The Tennesseean is citing a source within the Tennessee Volunteer football program as saying that Head Coach Phillip Fulmer and Offensive Coordinator Randy Sanders have had ongoing discussions about Sanders’ future with the Volunteers.

With Tennessee’s offense in its worst funk of the Phillip Fulmer era, Randy Sanders could be on his way out as offensive coordinator.

A source within the UT football program told The Tennessean yesterday that Fulmer and Sanders have had ongoing discussions centering around Sanders giving up his coordinator duties.

The source emphasized that nothing had been finalized, and it was unclear whether Sanders would step aside immediately or finish out the season.

Sanders first spoke to Fulmer late Saturday about the possibility of resigning following Tennessee’s 16-15 loss to South Carolina. They talked again yesterday.

Everyone’s talking about the fact that former offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe, who developed both Peyton and Eli Manning, is back healthy and living in Knoxville. He’s said, though, that he will not return to the Vols at the expense of Randy Sanders, with whom he is good friends. I’ve wondered for a couple of weeks whether Athletic Director Mike Hamilton might be working quietly behind the scenes to coordinate a graceful exit for Sanders that would make Cutcliffe feel more comfortable about returning. It sounds like it might be happening.

More later.

John Adams ranks the best 3-4 teams in the nation:

After a last-minute loss to the University of Alabama last week, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said the Vols were the best 3-3 team in the country. So, one loss later, you’re probably thinking: Are the Vols the best 3-4 team in the country?

With that in mind, I give you my first Top 3-4 Poll:

According to Adams, the Volunteers lead North Carolina, North Carolina State, Alabama-Birmingham, and Louisiana-Monroe.

All in fun.

GoVolsXtra coverage (subscription required) of last night’s game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks:

Mike Strange’s game recap begins:

How low can it go?

Alabama. South Carolina. Who’s next?

Tennessee’s disappointing football season took another hit Saturday night and nobody saw this one coming.

South Carolina ended a 12-year losing streak to the Vols with a stunning 16-15 upset at Neyland Stadium.

. . . and ends with this interesting tidbit:

“We’ll make whatever tough decisions need to be made,’’ Fulmer said. “We will get this back on track.’’

In his post-game post, Spring Forward, FALL BACK… to the Pack, blogger John Pennington says there will be coaching staff changes:

One coach is as good as gone now. Another, who uncharacteristically insulted a reporter to his face a couple of weeks ago, will probably be leaving on his own. And if things continue to go South (can they?), a third coach might leave or be re-assigned.

Pennington had this to say about the Volunteer offense:

(Insert sound of crickets here.) What offense?

* * * *

So what happened vs USC? ZERO playmakers. And terrible gaffes at the worst times.

UT left 2 sure touchdowns out on the turf (which would have meant a sure win). Arian Foster, who looks to have an “I can make you miss” quality that Gerald Riggs lacked, once again fumbled (as he did vs Alabama). This week, it was HIS turn to fumble into the end zone. If he doesn’t drop the ball at the goal line, Sanders’ offense gets the TD.

Then there’s Chris Hannon. I believed Hannon to be the best receiver on the team going into the season. So much for that belief. I was disappointed to see him shake his head and show up Erik Ainge after an incompletion early in the game. How funny, then, that Hannon dropped a SURE touchdown on a perfectly thrown ball later in the game? Perhaps Ainge should have shook his head and shown up Hannon.

Either way, that’s 2 TDs that were ABSOLUTELY there if UT’s “playmakers” could actually make plays.

On attendance for the game:

Tennessee fans call themselves “die hard.” Well, judging from the thousands of empty seats around Neyland Stadium (and the mass exodus at halftime), there are apparently a lot of folks around here that are already dead.

Drew Edwards has the Best and Worst feature and the article Spurrier Leads Gamecocks Over Huge Hump.

Mike Griffith does the impossible and finds the silver lining: special teams improvement, and his Report Card gives the first failing grade I remember seeing: an F for the coaching. Overall, he gave the team a D, and summarized the effort this way:

Tennessee had more talent, more opportunities, and a fired-up home crowd. Phillip Fulmer was the first to admit his team failed, calling the performance “unacceptable.’’ Coaching changes appear imminent, some at the hand of Fulmer, others possibly leaving on their own accord.

Mark Burgess says the Volunteer quarterbacks looked dazed, glassy-eyed, and exasperated, and he quotes quarterback Erik Ainge:

“I heard some of our student section start chanting ‘Fire (offensive coordinator Randy) Sanders’ after the game,” Ainge said. “Coach Sanders didn’t throw an interception, or drop a ball in the end zone, or miss two open receivers on third down like I did.

“It’s not play calling. Guys are open and we put that on us. It’s Rick and I and the offense in general.”

Dave Hooker writes on the Vols’ running back and fumbling woes.

And John Adams has a must-read column on the extent of the Vols’ offensive futility. Just one excerpt:

You can’t comprehend the magnitude of the loss unless you know a little something about the winners.

South Carolina lost by 23 points to Alabama and by 41 to Auburn. It ranks 111th in the country in rushing and 85th in rushing defense.

There’s more.

The Gamecocks start two walk-ons on offense. They lost arguably their best player, wide receiver/quarterback/running back Syvelle Newton, to a season-ending injury last week.

Their injury situation only got worse against the Vols. They lost two more wide receivers — Carlos Thomas and Noah Whiteside — to game-ending injuries in the first half.

With all that stacked against them, the Gamecocks would have to play a mistake-free game to have a chance, right?

Not hardly. They lost two fumbles and threw an interception in the first half. They were penalized 10 times.

It doesn’t get much worse.

Does it?

The Vol Abroad has the early round up on the Big Orange Backlash.

The Tennessee Volunteers, who began the season with national championship aspirations, have just lost 16-15 to the perennial 4th-in-the-SEC-east South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Vols fall to 3-4 overall and 2-4 in the SEC. They are 0-3 in the SEC East. They were favorites to win it.

2005 is shaping up to be the worst season for Tennessee football in a very long time. Add to that the fact that pre-season expectations were higher than they had been for a very long time, and you have serious problems on Rocky Top.

Brace yourselves.

This is not going to be pretty.

Pete Fiutak of College Football News says the Tennessee Volunteers’ schedule is as brutal as it gets:

Well, there is some excuse for Tennessee. I don’t care what any formula says, playing at Florida, at LSU, Georgia, at Alabama, and at Notre Dame is as brutal as it gets. Based on winning percentage, the teams with the toughest schedules played so far are: 1) Arkansas, 2) Oklahoma, 3) Tennessee, and tied for fourth are South Florida and Michigan. Going into this weekend, if you want to go by the teams with the toughest schedules yet to be played, they are 1) Cal, 2) Stanford, 3) Iowa, 4) USC, 5) Kansas.

John Pennington has an excellent piece on GoVolsXtra today (subscription required) featuring a fictional conversation between Tennessee Volunteer head coach Phillip Fulmer and the ghost of former head coach General Robert R. Neyland.

Fulmer is studying tape when the ghost of Neyland enters and starts doling out advice, including when to throw, when to quick kick, etc. After dispensing his tips, Neyland prepares to leave because he’s got to get back to his game against Bear Bryant and Alabama:

“You know how the Bear couldn’t beat me in life? Streak’s still intact.”

Fulmer mulls this over. “General, why don’t you sit back down and tell me a little more about this quick-kick idea. By the way, how do you handle the call-in shows?”

Neyland looks bewildered.

“They don’t have call-in shows in the afterlife?”

“They do but not in heaven.”

An excellent piece, John.

South Carolina Gamecock head coach Steve Spurrier is saying that the Tennessee Volunteers should expect a bag full of trick plays this afternoon:

“We’re a pretty loose team,” he said. “It’s not the end of the world if we get beat. They’re the ones that have a little heat on them – oh no, let’s don’t lose to South Carolina.

“There’s probably a little more pressure on their team. We should be loose and let it fly. We can run all of our trick plays. We’ve been saving about 20 of them.”

How will the trick plays fair when they’re run by Gamecocks instead of Gators and when they’re run against the likes of Mahelona, Haralson, Hall, Simon, and Gaither?

Tune in tonight at 7:45 p.m. on ESPN2.

Dave Hooker has a nice introductory piece on Tennessee Volunteer running back Arian Foster, who will get his first start in place of injured back Gerald Riggs tomorrow night against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Randy Sanders couldn’t believe what he saw.

Tennessee’s offensive coordinator was in San Diego to recruit quarterback Richard Kovalcheck. The Vols were in desperate need for a quarterback in the 2003 class.

The field was loaded with talent. Kovalcheck’s teammate was tailback Reggie Bush, who is a Heisman candidate this year with Southern Cal.

Sanders, however, couldn’t take his eyes off the junior tailback on the opposing team from Mission Bay High School.

“I had no clue that there were any other prospects on the field,” Sanders said. “The way Arian played and the way he ran that night, it was pretty obvious that he was a good football player.”

On the one hand, it’s a bit disturbing to hear that Sanders had no clue that Reggie Bush was a prospect (he probably didn’t mean that), but on the other hand, it sure is encouraging to think that Foster might have the same potential as Bush.

College Football News’ breaks down Saturday’s game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks. Just Sort of like old times, Phil Fulmer and Steve Spurrier are tied in the SEC East, with each of their teams 2-3.

Asked and answered are:

• Why South Carolina Might Win (the Vol offense unlikely to encounter the suspicious powdery substance);
• Why Tennessee Might Win (the Vol defense);
• Who to Watch (running back replacements for injured Gerald Riggs, Arian Foster, and perhaps LaMarcus Coker, who was going to be red-shirted)
• What Will Happen (“This isn’t going to be pretty. South Carolina’s offense will sputter ‘n’ cough, but the Tennessee attack won’t do enough to make it a blowout until late.”)

CFN likes Tennessee, 27-13.