By JIM STEELE
pressbox1.com

Here's a riddle. How do you have a quarterback throw four interceptions in the first half, then riddle the opposing defense in the second half for a win?

Answer: Schedule Tennessee.

Unranked UCLA looked like the ranked team and Tennessee looked like an imposter at Pasadena on Tuesday night. UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft shook off a dreadful first half and drove the Bruins down the field on two late-game drives as his team upset the Vols 27-24. So what's new in college football, huh?

Craft threw four picks in the first half which enabled the Vols to lead 14-7.

But Craft played heads-up football and led the Bruins to the victory. I'd say credit the Vols for coming back down the stretch to tie the game. But this team was a can't-miss pick to win this game. Even the ESPN Game Day guys pretty much penciled in the victory for the Vols.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Rose Bowl.

Consider, too, that UCLA lost three seniors in the first half and Craft was the third option at quarterback after the first two trigger men sustained injuries at spring practice. This wasn't the 1994 game where the Vols lost starter Jerry Colquitt on the seventh play and an offensive team in disarray had to wing it.

Jonathan Crompton was the man at quarterback. Vol coach Phillip Fulmer boasted at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala. this summer that he had a bunch of players returning with leadership skills. There were solid offensive linemen, a team strength. There was depth in the backfield, especially with the return of Monterio Hardesty and Arian Foster.

Crompton looked like a rookie, Foster and Smith had flashes of brilliance, but displayed the inconsistency of rookies. Foster managed 96 yards on 13 carries while Hardesty had 66 yards and two TDs on 12 totes. Not the numbers one would expect from two backs who are touted to be some of the best in the country. Additionally, Foster fumbled near the UCLA goal line, halting what seemed to be a sure TD drive.

Foster had fumble fingers three years ago and last year said he was focusing on ball protection as a priority. Maybe he needs a new optometrist.The line was average and, as usual, the secondary was porous after Craft worked out the kinks. Craft had Peytonesque numbers. He was 25-43 passing for 260 yards and one TD. He also had Shuleresque numbers with four interceptions.

Crompton, meanwhile, was 19-41 passing for 190 yards with one interception. But he was rushed, made horrible decisions and often threw on the run. The fact that he was sacked only once is a mircale as much pressure as he faced.

For the Vols, it was another miserable, disappointing and inexplicable effort that always seems define the Fulmer era. The Vols manage to pull off a shocking win (Georgia last year comes to mind), but suffer embarrasing losses in games they should win (California, Florida, Alabama last year come to mind as does the Memphis game in 1996). I'd sooner expect Appalachian State to beat the Vols at Neyland than Michigan at the Big House.

Let's hope A-State isn't on the Vols' radar screen.

Yes, UCLA was primed and ready. The Bruins rolled the dice when they picked Rick Neuheisel as their head coach. Neuheisel has had success at Colorado and Washington, but he also managed to leave then on NCAA probation. Perhaps he's mended his ways. Who knows. All I do know is that he outcoached Tennessee and had his team ready to play. The Vols appeared to be complacent.

Sure, Tennessee always talks a big game in pre-season. I'm reminded how things were at the start of the 1996 season, where the Vols were projected to be national champions. It was the same year they were routed by Florida at home (don't let the final margin fool you, Spurrier was more conservative than Rush Limbaugh in the second half of that game, which Florida won 35-29) and then lost at the Liberty Bowl to a struggling Memphis team 21-17. A national-title team wound up beating Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl.

Fans will remember the 2001 season where the Vols couldn't beat an LSU team with a second-team running back and a second-team quarterback in the SEC title game. If only the Vols had won, they'd have played Miami in the Rose Bowl for the national championship.

Then there was that 2002 debacle where the Vols said they had "Unfinished Business." And they introduced Orange Nation to Kelley "The Future" Washington. Well, the Vols were an embarrasing disappointment and their business was finished after getting romped (as usual) by Florida and "The Future" became "The Disappointment."

No, this loss isn't fatal and, given the current climate of colege football, anything can happen. Tennessee emerged from its puzzling loss at California last year to win 10 games and play for the SEC championship. Cal went from challenging for a No. 1 ranking to a 7-6 record and a 3-6 mark in the Pac 10.

But for Tennessee, this was far too often business as usual. The Vols have a penchant of not finishing the deal, struggling with execution and losing to sub-par teams. UCLA looked like the ranked team; Tennessee looked like the team finding its way. So what is new in college football?

Jim Steele is webmaster for pressbox1.com and can be reached at pressbox1@gmail.com