John Adams

john.adams@knoxnews.com

The judgment was harsh and swift from Tennessee fans after a 24-21 loss to 13-point underdog South Carolina on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium.

As is often the case, the harshest and swiftest critique came from my wife's Uncle Tommy.

Even before the Gamecocks had finished off an improbable upset, Uncle Tommy fired away: "If Tennessee loses this game, the entire staff should be fired."

You might have heard that Tennessee did lose the game. Numerous South Carolina fans have filled me in on the details through emails and tweets, all of which referred to my less-than-flattering appraisal of Gamecocks football in a previous column.

Thanks for the info, guys. Perhaps I should have treated the NCAA's lowest scoring team with more respect.

To Uncle Tommy's credit, he didn't unleash another doomsday text in the heat of defeat. He waited until Sunday morning to formulate a more rational, less emotional, assessment of what transpired in Columbia, S.C.

"The entire staff should be fired," he concluded.

In the interest of journalistic transparency, it's worth noting that Uncle Tommy didn't actually watch the game, proving that a loss to South Carolina speaks for itself.

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Numerous fans who did watch the game had a remarkably similar opinion as Uncle Tommy.

John wrote: "To be a Tennessee fan is to be like Charley Brown trying to kick the football.

"It is true they have suffered a terrible run of injuries, but this game proves they were greatly overhyped."

He's right. But the Vols earned much of their hype with a 5-0 start and back-to-back comeback victories over Florida and Georgia that catapulted them into the Top 10.

The Top 10 is nowhere in sight now. And the perception of Tennessee football has dropped more drastically than its ranking.

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Ironically, the new perception isn't much different from the old one - if you go all the way back to last season when Tennessee couldn't hold fourth-quarter leads against Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. That team couldn't close the deal.

This team might not close a bigger deal.

After dramatic fourth-quarter victories over Florida and Georgia, the SEC East was UT's for the taking. Even after a double-overtime loss to Texas A&M and a humbling 49-10 defeat to No. 1 Alabama, Tennessee still had the precious tiebreaker advantage over Florida, whose edge in the standings was expected to be overturned by the schedule.

Maybe the schedule still could save the Vols, though the loss to South Carolina might have convinced you they are beyond saving. But the SEC East has never been this weak, and the weaknesses are apparent at both the top and bottom of the division.

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Florida has to win on the road at LSU and Arkansas. A loss to LSU seems the most likely. But don't assume the Gators will win in Fayetteville, Ark., either.

No matter what happens with the Gators, UT fans have to worry about their team holding up its end of the bargain.

The Vols looked like a poorly coached and poorly prepared team against South Carolina. And they looked disinterested during the early going when South Carolina was establishing superiority at the line of scrimmage and gaining the confidence that would serve it well when the Vols tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter.

Now, another comeback is needed from Tennessee. It has to regain the clutch touch it lost during three consecutive losses. And it has to get help from Arkansas and LSU.

But most of all, it needs to do what it couldn't against South Carolina. It needs to help itself.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @johnadamsKNS.