1world1love
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I have a more optimistic view of the game and season as a whole. While it would have been great to win the game, at the end of the day it was relatively meaningless from a W/L perspective. Of course I never want to lose, but there are a lot of positives to take away.
- We got a lot of extra practices and game reps for a lot of guys coming back next year; This was absolutely critical for this team
- Once again, we did not play very well, yet still had every opportunity to win the game; The biggest point here is that it is clear that if we can clean up some of the execution issues and the penalties, we are very difficult to beat
- I thought the play calling on both sides was pretty good and not nearly as bad as many are suggesting; There were way too many issues with execution, especially on defense; we really need some players on that side
- I think it is great that the players got to experience overtime in a meaningless game; that will pay many dividends down the road
- The blown calls are what they are; I think that the coaching staff will use that as a motivator - don't give the refs a chance to decide the game - don't expect things to go your way - make every play count - etc
Finally, Small had 180 yards, Hooker had 378 passing with 5 TDs and added 60 on the ground, Tillman had 150 yds and 3 TDs - all of these guys will be back next year and ready to roll over some teams.
The season wasn't perfect and there are definitely some huge question marks on defense for next year, but there were way more positives than negatives this season and it was the first time in a long time that UT football was actually fun to watch. I am actually, genuinely excited for next year. Again, too long since I could say that.
Happy New Year to all the Vols around the world!
- We got a lot of extra practices and game reps for a lot of guys coming back next year; This was absolutely critical for this team
- Once again, we did not play very well, yet still had every opportunity to win the game; The biggest point here is that it is clear that if we can clean up some of the execution issues and the penalties, we are very difficult to beat
- I thought the play calling on both sides was pretty good and not nearly as bad as many are suggesting; There were way too many issues with execution, especially on defense; we really need some players on that side
- I think it is great that the players got to experience overtime in a meaningless game; that will pay many dividends down the road
- The blown calls are what they are; I think that the coaching staff will use that as a motivator - don't give the refs a chance to decide the game - don't expect things to go your way - make every play count - etc
Finally, Small had 180 yards, Hooker had 378 passing with 5 TDs and added 60 on the ground, Tillman had 150 yds and 3 TDs - all of these guys will be back next year and ready to roll over some teams.
The season wasn't perfect and there are definitely some huge question marks on defense for next year, but there were way more positives than negatives this season and it was the first time in a long time that UT football was actually fun to watch. I am actually, genuinely excited for next year. Again, too long since I could say that.
Happy New Year to all the Vols around the world!
