boomvol
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- Oct 21, 2013
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As we near the end of this season, I can't help but look back at Pruitt's almost two seasons here and noticed how similar they have been to this point.
Bad starts - I can remember watching the WVU game last year and thinking that this team was in trouble. I felt like we were multiple seasons away from having a competitive roster. And I was okay with the idea of that, because Butch left our cupboard pretty bare. This season's start... oh boy. It felt like we had taken a step back from the opener of 2018 somehow. Our roster wasn't near ready to win meaningful SEC games. That's the only way I could view us
Florida - Yikes. Definitely the low point of 2018 for me. We got annihilated and didn't even look like we belonged on the field. 2019 wasn't much different. My hopelessness was at a high point for both seasons after the Gators were done with us.
Georgia - Against UGA, however, the 2018 Vols showed life. The Vols were in the game until late and gave the Dawgs all they wanted. The 2019 Vols also handled Georgia throughout much of the first half and seemed like a team that could be competitive in most games moving forward. This was the first real glimpse of optimism in both seasons that we could win an SEC game or two.
SEC West win – 2018 gave us Auburn, 2019 gave us MSU, just when we needed them. A win in conference against the West helped both seasons feel like we could get on a run and compete in the last half of the year.
Kentucky – In both 2018 and 2019, the 4-5 Vols had a win over Kentucky that brought us within 1 win of bowl eligibility. I will say the 2018 win felt better because of UK’s ranking and how bad we beat them, but a comeback win in Lexington at night isn’t anything to complain about.
While I know there are some obvious differences between 2018 and 2019 (competing with Bama, beating SCAR, etc.), my point is this: We find ourselves in an almost identical spot as last year. We have just beaten Kentucky, needing to beat Mizzou or Vandy to get to a bowl. We all know what happened last year…
So for this years team, these last two games will be my measuring stick. Are we going to be a team/program that folds late in the year, or are we a team that can take control of November and give us momentum to build on in the offseason? Have we truly taken a step forward as a program this year, or will we be starting from square 1 in 2020 just like we did this year? I can’t wait for these last few games, and I’m hoping our boys can rise to the occasion.
Bad starts - I can remember watching the WVU game last year and thinking that this team was in trouble. I felt like we were multiple seasons away from having a competitive roster. And I was okay with the idea of that, because Butch left our cupboard pretty bare. This season's start... oh boy. It felt like we had taken a step back from the opener of 2018 somehow. Our roster wasn't near ready to win meaningful SEC games. That's the only way I could view us
Florida - Yikes. Definitely the low point of 2018 for me. We got annihilated and didn't even look like we belonged on the field. 2019 wasn't much different. My hopelessness was at a high point for both seasons after the Gators were done with us.
Georgia - Against UGA, however, the 2018 Vols showed life. The Vols were in the game until late and gave the Dawgs all they wanted. The 2019 Vols also handled Georgia throughout much of the first half and seemed like a team that could be competitive in most games moving forward. This was the first real glimpse of optimism in both seasons that we could win an SEC game or two.
SEC West win – 2018 gave us Auburn, 2019 gave us MSU, just when we needed them. A win in conference against the West helped both seasons feel like we could get on a run and compete in the last half of the year.
Kentucky – In both 2018 and 2019, the 4-5 Vols had a win over Kentucky that brought us within 1 win of bowl eligibility. I will say the 2018 win felt better because of UK’s ranking and how bad we beat them, but a comeback win in Lexington at night isn’t anything to complain about.
While I know there are some obvious differences between 2018 and 2019 (competing with Bama, beating SCAR, etc.), my point is this: We find ourselves in an almost identical spot as last year. We have just beaten Kentucky, needing to beat Mizzou or Vandy to get to a bowl. We all know what happened last year…
So for this years team, these last two games will be my measuring stick. Are we going to be a team/program that folds late in the year, or are we a team that can take control of November and give us momentum to build on in the offseason? Have we truly taken a step forward as a program this year, or will we be starting from square 1 in 2020 just like we did this year? I can’t wait for these last few games, and I’m hoping our boys can rise to the occasion.