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I think it just dawned on me that we should beat LSU.

I just wanted to beat Pitt and, especially, UF. I was so excited with the team achieving those goals and getting to 4-0 that I forgot about what's next. I never really thought to set my expectations, as a fan, to 5-0. Maybe I figured LSU would just have one of those incredible years, like most of our alternating west opponents have. . . or maybe we'd run out of luck by the LSU game, or we'd have too many injuries.

Luck hasn't been much of a factor in getting to 4-0. In fact, we've fought against bad luck/performances and still won. We beat a solid Pitt team and a Florida team that tried everything they could to stay in the game, but couldn't.

Now we're heading to LSU and a win there isn't just possible, it's probable. We'll be favored as the visiting team. We've got a great start time, mostly no serious injuries, a defense that's proven it can do what it takes to win, and an offense that is hitting smooth on all cylinders.

I can't believe we're just 17 games removed from from the Pruitt era disaster. We're in the top10, staring down the barrel at 5-0 and the potential for an undefeated matchup against Bama.

It's strange, because it feels real. I mean, even though we had a couple decent years with Butch, it never felt "real" or sustainable. I literally can't remember the feeling from the last time we were legitimately good. We may lose a few games down the stretch, but the future for the Vols looks extremely bright.

Do you guys think we're a legitimate top10 team or are we being propped up by winning the first few games? I mean, do you see us as a top10 team at the end of the season?

Anyway. . .
Vols 45
LSU 37

(Edit: sheesh, that was longer than I thought it was. . . @Glitch )
I do think we are a legit Top 10 team...but I think that parity is amazing outside of the 2-3 deep 5* loaded UGA, Bama and OSU.

I don't think that much separates #5 from #25.

Case in point...us. We needed OT to beat Pitt (good Top 20 team) and UF (good Top 20 team) took us down to the wire.
 
AR didn't get any better, his wr were 500% more open than they'd been all year. Anyone would have a better performance if almost every target was wide open.

AR completed 70% of his passes against Utah, and when you watch the highlights, guys were pretty wide open. It was different the next 2 games. I think part of it was also their play calling. Gameday showed plays in the UK game where UF used max protection and sent 2 WR’s on routes with no one open. But it was clear that you need to limit his rushing to have a chance.
 
AR completed 70% of his passes against Utah, and when you watch the highlights, guys were pretty wide open. It was different the next 2 games. I think part of it was also their play calling. Gameday showed plays in the UK game where UF used max protection and sent 2 WR’s on routes with no one open. But it was clear that you need to limit his rushing to have a chance.
That was my point basically, he looks great when his wr are wide open, trash if he actually has to read defenses or throw contested passes. I'm no DC, but I feel like it should be possible to limit his rushing without leaving multiple wr wide open almost every play.
 
That was my point basically, he looks great when his wr are wide open, trash if he actually has to read defenses or throw contested passes. I'm no DC, but I feel like it should be possible to limit his rushing without leaving multiple wr wide open almost every play.

That’s man v. zone mostly though. He ran for about a 45 yard TD against Utah when he stepped up in the pocket and went untouched down the left sideline until about the 5 yard line. I presume that was man coverage. Zone will keep everything in front of you. I think UF played a lot of man against us, and Hooker ate it up.
 
That’s man v. zone mostly though. He ran for about a 45 yard TD against Utah when he stepped up in the pocket and went untouched down the left sideline until about the 5 yard line. I presume that was man coverage. Zone will keep everything in front of you. I think UF played a lot of man against us, and Hooker ate it up.
That's admittedly beyond my expertise, but your posts imply an inevitability regarding AR beating us either on the ground and in the air, and that's the general idea I'm disagreeing with. He's not so good that you have to pick your poison with him. Our talent isn't so bad that we have to give his wr giant cushions in exchange for keeping AR from huge runs.
 
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He does it so people will talk. He’s in show business, not truth business.
All about driving traffic...how much traffic from Vol twitter you think a comment like that drove? He knows exactly what he's doing. WE (well, not me)are the idiots for falling for it.
 
That's admittedly beyond my expertise, but your posts imply an inevitability regarding AR beating us either on the ground and in the air, and that's the general idea I'm disagreeing with. He's not so good that you have to pick your poison with him. Our talent isn't so bad that we have to give his wr giant cushions in exchange for keeping AR from huge runs.

I probably disagree. He’s a very good runner. We also tended to struggle with that last year. He showed some struggles in the passing game this year. So, I believe the plan was to limit his running and the big plays, which we tend to do anyway. It’s kind of revisionist history because a majority of the talk on defense game week was to not let him beat you by running. Hooker is kind of the same way. He didn’t run well against Pitt, and our offense bogged down in the second half. Pitt made him throw by stacking the box. Against Mizzou, USC, and OM last year, Hooker had 60+ yards in all 3. Against Florida, Bama, and Georgia, he had 27 or less.
 
I'm not sure if our on-field success helps us with the current recruiting class. Seems like it would make a lot of kids take a second look at us, but I'm not sure that's happening. It's weird because the path to playing time is definitely easier here than it is at programs like Bama or Georgia where they stacked highly rated classes. And we seem to have a top-notch NIL collective. I love the class we currently have, but there are still glaring needs to be addressed. Especially at DL and OL. I'm hoping a lot of talent hits the portal after the season because I think we're going to have to hit the portal hard to supplement this class and fill needs.
 
The one thing most I’ve seen most from LSU people complaining about the 11am start time is that our game is better match up than the other two “primetime” games (2:30 and 6:30 CST). This is because people still view the 11am CST slot as the Jefferson Pilot game of the week and it’s not!

Fox has made sure people pay attention to that early window and ESPN has followed along by making good, marquee matchups for that window. By putting the TN/LSU game early the SEC is almost guaranteed three primetime-ish matchups that LOTS of people will be watching.

LSU also obviously wanted a night game for the perceived home field advantage, but that just sucks for them and wasn’t gonna happen with Bama/TAMU the same weekend. Plus, CBS wasn’t gonna cover TN 3 out of 4 weeks (FL, LSU and Bama).
Maybe so... but I think time slot was also affected by this being a CBS double-header weekend. Also, we sure have had a lot of brunch food tailgates the past few years, which makes me think it's still a little bit Jefferson-Pilotish!
 
That is the only Jack I can drink without absolutely just forcing myself. I find JD (and most bourbons and Tennessee whiskeys) to be wayyyyy too sweet and syrupy for my tastes but the cinnamon really changes the the flavor profile into something much better.

Have you tried Scotch? Years ago I started drinking black coffee because dairy and sugar are terrible for you. A week after doing so the coffee started tasted amazing. Then I tried scotch straight (not in the morning obviously) and it was the same. I think you can go blended like Johnnie Walker Black or Glenfiddich if you want single malt. Doesn’t have to be expensive and fancy. Then I tried bourbon straight. No going back it’s like a new awakening. Simple and delicious.
 
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