After Predicting 8+ Wins in 2013, I'm Still Here

[terrypedigo]

"Using your knowledge of the 2013 Vols roster & talent, what offensive sets would you like to have seen implemented?"


A set that actually contained a SEC caliber tight end

And a QB THAT COULD THROW THE BALL TO A WIDE OPEN RECEIVER WOULD NOT HURT MY FEELINGS.but we are headed in the right direction, it want be long we will be singing rocky top long into the night.

 

[Vols4us]

Good post, OP. Happy Thanksgiving.

Correct on the game results theory. One play made the difference in the UGA and Vandy games. The UGA game was played well by Worley. The defense failed in that one along with Pig's miscue. The Vandy game was played poorly by Dobbs because Worley was unavailable. All of which also explains the loss to UF - no Worley when it mattered. Having a RS freshman start his first game ever in the swamp before their injury issues hit them was silly.

Mysterious play calling by the OC in half of the games has been an issue. Which is weird because he called the UGA and USCe games very well. The Vandy loss lays squarely at his feet, but he influenced the negative result in several others.

Terrible schemes by the DC in half of the games has been an issue. Claiming to have a spy against spread option QB'd teams was simply not true in watching replays of the game. If they did the player assigned did not do it. It also is weird because he called very good games against USCe and Vandy.

No excuse for the TE situation. They had a chance to bring Fugate back to offense for that role and FB. They didn't and he said goodbye. They had a chance to keep Justin King at TE/H-back. Instead they moved him to LB and RS'd him. They had a chance to put Jason Croom at TE and didn't, even with him gaining weight in the off season with the plan to do so under the Dools regime. They could have passed on the Dools' recruiting of Quinn, who has done nothing. Instead they continued the recruiting and brought him in wasting a scholarship. The O-line was far less effective in this offense because they were recruited for pro style. Did they adapt the offense and make personnel changes for any of this - nope.

They gave more snaps to Neal and did not scheme the offense around what he does well - which is catch the ball out of the backfield and run outside in space. Lane should have been the primary ball carrier as he is tougher between the tackles. That didn't happen either. Carter should have been on the field making catches since we only have one other WR that catches passes consistently with North. Carter rarely saw the field. All you need is two dependable WR's. On D Jacques Smith made a few good plays, but for 95+% of the snaps he got blown out of the play or acted so confused he lost sight of the ball carrier. Yet - he started. Big Mac was allowed to stand up and shove all season. Guys weighing 50 lbs. less were easily able to latch on and maneuver him wherever they wanted him to go. AJ rarely squared up and made a tackle in the hole, but he would chase them sideways all over the field taking bad angles. The safety play was non-existent on the edges in run support - again. They played all season without knowing how to defend a bubble screen - again. No adapting to the roster or change on D either.

So adapting to change was not only the fault of the players - the coaching staff did not either. In the off season they have a lot to work on as well. It's not time for new coaches - it is time for them to get it done as a group. The honeymoon is ending. If they want to see it end quicker, lose to UK this weekend.

 

[terrypedigo]

Until we change offenses I'll say 9 wins will be a long time away!

With the QBs we have and these top runningbacks coming in I HURD we might run some more out of the pro set, like I said I HURD we might see what I mean.

 

[VFL1800FPD]

Before the season began, there were a lot of us who were predicting Tennessee to have an unexpectedly successful run through the schedule as Coach Butch Jones' very first team.

Some said 10+ wins, others were @ 7 wins. Personally, I felt like our Vols could've produced an 8+ win season (based on what I knew then, I still stand behind my opinion).

I'm not a very popular member here on VN. No matter your popularity, if you predicted 8+ wins, you likely heard someone bet that you'd be nowhere around when the season turned out nothing like you predicted.

Not asking to have my nose rubbed in 'it', I'd like to acknowledge my poor prediction and offer an idea on how our Vols could've had a much different, better season.

Unexpected things happened throughout the season, some factors were out of UT's control. Examples of this can be seen in Missouri & Auburn turning in completely unexpected seasons of success.

Even now we can look at the season and see where, with only some small changes, our W/L total could be very different:

- Had Worley started and played decently against the Gators, we may have taken that game.
- Had only 1 play been different in the UGA game, we may have another nice mark in the W column.
- Had our offense capitalized against VU, 1 more W... had the refs followed the rules of the replay overturn process, 1 play would've changed and so would UT's W/L record.
- Had Missouri been the terrible team that was expected in the pre-season we may have another W
- Had Auburn turned in another poor season, as expected, we would have yet another W in the W/L column.

If these things worked in our favor, we would be looking at a much different December in Knoxville...

4-6 + UF W = 5-5
5-5 + UGA W = 6-4
6-4 + Miss W = 7-3
7-3 + AU W = 8-2
8-2 + VU W = 9-1
9-1 + an expected W @ Kentucky = 10-1
10-1...

Even if we remove the Missouri & Auburn W's, our Vols would still be sitting on a 7-3 record and could presumably finish 8-3 & 9-3 w/ a bowl win.

9-3

With the incoming talent of the 2014 recruiting class, we may just be 12 months away from posting a record similar to the one we had the potential to accomplish in the 2013 season.

Many will be quick to point out that we do not have elite talent in 2013, but there are many teams who find success without an overflow of elite talent.

Even though the talent is no where near what we see from our mid-level and top level SEC counterparts, the talent is still much higher than our performance and record indicate.

Our players are talented, they are not simply a bunch of bums we picked up at the Greyhound station as our bus passed the 'The Old City'.

I was high on what I'd learned about CB Jones previous success and I truly felt like he would be capable of adjusting schemes and game plans to maximize the production from the players available on the 2013 roster.

Looking back, I am a bit puzzled as to why our offense wasn't customized to maximize any potential success. I know there are reasons why the schemes weren't adjusted, I don't know what they are.

Running-Backs Neal & Lane, aside from our under-achieving offensive line, carried the most potential to put an identity on our offense. I felt like this could've been maximized by running a more 'pro-style' scheme or even a 'veer' type of offense.

Fugate left the team, but I think it would have been nice to see a set that allowed a blocking full-back to help increase Lane & Neal's production.

Although our TE's are not world-beaters by any stretch, I would've liked to see a 2 tight-end set with an I-form backfield. Featuring a true I-back and a hard-nosed full-back, this offense could have been assembled with our current talent pool and would've provided a great tool to convert some of those 3rd & 1 or 4th & 4 situations.

Before someone points out the fact that we don't have a hard-nosed FB type, I'd like to say that A.J. Johnson would've truly been a beast of a blocking back!

I think a very productive offense could have been fielded by assembling a basic Wing offense, using some counter-traps with Pig Howard, and executed various read option plays.

While I'm at it, I think it would have been awesome to see our Vols take the field with a true-to-form Power/offset I scheme, using either a 1 or 2 TE set.

I think our current talent could've benefited from any of these sets that may have allowed for more success while our coaching staff recruits the players for their specific philosophy.

There may have been a fair amount of success, and excitement, from a Wing formation. Neal & Lane split behind Worley/Peterman/Dobbs/Ferguson, Pig Howard in the Wing position with a Closed TE and Marquez North as the Split/Wide receiver and the potential to add another WR, a 2nd Closed TE, or an Open/split TE would've allowed for a read-option play calling philosophy. Also, I think Brent Brewer could've caused some damage as a blocking Wing-Back or @ FB.

I'd also like to add that I am not suggesting the entire spread-option offense Coach Jones is implementing to be scrapped. I'm not suggesting it should have played a minority role, or less than 80% of the offensive scheme. I'm only suggesting that any number of these sets could've provided some looks that may have afforded our Vols chance to be much more productive with the talent of the current roster.

Like I mentioned earlier, I know there are probably very good reasons why we didn't see anything like this implemented and I do not know what those reasons are. I'm really just speculating, in fantasy-land, on what might have been.

Using your knowledge of the 2013 Vols roster & talent, what offensive sets would you like to have seen implemented?

This is a very insightful, intelligent, and accurate assessment of our season. I respect you for taking the time to write it, and I, like you, will forever support the Vols, and hate the rest.

However, i'm a senior at UT. I'm tired of moral victories. I'm tired of trying to defend myself against my friends that go to UA/UGA/Vandy...etc.

I thought rock bottom was when we lost to LSU on a fluke (dooleys fault) call. Then I thought rock bottom was losing to North freaking Carolina on a fluke call (also dooleys fault). Then, rock bottom was losing to Kentucky for the first time in 27 years. I was on my way to a deer hunt while I was listening to that game, and when we lost, ive never wanted to kill something more than I did at that moment. Then, rock bottom was losing to Vandy 41-18. That was it, we got a new coach, a new staff, a new mindset. I was optimistic. Then we get our butts handed to us vs Oregon, and UF. O, I guess it looks like just another losing season. Then, we compete against UGA and beat USC. WERE BACK FINALLY! No. We get our butts handed to us for 3 straight games in a row. Then, we lose to Vandy. Again. For the first back-to-back since 1926. That is rock bottom. Right?

Basically what im saying, besides that I support/will support our team and our coach (whoever it is) no matter what, is that i'm tired of trying to defend UT with historical facts, stadium sizes, and "we almost beat you.". GIVE US SOME WINS! I've been going to school in the worst period of football history since before Neyland was hired. In my college years I've seen us go:
0-4 vs Bama
0-4 (also 0-9, for the record) vs UF
0-4 vs. UGA
2-? vs UK
2-2 vs USC (not sure if this Is the actual record, help please)
2-2 vs Vandy

Additionally, ive seen our biggest rival (Bama, but yall know that) literally place themselves in the ranks of the top 2 (probably 1) football dynasties in history.

THERE ARE SO MANY EXCUSES. FORGET MORAL VICTORIES. WE ARE THE VOLS. ALMOST WINNING A GAME DOES NOT EQUATE TO WINNING ONE. A LOSS IS A LOSS, AND A WIN IS A WIN. 20 YEARS FROM NOW, NO ONE WILL REMEMBER IF WE LOST BY 2 OR LOST BY 48, BUT THE RECORD WILL STILL BE (hopefully) 5-7.

I'm not sure what my point is, but Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Vol fans and here's to being optimistic for the future

 

[Remy]

Before the season began, there were a lot of us who were predicting Tennessee to have an unexpectedly successful run through the schedule as Coach Butch Jones' very first team.

Some said 10+ wins, others were @ 7 wins. Personally, I felt like our Vols could've produced an 8+ win season (based on what I knew then, I still stand behind my opinion).

I'm not a very popular member here on VN. No matter your popularity, if you predicted 8+ wins, you likely heard someone bet that you'd be nowhere around when the season turned out nothing like you predicted.

Not asking to have my nose rubbed in 'it', I'd like to acknowledge my poor prediction and offer an idea on how our Vols could've had a much different, better season.

Unexpected things happened throughout the season, some factors were out of UT's control. Examples of this can be seen in Missouri & Auburn turning in completely unexpected seasons of success.

Even now we can look at the season and see where, with only some small changes, our W/L total could be very different:

- Had Worley started and played decently against the Gators, we may have taken that game.
- Had only 1 play been different in the UGA game, we may have another nice mark in the W column.
- Had our offense capitalized against VU, 1 more W... had the refs followed the rules of the replay overturn process, 1 play would've changed and so would UT's W/L record.
- Had Missouri been the terrible team that was expected in the pre-season we may have another W
- Had Auburn turned in another poor season, as expected, we would have yet another W in the W/L column.

If these things worked in our favor, we would be looking at a much different December in Knoxville...

4-6 + UF W = 5-5
5-5 + UGA W = 6-4
6-4 + Miss W = 7-3
7-3 + AU W = 8-2
8-2 + VU W = 9-1
9-1 + an expected W @ Kentucky = 10-1
10-1...

Even if we remove the Missouri & Auburn W's, our Vols would still be sitting on a 7-3 record and could presumably finish 8-3 & 9-3 w/ a bowl win.

9-3

With the incoming talent of the 2014 recruiting class, we may just be 12 months away from posting a record similar to the one we had the potential to accomplish in the 2013 season.

Many will be quick to point out that we do not have elite talent in 2013, but there are many teams who find success without an overflow of elite talent.

Even though the talent is no where near what we see from our mid-level and top level SEC counterparts, the talent is still much higher than our performance and record indicate.

Our players are talented, they are not simply a bunch of bums we picked up at the Greyhound station as our bus passed the 'The Old City'.

I was high on what I'd learned about CB Jones previous success and I truly felt like he would be capable of adjusting schemes and game plans to maximize the production from the players available on the 2013 roster.

Looking back, I am a bit puzzled as to why our offense wasn't customized to maximize any potential success. I know there are reasons why the schemes weren't adjusted, I don't know what they are.

Running-Backs Neal & Lane, aside from our under-achieving offensive line, carried the most potential to put an identity on our offense. I felt like this could've been maximized by running a more 'pro-style' scheme or even a 'veer' type of offense.

Fugate left the team, but I think it would have been nice to see a set that allowed a blocking full-back to help increase Lane & Neal's production.

Although our TE's are not world-beaters by any stretch, I would've liked to see a 2 tight-end set with an I-form backfield. Featuring a true I-back and a hard-nosed full-back, this offense could have been assembled with our current talent pool and would've provided a great tool to convert some of those 3rd & 1 or 4th & 4 situations.

Before someone points out the fact that we don't have a hard-nosed FB type, I'd like to say that A.J. Johnson would've truly been a beast of a blocking back!

I think a very productive offense could have been fielded by assembling a basic Wing offense, using some counter-traps with Pig Howard, and executed various read option plays.

While I'm at it, I think it would have been awesome to see our Vols take the field with a true-to-form Power/offset I scheme, using either a 1 or 2 TE set.

I think our current talent could've benefited from any of these sets that may have allowed for more success while our coaching staff recruits the players for their specific philosophy.

There may have been a fair amount of success, and excitement, from a Wing formation. Neal & Lane split behind Worley/Peterman/Dobbs/Ferguson, Pig Howard in the Wing position with a Closed TE and Marquez North as the Split/Wide receiver and the potential to add another WR, a 2nd Closed TE, or an Open/split TE would've allowed for a read-option play calling philosophy. Also, I think Brent Brewer could've caused some damage as a blocking Wing-Back or @ FB.

I'd also like to add that I am not suggesting the entire spread-option offense Coach Jones is implementing to be scrapped. I'm not suggesting it should have played a minority role, or less than 80% of the offensive scheme. I'm only suggesting that any number of these sets could've provided some looks that may have afforded our Vols chance to be much more productive with the talent of the current roster.

Like I mentioned earlier, I know there are probably very good reasons why we didn't see anything like this implemented and I do not know what those reasons are. I'm really just speculating, in fantasy-land, on what might have been.

Using your knowledge of the 2013 Vols roster & talent, what offensive sets would you like to have seen implemented?

At least you weren't one of the wacko screwballs blowing smoke about seeing the signed contract by Gruden being our HC ...lol

 

[cusincousin]

I'm the youngest of 5 and I'm not married... that's relevant because on holidays, once I leave my parents house, I pretty much have the rest of the day to be a bum...


Today I've been bored and just started typing a little, :biggrin:....

Someone might be bored and make through the whole thread or actually find it interesting enough to finish. I'm just glad that no one's felt narcissistic enough to let everyone know it was too long for them to even read...

I'm with you about the winning! I was just thinking about how I was one of those fans who took for granted the fact that we had been to a bowl game for many consecutive years and how that level of consistant success seems so far away.

Although it's a short walk from the castle to the outhouse, it's the same distance back to the castle. I think, with Butch Jones, we've finally decided to start our trek back to the castle.

I'll be short and sweet. Get married.

 

[UrbanCryer]

You can also flip it around to where we could be 2-9. The season is what it is. Butch set a goal of a bowl game and he didnt take us there. We played above our heads a few times and we had our heads handed to us a few times.

The vandy game was an unexcusable loss in my book and if they lay an egg against kentucky im gonna lose my mind.

You need jimmys and joes but the jimmys and joes have to be coached also.

Lastly, you need to quit drinkin before you post. Our o-line is pretty d*** good. Didnt give up a lot of sacks and ran the ball well. Butch didnt let the best back on the team(Lane) get enough carries.
AJ as a fullback is just dumb, sorry. Didnt make it past that.

 

[YankeeVol]

Thats one of the longest posts ever.


Tl:dr

 

[orangebloodgmc]

I think that losing Couch (and Saulsberry) hurt us significantly; my pre-season predictions assumed Couch and McCullers at DT.

 

[LWSVOL]

Before the season began, there were a lot of us who were predicting Tennessee to have an unexpectedly successful run through the schedule as Coach Butch Jones' very first team.

Some said 10+ wins, others were @ 7 wins. Personally, I felt like our Vols could've produced an 8+ win season (based on what I knew then, I still stand behind my opinion).

I'm not a very popular member here on VN. No matter your popularity, if you predicted 8+ wins, you likely heard someone bet that you'd be nowhere around when the season turned out nothing like you predicted.

Not asking to have my nose rubbed in 'it', I'd like to acknowledge my poor prediction and offer an idea on how our Vols could've had a much different, better season.

Unexpected things happened throughout the season, some factors were out of UT's control. Examples of this can be seen in Missouri & Auburn turning in completely unexpected seasons of success.

Even now we can look at the season and see where, with only some small changes, our W/L total could be very different:

- Had Worley started and played decently against the Gators, we may have taken that game.
- Had only 1 play been different in the UGA game, we may have another nice mark in the W column.
- Had our offense capitalized against VU, 1 more W... had the refs followed the rules of the replay overturn process, 1 play would've changed and so would UT's W/L record.
- Had Missouri been the terrible team that was expected in the pre-season we may have another W
- Had Auburn turned in another poor season, as expected, we would have yet another W in the W/L column.

If these things worked in our favor, we would be looking at a much different December in Knoxville...

4-6 + UF W = 5-5
5-5 + UGA W = 6-4
6-4 + Miss W = 7-3
7-3 + AU W = 8-2
8-2 + VU W = 9-1
9-1 + an expected W @ Kentucky = 10-1
10-1...

Even if we remove the Missouri & Auburn W's, our Vols would still be sitting on a 7-3 record and could presumably finish 8-3 & 9-3 w/ a bowl win.

9-3

With the incoming talent of the 2014 recruiting class, we may just be 12 months away from posting a record similar to the one we had the potential to accomplish in the 2013 season.

Many will be quick to point out that we do not have elite talent in 2013, but there are many teams who find success without an overflow of elite talent.

Even though the talent is no where near what we see from our mid-level and top level SEC counterparts, the talent is still much higher than our performance and record indicate.

Our players are talented, they are not simply a bunch of bums we picked up at the Greyhound station as our bus passed the 'The Old City'.

I was high on what I'd learned about CB Jones previous success and I truly felt like he would be capable of adjusting schemes and game plans to maximize the production from the players available on the 2013 roster.

Looking back, I am a bit puzzled as to why our offense wasn't customized to maximize any potential success. I know there are reasons why the schemes weren't adjusted, I don't know what they are.

Running-Backs Neal & Lane, aside from our under-achieving offensive line, carried the most potential to put an identity on our offense. I felt like this could've been maximized by running a more 'pro-style' scheme or even a 'veer' type of offense.

Fugate left the team, but I think it would have been nice to see a set that allowed a blocking full-back to help increase Lane & Neal's production.

Although our TE's are not world-beaters by any stretch, I would've liked to see a 2 tight-end set with an I-form backfield. Featuring a true I-back and a hard-nosed full-back, this offense could have been assembled with our current talent pool and would've provided a great tool to convert some of those 3rd & 1 or 4th & 4 situations.

Before someone points out the fact that we don't have a hard-nosed FB type, I'd like to say that A.J. Johnson would've truly been a beast of a blocking back!

I think a very productive offense could have been fielded by assembling a basic Wing offense, using some counter-traps with Pig Howard, and executed various read option plays.

While I'm at it, I think it would have been awesome to see our Vols take the field with a true-to-form Power/offset I scheme, using either a 1 or 2 TE set.

I think our current talent could've benefited from any of these sets that may have allowed for more success while our coaching staff recruits the players for their specific philosophy.

There may have been a fair amount of success, and excitement, from a Wing formation. Neal & Lane split behind Worley/Peterman/Dobbs/Ferguson, Pig Howard in the Wing position with a Closed TE and Marquez North as the Split/Wide receiver and the potential to add another WR, a 2nd Closed TE, or an Open/split TE would've allowed for a read-option play calling philosophy. Also, I think Brent Brewer could've caused some damage as a blocking Wing-Back or @ FB.

I'd also like to add that I am not suggesting the entire spread-option offense Coach Jones is implementing to be scrapped. I'm not suggesting it should have played a minority role, or less than 80% of the offensive scheme. I'm only suggesting that any number of these sets could've provided some looks that may have afforded our Vols chance to be much more productive with the talent of the current roster.

Like I mentioned earlier, I know there are probably very good reasons why we didn't see anything like this implemented and I do not know what those reasons are. I'm really just speculating, in fantasy-land, on what might have been.

Using your knowledge of the 2013 Vols roster & talent, what offensive sets would you like to have seen implemented?

If Ainge had not thrown interception versus LSU late in game in Atlanta in 2007, we might have knocked off LSU and won the SEC Championship.

Fulmer would still be leading the Vols had that happened.

 

[volfan4evr]

If my aunt was a man..............well, you know.

 

[Orangeslice13]

Can we please stop quoting the op?

For the record I said 6-7 wins.
My buddy Mexico said 5 wins and got them all right so far.

 

[volfan1231]

Really 8 Wins!!!

 

[VolFootballlover]

A real coach would Have us setting at 6 wins easy headed to Kentucky! (Vandy/Florida) would have been wins with a Real game time Coach!

 

[LittleCat]

First of all, yes I read it all. Great post.

But I'm interested in what you said about Missouri and Auburn, "if those team had been bad like we expected then that's a win".

It's the SEC. Teams rise and fall all the time so it's impossible to look ahead in the year. The last few years there's been a couple huge differences in teams from the previous year to the next one (Ole Miss, Vandy, A&M, Florida, Missouri, etc). SEC teams should expect a tough game from every team, no matter who it is and we can't rule out anyone at the start.

The same logic you used can be used in the UGA and UF games to counter what you said. If UGA hadn't been decimated with injuries and runs the ball better then maybe UT gets run out of the stadium. Similarly, if UF doesn't have a meltdown of a season and lives up to preseason hype (the same way AU/Mizz should have been bad) then that game isn't as close. Hell, maybe if WKU doesn't have 6 turnovers in a row or UT doesn't get a freak reception (USCjr game) then those games change a lot.

Not trying to be a negative poster, just trying to show that anything could have happened. When it comes down to it, we could talk all day about what-ifs situations. The bottom line is that 10,9, even 8+ wins was a bit to optimistic. I thought 6-7 was very possible.

Looking back I would have liked to seen the spread used less. Maybe a lot more plays with 2 rbs in the backfield with the QB. Throw some read option in there and some outside screens to let North/Croom try and make a play. I would have liked to see Pig used a lot more, whether Wildcat (although it's effectiveness has gone down in the football game lately) or slot receiver/coming out of the backfield to catch more.

 

[Enki_Amenra]

Thank you all for commenting on this thread! It's nice to see the different opinions as we employ some hind-sight.

Next year, 2014, I do think we have the potential to have the sort of success I thought may have been possible in 2013 - 7 W's w/ a bowl win - 8-5, 9-4.

Bartender, I will have what she is having.

Oh and silly rabbit gimmick offenses are for PAC10 teams.

What 'rabbit gimmick' offenses are you referencing? The offensive schemes I mention in the Opening Post are all historically significant base offense schemes.

Maybe I just missed what you are talking about...

In fact, I'm watching Oregon v Oregon St. right now and Oregon just lined up in a no TE, spread/wing set. I mention this because it shows this sort of set can be implemented in an up-tempo spread/read scheme.

Would love to see some old-shool 67 counter-traps out of a wing back.


Edit to Add:

Wow! Between the Ducks and the Beavers jersey colors, I might just snap into a seizure!

 

[Enki_Amenra]

I'll be short and sweet. Get married.

Get Married??

I'm single, not suicidal.

 

[Enki_Amenra]

Thats one of the longest posts ever.


Tl:dr

TLDR? Too Long Didn't Read?...

If it is too long to read, why did you take the time to make a post?

I re-read again earlier and it took me 2 minutes...

But hey, thanks anyway, for letting me know you didn't read the Opening Post.

 

[Enki_Amenra]

First of all, yes I read it all. Great post.

But I'm interested in what you said about Missouri and Auburn, "if those team had been bad like we expected then that's a win".

It's the SEC. Teams rise and fall all the time so it's impossible to look ahead in the year. The last few years there's been a couple huge differences in teams from the previous year to the next one (Ole Miss, Vandy, A&M, Florida, Missouri, etc). SEC teams should expect a tough game from every team, no matter who it is and we can't rule out anyone at the start.

The same logic you used can be used in the UGA and UF games to counter what you said. If UGA hadn't been decimated with injuries and runs the ball better then maybe UT gets run out of the stadium. Similarly, if UF doesn't have a meltdown of a season and lives up to preseason hype (the same way AU/Mizz should have been bad) then that game isn't as close. Hell, maybe if WKU doesn't have 6 turnovers in a row or UT doesn't get a freak reception (USCjr game) then those games change a lot.

Not trying to be a negative poster, just trying to show that anything could have happened. When it comes down to it, we could talk all day about what-ifs situations. The bottom line is that 10,9, even 8+ wins was a bit to optimistic. I thought 6-7 was very possible.

Looking back I would have liked to seen the spread used less. Maybe a lot more plays with 2 rbs in the backfield with the QB. Throw some read option in there and some outside screens to let North/Croom try and make a play. I would have liked to see Pig used a lot more, whether Wildcat (although it's effectiveness has gone down in the football game lately) or slot receiver/coming out of the backfield to catch more.

Thanks for your post and sharing your opinion.

Yes, the Missouri and Auburn teams were expected to be a much less successful program this year.

Yes, the SEC is a tough conference and Tennessee is an SEC team. It seemed as though UT had the potential to be better than AU & Mizz, based on general expectations for those programs.

I expected UGA & UF to field better teams this year and would have bet on UT wins over AU & Mizz before betting on UT beating UGA or UF.

Looking back, it could be argued that AU & Mizz swapped places with UGA & UF, based on pre-season expectations/predictions.

Also, UGA & UF had some significant injuries, but they weren't in a state total decimation like they were at points throughout the '13 season.

 

[Willy999]

kingnick865: i thought your avi was funny and did not know who it was so i googled the picture... then i found this one

 

[MFL]

Hey predict them to go 2-10 next year and you will get 10-2
VOLS 14 Kittens 13