iluvsmesumdooley
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I don't think I've ever seen this mentions, Tony was great and most likely he would have gotten some Heisman votes, but at best he would have been a distant 5th even if he had thrown 20+ TDs that year. Ironically at the end of the season Dickey was the better QB.
Dickey didn't have a ruptured ACL at the end of the season. With all due respect, Dickey was a coach on the field, he didn't turn the ball over and he could manage the game. Until the Miami game, he lead the Vols to a tie against Georgia Tech, beat Rutgers, Memphis State, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Hardly world beaters, but he got his feet wet. T-Rob did the heavy lifting against UCLA, Auburn, Florida and Alabama.
And this is classic Johnny Majors. Tied UCLA and Georgia Tech with way more talent, lost to Florida by 7 in Gainesville but they were on probation, beat good Auburn and Alabama teams, eeked out wins against Memphis State (17-7) and Wake Forest (31-29). Go 8-1-2 to 'earn' a Sugar Bowl bid where the Vols put it on Miami.
Parlay that into 7-5 in 1986........ Went to a bowl game though.
Robinson suffered a season ending knee injury against Alabama.
Your last statement is remarkably absurd. Good grief
Right, Miami was a cakewalk.
35-7 would indicate so and the Vols had a 4 headed running back. Who knew who Jeff Powell was before the Miami game? Ken Donahue gets the lion's share of the credit for what he dialed up for Testaverde to deal with.
I have no problems with what Darryl Dickey evolved into after 4 1/2 years in the program and a manageable schedule for the rest of the year. He's a sharp guy, a coach's son and he knew his limitations. He didn't have near the talent that Tony Robinson had. Not close. And I was there.
Robinson suffered a season ending knee injury against Alabama.
Your last statement is remarkably absurd. Good grief
johnny should have stayed at pitt
Yep, he would have probably won the NC again in '77 with Marino, and maybe another one or two. Johnny had locked up recruiting in that region, and was on a roll. He was beating out Paterno for major recruits. It shows what a great coach Johnny was to resurrect that program from the dead. I remember a few years after being at UT he made the comment that it would be hard to replicate winning an NC at UT given Bama and recruiting challenges, and he did have a tough time for the first half of his tenure.
johnny should have stayed at pitt
I suspect yes.
If Majors had stayed, Fulmer goes to Clemson. He takes Cutcliffe with him and possibly a few others.
But one thing that Majors could do that Fulmer could not...he recognized great assistant coaching talent and brought them on board. He'd have replaced those guys with other good coaches. And the new blood might've been good.
Getting Heath Shuler was huge. It led to Tennessee signing more top rated QBs. If Fulmer leaves and Shuler still has a great 1993, I think Tennessee would have continued to sign top notch QBs. Shuler always credited Majors with being the reason he signed with Tennessee.
The variables are:
1) Would Majors have broken the Bama curse? I suspect so, since Bama went downhill.
2) Would Majors have still brought in top talent like Fulmer did? That would have been tough, but recruiting was on an upward trend. The young talent Fulmer inherited was better than any other during the Majors era. I supsect the answer to this question depends largely on who Majors hired as assistants after Fulmer and Cutcliffe left.
3) Would Majors have settled for a DC like Chavis and a DB coach like Slade? I'm guessing no. The programs would probably have better defensive coaching.
4) Would Majors have the Spurrier hangup like Fulmer did? I don't think so. Majors personality wasn't the type to be intimidated by a Spurrier like Fulmer seemed to be (and it bled down to players). Doesn't mean he wouldn't have still lost a few to Spurrier, but I don't think Majors teams were going to play uptight and beat themselves against Florida like Fulmer teams so often did.
So I think Majors would have continued the upward trajectory and won a Natty. And he might not have blown as many other opportunities to win the SEC as Fulmer did because of his Spurrier hangup. But who knows.
My all-time head scratcher loss for UT was the 1981 21-10 loss to 3-8 Kentucky in Lexington in Fran Curci's last season. Tennessee might have went to the Gator Bowl,Liberty Bowl,Tangerine Bowl,Peach Bowl or Bluebonnet Bowl in 1981 with an 8-3 record.Vols should have hired him when they hired Bill Battle. There were no restrictions on recruiting at that point. Doug Dickey left UT at the top of the SEC and Johnny would have brought in 125 freshmen every year and weeded them out.
Johnny had an uncanny ability to lose games his teams should never have lost. Plenty of examples of losing to Ga Tech, Duke, & Army. Heck, he didn't complete the end of the year tri-fecta of Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Vandy until 1985. No coach could have survived the first 7 years that he had at UT.
Without Clint Stoerner, we still wouldn't have won one.
With most seasons like UT's was that season, some great breaks are required along the way to complete an undefeated slate. Few times in modern history have we seen a team so good that not one game was in question at any point throughout the season. We've had better teams, but none who made all the right plays at the most critical timeGosh I can't help myself every time I hear this That play would not have been necessary if the refs had properly executed the penalty on Arky a couple of minutes earlier when the snap went over their punters head rolled back inside the ten and he kicked it off the ground backwards through the endzone. We were awarded a safety and they kicked us deep and we turned it over just before the fumble play. We got an apology letter a couple of days later because the proper call would have been a half the distance penalty from the 8 or so with loss of down and our ball. With Cheese I like our chances to score from there. We might not have held the lead but we would have been in the lead.
Sorry, I cannot help myself. One of those nerve things.
Vols should have hired him when they hired Bill Battle. There were no restrictions on recruiting at that point. Doug Dickey left UT at the top of the SEC and Johnny would have brought in 125 freshmen every year and weeded them out.