2020 Oklahoma: Most important game in Tennessee history?

#53
#53
TennesseeVol2006 said:
And you don’t think a win at Oklahoma would help accomplish that?
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Apply the way you are thinking to last season. Losing to Georgia State you'd think we'd have gone 0-12.
Should we compete? Yes Winning would be nice, but wouldn't or shouldn't determine how we finish.
 
#56
#56
calban said:
Apply the way you are thinking to last season. Losing to Georgia State you'd think we'd have gone 0-12.
Should we compete? Yes Winning would be nice, but wouldn't or shouldn't determine how we finish.
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But we did lose to BYU. And then everyone else until we pulled Guarantano.
 
#57
#57
I think OP is right. In a strategic sense, I would request this as a guaranteed win next year if i had a choice of winning any game. Give me reasons why we shouldn't beat UF or Uga next year?
 
#60
#60
OU is a far more talented team compared to where we were in 2015 when the gap was closer. We will be a heavy underdog.

A more realistic goal is to go 8-4 and a top 10 class for 2021 where our schedule sets up nicely.
 
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#61
#61
I’ve always thought history had already happened and the future has not.
The OK game is a very important game in our future. After it has happened it may be the spring board the Vols use to really get things going.

When did football become such a QB driven game?

I expect JP&S to get things right early in 2020.
 
#62
#62
JG has all the talent in the world. His problem has been decision making. He’s a 3 year starter and still hasn’t figured out how to throw a receiver open. He can make all the throws. He just can’t make them in a timely fashion. He also can run with the ball but but routinely chooses not to. He’s every bit as fast as Josh Dobbs, if not faster. The big difference between Dobbs and JG though, is that Dobbs always had the belief in himself that he could get the job done. JG has never had that belief in himself. He continues to make bad decisions with the football. I really hope Bailey can come in and take control. If you don’t have it figured out after 3 years, chances are you’re never going to figure it out.
 
#63
#63
Catbone said:
OU is a far more talented team compared to where we were in 2015 when the gap was closer. We will be a heavy underdog.

A more realistic goal is to go 8-4 and a top 10 class for 2021 where our schedule sets up nicely.
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We have never had a better offensive line. Period.

Pretty much all 5 stars.

8-4 isn’t progress. That would be a fail.
 
#68
#68
TennesseeVol2006 said:
Momentum is everything in sports.
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some people don't believe in momentum...I'm not one of them, but OK is not the most important game, but, yes, it would go a long way toward a possibly great season if we won it, don't you know...:D

PS. gonna go ahead and call it a win...there...;)

GO BIG ORANGE!
 
#72
#72
TennesseeVol2006 said:
Rarely in life do you get a 2nd shot.

2015 Oklahoma was the most important game of Tennessee’s future. We were still figuring out who Butch Jones was. We had this recruiting class coming in full of talent that set out to restore Tennessee to greatness. We had a national power in Oklahoma coming to Knoxville with an unproven transfer QB leading their team. Checkerboard in Neyland. We all know what happened. Oklahoma won in stunning fashion. Baker Mayfield carried that momentum to go on to lead Oklahoma to the playoffs and won a Heisman. Trevor Lawrence and a host of other top talent was at that game and left Knoxville possibly deciding against Tennessee. Butch’s youthful recruits never really gelled and took the next step. 2016 was a year of promise that just resulted in the collapse that culminated in 2017 being the worst season in the history of Tennessee football and the firing of LARP band dork pretending to be an alpha SEC HC. (Restored band geek status by being a coffee boy at Bama).

Winston Churchill famously said: “Those who fail to acknowledge history are condemned to repeat it.”

Now, here we are going into the 2020 season with a similar situation. We have a team comprised of elite talent on the offensive line. Potentially the best offensive line in Tennessee history. Right there with the team in 2013(14?) with Tiny Richardson, Zach Fulton, etc. Gray has shown flashes of brilliance at RB. Our WR’s are definitely a question mark. Our defense has shown promise and development.

The biggest question mark—is QB play. I will flat out say it: Guarantano is not good. If he goes into this season as a starter and gets the reps, we will be repeating exactly what we did in 2015.

Guarantano is a great kid. But he’s not a talented QB. We want talent like Joe Burrow or Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields.

Just a reminder for you....Joe Burrow threw nearly twice as many TD passes this year (60) in 15 games as Guarantano has thrown (32) in his 3 seasons (34 games) at Tennessee. Add to that his running abilities which would’ve put considerably more pressure on Bama’s D, which is something that Guarantano doesn’t have the ability to do.....Burrow 768 yards and 12 tds rushing in 2 years at LSU....Guarantano -79 yards and 1 TD rushing in 3 years at Tennessee.

We’re going to experience another decade of irrelevance and misery if Guarantano is our starter, and Pruitt’s regime will come to an end as a failure. That’s not what I want to happen, it’s just what will happen. A disaster campaign for the 2020 season means Pruitt starts being on the hot seat. That makes it even harder to recruit. And then you just don’t have the talent to compete.

Mark my words: if Guarantano gets the reps, we have a ceiling as an 8-9 win team for the next 10 years again. If ANYONE other than Guarantano gets the reps last season—we’re a 10 win team.

Before you comment—go through and look at the play by play drives on ESPN for any of the games we lost. You’ll notice some serious problems with our offense. It wasn’t our defense’s fault at any point this season.

Go Vols.
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I agree with a lot. Not to be a dick, but the defense played on skates against GAST. And Taylor? Falling down lost the game to BYU. One can argue that if JG played better, we could have won those games. But if Taylor don't fall, we don't lose that game. GAST the defense just couldn't execute. They were in position, but missed a ton of tackles or just got man handled.

JG may do a 180 this coming season, but I would love nothing more than HB to come in and take the job. BM, or the transfer for that matter. I have a feeling it will be JG though
 
#74
#74
TennesseeVol2006 said:
Momentum is everything in sports.
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Lots of good coaches would say momentum doesn’t even exist in sports. Team self-confidence does, and is needed even at times when the other team seems to be doing better. But it’s instilled over time in practice, through the program’s culture, and permeates the whole staff and roster. Perhaps you’ve heard the mantra, “when the breaks go against you, don’t let up...put on more steam...”

But OBVIOUSLY Oklahoma ‘20 is the most important game in the 100+ years of UT football. And it’s not even close. Also...
TennesseeVol2006 said:
Mark my words: if Guarantano gets the reps, we have a ceiling as an 8-9 win team for the next 10 years again. If ANYONE other than Guarantano gets the reps last season—we’re a 10 win team.
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Clearly our QB choice in ‘20 will limit the program’s potential for the next decade. These are just inarguable statements of fact.


All, feel free to insert mental blue font as needed.
 
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#75
#75
VolForLife83 said:
I agree with a lot. Not to be a dick, but the defense played on skates against GAST. And Taylor? Falling down lost the game to BYU. One can argue that if JG played better, we could have won those games. But if Taylor don't fall, we don't lose that game. GAST the defense just couldn't execute. They were in position, but missed a ton of tackles or just got man handled.

JG may do a 180 this coming season, but I would love nothing more than HB to come in and take the job. BM, or the transfer for that matter. I have a feeling it will be JG though
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I’m expecting JG to do the 180 and redshirt HB.
The OK game is big when it comes to how 2020 ends up.
 
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