CFN: TN Ranked 6th in SEC in 2017

#1
Neyland Law Vol

Neyland Law Vol

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#1
CFN ranks all 14 SEC teams going into 2017. They see TN ranked 6th. Below is the top 6 list, with a link to the complete list. Thoughts? I'm surprised how high they are on UF and UGA....

6. Tennessee

If the Vols couldn’t get the job done last year when it was loaded with experience and promise, why is it going to happen this time around with so many new moving parts? It’ll all come down to a run defense that was way too squishy soft. RB John Kelly and – most likely – QB Quinten Dormady will get the offense rolling, but that might not matter if everyone is running over and through the defensive front seven.

– Tennessee 2017 Preview

5. LSU

2016 was supposed to be the year the Tigers were going to rise back up into the national title chase, but that went bye-bye right away. This year’s version still doesn’t have the top quarterback options needed to take the SEC Championship, but the running game will be a killer and the defense should be fantastic again, especially with Arden Key and the pass rush shining.

– LSU 2017 Preview

4. Auburn

Jarrett-mania is about to run wild – just like the rest of the Auburn offense. If it wasn’t for the running back tandem at Georgia – and some health concerns – the combination of Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson would get all the love, but the addition of Baylor QB Jarrett Stidham will make the biggest SEC impact. The defense will be just okay, but that shouldn’t matter. The offense will pick up the slack.

– Auburn 2017 Preview

3. Florida

The addition of Malik Zaire should be just enough of a difference to finally give the Gators a real, live attack to worry about. And if he’s not, that means Feleipe Franks is the star quarterback the team’s been missing. As always, the defense is going to be a killer, the secondary will be great, and the team will win its share of tough games. Now it might just have the talent on the other side of the ball to win the biggest ones.

– Florida 2017 Preview

2. Georgia

Can Kirby Smart get the job done in his second year at the helm? It’ll all come down to the offensive line that has to be better and rebuilt – at least a little bit – but if that’s in place, look out. The defense has all the pieces to be the star of the East, the 1-2 rushing punch of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel should be in the NFL, and the quarterbacks are going to be excellent – if they get time to work.

– Georgia 2017 Preview

1. Alabama

Another year, another season when Alabama is going to be really, really good at this whole college football thing. There are plenty of holes to fill, but the backfield is going to be devastating – remember, that was supposed to be an issue last year at this time – and the lines have reloaded. There’s no real weakness. If you’re hoping for the machine to start slowing down, it’s not happening this year.
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http://collegefootballnews.com/2017/sec-rankings-preview-2017
 
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#7
#7
VolunteerHillbilly said:
I've seen some people put Kentucky ahead of us for this year. Lot of Stoops believers out there I guess.
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I guess your right this is actually higher than other predictions out there. Still, I'm surprised to see UGA second in the entire conference and UF above LSU. By these rankings the notion that the SEC EAST is down is wrong.
 
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#8
#8
Seems like an entirely legit perspective. I would agree that they will be no better than third in the SECe. Last year was the most winnable the SECe has been and UT had the most talent and experience of any other team.

I don't care how few starter UF or UGA are returning. Tennessee proved that is not a factor in winning when Butch is your head coach.

Muschamp and Mcelwain are head and shoulders better coaches and I don't even think those guys are good at coaching. They are just better than Butch. Which is all they have to be.
 
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#9
#9
It is Bama then everyone else much like UK in SEC BBALL. Not convinced Smart is the next Vince Dooley either. Hopefully Kirby is more like Derek.
 
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#10
#10
I think the East is still down. There are probably some West teams that will get back into it. Somebody has to win the Egg Bowl.
 
#11
#11
MWAVolfan said:
Muschamp and Mcelwain are head and shoulders better coaches and I don't even think those guys are good at coaching. They are just better than Butch. Which is all they have to be.
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So you don't think Butch Muschamp or Mcelwain are "good at coaching." Besides Saban, who in the SEC do you think is "good at coaching"?
 
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#12
#12
PEPPERJAX said:
It is Bama then everyone else much like UK in SEC BBALL. Not convinced Smart is the next Vince Dooley either. Hopefully Kirby is more like Derek.
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I don't think he has to be Vince Dooley to success because the competing coaches all suck.

Player personnel matters little and returning starters matters little when the coaching sucks.
 
#13
#13
MWAVolfan said:
Seems like an entirely legit perspective. I would agree that they will be no better than third in the SECe. Last year was the most winnable the SECe has been and UT had the most talent and experience of any other team.

I don't care how few starter UF or UGA are returning. Tennessee proved that is not a factor in winning when Butch is your head coach.

Muschamp and Mcelwain are head and shoulders better coaches and I don't even think those guys are good at coaching. They are just better than Butch. Which is all they have to be.
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How do you explain butch beating Mcelwain last year?
 
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#14
#14
Neyland Law Vol said:
So you don't think Butch Muschamp or Mcelwain are "good at coaching." Besides Saban, who in the SEC do you think is "good at coaching"?
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I think Derek Mason may be the best coach in the SECe. But it's a shame he coaches at Vandy. He will never get the due credit, we'll unless he keeps beating Tennessee.
 
#15
#15
jarnol32 said:
How do you explain butch beating Mcelwain last year?
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Mcelwain won the SECe after Butch handed it to him not once, but twice by losing to two inferior teams that both lost to UF. Oh yeah and until last year he was undefeated against Butch as both a head coach and coordinator.
 
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#17
#17
BeardedVol said:
If one coach beating another in a single game, makes the winning coach "better" than the losing, then wouldn't that make Derek Mason better than CBJ?:unsure:
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BTW, when I said below that I think Derek Mason may be the best coach in the SECe, it's not based solely on the fact that he beat UT. It's based on the idea that he can go up against clearly superior football teams and quickly find their weaknesses and exploit them to the point that he can win the football game.

Butch on the other hand finds the crappiest teams on his schedule and finds every possible way to lose to them. It's a matter of leadership and preparedness more than anything. Sure talent plays a part which is why Vandys record will never be that good. But a horrible coach can have all the talent in the world and still fail. Good coaches can take less talent and win games they are not supposed to win.

The only game on Tennessee's schedule last year that they were not supposed to win was the Bama game. They lost that game and 3 others and were a play away from losing two others. Uncomfortably close to a 6-6 team last year.
 
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#20
#20
Sports "experts" aren't going to put much stock in UT's (and CBJ's) potential, anymore. They want to see it on the field. The case could be made that UT, UF and UGA aren't that far apart in talent and experience-- a lot's riding on coaching.

It's a bit surprising to see UT ranked ahead of aTm... and a bit annoying to see other team's new QBs already pronounced as "stars" and "excellent" while UT's new QBs are somewhat dismissed. Dormady's flying under the radar. Maybe that's a good thing.
 
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#22
#22
LA Vol said:
and a bit annoying to see other team's new QBs already pronounced as "stars" and "excellent" while UT's new QBs are somewhat dismissed. Dormady's flying under the radar. Maybe that's a good thing.
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Maybe the experts know something UT fans can't see?

Then again the experts didn't see last year coming.

Oh well.
 
#23
#23
So Dormady and Kelly will keep the offense rolling for Tennessee but the defense is to soft, but at Auburn their defense is ok but Jarrett will keep them rolling?
Every year Auburn has a heisman QB that has never taken a snap for them. Lol.
 
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#24
#24
Volsfaninva917 said:
Georgia has no OL and UF only returns 3 starters on defense? And no QB?
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How does anybody actually know that UGA has no O-line?

I remember when everyone said we had the greatest most experienced O-line in the country. Fat lot of good it did us. How does UF returning only 3 starter mean anything? I remember when we returned practically our whole defense. Again, it meant nothing.
 
#25
#25
MDVols said:
So Dormady and Kelly will keep the offense rolling for Tennessee but the defense is to soft, but at Auburn their defense is ok but Jarrett will keep them rolling?
Every year Auburn has a heisman QB that has never taken a snap for them. Lol.
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JS has at least played at a Power 5 School and had success.
 
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