CFB or New Year's Bowl Game?

Which would you rather have?

  • Make CFB and get blown out/embarrassed?

    Votes: 84 82.4%

  • Make prestigious bowl and dominate?

    Votes: 18 17.6%
  • Total voters
    102
#1
Jimmyandjoes

Jimmyandjoes

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#1
I think I know most people's answer. We would make it to the CFB. However,lots of volnation are saying this set us back and will adversely impact our recruiting, play,etc.
 
#2
#2
When it was a 4 team playoff, the only path to the title was the playoff and now that it is 12 team playoff, it's still the only path. Everyone's team goal is to win it all, but first make the playoffs, so to me that is the only answer. I think if a program frequently makes the playoff, that will be a draw to top talent, because just a few added players to a roster can be the difference in getting bounced and winning it all.

The prestigious bowls are used in the CFP, so I guess making the playoff is the only way to play in those games.

The challenge will be finding top talent that wants to win and be a great teammate, opposed to just playing for money and personal aspirations only.

The ONLY bright spot in Tennessee's butt kicking was that Nico was out there playing his rear off til the very end. He is making the dough, but seems to have fight and wants to win for his team and himself. That's more of a rarity today, so I feel even better moving forward with him at the helm. If anyone could have packed it in, it could have been him and he chose not to.

The Vols accomplished part of their main goal, making the playoff and winning it all. To me, there is a lot of learning and getting better from what happened in Columbus. Good teams/players use this as a learning experience, bad teams go the other direction. We shall see what they're made of .....
 
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#3
#3
Making the CFP is always the goal. Doesn’t mean the season is disappointing if you don’t but making it does mean you had a really good season aka a fun season for us fans. I’d rather go 10-2 or better with wins over the likes of Bama, Florida, and other SEC teams than a 9-3/8-4 season where we lose all the big games we play in. I’m different though in that I enjoy the journey of a season and the path to the playoff more than the one game (or however many we win). Losing a playoff game doesn’t diminish the enjoyment of watching the boys play the 12 games prior.
 
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#4
#4
All of the prestigious bowl games are in the playoffs now. You absolutely want to be playing in the playoffs. Dominating the Texas or Gator Bowl doesn’t really do much besides leave the fanbase with a happy memory going into the offseason.
 
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#5
#5
To me, the playoffs show progress. Consistently making them should be the goal and a mark of a solid program that is not satisfied with a mid-tier bowl.
I hate it for the bowls, though. I know we have too many, but at least there’s a reward for teams who can make them. I fear there will be opt outs and lackadaisical participation by teams, as most of the bowls now appear less prestigious and will probably sell less tickets, etc.
Pretty sad sign of the times
 
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#6
#6
I don’t know. From a sales perspective to new recruits, which is easier to sell - having your a$$ handed to you in the first round of the playoffs - or beating a #19 ranked team by 20 points in the Citrus Bowl? I think I’d go with the latter until more pieces are in place. You can still say you’re on the upward trend with the 2nd scenario. With the first, competitors could say that UT peaked and is now downward trending. Heck, some of the fanbase is already saying that.
 
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#8
#8
utvols74 said:
I don’t know. From a sales perspective to new recruits, which is easier to sell - having your a$$ handed to you in the first round of the playoffs - or beating a #19 ranked team by 20 points in the Citrus Bowl? I think I’d go with the latter until more pieces are in place. You can still say you’re on the upward trend with the 2nd scenario. With the first, competitors could say that UT peaked and is now downward trending. Heck, some of the fanbase is already saying that.
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Agree there are articles out there saying as much with UF on the rise and us trending down (not saying I agree but its about perception/narrative). They are also demonstrating this on the recruiting trail and the portal while you have our blowout defeat top of mind - I doubt many recruits think “oh well TN still went 10-2 and are on the rise” after witnessing that
 
#9
#9
Everyone wants to be in the playoffs....The main downside to losing the opening game of the playoffs is it may leave a bad taste in your team's fan base....Emotions are skyhigh going into the game, but may be lower than (you name it) if the team loses badly.

It was as bad, maybe worse, then the legendary hobnailed boot game....
images
 
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#10
#10
Knowing the outcome, it would probably be best from a fan smack talking perspective to have been a bubble team like Ole Miss who was left out, then destroy your bowl opponent and be able to say all off-season that you should have gotten in.

Practically however, it is better to have been gotten in and shown exactly where we stand, we are a good program, who still has some steps to take to be elite. It is always better to know the truth than to delude yourself.
 
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#17
#17
Would rather lose by 600 in a cfp than win a bowl

Its like getting rejected by the hottest blonde in school so you can be a player another day after learning rejection, and still be the guy given Kudos for the balls. Now we have experience. We had the kids point fingers and laugh for 2 days and those kids (100+ other schools) never got to try. We learned the worst that could happen, happened, and it blew over in 2 days and wasnt so bad. Now we try again with lessons learned and a new approach. Rome wasnt built overnight. Stacey, the CFP championship, will be ours ;)
 
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#18
#18
207 others said:
Would rather lose by 600 in a cfp than win a bowl

Its like getting rejected by the hottest blonde in school so you can be a player another day after learning rejection, and still be the guy given Kudos for the balls. Now we have experience. We had the kids point fingers and laugh for 2 days and those kids (100+ other schools) never got to try. We learned the worst that could happen, happened, and it blew over in 2 days and wasnt so bad. Now we try again with lessons learned and a new approach. Rome wasnf built overnight. Stacey, the CFP championship, will be ours ;)
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Horrible analogy. The Playoff is the goal of every team. Making that is better than not making it, no matter how you look at it, even if you suffer a humiliating loss as opposed to beating a top 20 team in a non-playoff New Year’s Bowl.

Getting turned down in embarrassing fashion by a 9.5 is not better than sleeping with a 7, no matter how you look at it.
 
#19
#19
cgbtn said:
All of the first round CFP games were won by the home team. The first round needs to be moved to neutral sites. Some of the lesser bowls could serve that purpose.
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Disagree. On campus sites are one of the few remaining vestiges of the college game, while playing in sterile neutral sites makes it that much more like the NFL. One thing the NFL does I wish would be done here (but obviously never will) is playing all the playoff games on campuses until the championship game. The higher seeds earned the right to host playoff games.

Having said that, the argument could be made that playing at neutral sites would balance out the f***ked up job the corrupt "committee" does with these rankings, so for that reason alone I might agree with you.
 
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#20
#20
Not making the CFP is essentially the equivalent of making the NIT in basketball. NIT = Not In Tournament
 
#21
#21
cjbongoinstructor said:
Agree there are articles out there saying as much with UF on the rise and us trending down (not saying I agree but it’s about perception/narrative). They are also demonstrating this on the recruiting trail and the portal while you have our blowout defeat top of mind - I doubt many recruits think “oh well TN still went 10-2 and are on the rise” after witnessing that
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Florida is looking at a 7-5 or 6-6 season next year. All the decent teams they beat they get on the road next year.
 
#22
#22
sami said:
Disagree. On campus sites are one of the few remaining vestiges of the college game, while playing in sterile neutral sites makes it that much more like the NFL. One thing the NFL does I wish would be done here (but obviously never will) is playing all the playoff games on campuses until the championship game. The higher seeds earned the right to host playoff games.

Having said that, the argument could be made that playing at neutral sites would balance out the f***ked up job the corrupt "committee" does with these rankings, so for that reason alone I might agree with you.
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I think this will change sooner than later. It’s absurd that both Texas and Penn State lost their conference title games and the quarterfinal games are vs Arizona State and and Boise State, while UGA gets Notre Dame and undefeated Oregon gets Ohio State.
 
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#25
#25
orangemadam said:
I think we hit our peak this year.

If we ever make another playoff appearance, I would expect another sound "whooping"
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Nah, if anything we’re gonna come back pissed. When you’re missing Sampson, Thornton and Squirrel plus a few other starters it tends to take a toll on you. When I was at the game and I seen who all wasn’t playing, I knew it wouldn’t be good.
 
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