We just made it into the Top 10

#51
#51
It’s all subjective of course but I see several teams I believe are just better than we are. But rankings do take care of themselves so it will work it’s way out.
Who? Among the teams ranked below us. Which ones?
 
#52
#52
That’s absolutely insane! On one hand I think there’s no way we’re top 5 but when you look around the country who are 5 teams that are clearly better than us?

Honestly right now I think it's Georgia then Alabama then a giant ball of teams that can make the argument they are 3-10. And I'm not so sure about Alabama considering they struggled to beat Texas who once again declared they were back prematurely.
 
#53
#53
I have an idea.

Why don't we just enjoy it and take it one game at a time instead of worrying about what we're ranked and if we're too high or too low? We're going to have the chance to prove it every week out and college football is insane and very hard to predict (other than we will beat UK, write that down).
I’m certainly not worried about rankings as winning is all that matters but it’s so fun to see us back in the top 10 (assuming of course) and I guarantee that win yesterday and moving into the top 10 will help with recruiting.
 
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#55
#55
I have an idea.

Why don't we just enjoy it and take it one game at a time instead of worrying about what we're ranked and if we're too high or too low? We're going to have the chance to prove it every week out and college football is insane and very hard to predict (other than we will beat UK, write that down).
There's this game called College Football. And rankings are a significant element of how it works. Some sports have 68-team playoffs, this one has rankings.

Beyond it being intrinsic to the game, rankings are just fun for some of us (many of us, I'd say, but I've never taken a poll). It is enjoyable to have discussions about who we've beaten, what it means, who other teams have beaten or lost to, and how we compare to them.

Having lived through a decade and more of not often being able to have these types of discussions about our lads, it is doubly enjoyable now that we can.

If you don't like that aspect of the sport, you are of course welcome to ignore it. But maybe you don't want to recommend others join you. You wouldn't want to take away part of our fun, would you?

Go Vols!
 
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#56
#56
I have an idea.

Why don't we just enjoy it and take it one game at a time instead of worrying about what we're ranked and if we're too high or too low? We're going to have the chance to prove it every week out and college football is insane and very hard to predict (other than we will beat UK, write that down).

Yea, I’m just enjoying being undefeated at the end of September for only the second time since way back in the Fulmer era. Ranking will all work out. We need to heal up and get ready for a war in Death Valley.
 
#57
#57
I think Tennessee will be #9 in the Ratings while i think Kentucky falls to #10 or #11.

So, who passes us? We move up to 9 with the Oklahoma and Arky losses, then if we jump KY that's 8. For us to be 9, someone behind has to jump us.
 
#58
#58
Honestly right now I think it's Georgia then Alabama then a giant ball of teams that can make the argument they are 3-10. And I'm not so sure about Alabama considering they struggled to beat Texas who once again declared they were back prematurely.
I’d probably throw Ohio State in there too, as much as I hate to say that. Past that, I can’t definitively say anyone else is better than we are. I guess the next group would be Michigan, Clemson and maybe USC but I think we would beat USC and the other 2 would be toss ups. It’s all subjective though. All teams have their ups and downs. UGA is by far the most consistent so far but Kent St was a 2-point conversion away from only being down 1 score to UGA with 12 minutes left in the game. I think the Bama-Texas game was Bama’s off game and they still won on the road. Bama’s talent is still top 2 by a solid margin. They don’t seem to have that breakaway WR though so that will come back to haunt them at some point.
 
#59
#59
There's this game called College Football. And rankings are a significant element of how it works. Some sports have 68-team playoffs, this one has rankings.

Beyond it being intrinsic to the game, rankings are just fun for some of us (many of us, I'd say, but I've never taken a poll). It is enjoyable to have discussions about who we've beaten, what it means, who other teams have beaten or lost to, and how we would compare in their shoes.

If you don't like that aspect of the sport, you are of course welcome to ignore it. But maybe you don't want to recommend others join you; we're having fun at it.

Go Vols!

I thought I was enjoying it. Lol, thank goodness I have all these people on VN to straighten me out.
 
#61
#61
There's this game called College Football. And rankings are a significant element of how it works. Some sports have 68-team playoffs, this one has rankings.

Beyond it being intrinsic to the game, rankings are just fun for some of us (many of us, I'd say, but I've never taken a poll). It is enjoyable to have discussions about who we've beaten, what it means, who other teams have beaten or lost to, and how we compare to them.

Having lived through a decade and more of not often being able to have these types of discussions about our lads, it is doubly enjoyable now that we can.

If you don't like that aspect of the sport, you are of course welcome to ignore it. But maybe you don't want to recommend others join you. You wouldn't want to take away part of our fun, would you?

Go Vols!

And you are welcome to ignore my post as well, that door goes both ways. My post is merely that instead of say getting too caught up in are we a top 10, top 5 game, maybe savor a bit that we just beat Florida for the 2nd time since 2004 because I'm seeing some jumping ahead to how we're possibly a CFP team and others acting like our 4-0 record is a mirage and we're really not that good. I really don't care at the moment about how we won, we won.

And actually no, it hasn't been a decade since you've had this discussion, unless you didn't watch in 2016 before the TAMU game.
 
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#62
#62
At this point, Rankings have about as much credibility as Kirk's prediction on ESPN yesterday. Massey ratings (www.masseyratings.com) has us at #9. I have seen us jump up too quickly only to get bitten off the next week.
 
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#65
#65
No, the polls aren't out. That won't happen for another 8 hours or so.

But we joined the elite as the game ended yesterday evening. Not because it was Florida. Because of our lads, and who they are becoming as a team.

The way I see it, there are three teams playing at a level beyond everyone else: UGa, Bama, and Ohio State. And then there's a second tier of very good teams, a field of "peer competitors."

Aside from #1, #2 and #3, everyone in the Top 25 is now a peer for us. We're capable of walking onto a football field and beating any one of them, on any given Saturday.

Michigan? Yep. USCw? Uh-huh. Clemson? Them, too. Oklahoma? Hell, yes.

Been a lot of years since I felt that sure of our lads and coaches.

Certainly, we have areas that need improvement. Big huge ones. Like our passing defense. Like our run game (not counting our QB, who could find a clear running lane through a rose bush).

But news flash: every team has wrinkles. Even the very best have "a lot of things that need fixing." That's just football. It's how football works.

Oklahoma and Arkansas lost; USCw and Kentucky had a tougher time than they should have against lesser competition.

So we will probably end up somewhere between #7 and #9 when the AP comes out later today.

But that's just the paperwork catching up with us. We're already among the elite.

Go Vols!
Appreciate your perspective JP.
 
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#67
#67
I have an idea.

Why don't we just enjoy it and take it one game at a time instead of worrying about what we're ranked and if we're too high or too low? We're going to have the chance to prove it every week out and college football is insane and very hard to predict (other than we will beat UK, write that down).

This. Our ranking this week doesn’t matter at all if we lose to LSU in 2 weeks. The polls will take care of themselves by the end of the season. Let’s enjoy being 4-0 for 2 weeks, heal up, and prepare for the Tigers. If you think we are ranked too low now, just look forward to us proving those “experts” wrong week in and week out.
 
#69
#69
I feel like we'll jump USCw after they almost lost, but maybe not. Obviously we'll be jumping Arkansas and Oklahoma. Maybe jump Kentucky as they weren't impressive once again against weak competition. #8 or #9 is likely
 
#71
#71
If Tennessee beats LSU and Alabama everyone at CBS Sports will be drinking Jim Jones Coolaid.
At that point we become a big story and our games become events. When you beat Bama, people begin to expect your team to win. CBS will highlight us then. It is all about image. ESPN and CBS push us down because it has been a long time since casual national fans cared about our brand. NO love. NO hate. We have been a non-event for a long time. That is the worst thing a team can be. They are indifferent to us because the viewers are indifferent.

Winning our games against good, then great, opponents changes everything and doors, long closed due to irrelevance, open, and the announcers and "experts" present us in a better light like the Fulmer years. We will again be expected to be good and presented as a team for viewers to enjoy watching us play.

Today, no national fan enjoys a UT game. So, why would they present us positively? Hooker and company are changing this paradigm. It will be a process.
 
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#72
#72
I agree, but I don’t see us passing UK. They had a tough time with Northern Illinois, but still won. I honestly think Kentucky is a decent team.

I would be surprised if we passed Kentucky too, but I was responding to Jeff Clark, who said we would pass Kentucky and be only #9, which I thought was bizarre, considering we were #11 and 2 top 10 teams lost.
 
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