Thursday, December 30 Miami debacle remains a memory
Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Tennessee Volunteers have some awful
memories of the last time they played Nebraska, memories that serve
as added motivation for Sunday's Fiesta Bowl matchup with the
Cornhuskers.
Tee Martin has led Tennessee back to the Fiesta Bowl.
Getting another shot at Nebraska is almost as good as playing
for the national championship, linebacker Raynoch Thompson said
Tuesday.
"Of course I want to play in a national championship game, but
I was thrilled to find out we get another shot at Nebraska, knowing
what they did to us two years ago," he said.
From the ashes of that 42-17 loss, the Volunteers put together
an undefeated national championship season. Now they have a chance
to add a measure of revenge to the equation.
"It's just lingering in the back of my head, the feeling that I
had coming off of that field," Thompson said. "I'm just going
into this ball game knowing that I'll never let that happen
again."
In the 1998 Orange Bowl, Peyton Manning's final game as
Tennessee's quarterback, Nebraska led 14-3 at the halftime, then
scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to turn it into a
rout.
Defensive end Shaun Ellis said Nebraska "probably was the best
team I've played since I've been here."
"The Florida teams had better athletes, but Nebraska, they're
good at what they do. That's what separates them from everybody
else. They stick to their game plan -- running the ball -- pow, pow,
pow."
It's the kind of relentless attack that wears down a defense.
"That's what happened to us down there in the Orange Bowl,"
defensive back Deon Grant said. "They wore us down in the second
half and just took over."
Defensive coordinator John Chavis said it might be an advantage
that many of his players have faced Nebraska, but he reminded
everyone that these are the 1999 Cornhuskers of coach Frank Solich,
not the 1997 Cornhuskers of Tom Osborne.
"A lot has changed in the last two years," he said. "I do
think that when you've played an option team, you understand a
little bit better how they may plan to attack you, but again
they've got a different guy who's calling the plays."
Still, the Tennessee defensive players know from experience what to expect -- a relentless attack of in-your-face option football
that's a big challenge mentally as well as physically.
"You've got to be real disciplined," Thompson said.
"Everybody's got to do their assignments. One guy misses an
assignment, and it could lead to a touchdown. That's really what's
so deadly about that offense."
But it's an offense also prone to turnovers.
"The disadvantage from their standpoint is they can put the
ball on the ground," Thompson said.
At 9-2, sixth-ranked Tennessee is an underdog against the No. 3
Cornhuskers (11-1). Yet unlike two years ago, these Volunteers know
they have earned a spot among the big-time programs of college
football.
"I've never had a worse feeling than the Nebraska loss,"
Thompson said. "We were thinking 'This is not the football team we
should be.' I think everybody proved that we could play up there
with the big teams when we came back and won the national
championship. We're just trying to prove that again."
