'22 Recruiting Forum: Official Orange Bowl Pregame/Game Thread - Tennessee vs. Clemson

#32
#32
Vfl2407 said:
First play from our 25 yard line.
Joe takes deep drop from shotgun.
We send 4 WR In a sprint to end zone.
Joe counts to 3 Mississippi and then
Lets it fly.
Even if he overthrows it, Clemson defense will say “Oh Shite” … he threw it 100 yards on a fly.
Click to expand...

Hits White in stride, but after review his foot is shown to come down with toes in back of end zone. 2nd & 10. 😏
 
#36
#36
nicksjuzunk said:
View attachment 526889 View attachment 526890

A season which began with so many unknowns comes to a conclusion on Friday night. It is a strange concoction... more than what any reasonable fan could have expected, and yet less than what should have been. Regardless, the Vols find themselves matched against an opponent that is a recent powerhouse and a truly compelling match-up, which certainly beats the somewhat yawn inducing Big 10 teams we find ourselves facing year after year. For many of us, we have grown to hate Clemson for many reasons... not the least of which is watching them win national championships with childhood Vol fans being the main cogs in the machine. Madness! Nothing like classic shots of Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne wearing Tennessee gear during National Championship appearances as we sat back wondering if Pruitt would be able to get us to 6 wins enough to build some stability. <shudder>. Fun fact, former 5* Tennessee quarterback commit Hunter Johnson, who played a key role in luring Tee Higgins to Clemson is somehow back at Clemson again after portalling all over tarnation. What is he... about 32 by now? Doesn't matter... still doesn't play.

Keys to Victory:

1. "QB or not QB?", That is the question: A game of this caliber uncharacteristically will feature two quarterbacks who have accounted for approximately 10% of their teams snaps this year. That's pretty wild. Top 10 teams typically have that nailed down, but Hooker is obviously injured and Clemson went with Cade Klubnik in the ACC Championship game. CK had a good game and Clemson fans have promptly crowned him their new king. Truth is, North Carolina's passing defense is bad... a bit better than Tennessee, ranked at 121 nationally, but still bad. Is he really good? Will these practice sessions help him to perform even better? Probably both are true, but to what degree is anyone's guess.

Joe Milton was spotless through the season in mop up duty but his lone start against Vandy in a rain soaked afternoon game brought back nightmares of overthrows. Was it the water, the timing, or the same old story? Well, anyone's guess. Ultimately, two teams are hoping they have their QB of the future lining up behind center. Whichever team is closer to the truth is going to have the edge.

2. Win the Ground Game: With two fresh quarterbacks, expect each team to lean heavily on the ground game, although Clemson will likely balance a bit more than the Vols due to the poor pass defense we have. RB Will Shipley has over 1,200 yards for Clemson this year and a fresh Tennessee DL will be tested often to see if they can contain him. As for the Vols, expect a rotation of Small, Wright and Sampson to give Clemson a few different styles to deal with. Tennessee will benefit from the opt-out of top DE Myles Murphy who is projected as a top 10 pick. Clemson is notoriously deep at DL, so while they will miss Murphy, they will have bodies to pull from the pile.

While Clemson is 10th nationally in rushing defense, with only 101 per game... let's be honest... Tennessee's 110 per game is more impressive considering the strength of schedule. I give the slight edge to Tennessee in rushing defense and a favorable edge to Tennessee in rushing offense.

3. Next Man Up: With Hooker injured and Tillman and Hyatt opting out from the bowl game, Heupel will have big holes to fill. Tillman has essentially missed the season already, and we've discussed Milton, so primarily I see the opportunity being there for Bru McCoy, Ramel Keyton and Squirrel White. While I expect Bru will clearly be WR #1 next year, this is an opportunity for Keyton and White to claim their hold to a position that doesn't get a lot of rotation. All have had big moments and produced in their opportunities and I expect them to do the same, especially with more time to get in sync with Milton as he develops his chemistry with his WR's.

4. Heupel's Show: With Alex Golesh heading to the sunshine state to build his own program, Heupel will have full responsibility of running his offense. Although he has always been extremely involved in play calling and planning, this is his full show, and it will be interesting to see what differences may arise at different times.


Prediction:

This is a primetime match-up in a primetime slot. Recruits know very well who Clemson is. They are starting to know who Tennessee is. This game would go a HUGE way in cementing the Vols reputation in the eyes of young football players exploring their futures. For the first time in a very long time.... the Vols aren't just a team "who used to be...". They are, and they are right now. This is a key opportunity to demonstrate that. However, this game is not without it's pitfalls. First of all, Clemson has had the better part of a three weeks to focus on the Vols fast tempo offense. Most teams just get a few days, but this has been the sole focus for Clemson since they got their Bowl bid. That's not the best for the Vols, but that's only one thing we do well. The question is, "Can we do everything well without Hooker, Hyatt, Tillman, and Jeremy Banks?" Hmmm... and now it gets tricky.

I think we get an absolutely classic shootout, but I'm not sure it ends well for us. Clemson scores a ton, and Tennessee scores just a slight ton less, due to inconsistency at quarterback. I'd love to be wrong, but

TN 38
Clemson 44
Click to expand...
Tennessee is not taking this game lightly which I think some people believe is happening. The coaching staff is making it very clear this game is priority #1. WIN THE GAME!

We are down a couple of key players however we have seen all season we have some really good players that haven't played a lot. Ramel Keyton stepped in for Tillman and the team did not miss a beat! I think Merrill will be a huge surprise because he an Milton seem to have developed chemistry working together with the 2's all season. I may be wrong about this but I think Merrill caught a TD pass in every game when Milton came in to close the games out. Squirrel is dynamite and I believe will fill Hyatt's absence quite well. We will win special teams in this game I'm almost for sure. I live 45 minutes from Clemson and several of my extended family are Clemson fans. I've watched almost everyone of their games and they suck at special teams. Both of their losses were basically because they lost the special teams battles. DJ did not lose the SC game for them, they had 2 special teams fumbles and block kick cost them that game. This is just Klubnicks 2nd start and he has not impressed me when he's come in all season. We should be able to rattle him with pressure like the Pitt game! We have the better offense, they have the better defense, we have the better special teams. Play smart and clean and we will win this game!

Great to see that Wright, Baron, Young, McCoy and McCullough are all playing.

Go Vols! 38-24
 
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#41
#41
Vols2DaWall said:
Not feeling great here. We are losing a ton on offense and we saw what a Banksless defense looked like. Not confident in Milton.

They also finally benched DJU which is bad for us as he is terrible. 44-34 Clemson or something similar IMO.
Click to expand...


Yea, kind of feeling as you do: I'm not sure what Clemson has lost--but we've lost our starting QB, 2 best receivers and our best defensive players. That's a LOT to lose.
 
#45
#45
nicksjuzunk said:
View attachment 526889 View attachment 526890

A season which began with so many unknowns comes to a conclusion on Friday night. It is a strange concoction... more than what any reasonable fan could have expected, and yet less than what should have been. Regardless, the Vols find themselves matched against an opponent that is a recent powerhouse and a truly compelling match-up, which certainly beats the somewhat yawn inducing Big 10 teams we find ourselves facing year after year. For many of us, we have grown to hate Clemson for many reasons... not the least of which is watching them win national championships with childhood Vol fans being the main cogs in the machine. Madness! Nothing like classic shots of Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne wearing Tennessee gear during National Championship appearances as we sat back wondering if Pruitt would be able to get us to 6 wins enough to build some stability. <shudder>. Fun fact, former 5* Tennessee quarterback commit Hunter Johnson, who played a key role in luring Tee Higgins to Clemson is somehow back at Clemson again after portalling all over tarnation. What is he... about 32 by now? Doesn't matter... still doesn't play.

Keys to Victory:

1. "QB or not QB?", That is the question: A game of this caliber uncharacteristically will feature two quarterbacks who have accounted for approximately 10% of their teams snaps this year. That's pretty wild. Top 10 teams typically have that nailed down, but Hooker is obviously injured and Clemson went with Cade Klubnik in the ACC Championship game. CK had a good game and Clemson fans have promptly crowned him their new king. Truth is, North Carolina's passing defense is bad... a bit better than Tennessee, ranked at 121 nationally, but still bad. Is he really good? Will these practice sessions help him to perform even better? Probably both are true, but to what degree is anyone's guess.

Joe Milton was spotless through the season in mop up duty but his lone start against Vandy in a rain soaked afternoon game brought back nightmares of overthrows. Was it the water, the timing, or the same old story? Well, anyone's guess. Ultimately, two teams are hoping they have their QB of the future lining up behind center. Whichever team is closer to the truth is going to have the edge.

2. Win the Ground Game: With two fresh quarterbacks, expect each team to lean heavily on the ground game, although Clemson will likely balance a bit more than the Vols due to the poor pass defense we have. RB Will Shipley has over 1,200 yards for Clemson this year and a fresh Tennessee DL will be tested often to see if they can contain him. As for the Vols, expect a rotation of Small, Wright and Sampson to give Clemson a few different styles to deal with. Tennessee will benefit from the opt-out of top DE Myles Murphy who is projected as a top 10 pick. Clemson is notoriously deep at DL, so while they will miss Murphy, they will have bodies to pull from the pile.

While Clemson is 10th nationally in rushing defense, with only 101 per game... let's be honest... Tennessee's 110 per game is more impressive considering the strength of schedule. I give the slight edge to Tennessee in rushing defense and a favorable edge to Tennessee in rushing offense.

3. Next Man Up: With Hooker injured and Tillman and Hyatt opting out from the bowl game, Heupel will have big holes to fill. Tillman has essentially missed the season already, and we've discussed Milton, so primarily I see the opportunity being there for Bru McCoy, Ramel Keyton and Squirrel White. While I expect Bru will clearly be WR #1 next year, this is an opportunity for Keyton and White to claim their hold to a position that doesn't get a lot of rotation. All have had big moments and produced in their opportunities and I expect them to do the same, especially with more time to get in sync with Milton as he develops his chemistry with his WR's.

4. Heupel's Show: With Alex Golesh heading to the sunshine state to build his own program, Heupel will have full responsibility of running his offense. Although he has always been extremely involved in play calling and planning, this is his full show, and it will be interesting to see what differences may arise at different times.


Prediction:

This is a primetime match-up in a primetime slot. Recruits know very well who Clemson is. They are starting to know who Tennessee is. This game would go a HUGE way in cementing the Vols reputation in the eyes of young football players exploring their futures. For the first time in a very long time.... the Vols aren't just a team "who used to be...". They are, and they are right now. This is a key opportunity to demonstrate that. However, this game is not without it's pitfalls. First of all, Clemson has had the better part of a three weeks to focus on the Vols fast tempo offense. Most teams just get a few days, but this has been the sole focus for Clemson since they got their Bowl bid. That's not the best for the Vols, but that's only one thing we do well. The question is, "Can we do everything well without Hooker, Hyatt, Tillman, and Jeremy Banks?" Hmmm... and now it gets tricky.

I think we get an absolutely classic shootout, but I'm not sure it ends well for us. Clemson scores a ton, and Tennessee scores just a slight ton less, due to inconsistency at quarterback. I'd love to be wrong, but

TN 38
Clemson 44
Click to expand...

#1 Klubnik now has film that we can study. So we should have a good idea of what his tendencies are. Inexperienced QB should help partially offset our bad CB play.

I also think Milton had a hard time in the rain/bad weather during the Vandy game. If weather is good, he could ball out.

Our remaining WRs are more than capable putting up huge numbers. Tillman loss was already factored in as he hasn't been himself since the injury, so it is all about replacing Hyatt and Squirrel shares many of the same attributes. I'm a bit pissed Holiday transferred; this would have been his moment to shine.


Clemson won 11 games on a very weak schedule (best win at Fl St, clubbed by Notre Dame, edged by SCAR). Tennessee won 10 games on one of the 5 toughest schedules in the ncaa (best wins at LSU, AL, at Pitt, FL, destroyed KY/Vandy; ugly losses, night games at SCAR/Georgia). I'll toss out our SCAR loss due to team issues.

I expect CJH to throw several wrinkles at Clemson. Other than QB scrambles, we really haven't had a lot of perimeter runs. Maybe more TE utilization, especially Warren or RB passes.

We need to keep that high tempo, so we can wear out their DL.

I hate it that Jeremy Banks won't be playing; but we have other good LBs.

We can't afford for our Kickoff and punting game to be subpar again.

I'll go with:

Tennessee 38
Clemson 30
 
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#46
#46
bignewt said:
I hope we win but Im not gonna get rustled up if we lose. Has really no bearing on next season. I would much rather see Milton play really well and see our defense show some fire and lose than win with our run game in some shootout.
Click to expand...
Agreed

But I also think if Milton plays really well and our defense shows fire we will beat them senseless.
 
#47
#47
It’s not fair to put too much on one game, but such is life. I see this as a show-me game for Joe Milton. If he’s going to be the guy, this is his chance to prove it. If he is in fact, “The Guy,” Vols win. If not, Vols lose and QB chaos ensues.

Edit: I make these QB comments because I absolutely believe that with a healthy Hendon Hooker, we win this game by multiple scores.
 
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#49
#49
highspeed said:
It’s not fair to put too much on one game, but such is life. I see this as a show-me game for Joe Milton. If he’s going to be the guy, this is his chance to prove it. If he is in fact, “The Guy,” Vols win. If not, Vols lose and QB chaos ensues.

Edit: I make these QB comments because I absolutely believe that with a healthy Hendon Hooker, we win this game by multiple scores.
Click to expand...
QB chaos? man win or lose this is Joes team
 
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#50
#50
turbovol said:
Yea, kind of feeling as you do: I'm not sure what Clemson has lost--but we've lost our starting QB, 2 best receivers and our best defensive players. That's a LOT to lose.
Click to expand...
2 best receivers? On paper yes, this season no! Hyatt definitely but Tillman did not play enough to garner #2 this season. That goes to Bru McCoy and he is playing along with Keyton who filled in for Tillman and we beat Florida, LSU and Bama with him.
Agree on Hooker but we still have the QB advantage by a long way. Klubnick started 1 game all season. He could not beat out a very average to poor QB in DJ Uiunguilela. (Spelling)
They have lost 2 NFL level D line and a starting WR also.
Look at the big picture rather that a glass half empty!
Vols by 14
 
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