Biggest game of Pruitt's career, SEC East title is on the line.

[BMac]

Would you rather beat Georgia then lose to Kentucky or lose to Georgia and beat Kentucky?

Why lose to either

 

[Bennessee01]

when you come to a fork in the road, take it.

 

[TC 83]

I expect GA to come out the gate and try to bully us to a degree (blitzes/running the ball). We’ve got to bounce back when things don’t go our way bc I think GA is going for the jugular early. They don’t want us hanging around going to halftime and it’ll be interesting to see what we scheme. I personally want to see Pruitt loading the box with LB’s and doing everything to stop their run game. I really think if we can hold GA to 150 or less yds rushing then we have a real shot to win this game. Make this kid at QB beat us and let our secondary go one on one. We’re going to get burned some but I like the chances of getting TO’s making this kid throw it 25 plus times. If you watched GA Saturday then you saw their physicality. They flexed all over Auburn, but Pruitt/Kirby know how to play Auburn better than most from their time at Bama. I loved Pruitt’s presser Monday. Right off the bat he shot into the mistakes the team made after what was a very seemingly competent win. I see so many posts on VN pointing out the negative stuff in the games but Pruitt sees all of it too and doesn’t hide it. When we all wished for a coach that would not fluff around the edges and was transparent—we got him. I think he’s a helluva football coach and even if we don’t win Saturday, TN is on the up w/him at the helm.

 

[jarnol32]

Agree. As always the biggest question will be at qb. Uga likely has the best qb in the matchup even though he’s a former walk in with one start. If we lose you’re right...we’ll almost certainly be out of the race as we have that constant cross division rival that been the best team in football for the last decade that neither Florida or uga have to contend with. I so wish we could drop that permanent game. But that’s a conversation for another thread I guess. If we lose and are virtually our if the sece race I so so wish we’d play another qb in the coming weeks. Let maurer and bailey get some valuable experience and see if one of them can lock down the job

Uga literally plays Alabama the week after they play us. Stop whining about playing Alabama ever year, we owned them from the mid 90s till the mid 2000s, and the cycle is about to swing back our way. Nick Saban is 68, it’s only a matter of time until he retires and the evil empire comes crashing down.

 

[jarnol32]

IF Guarantano is shaky early on, I wouldn't hesitate to pull him for either Shrout or Maurer. If this change did not work out you can always go back to Jarrett later. That worked fairly well last year so I wouldn't hesitate to make a change if warranted...

I kind of feel like Saturday is either going to be the day Guarantano silences all the doubters and entrenches himself as the starter for the rest of season, or it will be the day that he folds and loses his job for good. It would be nice to see him come out and throw 5 tds like Crompton did his senior year vs uga. Nice, but not at all probable...

 

[stevenrich2003]

Gonna take a different approach.

The biggest game he has prepared for to date was MSU last year. Without that win theres a good chance he loses that team before they can finish the season on a streak which included a bowl appearance and win. And he's still trying to convince everyone inside and outside of the program to trust him.

This is the first big game he has prepped for where he doesn't have weaknesses across the board hes trying to cover. UGA has more talent and depth but its no so much they have to lay an egg to lose.

This is a great point.

 

[JoAllan]

Would you rather beat Georgia then lose to Kentucky or lose to Georgia and beat Kentucky?

if this team beat Georgia it would be hard to accept a loss to Kentucky.

For me this week is going to tell “us fans” a lot. Can we be in for something special......or is it going to simply be just another let down.

Hey everyone....I’m sorry....I’m riding high too right now; however the team I love hasn’t done anything remotely special in a very long time. Us fans have been let down year, after year, after year. I’m tired of let downs, I want to see Tennessee beat a good SEC team, and have a great season. They don’t have to win the SEC or anything....although that would be awesome......but come on give us fans a great win vs a highly ranked SEC team, don’t lose to teams we shouldn’t, and win a good bowl.....at the least.

There are no “moral” victories....but for “suffering” fans......we’ll take some (some of us)....at the least Saturday play well, keep it close and have the chance to win.

Lots of mental mistakes/lack of discipline and/or getting beat by 14 or more.....will simply be another let down in the string of 20 something years of let downs....and I’ll be needing to attend camp quitcherbitchin.

 

[Devo182]

UF has the easiest schedule by far. It'll be a fantastic day whenever UA comes back to earth and we aren't at an annual disadvantage.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

These are big ifs but should we win vs GA Sat it puts us in control of the East I feel. We could still lose to Alabama and have a shot again vs Fl later in the season. Should we win Sat I believe we'd be favored every game except for those 2. Regardless, with a win Saturday we will still be talking SEC east championship halfway into the season, quite an accomplishment. A loss Saturday just about eliminates us from winning the East as we'd have to win out and need the pups to lose 2. Going into the Florida game at the end of the season with a chance to make the SEC championship game would put us basically into the playoffs as the SEC winner is going to the playoffs 100% this season. A lot would have to happen but a win Saturday would be the biggest step we could take in order to make it happen.
A loss isn't the end of the world for Pruitt but it'll force us to play nearly perfect the rest of the way if we want to finish 7-3 or better.
For those reasons, I think that as of this date this is the biggest game Pruitt has ever prepared for as a head coach.

Same team, different season. No matter what happens, Tennessee's 3rd game of the season ends up being the game that has the SEC East title on the line.

 

[malibuvol]

Uga literally plays Alabama the week after they play us. Stop whining about playing Alabama ever year, we owned them from the mid 90s till the mid 2000s, and the cycle is about to swing back our way. Nick Saban is 68, it’s only a matter of time until he retires and the evil empire comes crashing down.

He could easily coach for 5 more years...

 

[Special Ed]

Would you rather beat Georgia then lose to Kentucky or lose to Georgia and beat Kentucky?

Yes and No.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Same team, different season. No matter what happens, Tennessee's 3rd game of the season ends up being the game that has the SEC East title on the line.

Not true, tell us the last time we were 2-0 in conference and even mathematically eligible to win the East. You just said this to be a smart a$$ as I've not seen it talked about on here hardly ever. Keep doing you though big fella if that's how you want to be.

 

[jarnol32]

He could easily coach for 5 more years...

Tick tock.

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

I’m not expecting a win but do expect us to fight like hell and keep it close.

 

[vegasvolfan]

These are big ifs but should we win vs GA Sat it puts us in control of the East I feel. We could still lose to Alabama and have a shot again vs Fl later in the season. Should we win Sat I believe we'd be favored every game except for those 2. Regardless, with a win Saturday we will still be talking SEC east championship halfway into the season, quite an accomplishment. A loss Saturday just about eliminates us from winning the East as we'd have to win out and need the pups to lose 2. Going into the Florida game at the end of the season with a chance to make the SEC championship game would put us basically into the playoffs as the SEC winner is going to the playoffs 100% this season. A lot would have to happen but a win Saturday would be the biggest step we could take in order to make it happen.
A loss isn't the end of the world for Pruitt but it'll force us to play nearly perfect the rest of the way if we want to finish 7-3 or better.
For those reasons, I think that as of this date this is the biggest game Pruitt has ever prepared for as a head coach.

I just don’t think we do it with JG and the way the team is playing right now. JG hasn’t thrown for 300 against two bottom of the SEC teams. He surprisingly gets a lot of pressure still. DL only got one sack against Missouri. Corners are giving up big plays. Linebackers are getting gashed. Cimaglia has missed 2 of 3 flies goals. Our run game is average for an SEC East upper tier team as not enough tackles are being broken at the second level.

 

[savannahfan]

Would you rather beat Georgia then lose to Kentucky or lose to Georgia and beat Kentucky?

Which had you rather do or ride a bicycle???

 

[ScornedPapaVol]

This game is big for perception. Tennessee will be seen as "back" if we beat Georgia, even though we aren't necessarily back yet. If we lose, we'll get buried when we don't deserve that either. Having said all that, I'll take a win. Any kind.

 

[bpalmer28]

Georgia Defense is one of the top 1 or 2 in the Country, we don't have the QB to beat a elite defense, or have a elite QB to beat a elite defense, of course with right amount of turnovers and win the special teams, we could pull out a Victory, but in the end the Dawgs will win pull away in the second half like 27-13, hope i am wrong but we are still 1 year away from beating a team like the Dawgs, we just dont have enough offense to beat them, they can rotate 8 d-lineman in and out and that will win the game for them.

Generally speaking, I agree, but if Hyatt or Jones gets behind the D who knows what will happen? We've finally got enough speed to give ourselves a puncher's chance because we don't need an 8 play drive to score. JG does have to make the throw, and the chances are slim that he'll deliver it in stride, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

 

[GameTime]

The excitement on here is building like the magma in a volcano, when it is about to erupt...
Looks like a Power T....(Good sign)

 

[bpalmer28]

This game is big for perception. Tennessee will be seen as "back" if we beat Georgia, even though we aren't necessarily back yet. If we lose, we'll get buried when we don't deserve that either. Having said all that, I'll take a win. Any kind.

And because of that, OP is right that this is the biggest game of Pruitt's career.

 

[bpalmer28]

The talent gap between us and UGA is gigantic. For us to win we will have to play a flawless game and hope that UGA implodes. If that doesnt happen then we likely lose by 17+.

That's the most likely outcome, IMO, but there have been bigger upsets.

 

[vegasvolfan]

Georgia Defense is one of the top 1 or 2 in the Country, we don't have the QB to beat a elite defense, or have a elite QB to beat a elite defense, of course with right amount of turnovers and win the special teams, we could pull out a Victory, but in the end the Dawgs will win pull away in the second half like 27-13, hope i am wrong but we are still 1 year away from beating a team like the Dawgs, we just dont have enough offense to beat them, they can rotate 8 d-lineman in and out and that will win the game for them.

It is pretty early in the season, but so far we look pretty close to Florida and Georgia. Of course you have to consider competition and the only same team comparable so far is Florida vs SC. We out rushed (123 vs 117) and out threw (261 vs 212) Florida against SC while they gave up 3 fewer points (24 vs 27) and scored one more TD (31 vs 38). Frankly, I am not sure Auburn is any better than SC. They may be worse. Arkansas is probably a little better than Missouri. Ole Miss is probably better than all of these teams. They were neck and neck and a very bad call against Florida that ended up turning the game around for Florida. They have serious defense problems though.

Passing game 1
Florida 446
Bama 303
Georgia 266
Tennessee 261

Rushing game 1
Florida 196
Tennessee 123
Georgia 112
Bama 111

Points scored game 1
Florida 51
Bama 38
Georgia 37
Tennessee 31

Points Allowed game 1
Georgia 10
Bama 19
Tennessee 27
Florida 35

Passing game 2
Bama 435
Georgia 240
Florida 212
Tennessee 190

Rushing game 2
Tennessee 232
Georgia 202
Florida 117
Bama 109

Points scored game 2
Bama 52
Florida 38
Tennessee 35
Georgia 27

Points Allowed game 2
Georgia 6
Tennessee 12
Florida 24
Bama 24

Interesting that Bama has been so pass heavy through the first two games. Not used to seeing them last in the rushing category.

 

[VolInDayton]

This is the biggest game of Pruitt's head coaching career. The most important game was probably 2019 USCjr or Missippi ST because a he was on the verge of losing everything.

 

[MWAVolfan]

I feel like I read this same thread title every year

That's what is sad about our football program. For 10 years we have had to wait to be dominant again. Butch tried to do that squat in 2016 but he blew out his sphincter and the program immediately fell apart. Hopefully Pruitt is stronger.

 

[Alto1]

QUOTE="Acuna_Matata, post: 18717151, member: 39921"]I feel like I read this same thread title every year[/QUOTE]

I think it's been a while since we were 2-0 in the conference and one of only 4 SEC teams still undefeated so it's been a while since we were in this position.

Also, we have the SEC’s current longest win streak.
#WGWTFA
GBO!!