Blake25p
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I always said I wouldn't take these times for granted after the bull**** we endured from 2008-2021, and I wont...but it's going to suck if we just get stuck being Georgia under Mark Richt and can never quite cross the threshold to elite.I think UT struggles with spending in football because the funds have to be distributed between football, basketball and baseball. Three elite programs is great but it has some take.
AP made it sound like we aren’t changing much in the portal philosophy, so that’s not great.
But that is kind of the story of Tennessee's program historically. We're a very good, but not elite program all-time. That is a highly selective category; I also would not put schools like UGA or Penn St in it. I don't think we are going to be the Penn St of the SEC...I think we are the Penn St of the SEC and have been for a long time.I always said I wouldn't take these times for granted after the bull******** we endured from 2008-2021, and I wont...but it's going to suck if we just get stuck being Georgia under Mark Richt and can never quite cross the threshold to elite.
Not to this depth, but I was thinking about this over the weekend as well. We caught a lot of breaks to win the title in ‘98 and while we had a LOT of NFL talent on the roster in the 90’s and early 2000’s, it’s pretty widely accepted that Miami would have dog-walked us in ‘01, if we hadn’t shat the bed against LSU in the SECCG. We’re without a doubt in the best position we’ve been in since ‘01, but it remains to be seen if we can take that next step.But that is kind of the story of Tennessee's program historically. We're a very good, but not elite program all-time. That is a highly selective category; I also would not put schools like UGA or Penn St in it. I don't think we are going to be the Penn St of the SEC...I think we are the Penn St of the SEC and have been for a long time.
Tennessee has had long periods of time in its history, other than the 2008-21 era, where we would not have even sniffed a 12-team playoff most years. We would have made a 12-team playoff just once from 1953-1964. We would not have made a single one from 1973-1984. Johnny, who a ton of our fans think was an awesome coach, would have "definitely" made a 12-team playoff just once, in 1989 (it's hard to say because of the ties in 1985 and 1990, would have been on the bubble in 1991). We've only had 2 coaches who would have consistently made them - Neyland and Fulmer (and Bill Battle if you consider 1970-72 to be a long enough period of time). And all of Fulmer's would have been 2001 and before.
Saban (and to a lesser extent, Kirby and Dabo) have ruined fan expectations for what is reasonable. That kind of clustering of titles (or playing for them) is absurd and, by definition, there is only a tiny number of schools that will be able to do it.Not to this depth, but I was thinking about this over the weekend as well. We caught a lot of breaks to win the title in ‘98 and while we had a LOT of NFL talent on the roster in the 90’s and early 2000’s, it’s pretty widely accepted that Miami would have dog-walked us in ‘01, if we hadn’t shat the bed against LSU in the SECCG. We’re without a doubt in the best position we’ve been in since ‘01, but it remains to be seen if we can take that next step.
It’s laughable how fans react to nothing but the last thing they saw and build a narrative. Every team that loses in the playoff is a fraud. Nico can’t play. Heupel can’t win big games.And you were disproven because Richt is still a horrid way to make a negative comparison.
He won 10+ NINE times at Georgia! I hope Heupel is that consistent.