The Lane Kiffin Era has begun in Vol Nation and Saturday was a great day to be a Tennessee Vol.

It has been a soap opera in Knoxville since Phillip Fulmer and his staff were cut from the program late last year. Everyone, of course, has their opinion on the situation ranging for immediate approval to the worst decision ever made in SEC history.

The truth of the matter was UT was struggling to compete in the SEC and the recent success of rival schools like Vandy, Kentucky and South Carolina left the Vols losing recruiting battles and SEC games. Tack on the pressure of the SEC signing huge network TV deals to capitalize on the popularity of the Conference and the choice became a necessity. The SEC was moving ahead and Tennessee was going backwards and something had to be done.

A tough decision was made to let Fulmer and his staff go.  Then a younger coaching staff was brought in to revamp the aging program and kick start the lagging recruiting of the Vols.

Enter Lane Kiffin.

A man shrouded in perpetual questions marks.

The son of the legendary defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin [who would later join his son's coaching staff] was destined to be a coach of legend like his father. Lane rose up through the ranks fast with a notable stint for the USC Trojans.  However, his last job with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders ended ugly as owner Al Davis claimed Kiffin was in insubordinate fool and he fired Lane and refused to pay out his contract.

We commend Al Davis for those actions.

The decision of one crazed, old man in the jumpsuit and Depends left Kiffin open for a job at the same time the Vols needed a coach looking to prove himself. Timing is everything is sports.

Lane Kiffin during First Vol Walk

Lane Kiffin during First Vol Walk

Flashforward to Saturday which marked the first time Lane Kiffin coached the Vols in a game as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers came to Knoxville to open the season. The success of the Vols rested on the fantastic recruitment class Kiffin had this year and his stellar coaching staff, the highest paid in the SEC.  Question marks surrounded the program as people questioned the hire and the future of the Vols.

In the end today, three rookies found their way to the end zone and 10 members total of Kiffin’s first recruiting class played in the game as Tennessee shook off many of those question marks and pounded the Hilltoppers 63-7 to notch their first win as a team.

Bryce Brown, the #1 running back recruit last year according to Rivals.com, demonstrated his power and hype by rushing for 107 yards including bowling over 3 Hilltoppers on the goal line for his first TD. Add in a monster performance by Montario Hardesty [over 100+ yards] and 2 TD’s for David Oku and the Vols RB’s looked solid.

For the first time in years the Vols receivers played like they actually attended practice at some point during the year.  More passes were caught than dropped, an unfamiliar sight at Neyland Stadium in recent years. It’s such a relief to see the receiving corp become a reliable part of the offense again. QB Crompton found 5 receivers open for TD’s including 2 to TE Stocker. Now if we can just have that faith at the QB position we’ll be happy.

Fifth-year senior Jonathan Crompton, arguably one of our least favorite QB’s we have seen at Tennessee, was easily the weakest link on the offense.  The first quarter for Crompton was pretty much how he left off last year.  Crompton’s 2 interceptions and a fumble near the goal line in the 1st half did not invoke much confidence in us and making these mistakes against a team like WKU is far more acceptable than doing them against Florida or Bama. Do that in Florida and you could easily be down 14+ points.

Thankfully, he did settle down midway through the 2nd quarter and had a strong finish. For a guy prone to bonehead mistakes like fumbles, forced passes and interceptions, Crompton will have to shake off last year and step up to take this team deep in the rankings.

Thankfully, the Vols defense played an outstanding game and stopped the Hilltoppers from capitalizing on crompton’s mistakes.

With many of the initial question marks now gone with their first win as a team but some key ones remain. The Vols performed exactly how a Top 20 team should play against a team of WKU’s talent. The Vols dominated both sides of the ball and came away with an outstanding victory.

But what about the constancy factor?  How will the team play against higher-caliber teams like UCLA next week or one on the road and more importantly how will Lane Kiffin do against the rivals of ‘Bama, Flordia and Georgia?  It’s a long season ahead but even with those critical questions left unanswered we are excited about how the program has come together.

Go Vols!

NOTES:

  • Many former Vols were in attendance for the game including Peyton Manning, Albert Haynesworth, Terry Fair and Joey Kent.
  • Very sad news. Friday night before the game former Vol Jesse Mahelona died in a car accident in Hawaii.
  • Overall, of the 7 TD’s scored by the Vols 3 were by freshmen.
  • Tennessee amassed 657 yards of offense, of which 380 came on the ground.
  • ERIC BERRY HEISMAN Watch: Berry almost intercepted the first pass of the Hilltoppers but in the end was held to 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.
  • Rivals: Florida wins, ‘Bama wins against VTech, Georgia loses against OK St.

[Vol Walk photo source]