How are we still so delusional?

[OrangeTsar]

NO excuse can be made for how terribly we played. NONE!!!! While I suspect many things are at play here, one thing is painfully obvious, we lack leadership both on and off the field. This team needs a direct IV line full of fight and hunger.

Hendon and Hyatt gave us that on field leadership last year. When things were going poorly, they would lead by example and make the big play

The closest we had to that this year was Bru. The team just hasn’t been the same since he went down. Pili was sort of a leader like that on the D side of the ball I believe too. This team is just starving for someone to make the big play. Every player we have that can fill that role goes down. Thornton made one of those money plays Saturday but never came back.

I think it is indeed a leadership question

 

[Woodrow Call]

Because most unrealistic fans had us winning 10-11 games. Some of us knew 9-3 was the best we could do.

Kinda what I was thinking all along.

 

[KnoxvilleVol13]

How can this fan base still be so delusional to believe that we should be winning the SEC East this year? We all knew coming in that this would be a gap year, yet mid season because of how well Heupel has had this team playing, we expected to finish 10-2 in the toughest division in all of CFB, with a roster still dealing with fallout from the Pruitt era.

We are recruiting better than ever, have the top QB waiting in the wings, and still a damn good coach. Heupel didn’t fumble 3 times yesterday, he didn’t throw a pick 6. Injuries have decimated our thin defense, and even still we have had a top group that after a murderers row of opponents have just been thinned out.

I get it, we are all ready for success after these past 20 years, especially being so close to Georgia, Alabama, etc. but firing Heupel or blowing up the team because of a bad loss is asinine. This team is well on its way back to the top, but have some perspective and don’t let the year Heupel and Hooker carried us to last year fog that.

They’re simply not a talented football team. The defense has no real SEC talent. The secondary is really bad. We don’t have a single player who would start for Georgia on defense or the offensive line. Not to mention the talent gap in recruiting between the two schools is night and day. They have substantially better players and depth on campus right now, and their recruiting class is wayyyy better than ours. If UT fans are going to unrealistically complain about not being competitive for SEC titles, it’s going to be sad for the foreseeable future. The gap between us and Georgia is getting wider, not closer. We either enjoy Florida bowl games and be happy with that, or risk blowing the stability up to chase real SEC elite recruiters that coach defense. Both options kind of suck. The bad dream never ends. 25 years, and counting.

 

[NEWDAYVOL]

Simply put- we should not look as bad as we did last night. Period. It's beyond the loss. It's the way we lost. Same thing against FL and SC. It's now something that's becoming a pattern.

It's a pattern because that is college football and literally every team has bad games each year...outside of a handful of teams. It's sports. It's a pattern for 125 other teams as well.

 

[BowlBrother85]

They’re simply not a talented football team. The defense has no real SEC talent. The secondary is really bad. We don’t have a single player who would start for Georgia on defense or the offensive line. Not to mention the talent gap in recruiting between the two schools is night and day. They have substantially better players and depth on campus right now, and their recruiting class is wayyyy better than ours. If UT fans are going to unrealistically complain about not being competitive for SEC titles, it’s going to be sad for the foreseeable future. The gap between us and Georgia is getting wider, not closer. We either enjoy Florida bowl games and be happy with that, or risk blowing the stability up to chase real SEC elite recruiters that coach defense. Both options kind of suck. The bad dream never ends. 25 years, and counting.

That's over the top. We do have some SEC caliber talent on defense - Tyler Baron and Elijah Simmons will be drafted. James Pearce is definitely SEC talent.

Georgia's recruiting class is better than anyone's .... but even despite scholarship limitations, Tennessee has a nice class coming together.

.... and "The bad dream never ends. 25 years and counting." ????

LOL. You sound like a real drama queen. Lighten up, Barbie.

 

[KnoxvilleVol13]

That's over the top. We do have some SEC caliber talent on defense - Tyler Baron and Elijah Simmons will be drafted. James Pearce is definitely SEC talent.

Georgia's recruiting class is better than anyone's .... but even despite scholarship limitations, Tennessee has a nice class coming together.

.... and "The bad dream never ends. 25 years and counting." ????

LOL. You sound like a real drama queen. Lighten up, Barbie.

Our “defense” is the definition of a barbie. Lining up 10-15 yards off the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 2 is barbie behavior. 5 teams in your own league winning national titles since you won a league title is a barbie program. Getting smoked in recruiting while celebrating uniform combinations, ten years after all the nobody’s in college football did it to be relevant, is literal barbie behavior. Playing a soft shell 3-3-5 in the SEC is barbie behavior and disrespectful to UT. Some of us would like to win something every quarter century instead of fake hyping a mediocre program.

 

[FollowTheLeader]

Our “defense” is the definition of a barbie. Lining up 10-15 yards off the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 2 is barbie behavior. 5 teams in your own league winning national titles since you won a league title is a barbie program. Getting smoked in recruiting while celebrating uniform combinations, ten years after all the nobody’s in college football did it to be relevant, is literal barbie behavior. Playing a soft shell 3-3-5 in the SEC is barbie behavior and disrespectful to UT. Some of us would like to win something every quarter century instead of fake hyping a mediocre program.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Our “defense” is the definition of a barbie. Lining up 10-15 yards off the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 2 is barbie behavior. 5 teams in your own league winning national titles since you won a league title is a barbie program. Getting smoked in recruiting while celebrating uniform combinations, ten years after all the nobody’s in college football did it to be relevant, is literal barbie behavior. Playing a soft shell 3-3-5 in the SEC is barbie behavior and disrespectful to UT. Some of us would like to win something every quarter century instead of fake hyping a mediocre program.

We have SEC talent .... and we are not getting smoked in recruiting, despite the scholarship reductions we have been dealing with since the day Heupel was hired. I don't believe that you even follow recruiting on more than just a superficial basis.

We are one year removed from an 11-2 record, which included wins over Alabama, Florida and LSU plus an Orange Bowl win. This program appears in good shape under Josh Heupel and you appear to be a drama queen.

 

[KnoxvilleVol13]

We have SEC talent .... and we are not getting smoked in recruiting, despite the scholarship reductions we have been dealing with since the day Heupel was hired. I don't believe that you even follow recruiting on more than just a superficial basis.

We are one year removed from an 11-2 record, which included wins over Alabama, Florida and LSU plus an Orange Bowl win. This program appears in good shape under Josh Heupel and you appear to be a drama queen.

JH is a great play caller and average recruiter. A “fine” recruiting class will get you smoked in this league. We pretend like we’re closing ground on the real sec contenders and we’re not, at all. Last year we won nothing. This year will be our 25th straight year without winning our own league. We’re not closing the gap on Georgia, can’t beat a miserable Florida team and Alabama is 17-1 in the last 18. Real UT fans care about winning, not bowl games and uniforms. We’ll see how that “fine” class does in the next couple of years. I’m sure it’ll be better than the previous two decades of classes we’ve raved about. It’s a shame what’s happened to that football program. Nothing to be celebrated, just really sad. We carry ourselves like Kentucky. “Well we went to a good bowl last year and our next class is fine”

 

[KnoxvilleVol13]

We have SEC talent .... and we are not getting smoked in recruiting, despite the scholarship reductions we have been dealing with since the day Heupel was hired. I don't believe that you even follow recruiting on more than just a superficial basis.

We are one year removed from an 11-2 record, which included wins over Alabama, Florida and LSU plus an Orange Bowl win. This program appears in good shape under Josh Heupel and you appear to be a drama queen.

If you would have told me two decades ago UT wouldn’t win a league title in 25 years and actually celebrated bowl games and uniforms, my brain wouldn’t have even been able to process it. It’s the same mediocre “next year” charade for decades. Everything but winning. Smokey greys LOL

 

[BowlBrother85]

JH is a great play caller and average recruiter. A “fine” recruiting class will get you smoked in this league. We pretend like we’re closing ground on the real sec contenders and we’re not, at all. Last year we won nothing. This year will be our 25th straight year without winning our own league. We’re not closing the gap on Georgia, can’t beat a miserable Florida team and Alabama is 17-1 in the last 18. Real UT fans care about winning, not bowl games and uniforms. We’ll see how that “fine” class does in the next couple of years. I’m sure it’ll be better than the previous two decades of classes we’ve raved about. It’s a shame what’s happened to that football program. Nothing to be celebrated, just really sad. We carry ourselves like Kentucky. “Well we went to a good bowl last year and our next class is fine”

You don't follow recruiting. There is no way. Heupel has done a great job, under the circumstances of an NCAA investigation and being hired in late January. Was it reasonable to expect Heupel to overtake Georgia by year 3? No, it wasn't. However, we did beat Florida and Alabama last year ... so you are wrong, and likely a troll doll. Real UT fans appreciate what Heupel has done here. Your take is just over the top and ignorant. ... and hard to take seriously.

 

[BowlBrother85]

If you would have told me two decades ago UT wouldn’t win a league title in 25 years and actually celebrated bowl games and uniforms, my brain wouldn’t have even been able to process it. It’s the same mediocre “next year” charade for decades. Everything but winning. Smokey greys LOL

None of this has anything to do with Heupel and his program. You just want to whine. Probably not even a Tennessee fan at all.

 

[volmanNC]

Did you honestly see us losing to UF and getting absolutely dismantled by Missouri this year? Did you see that coming? I know I didn’t. I thought 9-3 was a safe bet. After yesterday’s game, 8-4 is the best we can do. Gap year or not, that’s a disappointing season. Remember, zheupel git a big raise. With bigger money come higher expectations.

Be careful, playing like the Missouri game we might be 7-5 at season end..

 

[ksgovols]

Did you honestly see us losing to UF and getting absolutely dismantled by Missouri this year? Did you see that coming? I know I didn’t. I thought 9-3 was a safe bet. After yesterday’s game, 8-4 is the best we can do. Gap year or not, that’s a disappointing season. Remember, zheupel git a big raise. With bigger money come higher expectations.

No. I thought we'd lose to A&M and Kentucky. That's beside the point. 8-4 or 9-3 is what this team is. CJH year 3 is not in a reload mode by any stretch. You do remember 29 players hitting the transfer portal when Pruitt left don't you? It's remarkable the strides made in the last 3 years/2 recruiting classes. That's why he got the raise. Unmanageable expectations are something every Tennessee head coach should be aware of by now. I'm sure AD White keeps the "Far da coach" idiots in mind when setting the UTAD expectations for compensation.

 

[KnoxvilleVol13]

None of this has anything to do with Heupel and his program. You just want to whine. Probably not even a Tennessee fan at all.

You don't follow recruiting. There is no way. Heupel has done a great job, under the circumstances of an NCAA investigation and being hired in late January. Was it reasonable to expect Heupel to overtake Georgia by year 3? No, it wasn't. However, we did beat Florida and Alabama last year ... so you are wrong, and likely a troll doll. Real UT fans appreciate what Heupel has done here. Your take is just over the top and ignorant. ... and hard to take seriously.

I’m not anti JH at all. He’s a great offensive mind and he’s hampered by a bad Oline and QB this year. That’s fine. We recruit middle of the pack in the sec. That translates to fired coaches and program rebuilds. We’re not Kentucky, the standard is winning and doing the “next year” charade for 25 years is beneath Ut. We have to put up a fight with Georgia in recruiting or find someone that can. It’s a lot to ask but this is Ut and the SEC. Playing defense the way we play defense will NEVER win in this league. Talent and scheme wise. We’re not closing the gap at all, it’s getting wider and needs to be fixed before it’s 50 years without winning anything. We’ve turned into a corny gimmicky lame program and that can’t happen here.

 

[temptn]

It's a pattern because that is college football and literally every team has bad games each year...outside of a handful of teams. It's sports. It's a pattern for 125 other teams as well.

True

 

[Brave Volunteer]

They’re simply not a talented football team. The defense has no real SEC talent. The secondary is really bad. We don’t have a single player who would start for Georgia on defense or the offensive line. Not to mention the talent gap in recruiting between the two schools is night and day. They have substantially better players and depth on campus right now, and their recruiting class is wayyyy better than ours. If UT fans are going to unrealistically complain about not being competitive for SEC titles, it’s going to be sad for the foreseeable future. The gap between us and Georgia is getting wider, not closer. We either enjoy Florida bowl games and be happy with that, or risk blowing the stability up to chase real SEC elite recruiters that coach defense. Both options kind of suck. The bad dream never ends. 25 years, and counting.

I said this weeks ago but fans are going to have to accept the fact that despite last season, Tennessee historically has never been an overnight sensation program, never! Historically we are an 8/9 win team with a few pockets of hyper success sprinkled in here and there. That's WHO we are! Thats who we've always been! We are not Alabama, we are not Ohio State, and we aren't current Georgia. We need to stop comparing ourselves to them and realize that for a while at least, 8-4/9-3 is where we're going to be. If 8-4 is the floor under Heupel, I'll take that for a while! It sure beats the clown show we've had up there the 13 years prior!

 

[KnoxvilleVol13]

None of this has anything to do with Heupel and his program. You just want to whine. Probably not even a Tennessee fan at all.

The sec is a simple league. The ones who recruit and play defense at an elite level, win. The ones who don’t never win anything and celebrate gimmicks and bowls. Which one are we?

 

[BowlBrother85]

We recruit middle of the pack in the sec. That translates to fired coaches and program rebuilds.

We recruit 4-6 in the SEC .... but that also means 10-15 in the country. You are trying to make it sound worse than it is.

That translates to fired coaches and program rebuilds.

That does not have to translate to fired coaches at all. LOL.

We’re not closing the gap at all, it’s getting wider and needs to be fixed before it’s 50 years without winning anything. We’ve turned into a corny gimmicky lame program and that can’t happen here.

That is ridiculous. There is nothing gimmicky about Heupel's system or Tennessee's program. I don't believe that you follow recruiting on more than a superficial basis ... Can you tell us what state 5 star WR Mike Matthews is from? Not without looking it up. I think you are a fan of another program, who only shows up here when Tennessee has just lost a game.

 

[KnoxvilleVol13]

We recruit 4-6 in the SEC .... but that also means 10-15 in the country. You are trying to make it sound worse than it is.

That does not have to translate to fired coaches at all. LOL.

That is ridiculous. There is nothing gimmicky about Heupel's system or Tennessee's program. I don't believe that you follow recruiting on more than a superficial basis ... Can you tell us what state 5 star WR Mike Matthews is from? Not without looking it up. I think you are a fan of another program, who only shows up here when Tennessee has just lost a game.

Our whole program is a gimmick. When 4 of the 7 teams in your division have won the east since you have, you’re a gimmick. When 5 teams in the league win national titles since you win your own league, you’re a gimmick. When your fans celebrate uniforms and fan attire to games, gimmick. Recruiting middle of the pack gets your coach fired in this league. Not playing defense and losing the line of scrimmage get you fired. After 25 years of not. Winning. A. Single. Thing… you’d think we would get it by now, but next year!

 

[KnoxvilleVol13]

I said this weeks ago but fans are going to have to accept the fact that despite last season, Tennessee historically has never been an overnight sensation program, never! Historically we are an 8/9 win team with a few pockets of hyper success sprinkled in here and there. That's WHO we are! Thats who we've always been! We are not Alabama, we are not Ohio State, and we aren't current Georgia. We need to stop comparing ourselves to them and realize that for a while at least, 8-4/9-3 is where we're going to be. If 8-4 is the floor under Heupel, I'll take that for a while! It sure beats the clown show we've had up there the 13 years prior!

This is what is sad. Prior to firing Fulmer, this loser statement would’ve been embarrassing to us. Now it’s just “we’re Kentucky, it is what it is.”

 

[BowlBrother85]

Our whole program is a gimmick. When 4 of the 7 teams in your division have won the east since you have, you’re a gimmick. When 5 teams in the league win national titles since you win your own league, you’re a gimmick.

That doesn't make any sense. You obviously don't know the meaning of the word "gimmick."

Recruiting middle of the pack gets your coach fired in this league

No .... losing will get you fired. You are trying to make Tennessee's recruiting under Heupel seem worse than what it is. In terms of player averages, there isn't a significant difference between where Tennessee is vs where A&M and LSU are.

But how would you know? I don't believe that you follow recruiting, and I don't believe that you are a Tennessee fan.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

I said this weeks ago but fans are going to have to accept the fact that despite last season, Tennessee historically has never been an overnight sensation program, never! Historically we are an 8/9 win team with a few pockets of hyper success sprinkled in here and there. That's WHO we are! Thats who we've always been! We are not Alabama, we are not Ohio State, and we aren't current Georgia. We need to stop comparing ourselves to them and realize that for a while at least, 8-4/9-3 is where we're going to be. If 8-4 is the floor under Heupel, I'll take that for a while! It sure beats the clown show we've had up there the 13 years prior!

Yes. Hell, facts be damned for some in this crowd

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

JH is a great play caller and average recruiter. A “fine” recruiting class will get you smoked in this league. We pretend like we’re closing ground on the real sec contenders and we’re not, at all. Last year we won nothing. This year will be our 25th straight year without winning our own league. We’re not closing the gap on Georgia, can’t beat a miserable Florida team and Alabama is 17-1 in the last 18. Real UT fans care about winning, not bowl games and uniforms. We’ll see how that “fine” class does in the next couple of years. I’m sure it’ll be better than the previous two decades of classes we’ve raved about. It’s a shame what’s happened to that football program. Nothing to be celebrated, just really sad. We carry ourselves like Kentucky. “Well we went to a good bowl last year and our next class is fine”

Reactionary and uninformed take. Comparing us to UK nailed the coffin shut on your opinions' credibility

 

[Brave Volunteer]

This is what is sad. Prior to firing Fulmer, this loser statement would’ve been embarrassing to us. Now it’s just “we’re Kentucky, it is what it is.”

You have recency bias. Kentucky is NOT historically an 8 or 9 win program. They have sucked in football for most of their history.