Published: November 06, 2009 12:00 pm      

ROCKY TOP BEAT: Vols have a chance at an in season winning record

The first week of November is here and the Vols have a chance to do something that hasn’t happened since the 2007 season, have an in season winning record.

To do that they will have to accomplish a first for new coach Lane Kiffin – win two games in a row. These two little facts seem to be unbelievable when you are talking about the University of Tennessee football program, but that is where we are in 2009. The good news is that a top 25 team (South Carolina) went down to our newly attired Black and Orange clad warriors last weekend.

Despite the cool dampness that night, the hearts of all Vol fans were warmed with the effort put forth by the Vols.

This week to get within one game of being bowl eligible, they will have to defeat a Memphis team led into Neyland Stadium by Coach Tommy West, whose Tigers have more questions than answers so far this season.

At 2-5, Memphis is just what the Vols need to achieve their fifth victory of the season and make it two in a row before a national TV audience on ESPNU at 6 p.m. CST.

This year’s homecoming game should have a different atmosphere and hopefully a different ending than last season’s game.

Last year, the Vols not only were coming off a loss at South Carolina but were playing for their newly designated lame duck coaching staff. We all remember all too well that miserable afternoon when Wyoming beat the Vols 13-7. It appears those days are gone and soon to be forgotten as the future looks pretty bright for the Kiffin led Vols.

The Vols will be entering the game Saturday with their third starting middle linebacker after loosing Savion Frazier for the season with a knee injury. Herman Lathers will be the likely replacement.

Coach Kiffin opened up numerous starting positions for competition this week to keep the team focused with a heavy underdog as the opponent this week. The Vols hold a 20-1 advantage in the series with the Tigers with only the 1996 slip up by the Peyton Manning led Vols at Memphis as the only blemish with this in state rival.

With the Vols seemingly headed in the right direction, Jim Butler’s Commodores continue to try and salvage a season gone terribly wrong after their successes last season. To make things worse they have lost their starting QB to injury. Only 15 days left until they come to Knoxville to play in the game that Jim and I wait for each season.

November is not only important for the football Vols; it also marks the start of the 2009-2010 basketball season. The men won their final exhibition game Wednesday night by drubbing Lincoln Memorial University 97-58.

Scotty Hopson led the Vols with 20 points as Tennessee now gets ready for their home opener next Friday against Austin Peay. This could be the most talented team that Bruce Pearl has assembled since his arrival in Knoxville in 2005. Still, Coach Pearl will undoubtedly have his hands full with the rest of the SEC as he tries to win his second SEC Championship and a fourth Eastern Division title.

Meanwhile, the Lady Vols opened their exhibition season last night in Knoxville against Carson-Newman. They will play Delta State in their final exhibition Monday night before opening against a tough Baylor team at home the following Sunday on ESPN2.

Coach Pat Summitt’s lineup is still evolving but should have more than just a few options to score from the perimeter with the addition of incoming freshman Taber Spain, a 6-1 sharp shooting guard.

After taking their lumps last season in an un-Summit like year, the returning team is one year older and full of potential. With nary a senior on the roster, the sky is the limit for Coach Summitt’s team as she adds to her historic 1,005 career coaching victories.

This will be a busy weekend in Knoxville with homecoming and the basketball teams gearing up for their season.

Vols fans should be excited about what is ahead in the coming months; it all starts with the football team having a strong finish to their season. That will take care of a lot of the disappointments left over from last season and help carry the enthusiasm over to the winter sports. It should be a fun night in Knoxville tomorrow with the Vols back in Orange, and The Pride of the Southland Band getting an assist with "Rocky Top" from the Alumni Band. “It is time” for the Vols to post their first winning in- season record since Eric Ainge was the signal caller, and that really seems like a long, long time ago, GO VOLS!!!

(Frank Gale is a Chronicle correspondent and his column appears weekly.)