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Amid Turmoil, the Volunteers Still Look To Succeed

The Tennessee Volunteers have had a very tough couple of years but believe they are headed in the right direction.

A new rule exists in college football, penalizing a team 10 seconds off the clock in addition to lost yardage if its offense commits a penalty in the final minute of the half.

The NCAA might as well call it the "Tennessee rule." The Vols lost the Music City Bowl to North Carolina after officials ruled the Tar Heels had too many men on the field on the final play of the fourth quarter. Both teams were called back onto the field, UNC made a game-tying field goal and eventually triumphed in double overtime.

It marked the second time in Dooley's tumultuous first season in charge on Rocky Top that the Vols appeared to win a game, but were called back onto the field to run another play and lost. Back in October, officials flagged UT after the fact for having too many defenders on a chaotic not-so-final play against LSU -- and the Bayou Bengals punched it in for the decisive touchdown after the penalty.

Many of Tennessee's early birds have barely left the nest. The Vols are back near capacity with a full contingent of scholarship players, but they remain one of the youngest teams in the country.

Freshmen and sophomores comprise about 70 percent of the 2011 roster.

At least the Vols maintained continuity on the staff -- a rarity given that the team went through three head coaches in three years. The sole new assistant is Peter Sirmon, a former Tennessee Titans linebacker and college teammate of defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox at Oregon who served as a graduate assistant last season.

This marks the first time the Vols had the same head coach and offensive and defensive coordinators in back-to-back seasons since the 2006 and '07 campaigns.

Tennessee has not cracked the top 25 since the opening week of the 2008 season. Last season marked the team's third losing record since 2005 -- and the third straight year the Vols lost at least six games, a first for the storied program.

Dooley has a plan to bring Tennessee back to prominence. He won't start facing major pressure until 2012 -- his third year on the job -- but the Vols can ill afford a back step.

The experience and athleticism on offense is reminiscent of Bobby Petrino's first Arkansas team -- which faced a slew of questions on defense and had to outscore foes to win. That team tallied eight victories, counting its bowl game. This team will look to match that plateau and if they can get a few signature wins, then this team could be headed in the right direction.