Those unexpected close calls against Vanderbilt and Kentucky the past two weeks made everybody associated with Tennessee football squirm. That's not all bad.

Quarterback Rick Clausen goes into the SEC championship game in Atlanta against No. 3 Auburn (11-0) on Saturday night with only two starts on his Tennessee resume.

But in both of those starts, the No. 15 Vols (9-2) ended up fighting for their lives before prevailing 38-33 against Vanderbilt and then rallying in the final minute to overtake Kentucky, 37-31.

If the form chart had held and the Vols were up 24-0 against Kentucky, think the coaching staff would have asked Clausen to make many plays?

"Those were pressure situations,'' said Clausen, "and whenever you're in a pressure situation, you have to go out there and make plays.

"Fortunately, on the offensive side of the ball, we made plays against those teams.''

Against Vanderbilt, Clausen and the offense had to build on a 28-20 halftime margin and then protect a shrinking lead in the fourth quarter.

The 38 points was the most the offensive unit had scored since a 42-17 win over Louisiana Tech on Sept. 25. (There was a kickoff-return touchdown in the 43-29 win at South Carolina).

The Kentucky game induced even more pressure. The Wildcats led for all but five minutes of the first three quarters and were up 31-22 in the fourth quarter.

Clausen conducted a flawless hurry-up 80-yard touchdown drive in the final 39 seconds of the first half. Then he rallied the Vols to a pair of touchdowns in the final 10 minutes.

The winning score came with 38 seconds to play.

"It's much more beneficial playing that last drive of the game to go win than it is when you're up 30 points,'' said offensive coordinator Randy Sanders.

"It has benefited him as well as some of the linemen, who have had to go out and play 60 minutes.

"There hasn't been any mop-up duty for them these last two weeks. It's all been critical situations with the game on the line.''

Continuing injuries to starters will force a couple of those linemen, Albert Toeiana and Richie Gandy, to play important roles against Auburn.

The flip side is that because the games were closer than expected, Sanders had to pull out a couple of plays he would preferred to have saved for Auburn. The flanker pass by C.J. Fayton is the prime example.

"I would have loved to been up 30 and saved that for this week,'' Sanders said.

But that factor is outweighed by the baptism-by-fire experience that Clausen got from two competitive situations.

He was forced to attempt 43 passes against Kentucky, which will be better preparation for Auburn than a steady diet of handing off to Cedric Houston and Gerald Riggs.

"I think now I'm just seeing the field better,'' Clausen said. "The speed of the game, being able to recognize coverages faster and being able to understand where to go with the ball faster.

"That's the biggest thing, just getting the ball to the athletes in the open field so they can make plays.''

For Tennessee to have any chance to upset Auburn, Clausen will have to help his team make plays.

At least it won't be a new experience.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.