VFL-82-JP
Bleedin' Orange...
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A thread about teams we've never played (including West Virginia) got me thinking again about which teams from other conferences I'd like most to play.
And some of that has to do with teams I respect, or just like for one reason or another. But part of it is mathematical, and has to do with wins and losses. Here's the system I came up with to prioritize which OOC games I'd love most to see:
Top priority -- Teams we've never played
Also high priority -- Teams we've got a losing record against -- want to even the count, heh
Borderline priority -- Teams we're .500 against
Low but still a priority -- Teams we've only beaten once
Using that ranking system, I can figure out which conferences I'd like to see us against the most. For instance:
I'm dying for us to play the PAC more. A third of that conference, we've never played (Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, Washington). Another third, we have a losing record against (Oregon, USCw), or are .500 (Cal, Colorado). So that's eight different teams I'd like to see us schedule in the regular season, or get to a bowl against (the latter is tough, because there are no SEC-PAC tie-in bowls).
After the PAC, I'd like to see more of the B12. Win or lose tomorrow, I'll still want to face West Virginia again; either to avenge a loss, or to reinforce the win. Plus, we have a losing or tied record against half that conference (Baylor, KSU, Oklahoma, Texas, and TT), and have only played two of the remaining four once in history (Iowa State, Okla State). Altogether, a whopping eight of the ten B12 teams we need to schedule, even after tomorrow.
The B10 comes next. We have a really good record against the B10 (esp. before Nebraska joined), but there are stll two teams we've never met (Mich State and Illinois), and another three (including Nebraska) we have a losing record against (others are Purdue and Penn State), and four that we've only ever played a single time (all those were wins, heh--Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota). So that's 9 of the 14 teams, I'd like to play at least once more.
Last place goes to the ACC. We've played most of them a lot; shows how closely bound--in geography and history--our conferences are. Only need to get a few games against Pitt (and we know two of those are coming up) and another with FSU.
Oh, and there's Notre Dame. We're 4-4 versus them, so I suppose we need to whup em once more. Heh.
Last of all, this system can be applied to the SEC. We have losing records against four teams (Bama, Auburn, FL, and Mizzou). Fortunately, we play three of those every year, so have every opportunity to get to the right side of the ledger. But Auburn is the exception. We need 8 victories in a row against them to get ahead. As infrequently as Vols-War Eagle games come around, we really need to take advantage of them when they do. So here's hoping we find a way to score an upset on October 13th!
Here's what it looks like in my head, sort of, haha.

Go Vols!
And some of that has to do with teams I respect, or just like for one reason or another. But part of it is mathematical, and has to do with wins and losses. Here's the system I came up with to prioritize which OOC games I'd love most to see:
Top priority -- Teams we've never played
Also high priority -- Teams we've got a losing record against -- want to even the count, heh
Borderline priority -- Teams we're .500 against
Low but still a priority -- Teams we've only beaten once
Using that ranking system, I can figure out which conferences I'd like to see us against the most. For instance:
I'm dying for us to play the PAC more. A third of that conference, we've never played (Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, Washington). Another third, we have a losing record against (Oregon, USCw), or are .500 (Cal, Colorado). So that's eight different teams I'd like to see us schedule in the regular season, or get to a bowl against (the latter is tough, because there are no SEC-PAC tie-in bowls).
After the PAC, I'd like to see more of the B12. Win or lose tomorrow, I'll still want to face West Virginia again; either to avenge a loss, or to reinforce the win. Plus, we have a losing or tied record against half that conference (Baylor, KSU, Oklahoma, Texas, and TT), and have only played two of the remaining four once in history (Iowa State, Okla State). Altogether, a whopping eight of the ten B12 teams we need to schedule, even after tomorrow.
The B10 comes next. We have a really good record against the B10 (esp. before Nebraska joined), but there are stll two teams we've never met (Mich State and Illinois), and another three (including Nebraska) we have a losing record against (others are Purdue and Penn State), and four that we've only ever played a single time (all those were wins, heh--Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota). So that's 9 of the 14 teams, I'd like to play at least once more.
Last place goes to the ACC. We've played most of them a lot; shows how closely bound--in geography and history--our conferences are. Only need to get a few games against Pitt (and we know two of those are coming up) and another with FSU.
Oh, and there's Notre Dame. We're 4-4 versus them, so I suppose we need to whup em once more. Heh.
Last of all, this system can be applied to the SEC. We have losing records against four teams (Bama, Auburn, FL, and Mizzou). Fortunately, we play three of those every year, so have every opportunity to get to the right side of the ledger. But Auburn is the exception. We need 8 victories in a row against them to get ahead. As infrequently as Vols-War Eagle games come around, we really need to take advantage of them when they do. So here's hoping we find a way to score an upset on October 13th!
Here's what it looks like in my head, sort of, haha.

Go Vols!
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