Ive felt a lot better after the blowout since...

[casual-observer]

People wrote off Chip Kelly as a fraud when he stunk it up at his last 2 stops , but give that dude the reins to the offense and real talent , and he can scheme with the best of them. UCLA is a tough gig.

I have a hard time not wishing to pound Chip Kelly’s face in a mud hole ever since he turned his nose up to Tennessee and said he wouldn’t touch the program with a ten foot pole back in the days of prime dysfunction. Doreen, Elliot, Schiano, Gundy…any of them that turned a nose to the program, Ihope we get a chance at them. Doreen had his turn this year. Had a shot at Kelly and whiffed.

 

[Volwonder1]

I don’t think we were clearly the third best. I think we clearly benefited from the easiest schedule.

That would have been Texas with the easiest schedule. Ours definitely was not the green mile tho

 

[LegionnaireOfTheMiserable]

That would have been Texas with the easiest schedule. Ours definitely was not the green mile tho

Playing at A&M and at Michigan is harder than playing Bama at home and NC State at a neutral site. Those are the only real differences in schedule.

 

[Hairy Vols]

Here’s the thing: WR’s need a QB to get them the ball. If you have an inexperienced QB, timing for the WR drops. Their timing gets off.

I wouldn’t be surprised to watch our WR’s transfer out and have solid careers elsewhere.

Unless some of them become better route runners I expect them to only thrive in places their athleticism can outshine their intangibles as WRs.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Watch Texas beat Ohio State next week and win the whole thing. It's almost bad for Ohio State that they looked so dominant for two straight games. Usually that results in putting up a stinker the next game. If they're lucky they'll win a close one over Texas and then win the natty.

 

[HooahVol]

People wrote off Chip Kelly as a fraud when he stunk it up at his last 2 stops , but give that dude the reins to the offense and real talent , and he can scheme with the best of them. UCLA is a tough gig.

I personally think this is the change we are seeing. Day was holding too tight a grip on the program. After the Michigan loss it feels like he has stepped back and told his very capable assistant coaches to take over. Kelly, IMO, has now called two perfect games since the Michigan loss.

 

[GVF]

The playoff loss did not ruin the season. Our season was a major success and should give us momentum going in to the off-season. We should manage to get some portal talent.

I know our roster is nearly full already, but we should attract decent players for whichever position we might need.

The playoff loss was pivotal to show the WRs have been a liability for 2 seasons now. We had a few clutch receivers, but they were injured a lot. The kicker is I kept waiting to see one of the second string WRs step up and become the man, like Hyatt and Tillman both did. It never happened. Just a lot of passes hitting receivers in the hands, and then hitting the ground.

Our WRs do seem to be well-coached in blocking. That is something where our receivers were just awful the past decade, but since Heupel came to Knoxville, they are as good as any WR corps in the nation at blocking.

Well said.

And...we ended 10-3 with a playoff berth. And were not the only blowout loss in the CFP. These post season games tend to go that way. Too much time off for momentum to sway? Lack of proper prep? Who knows. This is not a recent trend due to the current landscape. It's always been.

 

[GVF]

Watch Texas beat Ohio State next week and win the whole thing. It's almost bad for Ohio State that they looked so dominant for two straight games. Usually that results in putting up a stinker the next game. If they're lucky they'll win a close one over Texas and then win the natty.

Texas better get busy on film work and schemes. If OSU doesn't wane after those two dominant performances, they will wish for ASU again. And nearly crapped that one out.

 

[GVF]

I used to root SEC across the board. No more. The more SEC teams lose in the postseason, the better I feel. And yes, I'll feel even better if OSU wins it all.

Bottom line if OSU wins out they earned it and good on them. They have done their job to the highest level thus far. Strong D, and Chip Kelly is lit right now on his game plans.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Texas better get busy on film work and schemes. If OSU doesn't wane after those two dominant performances, they will wish for ASU again. And nearly crapped that one out.

It's almost like yall get amnesia and forgot that sports teams can look like beasts one week then chumps the next. If Ohio State was as good all year as they've looked the last 2 games they would be undefeated. Instead they've played their two best games all year in the last 2 weeks. All that tells me is a regression to the mean is about to happen. Similarly Texas played poorly yesterday by their standards. What if they end up playing their best game of the season next week like Ohio State has the last two?

This is why sports is so unpredictable. What you saw this week might not necessarily replicate itself next week. All I know is if this was Tennessee in Ohio State's spot I'd be nervous going into this Texas game. It just feels like a spot where Ohio State will be down while Texas is up. Now I think Ohio State is more talented so they could squeeze out a close victory. But this will be a game where I would bet on Texas to not only cover but win outright.

 

[b_gann]

Watching the rest of the SEC this bowl season and reminding myself, "Tenn was better than all of these fools."

And yes, I know the bowl games are even more meaningless now.

I think there is a mix of all these:

SEC was not a great league this year.
Our schedule was pretty soft.
The NIL era will likely continue to muddy the waters for teams to dominate year over year.
We really need to do some self-scout and adapting in order to maintain our current spot near the top of the league. Granted, we went 10-2, but our offense is trending the opposite direction.

 

[b_gann]

The playoff loss did not ruin the season. Our season was a major success and should give us momentum going in to the off-season. We should manage to get some portal talent.

I know our roster is nearly full already, but we should attract decent players for whichever position we might need.

The playoff loss was pivotal to show the WRs have been a liability for 2 seasons now. We had a few clutch receivers, but they were injured a lot. The kicker is I kept waiting to see one of the second string WRs step up and become the man, like Hyatt and Tillman both did. It never happened. Just a lot of passes hitting receivers in the hands, and then hitting the ground.

Our WRs do seem to be well-coached in blocking. That is something where our receivers were just awful the past decade, but since Heupel came to Knoxville, they are as good as any WR corps in the nation at blocking.

I'd add a caveat that the way defenses play us has changed a lot too. I'm not sure talent at WR would have mattered a ton either way with our route tree and coverages we're shown. We must adapt to be successful on offense going forward.

 

[tennesseekilt]

So it'll make you feel better knowing we were the 3rd best team in a chump conference rather than a great one? What's the logic in that? If the rest of the SEC is trash that means we're trash as well since we struggled to beat most of our opponents this year.

I probably should have added that my feeling on this depends on how we do. If we win, I'm fine with other SEC teams below us winning. Just never above us. And yes, I wouldn't want the SEC to descend into a "trash" conference. However, we are competing against other SEC schools for recruits and it doesn't help if they are winning nattys and we aren't.

 

[GVF]

It's almost like yall get amnesia and forgot that sports teams can look like beasts one week then chumps the next. If Ohio State was as good all year as they've looked the last 2 games they would be undefeated. Instead they've played their two best games all year in the last 2 weeks. All that tells me is a regression to the mean is about to happen. Similarly Texas played poorly yesterday by their standards. What if they end up playing their best game of the season next week like Ohio State has the last two?

This is why sports is so unpredictable. What you saw this week might not necessarily replicate itself next week. All I know is if this was Tennessee in Ohio State's spot I'd be nervous going into this Texas game. It just feels like a spot where Ohio State will be down while Texas is up. Now I think Ohio State is more talented so they could squeeze out a close victory. But this will be a game where I would bet on Texas to not only cover but win outright.

Totally get all that. I get that any given week, UT could beat the OSU of the regular season. But, I also get that teams can peak for whatever reason at any time. that is what OSU has done the last two games. Peak. Will it carry them thru. Never know, but I wouldn't bet money on it. Especially with PSU lurking in the shadows looking good and consistent. And who knows the effect in NO on the GA/ND game, with the tragedy, the delay, prep, trying to stay focused. And going forward after finally playing the game today. My point was more torward Texas better amp it up a little, cause if OSU doesn't fade off much at all, what they brought against ASU won't be good enough.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

I probably should have added that my feeling on this depends on how we do. If we win, I'm fine with other SEC teams below us winning. Just never above us. And yes, I wouldn't want the SEC to descend into a "trash" conference. However, we are competing against other SEC schools for recruits and it doesn't help if they are winning nattys and we aren't.

Recruiting now is just about money so this whole worrying about teams above you winning leading to recruits choosing them is irrelevant. We've entered the NFL Free Agency era in college football. And last I checked NFL free agents don't all sign with whoever won the super bowl. Instead they sign with whomever pays them the most. That's what you're seeing now in college football. The only reason perennial winners still dominate recruiting is because those programs have the most money.

Now you know what will hurt us if the teams above us lose in the postseason? The benefit of the doubt people will give us next year when comparing playoff resumes. Just think about this year. We went 10-2 and were firmly in the playoff field while Miami at 10-2 was behind a 9-3 Miami. A large reason us and Alabama were ahead of Miami was because of the perception that playing in the SEC is harder than playing in the ACC. If the SEC continues to get beat in the postseason then that benefit of the doubt dissappears. Which means next year if we're 10-2 we might be on the outside looking in as a 9-3 Big 10 team like Michigan gets in the playoffs ahead of us because the Big 10 is viewed as the toughest conference in the nation while the SEC gets no respect cause our teams all got waxed in the postseason by other conferences.

Rooting against other SEC teams in the postseason makes no logical sense as a Tennessee fan. It can only hurt us in the long term while serving no short term benefit other than maybe satisfying the pathetic primal need as humans to see others suffer when we're suffering.

 

[Wezcoast]

I have a hard time not wishing to pound Chip Kelly’s face in a mud hole ever since he turned his nose up to Tennessee and said he wouldn’t touch the program with a ten foot pole back in the days of prime dysfunction. Doreen, Elliot, Schiano, Gundy…any of them that turned a nose to the program, Ihope we get a chance at them. Doreen had his turn this year. Had a shot at Kelly and whiffed.

I've never liked his smug ass on a personal level , but he can flat out coach . As a coach , I don't think I'd have wanted to be anywhere near UT during those years either. It was a dysfunctional disaster. That's also why we need to be patient with Josh. He risked his career coming here when he did, It was a smoldering pile of dog sh--.

 

[casual-observer]

I've never liked his smug ass on a personal level , but he can flat out coach . As a coach , I don't think I'd have wanted to be anywhere near UT during those years either. It was a dysfunctional disaster. That's also why we need to be patient with Josh. He risked his career coming here when he did, It was a smoldering pile of dog sh--.

Agree with you on every sentence.

 

[Other_Guy]

Bowl games are not meaningless now, nor were they ever. There's no need parroting this line.

Ok, they're less meaningful. You can't ignore that.
And what I really mean is you can't really take anything from the bowl games. Too many players sit out or are disappointed or not as hyped up as the other team.

 

[Mccage]

The SEC beats themselves to death during the season. Not a good scenario for playoff games….proof in the pudding

 

[livefaith]

Ok, they're less meaningful. You can't ignore that.
And what I really mean is you can't really take anything from the bowl games. Too many players sit out or are disappointed or not as hyped up as the other team.

Yessir, with the playoff they take a lesser place. But, anytime our boys strap on the O&W, I'll be cheering them on, even if it's the FlexSeal Bowl.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

I'd add a caveat that the way defenses play us has changed a lot too. I'm not sure talent at WR would have mattered a ton either way with our route tree and coverages we're shown. We must adapt to be successful on offense going forward.

Teams played three deep safeties on us and our offensive line couldn't generate enough push in the run game to take them put of it. We just kept on running into light boxes and not breaking enough big runs. Wideouts are important but interior offensive line is very critical to this offense. Out tackles also have to be better. Offensive line as a whole was the main issue. Gotta get up to a championship level up front. The entire offense will look better for it.