It’s just been 10 short days

news@theheraldnewspapers.com It’s the third Saturday in September. That is a special day for several reasons. It means another 9-11 has come and gone without another terrorist attack on our soil. It means in a few short days we say good-bye to one of the most brutal summers in history. It means there are only 99 shopping days until Christmas. In these parts it means something else. It means it’s Florida Week. Yes, the hated Gators are coming to town and the excitement is already building. In the early 90’s, the third Saturday in September replaced the third Saturday in October as THE game on the Vols’ football schedule. The winner of this early season battle usually takes its rightful place as the team to beat in the SEC East. Admittedly, the game has lost some of its glitter since Saint Steve is no longer on the sidelines for the Gators tossing his visor. Urban Meyer doesn’t conjure up the same kinds of emotions in UT fans. He actually seems like a nice guy. But they are still the Gators and Meyer does have a guy named Leak at quarterback who was once thought to be the next great signal caller for the Vols. Ironically, less than two weeks ago, Tennessee faithful looked at this week with dread. Many already had the game in the loss column. The only question was how ugly would it get. There was good reason for pessimism in the Vol Nation. After all, the Vols were coming off a miserable 5-6 season and the Gators were picked to win the SEC East and possibly a national championship. Boy, how things have changed in ten short days. That was before Erik Ainge started putting up Heisman like numbers. That was before the Vols man-handled California, a consensus Top Ten team. That was before the Vols were 2-0 and poised to crack the Top Ten themselves. Vol fans entered the season thinking Peach Bowl. They are now talking BCS. They entered the season praying for a winning record. Now, they’re talking about an undefeated season. Before the season, fans were wondering how soon backup Jonathon Crompton would supplant Ainge at quarterback. Now, Ainge is being mentioned in the same breath with guys like Manning and Shuler. Boy, how things have changed in ten short days. Sorry, I think I already said that. Vol fans are elated to be 2-0. Forget the scare against Air Force. If anything, the nail biting win last Saturday has only heightened expectations for a great season. This isn’t 2005. Last year, Air Force would surely have made that two-point conversion and won the game. Last year everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It was a “perfect storm” as Coach Fulmer has said a thousand times. Fans believe that this year the breaks will even out and everything will go the way of the Big Orange. Pessimism on Rocky Top has been replaced by optimism. And it happened in ten short days. For now, the heat is off Fulmer. There was much speculation in the off-season that the Vols’ head man had to win this year or he would be the former Vol coach. No UT coach has ever had two straight losing seasons and kept his job. You can bet Fulmer was well aware of that little tidbit of Big Orange trivia. Talk radio stirred the pot speculating on who might replace Fulmer. That was ten short days ago. Apparently, Fulmer suddenly remembered how to coach. He may be Coach of the Year or at least Comeback Coach of the Year. With two wins, Fulmer and the Vols have raised expectations back to the unrealistic levels of years past. They have made Gator Week something special again. In five days, they get their chance to make a statement with their second win over a Top Ten team. But what if the Vols of the second half of the Air Force game are the REAL Vols? What if the Erik Ainge of old shows up? What if the Gators spoil the undefeated season before it even gets started well? Boy, how things can change in five short days.