Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton reverted to his 2008 form, throwing three interceptions and generally looked clueless against UCLA Saturday afternoon as the Vols lost to the Bruins 19-15.
After performing well in Tennessee’s season opener against Western Kentucky, Crompton’s ineffective play – and the offensive ineptitude in general – cost the Vols dearly.
With an opportunity to steal a win late in the fourth quarter, coach Lane Kiffin made a questionable call on a fourth and one from the UCLA 2-yard line, with Montario Hardesty running into the teeth of the Bruins defense, only to fall one yard short of the goal line.
Perhaps Kiffin felt he had no choice but to put the game in the hands of the player who had been Tennessee’s most effective offensive threat the entire game.
Hardesty scored the Vols’ only touchdown on an 11-yard run with 2:58 left in the first quarter to put Tennessee up 10-3. The senior running back finished with 89 yards on 26 carries.
Opening the game with an 13-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a Daniel Lincoln field goal to tie the score at 3, Tennessee’s next nine possessions totaled 25 plays for 54 yards and four turnovers.
In the second quarter, Crompton fumbled a snap and the Bruins Jerzy Siewierski recovered at the Tennessee 35.
UCLA needed seven plays to score, with quarterback Kevin Prince throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Chane Moline as he was being hit, tying the score at 10 with 7:09 before halftime.
Crompton threw interceptions on the next two drives, the second of which he threw right into the hands of UCLA cornerback Alterraun Verner.
“I didn’t do a very good job today taking care of Jonathan,” Kiffin said. “I gave him a couple of calls unfortunately that didn’t put him in the best position. We’ve got to do a better job around him.”
Crompton’s interception on the Vols first play of the second half led to a UCLA field goal giving the Bruins a 13-10 lead with 14:00 left in the third quarter.
Tennessee’s defense performed well despite having their backs against the wall most of the game. The Vols held UCLA to just 186 yards and limited the Bruins to 3-of-14 on third down conversions.
The Volunteers sacked Prince in the end zone for a safety with 1:41 left in the game, giving Tennessee one more chance to pull out the victory.
But Crompton threw incomplete on the Vols first play from scrimmage, got sacked for a 4-yard loss on the second play and threw two more incomplete passes to seal the game for UCLA.
Tennessee actually outgained the Bruins 208-186 for the game, but Crompton completed only 50% of his passes (13-of-26) for 93 yards.
It was a harsh reminder of Tennessee’s abysmal 2008 offensive performance – particularly Crompton’s – that left Volunteers’ fans howling after the game.
