By JIM STEELE
pressbox1.com

Perhaps California had the bitter residue of revenge fouling its palate as it awaited a visit from No. 15-ranked Tennessee Saturday night.

The 12th-rated Bears suffered a 35-18 loss in Knoxville last year and that setback put a crimp in their national championship plans. Saturday night in Berkeley, the Bears replaced that acid of revenge with the sweet honey of victory, befitting Bears, as they secured a 45-31 triumph over the Vols.

The Vols struggled to stop the run last year and it appeared they were back to their old habits. Cal rushed for 231 yards against Tennessee and had 144 return yards, including a 77-yard punt return by DeSean Jackson for a touchdown.

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer wasted little time recovering from jetlag. He and his staff were busy checking the film. There was some good, but much to fix. He started with the tackling problems.

"We missed too many tackles and gave up too many big plays," Fulmer said, summarily. "We didn't have enough pass rush either."

Cal quarterback Nate Longshore was 19-28 passing for 241 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Last year, Longshore ran for his life. This year, California's protection was better.

"They were keeping seven and eight in to protect when they passed," said Fulmer. "Longshore got rid of it really fast, too."

But Fulmer said the defense missed 22 tackles and many more on special teams that they hadn't totalled yet.

"Stopping the run remains a concern," Fulmer said. "We have to do that better; the front played reasonably well, but it was our tackling - or not tackling well - some at linebacker, some at safety and we will work on that."

Justin Forsett carried 26 times for 167 yards. Fulmer remarked that California has a talented team.

"We were in position to make the play a lot of times, but we just didn't make it," he said. "California has good backs, but not that good."

Plus kicking from the 30 proved to be more difficult than originally thought. Fulmer said he and his staff went over a number of kickoff scenarios since it's much more difficult to get touchbacks with the new starting point.

"I was talking to one of my friends who is in the NFL about kicking from the 30 and he told me, 'welcome to the real world,'" the coach said. "When Britton (Colquitt) is 100 percent, he can kick it to the goal line or even into the end zone, but now it's very difficult to kick into the end zone."

The idea was to punt away from Jackson and the kick he did return for the score, Fulmer said the kick was good and there were defenders there to stop the return, but didn't make the play, once again.

Fulmer said it's hard to find silver linings in this loss, but there were positives.

"We went out there expecting to win, so it's hard to get past that," Fulmer said. "We had a chance to win the game and we went there to win."

Still the coach said he was pleased with how his offense moved the ball for the most part. Erik Ainge completed 32 of 47 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns. Arian Foster carried 13 times for 89 yards.

"They played well," Fulmer said, "But we need to finish the deal."

The Vols had three straight stops in the second half and pulled within a touchdown of the Bears, 38-31, on a big field goal by Daniel Lincoln.

"Lincoln was 4-for-4 on his PATs and he kicked a 41-yard field goal and I was pleased with that," said Fulmer. "That was a big confidence boost for him."

GOLDEN EAGLES BACK AT NEYLAND: The Vols will host Southern Mississippi, a 35-13 victor over 2006 Ohio Valley Conference champion UT-Martin in Hattiesburg, Saturday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. EDT, 6 p.m. Central, and the game will be available on pay-per-view. Contact your local cable company for information on how to acquire the game.

X-MAN IS OKAY: Vols defender Xavier Mitchell was carried off the field after a collision with one of his teammates in the fourth quarter. The game was delayed for over 10 minutes while Mitchell was removed from the field on a motorized cart.

Fulmer said that the preliminary report was he suffered a concussion.

"He flew back with us on the plane," said Fulmer. "He was checked out at the hospital and the CT (computer tomography) came up negative for any structural problems, which was a real blessing."

Fulmer said he'd know more Sunday night about Mitchell's condition and his readiness for play.

DONALD MADE THE TRIP: Vols freshman defensive prodigy Chris Donald, a former Huntingdon Mr. Football winner, made the trip to California, but did not play. He wore No. 40.

Fulmer said he's been pleased with how his prospect has performed in the pre-season.

"Chris has a wonderful attitude and has worked really hard," said Fulmer.

The coach said that he is re-thinking where Donald may play. Originally signed as a linebacker, Fulmer may use him elsewhere, a la Shazzon Bradley from the early 1990s. Bradley excelled as a defensive lineman and linebacker for the Vols during their SEC championship run of 1989 and 1990.

"We may play him at linebacker or defensive end, we're not sure," said Fulmer, "He has enough ability and a great attitude."

Bud Ford, Tennessee's assistant athletic director in charge of media relations, said that a redshirt decision on Donald won't be made until mid-season. Donald can dress for any and all Tennessee games, but as long as he doesn't play, he can redshirt this year.