The Florida and Vanderbilt games MATTER

#1
UTwild82

UTwild82

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#1
Let's move on from Saturday. The thing that makes CFB the greatest sport in the land is the importance of regular season games. While an expanded playoff has impacted this some, games against your rivals are still the life blood of this sport.

You can't convince me winning a game in Gainesville isn't important. And in words I never thought I would say, the thought of Vanderbilt celebrating a win and potential playoff birth in Neyland disgusts me.

The coaching staff and leadership on this team needs to keep guys locked in. 9-3 is VASTLY different than 7-5. Let's stay focused. These last 2 games matter to most of us fans. Let's clean things up and do this. That Gainesville streak has to end. We BEAT Vanderbilt. It's our birthright. Let's do this, finish the year with a Florida bowl, and look forward to next year. Go Vols.
 
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#3
#3
UTwild82 said:
Let's move on from Saturday. The thing that makes CFB the greatest sport in the land is the importance of regular season games. While an expanded playoff has impacted this some, games against your rivals are still the life blood of this sport.

You can't convince me winning a game in Gainesville isn't important. And in words I never thought I would say, the thought of Vanderbilt celebrating a win and potential playoff birth in Neyland disgusts me.

The coaching staff and leadership on this team needs to keep guys locked in. 9-3 is VASTLY different than 7-5. Let's stay focused. These last 2 games matter to most of us fans. Let's clean things up and do this. That Gainesville streak has to end. We BEAT Vanderbilt. It's our birthright. Let's do this, finish the year with a Florida bowl, and look forward to next year. Go Vols.
Click to expand...

For us to win in the swamp, it will take moving a traditional early season game to the end of the season so Florida can get run through and fire their coach, have players opt out, and an interim with one foot out the door. Such an accomplishment!
 
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#5
#5
Voltopia said:
Does it matter to us? Sure.

Does it matter to the young men playing in a system where the only thing the sports media machine cares about or gives attention is the playoffs? I guess we'll find out.
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It's no different than when it was just 4 teams. Or the BCS. The Sports media has only cared about the top teams in the conversation forever. People acting like that hasnt' been a thing forever are wearing some very thick nostalgia glasses.
 
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#7
#7
Peradox1K said:
No... 2023's wasn't good.
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No one is saying that team wasn't bad. But this Florida team this year is the worst they have had this century. They are very much likely to be a 4 win team. That game against Kentucky this week is also a toss up. They could easily go 1-5 in the second half for a 3-9 record. Awful
 
#8
#8
JMSqb11 said:
No one is saying that team wasn't bad. But this Florida team this year is the worst they have had this century. They are very much likely to be a 4 win team. That game against Kentucky this week is also a toss up. They could easily go 1-5 in the second half for a 3-9 record. Awful
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Maybe. We'll see.
 
#9
#9
UTwild82 said:
Let's move on from Saturday. The thing that makes CFB the greatest sport in the land is the importance of regular season games. While an expanded playoff has impacted this some, games against your rivals are still the life blood of this sport.

You can't convince me winning a game in Gainesville isn't important. And in words I never thought I would say, the thought of Vanderbilt celebrating a win and potential playoff birth in Neyland disgusts me.

The coaching staff and leadership on this team needs to keep guys locked in. 9-3 is VASTLY different than 7-5. Let's stay focused. These last 2 games matter to most of us fans. Let's clean things up and do this. That Gainesville streak has to end. We BEAT Vanderbilt. It's our birthright. Let's do this, finish the year with a Florida bowl, and look forward to next year. Go Vols.
Click to expand...
Yeah. You are right. Everybody gets obsessed with making the playoffs, and winning a freaking natty. Well, that just ain't in the cards every single year. In fact, it is rare for many of the most storied programs, and impossible for the majority.

But year in and year out when I was growing up? It was usually hoping to get a bowl game. Sugar, Cotton, Citrus, Gator, or maybe even the Liberty Bowl. Sitting at home, and not seeing the Vols is a bummer. The damn things might not matter as much now as they did then, but not being invited sucks.

And even if you don't make a bowl? Beating those arrogant, lame farks in Gainesville ALWAYS matters. I heard rumors that they poured urine on the POTS band. That spelled MATTERS in every colors that crayola ever made. I still remember that missed field goal in 98. There was a couple behind us. The wife was a Tennessee alumni. Her husband? A dyed in the wool Gator. As I saw that ball fall past the left upright, I looked back at her (because some fat guy in orange slightly obstructed my view) and said, Was that a miss? Did he miss that short as Hell kick? As she said yes excitedly, I saw her husband hang his head. Hell, she grabbed me, and we fell into a pile hugging each other for about 8 seconds. And her husband? Not a word. Priceless moment. As we were leaving the stadium, every time someone yelled WOO, I out yelled them by what one old man thought me to be speaking in tongues. This matters.


Beating those nitwits from Nashville? Maybe not as much, but losing to them? That feels like having three stomach viruses all at once, and explosive diarrhea to boot. I want us to humiliate those worthless can'ts year after year, until they finally give up, and swap over to the Big Ten or ACC. I hate them and all 12 of their puny fans. We can take Purdue and/or North Carolina in exchange. Vanderbilt being worth a pink damn is like waiting for a solar eclipse. And no matter how they try to dress up their high school stadium, it is a stain on the SEC. Letting us be beaten by them? I don't care if they had 100 5 stars. Losing to Vanderbilt sucks, and some half decent country singer needs to get off his sorry ass and write a song about it. I might even become a fan. Not a BIG fan, but you get the idea.

Matters not who the Vols play. Winning always matters.
 
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#10
#10
TNnative said:
Yeah. You are right. Everybody gets obsessed with making the playoffs, and winning a freaking natty. Well, that just ain't in the cards every single year. In fact, it is rare for many of the most storied programs, and impossible for the majority.

But year in and year out when I was growing up? It was usually hoping to get a bowl game. Sugar, Cotton, Citrus, Gator, or maybe even the Liberty Bowl. Sitting at home, and not seeing the Vols is a bummer. The damn things might not matter as much now as they did then, but not being invited sucks.

And even if you don't make a bowl? Beating those arrogant, lame farks in Gainesville ALWAYS matters. I heard rumors that they poured urine on the POTS band. That spelled MATTERS in every colors that crayola ever made. I still remember that missed field goal in 98. There was a couple behind us. The wife was a Tennessee alumni. Her husband? A dyed in the wool Gator. As I saw that ball fall past the left upright, I looked back at her (because some fat guy in orange slightly obstructed my view) and said, Was that a miss? Did he miss that short as Hell kick? As she said yes excitedly, I saw her husband hang his head. Hell, she grabbed me, and we fell into a pile hugging each other for about 8 seconds. And her husband? Not a word. Priceless moment.


Beating those nitwits from Nashville? Maybe not as much, but losing to them? That feels like having three stomach viruses all at once, and explosive diarrhea to boot. I want us to humiliate those worthless can'ts year after year, until they finally give up, and swap over to the Big Ten or ACC. I hate them and all 12 of their puny fans. We can take Purdue and/or North Carolina in exchange. Vanderbilt being worth a pink damn is like waiting for a solar eclipse. And no matter how they try to dress up their high school stadium, it is a stain on the SEC. Letting us be beaten by them? I don't care if they had 100 5 stars. Losing to Vanderbilt sucks, and some half decent country singer needs to get off his ass and write a song about it.

Matters not who the Vols play. Winning always matters.
Click to expand...

I'll be honest, spoiling Vandy's season won't matter to anyone if we are in the same boat this time next year. We are Tennessee. The fact our season accomplishment comes down to spoiling Vandy's season is downright awful.
 
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#11
#11
VolsSportsFan said:
It's no different than when it was just 4 teams. Or the BCS. The Sports media has only cared about the top teams in the conversation forever. People acting like that hasnt' been a thing forever are wearing some very thick nostalgia glasses.
Click to expand...

No. Not the BCS. Whehen the BCS around, the other major bowl games were the "who could be a contender next year" previews. People still cared about the major four and to an extent the Citrus, Gator, and Cotton bowls. It was still a glorious hodgepodge outside of the one big game.

The CFP is what killed all that. Because it's all about owning the product. When the schools switched to the CFP - conveniently something that ESPN completely and fully owned for marketing purposes - well, hell, all of a sudden the only thing that mattered on their shows and the greater sports sphere was the CFP. Funny how that works. And that's why I said the "sports media machine." The CFP was engineered by ESPN and other media interests to claim control of the post-season, which is what they always wanted. They wanted to own the sport. And once those interests met the schools' price, those schools were apparently happy to sell it to them.

We're just stuck in the results of that transaction now.
 
#13
#13
Voltopia said:
No. Not the BCS. Whehen the BCS around, the other major bowl games were the "who could be a contender next year" previews. People still cared about the major four and to an extent the Citrus, Gator, and Cotton bowls. It was still a glorious hodgepodge outside of the one big game.

The CFP is what killed all that. Because it's all about owning the product. When the schools switched to the CFP - conveniently something that ESPN completely and fully owned for marketing purposes - well, hell, all of a sudden the only thing that mattered on their shows and the greater sports sphere was the CFP. Funny how that works. And that's why I said the "sports media machine." The CFP was engineered by ESPN and other media interests to claim control of the post-season, which is what they always wanted. They wanted to own the sport. And once those interests met the schools' price, those schools were apparently happy to sell it to them.

We're just stuck in the results of that transaction now.
Click to expand...
I think the playoff is fine. They just expanded it too much. A 3 loss team should be nowhere near contending for the playoff yet last year we had three 9-3 SEC teams on the bubble at 13-16 spots.

If they expand it to 16, we are going to see 3 loss teams with a shot to win a natty. That is horrible.


They should have expanded it from 4 to 6 or 8 and kept it there. The idea that after the regular season 10+ teams can contend for a title is just dumb. But the money!
 
#17
#17
JMSqb11 said:
No one is saying that team wasn't bad. But this Florida team this year is the worst they have had this century. They are very much likely to be a 4 win team. That game against Kentucky this week is also a toss up. They could easily go 1-5 in the second half for a 3-9 record. Awful
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Their record don't matter. EVERYONE gets up for us. We gotta want it more.
 
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#18
#18
JMSqb11 said:
Not really. Florida just lost a couple starters for the rest of the season to injury and opt outs. But sure, if you call that the same Florida team, okay
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Who cares? Beating Florida is beating Florida. Alabama just spent 15 years lighting up cigars after beating some of our worst teams ever.
 
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#19
#19
JMSqb11 said:
I'll be honest, spoiling Vandy's season won't matter to anyone if we are in the same boat this time next year. We are Tennessee. The fact our season accomplishment comes down to spoiling Vandy's season is downright awful.
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Screw that. Losing to Vandy SUCKS. To Hell with what whoever you are referring to as "anyone". They don't matter. What matters is not needing puke pails and a truckload of Depends!

Edit: AND to not give Uncle Lou posting material about it.
 
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#21
#21
TNnative said:
Screw that. Losing to Vandy SUCKS. To Hell with what whoever you are referring to as "anyone". They don't matter. What matters is not needing puke pails and a truckload of Depends!
Click to expand...

Yes. Losing to Vandy sucks. No one disputes that. But if we do lose to Vandy and end the regular season with a complete question mark at the most important position for next year, it’s gonna be a long offseason
 
#23
#23
JMSqb11 said:
That's all you can say. You know that beating Florida this is year is not some sort of high accomplishment. It will be the worst florida team we will have ever played this century.
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You know the stakes here, we haven't won in 2 decades vs some actually terrible UF teams in Gainesville. Getting another 20 year monkey off our back is an accomplishment, just like beating Saban.
 
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#24
#24
SandoVOL said:
You know the stakes here, we haven't won in 2 decades vs some actually terrible UF teams in Gainesville. Getting another 20 year monkey off our back is an accomplishment, just like beating Saban.
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Ending a 20 year streak is okay, but doing that doesn't outweigh sorting out our QB situation next year in what will be a very important year for Heupel here.
 
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