what are the biggest what ifs in tennessee football history

#126
#126
GOATeric14berry said:
I know of one big one...what if Florida's kicker made that last second kick in 98
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this is easy. If Bob Woodruff had hired Johnny Majors in 1970 instead of Bill Battle, UT would have not slid back for so many years and very, very likely would have competed for a NC as early as 1970. Majors had a very energetic and young staff that took Pitt to NC in 1976.

Basically, Woodruff's decision put UT's program down for 2 decades outside of the 1985 SEC title.
 
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#128
#128
What if those flowers Neyland saw growing on the side of the hill were pink instead of orange.
 
#131
#131
What if the refs had called an unsportsmanlike conduct on the LSU player that took off and threw his helmet 20 yards downfield, would the penalties have off set and the game ended with a win for Tennessee?
 
#134
#134
GOATeric14berry said:
I know of one big one...what if Florida's kicker made that last second kick in 98
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What if we hit last couple of free throws in the NCAA game against Ohio State, then we go to the National Championship game????

Or if Ramar Smith had hit his last shot that was 10 feet from the basket??
 
#136
#136
Here are my two:

1 What if the phantom roughing the passer wasn't called on the TD interception against Flat in 06.

2 What if Dooley had walked away after the UK game and Hart hired Sumlin.
 
#138
#138
Rudy123 said:
What if we hit last couple of free throws in the NCAA game against Ohio State, then we go to the National Championship game????

Or if Ramar Smith had hit his last shot that was 10 feet from the basket??
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Ugh that game...or if rather than hold onto the ball, Ramar got it to Chris Lofton...you know, the guy you want taking the last shot in a major game

Or just if there was enough inside presence or scoring not to give up that big a lead to Greg Oden


But that aside, it's an interesting thought, but not necessarily a championship. The next opponent in the elite eight would have been Memphis, who UT did beat soundly 76-58 earlier in the season but also at a home game. You can say UT probably wins based on that (though not a definitely). And had they reached the final, UT would have played a UF team it had beaten 86-76 at home but lost 94-78 earlier in Gainesville, though that was without Lofton...I would like my chances in that one.

However, reallt, the problem might likely might lie in that final four matchup with Georgetown...I'm not sure how well (or not) that UT team would have matched up with that year's Hoyas...


But that certainly would have been a great path of opponents for that team (at least 2 out of 3) had they been able to make it past OSU
 
#140
#140
What if Peyton had gone to Ole Miss?

What is Ainge hadn't played with a broken thumb his senior year and didn't take painkillers all season?
 
#141
#141
Dan Federman said:
What if:
1) We beat LSU in the 01 SECCG?
2) We hire Majors after Dickey instead of Battle?
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1) UT would have gotten throttled by Miami instead of Nebraska...but Fulmer would have at least made another NC game, possibly - note, I said possibly - leaving him in slightly better standing (2002 probably wouldn't have been looked at as unfavorably as it is now, especially following an SEC championship and a National Title game appearance...and while 2005 clearly was a disappointment, there's a chance it could possibly have caused somewhat less uproar overall as well...though it'd still have gotten a lot of fans angry/upset)
 
#143
#143
Here's one I hadn't seen:

What if Chris Simms had stayed committed to UT rather than switching to Texas?

Or even, what if UT had chosen to pursue Ken Dorsey instead? (Wasn't he also interested in TN during his recruitment?)
 
#144
#144
My biggest ones will always be the ones based on the moronic coaching hires. A game here or there would have been nice, but I don't think it would have the ultimate outcome (for instance, I would have loved to have won the SEC Championship in 2001 and made it to the Rose Bowl, but I don't think we would have beaten Miami, and I still think Fulmer goes into his downhill skid for the rest of the decade, based on passivity and loyalty to ineffective staff, so the end result is the same).

But I'll always wonder - what if Hamilton hired Sumlin instead of Dooley? What if Hamilton hired Malzahn instead of Dooley? What if Hamilton hired Kelly over Kiffin? What if Hamilton didn't get to make those decisions to begin with?
 
#145
#145
TrueOrange said:
Here's one I hadn't seen:

What if Chris Simms had stayed committed to UT rather than switching to Texas?

Or even, what if UT had chosen to pursue Ken Dorsey instead? (Wasn't he also interested in TN during his recruitment?)
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I've often wondered about Simms and also about what if they hadn't bungled the Chris Leak deal. The thing is, more than their talent on the field, getting guys like that gives you a higher profile to recruit other guys. Alot of great players came here in the 90s because Peyton was here and they knew he gave them a chance to win a NC.
 
#146
#146
(5) The ref's get the right call against LSU. We win.
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Cpatter4 said:
What if the refs had called an unsportsmanlike conduct on the LSU player that took off and threw his helmet 20 yards downfield, would the penalties have off set and the game ended with a win for Tennessee?
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It's my understanding, though I could be mistaken, that offsetting penalties are almost always "replay the down," so LSU more than likely still would get another chance to score.

Possibly the issue might become whether the helmet would have been a "during play" or after the play was over penalty...if it was during play it's my understanding the two just offset.

If it was an after the play (like an unsportsmanlike conduct/unnecessary roughness/late hit) I don't know what happens; it could very well even have been UT's penalty is enforced first (half the distance to the goal) and then LSU's could be enforced after that (15 yards back)...not really sure how it would work in that case.
 
#147
#147
oregonvol said:
I've often wondered about Simms and also about what if they hadn't bungled the Chris Leak deal. The thing is, more than their talent on the field, getting guys like that gives you a higher profile to recruit other guys. Alot of great players came here in the 90s because Peyton was here and they knew he gave them a chance to win a NC.
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I think the Dorsey aspect's also interesting; I'm unsure whether it's true or not but I had been told he was interested, but he wasn't pursued/offered because TN already had a then solid verbal from Simms.

Take that for what it's worth though, I'm not sure how it all played out; I was too young.
 
#148
#148
What if after the National Championship victory, Fulmer sets up a nationwide search for a new Offensive Coordinator and hires the most qualified applicant?
 
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#149
#149
TrueOrange said:
I think the Dorsey aspect's also interesting; I'm unsure whether it's true or not but I had been told he was interested, but he wasn't pursued/offered because TN already had a then solid verbal from Simms.

Take that for what it's worth though, I'm not sure how it all played out; I was too young.
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Yeah, I'm just not as intrigued by Dorsey. He was a rock solid QB in college, but he was clearly aided in that by all the talent that surrounded him. I don't think with our players, in our system, and against SEC competition that he would have really been much of an upgrade over Casey Clausen. Plus, (unlike Leak and Simms) he wasn't such a big name recruit coming out of high school that he necessarily would have helped you recruit other players who wanted to play with him.
 
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