Too close to call?

Orange Nation is a happy place these days. Of course there were the huge coaching catches, but now it seems that several coveted recruits, once thought uninterested in Rocky Top, could be headed to the Hill.

UT is getting closer in snagging a kid who already committed to Florida, another originally more interested in Southern Miss, and is gaining on a third who's being pursued by several SEC schools plus Purdue. It's exciting news but it's too close to call at this point.

What's not even close is Tennessee Orange and "Florida Orange." The photos of these two VW bugs prove it. Both, interestingly, where provided by UF grads desperate to prove their Orange credentials. Both, sadly, failed.

On the left you see a Bug photographed by Diana this past weekend just off Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville. She called it a "Gator Orange bug" in her e-mail.

The pic on the right was provided by Bruce in Jacksonville earlier this month. With the cap and the text added to the vehicle, it's clear Bruce sees this as "Gator Orange."

But seeing them together like this, it's obvious the two cars are different colors. Diana's bug is closer to the pure, true Orange of Tennessee, while Bruce's Bug is clearly the light red shade of UF (proven by the fact it matches the red "F" on the cap).

Vol Nation has spoken.

Jeff

BGSU: Talent- and colorblind

The verdict is in: former UT offensive coordinator Dave Clawson knows nothing about offense and he knows nothing about Orange, neither.

Exhibit A: The 2008 football season. The Vols ended the season with a 5-7 record and a ranking of 115th out of 119 Division I-A teams in total offense.

Exhibit B: Former UT wide receiver Josh Briscoe told GoVolsExra.com last week the team was repeatedly told to give Clawson’s complicated offense time to work — that it would take two years to work. “Coach, we don't have that time. We're struggling right now," Briscoe remembers telling a UT assistant.

His trust in Clawson cost Coach Fulmer and his staff their jobs.

Which leads us to Exhibit C: Despite his dismal performance, Clawson lands the head coaching job at Bowling Green State University.

Like Florida, Texas, Syracuse, Oklahoma State and many others, BGSU is a school that claims Orange as one of its colors. But a visit to the school Web site proves the university is as colorblind as it is talent-blind.

Some page headers are close to Tennessee (i.e., pure) Orange. But then you see safety Orange ball caps and football helmets as Gator red as this weathered VW Bug spotted by L. last week in Boulder, Colo.

Vol Nation now passes sentence on Clawson: May there be enough faux-Orange around to constantly remind him what a rotten job he did at UT.

Jeff