Ripping the Press After another close loss, the Memphis coach vents. by DENNIS FREELAND ip Scherer was frustrated, mad, near tears. But he didn't have an outlet for his anger and frustration. Certainly he couldn't blame his team. They had just given one of the greatest efforts in the history of Tiger football, losing by a single point to the defending national champion Tennessee Volunteers in front of 107,261 hostile fans. He couldn't blame his coaching staff, who had put together a splendid game plan and had the Tigers honed to a razor-sharp edge. He couldn't even blame the Tennessee fans, who had acknowledged his team's gutty performance as Memphis left the field. But the coach found someone to blame. They were gathered outside the visiting locker room where some of his players and assistant coaches were crying. Scherer vented his frustration on the Memphis media. "I hope all of you who have taken shots at our program here in the last couple of weeks, in this last week, who've been flippant in your comments about our players and our coaches, will be objective in how you report this game," Scherer said in a low voice, struggling to maintain his composure. "I wish you had an opportunity to be in that locker room. Because I'll tell you what, these guys gave a hell of an effort. They were not given a chance by any of you. A lot of you took your shots and had fun with it, but these guys just keep rising above that." Just a few minutes earlier, I was climbing down one side of Neyland Mountain. Scherer's team led Tennessee with four minutes to go in the game as I made my way down to the field. The Tigers had the ball and were driving for their final score. The Vols hadn't scored a touchdown on the Memphis defense all day. Rip Scherer was going to do the unthinkable, I thought, what no Tiger coach had ever done, he was going to beat Tennessee in Knoxville! Then the drive stalled inside the 5-yard line, and Memphis settled for a Ryan White field goal. After the kick, the huge video screen showed Scherer on the sideline. What was he thinking? Was he wondering if going for the field goal was the right decision? Was he thinking about Neil Suber's incomplete pass to Billy Kendall, which almost sealed the Vols' fate? The defense came on the field needing one more stop, but this time they got burned. With DeMarrio Shank and Patrick Willis bearing down on him, Tee Martin unleashed a desperation pass. Just as he released the ball, Willis hit him. The ball seemed to go straight up into the night sky. I remember thinking that it might be intercepted. But it wasn't. Fifty-two yards later it landed in Bobby Graham's arms. Just like they had done to Syracuse, Arkansas, and Mississippi State in 1998, Tennessee had grasped a victory out of the Tigers' clutches. It was at once the most disappointing loss in school history and the most heroic effort. Afterwards Scherer tried to find words to describe what the players' effort meant to him. "I'm proud of them. Proud of their effort, proud of their heart," Scherer said. But he couldn't forget the things written and said the week before. "They did a heck of a job in one of the toughest environments in college football -- with what a lot of you say is a 'woeful' offensive line, 'no players,' 'can't move the ball.' Against one of the best defenses I've seen in a long time I think we gave them fits." I don't blame Scherer for his uncharacteristic attack of Memphis reporters. He has had a difficult job -- much tougher than he expected when he took the job in January 1995. But this is entirely his team now. And although he hasn't reaped the results yet, this team is better. Unlike the 1996 Tennessee game, which he says was done "with mirrors," this time Memphis clearly had Tennessee beaten. The Tigers looked like the better team. Memphis had 12 first downs to Tennessee's 10. Memphis won time of possession 33 minutes to 27. The Tigers averaged 4.6 yards per offensive play while limiting the Vols to a full yard less (3.6). The Memphis defense allowed Tennessee to gain only 216 yards in total offense. And, perhaps most importantly, Jamal Lewis -- the key to Tennessee's offense -- was held to a career-low 45 yards. I cannot speak for the other reporters Scherer may have been lashing out at, but I have never taken any joy in the struggles of Tiger football. Not now; not in 1976, when as a student at the school I watched my first UT-Memphis game, a 21-14 loss at the Liberty Bowl. It's hard for me to be objective about a team I care so much about. But that's my job. The Memphis offense ranks 102nd in the country. That's a fact I have to report. And when I say on a radio show, as I did last week, that Tennessee could "name the score" against Memphis, that's just my opinion. I was wrong. Rip Scherer has kept his job despite losing 34 games in five years. He has kept his job because he is a decent man who is building a program the school can be proud of. And because Memphis reporters have reported the story just that way.