98 vs 2001

#26
#26
TrueOrange said:
That’s incorrect. Tennessee held the top spot in the AP Poll from November 9 (when it got to the top of the BCS poll) through the end of the season in 1998.

1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings - Wikipedia
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Correct. I think #2-4 was unsettled on championship week though. I want to say UCLA, Kansas State and maybe another team was in the mix but they all lost that last week and FSU got bumped to 2. At the time I thought ‘crap’ thinking FSU would be a tougher match than the others but it worked out ok.
 
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#27
#27
The '98 team had a great defense as already has been said. It's hard to replace Leonard Little, Raynoch Thompson and most especially Al Wilson and the some of those DBs.

My problem with the '01 team (and I was at the SECCG in Atlanta when we lost to LSU) was the mistakes and offensive line. Our offensive line practiced against TWO FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS AT DEFENSIVE TACKLE all year (Henderson and Haynesworth). Yet after the game, one of the OL was interviewed on the radio and said pushing the LSU DTs was like trying to move a mountain. WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me? What happened in '01 was UT beat UF like a drum IN FLORIDA the week before b/c of the delayed games due to the attacks on "9-11". This victory sucked some fire out of the team against LSU. And UT lost against backup QB and RB. Unbelievable.
 
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#29
#29
Volizona said:
Correct. I think #2-4 was unsettled on championship week though. I want to say UCLA, Kansas State and maybe another team was in the mix but they all lost that last week and FSU got bumped to 2. At the time I thought ‘crap’ thinking FSU would be a tougher match than the others but it worked out ok.
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It was UCLA, Kansas State, and FSU. Ohio State and Arizona were both too far out of the mix (underlying numbers-wise) by the time Championship Week rolled around in early December (the SEC, Big 12, MAC, and WAC were the only ones who had championship games at the time). Texas A&M had also been in the mix until around Nov 27, but a 26-24 loss to Texas gave them their 2nd loss and dropped them well out of any sort of contention.

And of course, during Championship Week, #3 Kansas State lost in double OT to #10 Texas A&M and #2 UCLA lost 49-45 to Miami in a game in Florida that had been rescheduled from its original September 26 date due to Hurricane Georges.




Edit:
So after looking at it further, Ohio State and Arizona were pretty much out of the running even earlier (likely in large part due to the former's loss to 6-6 Michigan State and the latter's 52-28 loss to UCLA). The only other significant late season result that could have changed was the result of Florida State's last game of the season (a Nov. 21 game in which #4 FSU defeated #5 Florida 23-12). But underlying numbers wise, all that really would have done is more or less swapped the final positions of the Seminoles and Gators...meaning at the end of the year UF would have benefited from the two major upsets and jumped up from #4 to #2 and played Tennessee a second time.
 
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#30
#30
Iam4utalways said:
The only question mark for 1998 was QB, everywhere else was stacked with talent. Who was Tee’s backup in 98?

2001 was stacked too.We were too kind to the other teams in 2001. We didn’t play anyone that we shouldn’t have blown out. The guys looked like they had the party the night before the game rather than after.
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Burney Veazey was the backup QB in 98.
 
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#31
#31
UTwild82 said:
Burney Veazey was the backup QB in 98.
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Yep. He played in 6 games that year, throwing 4 completions on 7 attempts for 86 yards and a touchdown plus 1 interception. He was moved to WR the following season and Joey Matthews became the backup QB.

I'd really like to see a total roster from that year. I would love to find a 1998 program that someone preserved and scanned online to see what the overall roster situation was like when it came to QB that season.
 
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#34
#34
TrueOrange said:
That’s incorrect. Tennessee held the top spot in the AP Poll from November 9 (when it got to the top of the BCS poll) through the end of the season in 1998.

1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings - Wikipedia
Click to expand...
I have no memory of Arizona being 12-1 in 1998. I just pulled up their schedule and their only loss was to UCLA. So I assume we would have played them in Tempe if they had won that game.
 
#35
#35
Vols1891 said:
I have no memory of Arizona being 12-1 in 1998. I just pulled up their schedule and their only loss was to UCLA. So I assume we would have played them in Tempe if they had won that game.
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Had Arizona beaten UCLA and then still won out to finish their regular season 12-0 (they played Hawaii that year, so they had 12 regular season games)? Yes, the BCS championship game would have been Tennessee vs Arizona.
 
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#36
#36
I’d take the ‘98 team over the ‘01 team for a reason I’m surprised no one has mentioned yet - David Cutcliffe vs. Randy Sanders.
 
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#37
#37
Rickyvol77 said:
1995 was one of the most talented teams we’ve ever have. One bad Qtr in Gainesville doomed a Nc appearance
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Wait, just one bad quarter? Florida scored 5 straight TDs across both quarters of the second half before Tennessee scored again. Including the end of the half (which only saw Tennessee holding a 30-21 lead), Florida scored 42 unanswered points while pretty much shutting down the Vols offense from early in the second quarter onward.
 
#38
#38
EconVol92 said:
98 had coach Cut, that was the magic ingredient. Look at Fulmer’s record with and without him.

I understand that he was gone before the national championship game, but he was the glue that held everything together.
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Even without Cut we win it all in 98.
 
#39
#39
Rickyvol77 said:
1995 was one of the most talented teams we’ve ever have. One bad Qtr in Gainesville doomed a Nc appearance
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I can agree with this. However just like in 2001, I would have hated to have went to the NC game in 1995. That Nebraska team would have absolutely demolished us like the 2001 Hurricanes would have.
 
#40
#40
98 was all about leadership from 97 bowl game to the Championship Game. Al Wilson and the Captains pushed that team to the limits and they never quit.
 
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#41
#41
EverythingOrange said:
I think it killed a lot of sports-writers and broadcasters (Ahem - ESPN) that Tennessee won the first BCS national title game in 98. Even though we were undefeated and undisputed, Tennessee was still ranked #4 in the AP Poll even AFTER the BCS National Championship. No doubt, Tennessee would have gotten royally screwed if it wasn't for the BCS that year. In 2001, we lost a couple of games that we shouldn't have -- Hob-nail boot & Especially to LSU in the SEC Championship. But it was nice giving Michigan a butt-whipping in the Citrus Bowl (45-17)!
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I think you need to go back and review the 1998 season before you write your victim narrative because you're wrong.

We were #1 in the AP poll from Week 10 on. We were #2 in the coaches poll from Week 10 to Week 13. We were #1 in the BCS Poll from Week 10 on.
 
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#42
#42
1998 was playing an underdog type role because no one thought they would do what they did after Manning left. It's really had to quantify something like that. Also I think they got enough breaks to last....well so far about 24 years.

2001 I actually think they sort of bought into their own hype after beating Florida. Before that game they were also in an underdog role, as they had some heavy disrespect in being such a huge underdog going to Gainesville but also we knew we were good because the one loss (Georgia) kind of felt a bit flukey at least imo. But after that game I think they believed they had booked their ticket to the Rose Bowl. The next week in the SEC Championship was one of the biggest letdowns I've ever seen since I've been watching Tennessee football.
 
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#43
#43
GAVol said:
In some ways, 2001 was 1998 without the breaks.
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Well said. In 1998, the Vols made their own breaks. 2001 was still a talented bunch, but they just did not have Al Wilson and Billy Ratliff, just to mention two. Some might call it good fortune, but I call it a refuse to lose mentality. Of course everytime I watch the relay of Ratliff pushing Bullsworth back at just the right moment? Luck might have something to do with it.
 
#44
#44
Actually if we're going there, as much as the 2001 team is a haunting memory of what could have been, 1999 imo is worse. 2001 I still think we would have lost to Miami in the Rose Bowl; though I think we would have given them a much better game than Nebraska. But 1999, we the ball for a game winning drive in Gainesville and couldn't get it done. We couldn't put Arkansas away and they win.
 
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#46
#46
UTwild82 said:
Burney Veazey was the backup QB in 98.
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BigOrangeTrain said:
I can agree with this. However just like in 2001, I would have hated to have went to the NC game in 1995. That Nebraska team would have absolutely demolished us like the 2001 Hurricanes would have.
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That’s the spirit. I disagree on both predicted demolishing.
 
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#47
#47
TrueOrange said:
Yep. He played in 6 games that year, throwing 4 completions on 7 attempts for 86 yards and a touchdown plus 1 interception. He was moved to WR the following season and Joey Matthews became the backup QB.

I'd really like to see a total roster from that year. I would love to find a 1998 program that someone preserved and scanned online to see what the overall roster situation was like when it came to QB that season.
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Beginning of the season: From the ‘98 Media Guide
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#48
#48
BigOrangeTrain said:
If we would have had elite QB play in 1998, that team might have gone down as one of the best ever.
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If you go back and watch some of those 98 games you will remember that Tee was pretty solid. He wasn’t Manning but he got the job done with his arm and legs when he had to. I think he had a long run in OT vs Florida that kept them in FG range and think he set a consecutive completions record at SC. Maybe he wasn’t elite but he sure wasn’t bad either. He could throw a nice long ball too.
 
#49
#49
Iam4utalways said:
That’s the spirit. I disagree on both predicted demolishing.
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Interesting. Why though? The 1995 Nebraska and 2001 Miami are considered 2 of the greatest football teams of all time. They literally demolished nearly every team they played. I would interested in hearing your opinions as to how we would have stood a chance with either team.
 
#50
#50
Volizona said:
If you go back and watch some of those 98 games you will remember that Tee was pretty solid. He wasn’t Manning but he got the job done with his arm and legs when he had to. I think he had a long run in OT vs Florida that kept them in FG range and think he set a consecutive completions record at SC. Maybe he wasn’t elite but he sure wasn’t bad either. He could throw a nice long ball too.
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He was average to below average.
 
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