Fulmer: Three UT teams were better than '98 Vols

#26
#26
davethevol said:
Best part of the article:

Everybody in the league seems to be getting the right guys. Even Vanderbilt.

“That won’t do anything but help because that will raise our level of play,’’ Fulmer said.

“That guy (coach James Franklin) has done a good job. But it’s still Vanderbilt and we should still be better than them.’’
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I loved that. He called him "That guy", couldn't even remember his name.
 
#28
#28
MikeVol44 said:
99 team was probably THE most talented team we've put on the field--other than the 1990 team. The '99 team would have played for the NC IF we would've beaten Arkansas--and we were one dropped pass (leonard scott) away from winning that game late....

Also---would have beaten Fla if we would have called a bootleg on 4th and 2 at Fla in the swamp..

I think somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25 guys from that team ended up playing somewhere in the NFL for a time....some of them STILL are playing in the NFL....

Hard to discount that '95 team, though....Only 1 loss and beating a pretty good but poorly coached OSU team in Bowl game--Jay Graham showing off again!
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They could have beaten Arkansas 100-0 and they wouldn't have played for a national title.
 
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#31
#31
Damn, I really hate that I've never really been able to enjoy a good football team. :(

Wish I'd been old enough to really appreciate these teams.
 
#33
#33
davethevol said:
Best part of the article:

Everybody in the league seems to be getting the right guys. Even Vanderbilt.

“That won’t do anything but help because that will raise our level of play,’’ Fulmer said.

“That guy (coach James Franklin) has done a good job. But it’s still Vanderbilt and we should still be better than them.’’
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Fulmer gets it
 
#34
#34
Gramps said:
I don't agree that the 1997 team was better. I sat in the Orange Bowl and watched Nebraska have a field day.
They simply wore TN out.
I always thought that lose taught the coaching staff some valuable lessons that led to the 1998 Championship.
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Nebraska gave clinics to both Florida (1995) and us (1997) on physical, smash-mouth football, ones that paid dividends the following year in terms of national championships. Having said that, Peyton was injured going into the Orange Bowl game. Phil started Peyton but was unwilling to subject him to possible additional injury, so they utilized a game plan that featured only quick-release short passes and never really tried to exploit Nebraska's defense with deep routes. The Cornhuskers had an excellent defense but the secondary was, comparatively speaking, the weak link.

In 1997, Peyton led us to a SEC championship and was 287-477-11 for 3819 yds. and 36 tds. In 1998, Tee was 153-267-6 for only 2164 yds. and 19 tds. As best I recall, he ran for around 300 yds. that year. What was the difference in terms of overall team performance? A strong running game that, in 1998, posted an SEC-best 211.3 ypg (most of which was provided by Travis Henry, Travis Stephens and Jamal Lewis), and a defense, led by the iron-willed Al Wilson, that gave up only 189 points (in 13 games), compared to the '97 team which yielded 286 points. Overall scoring for Tennessee was virtually identical, 431 points in '98, compared to 428 in '97. In short, a stout defense and hardnosed running game has always been and remains a winning formula in the SEC.
 
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#35
#35
I agree the 98 team was better on defense and running the ball than the 97 team but I think the 97 team was still more talented. The Orange Bowl is not a fair assessment of that team. We were flat as hell after a huge win the SEC title game and the disappointment of Peyton getting robbed in that trophy thing i dont acknowledge by name. Peyton was hurt and that 97 Nebraska team would have beaten the 98 Florida State Fiesta Bowl team by 4 touchdowns.
 
#36
#36
99gator said:
They could have beaten Arkansas 100-0 and they wouldn't have played for a national title.
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Not real sure why you say that. At the time of the Arkansas game, Tennessee had climbed back up to #2 in the BCS rankings, so if we had won out, I don't see how VT would have jumped us.
 
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#39
#39
99gator said:
They could have beaten Arkansas 100-0 and they wouldn't have played for a national title.
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We were #2 in the BCS going into that game. It may have been controversial but had we won out we would have re-matched FSU.
 
#42
#42
bleedorange0037 said:
Not real sure why you say that. At the time of the Arkansas game, Tennessee had climbed back up to #2 in the BCS rankings, so if we had won out, I don't see how VT would have jumped us.
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the end of the season usually brings clarity to the voting process.

undefeated virginia tech with the most exciting player in college football would have jumped a 1 loss tennessee team that did not win its division.

when people bring up all the past bcs madness that took place, it usually occurred because the way the season played out, the bcs was left with no other choice.

lsu jumped over georgia in 2007 because everyone understood that the conference champ had to jump over the team that didn't even compete in the conference championship game. so, magically, rankings changed.

virginia tech would have jumped tennessee. imo
 
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#43
#43
99gator said:
They could have beaten Arkansas 100-0 and they wouldn't have played for a national title.
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BS. The first BCS stsndings that year had us second to FSU (VaTech was third). If we win out and finish with only one loss we would have trumped an udefeated VaTech and rematched FSU for the title. Arkansas loss killed that dream.
 
#44
#44
99gator said:
the end of the season usually brings clarity to the voting process.

undefeated virginia tech with the most exciting player in college football would have jumped a 1 loss tennessee team that did not win its division.

when people bring up all the past bcs madness that took place, it usually occurred because the way the season played out, the bcs was left with no other choice.

lsu jumped over georgia in 2007 because everyone understood that the conference champ had to jump over the team that didn't even compete in the conference championship game. so, magically, rankings changed.

virginia tech would have jumped tennessee. imo
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Exciting players have nothing to do with BCS rankings. At all. UT was second and had no reason to fall or be jumped, sans losing a game, which we unfortunately did.
 
#46
#46
PimpVol said:
Exciting players have nothing to do with BCS rankings. At all. UT was second and had no reason to fall or be jumped, sans losing a game, which we unfortunately did.
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teams get jumped without losing all the time.

you may not believe that would have happened. i believe it would have.

i do not believe voters would have kept tennessee ahead of virginia tech.
 
#47
#47
orangesox said:
Mike Strange: Phillip Fulmer: SEC dominance began before seven-year title run » GoVolsXtra

Interesting take in this article. Basically, Coach Fulmer states that three of his teams ('95, '97, and '01) were better than the one that won the NC. What do you guys think? Is he right?
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Yes, this is an accurate observation by CPF.

That 2001 team did not come mentally ready to the SEC championship game and they knew it. Then they went out and embarrassed a really good Michigan team in the Outback Bowl. It makes me sick that we only won one championship with those teams.
 
#49
#49
:banghead2:We had 2 or 3 teams better than the 98 team we very easily could have lost 3 games that year, for the ones that were young go back and look at the talent that was here when Manning was here, started to say you could take Manning of the team and we could win a NC and we did the next year, still the 95, 96, 97, we should have won 2 more titles, we were something them teams would give those bama teams of today a run for the money, we might just knock that s8it eating grin of little nick face, damn i hate the fffffffffffing bummers.
 
#50
#50
terrypedigo said:
:banghead2:We had 2 or 3 teams better than the 98 team we very easily could have lost 3 games that year, for the ones that were young go back and look at the talent that was here when Manning was here, started to say you could take Manning of the team and we could win a NC and we did the next year, still the 95, 96, 97, we should have won 2 more titles, we were something them teams would give those bama teams of today a run for the money, we might just knock that s8it eating grin of little nick face, damn i hate the fffffffffffing bummers.
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Boys i have learned 1 thing over the years im 51 getting old you take a shot at little bama anytime and anywhere if you have to say buck bama to your preacher GO VOLS little nickey suks:)
 
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