Tennessee No. 13 in Sporting News preseason poll

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Unbiased? Really? Take off the orange glasses. Yes we have talent, yes we have a dynamic backfield and QB and a defense poised to make some noise, but can you objectively sit here and say that we should be #6 right now without having beaten more than one team with a winning record that is worth a da#%?

I'd take us over anyone ranked 7-10 on a neutral field next fall.

Who do you think beats us? Ohio State? Michigan? Notre Dame?

Baylor? Lol.

 

[joevol33]

Take it

Me too

 

[KBVol]

They didn't prove they could beat Northwestern, fwiw. I actually agree with much of what D4H said (which I don't normally do)... I really think Ole Miss comes crashing down to earth this year. They could easily lose 5 games including 3 in September. Their schedule is brutal.

That was the first game of the year and was clearly an anomaly. Stanford finished 12-2 and was one of the better teams in the country by season's end. There can be no doubt that Stanford was a better team than Northwestern last year. We were better than 3 of the teams we lost to last year IMHO.

 

[VOL 4 Life 83]

No 2016 football team has beaten anybody yet. The season hasn't started.

Team 120 is not Team 119. Clemson 2016 is not Clemson 2015. Same for Bama. Same for Ohio State.

Right now, you gotta look at talent, and teamwork, and coaching, and scheduling. Not what happened last year or the year before.

I'm not speaking of this years team and if they have beaten anyone yet. Yes we have the talent, but we had a lot of damn talent last year and what did that get us?? We have to find a way to put it together and prove we belong there, and in my opinion, we aren't deserving of such a high ranking yet.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Polls are largely based on the "what have you done for me lately" mantra. I agree we have more talent, we've had more talent than a lot of teams we have played in the past couple of years. OU, Arkansas, equal talent with Florida in my opinion last year. But guess what, we got beat by those teams with less talent. Until we prove that we can beat those teams with more, and even less talent, we aren't a top 10 team yet.

Then it's too late.

Once again this is a list for 2016. If you think we're finally going to beat those teams we're close to beating like Florida and Oklahoma, then we're top 10. If you think we won't win then say we're not top 10.

But this wait and see approach is dumb. We're making predictons here. You can't say let me wait to see what happens before I make a prediction.

That makes no sense.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I'd take us over anyone ranked 7-10 on a neutral field next fall.

Who do you think beats us? Ohio State? Michigan? Notre Dame?

Baylor? Lol.

All those teams you LOL at, D4H, they're all roughly peer competitors. And given the vagaries of college football, that means on any given Saturday, any of them (minus Michigan, I'm not buying Michigan's stock at all) could beat us...just like we could beat any of them.

They're all in the "too close to be cocky" category, far as I'm concerned.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

I'm not speaking of this years team and if they have beaten anyone yet. Yes we have the talent, but we had a lot of damn talent last year and what did that get us?? We have to find a way to put it together and prove we belong there, and in my opinion, we aren't deserving of such a high ranking yet.

Yes. But they were freshmen and sophomores. We also dealt with a lot of injuries. Our depth was exposed in the second halves of games.

Last year isn't this year. We're a year older a year wiser. A year more of depth. An easier schedule.

Last year we were close. This year we break the whole door down.

 

[VOL 4 Life 83]

I'd take us over anyone ranked 7-10 on a neutral field next fall.

Who do you think beats us? Ohio State? Michigan? Notre Dame?

Baylor? Lol.

You were probably saying the same thing about OU and Arkansas last year til they beat us on our own dang field with equal or lesser talent. Basically, until UT takes the talent they have against those teams, we won't know.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

All those teams you LOL at, D4H, they're all roughly peer competitors. And given the vagaries of college football, that means on any given Saturday, any of them (minus Michigan, I'm not buying Michigan's stock at all) could beat us...just like we could beat any of them.

They're all in the "too close to be cocky" category, far as I'm concerned.

Baylor is the lol.

Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame are worthy but I think we're more experienced than Ohio State and more talented than Michigan and Notre Dame.

 

[BowlBrother85]

That was the first game of the year and was clearly an anomaly. Stanford finished 12-2 and was one of the better teams in the country by season's end. There can be no doubt that Stanford was a better team than Northwestern last year. We were better than 3 of the teams we lost to last year IMHO.

Call it what you want, they all count... and Oregon had an atrocious defense last year but they still beat Stanford on the road in mid November.

 

[VOL 4 Life 83]

Yes. But they were freshmen and sophomores. We also dealt with a lot of injuries. Our depth was exposed in the second halves of games.

Last year isn't this year. We're a year older a year wiser. A year more of depth. An easier schedule.

Last year we were close. This year we break the whole door down.

All teams deal with injuries. And our sophomores are a lot more experienced than you are giving them credit for

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Baylor is the lol.

Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame are worthy but I think we're more experienced than Ohio State and more talented than Michigan and Notre Dame.

Art Briles is a dangerous man. He's Spurrier without the megaphone mouth, in a way. I won't underestimate Baylor as long as he's running that show and they're pulling in talented playmakers.

Now Michigan, I'd lol with you at them. I think they're 2015 Florida, just without their slip (yet) showing. They're gonna crash and burn in 2016 sort of the way Florida crashed and burned at the end of 2015. We can lol at them together if you wish.

And Notre Dame. We can lol a little at them too, if you want.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

You were probably saying the same thing about OU and Arkansas last year til they beat us on our own dang field with equal or lesser talent. Basically, until UT takes the talent they have against those teams, we won't know.

I had us beating Oklahoma but losing to Arkansas.

But once again that was last year. What does it have to do with this year?

Ohio State won the national title in 2014. Had everyone back for 2015 and didn't even make the playoffs.

2015 has no influence on 2016.

 

[KBVol]

Look this isn't a list of best programs of the last 5 years. All that matters is how good will these teams be in 2016.

Tennessee is more TALENTED than Michigan State and Stanford. They've recruited better in the last 3 years. They return more proven stars.

You can argue we've sucked the last 5 years. But we ain't talking about the past. We talking about 2016. And in 2016, Michigan State and Stanford are not in the same class as Tennessee.

Yet, I'm pretty sure both Michigan State and Stanford would be favored against us on a neutral field. Talent is one thing, being the better team is something a little different. One certainly does not equal the other.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

All teams deal with injuries. And our sophomores are a lot more experienced than you are giving them credit for

They're still sophomores with only 2 summers in a college strength and conditioning program versus teams with 4-5 years of guys lifting.

Age still makes a difference. Especially when we're talking 19-20 versus 22-23.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Yet, I'm pretty sure both Michigan State and Stanford would be favored against us on a neutral field. Talent is one thing, being the better team is something a little different. One certainly does not equal the other.

KB, is Stanford expected to be the class of the PAC in 2016? I confess I have not kept up with that conference even in the slightest. I know USC will start the season overhyped and will then crash, but I don't know if Stanford, Oregon, or anyone else are legit national contenders.

You been following them?


p.s. I think we'd run circles around Michigan State. Kinda like NU 2015 or Iowa 2014, only a bit less one-sided (a bit less).

 

[VOL 4 Life 83]

Then it's too late.

Once again this is a list for 2016. If you think we're finally going to beat those teams we're close to beating like Florida and Oklahoma, then we're top 10. If you think we won't win then say we're not top 10.

But this wait and see approach is dumb. We're making predictons here. You can't say let me wait to see what happens before I make a prediction.

That makes no sense.

You're putting words in my mouth. And yes, the people who make these polls do also include what the teams have done the past year. You could argue that Alabama shouldn't be ranked #1 because they lost a ton of talent, have no proven QB, have a lot inexperienced players, and talent equal to LSU and UT. But guess what, they won the NC last year and that is the main reason they are sitting at #1 right now. So yes, the past does matters with making these predictive polls

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Yet, I'm pretty sure both Michigan State and Stanford would be favored against us on a neutral field. Talent is one thing, being the better team is something a little different. One certainly does not equal the other.

By who?

Look up the Vegas odds for 2016. We're tied for 6th most likely to win the national title.

I'm actually in line with betting odds placing us #6. The guys who think #13 is more appropriate are the ones weighing history more than looking to the future.

 

[KBVol]

Call it what you want, they all count... and Oregon had an atrocious defense last year but they still beat Stanford on the road in mid November.

Agree that they all count. Don't really want to argue otherwise. Just saying that as the season progresses, Stanford was clearly the better team, but sometimes the better, more talented team doesn't win....I feel like we're better than Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas last year, yet we lost to all 3. Jmo.

 

[VOL 4 Life 83]

By who?

Look up the Vegas odds for 2016. We're tied for 6th most likely to win the national title.

I'm actually in line with betting odds placing is #6. The guys who think #13 is more appropriate are the ones weighing history more than looking to the future.

Serious question? Were we not predicted to win the SEC east last year by many knowledge individuals? Was Dobbs not listed as a dark horse heisman candidate by more than a few websites? Did the future not tell us last year that "this was the year we are finally gonna beat Florida?" You absolutely have to weigh the past. It's called making accurate predictions based on statistics, trends and lessons learned.

 

[KBVol]

KB, is Stanford expected to be the class of the PAC in 2016? I confess I have not kept up with that conference even in the slightest. I know USC will start the season overhyped and will then crash, but I don't know if Stanford, Oregon, or anyone else are legit national contenders.

You been following them?


p.s. I think we'd run circles around Michigan State. Kinda like NU 2015 or Iowa 2014, only a bit less one-sided (a bit less).

Can't say that I know for sure about where Stanford is expected to finish in the Pac-12. They're a perennial contender so I assume they'll be a favorite to challenge for the championship again out there again. They always play great defense and McCaffrey is electric. Gotta replace a senior QB and team leader though. Honestly, not sure.

As far as Michigan State, I think they're a cut above both Iowa and Northwestern....tough, hard nosed team that's very well coached. I can see us beating them in a hard fought battle, but I have little to no doubt that as a playoff team from last year, that the sharps in Vegas would make them a favorite vs a very talented, but still unproven Tennessee team.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Serious question? Were we not predicted to win the SEC east last year by many knowledge individuals? Was Dobbs not listed as a dark horse heisman candidate by more than a few websites? Did the future not tell us last year that "this was the year we are finally gonna beat Florida?" You absolutely have to weigh the past. It's called making accurate predictions based on statistics, trends and lessons learned.

Yes. By a FEW. But most experts predicted Georgia would win the East. And most didn't have Dobbs anywhere on their heisman lists.

You can find a few guys each summer that pump up certain teams. But any idea we were a mainstream choice to win the East or Dobbs to win the heisman is false.

 

[BaldBiker]

Pre-season polls aren't just based off of who you beat last year. They are based off of that, how you finished the season, how many starters you are returning, and I think in Tn's case....the fact that the four games we lost was by a total of 17 pts and two of those teams were play-off teams, one being the National Champions. That should and does carry a lot of weight.

D4H has a very whacked out way of seeing things and I really wish you all would stop quoting him.

We do however deserve to be in the 11-15 range. This team has earned that. If the Vols do what is expected they should do this season, they'll be in the Top 10 soon enough.

JMHO of course.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Can't say that I know for sure about where Stanford is expected to finish in the Pac-12. They're a perennial contender so I assume they'll be a favorite to challenge for the championship again out there again. They always play great defense and McCaffrey is electric. Gotta replace a senior QB and team leader though. Honestly, not sure.

As far as Michigan State, I think they're a cut above both Iowa and Northwestern....tough, hard nosed team that's very well coached. I can see us beating them in a hard fought battle, but I have little to no doubt that as a playoff team from last year, that the sharps in Vegas would make them a favorite vs a very talented, but still unproven Tennessee team.

Really? No doubt? Do you have any evidence?

Right now, Vegas has us with 14-1 odds to win the 2016 national title. While Michigan State is at 28-1. College Football Futures - NCAA Football Future Sportsbook Odds at VegasInsider.com


So where do you get this idea Michigan State would be favored over us on a neutral field in 2016?

 

[Notorious B.E.N]

D4H has a very whacked out way of seeing things and I really wish you all would stop quoting him.

Lol