By Jimmy Hyams 

A caller to SportsTalk radio asked Friday if any score in the Tennessee-Georgia State game would alter my preseason prediction of a 7-5 season.

My response: Yes, if UT wins by only 10-9.

My new answer: Absolutely, if you can’t beat Georgia State.

My fears for the Vols were brutally evident in the home opener: UT isn’t very good along the offensive line and even worse on the defensive line. It didn’t seem to matter that Trey Smith returned at left guard and Aubrey Solomon was cleared to play defensive tackle.

Tennessee was outplayed and outcoached by a team that was 2-10 last year, lost its last seven games and joined the ranks of the FBS just three years ago.

Georgia State’s 38-30 win was so embarrassing for Tennessee, it had media types flipping through the pages of the UT media guide to find a more appalling upset.

Was it the 21-14 defeat to North Texas State in 1975?

Was it the 13-7 loss to Rutgers in 1979?

Was it the 21-17 faux pas against Memphis in 1996?

Or was it the 13-7 wilting against Wyoming in 2008, the game after Phillip Fulmer had been fired?

Predictions that Tennessee could win nine games were greatly exaggerated.

Predictions that Tennessee could win seven appear to be greatly exaggerated.

Tennessee’s lack of ability along the line of scrimmage is why I tempered my optimism about UT winning more than seven games. It’s hard to explain how UT could have 66 rushing yards in the first quarter, 27 the rest of the game and minus-2 in the second half – against a Georgia State team that allowed 37.4 points per game and 489.5 total yards last year.

When the Panthers marched 75 yards for a go-ahead touchdown (21-17) to open the third quarter, I knew the Vols were in deep trouble. When Jarrett Guarantano threw an interception with 4:14 left in the game, I knew it was over.

“Definitely, the best team out there won the game,’’ said Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt, who credited Georgia State multiple times. “They outcoached us. It starts with that.’’

Pruitt said the Panthers “confused us a little bit.’’

He added: “We didn’t execute to where it gave us a chance.’’

Georgia State hogged the ball in the second half – time of possessions was basically 18 minutes to 12 — and played keet away from UT’s offense by converting 10 of 17 third downs.

“We didn’t have guys ready to play in the third down package,’’ Pruitt said.

Asked how he would assess UT’s play at the line of scrimmage, Pruitt was pointed: “Look at the yards rushing. Georgia State had 213. Tennessee had 93. That tells the tale.’’

Tennessee led 14-7 after the first quarter, but was mired in missed assignments and mediocrity thereafter.

“I believe we were ready to play, but you’ve got to execute,’’ Pruitt said. “We have to be able to execute at a high level.’’

Translation: UT isn’t good enough to not execute and win – even against Georgia State.

One disturbing comment from UT involved effort.

“They had more want-to than we did,’’ safety Nigel Warrior said.

Senior receiver Marquez Callaway was asked if he agreed with Warrior’s assessment.

“It showed,’’ Callaway said.

It’s hard to explain why a Tennessee team, opening its second season under Pruitt, wouldn’t have more want-to. But clearly, it didn’t.

And when things began to slip away, UT didn’t have the poise to pull it out.

Warrior used the worth “flabbergasted’’ to describe one the greatest upset losses in UT history – the Vols were a 26-point favorite.

It’s worth noting that Warrior said UT knew what Georgia State was going to do, but outside linebacker Darrell Taylor had a different viewpoint.

“The defense didn’t play hard enough,’’ Taylor said. “I don’t think we were prepared for what they were going to run.’’

UT certainly didn’t look prepared. Often times the defense wasn’t lined up correctly. Once, both defensive ends were lined up on the same side.

Guarantano, who was 26 of 40 for 311 yards and two touchdowns with four sacks, was visibly angered.

“I’m disgusted, to be honest,’’ Guarantano said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat this. I’m really upset.

“I don’t even want to go outside now. I want to go in the film room.’’

That might be the answer to playing Brigham Young on Saturday.

That and more want-to.

Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all (BKW wings festival is Sunday at World’s Fair Park.)

(This is the second in a two-part series on Tee Martin. Part two talks about Martin leading the Vols to a national championship.)                                   

By Jimmy Hyams

In 1997, Tennessee won its first SEC championship in seven years.

But the prospects in 1998 weren’t so bright.  The Vols had lost record-setting quarterback Peyton Manning, the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft.

Tennessee lost two other first-round draft picks: Terry Fair and Marcus Nash.

Coach Phillip Fulmer had some talent – UT was a preseason No. 10 in the AP poll — but he had an inexperienced junior quarterback named Tee Martin.

Not many folks gave the Vols a chance to win the SEC.

Not many folks gave the Vols a chance to win the East against the Mighty Florida Gators.

During the offseason, Fulmer and the staff called a meeting of the players.

“They talked about all the guys that left the program and we’d have a seven-win season, at best,’’ recalls Martin.

“That struck a chord with me and the team because, look at the guys that were recruited here. We had waited our turn to get better and show people what we could do.

“It was like a slap in the face to say we could win (only) seven games. We had a chip on our shoulder.’’

Martin developed another chip when coaches made him go live during spring practice – something unusual for quarterbacks.

“I was ticked off about it,’’ Martin said. “In the history of the program, no quarterback was live (during the spring). Peyton was never live. So why do I have to be live?

“I took it as motivation, like I was being called out.’’

Shortly thereafter, Tennessee had a team meeting and the players asked the coaches to leave the room.

One of the defensive players stood up and yelled: “They’re trying to get us to hurt our quarterback,’’ Martin remembered the player saying. “We’re not going to do that to our quarterback. So offensive line, do your job. And if the defense gets an opportunity to kill Tee, don’t do it.”

Martin: “That’s the brotherhood that helped us win a championship.’’

At the time, Martin said UT’s coaches were challenging the offensive line to improve and to teach Martin to get rid of the ball in a hurry.

“Now that I’m coaching, I get what the idea was,’’ Martin said. “When you’re 18, you don’t get it. … It made me callous.

“It was intended to give us a sense of urgency to get better. It wasn’t received that way.’’

Martin said players had a tremendous offseason before the 1998 campaign. Players were pushed to the limit by coaches who knew how to push their buttons.

Martin said most fans will remember the comeback to beat Syracuse, the overtime win over Florida, the miraculous rally to upend Arkansas.

“What I remember most was the work we did to get there,’’ Martin said.

Martin said the 1998 team had a special chemistry.

“You will not win if you’re not tight,’’ Martin said. “We were close knit. Players looked after each other. We had a player led team.’’

Replacing Manning could be daunting for most anyone. Martin handled it with poise.

“I was always confident,’’ Martin said. “But I wasn’t comfortable. I didn’t get comfortable until after the Auburn game.’’

Tennessee was 3-0 when it played at Auburn that season. Star running back Jamal Lewis went down with a torn ACL against Auburn, but backups Travis Henry and Travis Stephens picked up the slack. UT won a hard-fought game, 17-9.

Lewis’ injury also forced Tennessee to become a more balanced offense, Martin said.

Three weeks later, Martin set an NCAA record with 23 consecutive completions at South Carolina.

“We came together,’’ Martin said.

“We found some kind of mechanism to dominate against the odds.’’

Martin complimented the coaching staff for conducting competitive and spirited practices.

“I thought coach Fulmer did a good job allowing us to compete at a high level in practice, so when the situation came up in games, it wasn’t foreign to us,’’ Martin said. “The moment wasn’t too big for us.’’

The result was Tennessee’s first consensus national championship since 1951.

Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all (The BKW Wings Festival is Sunday with a concert tonight at World’s Fair Park)