SEC Title drought

#26
#26
BigOrangeTrain said:
I think Nico is gonna be an upgrade over Milton. The WR corp will still be really good possibly better. Running game will be improved. Sampson is more explosive than Wright and Small. And don’t forget about Bishop and Keith. The offense is gonna regress this year. I don’t think we will be in the top 10 in yards and scoring. I think we land 15-20 this year. I see the offense being a little better.
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Okay the only thing I can agree with is our running back situation will be much better once our more talented backs develop.

I'm not ready to say sophomore Nico will be better than 6th year senior Milton. Joe's going into his third year under Heupel and after the orange bowl I just feel like he will continue to make some serious strides because we've already seen him do it.

I dont see how you can say the WR's will be better after we lose Bru and Keyton. Bru is probably the most talented WR we have had in a while. Thornton is up there with him and we will have both of them this year with Squirrel and Keyton.

We are also losing both TE's Warren and Castles

Losing Cooper Mays, Srpagginz, John Campbell and other old back ups on the offensive line.

On defense we lose a TON. Yes they are muched maligned but we probably lose
Slaughter, Hadden, Turnage, McCullough, Jeudy-Lally, Burrell, Wesley Walker and maybe Tamarion McDonald

Lose Aaron Beasley and Keenan Pili

On the d-line we lose, Kurott Garland, Austin Lewis, Elijah Simmons, Dajon Terry, Omari Thomas, Tyler Baron and Roman Harrison.

Obviously we keep getting more and more talented guys in here, but I'm not ready to bank on a bunch of sophomores to make up for all that experience. Then we got the portal.

This year = experience and depth

Next year = lots of ?'s right now

Also do you actually think we won't have a top 10 offense? Wild take. I'll take that bet right to the bank!
 
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#27
#27
Voldog1998 said:
I hear you on that I’m so thankful that I look forward to Saturday’s in the fall again and our team not being a embarrassment on the field and poorly coached. I feel we can compete with anybody now. Heupel has done a incredible job in two seasons def the best coach we have hired post Phil.
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We get to 10 wins easy.
 
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#30
#30
I hate that we just went through the darkest period in our program's history.

But still, let's try to keep this in context. Compare our 25-year drought with some other programs.

First, set aside Vandy, Arkansas, A&M, South Carolina and Mizzou - they have never won the SEC football championship. Ever. Their droughts stretch out as long as they've been in the conference. For Vandy, that's coming up on a century. Heh.

And among the teams who have won at least once conference title, the Vols' streak without one is not really that unusual. Here are the others:

Bama - 11 years was their longest non-title streak, from 1981 to 1992. They are, as you might imagine, the exception to the norm.

Then there are several of us in the 20-to-30 year range: UGa (20, from '82 to '02) ... LSU (22, from '36 to '58) ... our Vols at 25 ('98 to today) ... and Auburn (26 years, '57 to '83).

And then the really long streaks:

Florida, at 58 years ('33 to '91) ... Ole Miss, 60 years ('63 to present) ... Kentucky, at 73 years ('50 to today) ... and the longest of all, Mississippi State, at 82 years ('41 to present).

If you were a Miss State fan, you could be older than just about everyone on this board, and still never have seen your team win a conference title in football.

Compared to some, we're blessed. Now let's end our own streak in the next year or three!

Go Vols!


EDIT: corrected, with thanks to Randall.
 
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#34
#34
PlanetVolunteer said:
Idk we look much better going into this season than we do in 24

We are going to lose a lott after 23.
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31 sr, or RS sr, and just counting the names I know. and there aren't a ton of juniors behind them, maybe 5 tops from that class, with another 5 transfers in. that transition class was brutal for us.
 
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#35
#35
Sometimes a team wins the National Championship out of the blue. But usually that team ceases to be a factor thereafter.

Usually a team builds and gets better, and begins knocking on the door. In my memory, at least one of two things usually has to happen before they get over the hump to that NC:
1) if the team has one strong identifier, they have to win a big game in a way different from their normal identity, and/or
2) they have to beat a nemesis team that has stood in their way for awhile.

I think our defense is going to soon (1-3 years) be outstanding. Maybe there will come a game which we have to win playing possession football, at least for the 4th quarter.

As for our nemesis... I think we win the NC the year we hang losses on both Bama and Georgia
 
#38
#38
SpookyAction said:
Is Heupel the coach who can
Win the SEC? Yes
Make the Playoffs? Yes
Win a National Championship? His staff is building the foundation by establishing the offensive scheme, recruiting quality defensive depth, and getting players drafted in order to attract more quality recruits on both offense and defense.
I am on board. I am even going to two games at Neyland for the first time since 2012.
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I think it’s going to take a special year to finally break through the glass ceiling that we’ve built above ourselves. It’s going to take Georgia having bad qb play, and our team being focused for the entire season and not having a game like South Carolina last year that de rails the whole season.. It’s going to take a special year , imo I could see it happening in Nicos Junior or Senior year.
 
#39
#39
99gator said:
I'll rephrase the question.

Will Tennessee beat Georgia this year? If not, when?

That's the question all of us (in the league) are asking ourselves.
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This year could be the year but idk if I’d put money on it. We would need Joe Milton to ball out this year and the team to stay focused for the whole season and not have a game like South Carolina.. Idk if Joe or the defense is rdy for that yet this year but I’m not saying it couldn’t happen bc if Joe Milton comes out and has a great season then tennessee is looking at uga as the number one contender for that sec East spot.
 
#40
#40
99gator said:
I'll rephrase the question.

Will Tennessee beat Georgia this year? If not, when?

That's the question all of us (in the league) are asking ourselves.
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It could happen in Neyland this year. They at least have a QB restart to deal with. Nobody here gave us a chance v Alabubba this time last year. So, I'm expecting better o the field in 23'. CJH has surprised in his ability to rapidly develop the roster. This is his biggest + IMO. Amazing from then to now.
 
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#41
#41
This could be the year we finally face Alabama twice in a season. Maybe even three times, depending how the playoffs shake out.

Tall order to beat UGa, but we've got them in our house and they're switching QBs. So anything's possible.

Go Vols!
 
#42
#42
If he's going to win the SEC, he's going to have to recruit at a higher level.

That probably comes off as negative, but I don't mean it to be. It's just a fact of the sport. I love the guy and I'm thrilled to have him.

So far he's pulling around the 6-7th best classes in the SEC (I'm including TX and OK in the mix). I'll say the same thing I've said about every single coach since Phil started his downward slide- you can't out-coach more talented teams 4-5 times per year.

Great coaches can do it maybe one or two times per year, but you can't win the SEC if half-ish the other schools have more talent than you do.

I don't think you have to "win" the recruiting cycle every time, but I think you need to consistently be in the top two or three. Some players are busts, some coaches develop talent better, but you can't consistently take a roster of 3-4 stars and beat a roster of 4-5 stars. Occasionally you can if you're a great coach like JH is (showed that against Bama), but not 4-5 times per season.
 
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#44
#44
VFL-82-JP said:
I hate that we just went through the darkest period in our program's history.

But still, let's try to keep this in context. Compare our 25-year drought with some other programs.

First, set aside Vandy, A&M, South Carolina and Mizzou - they have never won the SEC football championship. Ever. Their droughts stretch out as long as they've been in the conference. For Vandy, that's coming up on a century. Heh.

And among the teams who have won at least once conference title, the Vols' streak without one is not really that unusual. Here are the others:

Bama - 11 years was their longest non-title streak, from 1981 to 1992. They are, as you might imagine, the exception to the norm.

Arkansas - second-shortest drought, at 17 years...though keep in mind they only joined the conference in 1991 (32 years ago). To have a 17 year drought in a 31 year window is actually not very good.

Then there are several of us in the 20-to-30 year range: UGa (20, from '82 to '02) ... LSU (22, from '36 to '58) ... our Vols at 25 ('98 to today) ... and Auburn (26 years, '57 to '83).

And then the really long streaks:

Florida, at 58 years ('33 to '91) ... Ole Miss, 60 years ('63 to present) ... Kentucky, at 73 years ('50 to today) ... and the longest of all, Mississippi State, at 82 years ('41 to present).

If you were a Miss State fan, you could be older than just about everyone on this board, and still never have seen your team win a conference title in football.

Compared to some, we're blessed. Now let's end our own streak in the next year or three!

Go Vols!
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Interesting recap you put together. Nicely done! Before the SEC CG shared titles counted. UT, Bama, & Auburn shared it in '89. UT beat Auburn, Bama beat UT, & Auburn beat Bama IIRC.
 
#46
#46
I'm probably an outlier, but I really want to win an SEC title, almost more than a national one. I guess that's in part because to me the SEC title still holds a lot of weight, more than other conferences. I feel like you if you can win in the SEC, you are one of the best teams in the country regardless of playoff outcome.
 
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#47
#47
BigVol88 said:
I'm probably an outlier, but I really want to win an SEC title, almost more than a national one. I guess that's in part because to me the SEC title still holds a lot of weight, more than other conferences. I feel like you if you can win in the SEC, you are one of the best teams in the country regardless of playoff outcome.
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If you win the national title, you are also one of the best teams in the country.
 
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#49
#49
Wasn’t it last offseason that some pundits were still arguing that we were in a battle with Kentucky for fourth best in the SC East?
My how the worm has turned
 
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#50
#50
We’ll have a good team this year and at least the Georgia game is in Knoxville, but I think we’re a year or two away from really matching up with them.
 
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