How would the 1992 team have done...

#1
TheGimp

TheGimp

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#1
if Fulmer coached the entire season? I'm sure everyone knows the drama surrounding the Majors/ Fulmer drama, but would having consistent coaching have made them a national champion contender?

I was 5 at the time, so I wasn't watching at that point, but what about you people who did? Looking at the first half of the season, it looks like they were playing like a championship team.
 
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#2
#2
No excuse for losing to SC and Ark that year. Only lost to Bama by one score. Should have at least gone to first SEC championship to have another shot at Bama. I think the team was definitely playing better under Fulmer that year.
 
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#3
#3
They could have gone all the way, although that doesn't mean they would have. No way they lose to that Arkansas team team if Johnny hadn't decided to come back too soon. I think they lose to Bama anyway. It all would have depended on whether they beat South Carolina. If they do, they're 10-1 and get Bama again, and as good as that team was, it's hard to beat a good team twice.

Miami was ranked No. 1 all year on reputation, not performance. Corky Simpson, that AP voter, was the only guy on the poll actually paying attention to the games. I wasn't surprised in the least that Bama stomped a mudhole in them. Made a lot of money off that one.
 
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#4
#4
One of the most historic, memorable and weird seasons ever. It has been the subject of endless fan debate. The thing I remember most was how different the team seemed to be in the games Fulmer coached. It was like two different teams.

We had been embarrassed by Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the previous season. It felt like a game that we had seen before, where we were the better team but just didn't play like it. After leading at halftime, the team just looked like it lost interest. Nine players from that Tennessee team were selected in the NFL draft and '92 was expected to be a bit of a rebuilding year.

So the energy the team had in the first few games of '92 was incredible. It seemed like we were finally playing up to our potential and were not only winning, but winning decisively. Fans joked that Johnny should take his time recuperating and not hurry back. We were riding a wave and we didn't want anything to change that might jinx it. Then Johnny was back and it felt like maybe it was sooner than expected. You couldn't blame him for wanting to get back out there and we all just hoped for the best.

And then the team sort of deflated. We went from beating very good UGA and Florida teams with Fulmer at the helm to losses to bad Arkansas and South Carolina teams (this was before a loss to South Carolina was considered acceptable). Even some of the "easy" games towards the end of the season were struggles.

Who knows if it would have been different with Fulmer coaching the entire season? But it sure felt that way at the time. It was a sad situation and I think we all believed that Johnny deserved better, even those of us who thought it was time for him to go.
 
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#5
#5
The 1992 team was PHENOMENAL! Heath Schuler & company could have easily won the Natty. Remember Majors punting on THIRD DOWN? Majors was looking over his shoulder for good reason. He was in a pissing contest with Dickey over his contract. In my opinion, his paranoia may have contributed to his heart attack. He should have taken the season off, but he couldn't allow Tennessee to have success under Fulmer, not him. People often speak of Fulmer's misdeeds in this situation; however, I'll also point to Major's selfishness in screwing the team and fans out of an historic season.
 
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#6
#6
The South Carolina game was odd. They had a season a lot like Tennessee had in 1988. Started off 0-5 and then put in a freshman QB named Steve Taneyhill, who led them to an upset of a ranked Mississippi State team, and then they just caught fire. Beat everyone they played except for a game at UF, and only lost that one 14-9.

For some reason, they couldn't follow through in the years that followed, but they played really well in the second half of the '92 season, and we were playing them in Columbia. I'm not convinced Fulmer instead of Johnny makes a difference. That one was on the players. They did an atrocious job of execution in that game...and the Gamecocks executed them.

And Johnny, from what I have been told over the years, kind of greased his own skids that year. He did deserve better, but he brought a lot of it on himself.
 
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#7
#7
Hacksaw said:
One of the most historic, memorable and weird seasons ever. It has been the subject of endless fan debate. The thing I remember most was how different the team seemed to be in the games Fulmer coached. It was like two different teams.

We had been embarrassed by Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the previous season. It felt like a game that we had seen before, where we were the better team but just didn't play like it. After leading at halftime, the team just looked like it lost interest. Nine players from that Tennessee team were selected in the NFL draft and '92 was expected to be a bit of a rebuilding year.

So the energy the team had in the first few games of '92 was incredible. It seemed like we were finally playing up to our potential and were not only winning, but winning decisively. Fans joked that Johnny should take his time recuperating and not hurry back. We were riding a wave and we didn't want anything to change that might jinx it. Then Johnny was back and it felt like maybe it was sooner than expected. You couldn't blame him for wanting to get back out there and we all just hoped for the best.

And then the team sort of deflated. We went from beating very good UGA and Florida teams with Fulmer at the helm to losses to bad Arkansas and South Carolina teams (this was before a loss to South Carolina was considered acceptable). Even some of the "easy" games towards the end of the season were struggles.

Who knows if it would have been different with Fulmer coaching the entire season? But it sure felt that way at the time. It was a sad situation and I think we all believed that Johnny deserved better, even those of us who thought it was time for him to go.
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I don’t know that I still do.
 
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#8
#8
I don’t think CJM was ever the same after that bypass surgery. He was just glad to be alive which probably isn’t the best thing for a head coach.

“Well, we lost the game by two touchdowns but…I’M ALIVE! I’M ALIVE!”
 
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#9
#9
Volizona said:
No excuse for losing to SC and Ark that year. Only lost to Bama by one score. Should have at least gone to first SEC championship to have another shot at Bama. I think the team was definitely playing better under Fulmer that year.
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First SEC Championship?
 
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#12
#12
midnight orange said:
1992 was the inaugural SEC Championship game with Alabama vs Florida. There’s a great documentary out there somewhere about Roy Kramer sweeting bullets because it could have cost the SEC a national championship.
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Right. I was talking overall lol.
 
#17
#17
ENGRVOL said:
That 92 loss against arkansas was just so inexplicably bad. Arky only won 3 games that year and lost to the citadel earlier. Just ridiculous. One of the worst losses that I can remember as a vol fan.
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Yep. And I think a lot of fans wondered if it might be the players' way of signaling that they wanted Fulmer. I'm not saying that I thought that. But as you say, it seemed inexplicable.
 
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#18
#18
I've always chalked it up to Johnny just not being himself. Danny Ford was making the calls for Arkansas. Joe Kines had officially taken over after Jack Crowe was fired following Arkansas' loss to The Citadel, but Ford came in as a "consultant" and was calling the plays. Ford took over as head coach the next season.

Some of the play-calling for Tennessee in that game was, in my opinion as I watched it, flat-out bizarre. It seemed like we were trying to fool them, rather than just run right over a team that had lost to The Citadel. And Ford just let Johnny beat himself.
 
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#19
#19
I think Johnny def came back too fast and had a bit of brain rot after his surgery or something. He ruined what should have been a great season perhaps a SEC championship season or more, at the very least we should’ve played Bama in a rematch in the SEC title game. But Ole Johnny just couldn’t sit back and watch Fulmer get the praise. The game had passed him by at that point as well and I remember how tight the team played when he came back.
 
#20
#20
Tman44 said:
The 1992 team was PHENOMENAL! Heath Schuler & company could have easily won the Natty. Remember Majors punting on THIRD DOWN? Majors was looking over his shoulder for good reason. He was in a pissing contest with Dickey over his contract. In my opinion, his paranoia may have contributed to his heart attack. He should have taken the season off, but he couldn't allow Tennessee to have success under Fulmer, not him. People often speak of Fulmer's misdeeds in this situation; however, I'll also point to Major's selfishness in screwing the team and fans out of an historic season.
Click to expand...
I’m glad that memory in my head was confirmed. I knew I remembered (or at least thought I did) them quick kicking on third down against LSU. Thanks! 😃. Guess I could’ve gone back and watched it on YouTube.
 
#22
#22
cbrown said:
I still can’t believe how many costly losses we’ve had in Columbia, SC. That Mose Phillips run, however, is still my all-time favorite play.
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If we'd converted the 2 point conversion, that play would be up there with the Dobb Nail Boot no doubt.
 
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#24
#24
cbrown said:
I still can’t believe how many costly losses we’ve had in Columbia, SC. That Mose Phillips run, however, is still my all-time favorite play.
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South Carolina and Arkansas are the 2 programs in the SEC that play us way tougher than they should. It’s kind of embarrassing, honestly. Especially South Carolina. They are a terrible program that I have zero respect for, but have undoubtedly had our number, specifically in Columbia, since Fulmer retired and before Heupel was hired. We sucked most of the time in that stretch, but so many games against them came down the very end and we blew it (2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 all were games Tennessee could’ve won in the 4th quarter but blew it). And then 2022 was obviously an abomination.

I have more respect for Arkansas as a program, but they have handed us some terrible losses, too, when they had no business even being competitive with us. ‘92, ‘99, and ‘15 all come to mind. Tennessee was way better than them in all those years. And then 2011 was our abomination game against them. I still get taunted by a coworker who’s an Arky grad with that damn punt return they had against us. Dooley should’ve been immediately fired after that game. I cannot believe we haven’t beaten Arkansas since 2007. I remember I got into an argument with an Arkansas fan who said they “owned us” because they’ve won the last 3 games, even though they’re 6-13 against us overall. We absolutely must beat them this year, for my sanity.
 
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