Is Vandy the Most Overrated Team in the SEC?

#1
DiderotsGhost

DiderotsGhost

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#1
There are a lot of James Franklin bashers on this forum. I'm not one of them. I think he's done a great job at Vandy.

Yet, I can't help but to notice that the media seems to think Vandy is going to have a miracle breakthrough season this year, after having one good year. This is in spite of the fact that a great deal of Vandy's competition (including us) will likely improve this year.

ESPN's Edward Aschoff is the latest to join in on the Vandy 'breakthrough' season parade.

Ten Fearless Predictions for SEC

Aschoff predicts that Vandy will upset either Florida, UGA, USCe, or A&M.

USA Today has Vandy going 8-4 this year:

USA Today SEC Preview

I've seen a few others predict 8-4, suggesting that 9-3 is a possibility for Vandy.

There are always a few preseason predictions that are totally off, and I wonder if this is one of them. Vandy has had four winning seasons since 1975. Last year was probably the best since a 7-4 campaign in '75.

A lot of Vandy's success last year came from beating up on bad opponents. Presbyterian was a 2-9 FCS school. UMass was terrible. Wake Forest wasn't very good either. Kentucky was awful.

Vandy also lucked up into playing a bunch of very down SEC teams, including us and Auburn. A lot of close wins, as well, with Auburn, Mizzou, and Ole Miss all being within 4 points. It just seems that if any team in the SEC is due for a letdown this year, it's Vanderbilt.

On that note, while I hate to be a homer, I'm starting to suspect that Tennessee may be one of the more underrated teams this year. Nearly every media publication I've seen has us going 5-7 or 6-6. I read an article the other day that said 6-6 was a realistic best-case scenario.

We certainly lack the talent of Alabama and Georgia, but I suspect that UT is a lot better than people believe. It's just that no one has seen a well-coached Vols team since Erik Ainge was quarterback.

I'm not predicting a miracle season given our brutal schedule, but I wouldn't be shocked if we exceed expectations a little bit, and give a few great teams a run for their money. There are, of course, growing pains with a new coaching staff, but 5-7? This is probably the lowest expectations have been since 2006. Even during Dooley's first year, I think the media was more optimistic about our chances than now.

Who do you think the most overrated and underrated team in the SEC is this year?
 
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#3
#3
There are a lot of James Franklin bashers on this forum. I'm not one of them. I think he's done a great job at Vandy.
I am indeed a card carrying Franklin basher.

On that note, while I hate to be a homer, I'm starting to suspect that Tennessee may be one of the more underrated teams this year. Nearly every media publication I've seen has us going 5-7 or 6-6. I read an article the other day that said 6-6 was a realistic best-case scenario.
shhhhh...they think Dooley is still our coach.

Seriously, It's hard for me to make a prediction about this years team. The 5-7 crowd are passionate in their belief and make some reasonable points as to why this will be the case. The problem is that the 8-4 crowd is just as passionate and make some reasonable points as well. IMO, the X factor will be the impact of a good coaching staff and how well we play as a TEAM.
 
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#6
#6
Vandy's historic season last year as you note was more of an alignment of favorable circumstances than them getting appreciably better. They lost their QB and primary rushing threat. They lost several starters off their D.

I think Franklin has done a good job as well. He needs to go 500 then get his payday at a real football school... I think that's about how it plays out. I am not saying Franklin is on par with Meyer or Spurrier but Vandy is to him what Utah and Duke were to those guys... stepping stones to a real job.

If Jones has UT playing anywhere close to its talent level then revenge is going to be very nice.
 
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#9
#9
DiderotsGhost said:
There are a lot of James Franklin bashers on this forum. I'm not one of them. I think he's done a great job at Vandy.

Yet, I can't help but to notice that the media seems to think Vandy is going to have a miracle breakthrough season this year, after having one good year. This is in spite of the fact that a great deal of Vandy's competition (including us) will likely improve this year.

ESPN's Edward Aschoff is the latest to join in on the Vandy 'breakthrough' season parade.

Ten Fearless Predictions for SEC

Aschoff predicts that Vandy will upset either Florida, UGA, USCe, or A&M.

USA Today has Vandy going 8-4 this year:

USA Today SEC Preview

I've seen a few others predict 8-4, suggesting that 9-3 is a possibility for Vandy.

There are always a few preseason predictions that are totally off, and I wonder if this is one of them. Vandy has had four winning seasons since 1975. Last year was probably the best since a 7-4 campaign in '75.

A lot of Vandy's success last year came from beating up on bad opponents. Presbyterian was a 2-9 FCS school. UMass was terrible. Wake Forest wasn't very good either. Kentucky was awful.

Vandy also lucked up into playing a bunch of very down SEC teams, including us and Auburn. A lot of close wins, as well, with Auburn, Mizzou, and Ole Miss all being within 4 points. It just seems that if any team in the SEC is due for a letdown this year, it's Vanderbilt.

On that note, while I hate to be a homer, I'm starting to suspect that Tennessee may be one of the more underrated teams this year. Nearly every media publication I've seen has us going 5-7 or 6-6. I read an article the other day that said 6-6 was a realistic best-case scenario.

We certainly lack the talent of Alabama and Georgia, but I suspect that UT is a lot better than people believe. It's just that no one has seen a well-coached Vols team since Erik Ainge was quarterback.

I'm not predicting a miracle season given our brutal schedule, but I wouldn't be shocked if we exceed expectations a little bit, and give a few great teams a run for their money. There are, of course, growing pains with a new coaching staff, but 5-7? This is probably the lowest expectations have been since 2006. Even during Dooley's first year, I think the media was more optimistic about our chances than now.

Who do you think the most overrated and underrated team in the SEC is this year?
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Absolutely not going to happen.
 
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#10
#10
thelizardvol said:
They're not overrated, they're just over hyped.
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This, although honestly outside of the Middle TN area, I'm not really hearing much about them. Their "breakthrough" year was last year and that barely got a blip on the college football radar.

Last year was a combo of luck, extremely favorable scheduling and winning games they were supposed to for once. Ole Miss collapsed against them, and they barely beat Mizzou when their James Franklin was out.

Their schedule is weak again this year, so they at worst should go 6-6. Around here they'll jump for joy but I'm not impressed at all in this day and age at 6-6.
 
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#11
#11
I don't think they can ever become a powerhouse team unless multiple other teams fall apart or outright disband football or something.

That being said, the idea that they could get to a point where they consistently break even or occasionally go 7-5, maybe the rare 8-4 isn't impossible.

Case in point, UT has steamrolled Kentucky for a long time, with the exception of 2011, and the Wildcats have still been to 14 bowl games over the years.

I think a big factor that could determine how they do long term is who takes the head coaching job if/when Franklin leaves. While he's hardly turned them into an SEC Championship team or anything, as bad as he is, he's shown that Candybuilt doesn't isn't necessarily a dead end destination anymore.
 
#15
#15
VolBuck86 said:
I don't think they can ever become a powerhouse team unless multiple other teams fall apart or outright disband football or something.

That being said, the idea that they could get to a point where they consistently break even or occasionally go 7-5, maybe the rare 8-4 isn't impossible.

Case in point, UT has steamrolled Kentucky for a long time, with the exception of 2011, and the Wildcats have still been to 14 bowl games over the years.

I think a big factor that could determine how they do long term is who takes the head coaching job if/when Franklin leaves. While he's hardly turned them into an SEC Championship team or anything, as bad as he is, he's shown that Candybuilt doesn't isn't necessarily a dead end destination anymore.
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I think tonight cemented JF at Vandy for years to come-- if they even decide to keep him after contract is up.

He squandered a win against a bad team, proving he has problems closing. He was too busy celebrating with time still on the clock, showing that he has problems closing. He put his star player back in with a concussion. Any legitimate school will most likely think, "thanks but no thanks."

Look how bad Ole Miss is. Would they trade coaches with Vandy right now?
 
#16
#16
Ole Miss is pretty loaded. I don't think they are bad at all. In fact, while all these sportswriters were writing about Vandy's big breakthrough, they probably should've been focusing on Ole Miss.

That said, this is precisely why I can't see Vandy winning 8-9 games this year (a common prediction in the media). The SEC is too good this year for Vandy to have another run like that. There's not a single team in the league now with poor coaching.

Tennessee isn't going to roll over this year. Auburn isn't going to be easy. Mizzou is going to be better. With the possible exception of Kentucky, Vandy is not going to get any SEC freebies.
 
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