Pick one "Must Win Game " this year.

#101
#101
but it is much better to start out 2-0 with confidence, then 1-1 with question marks and in doubt agaisnt a florida.

and we really dont want to start with a home loss at that.
 
#102
#102
(tvolsfan @ Aug 12 said:
but it is much better to start out 2-0 with confidence, then 1-1 with question marks and in doubt agaisnt a florida.

and we really dont want to start with a home loss at that.
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both of your statements are correct. That is not what I was arguing.
 
#103
#103
Sure the Cal game is important from a mental standpoint. But the Fla game is must win if we want a shot at SECCG.
 
#104
#104
(allvol123 @ Aug 12 said:
here we go again with the 'if we can't beat Cal we can't win the SEC'", not sure where that is logical. Georgia couldn't beat West Virginia but they managed to win the SEC. Sure a win against Cal is greatly desired, but it is not the must win game if you had to choose one. We are not in the PAC-10 last time I checked.
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Last I rember that game wasn't at the begining of the season either. After last season you have to start of the season on a positive not. I do concede that the SEC games are more important in the long run but like hatvol said the first game is much more important to the teams psyche.
 
#105
#105
(Fadeproof @ Aug 13 said:
Last I rember that game wasn't at the begining of the season either. After last season you have to start of the season on a positive not. I do concede that the SEC games are more important in the long run but like hatvol said the first game is much more important to the teams psyche.
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hogwash, we are talking about winning for pschye now. I guess no team has ever loss their opening game and gone on to win the conference title. Cal is not the Must win game of the year.
 
#106
#106
(allvol123 @ Aug 13 said:
hogwash, we are talking about winning for pschye now. I guess no team has ever loss their opening game and gone on to win the conference title. Cal is not the Must win game of the year.
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Dont know about ever. But for as far as the SEC not in the last 10 years. Anyway opinions are like....well you know and chances are we will never agree, but arguments can be made for both sides.
 
#108
#108
Florida followed by AU.

Now, I am picking UF not because I think that game will decide the East....it just may be UT/UGA or UT/UF (USC is not going to be in it period)....but I really think the UGA fan base could live with a UT loss since we have had some mild success as of late against you all....Florida on the other hand....we have 2 wins against since the Civil War
 
#109
#109
CajunDawg said:
Florida followed by AU.

Now, I am picking UF not because I think that game will decide the East....it just may be UT/UGA or UT/UF (USC is not going to be in it period)....but I really think the UGA fan base could live with a UT loss since we have had some mild success as of late against you all....Florida on the other hand....we have 2 wins against since the Civil War
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Hmm, you seem familiar to me.
 
#110
#110
we're talking about THIS year and there is no way that Cal isn't the overwhelming obvious choice here. if we beat them, a top 10-15 team and easily the 2nd best team( maybe best team) in the pac 10; that will give our guys, especially our offense if they play well at all, so much momentum that we'll plow through air force and go into the florida game sky high with confidence.

this game could set the tone for the rest of the season in a good way or a bad way. if we come out flat and play bad on offense and get blown out, because if we lose, we'll probably lose convincingly, we'll probably sneak by air force like we did uab last year and then not even show up against florida.

but if we win, like i said, no one will even mention last year anymore and we'll be pretty much guaranteed no worse than a 4-1 record heading into the georgia game. losing to florida wouldn't kill our hopes and dreams because it's florida. it won't be hard to get them motivated after that. there won't be the whole "here we go again" mentality if we lose to them. we'll have marshall and memphis to help right the ship and a total of 4 games to have it going before the meat part of the sec schedule comes up.

If we can beat Cal, we can beat anyone on our schedule. Can and will are two different things, but Cal won't know what hit them when they come into Neyland. It's just up to our guys to show up and represent themselves and the sec proud.
 
#112
#112
allvol123 said:
hogwash, we are talking about winning for pschye now. I guess no team has ever loss their opening game and gone on to win the conference title. Cal is not the Must win game of the year.
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This isn't a normal year or team. This is a talented but inexperienced team coming off the shock of not only the program's worst season in a generation but such a season when the talent was there to play for a NC.

My view is this. If Ainge plays well (or if Cut replaces him and Crompton plays well), I don't think UT will lose to Cal. I don't think Cal's running game will dominate UT's defense and they have as much question at QB as UT does. If the starting QB plays poorly then UT will lose and maybe badly. There will be an instant QB controversy and their confidence will be badly shaken.

If they go 0-1 then they'll probably go 1-2 if not 0-3. If they go 1-0... I believe they'll be 3-0 to the amazement of the CFB world.
 
#113
#113
IMO, Cal is critical for this year and for next year's recruiting. If they beat Cal, they'll have an automatic pitch in any California living room. If Cal beats them then they can sell the best players on the notion that it isn't necessary to leave the state to play for an elite national program.
 
#114
#114
I don't know about the rest of you guys, but straight up , a victory over UGA,UF,SC,BAMA,is twice as important to me as a victory over non conference rival Cal.
 
#117
#117
i know what he meant....and i agree...the Cal game, and this is unlike any other year from an opening game standpoint, represents an opportunity for the coaches and players to make a statement and officially put to rest 2005. Winning that game would go a long way for this team's confidence. Losing it, well, while it's not the end of the world, could have negative ramifications from a confidence standpoint.

But it's not THE most important game of the year, but it's THE most important opening game we've had in quite some time....to me the UGA game is the most important game on the schedule.
 
#118
#118
jakez4ut said:
i know what he meant....and i agree...the Cal game, and this is unlike any other year from an opening game standpoint, represents an opportunity for the coaches and players to make a statement and officially put to rest 2005. Winning that game would go a long way for this team's confidence. Losing it, well, while it's not the end of the world, could have negative ramifications from a confidence standpoint.

But it's not THE most important game of the year, but it's THE most important opening game we've had in quite some time....to me the UGA game is the most important game on the schedule.
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Agreed, it is the most important opening game we have had in a long time. And I hope we win it. But if we don't, I don't expect the team to drop off the SEC title map.
 
#119
#119
you would hope not...and quite literally, losing the Cal game won't determine if we have a good or bad season....but i know that i really want them to win that game, and look good doing it. i want to be excited again, i want expectations to go up....all that stuff. And i think the same could be said for the team and coaches too...losing that game just adds more questions with no answers.
 
#120
#120
allvol123 said:
now we are playing for tone. I believe Auburn drilled us in 2004 and we came back to beat Georgia the following week.
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True, but that was before our cataclismic failure last season. The damage done to our psyche by the '04 Auburn game doesn't hold a candle to what we suffered last year.

And related to Ainge, he could chalk up the '04 Auburn game to freshman growing pains - but there aren't good excuses for what happened last year.
 
#121
#121
Vol 4 Life said:
True, but that was before our cataclismic failure last season. The damage done to our psyche by the '04 Auburn game doesn't hold a candle to what we suffered last year.
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yep...this year is just different...most of the younger fans don't even remember 1988, and all of us have gotten used to a certain expectation level for TN football...this is the first year where we actually hae to come back off a losing season and "prove" ourselves so to speak.
 
#122
#122
honestly, this team has 0 confiendence coming off last season. What better way to build that up then coming out in your first game, at home, against a top 15 oppent, and making a statement by winning?
 
#124
#124
if the first game isn't the most important JUST BECAUSE it's a non-conference opponent, then the Florida game has to be hands down the most important game because as far as a possible "sec championship" you can kiss it goodbye if we lose to florida.

sneaking up and winning the east in 2004 was as rare as it gets in the sec. having a chance of duplicating that this year, again, is as low as it can be given out situation at this moment. but if we come out and beat cal, who might be better than anyone in the sec east, then that says alot.

the first game of the year, in football where every game counts, is just as important as game 2, 4, 8, or 12. It means nothing when you play the likes of Northeast Louisiana, but it means a whole heck of a lot when you're playing a top 15 team with something to prove. probably more to prove than you've had to prove in almost 20 years.
 
#125
#125
Gotta be Cal. Forget the rilvaries and history of the SEC matchups, beating Cal will build confidence and show everyone else that UT is no pushover and we mean business. If we lose to Cal at Neyland then things may get ugly. We have to beat Cal.
 
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