On August 6, 1945, a B-29 Superfortress named the Enola Gay turned back toward Hiroshima to let the crew observe the effects of the terrible new weapon they had just unleashed. The co-pilot, Capt. Robert W. Lewis had been asked by New York Times reporter William Laurence to keep a log of the mission. Lewis noted such things as time of takeoff and the time the plane reached cruise altitude. At 8:09 (Hiroshima Time) AM Lewis, warming to his task wrote, “ There will now be a short intermission while we bomb our target.” As he observed the effects of the bomb, Lewis’ mood changed. He wrote a simple yet profound summary to the day’s activities.

I cannot improve on Capt. Lewis’ statement and it seems to sum up Tennessee’s win at Florida today:

“MY GOD!”

Coach Fulmer killed the last monkey on his back tonight. There are NO MORE MONKEYS. Winning in the Swamp was it. Congratulations to the coaches and players on a magnificent effort. Good, hard, CLEAN football carried the day. Somewhere tonight the General just lit up a victory cigar and poured himself some good TENNESSEE sippin’ whiskey.

So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?

1.The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.

Absolutely. No doubt. While Tennessee did not play error-free football they made no real fatal errors. Florida just made more mistakes, mental and otherwise.

2.Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way … SCORE!

Tennessee got few breaks handed them in this game. They made their own luck. By balancing their offense and using receivers other than Stallworth and Washington, they kept the Gators’ defense guessing . More often than not, the Gators guessed wrong.

3.If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don’t let up … PUT ON MORE STEAM!

The Vols jumped out to an early 14-0 lead. The Gators then made their own statement with 20 unanswered points in the 2nd quarter. Many thought the Vols would now wilt under Florida’s vaunted aerial attack in the second half. It just goes to show how much the “experts” know. The Vols held Florida to just 12 points in the second half. Meanwhile they scored 20 points of their own. The defense got MORE aggressive as the game went on. Hats off to Coach John Chavis for an imaginative and effective defensive scheme that will give Spurrier and Grossman nightmares for months.

4.Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.

Casey Clausen was hurried only a handful of times (4 or 5, I think) and had OUTSTANDING protection all night.

5.Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle … THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.

Travis Stephens deserves the Orange Medal of Honor for his performance tonight. To paraphrase John Ward he ran “through, over, around and underneath defenders” from Florida for 226 yards. Rex Grossman was pursued and gang-tackled all night. The offensive line stepped up and played its best game tonight as well. Our weaknesses in coverage were evident but Florida rarely had time to exploit them.

6.Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.

Tennessee’s kickoff coverage teams stepped up as well. They silenced arguably the best return man in the SEC, Lito Sheppard. Sheppard’s only decent return was stuffed by Alex Walls before it could do any real damage. John Findlayson has earned a special place in the hearts of the Vol Nation. He had three catches tonight. His two pass receptions were important but his snag of a last-gasp Florida onside kick will be replayed again and again.

7.Carry the fight to Florida and keep it there for sixty minutes.

Even in the second quarter, Florida knew they were in a dogfight. They had to work for everything they got. Sixty minutes on the dot.

I spoke to CharterVol shortly after the game. He and his ten year old son were watching the game at home. (CharterMom and daughter were off Christmas shopping.) During the Vols’ second drive they were the beneficiary of a flagrant late hit by the Gators, which turned a third-and-long into first and ten. As the officials marked off the penalty, CharterSon looked at his dad and intoned, “The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win!” If we can bring the younger generation up with a deep appreciation of the General and his Maxims, Tennessee’s football tradition is safe for years to come.

Now the Vols go on to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta next Saturday. Rooms previously reserved by Florida fans should be available. LSU is playing well and will present their own set of challenges for the Vol players and coaches. As with this win over Florida one thing is certain:

In the end, the team that best adheres to the Maxims will prevail.

MAXOMG

I thought UT made the most mistakes. But we OVERCAME those mistakes. Could not buy a break, the football god was against us. The refs absolutely blowed chunks. They should be ashamed of themselves. Fulmer should send film and a formal complaint to the SEC office over this game.

OMG love your atomic bomb stuff. I myself happen to be a big fan of those weapons. We should surely make more of them LOL! Do not know about using them, but they are great for the area economy.

and from the general reaction you'd think we DID pop a nuke on their asses! They rank losing to UT in the Swamp right up there with a Hiroshima scale disaster.

OMG

Wonder how many people realize what an athletic play Finlayson made on the on side kick? That cat got up in the air to get the ball & it looked like the ole pigskin sucked right into a nice pair of soft hands (has Finlayson ever dropped a ball?). Glad it was Finlayson instead of Leonard Scott!

Pat, I know your Maxims reports seem to have gone unheralded but it has given me more pleasure to sort through them after a game than any written word ANYWHERE else.
While Carter is indeed the traveling man and for the sake of the team (And Great Company to terrorize the opponent ....see maxim 351..away games) we will again hook up for those much needed wins that we pull out.
Attending the Syracuse and Georgia games were huge and I felt I was amidst one of the greatest UT fans to ever graduate from those hallowed halls. I know we will hit some games again next year.
The maxims are huge Pat, and that brainstorm last summer has had major implications toward our season...for the better. Hell just look where we are!
Accountable to the Generals Maxims!!!!
I hope the consolidation of all the Maxims are in the web site and we can e-mail the link to Coach Fulmer. I know he would appreciate them.
TBA

Doing the Maxim reviews has made me focus more on the flow and strategy of each game. If for no other reason than I knew I had to come up with something for the review.

TBA, as we sat in JJ contemplating the disaster that befell us at the CrackerCurDawg game did you ever think we'd be here discussing a possible NC bid? OF COURSE YOU DID because you kept saying on this board that we were going to BEAT FLORIDA!!!

I wish I could have represented at BHG Stadium (no more "Swamp" from me) with TBA and WC. I kept looking through the crowd shots for you guys but mostly CBS showed a bunch of Gator fans looking like they were watching their dog get run over in slow motion. I'm glad you two had a good time. I will represent when the Slimy Lizards come calling next year.

11 reviews down, 2 to go!!!

MAXOMG

I've got to find that thread where Gray, Beave and ....jumped me out of the bushes after the Colorado win.
THE MIRACLE IN THE SWAMP BABY!!!60 MINUTES OF PURE TENNESSEE FOOTBALL!!!!