When will we know where team 118 is?

#1

kyoon2

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#1
We played against three opponents so far. Oklahoma is the #4 team in the nation, but I am unsure whether they deserve that title. We beat Arky State and Utah State, but are we really sure how good they are?

I am sure win at Athens will prove that we've improved, but what happens if we lose? Do we cross ourselves out of a bowl game, or do we wait until we play Florida to see where we are?

When do you guys think we'll be able to set a realistic expectation for our season if we lose to Georgia?

Florida?
Ole Miss?
 
#2
#2
We played against three opponents so far. Oklahoma is the #4 team in the nation, but I am unsure whether they deserve that title. We beat Arky State and Utah State, but are we really sure how good they are?

I am sure win at Athens will prove that we've improved, but what happens if we lose? Do we cross ourselves out of a bowl game, or do we wait until we play Florida to see where we are?

When do you guys think we'll be able to set a realistic expectation for our season if we lose to Georgia?

Florida?
Ole Miss?

More often than not, our season and what kind of team we are is defined by the way we play FL... So I'm thinking we should have a clear picture after that game.
Having said that, I see a lot of changes in this team as compared to the previous years'. First off, the D has improved vastly. I not sure if we will face another offense like OK's this year. We did pretty good against that offense. Secondly, this team has character, camaraderie and belief like we haven't seen in the recent years.
Overall, I love where this team is headed.

On a side note, have you ever seen so many positive threads after a loss in recent years?
 
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#3
#3
Having said that, I see a lot of changes in this team as compared to the previous years'. First off, the D has improved vastly. I not sure if we will face another offense like OK's this year.threads after a loss in recent years?

D has improved 100% but we will be facing similar or better offense in SEC. GA, Scar, Bama all have crazy RBs with good / better WR core than OU but QB play is questionable.

On the other hand, OU front 7 on D was crazy good and might be one of the best we will face this season.
 
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#5
#5
Look at how the team is competing and not the W/L record. As several have said on here, UT can be an improved team with the same record as last year. 5 of UT's losses last year were lopsided games. Sure UT lost by 24 on Sat but most agree the game was closer than the final score.
 
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#6
#6
Look at how the team is competing and not the W/L record. As several have said on here, UT can be an improved team with the same record as last year. 5 of UT's losses last year were lopsided games. Sure UT lost by 24 on Sat but most agree the game was closer than the final score.

very true. the game never felt out of hand until the pick 6. unlike bama, oregon, auburn and mizzou last year.
 
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#9
#9
the game was closer than the final score.

What does that even mean? It makes no sense to me. OU covered. They won and we lost as predicted. Are you basing closeness of the game how we drove the ball into the red zone a couple of times and came up empty? We never had the lead and they put it away in the second half, which is what usually happens in that sort matchup. If the success of this season is going to be based solely on whether or not the Sooners boat raced us wire to wire like Oregon did in 2013 then I guess all of Y'all can go ahead and buy yourselves some rings or trophies or whatnot and skip watching our conference games.
 
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#10
#10
What does that even mean? It makes no sense to me. OU covered. They won and we lost as predicted. Are you basing closeness of the game how we drove the ball into the red zone a couple of times and came up empty? We never had the lead and they put it away in the second half, which is what usually happens in that sort matchup. If the success of this season is going to be based solely on whether or not the Sooners boat raced us wire to wire like Oregon did in 2013 then I guess all of Y'all can go ahead and buy yourselves some rings or trophies or whatnot and skip watching our conference games.

It's pretty simple actually; our team had real opportunities to close the gap but failed to execute on a handful of key plays. Conversely if you compare this to expectations and a similar matchup in Oregon last year, you can surmise that the team is beginning to show progress. When rebuilding from shambles, wins alone cannot be the only indicator of progress.
 
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#11
#11
Used to see it every week on Vandymania and we used to crack on moral victory university. Times have changed.

I will agree and concur with that if we keep doing it next year. This is a year with several 1st year players playing key roles. Next year we should expect to win, no matter who we play. We are outmanned in experience this year. that is the difference from your Vandy reference it went on there forever. In fact vandy could have easily been 4 and 8 last year thats what makes Franklin a very good coach. He is either lucky or wills his teams to wins. PSU has either lucked out or eked out aganist Rutgers and UCF on last second score a team Missouri killed. They also beat a bad Akron team 21 to 03.
 
#12
#12
What does that even mean? It makes no sense to me. OU covered. They won and we lost as predicted. Are you basing closeness of the game how we drove the ball into the red zone a couple of times and came up empty? We never had the lead and they put it away in the second half, which is what usually happens in that sort matchup. If the success of this season is going to be based solely on whether or not the Sooners boat raced us wire to wire like Oregon did in 2013 then I guess all of Y'all can go ahead and buy yourselves some rings or trophies or whatnot and skip watching our conference games.

I see where you're coming from, but UT isn't in the postion in 2014 to beat Oklahoma on the road. Did they perform better against OU than Oregon, yes.

True, you can't put too much stock into that because it depends on how they perform against UGA, UF, Bama, etc.

If UT competes in all of those games, I'd say they're turning the corner. If they get hammered, I'd say they haven't made the progress we all had hoped.
 
#13
#13
It's pretty simple actually; our team had real opportunities to close the gap but failed to execute on a handful of key plays. Conversely if you compare this to expectations and a similar matchup in Oregon last year, you can surmise that the team is beginning to show progress. When rebuilding from shambles, wins alone cannot be the only indicator of progress.

But at the end of the day, its the only thing that matters
 
#15
#15
But at the end of the day, its the only thing that matters

That is the final measuring stick, yes - but did you expect this game to be a W? Most had chalked it up as a L as soon as news broke we were playing OU. To go there and compete was refreshing and different than has been the case in recent years.
 
#16
#16
That is the final measuring stick, yes - but did you expect this game to be a W? Most had chalked it up as a L as soon as news broke we were playing OU. To go there and compete was refreshing and different than has been the case in recent years.

Absolutely not


But, "we will know where team 118 is", when we see wins IMO. Thats the only thing that matters. JMO
 
#17
#17
If you guys can't see improvement in this year's team that lost , compared to last year's team that lost to the ducks, what else can be said. I prefer to be a glass half full fan. I understand wins in the end are all that matters, but there ARE signs with this team that we are heading in the right direction. This team is vastly different, and in a good way
 
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#18
#18
I see where you're coming from, but UT isn't in the postion in 2014 to beat Oklahoma on the road. Did they perform better against OU than Oregon, yes.

True, you can't put too much stock into that because it depends on how they perform against UGA, UF, Bama, etc.

If UT competes in all of those games, I'd say they're turning the corner. If they get hammered, I'd say they haven't made the progress we all had hoped.
I get that there's some artificial exuberance being ginned up and I don't have a problem with it although it does tend to make the collective fan base look foolish when people like Finebaum selectively publicize the most radically optimistic predictions we can muster with regard to our toughest opponents. I think that we will get a much better barometer of whether we're actually improving when we play some middle of the pack SEC teams, teams that we actually play regularly if not annually and with which we have enough familiarity to assess the Vols' performances. I liked that Worley took a licking and kept ticking and I liked that the team didn't quit in the 4th quarter. I'm just not sure it means enough to say that we're much better than a year ago.
 
#20
#20
We won't know who team 118 is until the last game is played. Teams, especially one as young as this, grow and change as the season progresses.

It has been said that in the end all that matters is wins and losses. It has also been said that how you compete in those losses matter. Both are true in different respects.

In 2015 your average fan will look at teams records from the previous season, combine that with what they hear the media say, along with their own personal thoughts and biases, and build an expectation. So Losing close games won't matter at all in this regard.

Underneath that, how a team competes, even in a loss, indicates progress. I firmly believe stats don't tell the full story. each and every game is so different but there are only so many measures to show in the box score.

I see progress, but progress doesn't matter without wins. So while I am encouraged by how we competed and how much we are progressing, I won't be happy with it until we start to win games like this. Not all of them, but some of them.

Team 118 is progressing and I can't wait to see how many wins that leads too, because in the end that is who they are.
 
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#21
#21
your actually worried about what is said on Finebaums show Hillbilly? you do know it is just a radio talk show and fans from different schools rant on there all the time ? so what is different from some Vol fans having some fun ?

maybe we will know after the next 2 games,would batting .500 during these 2 games do it ?

there is no such thing as a moral victory,you lost,get over it,but there is a lot to build on from that game

AJ and company are hustling,the offense has a good to great leader and Quarter Back in Justin Worley ,he is a tough one

the Offensive Line looked a lot better in the 2nd half,most of em should be red shirted this year,instead of being feed to the wolves


how couldn't you say the Vols don't look better than last year? there is actually a good Defensive effort this year,that is what I'm most excited about,they will be all over the place this year with all the youth on the team,but they are improving
 
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