Apathy

#26
#26
anbailey76 said:
This isn't the college football we grew up with. Just going 8-4 or 9-3 and making a bowl is not a good season anymore. If you are traditionally a top 15-20 program, the new water mark is making the playoffs. To me, its now equal to college basketball, if you don't make the tournament, its not a successful season. That was a very winnable game last night, as the rest of the season will be. Big lost opportunity last night with an amped up crowd and atmosphere. Just the way it is.
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The problem with your statement is less than 15-20 teams make the playoffs. So it seems absurd to define that as success. Because of auto bids it’s really only top 10 who get in.

I don’t think anyone expected annual top ten by year 5
 
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#27
#27
Vol8188 said:
The problem with your statement is less than 15-20 teams make the playoffs. So it seems absurd to define that as success. Because of auto bids it’s really only top 10 who get in.

I don’t think anyone expected annual top ten by year 5
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Not initially but Huepel elevated the expectations drastically with the quick turnaround in season 2. We are now 2.5 seasons removed from that year are struggling just to get back to 9 wins.
 
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#32
#32
anbailey76 said:
This isn't the college football we grew up with. Just going 8-4 or 9-3 and making a bowl is not a good season anymore. If you are traditionally a top 15-20 program, the new water mark is making the playoffs. To me, its now equal to college basketball, if you don't make the tournament, its not a successful season. That was a very winnable game last night, as the rest of the season will be. Big lost opportunity last night with an amped up crowd and atmosphere. Just the way it is.
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This is bonkers to me.

So because we have a playoff now where 12 of the 120ish FBS teams get to play for the title (and really only about 4 of them tops probably have a legit shot), now 8-4, 9-3 isn't good enough? Why? It's not the NCAAT where 68 teams get in. That I can understand it being making the NCAAT should be the minimum goal of any P4 program that remotely takes basketball seriously.

This is all nostalgia glasses and the fact that in the old system, if you weren't #1 or #2 then you had to be happy with a Liberty Bowl or a Peach Bowl or whatever they came up with convince people that was an acceptable outcome. The concept is exactly the same, 9-3 now is still out of the NC picture just like it was in the "old" way. It's just now more teams get to play for it. Even when they go to 16 in the next few years it's still going to be a minority of teams.

I swear people just really get into some goofy mindsets because of the playoffs and it's really, really funny to me.
 
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#33
#33
TartanTurff said:
College Football Playoff is the basic threshold, much like the NCAA basketball tournament. Sweet 16 or Final 4 lurks in there as well.

Apathy sets in when your record eliminates your appearance in the playoff and many think that happened after the Alabama debacle. But the media bought into a two loss team with a soft strength of schedule being one of 3 or 4 SEC teams in the playoff.

Was a longshot, but with a third loss, no SEC teams with 3 conference losses is going to the playoffs. Not much to play for now but pride in the program, not sure Heupel gets that, he embraces tradition, more so out of deference to the fan base, but Florida is a recent rival with the division of the conference in 1992, Vanderbilt has been a rival from the day they started playing football in the south. Going through the motions this month will get you 7-5 and a one way ticket to the Music City Bowl or worse given the apathy that is settling into this clown show Heupel is directing these days.
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We are eliminated from the playoffs. Apathy hasn’t come close to setting in for me. I am still excited about the rest of the season. Just because some fans think there is nothing to play for, I totally disagree.
 
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#35
#35
anbailey76 said:
This isn't the college football we grew up with. Just going 8-4 or 9-3 and making a bowl is not a good season anymore. If you are traditionally a top 15-20 program, the new water mark is making the playoffs. To me, its now equal to college basketball, if you don't make the tournament, its not a successful season. That was a very winnable game last night, as the rest of the season will be. Big lost opportunity last night with an amped up crowd and atmosphere. Just the way it is.
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So basically what you are saying is there are only 12 good teams in the nation. And what happens when a team makes the playoffs and gets boat raced in round 1? How is that better than making a good bowl game and winning it?

Some of you are strange.
 
#39
#39
Vol8188 said:
The problem with your statement is less than 15-20 teams make the playoffs. So it seems absurd to define that as success. Because of auto bids it’s really only top 10 who get in.

I don’t think anyone expected annual top ten by year 5
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How about year 8 or 10. Maybe we won’t be the 3rd ranked in the great state of Tennessee then
 
#42
#42
dduncan4163 said:
Coming into the year most on here including myself predicted either an 9-3 or 8-4 season. Right now we're on pace for exactly that. I'm not thrilled we're 6-3 but I'm far from shocked. This season is going how I expected it too. We have a damn good HC in Heup. We have a great class coming in. I'm far from apathetic. I think we are going to contend for the SEC in 2026.

Step back from the ledge.
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QB play will be the key there. If we get good QB play, yes 2026 could be a great year. From that standpoint, would you start Mac or Merk now?
 
#44
#44
Vol8188 said:
The problem with your statement is less than 15-20 teams make the playoffs. So it seems absurd to define that as success. Because of auto bids it’s really only top 10 who get in.

I don’t think anyone expected annual top ten by year 5
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The goal is to be one of the top 12 teams year in and out. At Tennessee it isn’t unrealistic to be in that mix 2 out of 4 years minimum on average. With our resources that should be the goal and standard. Period. GBO! And the playoffs will be at 16 probably at some point and there is no reason the expectation should be to be there at least 50-60 percent of the time or more. GBO!In the SEC that better be your standard or your going to get waxed.
 
#45
#45
BigOrangeTrain said:
So basically what you are saying is there are only 12 good teams in the nation. And what happens when a team makes the playoffs and gets boat raced in round 1? How is that better than making a good bowl game and winning it?

Some of you are strange.
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Does making a “good bowl game” mean anything when 10 or 15 of your players or the other team’s players have either hit the portal or opted out? I guess it’s good for the freshmen to get some PT and more practices (if they haven’t hit the portal) but that’s about it. If the other team is decimated, you certainly don’t get bragging rights for beating them.
 
#46
#46
hUTch2002 said:
QB play will be the key there. If we get good QB play, yes 2026 could be a great year. From that standpoint, would you start Mac or Merk now?
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Merk is widely considered to transfer out. I think that is foolish without him getting a chance to see what he can do. 3 weeks plus a game vs NM State would be more than enough time for Heupel to develop a comfortable gameplan
 
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#47
#47
Carl Pickens said:
Aggravated …. Yes. Apathetic….. no
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Exactly, Vol fans are frustrated bc things just haven’t gone as well as they could have this season. I’d be frustrated as well, but there is definitely not a sense of apathy from y’all’s fanbase. People are disappointed and pissed a bit, but certainly not overwhelmingly disinterested.

I joined this site a few years ago before one of our games. I have remained an active member bc fans here do give a shite about CFB and there are many very knowledgeable contributors about CFB here. I don’t mind admitting that I’ve learned a bit from some knowledgeable Vol fans, that’s why I still participate here.

Disappointing year? Sure it is, bc you shoot for a playoff spot at worst, but there is no apathy on the whole here. It’s honestly a privilege to be disappointed bc you didn’t make the playoff. It could be much worse, and I think that most Vol fans realize this. There is no or very little apathy here, and there absolutely shouldn’t be.
 
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#49
#49
JMSqb11 said:
Merk is widely considered to transfer out. I think that is foolish without him getting a chance to see what he can do. 3 weeks plus a game vs NM State would be more than enough time for Heupel to develop a comfortable gameplan
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I’m still waiting to see Hype couch up one of his recruited qbs.

Was that not supposed be one of his strongest areas?
 
#50
#50
#1fulmerite said:
How many of you remember when apathy set into the entire program? Are we headed back in that direction?
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Get back to us when the waiting list for tickets is below 10,000. Lots of noise from the fragile whiney class is what it is…… They are prolific but if they ALL walked away attendance would not miss a beat. Avg. fan quality would go up though.

Boards and radio shows attract the very top and the very bottom and not representative of the entire fanbase that fill the stands and pay the bills.
 
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