Are we ever going to catch Georgia?

[hUTch2002]

I think they will at some point. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they go 4 years without losing a game.

They’ll lose before this year is done. They won’t 3-peat.

 

[Kicker82]

They’ll lose before this year is done. They won’t 3-peat.

I think they will 3 peat now that Bowers is back and their defense is playing so well. They are still better than Alabama and the teams that will be making the playoffs.

 

[volbound1700]

They’ll lose before this year is done. They won’t 3-peat.

I may do the unthinkable and actually route for Alabama of the two. Frankly, I don't want either to win but we are stuck where we are.

 

[PA Vol]

UGA will inevitably run into similar issues as Bama; frequent coaching turnover due to success, players transferring elsewhere for more immediate playing time and NIL benefits AND I don't think the dissolution of divisions is going to help them. They might have a few years where they draw Bama, Florida, and an Oklahoma or Texas rather than Auburn, a Mississippi school, and who cares?

 

[volbound1700]

UGA will inevitably run into similar issues as Bama; frequent coaching turnover due to success, players transferring elsewhere for more immediate playing time and NIL benefits AND I don't think the dissolution of divisions is going to help them. They might have a few years where they draw Bama, Florida, and an Oklahoma or Texas rather than Auburn, a Mississippi school, and who cares?

End of Divisions may help Tennessee because we won't play Florida and Georgia every year. We could have a year without either. Granted there are other tough teams like LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas but we don't have a mental issue with them like Florida.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

UGA will inevitably run into similar issues as Bama; frequent coaching turnover due to success, players transferring elsewhere for more immediate playing time and NIL benefits AND I don't think the dissolution of divisions is going to help them. They might have a few years where they draw Bama, Florida, and an Oklahoma or Texas rather than Auburn, a Mississippi school, and who cares?

The NIL money makes it easier to sit. Ewers sat happily at Ohio State while counting his money.

Arch is sitting at TX and, I think, getting more money than Ewers from NIL to sit while Ewers plays.

Whoever that weird voiced singer was was right: Money changes everything.

 

[hUTch2002]

I may do the unthinkable and actually route for Alabama of the two. Frankly, I don't want either to win but we are stuck where we are.

What’s another chip for Saban? Nothing. I’m with you. I don’t want a UGA 3-peat. We will never hear the end of it. Last year’s team almost lost to Ohio State. Someone will get them this year, just not us unfortunately.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I may do the unthinkable and actually route for Alabama of the two. Frankly, I don't want either to win but we are stuck where we are.

The only reason I'd like Saban to get another ring is if he really is on the fence about retiring and the last chip put him in his Ferrari and off to one of his mansions.

I think he'll want to go out with a Natty and a victory lap of sorts and the sooner the better.

 

[Voltopia]

End of Divisions may help Tennessee because we won't play Florida and Georgia every year. We could have a year without either. Granted there are other tough teams like LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas but we don't have a mental issue with them like Florida.

The problem has never been Florida and Georgia. The problem has always been having the most successful college coach in the modern era as Tennessee's permanent cross-divison rival was

 

[gray0306]

LOL used to say the same about Alabama

 

[KeyVol14]

Facts are facts. We are and have always been a solid mid-tier program in the SEC. Tennessee is a program that is capable of making short burst runs in the SEC when there is parity in the conference. However, the SEC is all but a foregone conclusion every year. Georgia, LSU, Alabama, Florida… They have always been able to out-recruit us just based on geography alone but when those programs have competent let alone elite coaching… we just don’t have the horses to keep up. Look at our history. 7-8 wins per year is what we can and should expect. Anything more is gravy.

So your just going ignore our top 10 win percentage, all time wins, all time bowl appearances, etc and claim we're a mid tier SEC program? I understand where TN is currently and that we're in the middle of a rebuild but I also understand where TN sits in college football history. To say we're a mid tier program is false

 

[Volfan1000]

Thread says it. Are we ever really going to catch them? I don’t think so. People can talk about the portal and NIL all you want. It’s not
Leveling anything. All it’s doing is making the rich richer. I mean how long has it been since we have owned UGA? Well let’s look at facts.

Since 2000, we are 6-18 against UGA. And let’s face facts. The UGA that Heupel is going against is VASTLY better than ANY UGA team Fulmer or anyone else faced. I mean Butch beat UGA in 2015 and 2016. I mean really? That was Riches last year and Kirby’s first ever with a true FR QB. In 2016 we needed a pure luck play to beat them.

We know UGA will recruit nothing less than top 3 from here on out. So how do we overcome that?

Not until we recruit and develop on their level.

 

[DickeyD]

What’s another chip for Saban? Nothing. I’m with you. I don’t want a UGA 3-peat. We will never hear the end of it. Last year’s team almost lost to Ohio State. Someone will get them this year, just not us unfortunately.

IMO - An UGA 3Peat in this day and age surpasses anything that Saban has done in his great tenure. Yes, Saban has won more titles (in more years of coaching-not to say Smart won't either in time) but to 3 peat is new territory of greatness.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

So your just going ignore our top 10 win percentage, all time wins, all time bowl appearances, etc and claim we're a mid tier SEC program? I understand where TN is currently and that we're in the middle of a rebuild but I also understand where TN sits in college football history. To say we're a mid tier program is false

Yale has more wins and a higher win percentage than TN.

Is Yale a top tier football program?

 

[VolMarine1371]

I think you have a fair amount of recency bias in the post. Auburn isn’t some scrub school, they have won the West in the last 5 years and a natty in 2010. AU has had much better success than Florida over the same period. AU is no bama that we can agree, but AU has beaten bama with more frequency than anyone in the SEC. As for the last 3 years, I assume you are talking reg season but if you look at the whole schedule UGA has played bama 3x, LSU, clemson, oregon, top ten Arkansas, they also played Michigan and Ohio State, hating on UGA is what fans are supposed to do but pointing to scheduling isn’t a good argument to shortfalls.

If the argument is the vols play a tough schedule, they do but don’t act like it is tough because florida, ole miss and atm are on it, the weight of bama and uga is tough.

All I’m saying is is that Auburn is Bama or UGA, Arkansas isn’t Florida ir even Kentucky. I’m am strictly talking about SEC schedules that no one else plays. Over the last couple years UT has played the top west teams, where as schools like Mizzou gets Arkansas as a cross rival. When Bama is our cross on top of other top 10 teams rhat makes it tough for the Vols. It’s almost like the pollsters know not as well that’s why they kept us at #25.
Not many would come out with a winning record this year against; #1 UGA, #8 Bama, #10 Mizzou, aTm, Florida, and UK. Even though aTm, Florida and UK are having down year, they all still have a lot of talent and are capable of beating ranked teams. There is only 1 school that regularly plays a similar SEC schedule to the Vols and that’s Auburn. But other than that Bama and UGA has a scheduling advantage over the Vols when you just speak on SEC schedule. If Bama and UGA played each other every year, that would make sure one of them would lose.

Who else on the East has played Bama, LSU, Ole Miss, and aTm over the last 3 years? Also add UGA to that bunch and now top 10 Mizzou and those games are guanlets. Now with expansion and divisions going away, I’m hoping it balances out the schedules more between all the teams in the SEC.

 

[GBOplayer]

Eventually, an intriging NFL opportunity will come up (Atlanta Falcons perhaps?) that poaches Kirby Smart from UGA, maybe in 2 years. At that time we will be ready to take over and start a dynasty in the SEC East...

 

[DirtyDawg]

Eventually, an intriging NFL opportunity will come up (Atlanta Falcons perhaps?) that poaches Kirby Smart from UGA, maybe in 2 years. At that time we will be ready to take over and start a dynasty in the SEC East...

Why would Kirby ever leave GA for a different coaching job? He is a great college coach, he isn’t going to the NFL. He already had a taste of that in Miami.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Eventually, an intriging NFL opportunity will come up (Atlanta Falcons perhaps?) that poaches Kirby Smart from UGA, maybe in 2 years. At that time we will be ready to take over and start a dynasty in the SEC East...

Kirby can coach at GA and get paid at a really high level with almost complete job security.

NFL coaches turn over more than a baby in a crib.

He saw, up close and personal, what happened to Daddy Nick in the NFL. He's not going to the NFL.

 

[Randall Stephens]

The NIL money makes it easier to sit. Ewers sat happily at Ohio State while counting his money.

Arch is sitting at TX and, I think, getting more money than Ewers from NIL to sit while Ewers plays.

Whoever that weird voiced singer was was right: Money changes everything.

The Manning family announced a few weeks ago that all of Arch’s NIL money will go to charity until he is named starter.

That family is pure class.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

The Manning family announced a few weeks ago that all of Arch’s NIL money will go to charity until he is named starter.

That family is pure class.

They are. And Arch could probably start at quite a few programs, if he'd transfer, but I believe him to be QB3 at TX currently. Certainly Quinn Ewers was at least QB3 at Ohio State when he was a true freshman.

Yet folks here think a highly sought after, highly rated QB like Nico MUST be ready to play currently.

It's laughable.

 

[Mtnvol80]

So your just going ignore our top 10 win percentage, all time wins, all time bowl appearances, etc and claim we're a mid tier SEC program? I understand where TN is currently and that we're in the middle of a rebuild but I also understand where TN sits in college football history. To say we're a mid tier program is false

Michigan is #1 all time in wins and they haven't won shat. Yale and Harvard claim like 25+ titles a piece. What we did when Adolf was around doesn't matter. We're literally mid tier in the conference in the modern era until we prove otherwise

 

[DirtyDawg]

The Manning family announced a few weeks ago that all of Arch’s NIL money will go to charity until he is named starter.

That family is pure class.

I agree, I like the Mannings. As I’ve said before, I tried to hate Peyton but even though I’m a Dawg I’m a huge Peyton fan. He is right up there with the best of all time IMO.

Of course it helps that the Mannings can easily afford to do this, but that doesn’t take away from their generosity.

 

[stolitonic]

Florida really hasn't done much outside of Spurrier and Meyer eras as well. Not sure they belong. LSU seems to come in bursts as well.

Tennessee was an elite SEC program from 1933-mid 1970s. The first great fall was in 1970s but even then they were winning SEC Championships in 1980s and early 1990s.

Tennessee really started falling off in the 1990s with Spurrier constantly beating them. The ineptitude against Florida really hurt the program and kept it from making a run. Then the botched hire after Fulmer was let go in 2008 spiraled Tennessee down to a mid-tier program at a time when the rest of the SEC was reaching unprecedented heights. Tennessee was not a part of the SEC run and that was felt hard by the program.

My cousin is an old school CFB fan and he cheers for Alabama (yuck) despite going to Tennessee. He stated that one of the biggest surprises was that Tennessee wasn't one of the teams in the 2006-2013 run to win a National Title.

To me, that is where the program slipped and, really, hasn't recovered.

Arkansas has had a similar fate. They used to be a contender but they haven't done very much since joining the SEC and especially since Saban came to Alabama. In the 1990s, they did contend to win the SEC West some.

Much like the backwards slide of this program began on a cold January night when Kiff vanished like a fart in the elevator, Arky kinda got destroyed by Bobby Ps little midnight ride.

What's it been? 10 years? Pittman is safe for now but is on the hottest of hot seats. What is he coach #4 in that timeframe?

12 teams chasing Bama and UGA and catching mostly their tails instead

 

[KeyVol14]

Michigan is #1 all time in wins and they haven't won shat. Yale and Harvard claim like 25+ titles a piece. What we did when Adolf was around doesn't matter. We're literally mid tier in the conference in the modern era until we prove otherwise

So Michigan is mid tier as well?

 

[DirtyDawg]

This will not be popular, but I’m loving all of this Heupel negativity as a Dawg fan. The truth is that TN could be in much worse shape. Heupel has been ahead of schedule so far. Sure, it sucks that you lost 4 games this season, but it’s understandable. No you shouldn’t have lost to FL, but in the swamp it’s understandable. The other 3 losses are to really good teams and 2 on the road.

I guess my point is that you shouldn’t expect miracles so quickly. You guys were 11-2 last season and that helped with recruiting I’m sure. Don’t be so hard on Heupel, you will likely miss him when he is gone.