A modification of a fairly famous quote applies this morning: “They are NOT who we thought they were”.

Oh, thank goodness this weekend is finally upon us. The College Football season got kicked off last night as most of us probably watched South Carolina dismantle an undermanned and offensively inept North Carolina State Wolf pack team that fit the billing as a lower tier ACC team. The good news about that game…….the SEC didn’t get embarrassed by, let’s face it, a bad ACC team.

As we draw closer to the season, everyone has a take on what is going to happen this year in college football.

I’ll offer a little different spin on that and tell you what WON’T happen this college football season, much to the chagrin of some of us TN fans, and most certainly to some of our rival fans…….

Thanks to OWH this week I have a topic. And I know you’re not supposed to do this, but I’ll apologize in advance, as this week’s pining is probably a bit redundant. And besides, with the credit for the idea, OWH can share the blame. Thanks buddy!

In this edition of The Rearview, we stop at the beginning of the recruiting season to take stock of what the Vols have accomplished so far, and take a rare look ahead from here. And I got to be honest, I’m fairly impressed with the early commitments they’ve been able to get thus far.

A quick apology for my absence the past month or so. While the nation is a priority, of late, outside forces have ensured that other things like family and career move back up to the top of that list.

To playoff or not to playoff? That is the question that the folks at the BCS meetings answered for us this week. And their answer: not.

Last week, as you could probably tell, I was a little perturbed at the prospect of having to go thru another off season wondering what will come of our beloved football team this upcoming season. That didn’t get any better when I listened to resident experts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstriet call us a “non factor” for the 2008 SEC East race.

“Non Factor”—i.e., does not matter, irrelevant.

These are the only words that were spoken yesterday morning during ESPN’s two hours of College Game Day regarding the Tennessee Volunteers 2008 football season.

The last week and a half has been very interesting from where I’ve been sitting, and the unfortunate thing for you is that you now are subject to a rant from me. As a member of a volatile fan base myself, I understand the need to vent, and I get the emotional attachment and investment made concerning your team, who ever that may be. But there comes a point where rational thought processes have to come in play, otherwise you run the risk of being likened to being a part of the subject of this rant: The North Carolina Basketball fan. The other part of this rant is going to be about last night’s game. Let’s do the game first.