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

Kiffin: Lamborghini or old Beemer?

It's one thing to read about all the great coaches Tennessee has hired since the end of the 2008 season. It's quite another, though, to see how much they are being paid as a group: $5.3 million, according to the Associated Press. That's about $12 million for coaching salaries when you count the $6 million it cost UT to get Coach Fulmer out the door.

Some are understandably displeased, especially after tuition increases and cuts in faculty pay. It may not be apples to apples, though, because AD Mike Hamilton says the money generated by a winning program will help fund all athletic programs and thereby free up university dollars for other expenses.

Whatever. But here's my point: The embarrassment of 2008 will pale compared to the grief and humiliation we'll feel if Kiffin and Co. don't come out strong in 2009. Kiff might — might — be allowed to lose to Florida one time, but that's it. But he better whoop everybody else. For $5.3 million, I don't see how we can expect anything less.

Let me explain it in terms of Orange vehicles. Let's say you put up the money for the sweet Lamborghini Murcielago pictured here, but when you went to the lot to pick it up, you found this weathered old BMW instead? Yes, they're both sports cars. But you'd be pretty PO'd, I reckon (especially since the Beemer is closer to UF Red than true Orange).

Jeff