Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low
I know the first question I'm going to get from Tennessee fans following Saturday's 14-12 loss to Auburn is whether or not Phillip Fulmer is going to make it.
I honestly don't know.
I've said many times and I'll continue to say that he deserves to go out on his terms. But there's no denying how far the Tennessee program has fallen. What I do know is that Jonathan Crompton's performance to this point is as ineffective as I've seen a Tennessee starting quarterback be for multiple games in at least the last 25 years.
To be fair, this is his first year as the full-time starter, and he has a new offensive coordinator in Dave Clawson.
But with the Vols' passing game being as anemic as it is right now, they're going to have trouble beating anybody left on their SEC schedule. Crompton finished 8-of-23 for 67 yards against Auburn, and the Vols were just 4-of-16 on third down.
Repeatedly in the fourth quarter, the Vols' defense gave the offense good to decent field position, but the Vols could never capitalize.
Some of Crompton's throws were so erratic that players standing on the sideline would have had a difficult time catching them. But, Crompton is far from the only problem the Vols have on offense. Let's be clear about that.
But Fulmer and Clawson have to take a long look at getting backup Nick Stephens ready to play some next week against Northern Illinois. This is the first time the Vols have started 1-3 since the 1994 season, Peyton Manning's freshman season. They regrouped to finish 8-4 that year. It's hard to fathom that kind of turnaround this season. This is a much more balanced and deeper SEC than it was in the 1990s.
Ironically, Manning was on the Vols' sideline Saturday in Auburn.
Chris Low joined ESPN.com in 2007 after 10 years with The (Nashville) Tennessean covering the University of Tennessee and SEC. The Rock Hill, S.C., native lives with his wife in Knoxville and has three sons.
