Before we get started I want to tip my cap to Houston quarterback Case Keenum. Sunday's news that he would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL made me physically ill. He's a good kid and a great QB. Here's hoping the NCAA does the right thing and gives him a medical waiver, he gets his knee fixed and makes it back to take another shot at the all-time passing yardage and TD marks.
Now on to the downs …
First Down: Phil Fulmer's tired act
As I drove home Friday morning from N.C. State's drubbing of Cincinnati, every college football radio show that I tuned into -- from ESPN to Sirius XM to local AM sports talk -- spent a considerable amount of time discussing the downfall of Tennessee football over the past three years.
Much of that conversation was spurred by the words of former Volunteer head coach Phillip Fulmer, who last week rolled out his annual "Tennessee wasn't bad until after I was fired" routine for anyone that would listen.
For a close look at how Phil Fulmer was a big part of Tennessee's downfall -- plus the Zebra Report, the best player on a bad team and much more -- you must be an ESPN Insider.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Ryan McGee
Ryan McGee is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. While you may know him for his extensive and very popular NASCAR coverage on this site and television, he's also been a constant in the Mag's coverage of college football. Why? Well, to wit:
• He started working in college athletic departments at 16 (Furman, Tennessee). Got his first sideline pass (UNC @ Virginia) when he was 12 and was totally run over by Tar Heels LB Micah Moon.
• His father was a college football official for 36 years (FBS 1981-2009), working 20 bowl games and two national championships.
• Ryan's a member of the FWAA (Football Writers Association of America).
• He's covered college football for ESPN The Magazine for the last five years.
• He's all over college sports -- Ryan authored "The Road To Omaha: Hits, Hopes and History at the College World Series."
Follow Ryan on Twitter: @ESPNMcGee
