Spring overreactions From each way too early top 25 college football teams

[HARTUPM]

So they think we are on the outside looking in on the 12 team playoff. Assuming we get a win at OK (that road game is huge) we go 10-2 and make it in.

 

[Orange-U-Glad]

There has been some improvements each year, although last year’s offense took a step back. Most of us would say that was because of the quarterback limitations. As has been the case for some time, the Vols defensive backfield will go a long way towards defining the season. Hopefully, the exit of last year’s means addition by subtraction. We’ll see what the new guys bring to the table.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

I think it's a real possibility. That's a historically tough program and it is on the road. They beat Texas last year, so they are not going to be garbage. Can we win? Absolutely. Will a loss be a cause for panic? No, not in my opinion, especially if it's a competitive loss. While I think we could make the CFP this year if everything breaks right, I think 2025 is really going to be our year to absolutely expect to be in it.

I think it’s a real possibility too. Oklahoma is one of the great programs in the history of college football. It will be their first SEC game, potentially at night, and I’m sure their fans will be ready to show out. That’s a lot stacked against us. Not to mention we haven’t really been very good on the road the past few years (LSU being the exception). However, I do think we are better up front on both lines, We have a proven go to wideout w/ Bru coming back, I think we’re more athletic on the backend and right now i trust our redshirt freshman QB more than theirs. I just see us being better than them at most position groups, and I feel like Heupel has done more w/ less in a tougher conference than Venables thus far.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

I think it’s a real possibility too. Oklahoma is one of the great programs in the history of college football. It will be their first SEC game, potentially at night, and I’m sure their fans will be ready to show out. That’s a lot stacked against us. Not to mention we haven’t really been very good on the road the past few years (LSU being the exception). However, I do think we are better up front on both lines, We have a proven go to wideout w/ Bru coming back, I think we’re more athletic on the backend and right now i trust our redshirt freshman QB more than theirs. I just see us being better than them at most position groups, and I feel like Heupel has done more w/ less in a tougher conference than Venables thus far.

All good points, I trust our DL more than our OL right now. For one thing, we have some real talents there, Pierce obviously, but others as well and Garner is top notch. As to our OL,outside of Cooper I have never been that wild about some of the guys returning. Maybe they will all take the big step this year though.

 

[tennesseeduke]

That's kind of where I have us as well, even though I truly believe we can beat anybody on our schedule. Just curious, who do count as the two losses?

We can and I agree. GA,@Ga. Then 1 of Bama, Florida or Oklahoma. Florida because of where they are on the schedule after Oklahoma game. I think we get 2of those 3 though.

 

[superdave1984]

OU, bama, uga are the only 3 ganes I would pencil in as losses. I honestly think uga is the only one I would write with a sharpie. I am glad we get OU early and I believe CJH will have them hyper focused for that one. I think bama and OU will each finish with 9 wins.
I hope we mash uf by 30. I am so tired of the mental block we seem to have against those guys.

 

[superdave1984]

Oh, and I think the uga game is close. Like 3 points.

 

[HarderKnox59]

Joel Klatt’s post spring top 25. I’ll take us versus anyone from 5-15 straight up, and I definitely think we’re capable of beating anybody . UGA is the biggest mountain to climb.

This can't be right. ND is not it the top ten.

 

[Sarms58]

I think we'll field a team that finishes far higher than 16th. That's total crap.

We should definitely be in the playoffs (top-12 teams this season), and our offense should actually be better this year under Nico.

DL is talented and very deep, as is the LB corps.

The only Achilles heel I see is our DB backfield. Lots of questions marks there. If they show up strong, a top 4 finish is very possible.

Yea, totally untested secondary is the biggest issues but also, I'm not sold on the OL yet. I hope the new kid from LSU is as good as advertised - we need a dominate tackle like we had in 2022. And we need the others to stay healthy. Our offense depends upon a solid running game and against good fronts, the OL going to have to be able to move people out of the way. If both the secondary and the OL excel, we could be in contention for the SECCG.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

OU, bama, uga are the only 3 ganes I would pencil in as losses. I honestly think uga is the only one I would write with a sharpie. I am glad we get OU early and I believe CJH will have them hyper focused for that one. I think bama and OU will each finish with 9 wins.
I hope we mash uf by 30. I am so tired of the mental block we seem to have against those guys.

We might should do something against Florida like Richt did at Georgia with that intentional excessive celebration. It seemed to even that series up psychologically from what had been a couple of decades of Florida dominance. Right now our problem with Florida is largely psychological.

 

[SpookyAction]

We might should do something against Florida like Richt did at Georgia with that intentional excessive celebration. It seemed to even that series up psychologically from what had been a couple of decades of Florida dominance. Right now our problem with Florida is largely psychological.

I think it is a stronger effect on fans than players.
The players on our roster don't have long memory of the rivalry (with us being dominated, it is a rivalry like us and UK). They know as much as the most senior players on our roster share, and as much as the coaching staff thinks they need to be prepped to win.

They know that loss last year hurt and was humbling. They won't forget that feeling. Heupel strikes me as a coach with a chip on his shoulder when he is giving speeches to the players. He is our best coach at getting players in the mindset they need to win since the early 2000s. I think Fulmer started to get squishy after the program's high point of 2001 in the Swamp.