The Big Orange nation is in a frenzy after last night's 41-31 loss at Mississippi State which dropped the Vols to 3-3, 0-3 in Conference Play. 

At this point, I'm making a ground breaking, earth shattering declaration "We need a break." 

Three plays stand out to me about the Mississippi State loss. One: the not-so-onside kick recovered by the Bulldogs, Byron Moore's dropped interception in the 4th quarter, and Devrin Young's costly fumble in the final frame. 

The Vols made numerous plays throughout the contest, and I enjoyed watching Cordarrelle Patterson zig and zag through the MSU kickoff coverage, CP pluck a touchdown pass out of the air, and Tyler Bray loft a beautiful pass to the outstretched arms of Ben Bartholomew for a late TD. 

However, the three misses loom larger in my mind. Maybe I would feel differently if UT would have emerged victorious from Davis Wade Stadium. Maybe I would feel differently if this defeat didn't drop the Vols to 0-3 in SEC contests. 

Maybe the reason they stand out is because miscues such as these continue to be the difference between wins and losses. It is reasonable, in my opinion, if Tennessee had not been so mistake prone in the 4th quarter this season, they would likely stand at 5-1, 2-1 on the year. 

A few summers ago- the time of year when the slightest sign of college football is as refreshing as seeing a fountain in the desert, I landed on the Fox SportsSouth network. They were airing a "College Flash Classic" featuring the 2001 South Carolina and Alabama matchup. 

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, I'll describe the "College Flash Classic" format using another entertainment analogy. The CFC game inevitably features a Jefferson Pilot game with the full compliment of Dave's calling the action (Dave Neal and Dave Rowe in the booth with Dave Baker on the sideline). 

The re air features their original broadcast supplemented with interviews from game participants a la Vh1's Pop Up video format from the late 90s. If you thought the JP game couldn't get any better, you were wrong my friend. This is a nostalgic SEC fan's nirvana. 

Before I get so off topic I make another Hulk Hogan reference, allow me to get this train back on the tracks...

Coach Lou Holtz, who took over the SC job in 1999, inherited a mess. The program went 1-10 in 98. Things didn't get much better during Holtz's inaugural campaign in Columbia as the Gamecocks went 0-11 in 99.

The '01 SC/Bama game was a back and forth affair eventually won 37-36 by the Gamecocks who were led by senior quarterback Phil Petty. At one point in the CFC broadcast, Petty appeared in a split screen with an interview. During the spot, he said something I'll never forget. 

He said during pivotal moments, Holtz-pacing the sidelines- would proclaim "We're about to get a break here. Something good is going to go our way." These words appeared to resonate with the team because they went 8-4 in 2000 and followed that up with a 9-3 mark in 2001 including two bowl wins over Ohio State over that stretch. 

In 2001, the Gamecocks won 5 games that were decided by a 7 points or less. In short, they were terrific in close games. The 2012 Volunteers have yet to demonstrate such prowess. 

I'm beginning to wonder if rumblings of "Here we go again" aren't appearing on the sidelines and maybe even the press box these days. The margin for error in the SEC these days is razor thin. Under said circumstances, mistakes- especially late mistakes- go under a microscope. 

Last night, Byron Moore and Devrin Young (despite giving great effort) came up short. Tennessee came up short. Two weeks prior, Tyler Bray and the Vols came up short during a late rally between the hedges in Athens. 

Eleven years ago, Tennessee featured a star defensive lineman named Albert Haynesworth from Hartsville, South Carolina. The times have changed. Now, the best NFL defensive line prospect from the Palmetto state attends South Carolina. His name is Jadeveon Clowney. 

It's not a stretch to say that we lack the talent from those glory days making it even more imperative that we make big plays to win close games. 

Facing the prospects of going 0-for-October with Alabama and South Carolina representing the next two foes on the schedule, it's very easy for me to say that "We need a break."

The page has been blank for the better part of the last half hour now. There are a million things to say about Tennessee's 44-51 road loss to the University of Georgia on Saturday, and there is a big space between these first few paragraphs and my byline that should be full of disjointed thoughts carefully crafted to toe the line between absolute bedlam and generous optimism (I'll probably continue this "Man on a Wire" act until Dooley has one foot out the door.)

I know what most of the editors I normally work with would tell me if I were under deadline. "Write the meat and then come back to your lede." If you've got a general idea about the direction you want to go, your brain will subconsciously work while you're focused elsewhere. However, some things simply don't belong in the subconscious, the fore-conscious, the anterior cruciate conscious, some crazy third dimension dream conscious from a Joseph-Gordon Levitt movie, or just any part of the conscious in general, for that matter.

Of course, I'm talking about the newest craze over at Pi Kappa Alpha, aka Pike, the most notoriously douchey fraternity the world over.

Why use a picture from the 2011 Kentucky game to begin my column following the Vols 51-44 loss between the Hedges? Two reasons: 1) technical difficulties wouldn't allow me to upload a new pic and 2) it speaks to my point about the Vols leadership void anyway.

Rewind the clock back to November 2011. According to several sources, prior to the Vandy game Bray informed several upperclassmen that he wouldn't perform a 'cursory' workout because UT was going to a "crappy bowl anyway".

Turns out, Bray and the upperclassmen didn't have to worry about playing in a "crappy bowl game" after their utterly despicable performance against the quartback-less Wildcats who broke the nation's longest series winning streak by defeating a more talented Tennessee squad 10-7.

If you wanted to create a quartback in a lab, Bray would closely resemble the result physically. He is tall. He is athletic. He has a rocket right arm. However, for all his physical attributes, he appears devoid of numerous leadership qualities that separate good from great: composure, competitiveness, and unwavering courage. 

On the field, Bray has yet to demonstrate he can lead his team to a close win. Don't believe me? Dating back to the 2010 Music City Bowl, the Vols are 1-5 in games decided by 10 points or less when Bray starts. (And I'm giving Bray the benefit of the doubt by including last years' OT win against the Commodores- the decisive score coming from an Eric Gordon pick six.)

1-5. Numbers don't lie. Games decided by 10 points or less boil down to a couple possessions...just like tonight's loss in Athens. Though Sal Sunseri's defense surrendered a boatload of points and yards to the Bulldogs, they forced four consecutive 3 and outs down the stretch, giving Bray numerous opportunties to tie or possibly win the game.

His results: an INT, fumble, and INT. This performance, coupled with past performances on the field ('throat slash' in 2010 MCB) and off (beer bottle toss 2012) lead me to conclude that for all of the physical talent Bray possesses, it is apparent at this juncture in his playing career that he lacks critical leadership qualities.

I would have bet my entire savings account that Tim Tebow would have gotten the Vols into the endzone against UGA on one of three trips- EVEN IF HE WAS THROWING RIGHT HANDED!!!

Do you remember 'The Promise'? After losing to Ole Miss in 2008, Tebow stood in front of a packed press conference and promised, among other things, that "No one in the country will work harder than me, and no one will push his teammates harder down the stretch than me".

The result: Florida outscored their final 10 opponents by an average margin of 33.8 points per contest en route to notching the school's third National Championship.

I've got news for you Vol fans. Don't put the Tyler Bray book on Leadership on your Christmas list. I don't see it emerging anytime soon. 

And until he begins to exude some Tebow-like Leadership traits, don't expect the Vols to go bowling again either.

Shortly following the Vols embarrassing 37-20 loss to the Florida Gators, former Tennessee great, Leonard Little, tweeted that there is a formula to winning in the SEC, and it's quite simple... "Run the ball downhill and play good defense. That's it."

This is supposed to be the part when I don't overreact to what I saw -- or didn't see for that matter -- on Saturday. I'm supposed to pretend like I wasn't on a party bus for my buddy's bachelor party angrily doing obligatory shots and cursing under my breath in the second half as Tennessee's defense was declared MIA.

So, for all intents and purposes, I didn't buy a round of lunch boxes and take a swing at a refrigerator when Trey Burton was doing his best Martin Lawrence impersonation (Talk to the hand!) for Marsalis Teague as he skipped into the endzone for an 80-yard TD. And I most certainly didn't instinctively smash a scotch glass on the ground that, up until that point, had best been known as the holding tank for four fingers of Jameson's I had ordered to "take the edge off" as Frankie Hammond salted it away for Florida. I didn't do/won't admit to any of those things, because for two and a half years, I've been a voice of reason.

We've all heard the idiomatic expression, "You can't fit a square peg in a round hole".  This nugget of wisdom can apply to a variety of situations both sports and non-sports related, but since this is a UT blog, I'll try to fashion it cloaked in Orange & White. 

There have been many coaching/team marriages that just never seemed right and henceforth, fall into the category of "square peg in a round hole".  For example, Nick Saban just never seemed comfortable as the Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins.  Whether he was nonchalantly stepping over a convulsing player or losing to division foes such as the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, Saban just looked out of sorts roaming the sidelines as a NFL Head Coach (15-17 in two seasons).  Saban is clearly (in my opinion) the best Field General amongst his peers when pitted vs. college competition, but the NFL just wasn't his bag.  Square peg in a round hole....

I read a story last year about a Dad struggling with getting his son to like the Vols because all the kids at school picked on him for it. They would ask him things like, “Why do you like those losers?”, “The Vols have never even been good”, and “Why don’t you like Bama?” It was heartbreaking to read because being a die hard Vol, I can only imagine if my own blood didn’t want to cheer for the Big Orange. We as Vol fans have been burned many, many times in the recent years (See Florida, Kentucky, Wyoming, LSU, UNC ect), and it brings up a good question, why should we believe now?

Any die-hard University of Tennessee fan that has followed the Vols for the past 20 years or so is certainly flooded with a myriad of emotions when the words "Florida week" are uttered within earshot.  Most of these emotions fall on the negative side of the ledger simply due to the fact that since 1990 the Vols sport a deplorable 6-16 record vs. the mighty Gators of Gainesville.  

If the paltry record weren't enough, the Gator faithful have been kind enough for the past 22 years to rub our noses in this pile of cow dung of results.  We all know that the ringleader of that bravado is none other than the Old Ball Coach himself, Steve Spurrier.  The Spurrier vs. Fulmer years featured the top rivalry in the SEC for the entire decade of the 90's.  In fact, the Vols and Gators completely dominated the decade.  For all the SEC West blowhards, it runs in cycles.  If you look at the years of '90-'99, the Gators won five SEC crowns, and the Vols captured three leaving only two for the rest of the league.

Hey, you. Ya, you, the one with the "Gators wear jean shorts" sign. No way, man. Don't you even think about trying to waste that prime College Gameday real estate with that unimaginative garbage. This is Tennessee vs. Florida, under the lights on national TV, with the rest of the college football watching world bearing down on you.

Woah, woah, woah, kid. We won't be accepting your "Mom, please send money" sign either. Here's 10 bucks, broke-ass college student. Now go buy yourself a sandwich and sit down. If you can find it on a used copy of NCAA '08 that goes for $2.99 at your local GameStop, it's not making the cut.

No matter what you think of the Worldwide Leader (my disdain is well-documented),  the opportunity to host a College Gameday is a blessing. Boo-hoo, your tailgate will be a little more crammed than usual and the commute into Knoxville will be a pain. This is a showcase for a team that desperately needs it, and it's a showcase for every facet of the program and the university.

Fitting as I begin to type this story that Peyton Manning is playing football. For many Vol fans, any mention of Peyton can't help but conjure up hatred for the "Mighty Gators" from Gainesville. 

This Saturday, Tennessee welcomes Florida to The Hill after defeating FBS neophyte Georgia State 51-13 to move their season record to 2-0. 

Against the Panthers, Bray was fantastic once again completing 90% of his passes for over 300 yards and four touchdowns- three of which went to Justin Hunter. 

Before I read too much into Bray's hot start, let me go back to 2011. The Vols launched an aerial assault on Cincinnati and Montana only to fall the following week in their SEC opener at Florida. 

Though Hunter's injury was a major blow to the Vols chances in The Swamp, I believe Tennessee lost that contest due to the battles in the trenches not outside the hash marks. 

Bray did not enjoy the same pocket protection against the Gators formidable defensive line and the running game couldn't gain traction. The result: another defeat. 

Back in the 90s when Steve Spurrier, accompanied by his famed Fun 'n Gun passing attack, faced off against Tennessee in a perennial clash of Top 10 titans, the true tell-tale sign of victory was the rushing yards category.

Though many things have changed in this rivalry including the head coaches and the elite status of these two SEC powers, that statistic's relevance still rings true.

The team that controls the line of scrimmage this Saturday will most likely improve their season record to 3-0 and take a significant step toward the driver's seat in the Eastern Division Championship race.

That's why I say Tiny Richardson and Company need to be huge this Saturday. Winning the rushing battle should be a primary goal. This would keep the Gators' defensive line honest, and allow Bray to leverage UT's largest strength- the passing game.

Lose the rushing battle, and we're likely to experience the despair associated with the Manning years.