Y'all Come Back Now, Hear?

Slick Rick Neuheisel pulled one out of the hat Monday night at the Rose Bowl. His quarterback — the only serviceable one he has — threw four interceptions in the first half against Tennessee. Remarkably, the Bruins somehow defeated the Volunteers, 27-24, in overtime. Neuheisel was gushing with pride afterward. Click on the video from Adam Rose of What's Bruin.

Now maybe the Southeastern Conference isn't all it's cracked up to be. Didn't league teams go 1-1 this past weekend against Western Athletic Conference opponents? Chris Dufrense of the L.A. Times writes that "Tennessee's No. 18 ranking was obviously a misprint. If the Vols are one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference this year, the SEC is overrated."

Consider that the Bruins won with third-string quarterback Kevin Craft, left, who was operating behind an offensive line that was pieced together. Much of the credit for Craft's second-half turnaround goes to Norm Chow.

Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton was pressured throughout the game. These photos come from our friends at Image of Sport, a one-stop sports photography wire service and digital archive to meet the demands of daily newspapers and editorial publications. You can view the complete gallery from Monday night's game by clicking here.

Tennessee running back Arian Foster has one of the best stiff-arms in the game, here nearly beheading UCLA cornerback Michael Norris.

This being L.A., it wouldn't be complete without celebrity sightings. That's NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the left and former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page.

The Volunteers' Austin Rogers nearly hauls in a long pass while being harassed by Norris.

An emotional Neuheisel hugs his son after the victory.

Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer leaves the field with his wife, Vicky.

Comments

[Scott]

What's up with the GIF images? JPGs are better for photos: better image quality and smaller file size.

As a Vol fan, I'll agree that UT shouldn't have been ranked 18th, but preseason rankings are based more on mythology than anything else. Hell, Pittsburgh was ranked 25th, they haven't had a winning season since Wannstedt took over.

[C Ed]

I love how the 5th highest ranked team in the SEC travels across the country and loses and already "the Southeastern Conference isn't all it's cracked up to be." Hey, whatever helps you PAC 10ers sleep at night...

BTW, does DDP really count as a celebrity sighting? It appears the talent gap between USC and UCLA extends off the field too.