A&M, Georgia and Everybody Else

[VOLINVONORE]

South Carolina next week in Columbia. On paper it shouldn’t happen it just feels like the timing is right for SC to pull off an upset at home. They played well against LSU and Bama. OM game is an outlier (I think)

Looks like A&M may have found a QB who can score some points for them. However, LSU played well in the first quarter and then fell apart with their own mistakes. LSU simply gave the game away. If our offense can get its act together , we have a good chance to play A&M in the Championship Game. Our defense is special and all we need is for the offense to carry its weight to beat Georgia.

 

[LittleVol]

It would not surprise me in the least is South Carolina beat TX A&M. SC is one of the teams in the middle bottom that doesn’t make sense. Good one week, and just as bad the next. Not saying it will happen, but it could. Heck, for that matter Auburn is at Auburn as well, and they are kind of starting to click. Then again, Texas might lay an egg at A&M. You never really know.

Texas vs AM was a huge rivalry and they haven’t played since the Aggies have joined the SEC.

They will be pumped for that A&M game.

 

[KTrain]

There’s no team(s) that are leagues above the top 6-7 teams in the conference imo

THIS^
Yep, the Nil & instant transfer has done what Saban dreaded, no more suit casing players and keeping them off other teams and stacking the depth at the same time. Its closer to NFL now, albeit still different (no rotating draft) and Saban was a middle the road coach in NFL so he knew it was time to leave.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

The Saban hatred is just silly. Just try and make your 'point' without hatin.. See where that takes you...

 

[OrangeEtBlanc]

ESPN currently projects us as 10-2 and the 12th seed on the road versus a 5 seed Penn State. I’d take that in a heartbeat! The 2nd round game they project versus a 4 seed, Big 12 champ BYU. That would be a tremendous draw. I think we could almost walk into the semis.

 

[SpookyAction]

Texas vs AM was a huge rivalry and they haven’t played since the Aggies have joined the SEC.

They will be pumped for that A&M game.

I think A&M gets up for the game better than the Horns. Plenty of hate to go around, but A&M hates a lot more than the Horns. TX never saw A&M as peers, but will play into the hype for the rivalry renewal to be the game of the week and for the rivalry's new sponsor.
Elko is a good coach and has developed that roster better in less than a season than Jimbo did in 6.

 

[sami]

Texas A/M got a lot better when they hired Mike Elko and got rid of Jim Bo Fisher.

And judging from Elko's quotes after the game, he quite agrees with you.

“This is a real program. It’s not fake. It’s not a politician running this program, talking fast and BSing everybody. This is a real program and for all the recruits out there, this is a real place.”

“From where we were when I got here, the whole rhetoric about this program was NIL, mercenaries and selfishness, and all of those things. To see where we’re at now… That’s a credit to those kids in the locker room. It’s a credit to their character, it’s a credit to who they are.”

 

[kcvols1]

South Carolina has the defense and they are at home. The quarterback at A@M is getting hyped this week but he will be tested on the road. And South Carolina quarterback is a dual threat type as well. This will not be an easy matchup for the Aggies.

Also, Cocks are the home dog in a night game.

Gimme Carolina and the points for easy $

 

[Proud Army Wife]

Clark Lea isn’t leaving Vandy. He’s an alumni and they will pay to keep him. I’ll get bashed for this, but we deserve to be left out at 10-2 due to our weak schedule. Shouldn’t have lost to Arkansas or we wouldn’t have this problem. Reed looked great last night, but now opposing defenses will prepare for him. We’ll see what happens.

 

[lukeneyland]

If you saw my Alabama, Georgia and everybody else post you know.

Had to.

This one is a joke. Possibly how it will go, but the parity has been mentioned many times for a reason.

A&M found a gem in Reed that looks like we had hoped Nico would look like as a Feshman. Still think he will get there.

Vandy’s coach is gone after this year. He may be called on by Florida. Albeit, Florida’s losses are looking defendable. (TN, Miami and A&M) if they win out, Napier may have saved his job. Wait, they have Georgia, TX LSU and Ole Miss. He gone too, but in a different way.

If we go 10-2, again talk about the parity for us to do that and not get in.

Will we, or can we beat GA in their house? Looks like that may be a requirement to get in.

My bad, I was about to say I’m not even going to think about that right now. The margin is thin and we have KY and Miss St. to focus heavily on.

Hopefully Josh doesn’t send the kids home to be with their parents like he did before the Arkansas game. I felt that was a bad and soft move and probably because he put too much stock in the win against Oklahoma. That is probably the only point where he let the importance of that game to him get in his way.

Maybe I’m reading too much into that. Wouldn’t be the first time, hence the reference to the Alabama, Georgia and everybody else post I made way too early to tell.

Old Miss destroyed those kids in their house.

If we end up 10-2 by playing like we have been, that is due to our schedule IMO.

Hopefully we see some continued improvement over the next couple of weeks.

Isn’t it nice to be at this point in the season and still have a chance at a dance again?

GO VOLS!

PS… what was that you were saying Eli?

Nico is way better than Reed. Reed completed 2 passes all night. Our defense would eat him alive. He’s a poor man’s Milroe

 

[sami]

ESPN currently projects us as 10-2 and the 12th seed on the road versus a 5 seed Penn State. I’d take that in a heartbeat! The 2nd round game they project versus a 4 seed, Big 12 champ BYU. That would be a tremendous draw. I think we could almost walk into the semis.

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I can't imagine Boise St. being seeded any higher than #12, but I'd sign for a game at Penn St. with the #4 team next in a heartbeat. I guarantee the fans of that overrated team and Franklin would be screaming bloody murder at getting us instead of Boise St.

If we stay healthy and the offense continues to progress, we are going to be the nightmare matchup that no one in the CFP field will want any part of.

 

[lukeneyland]

Clark Lea isn’t leaving Vandy. He’s an alumni and they will pay to keep him. I’ll get bashed for this, but we deserve to be left out at 10-2 due to our weak schedule. Shouldn’t have lost to Arkansas or we wouldn’t have this problem. Reed looked great last night, but now opposing defenses will prepare for him. We’ll see what happens.

I disagree. We are one of the few teams that play both Bama and Georgia. I think beating Bama is more impressive than beating LSU. We’ll find out next week

 

[Proud Army Wife]

I disagree. We are one of the few teams that play both Bama and Georgia. I think beating Bama is more impressive than beating LSU. We’ll find out next week

Bama will be our only good win, but won’t be a great win unless they beat LSU which I doubt they will do.

 

[Orange931]

Clark Lea isn’t leaving Vandy. He’s an alumni and they will pay to keep him. I’ll get bashed for this, but we deserve to be left out at 10-2 due to our weak schedule. Shouldn’t have lost to Arkansas or we wouldn’t have this problem. Reed looked great last night, but now opposing defenses will prepare for him. We’ll see what happens.

I see what you mean, but let’s wait and see what this team does against Georgia and the rest. I don’t have much faith for a win in Athens but crazier things have happened. Keep the faith until there’s no reason to.

 

[EastTNVol6240]

ESPN currently projects us as 10-2 and the 12th seed on the road versus a 5 seed Penn State. I’d take that in a heartbeat! The 2nd round game they project versus a 4 seed, Big 12 champ BYU. That would be a tremendous draw. I think we could almost walk into the semis.

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No way we get in at 10-2 with the same kind of play we’ve had in conference first half of season. We’re gonna need some style points going forward to get in at 10-2. No one is puttting us in with 2 losses with that crap of a lethargic offense we have been watching. I think if we start putting up points there is a chance. I prefer to beat Georgia and not have to worry about it.

 

[sami]

Clark Lea isn’t leaving Vandy. He’s an alumni and they will pay to keep him. I’ll get bashed for this, but we deserve to be left out at 10-2 due to our weak schedule. Shouldn’t have lost to Arkansas or we wouldn’t have this problem. Reed looked great last night, but now opposing defenses will prepare for him. We’ll see what happens.

I would agree on Lea. He'll get paid and be a legend there if he is able to get them to a bowl every season, a real possibility in the NIL era.

Regarding our playoff chances at 10-2, so much depends on how A&M, LSU, and Bama finish, and how many 2-loss teams there are in the conference. Also, how fake teams like Indiana and Iowa St. end up with their cream puff schedules.

 

[volbound1700]

People trash Tennessee's schedule but have they looked at the schedule of some of these other teams.

Who have Ohio State, Iowa State, Clemson, LSU, BYU, Miami, Penn State, etc. played that made their schedule that much better?

 

[onevol74]

They are good at home and their defense has been playing well. SEC on the road is tough, and Aggies haven't won any road games until this year.

Same could be said about us.

 

[ZZ13]

I’d pump the brakes just a tad on Reed. LSU obviously had no game plan for him if he came in, major coaching malpractice. Opponents starting now will be prepared to take away what he does best. Wegman is just too inconsistent & A&M couldn’t pass block LSU.

Ga is still the class of the league.

Rohan Davie, Matt Mauck, Karma. The curse appears to be fully reversed now.

 

[Volbrando]

People trash Tennessee's schedule but have they looked at the schedule of some of these other teams.

Who have Ohio State, Iowa State, Clemson, LSU, BYU, Miami, Penn State, etc. played that made their schedule that much better?

Agreed and I’m afraid they will make the playoffs at 11-1 before we do at 10-2 just because

 

[volbound1700]

Agreed and I’m afraid they will make the playoffs at 11-1 before we do at 10-2 just because

Several of them play each other and other games they could lose. I also think ACC and Big12 teams will have a hard argument passing SEC or B1G teams with the same record.

 

[onevol74]

People trash Tennessee's schedule but have they looked at the schedule of some of these other teams.

Who have Ohio State, Iowa State, Clemson, LSU, BYU, Miami, Penn State, etc. played that made their schedule that much better?

The trashing is based on a lack of top 25 wins.

 

[knox73]

I did not realize Marcel Reed is from Nashville. You have to give Elko credit for making that change and also Jimbo some credit for leaving a strong roster behind. South Carolina could give A&M a rough game. Sellers is hard to contain at qb and the SC defensive line is outstanding. The SEC is a grind. Glad that Kiffin and his portal vagabonds look destined for the Peach Bowl.

 

[volbound1700]

The trashing is based on a lack of top 25 wins.

Look at the other contenders and their schedules. Most are in the same boat. Georgia has the toughest schedule of anyone in the mix but a lot of them have played very soft schedules.

Clemson's only real opponent of merit was Georgia and they got slacked

Miami's best wins are probably Florida or Louisville

Iowa State has a 1 point win over Iowa and then nothing else

BYU has that win over Kansas State so I give them that but nothing else

LSU has only the win over Ole Miss and has a very ugly loss to USC Trojans

Penn State has yet to even play a top 25 team, they get Ohio State this weekend

I could keep going. It is a weird year where a lot of the good teams are NOT playing each other. What hurts Tennessee is the bad performances that every one saw against Arkansas and Florida. Take Indiana, they haven't played jack yet but they have a 58-7 or something insane like that, win over Nebraska.

Tennessee's issue is NOT its schedule, its Tennessee's PERFORMANCE against its schedule. No impressive blowout SEC wins to make Tennessee look great.

I still think there is a lot of football left to be played and some of the names of the teams posted above (and perhaps even some not mentioned) will be out of it once push comes to shove. A lot of them have backloaded schedules and the pressure will amp up.

 

[VolArmy74]

Right now, Texas has 0 good wins and their lone shot at one in the regular season is A&M. A&M has LSU, as Missouri is clearly a paper tiger who should be out of the rankings for the rest of the season. So if Texas loses to A&M, they should be out with 2 losses and no good wins. If A&M only loses to Texas the rest of the way, their best win will be vs LSU and ours, if we lose to Georgia, would be Alabama. So whomever wins that game between LSU and Alabama could be a major factor. How would the committee view a 1 loss Indiana team? They play absolutely no one all season except Ohio State and it looks like 11-1 is their floor. Penn State is Indiana but with less impressive margins of victory. They also play no one all season except Ohio State. Will that be a game where PSU loses and drops 3 spots in the poll?

Then you have to consider conference championship game losers. It's going to make someone mad, no matter what. Hopefully we beat UGA and are done with it.