How do you guys feel about the bowl game?

#176
#176
Not nearly as confident as I was if the news about Milton opting out is true. Vols now starting a true freshman who had absolutely no meaningful snaps the entire season. And going against the most disciplined defense in the nation. Not an ideal situation.
 
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#177
#177
Backwards K said:
Not nearly as confident as I was if the news about Milton opting out is true. Vols now starting a true freshman who had absolutely no meaningful snaps the entire season. And going against the most disciplined defense in the nation. Not an ideal situation.
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But . . . if anybody was ambivalent about the game, it officially just got interesting.

I'm sure every Iowa fan thinks their defense is getting ready to eat. Frankly, I think Nico's running ability adds a dimension we'll sorely need. Just have to keep him healthy.
 
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#179
#179
I'm surprised the public bet is favoring iowa at +7.5 Realistically this should not even be a game. We have much better athletes and the best offense they've seen is ranked like 60 and we're 17. Their defensive #s are skewed by playing bad offenses. Doesn't help their offense hasn't been introduced to the forward pass much less the end zone.
 
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#180
#180
People I have talked to want to see Nico play, but are not sure if they still intend to make the trip to FL. To me I have seen Universal and the grandchildren were not planning to come along for Disney. Keys are 400 miles away Palm Beach is 120 miles away and gulf side 100 miles. You can always get cheap tickets to these Bowls if not a NY6. Some are so psyched to see Nico they might travel just for that. That said good tv but not worth the trip IMO
 
#183
#183
Mtnvol80 said:
I'm surprised the public bet is favoring iowa at +7.5 Realistically this should not even be a game. We have much better athletes and the best offense they've seen is ranked like 60 and we're 17. Their defensive #s are skewed by playing bad offenses. Doesn't help their offense hasn't been introduced to the forward pass much less the end zone.
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Brand new QB, down to 1 of the 3 headed monster at RB and the entire secondary is transferring. I'm just hoping for a W.
 
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#186
#186
I dont blame Milton for opting out, everybody is opting out and it will not help his chance of getting drafted or the round he might get picked. You never know how it will go and who might want you. .........I still have my boycott the Titans tee shirt because they went with Levis instead of drafting Hooker and we all see how that turned out. If he looks good at pro days he might creep up.
 
#187
#187
People can say what they want about Milton, but Nico is a true freshman going on the road to play against a pretty solid Iowa defense. I would have much preferred a win and go into 2024 with some momentum. I still think we can win, but if Nico goes out there and plays like a true freshman on the road getting his first start, and I know how this fanbase can be, I am very worried about mindsets going into 2024.
 
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#188
#188
I'm excited about the game but also a little nervous now. Lots of unknowns. Nico's first start against a stout defense and we're missing almost our entire starting defensive backfield. Hopefully the young players do well and Nico shows flashes of what's to come. I hope he's more mobile than Milton.
 
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#190
#190
Backwards K said:
Not nearly as confident as I was if the news about Milton opting out is true. Vols now starting a true freshman who had absolutely no meaningful snaps the entire season. And going against the most disciplined defense in the nation. Not an ideal situation.
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I respectfully disagree with your assessment. I think the old adage "Iron sharpens iron" may be cliche but there is truth in it. Nico would never become a great player if he only played against weak opponents. He will make mistakes as all young guys do but if he is as smart as we all believe that he is, those are learning moments. Remember a guy named Peyton, he wasn't lightening in a bottle either.
 
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#191
#191
papatomany said:
I've said it before: there is no such thing as a meaningless game for a real competitor. Michael Jordan said the best game he ever played in was a Dream Team scrimmage. Ernie Banks ("let's play two") played the vast majority of his career out of contention, but I guarantee he never thought a single game was "meaningless". I go beyond your assessment of "annoying" and on into "disgusting".
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It has become the cool thing to say games are meaningless. And it is now encouraged to put self before team. Just a sign of the times.
 
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#192
#192
Other_Guy said:
Brand new QB, down to 1 of the 3 headed monster at RB and the entire secondary is transferring. I'm just hoping for a W.
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I would normally be worried about the secondary but iowa would have trouble scoring against a pee wee team. They'd kill just to be horrible offensively
 
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#193
#193
Pink, you need to be reading the latest Vols news ("The Nico era begins for Tennessee") as: "the ridiculously proliferate Heupel Offense regains its legs as the Nico era begins for Tennessee."

Sure, your defense is stingy. But they've never met anything like what I suspect they're going to see on New Years Day.

Who scored the most on you this season? Penn State, at 31 points?

Think we're going to surpass that. Hold on to your hat.

Go Vols!
 
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#194
#194
Mtnvol80 said:
I would normally be worried about the secondary but iowa would have trouble scoring against a pee wee team. They'd kill just to be horrible offensively
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They'll have their best offensive output of the season. It's the Tenn way. Search your feelings, you know it's true.
 
#195
#195
GAVol said:
But . . . if anybody was ambivalent about the game, it officially just got interesting.

I'm sure every Iowa fan thinks their defense is getting ready to eat. Frankly, I think Nico's running ability adds a dimension we'll sorely need. Just have to keep him healthy.
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That's my #1 concern. Having said that, the kid is facing insane levels of expectations and not just from the UT fans. Everyone knows his lofty status as a recruit and the rumored NIL deal. They're all going to expect him to walk on water....and against that Iowa defense....minus a couple of WR's and our top 2 RBs. Hope he has a decent game, but I really feel a bit sorry for him.
 
#198
#198
First scrimmage before 2024 Season... a good learning experience... just don't get hurt! Go Vols!
 
#199
#199
Backwards K said:
Not nearly as confident as I was if the news about Milton opting out is true. Vols now starting a true freshman who had absolutely no meaningful snaps the entire season. And going against the most disciplined defense in the nation. Not an ideal situation.
Click to expand...

If you look at this objectively now the two best RB's aren't playing as well.
 
#200
#200
I feel pretty good about our chances to win and excited to get a glimpse of the future.

With that said, I don't have any high expectations for the offense. Moreso interested to see how Heupel call's the offense with Nico at QB. I think he may struggle to put together consistent drives. That's to be expected. He won't have multiple receivers that he will next year (Matthews, Brazzell, Thorton, hopefully McCoy). Also, as good as Sampson is and as mych as I believe in our young RBs Seldon and Khalifa, rushing yards may be hard to come by.

At the end I think Heupel is a good enough playcaller and Nico is special enough to outscore Iowa's offense. Iowa fans are really holding out on the fact we had multiple games we struggled to score 16 points. But we likely won't be down multiple scores where we have to be aggressive on offense imstead of settling for FGs, which led to those low scoring outputs..
 
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