Tennessee Ranked #7 (8th seed) in the CFP Rankings

I would rather play Penn State than Indianna right now. That IU team is rolling everyone on their schedule. They are a wildcard that could end up legitamately winning the Big 10. At least with Penn State, I trust they will choke in the big games. IU, is an unknown. They are playing with house money and have nothing to lose at this point. Kind of how we were in 2022 for a while. I'm curious to see how they do going up against Ohio State and if they win, they will get a shot at Oregon.
 
Makes me sick seeing Bama in there. I’m sorry folks, I’m pulling for LSU this weekend. If anything, they’ll just replace Bama in this bracket.
I get it...hate Bama as much as anyone, but we need a strong Bama to help our case for playoff committee...esp if we lose a close one to UGA.
 

“So, in my opinion, those three teams – Texas, Tennessee, Penn State – all have solid resumes but far from elite resumes,” McElroy said. “Penn State and Texas don’t have a Top 25 win. Tennessee has one, and that would be against Alabama, which is why I think Tennessee should be ahead of both Texas and Penn State.”
 
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I'm still trying to figure out how we're ranked number 7 but seeded #8. Also, the first four should reflect the CFP committee's perceived conference champions. You simply can't have two Little 10 teams in the top four. That's taking the coward's way out.
 
Our claim to being a title contender is based on our talent just like the Alabama's and Georgia's of the world not our resume. Great teams sometimes sleep walk in games against decent competition. That's what happened to us against Arkansas. Same thing happened to Georgia against Kentucky. Ohio State against Nebraska. Alabama against Vanderbilt.

It's the Indiana's of the world that on paper aren't built to win championships that have to validate their position through their resume rather than the eye test cause the eye test ain't gonna favor them.
Nebraska begs to differ.
 
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I'm still trying to figure out how we're ranked number 7 but seeded #8. Also, the first four should reflect the CFP committee's perceived conference champions. You simply can't have two Little 10 teams in the top four. That's taking the coward's way out.
BYU is #9 overall but are automatically seeded #4 because they are, right now, the Big 12 champion. That throws the rest of the seed list off by one. It’s not hard to figure out.
 
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Elaborate. I don't know what you mean by this. How does Nebraska affect us?
You said the eye test wasn’t beneficial to Indiana. I’d say their 56-7 dismantling of Nebraska who, at the time, had one of the top defenses in the country, speaks otherwise.
 
You said the eye test wasn’t beneficial to Indiana. I’d say their 56-7 dismantling of Nebraska who, at the time, had one of the top defenses in the country, speaks otherwise.

With regard to the "eye test" I meant in how big and athletic the players on a team look. Not how badly you beat a team. For example, a team like Florida is 4-4 but player for player they are big strong and athletic. They look like a great team based on the way their players look. The same can be said for most SEC teams. You can't say that about teams that field mostly 2 and 3-star athletes.

Next time we play a Group of Five team just look at the size and physiques of the players. You'll see that teams that recruit at a top 10-15 level annually just look different than teams that recruit outside the top 50. The Jimmy's and Joe's matter. That's my argument against Indiana. They don't have the players teams like South Carolina have let alone the elite in the SEC.
 
With regard to the "eye test" I meant in how big and athletic the players on a team look. Not how badly you beat a team. For example, a team like Florida is 4-4 but player for player they are big strong and athletic. They look like a great team based on the way their players look. The same can be said for most SEC teams. You can't say that about teams that field mostly 2 and 3-star athletes.

Next time we play a Group of Five team just look at the size and physiques of the players. You'll see that teams that recruit at a top 10-15 level annually just look different than teams that recruit outside the top 50. The Jimmy's and Joe's matter. That's my argument against Indiana. They don't have the players teams like South Carolina have let alone the elite in the SEC.
I get what you’re saying - you just have a different definition. To me,”eye test” means what a team looks like when they actually perform.
 
Remember back in the early 2010s when Oregon would run up the score against subpar Pac 12 teams. Then they play a team with athletes like Auburn and gets exposed. Indiana is a well coached team that is playing good football. But there's a reason people recruit 5-star athletes over 3-star athletes. Because in the long run talent wins out. If Indiana plays Ohio State close and performs well in the playoffs I'll be the first to give them their credit. But I gotta see it to believe it.

As a Tennessee fan I'd rather see them and their 3-star athletes in the playoffs than a team like Alabama for a second time or an LSU or A&M with their 5-star athletes all over the field.
The 2011 LSU- Oregon game was a better example but I see your point.

However, maybe take a close look at IUs roster.
They’re not Ohio State from a recruiting rankings standpoint; but they’re solid..

And I think Ohio State is overrated. IU is going to give them problems..
 
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The 2011 LSU- Oregon game was a better example but I see your point.

However, maybe take a close look at IUs roster.
They’re not Ohio State from a recruiting rankings standpoint; but they’re solid..

And I think Ohio State is overrated. IU is going to give them problems..

And I'll Indiana credit if they do so. But as of now I'm gonna assume they're still Indiana until proven otherwise.
 
And I'll Indiana credit if they do so. But as of now I'm gonna assume they're still Indiana until proven otherwise.
Tayven Jackson is their back up QB.
He was supposed to be their starter but they brought in a very good QB who played a ton of football from Ohio U.

Look at their transfer portal talent. And then look at Cignetti track record.

They aren’t just beating teams. They’re blowing them out!

This is not “just Indiana”
 
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Tayven Jackson is their back up QB.
He was supposed to be their starter but they brought in a very good QB who played a ton of football from Ohio U.

Look at their transfer portal talent. And then look at Cignetti track record.

They aren’t just beating teams. They’re blowing them out!

This is not “just Indiana”

Remember I'm not saying they ain't good. I just don't believe they are elite. I think if they played in the SEC they would get beat by the likes of South Carolina and Florida. I don't think they would be in the playoff discussion if they played an SEC schedule.

Now I'm sure you'll mention SEC teams losing to subpar competition occasionally. I'll give you that. I just think it's different having to play week after week against teams that recruit top 20 nationally year in year out. The SEC has about 9 teams that recruit top 20 nationally almost every year. Playing that sort of talent week after week takes a toll. Its why the SEC is just different. And how a team like Oklahoma can go from being a perennial 10 win team to struggling to win 7 games this year.

I just don't buy into teams that don't recruit at an elite level and/or go through the grind that is the SEC.
 
Remember I'm not saying they ain't good. I just don't believe they are elite. I think if they played in the SEC they would get beat by the likes of South Carolina and Florida. I don't think they would be in the playoff discussion if they played an SEC schedule.

Now I'm sure you'll mention SEC teams losing to subpar competition occasionally. I'll give you that. I just think it's different having to play week after week against teams that recruit top 20 nationally year in year out. The SEC has about 9 teams that recruit top 20 nationally almost every year. Playing that sort of talent week after week takes a toll. Its why the SEC is just different. And how a team like Oklahoma can go from being a perennial 10 win team to struggling to win 7 games this year.

I just don't buy into teams that don't recruit at an elite level and/or go through the grind that is the SEC.
Watch one of their games or even a highlight video of them vs Michigan State or UCLA. Or anybody they’ve played.

USC Trojans are far ahead of Indiana in composite talent, but “real time” game speed and execution goes to Indiana and it isn’t even close.
 
Indiana runs their stuff and executes it like the coach would like almost every time. To beat them you have to out execute them and be more physical. Good luck. Winning is never a fluke. The disrespect that the average Joe has for winners today is highly alarming. Highly. Not sure where it came from. Guess it's that new millennial-woke **** going around....
 
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Oregon is getting significantly better with every game. I think they're the best team come CFP.

Or they've peaked too early and are about to come back down to earth. You can't overlook how bad they looked early on just like how you can't overlook how good they've looked recently. The truth of who they are probably lies in-between. That's why it's always best to peak late in the season. It's why I've been unconcerned with our mid-season struggles. All it's meant to me if we're set to peak late.
 
Watch one of their games or even a highlight video of them vs Michigan State or UCLA. Or anybody they’ve played.

USC Trojans are far ahead of Indiana in composite talent, but “real time” game speed and execution goes to Indiana and it isn’t even close.
Indiana runs their stuff and executes it like the coach would like almost every time. To beat them you have to out execute them and be more physical. Good luck. Winning is never a fluke. The disrespect that the average Joe has for winners today is highly alarming. Highly. Not sure where it came from. Guess it's that new millennial-woke **** going around....

We'll see when they play Ohio State. If they get slapped around then they are who we thought they were. If they push Ohio State I'll be the first to say they're for real and a problem come the playoffs. I'm just not gonna crown them for body bagging the 103rd hardest schedule in college football.

Imagine if we played the Kent State's of the world every week. We'd probably look like the 2001 Miami Hurricanes every week.
 
I would rather play Penn State than Indianna right now. That IU team is rolling everyone on their schedule. They are a wildcard that could end up legitamately winning the Big 10. At least with Penn State, I trust they will choke in the big games. IU, is an unknown. They are playing with house money and have nothing to lose at this point. Kind of how we were in 2022 for a while. I'm curious to see how they do going up against Ohio State and if they win, they will get a shot at Oregon.
How are they undefeated with nothing to lose? IMO they have just as much to lose as every other playoff contender. They wont be sneaking up on anyone if they make it in, but I'm looking forward to seeing if teams elevate the level play come playoffs like in the NFL. I won't bash their schedule but it appears they aren't battle tested and I believe Tenn would blow them out in Neyland. Respectfully 🍊🍊🍊
 
Remember I'm not saying they ain't good. I just don't believe they are elite. I think if they played in the SEC they would get beat by the likes of South Carolina and Florida. I don't think they would be in the playoff discussion if they played an SEC schedule.

Now I'm sure you'll mention SEC teams losing to subpar competition occasionally. I'll give you that. I just think it's different having to play week after week against teams that recruit top 20 nationally year in year out. The SEC has about 9 teams that recruit top 20 nationally almost every year. Playing that sort of talent week after week takes a toll. Its why the SEC is just different. And how a team like Oklahoma can go from being a perennial 10 win team to struggling to win 7 games this year.

I just don't buy into teams that don't recruit at an elite level and/or go through the grind that is the SEC.
SEC bias works both ways. However, if Indiana played anyone outside of Georgia, I’d bet them to cover. That includes the Vols. They are good and will give OSU fits in Columbus.
 

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