Play by Play

by Verne Lundquist

  For the SEC games, we all arrive on Thursday. Gary will get in before noon so that he can attend a practice session. I don’t have the same eye for the game as he does, so for me watching a practice won’t tell me much. I check in to the hotel and review my notes and my boards. All of my memorization of depth charts and board preparation has been done earlier in the week. Prior to the economic downturn in 2008, we used to all gather on Thursday night for a dinner with the entire production staff getting together. After the recession hit, we were given a per diem rather than the blank check our producer Craig Silver used to cover that team dinner. I loved and looked forward to those meals together. I believed they helped establish camaraderie, an essential component of a great production. Building relationships is key. CBS understood that to a great degree. Having the same broadcast team covering the SEC made a lot of sense. We got to know the coaches, athletic directors, sports information directors, and players better from being around them more often. The better we built those relationships, the more information and insights they were willing to share.

  Gary understood that and being a presence at the practices was one part. Gary was also all about being as productive as possible. On Fridays we met with staff and players at both schools. Coaches could feel like those meetings either were an obligation or an opportunity. Prior to Gary’s arrival at CBS we’d been doing conference calls on Tuesday instead of those in-person meetings. Anyone who’s sat in on a conference call versus a face-to-face meeting will tell you that the level of involvement is incrementally greater in the latter.

  Gary gently insisted that we end the conference calls and only conduct the meetings. He saw the calls as time wasters. He’d learn far more from watching film, and I benefited from having more study time. Being in a room fully engaging with coaches proved to be very fruitful, particularly with the player interviews. These are young men and they had a lot of other things on their mind. For a long time, many of them seemed uncertain, or indifferent, to who Gary and I were. We weren’t big names that they recognized. We were just a couple of guys in pants and collared shirts asking them questions, to which they frequently gave monosyllabic responses.

  Gary was good at establishing his authority with them—not in the sense of being in control of them, but letting them know that he knew his stuff and that he understood some of what it was like to be a student-athlete. The same was true with coaches. The great thing was that he never resorted to referring to himself or his career or his past accomplishments in order to build that rapport. It’s a delicate art that is part of the craft of being a good reporter and Gary possesses that ability. He comes into the games as prepared as anyone I’ve worked with. He is the driving force behind how we televise the games and is always coming up with ideas to enhance the viewers’ experience. It sounds somewhat contradictory to say this, but keeping to the same routine as much as possible is a part of that—that holds true for the rest of the staff and technicians. Once you’ve got most things nailed in place, that allows you the mental space to consider other options. I know that Gary and our producer Craig Silver talked every day, starting on Monday, until we went on-air, and were always looking for ways to improve the telecast.

  Like me, Gary is supported in the booth by someone you at home never see but who plays an invaluable role in making us look good. I have Chuck Gardner, my statistician and my spotter Butch Baird without whom I would be lost. Gary has an assistant, David Moulton, in the booth with him for every game. David is a radio talk show host and columnist in Fort Myers, Florida. Gary wouldn’t be able to do what he does without David’s capable assistance. While we’re doing our thing, David sits behind us. Depending on what goes on down on the field, David will pull out one of the blue index cards he’s prepared and hand it to Gary. On it could be a pertinent statistic, an anecdote, anything that will help Gary deliver the message in the most interesting way. Obviously I didn’t cover the SEC during the 2017 season, but I watched the games at home and I could visualize David leaning forward and handing Gary one of those cards as he relayed some additional information. It sounded seamless on air, but having been in the booth with him for as long as I had, I could detect David’s welcome presence and input.

  As much as we prepared each week and as much as I maintained my stance as a neutral observer with no rooting interest other than that we have a compelling game, there were those who believed I was biased toward one program or another. Gary does a weekly guest spot on Paul Finebaum’s radio show which was then out of Birmingham. Paul is enormously popular and after being on the show, Gary would come back with his scouting report on what people felt I’d miscalled.

  “Verne, you really pissed them off in Tuscaloosa when you said X,” or “The Dawgs are really barking at you in Athens after you said Y.”

  I appreciated the heads-up, but nothing anyone might say or do diminished the thrill from my feet to my head during our drives to and from the games. The atmosphere was electric.

  The football being played in the SEC was the best I’ve seen in the college ranks. Oh my Lord, the speed at which these players move! That is particularly true on the defensive side of the line. And it’s also true as you move down the depth chart. One amazing athlete after another.

  At the risk of inciting the ire of fans of other programs, I will make note of what Nick Saban has produced at Alabama. I met Nick when he was the defensive coordinator for Bill Belichick in Cleveland. I’d also covered him when I did my first NCAA football game for ABC, Ohio University at Kent State, where he was a graduate assistant at his alma mater. I was there for some of his games as LSU’s head coach, and I had to shake my head over the story of how Alabama athletic director Mal Moore got him and his lovely wife, Terry, or “Miss Terry,” as Nick calls her, out of Miami, covering them with hooded jackets to attend secret negotiations and all the rest of the deception and fake hiring committee and the rest of the nonsense that went on in getting him to Tuscaloosa.

  People forget that Nick Saban lost to Louisiana–Monroe at home in his first year in Tuscaloosa. But from that point on, what he has accomplished makes him arguably the greatest college football coach ever.

  What’s most impressive is Alabama’s consistency at such a high level. Saban may lose four or five defensive players to the NFL, but because of what he calls “the Process” he just plugs another guy in the next year who was on the third team the year before.

  When I first spoke with Nick back in 1991 when he was with the Browns, I didn’t recall that he’d served under Don James as a graduate assistant at Kent State back in 1974. Eventually we figured out the connection. In a way, I’m surprised he didn’t remember because he is the master of minutiae. He learned that from Bill Belichick during that four-season stint in the NFL. He has described those years as the “worst of his life,” but that is both a tribute to the affection the two men have for one another and their mutual desire to tease the media—particularly local media.

  I know that Nick can seem cantankerous. I’ve seen him come close to blowing a gasket on the sidelines. He can be tough on himself, his assistant coaches, and his players. But I also know this Nick Saban. When we are in Tuscaloosa and have our meeting with him, he’s always in a sport coat and tie. That’s a sign of respect. Not that he hasn’t always been respectful of my partners—in fact, I’d say it is because of Todd and Gary that I’m a beneficiary of the doubt—Nick’s clothing choices have to do with his respect for the Roll Tide fans. No matter where we are in our conversation, at 11:30 sharp, his personal assistant will interrupt us, politely, and Nick will end things right there. Has to get off campus and over to his long-standing engagement—a Nick at Noon luncheon. There, he regales the all-female audience assembled and engages in a candid question and answer session. I’ve also witnessed him do the same thing on his local Thursday night radio show. During the commercials he will mingle with the live audience, then get back on stage just in the nick of time to be back on air. Attention to detail. Meticulous preparation.
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  Nick isn’t the only good coach in the SEC. Les Miles was sometimes a bit difficult to get a handle on because of his personality quirks, but he accomplished great things at LSU. I remain a big fan of Mark Richt and what he achieved at Georgia. I was very sad to see how things ended for him in Athens when he was let go. It is a tough business but because of its prominence, the moth-to-flame phenomenon applies. Gus Malzahn at Auburn and Will Muschamp at South Carolina are also high-quality coaches with high-quality programs. The question is if they can sustain the level of excellence that Saban and Alabama have. That guys like Les and Mark had to move on makes Nick’s accomplishments shine a little brighter.

  One of my other all-time favorite SEC games became so because of the circumstances surrounding it as well as what happened during it. My second year covering the SEC was 2001. We all know what terrible tragedy befell this country that September. Wisely, commissioners of various leagues in various sports postponed games. We were supposed to open with Tennessee and Florida, but after the tragedy, it was moved to the first week in December in Gainesville.

  The 2001 SEC season opened with high hopes for the conference. In the preseason polls Florida was ranked No. 1 in the country and four other teams—Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina, and Alabama—were all in the top twenty-five. Steve Spurrier was in his last season at Florida and many believed that this was the finest team. They easily won their first three games against two nonconference opponents and Kentucky. Their first challenge came against the 21st-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. We covered that game, and my word, 52–0 only begins to give you an idea of how dominant that squad was. They had lost to the Bulldogs the previous year and if this wasn’t a case of payback, then I don’t know what would be. They rolled up 640 total yards of offense. Rex Grossman, who would go on to throw for more than 4,000 yards that season, threw for 393 yards and 5 touchdowns. Rex was on a hot streak and he’d wind up throwing for 300-plus yards in four straight games.

  Florida didn’t let up the following week when they overpowered the 18th-ranked Tigers 44–15 in Baton Rogue. Grossman threw for a school record 464 yards in that one. Unfortunately for the Gators, they stumbled against the unranked Auburn Tigers, 23–20. They won their next four in a row, putting them at 9-1 and No. 2 in the country heading into their December showdown with the Volunteers. For its part, Tennessee started out the season ranked sixth in the nation. Their early season SEC schedule looked tough and it was. They were to face No. 14 LSU and No. 12 South Carolina. They won both of those but a tough, unranked Georgia bunch beat them, 26–24, in Neyland on a six-yard touchdown pass with ten seconds left in the game. That stunner dropped them in the rankings briefly, but winning their next six, they came into the Florida game at No. 4, also with a 9-1 record.

  The Tennessee offense was led by quarterback Casey Clausen, and three other players—defensive tackle John Henderson, wide receiver Donté Stallworth, and defensive tackle Albert Haynsworth—would all be first round picks in the NFL. Seven other Volunteers would be drafted that season. (They also had on their roster a tight end by the name of Jason Whitten, who’d get some attention later on.) Despite their talent and their record, not many gave them a chance against the Gators in Gainesville. Experts believed that if given time, Rex Grossman and his talented pair of receivers, Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell, would find openings. As Lee Corso of ESPN said before the game, “Forget about it. There ain’t no way they’re going to stop Florida’s receivers.” Yes, our competitors were there in Gainesville and anytime ESPN’s College Game was on the grounds, the circus atmosphere got hyped up even higher.

  Whether or not the Volunteers could contain Alex Brown, who would end up with an astounding 33 sacks on the season, was another key point. Casey Clausen was only a sophomore and this was to be his first visit to the infamous “Swamp.” How he would handle the pressure, the crowd noise, and all that went with a game of this importance was subject to a lot of speculation coming into the week.

  After the Friday afternoon walk-through, we were down at the Tennessee team buses. Todd and I were with Phil Fulmer and his wife Vicky. Phil said, “I know not many people like our chances here, but I like—I think we’ll win this.” Many head coaches publicly express thoughts like that. Somehow, something in Phil’s voice made me believe that he believed. I tried to never make any kind of judgment. I was just going to call it as I saw it. I did suspect this: the winner of the game had a great shot at advancing to the Rose Bowl to play in the BCS championship game. Florida had beaten its SEC opponents by an average margin of 37 points a game. Tennessee had survived many more close contests, managing only a 12.8 margin of victory. It was easy to see why Florida, which many considered the only team capable of beating the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes, came into the game as a clear favorite. Obviously a lot was at stake.

  Because the game had been moved to the end of the season, rather than its customary place in early September, it took on an even greater magnitude. It nearly always had huge implications for the SEC race. Since the league split into two divisions in 1992, either Tennessee or Florida had won the Eastern portion and advanced to the SEC championship game. In seven of those nine years, if you won this game, you went on to win the championship. Most often, it was merely a footnote worth mentioning during other late season contests. With the consequences being so immediately apparent, the tensions and the fun factor that came with a high-stakes game were even greater.

  By the opening kickoff, the Swamp was as frenzied as I could ever remember it being. Tennessee’s players, urged on by Phil Fulmer’s pregame speech reminding them of how many had counted them out, came out of the locker room fired up and ready. The fans were in full throat, and so were the Tennessee Volunteers. They were doing their version of our broadcasting open. They recited General Robert Nylan’s Seven Maxims:

  The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.

  Play for and make the breaks and when one comes your way—SCORE.

  If at first the game—or the breaks—go against you, don’t let up . . . put on more steam.

  Protect our kickers, our QB, our lead, and our ball game.

  Ball, oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue, and gang tackle . . . for this is the WINNING EDGE.

  Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.

  Carry the fight to our opponent and keep it there for 60 minutes.

  I love when all those prognostications and keys to the game are in our rearview mirror and the game reveals itself play by play like a taut thriller. The Gators went on offense first and a great stop for a one-yard loss on a third-and-one forced them to punt. Three and out. We wouldn’t use that expression much in the roughly two hours that remained.

  By the end of the first quarter the Vols were up 14–0. I don’t know what Steve Spurrier said to his men, but the next quarter was all Florida. They ripped off twenty straight points to go into the locker room leading 20–14. The Gators held the ball for more than 13 minutes of that quarter, capitalizing on a Clausen interception. After the interception we showed Phil Fulmer embracing his quarterback and Todd suspected that he was telling his quarterback to hang in there. He’d had a good start to the game and they would need him later on.

  At the half it was Florida up by 6. The Swamp was awash with jumping Gators on the field and off. I’ve seen so many games turn quickly. Usually it’s mistakes and poor execution that lead to those kinds of turnabouts. That was certainly true then.

  Tennessee came up firing, scoring a touchdown and keeping the Gators to only three points. During our half-time assessment, Todd had mentioned on air that the Vols’ two big wide outs, Stallworth and Washington, had been fairly quiet. They needed to contribute more. Todd wasn’t in the booth with Tennessee’s offensive coordinator, but on the very first play of the second half, Clausen targeted Kelly Washington. He threw behind him, but later in the drive Stallworth and Washington each caught a pass. However, it was Travis Stephe
ns who really delivered. His 35-yard touchdown run thwarted a Florida safety blitz. He evaded the blitzer and outran what remained of the Florida secondary. The Gators would add a field goal in the third quarter for the only other scoring play. One of the most significant plays of the quarter was Spurrier deciding to go for it on fourth down from the Tennessee 36 with a little more than a minute to go in the period. Unfortunately for him, a false start on an interior lineman turned a fourth-and-one into a fourth-and-six. Todd astutely noted that Rex Grossman’s hard count, trying to draw the defense offside and get the one yard needed the easy way, had backfired.

  Florida went for it anyway.

  Grossman dropped back to pass. The Tennessee secondary blanketed all the receivers, He moved around in the pocket before he was finally brought down for a sack by Will Overstreet. I pointed out that he’d suffered a severe ankle sprain four weeks earlier against LSU. I didn’t say anything about how so many people had said that Tennessee’s secondary was no match for the speedy Gators.

  That’s why they play the games.

  On the next drive, Travis Stephens gashed the Gators for a 36-yard run, bouncing outside on a terrific cut before getting knocked out of bounds at the two. That set them up for the eventual score. During the drive, the Vols had gone for it on fourth-and-one from the Florida 46. Clausen’s bootleg, a gutsy call, kept the drive alive. Stephens’s contributions were a revelation—I always love it when a player who doesn’t figure much in the pregame dialogue emerges and has a big day. At five nine and 190 pounds, he was quite the specimen. He was a senior running back who lived the dream of anyone who has stuck around a program for four years. He played sparingly for his first three seasons, mostly due to Travis Henry and Jamal Lewis also being in the backfield. Given a chance to start and to be used extensively, he ran for more than 1,400 yards his senior season, setting the school record. Someone to root for, don’t you think?