Bigger signature win: Jones against #13 SC or Pruitt against #21 Auburn?

#51
#51
Quite simply put, the Auburn win. Too many bad records erased. CJP milestone win. Using most of Blotch's players that are quality but experienced a lack of Coaching.

What I learned from CJP on Saturday they were prepared and once they had the lead they were not going to let up. The last Auburn touchdown was a gift to them. Had to stop the quick score but CJP, staff and players played this just right.

It was a total win. Lets face it Blotch had talent but know coaching or development. When Dobbs left it was the beginning of the end for Butch and staff....
 
#52
#52
vol445 said:
Beating auburn has always been tough. My memory takes me back to the second or third time I remember doing it. Secc game and before we sent bo packing
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Yep, from my perspective, UF has replaced Auburn as hated #2 behind Bama. That Auburn game used to be contentious and think the game had more tradition than the UF game because we started playing them every year sometime in the 1950's. My freshman year, first game on campus, it had to be 100 degrees in early Sept, and Bo + Lionel James ran all over us...but revenge was sweet two years later.
 
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#53
#53
revjayp said:
True. But it Felt like an fluke rather than a launching pad. Either way, good points. I still like the Auburn win. šŸ‘ŠšŸ¼
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That mostly could be hindsight bias though. We know now that Butch isn't a very good head coach. At the time, I certainly don't remember it feeling like a fluke. Remember, the week before we almost beat a top 10 Georgia team, and that was Butch's first year. It felt like we were getting better as a team at that point in the season.
 
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#54
#54
First win against an sec west team since Dooley's first season in 2010. imo that's a bigger achievement than beating South Carolina.
 
#55
#55
05_never_again said:
That mostly could be hindsight bias though. We know now that Butch isn't a very good head coach. At the time, I certainly don't remember it feeling like a fluke. Remember, the week before we almost beat a top 10 Georgia team, and that was Butch's first year. It felt like we were getting better as a team at that point in the season.
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Youā€™re right. Iā€™m definitely looking backwards. It felt like a fluke but it definitely wasnā€™t a fluke. But that kinda lends to my point. After GA that year, we were trending up by all accounts. After Florida, we were a laughing stock and only Nebraska was deemed to have fallen farther than us. Beating AU seemed impossible. Yet we did.
 
#56
#56
revjayp said:
Youā€™re right. Iā€™m definitely looking backwards. It felt like a fluke but it definitely wasnā€™t a fluke.
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Auburn isn't as good as that South Carolina squad, but we certainly beat a better "name" and we did it on the road this time. Both wins mean a lot - hopefully this win is a springboard unlike Butch.
 
#57
#57
BearCat204 said:
The jury is still out IMO. A signature win to me is a win that vaults a team to the next level. The 2013 win over SC didn't really do that IMO and I believe we lost the next 5, including Vandy and Kentucky.
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The difference here is the team has been making steady grinding fundamental improvement on the field the entire season , it has just now showed up on the scoreboard. Most people will only notice the big improvements. JG compared to last season. Last season the kid was 'project hope" , this season he looks to be on his way to a great career. Still more work to do but he is getting better weekly. The defense last season could not have stopped a powder puff team and early this season they were getting zero pressure. I remember them making Vandy look like they were running the Fun and Gun. A ton of progress. The things that more discerning eyes are going to notice: the receivers are no longer athletes , they are receivers. We have quietly developed high level kickers. The linebackers have gap integrity ( last year ...no no ) making good decisions and are generating some pressure and playing the ball. Corner backs are not getting burned every time the ball is in the air. The running backs are no longer playing back yard football , they are pressuring the gaps and trying to drive. The offensive line is still not good BUT they are gradually improving. This group as a whole will never be big enough and strong enough , but they are playing hard and starting to play their assignments.

I never saw improvements with Butch's teams. I saw him rely on some phenomenal athletes , but the team as a whole never improved. There is real life fundamental football coaching going on here and it is showing. Stay tuned for November . I think it will be fun
 
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#58
#58
SC was a big win for the Vols but my opinion is the Auburn win is bigger. We broke an ELEVEN GAME SEC LOSING STREAK and it was on the road in a tough environment vs a traditional SEC power.
 
#59
#59
Following Botch's horrendous year last year and looking at where the team started this year (with what Lyle left in the cupboard), I've got to go with the Auburn win in 2018.
 
#60
#60
revjayp said:
And that just amazes me about BJ. To me a dynamic QB and dynamic pash rush can almost hide an entire bad team. Dobbs and Barnett kept this team alive longer than it shouldā€™ve lived.
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Lol. Come one man, 2015, and 2016 Butch had good teams. He let about 4 games slip through his fingers that wouldā€™ve changed the tradjectory of the program. Then in 2017 the wheels fell off and he was let go. Donā€™t act like they were bad the whole time he was here, in 2015 they were about three plays away from being in the playoff.
 
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#61
#61
Hypothetically speaking, had Dooley sealed the deal @ LSU in 2010, would that have been bigger than the two being discussed?
 
#62
#62
This is our best performance since we beat VT at Bristol. That year we also beat Florida and won at Georgia and nearly won at College Station when they were #8. Crazy, that wasn't very long ago...
 
#63
#63
McDad said:
Gotcha.
Agree. This one tastes sweeter because it is more recent, imo. That SC win was HUGE when it happened.
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i'll say this and this is just my opinion...yeserday "looked and felt" like it should. i "feel" better about Saturday than i did with just about any of CBJ's wins. and i'm serious about that.

what i saw, looks like something you can count on in the future. never felt that way wiht Butch. always felt like the other shoe was about to drop. always in some state of flux. there was alway a "yeah but"...like the 16 FL game....we blew em out, yeah but we were down 21 at the half....we crushed GA's soul, yeah but they crushed ours first, twice.....we beat app st, yeah but it was a recovered fumble and a missed pat away from being a terrible loss.

and i'm sure you could find some 'yeah buts' saturday too.

just felt like every time we got challenged, we answered. and we kept answering until we had more points than they did.

it just felt better. it looked right.

no stats. no numbers. it just looked and felt right.

could be just a one timer. or it could be a sign of things to come. we won't know til we get there.
 
#66
#66
That South Carolina win was much bigger for the reasons that have been pointed out. It denied Steve Spurrier another shot at the SEC title and the national title implications that would have came with that. It was a win over a team that finished in the top 5 coming off the Dooley years. Which, no matter what people might want to say, were much worse/more hopeless than the last 3 years of Butch.

This Auburn win seems big now because we know how the story went after that South Carolina win and don't know how this story ends. But it most likely ends with both UT and Auburn struggling to make a bowl game.
 
#67
#67
I feel like we lucked into beating SC that year. Also Spurrier made some very unSpurrier decisions at the end of the game. I said at the time that Butch didnā€™t out coach Spurrier... Spurrier out coached himself.

In this one one I would say Pruitt and staff out coached Malzahn. They had a great game plan and stuck to it.

Like others said though, it really matters what comes next. The ā€˜13 team squandered that SC win by losing to Vandy and missing a bowl. Chances of winning this week are the thinnest definition of slim to none. After that we need to win 3 of the final five. If we build off this win and do that I will say itā€™s no contest which was bigger.
 
#68
#68
Who really cares, after all Blotch is gone. This is a signature win and with an 11 game SEC losing streak it really makes no difference. It is a Signature Win for CJP and 5 years from now we may or may not be talking about another milestone in CJPs career as a HC or another coach.

In comparison there is no need to compare its all hindsight now. No reason to look in the rear view mirror while trying to drive your car forward....

No need to compare this win to Butch's because we know he had several signature wins that were never discussed and back then were overlooked.

We've got us a young coach that can coach. More signatures wins to come. Butch had 10 maybe 11 and had some signature losses... probably 10 to 11 so it is all null.
 
#69
#69
revjayp said:
For me, itā€™s Pruitt/Auburn. I look at SC like I do Ky. Caught lightning in a bottle a few times but has never been a powerhouse football program. Auburn had SEC Championship/Playoffs/NC aspirations. Plus, it was at their place. What say you VolNation?
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Pruitt did it in his first year on the road against a ranked SEC West opponent with a roster that Butch had destroyed and gone 0-8 with a year before.
 
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#71
#71
I go with the Auburn win, not only because I like Pruitt so much more but because it's been a steady improvement each week at certain positions. The o-line Butch had that year was better, Rbs I wouldn't say were better but more experienced, defense more experience and better all around players. It was also at home where as Auburn is a tough place to play let alone win. Auburn has problems on the inside they're not a bad or mediocre team I think they've given up on Gus they have a ton of talent. They beat a very good Washington team first week of the season and have a great front 7 but the wheels have come off. The Vols just wanted it more and were coached better
 
#73
#73
BearCat204 said:
The jury is still out IMO. A signature win to me is a win that vaults a team to the next level. The 2013 win over SC didn't really do that IMO and I believe we lost the next 5, including Vandy and Kentucky.
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We didn't but ok
 
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