Are we really that far behind Florida?

[ptcarter]

There is a law of averages. Maybe there is a curse on us with the Gators.. I dunno. It seems like there have been so many games where the outcome hinged on a miracle play by Florida, and (by jove) they pulled it off time and time again. You know the list of plays, I don't have to go down it.

I think we are due a screwup on UF's part in an upset. It happens you know. Look at the UT Auburn game last year.. I watched it again - their QB had a really bad day. I think if we played them 5 times, they would have won 4 of them, however the ball bounced our way that game.

Speaking of Auburn, there is no doubt that Alabama has better talent and coaching, however their series with Bama doesn't have the streaks that the UT Bama series has. Auburn still finds a way to pull a victory out. Why is it UT gets on these streaks??? I cringe when I think of the answer.. Kentucky and Vandy come to mind..

Anyway... my son wants me to accompany him on a road trip this year to the swamp. I dunno. If I go, I sure hope this is the year Florida blows the lead.

 

[VolFaninFla]

New thread title: Mullen vs Pruitt

With this guy as the moderator.

View attachment 212196

That woman is HIDEOUS!!!

 

[stevo_88]

That pretty much sums it up, but who can know for sure? Mullen was my first choice, but I am not certain he even wanted to come here. I mean, why would he have left Mississippi State after he had just built it up, to start from scratch at UT? Especially since our administration at the time was in shambles. The Florida thing threw me for a loop. I had read an article where his wife said she absolutely hated it in Gainesville. Trashed the people there. I thought there's no way. I guess the thought of joining Stricklin, the talent in the state, not having to play Alabama, and the money was too much to pass up for him.

I was under the impression that Mullen was heading to Tennessee. Florida was going hard after Scott Frost and Chip Kelly. Frost obviously was waiting for Nebraska. So Florida was throwing major money at Kelly. And it looks like it was a done deal. Then UCLA got involved, so Chip jumped at it, as he wanted to get back in the PAC.

I like Mullen, but after the issues he is having at Florida with players, makes me wonder how long he will be there. If he takes a step back this year, fans might start turning on him.

We might have dodged a bullet, plus now Fulmer is showing he was a good hire as AD.

 

[orangemadam]

most of the responses here are things we all say every year since Kiffin. We are better than our record, we have talent, it'll be different this year, blah, blah, blah.

every year it seems we just can not match up to SEC teams. we are now the Vanderbilt and the Kentucky of the SEC. Ain't no good til we show it on the field. We are a 5-7 team until we prove otherwise.

I am predicting 8-4, but won't be surprised with another 5-7 disaster when JG gets hammered and put out for the season in the 4th or 5th game. That's just UT.

Start firing away.

 

[peaygolf]

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Make that two wins against Florida in 15 years for Tennessee.

 

[De La Cloobs]

Florida was a top 10 team last year but I still think they were overrated. They lost to Kentucky, who we beat. They barely won over USCjr, which we should have beat (That game pissed me off). They lost to Missouri... BADLY at their homecoming. The reason they got ranked so high was the win over LSU, which LSU should win 7/10 times. They also had a much softer schedule in comparison to ours. The only really tough teams they faced were LSU and Georgia.

Outside of their winning schedule last season I don't see where they are better than us. We should be very close competitively. People thought so last year until absolutely nothing went right for us in that game. You couldn't write a much worse game than what happened to our team that day. It was one for the history books kinda bad. I don't see that happening again.

 

[volgrad500]

Florida was a top 10 team last year but I still think they were overrated. They lost to Kentucky, who we beat. They barely won over USCjr, which we should have beat (That game pissed me off). They lost to Missouri... BADLY at their homecoming. The reason they got ranked so high was the win over LSU, which LSU should win 7/10 times. They also had a much softer schedule in comparison to ours. The only really tough teams they faced were LSU and Georgia.

Outside of their winning schedule last season I don't see where they are better than us. We should be very close competitively. People thought so last year until absolutely nothing went right for us in that game. You couldn't write a much worse game than what happened to our team that day. It was one for the history books kinda bad. I don't see that happening again.

All due respect, Florida looked like a much more complete team than us last year imo. I went to the Michigan game, and they absolutely whipped their azz. I admit their lost to Kentucky was a head scratcher- Kentucky had one of those seasons where they absolutely got lucky as hell. Repeatedly. The Missouri game was a flat out theft. If there has ever been a team less deserving of a top 10 ranking than Kentucky, I can't recall them.

 

[SpookyAction]

Florida was a top 10 team last year but I still think they were overrated. They lost to Kentucky, who we beat. They barely won over USCjr, which we should have beat (That game pissed me off). They lost to Missouri... BADLY at their homecoming. The reason they got ranked so high was the win over LSU, which LSU should win 7/10 times. They also had a much softer schedule in comparison to ours. The only really tough teams they faced were LSU and Georgia.

Outside of their winning schedule last season I don't see where they are better than us. We should be very close competitively. People thought so last year until absolutely nothing went right for us in that game. You couldn't write a much worse game than what happened to our team that day. It was one for the history books kinda bad. I don't see that happening again.

 

[Woke]

Didnt UF & UT both just win 5 games in 2017 & UF had players suspended for our game in 2018. The inherited culture wasn't great (see suspensions) at UF Mullen IMO is a great coach,

Didn’t say UF’s inherited culture was great just familiar to Mullen re: athletes and schemes. Their operating system may have bugs but Pruitt is stuck with a complete new install. Just makes us slower out of the gate but might put us even or slightly ahead by Year 3. TBD.

 

[MAUSERWERKE]

Hate the gators with a passion. But the reality is UF has some built in advantages over TN, and always has. That doesn't mean UT can't beat them, but even back in the Vols' glory years of the 90s we lost to UF more than we won. Their primary advantage is in recruiting. Florida is the 3rd most populous state in the union. It has prep talent out the wazoo. I have said before that UF could recruit every player it needs and not drive more than 2 hours from Gainesville. While recruiting in TN is better than it used to be, thanks to the growth of metro Nashville, it is still miles behind the prep talent that Florida churns out. Add to the fact that a major source of prep talent in TN is in the Memphis area, which is a solid 7-8 hour drive from Knoxville, and which is closer in proximity to Ole Miss, MS State, LSU, Arkansas and heck even Tuscaloosa. I grew up in West TN and I know from experience that a lot of Memphis area people don't even view UT as the state university. To beat UF, UT must recruit nationally at a consistent, high level. We were competitive in the 90s mainly because UGA was down and Clemson off the radar, so UT was sucking up great players from GA and the Carolinas. Not anymore.

UF has also been far more intelligent with its AD and coaching hires. Obviously. I feel like for many years UT's leadership has been very poor. Just timid. No one wants to rock the boat. I think this is getting better and there is better alignment between the players, coaches, AD, and UT administration. At least I hope so.

Anyway, combine all of the foregoing, and you see a pretty big hill to climb.

 

[Rifleman]

They are returning most of their production from a team that did beat us easily. They were up 33 - 3 just seconds into the second half.

Yes we gave up a bunch of turnovers, but the effort levels were embarrassing very early on as well.

There is simply no objective way to argue that Florida is not ahead of us going into the season.

 

[LakeMaryFLVol]

This game is this year's Auburn game. We will win this one. Book it. I called the Auburn game in August last year too. Just secured my ducats for my son and me yesterday.
1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017. 12th trip. Past 2 nearly killed me

 

[82_VOL_83]

We will know the team the first game. If the O is still struggling to put more than 14 on the board, it's going to be a rough season.

 

[FlyFishnVol]

Because we play Florida so early in the season, it ends up being a game of who makes less mistakes, last year was full of UT mistakes. UT and Florida........in my opinion, are even on paper. The litmus test with UT is Georgia, LSU and Bama. Give CJP two more classes, and I see some really good football being played. The challenge here is, does UT win the close ones?

 

[RollerVol]

guess we'll see when we play....

GO BIG ORANGE!

 

[savannahfan]

Screw Florida

Last year’s loss to UF was tough, mainly because it’s UF but also by how badly we got beaten. Going into that game though, everyone thought it would be much closer.

We were fresh off arguably the worst season in UT football history. It was our 3rd game. We had 6 turnovers... 6. We had two true freshmen DBs that didn’t hit their stride until later in the season. Guarantano got injured in the second half. The entire team was under coached in the Butch years particularly with strength and conditioning. Pruitt didn’t seem to have control of the team like an established/seasoned head coach normally would because I think the team as a whole seemed liked it was still trying to figure out its identity under the too fresh of a coaching change.

With where we are now, and assuming Pruitt and this team has found their identity, I don’t think the Florida loss will be a blowout this year. I’m not saying we win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we pull it off.

Most of our roster is returning. Everyone has a year of the new system under their belt. The new strength and conditioning will hopefully pay off big for our boys. I believe our coaching staff is top notch and Pruitt wants to dominate; that mentality will spread to the players. Mullen doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with his team (his 2019 class has been a disaster and may continue). And doesn’t Tennessee return more starters than Florida?

I believe most of our shortcomings since last year have been remedied. What people thought would be a close game last year will end up being this year if I had to guess.

Outside of battling in the swamp this year, where does Florida outmatch us? Seriously, enlighten me because I would like to know.

I fear the their backups from last year my be as good as our starter this year.
How do you "correct" size, speed, strength in one off season? New guys coming in have no experience yet and they won't have it by Fla. game time.

 

[savannahfan]

Last year, the coaching gap was wider than the talent gap. Hopefully, a majority of the on the job training is over and the better OC will narrow the scoreboard gap.

How the hel- can you blame on field turnovers on a coach or coaching staff? The key words here is "on field". The staff can't play the game, this shi- falls in the players not the staff.

 

[Remy]

Screw Florida

Last year’s loss to UF was tough, mainly because it’s UF but also by how badly we got beaten. Going into that game though, everyone thought it would be much closer.

We were fresh off arguably the worst season in UT football history. It was our 3rd game. We had 6 turnovers... 6. We had two true freshmen DBs that didn’t hit their stride until later in the season. Guarantano got injured in the second half. The entire team was under coached in the Butch years particularly with strength and conditioning. Pruitt didn’t seem to have control of the team like an established/seasoned head coach normally would because I think the team as a whole seemed liked it was still trying to figure out its identity under the too fresh of a coaching change.

With where we are now, and assuming Pruitt and this team has found their identity, I don’t think the Florida loss will be a blowout this year. I’m not saying we win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we pull it off.

Most of our roster is returning. Everyone has a year of the new system under their belt. The new strength and conditioning will hopefully pay off big for our boys. I believe our coaching staff is top notch and Pruitt wants to dominate; that mentality will spread to the players. Mullen doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with his team (his 2019 class has been a disaster and may continue). And doesn’t Tennessee return more starters than Florida?

I believe most of our shortcomings since last year have been remedied. What people thought would be a close game last year will end up being this year if I had to guess.

Outside of battling in the swamp this year, where does Florida outmatch us? Seriously, enlighten me because I would like to know.

What loss to UF the past 20 years has not been tough? Yes, screw Florida.

 

[De La Cloobs]

Good points are being made. Thank you. I do think we are behind Florida, I just believe it's just closer than last year's game showed. With the high caliber coaching staff and their ability to recruit, I am looking forward to seeing what year 3,4 look like under Pruitt. I don't think Mullen inherited near the crutch that Pruitt did and it will take us longer. But I think Pruitt is establishing a strong root system that will sustain rapid growth in time. Mullen seems like a coach with shallow roots but shoots up quickly. Those wilt away and die hard.

Part of this thinking is their 2019 recruiting fiasco by losing top players and the dust has yet to settle. And Mullen is at its center.

 

[MWAVolfan]

Tennessee will find a way to save Mullens @ss

 

[Rifleman]

Potential positive:

Florida has a night game at Kentucky on ESPN the week before our meeting.

That should keep them from thinking about us considering what happened last year when they overlooked Kentucky.

We play Chattanooga, though, so I expect our coaching staff will have us very prepared for the Swamp and we'll have a close game.

 

[DaddyChad]

Screw Florida

Last year’s loss to UF was tough, mainly because it’s UF but also by how badly we got beaten. Going into that game though, everyone thought it would be much closer.

We were fresh off arguably the worst season in UT football history. It was our 3rd game. We had 6 turnovers... 6. We had two true freshmen DBs that didn’t hit their stride until later in the season. Guarantano got injured in the second half. The entire team was under coached in the Butch years particularly with strength and conditioning. Pruitt didn’t seem to have control of the team like an established/seasoned head coach normally would because I think the team as a whole seemed liked it was still trying to figure out its identity under the too fresh of a coaching change.

With where we are now, and assuming Pruitt and this team has found their identity, I don’t think the Florida loss will be a blowout this year. I’m not saying we win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we pull it off.

Most of our roster is returning. Everyone has a year of the new system under their belt. The new strength and conditioning will hopefully pay off big for our boys. I believe our coaching staff is top notch and Pruitt wants to dominate; that mentality will spread to the players. Mullen doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with his team (his 2019 class has been a disaster and may continue). And doesn’t Tennessee return more starters than Florida?

I believe most of our shortcomings since last year have been remedied. What people thought would be a close game last year will end up being this year if I had to guess.

Outside of battling in the swamp this year, where does Florida outmatch us? Seriously, enlighten me because I would like to know.

Our offensive line was the worst in the country last season at allowing contact behind the line of scrimmage; also one of the worst in the past decade if you want to really look at it. I believe we had the third highest drop percentage in the conference when looking at catchable passes as well. I believe all of that will improve with Chaney I’m just not sure if it will be enough.

 

[Jaws]

I think UF will win the game this year, and I think Florida will have a very good year, at least 10 wins again.

However, Florida will be down next year and Tennessee will have a good shot in that game. Florida will lose a ton after this season. Going in to next year, UF will be replacing their top RB, top 3-4 WR’s, MLB, top two CB’s, top two DL, and probably their starting QB. Ironically, the only area on Florida’s team that won’t be drastically affected next year is the o-Line, which is the only part of this year’s team that is young.

So Tennessee will have a good opportunity to get a win next year in Knoxville.

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

How the hel- can you blame on field turnovers on a coach or coaching staff? The key words here is "on field". The staff can't play the game, this shi- falls in the players not the staff.

It's on the staff that the players weren't focused or prepared. It's on the staff that the offensive gameplan was garbage. Games like that is what happens when you have an inexperienced staff face a well seasoned SEC staff. We've got a lot more seasoning this year so hopefully history don't repeat itself.

 

[DaddyChad]

I think UF will win the game this year, and I think Florida will have a very good year, at least 10 wins again.

However, Florida will be down next year and Tennessee will have a good shot in that game. Florida will lose a ton after this season. Going in to next year, UF will be replacing their top RB, top 3-4 WR’s, MLB, top two CB’s, top two DL, and probably their starting QB. Ironically, the only area on Florida’s team that won’t be drastically affected next year is the o-Line, which is the only part of this year’s team that is young.

So Tennessee will have a good opportunity to get a win next year in Knoxville.

If Pruitt manages a win this year in Gainesville it would do a lot for Tennessee as a program, and very likely set Florida up to have a disappointing season.