How are we still so delusional?

#126
#126
BernardKingGOAT said:
Reactionary and uninformed take. Comparing us to UK nailed the coffin shut on your opinions' credibility
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He is probably a Kentucky fan. We get a lot of their trolls, pretending to be Vol fans, after we lose. Never after we win. Look at the date he joined .... Sept 4, 2019. Right after we lost to Georgia State.

Kentucky fans are resentful of how they can beat Florida now .... but not Tennessee.
 
#127
#127
The hard reality is that we're likely to be an 8-4-type program for a long time to come. The uber-competitive is now stronger than
ever.
 
#129
#129
turbovol said:
The hard reality is that we're likely to be an 8-4-type program for a long time to come. The uber-competitive is now stronger than
ever.
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I don't feel that way. It's certainly not a "hard reality," which we must all ascribe to.

Heupel showed what he could do last year with offensive talent which fits his system. I'm anxious to see what he can do with Nico Iamaleava, Mike Matthews, Braylon Staley, William Satterwhite, etc. ... and players like Jordan Ross on defense.
 
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#130
#130
Only thing missing in Missery Sat Nite was a HOB Nail Boot. Ran over them and made them like it.
 
#131
#131
Sara Clark said:
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.
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Agree. I just have a hunch that there’s no one in that locker room yelling at these boys, and there needs to be.
 
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#132
#132
BowlBrother85 said:
I don't feel that way. It's certainly not a "hard reality," which we must all ascribe to.

Heupel showed what he could do last year with offensive talent which fits his system. I'm anxious to see what he can do with Nico Iamaleava, Mike Matthews, Braylon Staley, William Satterwhite, etc. ... and players like Jordan Ross on defense.
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Its not complicated. You just have to follow the recruiting. Either we are closing the talent gap between us and the upper echelon of the league or we're not. We didn't even have enough of a talent gap over Mizzou and Florida to beat them this year, let alone beat Georgia or Alabama. We are what we are right now.
 
#134
#134
Chitlin&theDude said:
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.
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We came out totally flat. Just looked like they didn't care. No excitement or fire.
 
#135
#135
Brave Volunteer said:
Its not complicated. You just have to follow the recruiting. Either we are closing the talent gap between us and the upper echelon of the league or we're not. We didn't even have enough of a talent gap over Mizzou and Florida to beat them this year, let alone beat Georgia or Alabama. We are what we are right now.
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Time will tell if Hype recruits are a step up or down from Pruitt players.
 
#137
#137
Brave Volunteer said:
Its not complicated. You just have to follow the recruiting. Either we are closing the talent gap between us and the upper echelon of the league or we're not. We didn't even have enough of a talent gap over Mizzou and Florida to beat them this year, let alone beat Georgia or Alabama. We are what we are right now.
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No, I don't think that everything boils down to recruiting. Variables such as player development, scheme, individual matchups and home field advantage are significant. This is an oversimplification. It's more complicated than you suggest.

We could not have beaten Alabama or LSU last season, if everything boiled down to recruiting and star gazing .... but Heupel is recruiting well enough.
 
#138
#138
Frosty said:
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.
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Maybe because we are Volnation
 
#140
#140
This season depended on Milton. If he lived up to the hype we in hunt for playoffs. If he was who a lot of us thought he was (check my post cause I was on record as one) then this year was a step back and just gonna be blah.

He was never going to win a game for us. Special teams and D beat TXAM. He did very little. He is just not got a high football IQ. May be smart as a whip off the field but on the field he runs out of bounds with no time left on the clock and needing a score.
 
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#141
#141
volgr said:
I get that. 8 to 9 wins are obviously more fun than what we have largely had the last 15 years but the end result is still the same, not competing for SEC titles. If we arent competing for SEC titles and the college playoff most years, then what are we doing?
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we have had a shot 9 games into the season the last 2 years…..that’s not competing?
 
#142
#142
cgrish said:
And at this point I don't even think it should be even thought of. Hype is best coach we have had, by far since Fulmer
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Every fan of every school expects that there are several Saban’s out there that can come in an magically start winning Nattys in year two. There just aren’t. And Saban wouldn’t have been Saban at a school without Alabama’s resources and recruiting pipeline.
It will take a while to build something similar at Tennessee (assuming it is even possible at all).
We all need to hope that 1) Tennessee HS football continues to grow in its production of top talent 2) Heupel manages to keep most of that talent at home and 3). Heupel keeps winning enough to pull in five star level talent like he has already started to.
We have a very good (not perfect) coach who can develop talent and we have a school and AD willing to support him. We have a solid and well oiled NIL setup, and we have a loyal and passionate fan base. Loses like Saturday hurt like the dickens; but the worst thing to do is panic when everything is finally trending in the right direction.
Saturday was unacceptable. But making life difficult for the only coach who seems to have given us any glimmer of success in the last two decades would be stupid.
 
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#143
#143
KnoxvilleVol13 said:
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” 🤯🤦‍♂️
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I’m not sure I would still call CJH a great play caller based on what I have seen this year. Very confusing and questionable calls.
 
#144
#144
I can get more fire from a worn out Bic lighter than Heupel is able to muster from his team. I don't think he's much of a motivator.
 
#148
#148
BowlBrother85 said:
No, I don't think that everything boils down to recruiting. Variables such as player development, scheme, individual matchups and home field advantage are significant. This is an oversimplification. It's more complicated than you suggest.

We could not have beaten Alabama or LSU last season, if everything boiled down to recruiting and star gazing .... but Heupel is recruiting well enough.
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The oversimplification is in thinking that one special season = the norm. High level recruiting is directly tied to consistently being in serious contention for conference/national championships. The reality is we are not recruiting at that level (yet) and we currently aren't closing the talent gap between us and the upper echelon of the SEC. And it's only going to get worse with the addition of Texas/Oklahoma. Yes, coaching and development matter. We saw that this year with A&M. But when all else is equal, talent wins out. Look at TCU last year. They had a magical run until they ran straight into Georgia and got curb stomped. You think that happened because Kirby Smart is so much better at X's and O's than Sonny Dykes? Or could it be the 24 five-star and 50 four-star recruits on Georgia's roster?

I'm not saying any of this to complain or criticize. It is what it is. We are currently an 8-4/9-3 program. Historically this is what we are. I'm just saying, enjoy the ride and accept who we are. If 8-4/9-3 is the norm with maybe a magical 10+ win season sprinkled in here and there, that's a hell of a lot better than where we've been for 15 years!
 
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#149
#149
Brave Volunteer said:
The oversimplification is in thinking that one special season = the norm. High level recruiting is directly tied to consistently being in serious contention for conference/national championships. The reality is we are not recruiting at that level (yet) and we currently aren't closing the talent gap between us and the upper echelon of the SEC. And it's only going to get worse with the addition of Texas/Oklahoma. Yes, coaching and development matter. We saw that this year with A&M. But when all else is equal, talent wins out. Look at TCU last year. They had a magical run until they ran straight into Georgia and got curb stomped. You think that happened because Kirby Smart is so much better at X's and O's than Sonny Dykes? Or could it be the 24 five-star and 50 four-star recruits on Georgia's roster?

I'm not saying any of this to complain or criticize. It is what it is. We are currently an 8-4/9-3 program. Historically this is what we are. I'm just saying, enjoy the ride and accept who we are. If 8-4/9-3 is the norm with maybe a magical 10+ win season sprinkled in here and there, that's a hell of a lot better than where we've been for 15 years!
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I agree with most of this ... except it doesn't seem to allow for the possibility that the right head coach can raise the ceiling for a program. It's still too soon to tell if Heupel can do that, but there is some reason to believe that he can.
 
#150
#150
Alabama was on probation. Saban comes in and loses 6 first year. Lost 3 one year and never more than 2 since. Kirby lost 6 first year and same thing. Lsu hires Brian Kelly. They have like 3 people left from the 2020 or 2021 class after Ogeron basically burned it to the ground. Wins the west the first year but it did help the west just happened to be at its weakest in a long time .

Harshin left auburn in horrible shape. Mullins left Florida in bad shape. Neither recruited worth a crap. The difference is when you hire 2 great coaches you see the results quickly and they maintain it. Was Georgia left in bad shape? No, but they had a cultural problem and Kirby fixed that quickly, recruited better than they ever have before and now you see the results. CJH is in year 3 with year 4 not looking any better. There are red flags. The biggest is how soft the players are. That's not a players problem that's a coaching problem. If 2025 isn't a break out year then it's not going to happen. 2022 is showing to be lightening in a bottle and it helped that bama wasn't their usual selves (a game that we won at the last second, at home, against a heavily penalized bama team, Florida was horrible and still is. I mean LSU won the west with 3 loses and then got boat raced by Georgia.

The reality of it also is that we're basically a 2nd tier sec team if you look at who we are are over the last 50 years. 9-3 should be about where we are with a few great seasons thrown in here and there. Basically beat everyone we should and lose to the normal 3 or 2 of the 3 then drop one we shouldn't. With TX and OK coming it will get tougher
 
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