USA Today/ESPN Poll

[milohimself]

Originally posted by dan4vols@Oct 31, 2004 8:22 PM
unbelieveable that Oklahoma barely escaped upset and didnt drop.

The fact of the matter is they're still undefeated. Even though they did escape with a win, they would just switch spots with Auburn, which I think is inevitable to happen. Assuming the Vols win out the rest of the season and are again defeated in the SEC championship, I don't see why Auburn wouldn't be second and Oklahoma third. But Adrian Peterson... That kid is going places.

 

[DownNDirty]

Looking ahead to next weekend:

USC at Oregon State - State "may" be one of the teams that can upset USC. They nearly beat a pretty good LSU team during week one, they really should have won that game. They did get beat up by Boise State and Cal but they have won their last 3 straight games against Washington, Washington State, and Arizona. Plus, they are playing at home so they should be fired up with the chance to beat the number one team in the nation at home. USC 34 Oregon State 23

Oklahoma at Texas A&M - Ok, A&M "did" get beat by Baylor this weekend. But that don't change the fact that this is Oklahoma at A&M. A&M has beaten up Clemson, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State by 16. I really think that A&M will come into this game and shock Oklahoma and take away, at least temporarily, their chance at a National title. A&M 21 Oklahoma 14

Auburn is off

Wisconson at Minnesota - Minnesota has lost 3 of their last 4 games. Their last 2 losses were a 51-17 mauling by Michigan State and a 30-21 loss to Indiana this past weekend. Yikes! Wisconson should come to Minnesota and walk away with at least a 2 touchdown victory. Wisconson 30 Minnesota 14

Georgia at Kentucky - Oh boy, this should be ugly. UK has won 1 game the whole year, a 51-32 victory over rival Indiana. They have not only lost but got beat up by teams like Ohio and Mississippi State too. I think UK's basketball team has about as good of a chance against Georgia. Georgia 28 Kentucky 7

Oregon at California - Oregon is 5-3 on the year with losses to a decent Arizona State team, Oklahoma, and Indiana. If they were playing this game in Oregon I think it would be a dogfight but I can't see Cal letting Oregon sneaking up on them at home. But then again, stranger things have happened this year. They should at least give Cal a good test. Cal 38 Oregon 20

Oklahoma State at Texas - Texas is a good team but they only squeaked by Arkansas 22-20 earlier in the year and 28-20 over Missouri a couple of weeks ago. Texas couldn't find any offense against Oklahoma yet State put up over 400 yards of offense and plenty of points. Playing at Texas should help the Horns but I think this is one upset special I can see coming down the pipe this coming weekend. Oklahoma State 34 Texas 28

Colorado State at Utah - Ick....State is only 3-5 and has given up 27, 49, 34, 31, and 26 in their losses. Utah averages like 45 points per game. I see Utah steamrolling over the Rams. Utah 56 Colorado State 27

Michigan is off

Clemson at Miami - Clemson "could" be a wildcard to beat Miami with the way the Hurrican defense is playing. If Whitehurst is on he could give Miami a fit and the Canes could lose 2 in a row. I just don't see it happening though with Miami at home and trying to rebound from an embarassing loss to UNC. Miami still don't have the defense though so who knows. Miami 41 Clemson 20

Notre Dame at Tennessee - The 5-3 Irish come knocking on the doors of Neyland Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Irish has beaten Michigan and Michigan State this season but has also lost to BYU, Boston College, and Purdue. None of those teams are world beaters for sure but the Irish did beat Michigan, although that game was played at Notre Dame. If the Vols can come out of the gate and play solid offense this weekend and keep up the defensive intensity I don't see why we shouldn't beat the Irish by 10 points or more. I'd say it will be a close game but I see the Vols, with alot riding on this game as it pertains to the BCS, taking out the Irish in Neyland. One thing the Irish might have going for them is the week off last weekend to help heal and an extra week to prepare for the Vols. Prediction for this game: UT 24 ND 13

DD

 

[BigDaddyCanes]

Yes we do have a Miami Hurricane Fan in the Nation.....

I've been reading all the post about Miami and how they are still ranked above the Vols. I personally feel that the Canes should be ranked outside the top 10, but saying the Vols should be ranked above them, please!!!

Yes, we lost to NC in every aspect of the game, but let's look at he polls from top to bottom.

Tennessee beat a Georgia who was ranked #3 at the time. Miami Beat a #4 Florida State.

Miami has beaten two teams inside the top 16. Tennesse has beaten one, albeit a very impressive win over a 3

Now lets look at the remaing schedule. The vols play no one. I mean no one at all near the top 25 the remainder of their schedule. The Canes still have Virginia and West Virginia, which are both ranked inside the top 16 in the country.

I might be a little biast here, but I still think that my Canes are one of the best teams in the country. A true football fan will agree with me when I say that it is hard to recover from loosing 5 of your best players in the first round of the draft!

 

[rwemyss]

Originally posted by BigDaddyCanes@Nov 1, 2004 8:21 AM
Yes we do have a Miami Hurricane Fan in the Nation.....

I've been reading all the post about Miami and how they are still ranked above the Vols. I personally feel that the Canes should be ranked outside the top 10, but saying the Vols should be ranked above them, please!!!

Yes, we lost to NC in every aspect of the game, but let's look at he polls from top to bottom.

Tennessee beat a Georgia who was ranked #3 at the time. Miami Beat a #4 Florida State.

Miami has beaten two teams inside the top 16. Tennesse has beaten one, albeit a very impressive win over a 3

Now lets look at the remaing schedule. The vols play no one. I mean no one at all near the top 25 the remainder of their schedule. The Canes still have Virginia and West Virginia, which are both ranked inside the top 16 in the country.

I might be a little biast here, but I still think that my Canes are one of the best teams in the country. A true football fan will agree with me when I say that it is hard to recover from loosing 5 of your best players in the first round of the draft!

You're missing the point BDCane. It's not where the other team was when you beat them, its where they are NOW. I'd say yes to the Canes comming up past us if they make it through Va. and W. Va., but I don't think they will... but at THIS point in the season, TODAY, Tennessee has played better teams and won those games. Just look at the losses, we got blown out by #3 AU, Miami got beat by #... ??? Number WHAT? I'd say well into the 40-50 range UNC. Then again, if I think about which team I would bet on head to head? Vols as a 2 TD favorite. No reason Miami should be above the Vols at this point. Berlin would have to really prove some stuff against those ranked opponents to change my mind too.

 

[allvol]

Using the Strength of Schedule formula that was used in the BCS calculation for years, the Vols have the 3rd toughest schedule in the nation and are 7-1. Tennessee's opponents boast a 35-19 record. Miami's opponents are only 25-18.

You discuss who the Canes have beaten... but lets talk about who each team lost to. The Vols lost to the 3rd ranked unbeaten Auburn Tigers (9-0). Miami lost to an unranked, 3-4 North Carolina team that's been continually blown out in all its losses.

 

[BigDaddyCanes]

Originally posted by rwemyss+Nov 1, 2004 1:30 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (rwemyss @ Nov 1, 2004 1:30 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-BigDaddyCanes@Nov 1, 2004 8:21 AM
Yes we do have a  Miami Hurricane Fan in the Nation.....

I&#39;ve been reading all the post about Miami and how they are still ranked above the Vols.  I personally feel that the Canes should be ranked outside the top 10, but saying the Vols should be ranked above them, please&#33;&#33;&#33;

Yes, we lost to NC in every aspect of the game, but let&#39;s look at he polls from top to bottom. 

Tennessee beat a Georgia who was ranked #3 at the time.  Miami Beat a #4 Florida State. 

Miami has beaten two teams inside the top 16.  Tennesse has beaten one, albeit a very impressive win over a 3

Now lets look at the remaing schedule.  The vols play no one.  I mean no one at all near the top 25 the remainder of their schedule.  The Canes still have Virginia and West Virginia, which are both ranked inside the top 16 in the country.

I might be a little biast here, but I still think that my Canes are one of the best teams in the country.  A true football fan will agree with me when I say that it is hard to recover from loosing 5 of your best players in the first round of the draft&#33;

You&#39;re missing the point BDCane. It&#39;s not where the other team was when you beat them, its where they are NOW. I&#39;d say yes to the Canes comming up past us if they make it through Va. and W. Va., but I don&#39;t think they will... but at THIS point in the season, TODAY, Tennessee has played better teams and won those games. Just look at the losses, we got blown out by #3 AU, Miami got beat by #... ??? Number WHAT? I&#39;d say well into the 40-50 range UNC. Then again, if I think about which team I would bet on head to head? Vols as a 2 TD favorite. No reason Miami should be above the Vols at this point. Berlin would have to really prove some stuff against those ranked opponents to change my mind too. [/quote]
The vols a two touchdown favorite&#33; I would have to disagree with you on that one. If the Vols and the Canes played today, I would say it would be a field goal either way. It would be a track meet, because both teams defenses are suspect on D&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

 

[GAVol]

Originally posted by rwemyss+Nov 1, 2004 9:30 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (rwemyss @ Nov 1, 2004 9:30 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-BigDaddyCanes@Nov 1, 2004 8:21 AM
Yes we do have a  Miami Hurricane Fan in the Nation.....

I&#39;ve been reading all the post about Miami and how they are still ranked above the Vols.  I personally feel that the Canes should be ranked outside the top 10, but saying the Vols should be ranked above them, please&#33;&#33;&#33;

Yes, we lost to NC in every aspect of the game, but let&#39;s look at he polls from top to bottom. 

Tennessee beat a Georgia who was ranked #3 at the time.  Miami Beat a #4 Florida State. 

Miami has beaten two teams inside the top 16.  Tennesse has beaten one, albeit a very impressive win over a 3

Now lets look at the remaing schedule.  The vols play no one.  I mean no one at all near the top 25 the remainder of their schedule.  The Canes still have Virginia and West Virginia, which are both ranked inside the top 16 in the country.

I might be a little biast here, but I still think that my Canes are one of the best teams in the country.  A true football fan will agree with me when I say that it is hard to recover from loosing 5 of your best players in the first round of the draft&#33;

You&#39;re missing the point BDCane. It&#39;s not where the other team was when you beat them, its where they are NOW. I&#39;d say yes to the Canes comming up past us if they make it through Va. and W. Va., but I don&#39;t think they will... but at THIS point in the season, TODAY, Tennessee has played better teams and won those games. Just look at the losses, we got blown out by #3 AU, Miami got beat by #... ??? Number WHAT? I&#39;d say well into the 40-50 range UNC. Then again, if I think about which team I would bet on head to head? Vols as a 2 TD favorite. No reason Miami should be above the Vols at this point. Berlin would have to really prove some stuff against those ranked opponents to change my mind too. [/quote]
You had me right up until the "Vols by 2 TD" blast. :yikes: I think your fingers got out in front of your brain on that one.

 

[rwemyss]

Well geez, my reasoning is this... first off, UNC beat &#39;em by 3, we aren&#39;t 11 points better than the Tarheels? Secondly, it&#39;s my issue with Berlin, the part of our D that is suspect is the pass D. I think Miami&#39;s O would have similar success to say... UNLV against us. A couple of big plays, and that&#39;s about it. Maybe my hatred of the &#39;Canes inflated that score, but after watching them against Louisville and UNC, I don&#39;t think it was by much.

 

[allvol]

Originally posted by rwemyss@Nov 1, 2004 11:03 AM
Well geez, my reasoning is this... first off, UNC beat &#39;em by 3, we aren&#39;t 11 points better than the Tarheels? Secondly, it&#39;s my issue with Berlin, the part of our D that is suspect is the pass D. I think Miami&#39;s O would have similar success to say... UNLV against us. A couple of big plays, and that&#39;s about it. Maybe my hatred of the &#39;Canes inflated that score, but after watching them against Louisville and UNC, I don&#39;t think it was by much.

I agree, Berlin has really hampered Miami&#39;s offense. I don&#39;t think he&#39;s ever lived up to his hype. The reason that Miami has been successful the past few seasons is their defense. If the defense is starting to crumble, I see them losing 1 or 2 more.

 

[milohimself]

You have to admit...

Brock Berlin is a cool f***ing name

 

[kiddiedoc]

Originally posted by BigDaddyCanes@Nov 1, 2004 8:21 AM
Yes we do have a Miami Hurricane Fan in the Nation.....

I&#39;ve been reading all the post about Miami and how they are still ranked above the Vols. I personally feel that the Canes should be ranked outside the top 10, but saying the Vols should be ranked above them, please&#33;&#33;&#33;

Yes, we lost to NC in every aspect of the game, but let&#39;s look at he polls from top to bottom.

Tennessee beat a Georgia who was ranked #3 at the time. Miami Beat a #4 Florida State.

Miami has beaten two teams inside the top 16. Tennesse has beaten one, albeit a very impressive win over a 3

Now lets look at the remaing schedule. The vols play no one. I mean no one at all near the top 25 the remainder of their schedule. The Canes still have Virginia and West Virginia, which are both ranked inside the top 16 in the country.

I might be a little biast here, but I still think that my Canes are one of the best teams in the country. A true football fan will agree with me when I say that it is hard to recover from loosing 5 of your best players in the first round of the draft&#33;

NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND. . . .

A couple of responses to your post.

#1: The points being made are not in reference to your wins. It&#39;s your loss that counts. And it was to an unranked team that wears baby-blue.

#2: You compare Miami to your great team last year, "one of the best teams in the country," that managed 6 points while getting beat AT HOME, by TENNESSEE.

#3: You don&#39;t get sympathy votes for "loosing" good players to the draft. Tough. Go recruit some more. (BTW, UT currently has over 50 former players in the NFL).

In summary, no offense, but I believe that you are a little "biased."

 

[GAVol]

Originally posted by milohimself@Nov 1, 2004 12:28 PM
You have to admit...

Brock Berlin is a cool f***ing name

:dlol:

 

[BigDaddyCanes]

Originally posted by kiddiedoc+Nov 1, 2004 5:32 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (kiddiedoc @ Nov 1, 2004 5:32 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-BigDaddyCanes@Nov 1, 2004 8:21 AM
Yes we do have a  Miami Hurricane Fan in the Nation.....

I&#39;ve been reading all the post about Miami and how they are still ranked above the Vols.  I personally feel that the Canes should be ranked outside the top 10, but saying the Vols should be ranked above them, please&#33;&#33;&#33;

Yes, we lost to NC in every aspect of the game, but let&#39;s look at he polls from top to bottom. 

Tennessee beat a Georgia who was ranked #3 at the time.  Miami Beat a #4 Florida State. 

Miami has beaten two teams inside the top 16.  Tennesse has beaten one, albeit a very impressive win over a 3

Now lets look at the remaing schedule.  The vols play no one.  I mean no one at all near the top 25 the remainder of their schedule.  The Canes still have Virginia and West Virginia, which are both ranked inside the top 16 in the country.

I might be a little biast here, but I still think that my Canes are one of the best teams in the country.  A true football fan will agree with me when I say that it is hard to recover from loosing 5 of your best players in the first round of the draft&#33;

NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND. . . .

A couple of responses to your post.

#1: The points being made are not in reference to your wins. It&#39;s your loss that counts. And it was to an unranked team that wears baby-blue.

#2: You compare Miami to your great team last year, "one of the best teams in the country," that managed 6 points while getting beat AT HOME, by TENNESSEE.

#3: You don&#39;t get sympathy votes for "loosing" good players to the draft. Tough. Go recruit some more. (BTW, UT currently has over 50 former players in the NFL).

In summary, no offense, but I believe that you are a little "biased." [/quote]
You might want to check the stats and see who has the most players in the NFL....and yes we are both biased....That&#39;s called a true fan&#33;

 

[Volmania]

I wouldn&#39;t be shocked if Wisconsin loses out, at least 2 of 3.

Their quality wins so far are Purdue and Ohio St. Ohio State is likely to not qualify for a bowl this year, and Purdue was beaten just as badly by Northwestern as they were by Wisconsin. Not exactly a big vote of confidence for the Badgers.

They play Minnesota this week. MN and Wis. have 3 common Big Ten opponents, both have beaten all three but Minnesota more convincingly 104-24 vs 64-22.

Michigan State (4-4) plays Wisconsin at home, nearly beat Michigan on the road. an upset wouldn&#39;t surprise me.

Iowa (6-2) gets Wisconsin at home also. I think Iowa is actually the second best team in the Big Ten behind Michigan.

 

[milohimself]

Originally posted by Volmania@Nov 1, 2004 12:36 PM
Their quality wins so far are Purdue and Ohio St. Ohio State is likely to not qualify for a bowl this year, and Purdue was beaten just as badly by Northwestern as they were by Wisconsin. Not exactly a big vote of confidence for the Badgers.

I think most people in here would agree that their record doesn&#39;t even tell half the story. They are still a tough team with a lot of talent who happened to suffer losses in the last minutes of games, and had an upset to a team that they shouldn&#39;t have lost to.

Purdue and Florida are both like this. Despite their losses, nobody in their right minds would count them out of any game. Look at numbers beyond those W&#39;s and L&#39;s.

 

[volzfan08]

that ranking makes me want to puke :yuck:

 

[Tnvolfan68]

Originally posted by volinbham@Oct 31, 2004 4:08 PM
The spread between UT and UGA makes no sense. Our schedules have been similar. They haven&#39;t faced AUB yet and we didn&#39;t play LSU. And then there&#39;s that matter of the game between us and them...

At this point, it&#39;s only the poll at the end that matters. We&#39;ve got 4 or 5 games left. Win them all then we&#39;ll see where we fall.

Actually depending on which computer poll Tennessee has played top 10 in schedule strenght to Georgia&#39;s 25th or worse SOS

 

[OrangeCrush18]

Originally posted by BigDaddyCanes+Nov 1, 2004 2:27 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (BigDaddyCanes @ Nov 1, 2004 2:27 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

Originally posted by kiddiedoc@Nov 1, 2004 5:32 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-BigDaddyCanes

@Nov 1, 2004 8:21 AM
Yes we do have a  Miami Hurricane Fan in the Nation.....

I&#39;ve been reading all the post about Miami and how they are still ranked above the Vols.  I personally feel that the Canes should be ranked outside the top 10, but saying the Vols should be ranked above them, please&#33;&#33;&#33;

Yes, we lost to NC in every aspect of the game, but let&#39;s look at he polls from top to bottom. 

Tennessee beat a Georgia who was ranked #3 at the time.  Miami Beat a #4 Florida State. 

Miami has beaten two teams inside the top 16.  Tennesse has beaten one, albeit a very impressive win over a 3

Now lets look at the remaing schedule.  The vols play no one.  I mean no one at all near the top 25 the remainder of their schedule.  The Canes still have Virginia and West Virginia, which are both ranked inside the top 16 in the country.

I might be a little biast here, but I still think that my Canes are one of the best teams in the country.  A true football fan will agree with me when I say that it is hard to recover from loosing 5 of your best players in the first round of the draft&#33;

NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND. . . .

A couple of responses to your post.

#1: The points being made are not in reference to your wins. It&#39;s your loss that counts. And it was to an unranked team that wears baby-blue.

#2: You compare Miami to your great team last year, "one of the best teams in the country," that managed 6 points while getting beat AT HOME, by TENNESSEE.

#3: You don&#39;t get sympathy votes for "loosing" good players to the draft. Tough. Go recruit some more. (BTW, UT currently has over 50 former players in the NFL).

In summary, no offense, but I believe that you are a little "biased."

You might want to check the stats and see who has the most players in the NFL....and yes we are both biased....That&#39;s called a true fan&#33; [/quote]
The Canes have slowly fallen from dominance and the UNC loss proved that.

Last year they looked great early but showed there true colors late. The same thing is happening this year. I see them losing at least one more.

The canes have made a living on their speedy D and good running game, but their D is horrible, especially their run D. Every opponent has run over them. Not to mention, their WR are bad&#33; The West Virginia game was an early indication of what was coming.IMO

In the past, they won all the close games but times have changed and Miami no longer strikes fear into their opponents.

 

[OrangeCrush18]

I don&#39;t understand why Miami fans dislike Berlin so much. He has lead them to countless come back wins, but they still boo him. :dunno:

Miami fans have been spoiled for so many years, and they now aren&#39;t sure what to do, i love it&#33;

 

[Tnvolfan68]

Originally posted by OrangeCrush18@Nov 2, 2004 10:35 AM

Yes we do have a  Miami Hurricane Fan in the Nation.....

I&#39;ve been reading all the post about Miami and how they are still ranked above the Vols.  I personally feel that the Canes should be ranked outside the top 10, but saying the Vols should be ranked above them, please&#33;&#33;&#33;

Miami has also given up 1500 yrds of total offense in the past three games that is absurd.

 

[Z06Vol]

Originally posted by milohimself+Oct 31, 2004 7:19 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (milohimself @ Oct 31, 2004 7:19 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Z06Vol@Oct 31, 2004 3:10 PM
What really grips my butt is Cal being ranked so high. WTF? These guys play no one except USC and lose. They are ranked 6th? Crazy&#33;

I think they deserve their spot. It&#39;s becoming pretty apparent that USC is looking like it might possibly be the best team in the country again, and Cal had a hard-fought battle to the end with the Trojans. Cal is a competitor, and I think a pretty solid team. [/quote]
Milo, what was that you were saying about Cal??? epper:

 

[Z06Vol]

You heard it here first, USC loses by at least 10 and they&#39;re lucky they don&#39;t have to play Auburn.

 

[milohimself]

Originally posted by Z06Vol@Dec 31, 2004 10:06 AM
Milo, what was that you were saying about Cal??? epper:

There was no excuse for that bowl loss. They were simply an unmotivated team that didn&#39;t play in a bowl they didn&#39;t want to be in. Even after they lost to Texas Tech, I still think they got screwed out of the Rose Bowl. That was still Cal&#39;s game to be in.