KnoxRealtorVOL
First of his name
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It's GAME WEEK!!!! The long offseason is behind us. After months and months of hype videos, trash-talking Florida players, analysts that think we're great one week and horribly overrated the next, and awaiting an open practice date that never came, we have finally arrived. Now it's time to talk some message boards.
Appy State fans have plenty to say. I have to admit, I was quite impressed with the Mountaineer fanbase. They know football. I saw plenty of discussion on schemes, Shoop's successful history, our choke-jobs last year, and their performance against the P5. They get just as frustrated as anyone else when the infamous Michigan game gets brought up, and they are excited about taking the field this year and seeing what they can accomplish. They play UT and Miami this year, both are great opportunities to move their program in the right direction.
Without further ado, here's what the Mountaineer faithful are saying about Thursday night's matchup in Neyland:
_____________________________________________
-Let's start with a few who think they can win. They don't make up the majority, but their arguments are entertaining:
-I am seeing a ton of questions about their WR Corp. Seems they lost a lot from 2015. They consistently refer to their "brand new group of receivers."
-None of us probably would have bothered to actually do the research on this, so it was good to come across it:
(I see someone actually did end up making a thread about this)
-They got really excited because Bleacher Report "pulled a Bleacher Report" and wrote this article (summary: BR says they will be a Top 25 team in the next 10 years):
Predicting the Top 25 College Football Programs of the Next 10 Years | Bleacher Report
-Not relevant to this game, but they nickname their stadium "The Rock"
-I saw a thread where they were upset about their LB's being left off the Butkus Award watch list. They named 4 (Law, Boggs, Stringer, & Gilchrist) that they claim will "wreak havoc" on defenses this year.
-One of their best defensive players, Corner Latrell Gibbs, has been ruled ineligible for the season. They are calling this a major blow.
-Decent preview of the game from one of their posters:
-One of their boards has a Georgia fan posting on it, running his mouth about UT. He doesn't seem to have much respect for Dobbs, even after he shredded their defense last year:
-They play us and Miami this year and they believe the will split the two games. Although to be fair, the majority think they split with a Miami victory.
-I was very impressed with how well they follow recruiting. They have as many threads on commits/prospects as they do the team itself.
-Naturally those that believe they can win believe so in hopes that we will be overlooking them, thinking ahead to Bristol. I did see a great response that basically said "I don't think they're overlooking us, a team they're not scared of, just because the following week they are playing another team they're not scared of."
-Much respect for Butch Jones' preparation:
-This is a reply to a Vol fan who said we would primarily run...... I like this guy:
-General score predictions have us winning by 14-21
___________________________________________
Should be a fun time and hopefully a great start to a potential Championship season!! Let's get loud in Neyland for our home opener and strike fear into the hearts of any team that plays here.
GBO!!!!
Appy State fans have plenty to say. I have to admit, I was quite impressed with the Mountaineer fanbase. They know football. I saw plenty of discussion on schemes, Shoop's successful history, our choke-jobs last year, and their performance against the P5. They get just as frustrated as anyone else when the infamous Michigan game gets brought up, and they are excited about taking the field this year and seeing what they can accomplish. They play UT and Miami this year, both are great opportunities to move their program in the right direction.
Without further ado, here's what the Mountaineer faithful are saying about Thursday night's matchup in Neyland:
_____________________________________________
-Let's start with a few who think they can win. They don't make up the majority, but their arguments are entertaining:
The VOLS are going down!
Last year they gave up 21 points a game and just over 30 in their first 2 games (BGSU 30 and OU 31). They held 4 teams to less than 13 last year with one being our former "JUG" rival (10pts) and another from the depths of CUSA (NT - 0).
They can think what they want to think, but the truth will be on record around 10:45 pm on September 1, 2016
Every season Tennessee is overhyped in the preseason and they always disappoint their fans. Hope they're ready for some more disappointment because we will be running the ball early and often on them.
-I am seeing a ton of questions about their WR Corp. Seems they lost a lot from 2015. They consistently refer to their "brand new group of receivers."
-None of us probably would have bothered to actually do the research on this, so it was good to come across it:
Here is our impressive past against FBS since 2000. This does not exactly strike fear in the hearts of any of our upper FBS opponents.
Year - W/L - Team - Score - Their final record that year -
2000 - W - Wake - (20-16) - (2-9)
2001 - L - Wake - (10-20) - (6-5)
2002 - L - Marshall - (17-50) - (11-2)
2003 - L - Hawaii - (17-40) - (9-5)
2004 - L - Wyoming - (7-53) - (7-5)
2005 - L - Kansas - (8-36) - (7-5)
2005 - L - LSU - (0-24) - (11-2)
2006 - L - NCSU - (10-23) - (3-9)
2007 - W - Michigan - (34-32) - (9-4)
2008 - L - LSU - (13-41) - (8-5)
2009 - L - ECU - (24-29) - (10-4)
2010 - L - Florida - (10-48) - (8-5)
2011 - L - Va Tech - (13-66) - (11-3)
2012 - L - ECU - (13-35) - (8-5)
2013 - L - UGA - (6-45) - (8-5)
2014 - L - Michigan - (14-52) - (5-7)
2015 - L - Clemson - (10-41) - (14-1)
(I see someone actually did end up making a thread about this)
-They got really excited because Bleacher Report "pulled a Bleacher Report" and wrote this article (summary: BR says they will be a Top 25 team in the next 10 years):
Predicting the Top 25 College Football Programs of the Next 10 Years | Bleacher Report
-Not relevant to this game, but they nickname their stadium "The Rock"
-I saw a thread where they were upset about their LB's being left off the Butkus Award watch list. They named 4 (Law, Boggs, Stringer, & Gilchrist) that they claim will "wreak havoc" on defenses this year.
-One of their best defensive players, Corner Latrell Gibbs, has been ruled ineligible for the season. They are calling this a major blow.
-Decent preview of the game from one of their posters:
Without giving away too much of what I anticipate will be our game preview, I think we'll be hard-pressed to win the game but we're not non-competitive. *We're breaking in almost an entirely new receiver group, and the one known returner*will get plenty of attention from UT's secondary. *We're going to have to beat them on some quick routes to loosen them up, because they'll pack the box against the run.
Defensively, we're going to be very good, but we don't need to tempt fate. *When Clemson drilled us last year we gave the a pick-six and turned the ball over on our end of the field twice more. *We also went 0-8 on third downs in the first half, so we weren't keeping their offense off the field. *We made it too easy for them. *We have to extend our own drives so our defense, which is very fast but won't be big by UT standards, doesn't get worn down. *But I feel we can make it tough for them score.
Nothing ground-breaking there - convert third downs, don't turn it over, pass to break up the stacking - they are just the simple things many teams have to do to win.
-One of their boards has a Georgia fan posting on it, running his mouth about UT. He doesn't seem to have much respect for Dobbs, even after he shredded their defense last year:
Dobbs is very elusive and a great runner but he is nothing special as a passer and perhaps even a bit below average. Has decent arm strength but struggles with accuracy, especially on throws further down the field. This can be seen by their passing stats from last year. They didn't have a single receiver over 400 years despite being incredibly talented there.
Hopefully you guys can get some turnovers as Dobbs doesn't always make the best decisions. Best of luck though. Seeing you guys beat UTk and the dejection on that overhyped fan base would more than make my day.
-They play us and Miami this year and they believe the will split the two games. Although to be fair, the majority think they split with a Miami victory.
-I was very impressed with how well they follow recruiting. They have as many threads on commits/prospects as they do the team itself.
-Naturally those that believe they can win believe so in hopes that we will be overlooking them, thinking ahead to Bristol. I did see a great response that basically said "I don't think they're overlooking us, a team they're not scared of, just because the following week they are playing another team they're not scared of."
-Much respect for Butch Jones' preparation:
As fans, I think we can put to rest CBJ not having the Volunteers ready. If we look at their results from the past few seasons, we can surmise his teams are prepared. Based on scores alone, USA was the only team from the G5 or FCS to keep it within 1 possession. Astate kept it respectable with a 2 possession deficit. No team that faced CBJ's Volunteers with weeks to prepare for the game kept it within 2 possessions (16 points or less).
2015 - UTk margin results
BGSU +29 (opening game with weeks to prepare)
WCU +45
NT +24
NW +39 (bowl game with weeks to prepare)
2014
USU +31 (opening game with weeks to prepare)
stAte +15
UT-C +35
Iowa +17 (bowl game with weeks to prepare)
2013 - CBJ's first year
APSU +45 (opening game with weeks to prepare)
WKU +32
USA +7
-This is a reply to a Vol fan who said we would primarily run...... I like this guy:
I'd do nothing but run as well if we had a 6'4" 240lb RB. Jalen Hurd is a monster.
-General score predictions have us winning by 14-21
___________________________________________
Should be a fun time and hopefully a great start to a potential Championship season!! Let's get loud in Neyland for our home opener and strike fear into the hearts of any team that plays here.
GBO!!!!
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