KNOXVILLE - Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge will start again this week, trying to regain timing with the receivers and throw smarter passes while the Volunteers hope to end their losing streak.
Coach Phillip Fulmer said Tuesday that Ainge will start this Saturday at home against Memphis (4-4). Ainge was the starter in last week's 41-21 loss at Notre Dame after Rick Clausen started four straight games. They have alternated throughout the season, but Clausen did not play at all last week.
The Volunteers (3-5) have lost four in a row and are in danger of finishing with a losing record for the first time since 1988.
Ainge threw one touchdown, had two passes intercepted, a fumble that was recovered by Tennessee and some intentional grounding calls in the Notre Dame loss. The receivers did not catch several long passes, including some off their fingertips.
Ainge was 4-2 as a starter last year.
"The plays were made last year," he said Tuesday. "I would have thrown it two inches shorter or we would have lunged forward and caught it last year, and this year it's not happening."
Fulmer said there haven't been any "spectacular" plays in the passing game since C.J. Fayton made a diving catch for a touchdown in the opener against UAB.
"We need a hero on offense or two or three. (Tailback) Arian Foster is kind of emerging as one of those guys. We need a couple of other guys to come through for us," Fulmer said.
Statistically, Tennessee's offense ranks among the worst in Division I-A.
Offensive coordinator Randy Sanders resigned last week and will remain the quarterbacks coach through the end of the season. He helped Fulmer call plays during last week's game.
Fulmer said he discussed replacing Ainge with Clausen after Ainge's first interception but decided against it.
"It's not all about me learning as I go and working through this. We need to win these next three games. I'm addressing it in the film room and I'm addressing it in practice right now," Ainge said.
The switching of quarterbacks since the beginning of the season has hurt the passing game, particularly in timing.
"Anytime you have two guys working with one set of receivers and the receivers have equal faith in each guy and each quarterback thinks he's the guy, it's going to throw it off a little bit. They're going to have to have one set of timing with Rick and they're going to have to have one set of timing with me, and that's tough," Ainge said.
"As a quarterback and receiver group, I don't think we've handled that well."
The Vols had three pass plays of more than 20 yards against Notre Dame, two for 23 yards and one for 21, but there have been only four pass plays all season over 30 yards.
Ainge said he has been pressing too much to make the big plays.
"I've been trying to make stuff happen down the field. When we call a go route, I kind of have it in the back of my head that we need to hit this and that's not what I've been coached, what I've been taught. If it's not open, throw it to the running back. A lot of times, watching the film, we had guys open short," Ainge said.
"The big plays, I'm going to give us a chance to make those, but I need to put us in a position where we're not relying on those alone to win the game."
