Prepare yourself for any outcome - Saban has set this up perfectly

[SoFloVFL]

Heupel is a winner. Playing for Oklahoma he beat the #1 (Nebraska) and #2 (Kansas St) teams in a one month span on his way to an undefeated national championship season. Coming off a 7-5 season as a 1st year starter ironically enough..... You better believe he is ready for this. He's been there and done that. Let's go out there and WTFA! That should be the only attitude going in. If we fall short, we will regroup and win the East. I've never had a coach tell me to prepare for any outcome....

Unfortunately him beating Kansas St that year led me to freezing my ass off at the cotton bowl that year as we lost to that same kansas st team. That was definitely the worst bowl trip ever. Ice storm in Texas...

 

[Eastknox865]

Our guys will have to play the game of their lives to get this W. Go get it boys and GO VOLS

 

[VOLdo Raine]

I'm old enough to remember that we supposedly didn't have a chance against Miami in the Sugar Bowl. Seems like they were trying to play the "disrespect" card too.

 

[chattaboogie]

I have a terrible feeling about this game. It’s as if the entire college football world has forgotten who Bama is and the level of players that fill that roster. As someone else said above, two or three balls hitting the ground at a slightly different angle in the LSU game or them taking the field goal down 10-0 or not going on 4th and 10 and that game is a nail biter. Nearly everything that could go right for us in that game did and I consider it a fluky blowout, but for some reason it has turned us into a playoff team. It took overtime to beat Pitt and we almost gave away the Florida game, but now everyone except Vegas is picking us to beat Bama. This is setting up for us to possibly get embarrassed. I pray we can finally end this streak but even more I just hope it’s a competitive game.

 

[Sivad]

All I ask is for us to be in the game at the end. If we’re in at the end we can win. Heup has this team believing in themselves. We may not be as good as bama but we have all we need. We have the coach, the players and the right place at the right time.
Go Vols

 

[HiltonHeadVol]

LOL@voice of reason. You are just babbling about some conspiracy ******** lol.

Dont believe it was babbling. I think the points were stated pretty obviously. You go ahead and call it a conspiracy theory. that is a lame label and you have no argument to consider. Flake off cat.

 

[LakeMaryFLVol]

Now, I will get blasted for this thread but hear me out. How bizarre is it that Tennessee (as a now 9.5 dog in many places) is being picked almost routinely in media circles around the nation? How odd that Tenn is the Moneyline favorite by well over 70% in the latest I saw? And how many times has Saban's team responded to a poor game (see Tex A&M) with a dominant performance the next week. It is ridiculous but he is going to play the disrespect card to the max tomorrow - and the media (and we as a fanbase) have aided that effort. What a laugh that they get to play the no respect card......I'm talkin' about Bama! I'm just warning folks not to be shocked by ANY outcome on saturday. I'm big-time pulling for a win, but in my opinion, we will get their best effort of the year to date. For the Vols to hang close, we will have to match that effort and get some turnovers.
Of course I suffer from BVS, but we as a group have earned our angst. Just strap up tomorrow and celebrate if we win, and be reasonable if we don't. Don't fall into this media/Saban set-up trap. And Go Vols. Now flame away as is always done to a voice of reason.

 

[VolCalls]

If I’m being honest with myself, I think we win if Bryce doesn’t play and I think we put up a good fight but lose by 10-14 if he does, even at less than 100%. Something like 42-30. Being the media darling and Bama’s narrow escape last week plays right into Saban’s hands.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

I'm just wondering where all the confidence came from. It was doom and gloom after barely beating a bad Pitt team and a bad UF team. We beat a bad LSU team like we should and now we're ready to beat Bama's ass? I just don't see it. Our defense just isn't good enough.

 

[kcvols1]

AMEN!

As a BVS Anonymous member, all of you repeat after me:



MOTHER F*****************CK ALABAMA

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Now, I will get blasted for this thread but hear me out. How bizarre is it that Tennessee (as a now 9.5 dog in many places) is being picked almost routinely in media circles around the nation? How odd that Tenn is the Moneyline favorite by well over 70% in the latest I saw? And how many times has Saban's team responded to a poor game (see Tex A&M) with a dominant performance the next week. It is ridiculous but he is going to play the disrespect card to the max tomorrow - and the media (and we as a fanbase) have aided that effort. What a laugh that they get to play the no respect card......I'm talkin' about Bama! I'm just warning folks not to be shocked by ANY outcome on saturday. I'm big-time pulling for a win, but in my opinion, we will get their best effort of the year to date. For the Vols to hang close, we will have to match that effort and get some turnovers.
Of course I suffer from BVS, but we as a group have earned our angst. Just strap up tomorrow and celebrate if we win, and be reasonable if we don't. Don't fall into this media/Saban set-up trap. And Go Vols. Now flame away as is always done to a voice of reason.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

I'm just wondering where all the confidence came from. It was doom and gloom after barely beating a bad Pitt team and a bad UF team. We beat a bad LSU team like we should and now we're ready to beat Bama's ass? I just don't see it. Our defense just isn't good enough.

Our offense is though and that’s where the confidence comes from. It’s been stated time and time again that football is now an offensive game and that defense doesn’t really matter. Our offense is one of the best in the nation. Also, no team Bama has faced, or will face, has the offensive firepower we do. Ergo, confidence.

 

[markus]

don't follow crack heads in vegas....who cares what they decide..all benefits the crooks

 

[Jeff Clark]

 

[HiltonHeadVol]

I'm just wondering where all the confidence came from. It was doom and gloom after barely beating a bad Pitt team and a bad UF team. We beat a bad LSU team like we should and now we're ready to beat Bama's ass? I just don't see it. Our defense just isn't good enough.

Gotta remind yourself that a big number of the most vocal posters could be in their teens and thus could be less than stable......as we all were unstable as teens. That's what i tell myself when I see "we gonna hang fitty on the Tide" posts.

 

[Dadof2Vols]

You're crazy if you don't think the inbreds were motivated last week against Jimbo and his bought team. Don't discount the Neyland factor tomorrow, especially if we can get up a couple of scores.

If BY doesn’t play, The Neyland factor maybe what makes the difference with a backup QB.

 

[GetEmVols]

Now, I will get blasted for this thread but hear me out. How bizarre is it that Tennessee (as a now 9.5 dog in many places) is being picked almost routinely in media circles around the nation? How odd that Tenn is the Moneyline favorite by well over 70% in the latest I saw? And how many times has Saban's team responded to a poor game (see Tex A&M) with a dominant performance the next week. It is ridiculous but he is going to play the disrespect card to the max tomorrow - and the media (and we as a fanbase) have aided that effort. What a laugh that they get to play the no respect card......I'm talkin' about Bama! I'm just warning folks not to be shocked by ANY outcome on saturday. I'm big-time pulling for a win, but in my opinion, we will get their best effort of the year to date. For the Vols to hang close, we will have to match that effort and get some turnovers.
Of course I suffer from BVS, but we as a group have earned our angst. Just strap up tomorrow and celebrate if we win, and be reasonable if we don't. Don't fall into this media/Saban set-up trap. And Go Vols. Now flame away as is always done to a voice of reason.

Our fans have set themselves up for disappointed today. They have convinced themselves that we are expected to win. This would me a MAJOR upset.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Our fans have set themselves up for disappointed today. They have convinced themselves that we are expected to win. This would me a MAJOR upset.

There is nothing wrong with being optimistic. Tennessee fans have to get over the mental trap of expecting to be defeated.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Our offense is though and that’s where the confidence comes from. It’s been stated time and time again that football is now an offensive game and that defense doesn’t really matter. Our offense is one of the best in the nation. Also, no team Bama has faced, or will face, has the offensive firepower we do. Ergo, confidence.

Defense does matter though. UGA just won a NC in large part because of defense. I suspect we will be reminded of that today.

 

[UT-Rex]

Our fans have set themselves up for disappointed today. They have convinced themselves that we are expected to win. This would me a MAJOR upset.

Our coaches have put our players in the position to win. Our players expect they can win. I'm prepared to see a quality game (ready for either outcome).

 

[VOLnVANDYland]

Now, I will get blasted for this thread but hear me out. How bizarre is it that Tennessee (as a now 9.5 dog in many places) is being picked almost routinely in media circles around the nation? How odd that Tenn is the Moneyline favorite by well over 70% in the latest I saw? And how many times has Saban's team responded to a poor game (see Tex A&M) with a dominant performance the next week. It is ridiculous but he is going to play the disrespect card to the max tomorrow - and the media (and we as a fanbase) have aided that effort. What a laugh that they get to play the no respect card......I'm talkin' about Bama! I'm just warning folks not to be shocked by ANY outcome on saturday. I'm big-time pulling for a win, but in my opinion, we will get their best effort of the year to date. For the Vols to hang close, we will have to match that effort and get some turnovers.
Of course I suffer from BVS, but we as a group have earned our angst. Just strap up tomorrow and celebrate if we win, and be reasonable if we don't. Don't fall into this media/Saban set-up trap. And Go Vols. Now flame away as is always done to a voice of reason.

You are 100% correct on this

 

[mallardvol]

Any prediction is speculative at best. I know if we play our best and they play similarly to their form against A&M, we have a shot. I hope we win the turnover battle (no turnovers would be ideal). I hope we don’t penalize ourselves to death ( I’m expecting the holding calls or lack thereof against Bama to go against us). I’ll be holding my breath on defensive 3rd and longs; in fact, I’ll be holding my breath on every play until is mathematically impossible for us to win or the whistle blows and we’re still undefeated. I love this football team and I will be disappointed with a loss, but damn we’ve come along way, outcome notwithstanding.

It’s an emotional game and I feel Bama has had an amount of success to a degree they take this dynasty for granted. I meet fans who don’t remember we had our own empire once and that pisses me off. It’ll feel like taking down the Roman Empire if we win today.

Let’s roll these mother f’ers.

GB

 

[Smokey7]

Win or lose we will always be the better team!! Go Vols!! VFL!!!

 

[sami]

Now, I will get blasted for this thread but hear me out. How bizarre is it that Tennessee (as a now 9.5 dog in many places) is being picked almost routinely in media circles around the nation? How odd that Tenn is the Moneyline favorite by well over 70% in the latest I saw? And how many times has Saban's team responded to a poor game (see Tex A&M) with a dominant performance the next week. It is ridiculous but he is going to play the disrespect card to the max tomorrow - and the media (and we as a fanbase) have aided that effort. What a laugh that they get to play the no respect card......I'm talkin' about Bama! I'm just warning folks not to be shocked by ANY outcome on saturday. I'm big-time pulling for a win, but in my opinion, we will get their best effort of the year to date. For the Vols to hang close, we will have to match that effort and get some turnovers.
Of course I suffer from BVS, but we as a group have earned our angst. Just strap up tomorrow and celebrate if we win, and be reasonable if we don't. Don't fall into this media/Saban set-up trap. And Go Vols. Now flame away as is always done to a voice of reason.

Been saying the same thing for a few days now. I don't think this team is remotely like 2016, which was a paper tiger with a few great players but the ultimate pretender as coach - I believe that Heupel is the real deal, but the program is way ahead of schedule, and we are still thin in too many spots to realistically be on the same level as the Alabama's and Georgia's of the world.

You're right on regarding Saban - generally he has to work hard to create that 'chip on the shoulder' he enjoys, but this week it was handed to him with all the "experts" picking UT and speculating about the demise of the 'dynasty'. We will get the best game they will play as a unit all season, Young or no Young, and everyone had better expect that.

This game will come down to two things - turnovers and 3rd down %. We need to take care of the ball, force a TO or two, and absolutely must get off the field. I have a strong feeling that Saban will go heavy and try to shorten the game, so we'd better be ready for a big dose of this kid Gibbs. Unlike 2016, I believe we can win today, and for the life of me I don't get the 9-pt. spread, especially at Neyland.

 

[sami]

You're crazy if you don't think the inbreds were motivated last week against Jimbo and his bought team. Don't discount the Neyland factor tomorrow, especially if we can get up a couple of scores.

You just hit on another key - we absolutely must have a fast start and keep the crowd engaged, although I don't think that will take an awful lot today. We can't have early mistakes and allow them to get up a couple of scores. Jump on them early and don't let up.