Ole Miss Matchup

[TBALLVOL]

I know that Ole Miss looks like a slam dunk but with TN no team is a slam dunk with the way we tend to play down to the competition. What weapons will they try to whack us with?

 

[orangetd88]

It's gonna be closer than alot think or want it to be, IMO.

Short week, coming off an emotional win. They'll be a little sluggish, IMO.

 

[TBALLVOL]

I wonder if Rick will feel performance pressure coming back to a hero's welcome at Neyland. A hostile enviornment is a different kind of pressure. I have a couple of kids in sports both of which are great athletes, but when they know I'm watching them they seem to get uptight and don't perform as well.

 

[utvolpj]

They could use Saddam's WMD's and it might not matter. I think UT finally found an identity w/ RC at the helm and will take care of business pretty easily.

 

[Patty Fanager the Caddy Manager]

Mississippi is god awful with little talent on either side of the ball and the Jesse Ventura of head coaches leading the squad. Not only will the Vols rally behind Clausen, we have our full O-line returning, Cutcliffe scouting the team, and the revenge factor for firing Cut and replacing him with the least qualified head coach south of the Mason-Dixon. Vols by 40 and I'm not exaggerating.

 

[kiddiedoc]

I know we're all gearing up for a letdown, but I just don't see it happenning.

Offensively: Ole Miss has a decent D-line and a darn good linebacker in Robinson, but I think we should be able to push them around and run the ball well. Clausen should shine, with his first day at the helm since last season. The receivers looked much more solid in the 2nd half, and you have to wonder how much of that was their confidence in the QB. Vandy got 31 on 'em, and Wyoming 24. . . .don'tcha think we have more knives in the cupboard than them?

Defensively: LSU gained something like 56 net yards in the second half and overtime. We held the "Urban Assault" to 16 points, and would have held LSU to fewer were it not for a completely inept offense in the first half. Ole Miss has a redshirt freshman RB who is fast but not particularly powerful, and I just don't see him having much success against the big boys up front. QB Spurlock suffered a broken finger against Vandy, and was shaky last week in relief of the first time-starter Lane -- thus, QB play will be a huge question mark.

Special Teams/Wildcard: Mike Espy is a threat, whether at WR or returning kicks. UT still has kinks to work out.



All in all, we should be in good shape. IMO, the only things that could keep this thing close would be turnovers, big/lucky plays, and a special teams disaster to the tune of the UF game.

 

[OldVol]

Well, from what I've seen of the Screamer (Orgeron) he couldn't coach his way out of $3 HoHouse.

This team was well coached last year and gave us fits down there. This year, it's been all about yelling and tearing off your shirt in practice.

Emotion is a nice thing, I guess, but I'll take a team that's prepared over a team that's excited any day.

I think we cover the spread and then some if Coach will just leave Rick alone. Don't pull him if he throws a pick early. He's proven that he can and does get the job done.

Our QB decisions this year have been nothing short of panic. Finally we pressed the right panic button Monday night. Coach had said Erik was our guy, sink or swim, but when it came time to sink, Rick got the call. It was the right call. Now, leave it alone.

If we stick with Rick until it's out of hand we win by 30.

 

[Patty Fanager the Caddy Manager]

The Orgeron hire will live in infamy as one of the worst decisions in Ole Miss history. He is simply not a smart coach and will only look to hire his drinking buddies (only to fire them when they pass out at restaurants). Also, the hire alienated the Mannings who put their necks out for Cutcliffe and were basically told to eat it.

 

[ChemEVol]

Did anybody catch any of the Ole Miss/ Vandy game? Vandy was having their way with them until they let up and it nearly cost them. Ordinarily I would not be worried about Ole Miss, but I have seen some of the players on campus still limping around from the LSU game. I just hope our guys can recover quickly and get focused on this game.

 

[TBALLVOL]

Maybe a big win over Ole Mistake will help us win a few of the close recruiting battles we have lost recently in the West TN area. We need a big offensive showing to convince the voters we are for real.