1.) 21 of 27 for 331 yards and five touchdowns. Ponder on that for a while.

2.) How do you recruit Memphis without going to Memphis? Paste their hometown team on the gridiron. It is a boon to the recruiting budget. Florida has lots of recruits; we should do the same to them, someday.

3.) Seriously, though, a 56-28 win (with the last three Memphis scores given up by reserves) over Memphis is much better than the narrow wins the Vols were putting up over the Tigers in the 1990s. (Remember 17-16, 20-16…and getting beat 21-17?)

4.) Memphis coach Tommy West might keep his Lane Kiffin jokes to himself from now on. West, who joked about Lane Kiffin’s $5 talking dog, isn’t as good at the jab game as Kiffin, who commented after the game that the dog “bit back a little bit, didn’t it,” and added that the joke made no sense. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Somebody can maybe explain it for me.” (For the record, I didn’t get it, either. Neither did Eric Berry.)

5.) Did Kiffin show a bit of a vindictive nature last night? After using the joke as motivation all week, Kiffin went for it on fourth down twice in the first quarter, kicked an onsides kick with a 14-0 lead, and was running trick plays with a 28-0 lead.

6.) If 56-28 doesn’t seem impressive enough, remember that it was 42-7 at halftime. That’s impressive by any measure. Unimpressive by any measure was the play of Tennessee’s defense in the 2nd half. Sure, it was the reserves, but some of these guys will be starting as soon as next year. Even on a day when you put up 56 on an in-state rival, there’s lots of work to be done. (We’ve always maintained that Tennessee won’t be hardly as good next year as this year due to the talent the Vols are losing, and that 2011 will be the year the real turnaround starts.)

7.) Tennessee has made a strong case for the Outback Bowl, even if the Vols lose to Ole Miss next week and finish 7-5. (Ole Miss beat Northern Arizona last night 38-14, but the game was tied at 14 late in the 2nd quarter.) The Cotton Bowl would be much more exciting, but doesn’t seem very likely right now. The Outback gets first pick from the East, and if UT is 8-4, that’s a certainty. (The Cotton Bowl favors SEC West teams.) The Capital One Bowl (formerly the Citrus Bowl) is out of the question, barring a complete collapse by LSU to end the season (and that would still require the loser of the Florida-Alabama game in the conference championship getting an at-large bid to the BCS). If Tennessee loses to Ole Miss, the Vols could slide to the Peach Bowl. Bland, but definitely better than no bowl at all.

8.) Tennessee’s offense is now ranked 5th in the SEC in total yards (up from 11th last year), 3rd in passing (up from 11th last year), 4th in scoring (up from 10th) and 2nd in first downs (up from last). For a coach who was going to fall on his face (if you listen to prevailing opinions in Gainesville and Tuscaloosa), Lane Kiffin seems to be doing an admirable job so far.

9.) Okay, let’s talk Jonathan Crompton. The numbers above don’t lie. He completed 21 of 27 passes last night for 331 yards and five touchdowns. True, it was against Memphis. But, honestly: How many Tennessee fans would have thought six weeks ago that he could put up numbers like those against a high school team, much less a college defense? Crompton continues to lead the SEC in touchdowns passes, and is fourth in the nation (with 21). He’s fifth in the SEC in passing efficiency. His stats for the past 18 quarters (beginning with the 2nd half against Auburn, when he experienced his remarkable turnaround) are even more impressive. He’s 90 of 158 for 1,194 yards and 12 touchdowns, against only two interceptions. Eight of those quarters were played against defenses in the SEC’s top five. His 21 TD passes are already fourth-most in a single season in the post-Peyton Manning era. With his next TD, he’ll tie Casey Clausen for third-most in the post-Peyton era. He isn’t likely to surpass Erik Ainge’s 31 touchdown passes in 2007, but it’s conceivable that he could get past Clausen’s 27 TDs in 2003 for second most in the post-Peyton era. And he’s already in the top 10 all-time at UT for single-season touchdown passes. Last night he surpassed Ainge’s 17 TD passes in 2006, Dewey Warren’s 18 in 1966, Tee Martin’s 19 in 1998 and Ainge’s 19 in 2004, and Manning’s 20 TDs in 1996 to move into the top 10, and currently sits at seventh. With his next TD pass he’ll tie Manning (1995) and Clausen (2001) to get into the top 5. Did you ever think you would say it? Tennessee’s going to miss Jonathan Crompton next year.

10.) If Tennessee completes an 8-4 season by defeating Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Kentucky, should Kiffin be considered for SEC Coach of the Year? Larry Biddle thinks so. I do, too.