2015 season preview: Tennessee Volunteers (ESPN)

#1

YankeeVol

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#1
Best-case scenario: Everyone stays healthy, Dobbs has a big year and Tennessee upsets Georgia to win the East. Now whether that would lead to an SEC championship and a trip to the College Football Playoff, that’s another story. But if McKenzie and Shy Tuttle can play beyond their years as freshmen and help the depth of the defensive line, there’s a chance the Vols can reach the double-digit win mark. And in a down East division, that could be enough.

Worst-case scenario: Keep in mind that for all the improvement Tennessee made last season, the Vols didn’t beat a ranked team. And they had to win five of their final six games to finish above .500. So how is it that they go from 7-6 to competing for a division title? Without quality depth (i.e., experience), that’s a tall task. Injuries will hit at the wrong time and the Vols’ title hopes will be put on hold for another year.

2015 prediction: By beating Oklahoma at home, don’t be surprised if the Vols jump out to a 4-0 record and indulge the already considerable hype surrounding the program. But that run of Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama in consecutive games is going to be brutal. In the end, the Vols will show significant improvement, yet have only one more win than last year’s record to show for it.

2015 season preview: Tennessee Volunteers - SEC Blog - ESPN
 
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#5
#5
That's not completely inaccurate.

This is the final year of "I'll consider the wins and losses but I'm more concerned about the composition of each".

If we got 7-5 but the wins are convincing and the losses are by a combined <20 points, I'd be happy.

If we go 8-4 and barely squeak by the 8 wins and lose 4 in a blowout, I'd be concerned about the future of the program.

2016 is the "put it all together" year.
 
#7
#7
I'll say it again and I know I'm in the minority here but Arkansas is over rated big time

I agree with you 100%. They're 1 dimensional, lost key defensive players, and can't win on the road. Sadly, I think we're more likely to lose to Florida than Arkansas this year. And I definitely don't see that happening. . .
 
#8
#8
Arkansas's QB has made more starts than any other QB in the SEC, i wouldn't call them 1 dimensional, just very good at 1 thing. People who are calling them underrated just haven't been paying much attention to them. They are good.
 
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#10
#10
Thanks for the link, Yankee!

2015 prediction: By beating Oklahoma at home, don’t be surprised if the Vols jump out to a 4-0 record and indulge the already considerable hype surrounding the program. But that run of Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama in consecutive games is going to be brutal. In the end, the Vols will show significant improvement, yet have only one more win than last year’s record to show for it.

Only one more win than last year? That's 7-5 regular season plus a bowl win? Hmm...

I would bet some pretty big money that they're off by at least one W. Pretty confident in that. 8-4 or better, at the 90%+ confidence level.

4-0 to start, just as they say ...
1-2 split on the Arky-Ga-Bama gauntlet...
4-1 to finish the season...

...that's 9-3. Could reasonably be off by 1 somewhere in there, which gives us a worst case of 8-4, best case of 10-2.

Yep, they're off by at least one W.

Go Vols!
 
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#11
#11
They are very similar to us

While I agree both teams are in similar positions I think the situations are different. Arkansas will be suspect at defense this year and on the offensive side of the ball they are one sided in their run game. Allen is not a down the field threat at QB and frankly I dont see them having the athletes or speed outside of the RB position. Now with all that being said they may win 10 games and UT may only win 4 but at this point I would be more inclined to say Arky is a 6-7 win ball club while Tennessee is a 8-9 win team. We will see I could very well be wrong but this is my opinion.
 
#12
#12
That's not completely inaccurate.

This is the final year of "I'll consider the wins and losses but I'm more concerned about the composition of each".

If we got 7-5 but the wins are convincing and the losses are by a combined <20 points, I'd be happy.

If we go 8-4 and barely squeak by the 8 wins and lose 4 in a blowout, I'd be concerned about the future of the program.

2016 is the "put it all together" year.

So you were "happy" with the Florida loss bc it was close?
Butch still has one more year before this team will be mostly guys he recruited and actually be filled with guys with experience. Having said that and barring injuries, I think 8-9 wins is the target, 7 wins is the floor, and the sky is thte limit. GBO!!
 
#14
#14
While I agree both teams are in similar positions I think the situations are different. Arkansas will be suspect at defense this year and on the offensive side of the ball they are one sided in their run game. Allen is not a down the field threat at QB and frankly I dont see them having the athletes or speed outside of the RB position. Now with all that being said they may win 10 games and UT may only win 4 but at this point I would be more inclined to say Arky is a 6-7 win ball club while Tennessee is a 8-9 win team. We will see I could very well be wrong but this is my opinion.


They will give us all we can handle
 
#16
#16
Arkansas's QB has made more starts than any other QB in the SEC, i wouldn't call them 1 dimensional, just very good at 1 thing. People who are calling them underrated just haven't been paying much attention to them. They are good.

I watched multiple Arkansas games last year. Their offense was pretty sad. The QB is a game manager, but under the least bit of pressure, he folds - stops looking down field and takes sacks. Tennessee will bring that pressure. Arkansas had a very solid defense last year. But that defense took a huge hit losing 4 starters, including their big playmakers. They haven't recruited at near the level of Tennessee, so I would assume they cannot just reload.

I not only expect Tennessee to win against Arkansas, I think it will be by double digits. It will be a statement win.
 
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#17
#17
Arkansas's QB has made more starts than any other QB in the SEC, i wouldn't call them 1 dimensional, just very good at 1 thing. People who are calling them underrated just haven't been paying much attention to them. They are good.

Arkansas is arguably the most physical team in the league. We definitely will need all of our young DTs in the rotation because that hog OL will wear a DL down over the course of 60 minutes.
 
#18
#18
** In the end, the Vols will show significant improvement, yet have only one more win than last year’s record to show for it.**

This statement baffles me. It's like everyone can see significant improvement over last season. Then, after weighing in on the easier schedule than 2014, they still come back with "1 game improvement" prediction.

1 game improvement certainly may prove to be the case. WE have no idea how injuries, suspensions, development etc will go. It's just funny to watch the "experts" start to waffle when it comes down to prediction time.

Of course, as we already know 99% of media (of all types) simply parrot the "herd line of thinking" and have little in the way of original insight. It's all to sell papers, get clicks, and get paid, at the end of the day. Take it as such IMO.
 
#19
#19
So you were "happy" with the Florida loss bc it was close?
Butch still has one more year before this team will be mostly guys he recruited and actually be filled with guys with experience. Having said that and barring injuries, I think 8-9 wins is the target, 7 wins is the floor, and the sky is thte limit. GBO!!

I was saying "happy" compared with 7-5 in tight losses compared to 8-4 with blowout losses.

This team honestly has no excuse to go 7-5 unless there are catastrophic injuries (i.e. Maggitt/Barnett/Dobbs/Hurd/Sutton/etc).

There are more than 7 winnable games on that schedule and I think JP's analysis is sound. 4-0 to start, 1-2 split, finish 4-1.
 
#20
#20
Like most years, 3-4 plays may be the difference between 7-5 and 10-2. We are due for some breaks to go our way. The only thing I am sure of is the days of getting run over are gone. Everyone will know they have been in a fight after they play the Big Orange.
 
#21
#21
Like most years, 3-4 plays may be the difference between 7-5 and 10-2. We are due for some breaks to go our way. The only thing I am sure of is the days of getting run over are gone. Everyone will know they have been in a fight after they play the Big Orange.

I agree with all of this but we've been saying we are due for 5-10 years now. Hopefully now we can finally create the breaka we need.
 
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#23
#23
After Jones said last year that the Florida loss was the worst of his career. I think they will go into Gaynesville prepared and ready to rumble. We had no depth on defense last year. I think that will make the difference. Come the 4th quarter, we will be able to rotate unlike last year. My prediction? Vols 24 Fla 13.
 

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