows how that might have changed the outcome?

As the Arkansas player got up after making the tackle on Al, I saw the Buddy Holly glasses and noticed that it was Brandon Burlsworth -- big #77. How in the world did he get downfield to make that play? What an unbelievable player. A former walk-on who went on to become an All-American. One of the many great football players on the field that night.

Burlsworth made that spectacular play. And it was he who later in the game, being pushed back by the great VFL Billy Ratliff, stepped on Stoerner's foot to cause the famous fumble. What a game.

Sadly, as many here no doubt remember, Burlsworth would be killed in a car accident less than 6 months after this game -- 11 days after being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts.

But his was a great story. Too short, but great. And worth remembering.

 

[TAF]

Just shows how many circumstances/things have to happen in a Championship run...

And there are 147+ OTHER stories like this from the other games that year...

 

[BeecherVol]

IIRC AL come up hobbling after the play.

 

[fade route]

We were dang lucky to win that natty. Think about how many things went in our favor:

- the 4th down interference call against Syracuse
- Martin throwing a rainbow to Price against UF that should have been an easy pick
- the walk on or freshman kicker that missed the game tying FG by like 3 inches against UF
- Ohio St and UCLA losing gimme games late in the year to push UT to#1
- Wienke getting hurt before the national title game and FSU having to play "the rooster" at QB who was God awful
- andofcourse the Stoener fumble against a Arkansas team that dominated us for 3 quarters

 

[utvolpj]

We were dang lucky to win that natty. Think about how many things went in our favor:


- Ohio St and UCLA losing gimme games late in the year to push UT to#1
- Wienke getting hurt before the national title game and FSU having to play "the rooster" at QB who was God awful
- andofcourse the Stoener fumble against a Arkansas team that dominated us for 3 quarters

UT was ahead of ucla in the polls before they lost a game

Weinke keep got hurt the first week in Nov. His backup was good enough to beat UF by more than UT did

Stoerner's fumble was forced by the DL

The rest you listed are simply football plays. That's not luck

 

[BeecherVol]

UT was ahead of ucla in the polls before they lost a game

Weinke keep got hurt the first week in Nov. His backup was good enough to beat UF by more than UT did

Stoerner's fumble was forced by the DL

The rest you listed are simply football plays. That's not luck

That's true. Im still not sure what Arky was trying to accomplish with the roll out.

 

[utvolpj]

That's true. Im still not sure what Arky was trying to accomplish with the roll out.

Oh it was a Houston Nutt special for sure but the bad call was made worse by blowing up the OL

 

[fade route]

UT was ahead of ucla in the polls before they lost a game

Weinke keep got hurt the first week in Nov. His backup was good enough to beat UF by more than UT did

Stoerner's fumble was forced by the DL

The rest you listed are simply football plays. That's not luck

All UCLA had to do was beat Miami the last game of the year, which was a makeup game from a Sept hurricane, and they would have played for the NC

The notion that the DL cause Stoerner's fumble is one of the most hilarious myths in college football. In any pass play, which this one was designed to be a play action rollout, the guards and tackles' first step is back - no one pushed an all American like Bullsworth into Stoerner. Furthermore, no Vol forced Stoerner to inexplicably brace his fall with his ball hand. That's on Stoerner.

Thirdly, the rooster was the 3rd string QB if I recall and hadn't played but a few downs of college football prior to that game - I could be wrong on this butI think I'm right.

 

[BeecherVol]

Oh it was a Houston Nutt special for sure but the bad call was made worse by blowing up the OL

I remember sitting in the endzone when he come out from under center the guy next to me said "where the **** is he going." Before he could get it completely out you don't see the QB anymore and the ball is laying on the ground.

Good times.

 

[Hacksaw]

All UCLA had to do was beat Miami the last game of the year, which was a makeup game from a Sept hurricane, and they would have played for the NC

The notion that the DL cause Stoerner's fumble is one of the most hilarious myths in college football. In any pass play, which this one was designed to be a play action rollout, the guards and tackles' first step is back - no one pushed an all American like Bullsworth into Stoerner. Furthermore, no Vol forced Stoerner to inexplicably brace his fall with his ball hand. That's on Stoerner.

Thirdly, the rooster was the 3rd string QB if I recall and hadn't played but a few downs of college football prior to that game - I could be wrong on this butI think I'm right.

They had to replace Weinke and we had to replace Jamaal Lewis. They lost, so naturally they pointed to that as their excuse. But I remember FSU fans saying before the game that they liked their chances better with Outzen in there, since he was more mobile than Weinke. They were very confident about Outzen, particularly after his performance against the Gators (which a lot of FSU fans thought would be a sure loss without Weinke). And a lot of the "experts" picked FSU to win the game against us. So the Outzen thing comes off more like an excuse than a big break for us.

The Syracuse PI call was the right call. It's true that such a call is not always ruled the same way by the refs, so in that sense it was a big break for us. It would have been an even bigger break for Syracuse if they had not called it, since the defender definitely made contact with the receiver before the ball got there. Again, Syracuse fans and NE sportswriters made a big deal out of it, but it was the right call.

Burlsworth said after the game that he got his footwork screwed-up and it was his fault he stepped on Stoerner's foot. Billy Ratliff was pushing Burlsworth back hard from the moment of the snap, so he gets credit for contributing to that. I don't know why anyone would try to deny that he played a part. And without Stoerner's foot being stepped on, the fumble doesn't happen (and LMAO @ "inexplicably").

I would agree that we got our fair share of breaks along the way to that NC, which I think is the point you are trying to make. The fact that other contenders (i.e., Ohio State and UCLA) lost games along the way, while we didn't, certainly falls into that category. All Championship teams need a few breaks along the way and we were no different.

 

[VolBricks]

We were dang lucky to win that natty. Think about how many things went in our favor:

- the 4th down interference call against Syracuse
- Martin throwing a rainbow to Price against UF that should have been an easy pick
- the walk on or freshman kicker that missed the game tying FG by like 3 inches against UF
- Ohio St and UCLA losing gimme games late in the year to push UT to#1
- Wienke getting hurt before the national title game and FSU having to play "the rooster" at QB who was God awful
- andofcourse the Stoener fumble against a Arkansas team that dominated us for 3 quarters

Ah.....6 of my favorite memories......

You know the funny thing is I lived in FL and was accepted to FSU as a student in 1988. I did not attend but I did apply there. I would up moving back to TN and attending the greatest university in the world and have been a Vol fan since. Strange how things work out.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

I remember sitting in the endzone when he come out from under center the guy next to me said "where the **** is he going." Before he could get it completely out you don't see the QB anymore and the ball is laying on the ground.

Good times.

Gawd, I swear that ball was on the ground for 30 minutes. I almost choked out my friend waiting on Ratliff to fall on it.

 

[jakez4ut]

FSU with the Rooster was still favored to beat us.

that season was about two things....1) when you have a chance to make a play....MAKE IT!! and they did more often than not 2) every NT team has balls bounce and breaks go their way.

remember Nebraska 96 against MO? the tipped, kicked pass for a TD? or Miami in 01 that had to return a fumble 90+ yards to beat Boston College? there are others...but you get the idea.

 

[jakez4ut]

On Deon Grant's blocked FG in the 4th quarter, when Al Wilson scooped-up the ball and ran it back to the Arkansas 37, I caught myself thinking how well the Vols got back and made blocks to help maximize the return yardage.

The thought occurred to me: "How did he not go all the way for the TD?" And just as quickly as I thought it, an Arkansas player streaked in from off-camera to make the tackle along the sideline.

I guess I had forgotten the details of that play. It was a potential game changer for both sides. If Al scores, we go up by a FG and the pressure shifts to the Hogs to have to come from behind. The circumstances that led to the famous Clint Stoerner fumble would have been different. And who knows how that might have changed the outcome?

As the Arkansas player got up after making the tackle on Al, I saw the Buddy Holly glasses and noticed that it was Brandon Burlsworth -- big #77. How in the world did he get downfield to make that play? What an unbelievable player. A former walk-on who went on to become an All-American. One of the many great football players on the field that night.

Burlsworth made that spectacular play. And it was he who later in the game, being pushed back by the great VFL Billy Ratliff, stepped on Stoerner's foot to cause the famous fumble. What a game.

Sadly, as many here no doubt remember, Burlsworth would be killed in a car accident less than 6 months after this game -- 11 days after being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts.

But his was a great story. Too short, but great. And worth remembering.

agree 100% on #77. good stuff there. by all accounts, that was a stand up kid, taken way too early.

 

[Backwards K]

UT was ahead of ucla in the polls before they lost a game

Weinke keep got hurt the first week in Nov. His backup was good enough to beat UF by more than UT did

Stoerner's fumble was forced by the DL

The rest you listed are simply football plays. That's not luck

Amazing how many UT "fans" want to apologize for the 1998 Undefeated, Undisputed National Championship season. DANG!! Quit apologizing for that team. THEY WERE NOT GOING TO LOSE A GAME THAT YEAR!! That team was going to make whatever plays had to be made to win and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

 

[fade route]

They had to replace Weinke and we had to replace Jamaal Lewis. They lost, so naturally they pointed to that as their excuse. But I remember FSU fans saying before the game that they liked their chances better with Outzen in there, since he was more mobile than Weinke. They were very confident about Outzen, particularly after his performance against the Gators (which a lot of FSU fans thought would be a sure loss without Weinke). And a lot of the "experts" picked FSU to win the game against us. So the Outzen thing comes off more like an excuse than a big break for us.

The Syracuse PI call was the right call. It's true that such a call is not always ruled the same way by the refs, so in that sense it was a big break for us. It would have been an even bigger break for Syracuse if they had not called it, since the defender definitely made contact with the receiver before the ball got there. Again, Syracuse fans and NE sportswriters made a big deal out of it, but it was the right call.

Burlsworth said after the game that he got his footwork screwed-up and it was his fault he stepped on Stoerner's foot. Billy Ratliff was pushing Burlsworth back hard from the moment of the snap, so he gets credit for contributing to that. I don't know why anyone would try to deny that he played a part. And without Stoerner's foot being stepped on, the fumble doesn't happen (and LMAO @ "inexplicably").

I would agree that we got our fair share of breaks along the way to that NC, which I think is the point you are trying to make. The fact that other contenders (i.e., Ohio State and UCLA) lost games along the way, while we didn't, certainly falls into that category. All Championship teams need a few breaks along the way and we were no different.

Burlsworth was trying to be a good team mate to Stoerner who put the blame all on himself and still catches hell from idiots from time to time.

Watch the tape on YouTube, Stoerner trips over Burlsworth's feet before a Vol defender ever makes contact with Burlsworth, so the notion that our Dline CAUSED that play is laughable.

 

[utvolpj]

All UCLA had to do was beat Miami the last game of the year, which was a makeup game from a Sept hurricane, and they would have played for the NC

Then they would have played #1 ranked UT. Them losing had no effect on UT's spot in Tempe

Thirdly, the rooster was the 3rd string QB if I recall and hadn't played but a few downs of college football prior to that game - I could be wrong on this butI think I'm right.

He started and beat a top-5 UF team

 

[vol-un-tear]

Burlsworth was trying to be a good team mate to Stoerner who put the blame all on himself and still catches hell from idiots from time to time.

Watch the tape on YouTube, Stoerner trips over Burlsworth's feet before a Vol defender ever makes contact with Burlsworth, so the notion that our Dline CAUSED that play is laughable.

"He stumbled and fumbled!" great call by McDonough!

 

[fade route]

Then they would have played #1 ranked UT. Them losing had no effect on UT's spot in Tempe


He started and beat a top-5 UF team

You're right on that first point - but they would have been there instead of an FSU that needed that miracle to be there. UCLA would have been a tougher opponent.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

UCLA tougher than the Noles? What is that based on?

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Luck had nothing to do with the 1998 season. Why some people think it did baffles me.

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

I watched that this morning as well. Still teared up at the end. They never gave up.

I hope Team 120 is aware of that game.

"Tee, keep your pads on you're gonna get the ball back" - Bill Ratliff

 

[UT_Dutchman]

Burlsworth was trying to be a good team mate to Stoerner who put the blame all on himself and still catches hell from idiots from time to time.

Watch the tape on YouTube, Stoerner trips over Burlsworth's feet before a Vol defender ever makes contact with Burlsworth, so the notion that our Dline CAUSED that play is laughable.

Not so fast my friend, it's called anticipation. Burlsworth had been getting beat by Ratliff and walker. Watch the whole game. He knew what was coming and his reaction showed by stepping on Stoerners foot. Closet hog?

 

[fade route]

Not so fast my friend, it's called anticipation. Burlsworth had been getting beat by Ratliff and walker. Watch the whole game. He knew what was coming and his reaction showed by stepping on Stoerners foot. Closet hog?

That's a reach

 

[fade route]

UCLA tougher than the Noles? What is that based on?

They were ranked higher? A much better QB in McNown than Outzen?