Tennessee No. 13 in Sporting News preseason poll

[Vol737]

Who cares? Line up and play, take care of your business on the field, don't blow 14 point leads late in the 4th qrtr and the rankings will take care of itself by season's end. We can be ranked 50th now, but if we beat everyone we will be in the discussion by December. That's all that matters.

 

[KBVol]

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.

Oh I don't know, the guys who set the betting lines in Vegas maybe?

 

[VOLtilldeath]

I'm not so sure. Yeah, won our last six games, but only one of those teams had a winning record. Granted, we looked our best at the end of the year when other teams in the SEC seemed to be falling apart. I just don't see how we are truly a justified top 10 team right now. Who have we beaten that would validate that? I'd say anywhere from 15-20 preseason is quite fair and accurate until we actually prove we can beat some really good teams.

Seriously, who would you put us ahead of? No way we move ahead of Bama, OU, Clemson, Ohio State, etc.

I understand your reasoning but look at Ohio state .they may have loads of talent but their talenet is not that much better than the Vo)s talent .And osu lost a lot of starters and players in the two deep to graduation and to the draft whereas the Vols didn't loose a lot of seniors or starters.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Oh I don't know, the guys who set the betting lines in Vegas maybe?

Once again what evidence do you have that Vegas would favor Michigan State over us?

The only evidence we have right now is that Vegas has us with 14-1 odds to win the national title. Michigan State is at 28-1.

If anything, Vegas would favor us over Michigan State on a neutral site.

 

[LittleVol]

There are some good teams out there. Baylor is good enough to win it all.

Im not sure why anyone thinks we could walk over them.

Forget LSU... we all know what the problem is there.

I hate to say this... but watch out for UGA. Chaney can coach some offense. Smart will have that defense playing well.


Its us and UGA for the east. And im not sure we are more talented them...

13 is a great preseason ranking.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

There are some good teams out there. Baylor is good enough to win it all.

Im not sure why anyone thinks we could walk over them.

Forget LSU... we all know what the problem is there.

I hate to say this... but watch out for UGA. Chaney can coach some offense. Smart will have that defense playing well.


Its us and UGA for the east. And im not sure we are more talented them...

13 is a great preseason ranking.

No they're not. They don't recruit elite enough talent to hang with the elite teams in the SEC and ACC. They look like juggernauts because they play in the weakest conference and have a gimmick offense.

They're the new age Oregon. All sizzle. No bite.

 

[drylo]

As much as I know some of y'all can't stand him (or at least pretend like you can't stand him), D4H is en fuego is this thread.

 

[Eddie Vol Halen]

As much as I know some of y'all can't stand him (or at least pretend like you can't stand him), D4H is en fuego is this thread.

Yeah, I don't get the D4H haters at all. BaldBiker says he's got a whacked out way of seeing things? In this thread? Vols are going to be Top 10. They better damn well be or Butch is on the hot seat. His debate with Vol4Live83 has good points on both sides and the way the guys debated was refreshing: stated facts germane to their points.

D4H has opinions and he states them strongly.

'Murica.

 

[zeppelin128]

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?

I'm not KB, but Oregon is my pick for the PAC12 this year. They return most of their offense, and their defense should be markedly improved this season (they were rather young last season, lack of depth). Stanford does love spoiling Oregon's season though. USC is the Notre Dame of the West Coast, overrated every year.

 

[NEO]

Could care less where we start.

Only where we finish.

 

[MustafaRasta]

As much as I know some of y'all can't stand him (or at least pretend like you can't stand him), D4H is en fuego is this thread.

I'll admit it. In this thread.

 

[fade route]

We should definitely be top 10. 13 is way too low.

We didn't beat anybody that mattered. Our best win was at home against a UGA team that fired its coach at season's end. We're making progress, but we don't deserve top 10 yet.

 

[Titan&Volfan4life]

Relax folks, this is just another pre-season GUESS from another talking head.

It doesn't matter where you start.

It only matters where you finish at the end of the season.

If everything goes as planned then we finish the season in Tampa with another National Championship.

Between now and then we'll have to earn our way up the rankings as it should be.

Building towards a Championship WIN by WIN...VFL...GBO!!!

 

[KBVol]

Once again what evidence do you have that Vegas would favor Michigan State over us?

The only evidence we have right now is that Vegas has us with 14-1 odds to win the national title. Michigan State is at 28-1.

If anything, Vegas would favor us over Michigan State on a neutral site.

Two different things to set odds on who can possibly win a national title vs setting odds on a head to head matchup. You have no evidence either, it's all opinion. If you want to extrapolate then that's fine, I can see your point. But I still think Michigan State, a team that's 36-5 the last 3 years who was in the playoffs last year and has recently shown to be one of the better programs in the country, would be favored over a Tennessee team, who, to date is all potential and no real substance, if the two played a game today. Same goes for Stanford IMO.

And yes, I know you disagree about this subjective exercise, and the fact is, neither of us has any evidence unless and until Vegas actually sets a line for the two teams.

 

[KBVol]

As much as I know some of y'all can't stand him (or at least pretend like you can't stand him), D4H is en fuego is this thread.

Based on what? He's giving his opinion which may or may not be right, and he's providing "evidence" which isn't really evidence at all. I don't see your point.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Two different things to set odds on who can possibly win a national title vs setting odds on a head to head matchup. You have no evidence either, it's all opinion. If you want to extrapolate then that's fine, I can see your point. But I still think Michigan State, a team that's 36-5 the last 3 years who was in the playoffs last year and has recently shown to be one of the better programs in the country, would be favored over a Tennessee team, who, to date is all potential and no real substance, if the two played a game today. Same goes for Stanford IMO.

And yes, I know you disagree about this subjective exercise, and the fact is, neither of us has any evidence unless and until Vegas actually sets a line for the two teams.

True. But I'm not the one who said this.

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.

I never made a guarantee that Vegas would have Tennessee favored over Michigan State with "little to no doubt." I only said that we should be ranked higher than them in 2016. I NEVER said Vegas would have us favored over Michigan State with "little to no doubt."

You're the only one here who is making up facts with no evidence.

 

[drylo]

Based on what? He's giving his opinion which may or may not be right, and he's providing "evidence" which isn't really evidence at all. I don't see your point.

Let's count the things that D4H is right about in this thread:

(1) UT should be a unanimous preseason top-10, because in reality, it's hard enough to find reasons not to put them in the top 5.
(2) UT would be favored over, and would whip, Michigan State.
(3) The last five years have nothing to do with 2016. We are talking about this year, and this UT team is pretty stinking loaded for 2016.
(4) UT wasn't predicted to win the East last year except by one or two not-very-prominent folks. The SEC Media Days projections had UGA winning it. Same with Dobbs for Heisman, except I'm not aware of anyone predicting that.
(5) We are making predictions here, so don't play the "wait and see" game. You either think we will be top 10 or not--it's not some "well I just won't say that until..." thing.
(6) Baylor.
(7) Everything else.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Based on what? He's giving his opinion which may or may not be right, and he's providing "evidence" which isn't really evidence at all. I don't see your point.

True. But you're wrong. I do support my opinions with evidence. You might disagree with the conclusion but I'm not just saying stuff without support.

For example, when I give an opinion like "we should be ranked higher than Michigan State in 2016", I support it with evidence. Like the fact we return more starters, have recruited better talent, and performed better against Alabama in 2015.

If anyone is making up facts that are supported by no evidence, ITS YOU.

You're the one making statements of fact (like the guarantee Vegas would favor Michigan State over Tennessee) with ZERO evidence.

 

[BearCat204]

Let's count the things that D4H is right about in this thread:

(1) UT should be a unanimous preseason top-10, because in reality, it's hard enough to find reasons not to put them in the top 5.
(2) UT would be favored over, and would whip, Michigan State.
(3) The last five years have nothing to do with 2016. We are talking about this year, and this UT team is pretty stinking loaded for 2016.
(4) UT wasn't predicted to win the East last year except by one or two not-very-prominent folks. The SEC Media Days projections had UGA winning it. Same with Dobbs for Heisman, except I'm not aware of anyone predicting that.
(5) We are making predictions here, so don't play the "wait and see" game. You either think we will be top 10 or not--it's not some "well I just won't say that until..." thing.
(6) Baylor.
(7) Everything else.

#1, #2, #3, #6.......yeah, no

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Let's count the things that D4H is right about in this thread:

(1) UT should be a unanimous preseason top-10, because in reality, it's hard enough to find reasons not to put them in the top 5.
(2) UT would be favored over, and would whip, Michigan State.
(3) The last five years have nothing to do with 2016. We are talking about this year, and this UT team is pretty stinking loaded for 2016.
(4) UT wasn't predicted to win the East last year except by one or two not-very-prominent folks. The SEC Media Days projections had UGA winning it. Same with Dobbs for Heisman, except I'm not aware of anyone predicting that.
(5) We are making predictions here, so don't play the "wait and see" game. You either think we will be top 10 or not--it's not some "well I just won't say that until..." thing.
(6) Baylor.
(7) Everything else.

There was ONE guy who wrote for the now defunct online sports website Grantland that picked Dobbs to win the heisman. Literally one.

 

[gunner]

Preseason Polls are completely useless.

 

[KBVol]

True. But I'm not the one who said this.



I never made a guarantee that Vegas would have Tennessee favored over Michigan State with "little to no doubt." I only said that we should be ranked higher than them in 2016. I NEVER said Vegas would have us favored over Michigan State with "little to no doubt."

You're the only one here who is making up facts with no evidence.

"I have little to no doubt" = my opinion. Didn't say they did would, certainly didn't say it was a fact....do you not understand the difference? And I most definitely didn't go all D4H and call anybody who didn't have the same opinion a fool or an idiot.

 

[Grand Vol]

Good grief. We finally get back into relevant status and that's still not good for some of you?

We are very likely going to be pre-season ranked in the teens. Compared to what this program has been through in the past decade, that's a great achievement. You don't magically go from a couple of 5-7 schedules straight up to a top 10 billet.

Some should be happy with where we're likely going to start in the polls. It's way less of an uphill climb from 13 than it is from 20+.

 

[Grand Vol]

And D4H, you keep saying the Big 12 is a weak conference. That's not a stat you can back up without using your blind homerism and ignorance of the game of football.

 

[KBVol]

Let's count the things that D4H is right about in this thread:

(1) UT should be a unanimous preseason top-10, because in reality, it's hard enough to find reasons not to put them in the top 5.
(2) UT would be favored over, and would whip, Michigan State.
(3) The last five years have nothing to do with 2016. We are talking about this year, and this UT team is pretty stinking loaded for 2016.
(4) UT wasn't predicted to win the East last year except by one or two not-very-prominent folks. The SEC Media Days projections had UGA winning it. Same with Dobbs for Heisman, except I'm not aware of anyone predicting that.
(5) We are making predictions here, so don't play the "wait and see" game. You either think we will be top 10 or not--it's not some "well I just won't say that until..." thing.
(6) Baylor.
(7) Everything else.

So you agree with his opinions. I don't. So you think he's "on fire". I don't. So, my like or dislike of D4h notwithstanding, I won't be "admitting" anything about him today.