CBS poll top 130 is Tenn to low

[sjt18]

Too low? Probably but most people are basing these rankings on the presumption that UT will lost to both Mizzou and UK and possibly Pitt.

 

[sjt18]

How in the world is this too low?

We had a net loss of ~25 players to the transfer portal, brand new coaching staff, we went 3-7 last year, and they say we are a middle of the pack team nationally. Seems reasonable to me.

That's a pretty silly and unreasoned take on the roster. The vast majority of those players would not have played a significant role for UT this year regardless. Even someone like Chandler who might have had more opportunity with Gray gone was being passed by Small as the season progressed last year. The critical losses to the portal were replaced pretty much "in kind".

But the bottom line is that you play with the guys you have... not the guys you don't have. This roster STILL has more talent than 8 opponents. If last year's results were anything like a reflection of talent then you'd have more of a point. I'm not sure there's anyone who believes that.

The "perception" based on last year is the primary driver here. UT should be better than that if well coached.

 

[05_never_again]

That's a pretty silly and unreasoned take on the roster. The vast majority of those players would not have played a significant role for UT this year regardless. Even someone like Chandler who might have had more opportunity with Gray gone was being passed by Small as the season progressed last year. The critical losses to the portal were replaced pretty much "in kind".

But the bottom line is that you play with the guys you have... not the guys you don't have. This roster STILL has more talent than 8 opponents. If last year's results were anything like a reflection of talent then you'd have more of a point. I'm not sure there's anyone who believes that.

The "perception" based on last year is the primary driver here. UT should be better than that if well coached.

The losses to the portal still destroy your depth, even if a lot of those guys weren't going to be frequent contributors. And it isn't like we didn't lose multiple guys who were going to be contributors. That impact will be strongly felt, especially as the season wears on.

You are correct this roster still has more talent than most of the opponents we will play, but that hasn't stopped Tennessee from having seasons with 4, 5, and 6 wins in recent history. Lack of talent has never been a problem here, but lack of depth and lack of coaching have. Given our history, saying Tennessee is a middle of the pack team nationally is more than fair.

 

[volmanjr]

I like winning as the underdog.....hell at this point any kind of winning I like

 

[Behr]

FL gets us after getting Bama.
They may get seriously woodchippered at home by Bama and be either seriously pissed or beat down.
I'm gonna hope for the latter.

Won't matter. I'm not one of those gatorvols that think we can't and won't beat Florida, but I am certain we have to give them our very best to have a chance, because they are going to gives us theirs no matter who they play the week before us or the week after us.

That's a fact.

 

[MWAVolfan]

In practical terms what is the difference between being ranked 30 and being ranked 68.

IMO if you aren't top 10 you shouldn't even think about rankings. You wouldn't be going to any kind of meaningful bowl game, so just focus all your energy on how to get your team in the top 10.

 

[Vol Main]

Who knows, but my sense of this team is well higher than 68. I think our guys will play better than that and finish around 30. Maybe it's just old age, but top 25 would not surprise me.

 

[beamerman]

College Football Rankings 2021 - CBS Sports Ranking

Bowling Green 128 out of 130. Tennessee 68th I do believe. Is Tenn to low in this poll.

About right. If this was BB we would call ourselves on the outside of tourney needing to play our way in. We have to earn the right to be considered worthy. I like it, let’s see our team earn the respect on the field.

 

[Volfan76]

Win and it won't matter.

 

[Orange_Crush]

The losses to the portal still destroy your depth, even if a lot of those guys weren't going to be frequent contributors. And it isn't like we didn't lose multiple guys who were going to be contributors. That impact will be strongly felt, especially as the season wears on.

You are correct this roster still has more talent than most of the opponents we will play, but that hasn't stopped Tennessee from having seasons with 4, 5, and 6 wins in recent history. Lack of talent has never been a problem here, but lack of depth and lack of coaching have. Given our history, saying Tennessee is a middle of the pack team nationally is more than fair.

These are ranking *this season's* team. Not the ones that went 4-5-6-win.

 

[JRich]

The fact is, Tennessee has to prove they are better than 68th. You and I know that they are better than a lot of the teams ahead of them, but with a new coach and new scheme and really what equates to a fresh start for players in a lot of key positions, they have to go out and show it.

68th? Sure, whatever. Who cares...

 

[05_never_again]

These are ranking *this season's* team. Not the ones that went 4-5-6-win.

What would any reasonable person base rankings for an upcoming season on? Last year's team, offseason events (like transfer portal defections), recent track record of the program as a whole.

 

[MWAVolfan]

The fact is, Tennessee has to prove they are better than 68th. You and I know that they are better than a lot of the teams ahead of them, but with a new coach and new scheme and really what equates to a fresh start for players in a lot of key positions, they have to go out and show it.

68th? Sure, whatever. Who cares...

Also, these rankings aren't just about "who is better than who". Rankings have to consider the reality of what conference you are in and who you play and how many games you will lose.

Tennessee is better than half the teams ahead of them, but those other teams have a higher likelihood of having a better season than UT and finishing ahead of UT in the ranking, which is all this stuff really means.

You can go undefeated in your group of five conference and finish ranked way higher than a team that wins just 4 games in the SEC, even though in a head to head matchup said SEC team might beat the piss out of you.

But that's not what ranking are about.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

It’s a projection. Nothing more, nothing less. If we played in the ACC Coastal we would be a dark horse for an Orange Bowl invitation. Actually ACC Atlantic for that matter, with a guaranteed loss to Clemson. If we played in the B1G West same thing. If we played in the PAC12 South we might be able to go to the Rose Bowl.

 

[lifeisdeep]

Yeah, I take those rankings with a grain of salt. UT hasn’t been good, but teams like Toledo, San Jose St, UAB, etc ranked ahead is pretty ridiculous.

Safe to say we would throttle most or all of those.

 

[sjt18]

The losses to the portal still destroy your depth, even if a lot of those guys weren't going to be frequent contributors.

Really? Outside of ILB possibly where is this UT roster thin on guys with the talent to play in the SEC? It had more impact on experience but with a lot of those guys there seemed to be a trade off that the current staff wasn't willing to make relating to attitude and work ethic. But again... The OL coach claims UT has 10 guys that he'd be willing to play to start the season. That's deeper than UT has been on the OL going into a season in a long time. He seems to have his starting 5 set and working on how other guys will actually rotate into the game. For a while now under both Pruitt and Jones, the Vols were still trying to find a starting 5 at this point. What they're doing is how you get effective play out of your OL depth. UT is deeper at the RB position than they've been in several years. The WR position is deep with talent if not experience. When has UT had 3-5 TE's with potential to play meaningful snaps?

The DL is anything but thin. They go 3 deep at all three positions with guys who have talent, size, and in many cases experience. And they're coached by one of the best DL coaches in football. Amazingly, they lost and culled a few guys from this group and still ended up with a better depth chart. The secondary has 5 or 6 guys vying for serious time at CB... including 3 guys with multiple starts. CB was thin somewhat before they helped themselves with the transfer portal. You have 8 guys in the mix for PT at N and S.

You've been around for a long time. You like me have seen rosters that truly were thin. Rosters where you might have some experienced starters but backed up by Fr or in some cases no one with the size and talent to compete in the SEC. Jones inherited an OL with zero depth as did Dooley. Neither Dooley nor Kiffin inherited a roster with more than one credible DT on it. Both played DE's at DT.

If you take an honest look at this roster and two (3) deep then there are two things. There's not as much experience as you'd like at WR and RB. That could be important. But the second thing is that there IS talent and depth of talent in every unit.

And it isn't like we didn't lose multiple guys who were going to be contributors. That impact will be strongly felt, especially as the season wears on.

Depends on coaching and again if you view this roster in comparison with not only previous UT rosters but rosters around the conference outside the top tier... UT isn't in bad shape comparatively. The thing this roster needs and I hope their getting is quality coaching. Some of the losses are "natural" that every team has every year- graduations, early draft entries, discipline, and injuries. Even some transfers are normal.

UT lost two OL's to the portal who would have contributed. Morris however has never lived up to his 5* hype. J Johnson may be the bigger loss. The Vols still have returning experience and even more depth than previously in terms of "bodies". Comes down to coaching.

I think Gray is the most critical transfer. UT has depth but IMO the Vols do not have anyone with his game breaking ability. It would have been great to see how Heupel used him. I like and appreciate Chandler but he seemed to lose a step or two as he aged. I think this group is deeper with guys who can play but no one has the top end talent IMO of Gray. Only one DL from

I personally don't think Crouch ever played well or consistent for UT. I see Mitchell as a one for one for HT who underperformed last year.

One DL who was in the Vandy two deep (Emerson) is gone replaced by Perry and Tremblay.

I don't see any portal losses in the secondary. I always liked Brandon Johnson and thought he was underutilized but who else was lost to the portal who would have contributed? TE?


Where specifically are you seeing these massive problems?

You are correct this roster still has more talent than most of the opponents we will play, but that hasn't stopped Tennessee from having seasons with 4, 5, and 6 wins in recent history. Lack of talent has never been a problem here, but lack of depth and lack of coaching have. Given our history, saying Tennessee is a middle of the pack team nationally is more than fair.

Fair or realistic? They don't seem to be the same in this case. This is a talented roster if coached well. "History" has no necessary bearing on that.... and it really should not influence our expectations that previous coaches underperformed the talent they had.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Really? Outside of ILB possibly where is this UT roster thin on guys with the talent to play in the SEC? It had more impact on experience but with a lot of those guys there seemed to be a trade off that the current staff wasn't willing to make relating to attitude and work ethic. But again... The OL coach claims UT has 10 guys that he'd be willing to play to start the season. That's deeper than UT has been on the OL going into a season in a long time. He seems to have his starting 5 set and working on how other guys will actually rotate into the game. For a while now under both Pruitt and Jones, the Vols were still trying to find a starting 5 at this point. What they're doing is how you get effective play out of your OL depth. UT is deeper at the RB position than they've been in several years. The WR position is deep with talent if not experience. When has UT had 3-5 TE's with potential to play meaningful snaps?

The DL is anything but thin. They go 3 deep at all three positions with guys who have talent, size, and in many cases experience. And they're coached by one of the best DL coaches in football. Amazingly, they lost and culled a few guys from this group and still ended up with a better depth chart. The secondary has 5 or 6 guys vying for serious time at CB... including 3 guys with multiple starts. CB was thin somewhat before they helped themselves with the transfer portal. You have 8 guys in the mix for PT at N and S.

You've been around for a long time. You like me have seen rosters that truly were thin. Rosters where you might have some experienced starters but backed up by Fr or in some cases no one with the size and talent to compete in the SEC. Jones inherited an OL with zero depth as did Dooley. Neither Dooley nor Kiffin inherited a roster with more than one credible DT on it. Both played DE's at DT.

If you take an honest look at this roster and two (3) deep then there are two things. There's not as much experience as you'd like at WR and RB. That could be important. But the second thing is that there IS talent and depth of talent in every unit.

Depends on coaching and again if you view this roster in comparison with not only previous UT rosters but rosters around the conference outside the top tier... UT isn't in bad shape comparatively. The thing this roster needs and I hope their getting is quality coaching. Some of the losses are "natural" that every team has every year- graduations, early draft entries, discipline, and injuries. Even some transfers are normal.

UT lost two OL's to the portal who would have contributed. Morris however has never lived up to his 5* hype. J Johnson may be the bigger loss. The Vols still have returning experience and even more depth than previously in terms of "bodies". Comes down to coaching.

I think Gray is the most critical transfer. UT has depth but IMO the Vols do not have anyone with his game breaking ability. It would have been great to see how Heupel used him. I like and appreciate Chandler but he seemed to lose a step or two as he aged. I think this group is deeper with guys who can play but no one has the top end talent IMO of Gray. Only one DL from

I personally don't think Crouch ever played well or consistent for UT. I see Mitchell as a one for one for HT who underperformed last year.

One DL who was in the Vandy two deep (Emerson) is gone replaced by Perry and Tremblay.

I don't see any portal losses in the secondary. I always liked Brandon Johnson and thought he was underutilized but who else was lost to the portal who would have contributed? TE?


Where specifically are you seeing these massive problems?




Fair or realistic? They don't seem to be the same in this case. This is a talented roster if coached well. "History" has no necessary bearing on that.... and it really should not influence our expectations that previous coaches underperformed the talent they had.

Key Lawrence is arguably our biggest loss in the portal and he’s a safety. Hate that we lost Chandler and Gray because I think they would’ve utilized very well in this offense, but at the same time I think we’re fine in the backfield.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

We'll know soon enough. You are what your record says you are.

 

[Orange_Crush]

What would any reasonable person base rankings for an upcoming season on? Last year's team, offseason events (like transfer portal defections), recent track record of the program as a whole.

That may be up for debate, but I would assume "who has more talent?" would have more input than "literally different teams, under different staffs, playing different schemes, performed at ____ level".

The losses to the portal still destroy your depth, even if a lot of those guys weren't going to be frequent contributors. And it isn't like we didn't lose multiple guys who were going to be contributors. That impact will be strongly felt, especially as the season wears on.

You are correct this roster still has more talent than most of the opponents we will play, but that hasn't stopped Tennessee from having seasons with 4, 5, and 6 wins in recent history. Lack of talent has never been a problem here, but lack of depth and lack of coaching have. Given our history, saying Tennessee is a middle of the pack team nationally is more than fair.

 

[catss350]

Preseason rankings rarely mean squat. With that being said, are they ranked to low tho? We have been abysmal for the last decade and a half. Poor coaching hires, poor AD hires, poor on the field decisions. Add that all up and yes, we are a middle of the pack team nationally.

 

[Orange_Crush]

Preseason rankings rarely mean squat. With that being said, are they ranked to low tho? We have been abysmal for the last decade and a half. Poor coaching hires, poor AD hires, poor on the field decisions. Add that all up and yes, we are a middle of the pack team nationally.

Serious question. Not being snarky.

Are these things supposed to be the rankings of expectations for the coming year, or a rolling ranking of how programs have ranked against each other for the previous decade or two?

I just seriously can't get my mind around this idea that these *pre-(this!)season* predictions should be a review of previous success or lack thereof, as opposed to a breakdown of roster talent (and probably coaching strengths).

I mean, Geez.. Talk about sins of the fathers...

 

[Orange_Crush]

Really? Outside of ILB possibly where is this UT roster thin on guys with the talent to play in the SEC? It had more impact on experience but with a lot of those guys there seemed to be a trade off that the current staff wasn't willing to make relating to attitude and work ethic. But again... The OL coach claims UT has 10 guys that he'd be willing to play to start the season. That's deeper than UT has been on the OL going into a season in a long time. He seems to have his starting 5 set and working on how other guys will actually rotate into the game. For a while now under both Pruitt and Jones, the Vols were still trying to find a starting 5 at this point. What they're doing is how you get effective play out of your OL depth. UT is deeper at the RB position than they've been in several years. The WR position is deep with talent if not experience. When has UT had 3-5 TE's with potential to play meaningful snaps?

The DL is anything but thin. They go 3 deep at all three positions with guys who have talent, size, and in many cases experience. And they're coached by one of the best DL coaches in football. Amazingly, they lost and culled a few guys from this group and still ended up with a better depth chart. The secondary has 5 or 6 guys vying for serious time at CB... including 3 guys with multiple starts. CB was thin somewhat before they helped themselves with the transfer portal. You have 8 guys in the mix for PT at N and S.

You've been around for a long time. You like me have seen rosters that truly were thin. Rosters where you might have some experienced starters but backed up by Fr or in some cases no one with the size and talent to compete in the SEC. Jones inherited an OL with zero depth as did Dooley. Neither Dooley nor Kiffin inherited a roster with more than one credible DT on it. Both played DE's at DT.

If you take an honest look at this roster and two (3) deep then there are two things. There's not as much experience as you'd like at WR and RB. That could be important. But the second thing is that there IS talent and depth of talent in every unit.

Depends on coaching and again if you view this roster in comparison with not only previous UT rosters but rosters around the conference outside the top tier... UT isn't in bad shape comparatively. The thing this roster needs and I hope their getting is quality coaching. Some of the losses are "natural" that every team has every year- graduations, early draft entries, discipline, and injuries. Even some transfers are normal.

UT lost two OL's to the portal who would have contributed. Morris however has never lived up to his 5* hype. J Johnson may be the bigger loss. The Vols still have returning experience and even more depth than previously in terms of "bodies". Comes down to coaching.

I think Gray is the most critical transfer. UT has depth but IMO the Vols do not have anyone with his game breaking ability. It would have been great to see how Heupel used him. I like and appreciate Chandler but he seemed to lose a step or two as he aged. I think this group is deeper with guys who can play but no one has the top end talent IMO of Gray. Only one DL from

I personally don't think Crouch ever played well or consistent for UT. I see Mitchell as a one for one for HT who underperformed last year.

One DL who was in the Vandy two deep (Emerson) is gone replaced by Perry and Tremblay.

I don't see any portal losses in the secondary. I always liked Brandon Johnson and thought he was underutilized but who else was lost to the portal who would have contributed? TE?


Where specifically are you seeing these massive problems?




Fair or realistic? They don't seem to be the same in this case. This is a talented roster if coached well. "History" has no necessary bearing on that.... and it really should not influence our expectations that previous coaches underperformed the talent they had.

Since I was asked what a reasonable person should base rankings on, I will submit this as a great example of using reasonable analysis to base expectations on.

 

[05_never_again]

Really? Outside of ILB possibly where is this UT roster thin on guys with the talent to play in the SEC? It had more impact on experience but with a lot of those guys there seemed to be a trade off that the current staff wasn't willing to make relating to attitude and work ethic. But again... The OL coach claims UT has 10 guys that he'd be willing to play to start the season. That's deeper than UT has been on the OL going into a season in a long time. He seems to have his starting 5 set and working on how other guys will actually rotate into the game. For a while now under both Pruitt and Jones, the Vols were still trying to find a starting 5 at this point. What they're doing is how you get effective play out of your OL depth. UT is deeper at the RB position than they've been in several years. The WR position is deep with talent if not experience. When has UT had 3-5 TE's with potential to play meaningful snaps?

The DL is anything but thin. They go 3 deep at all three positions with guys who have talent, size, and in many cases experience. And they're coached by one of the best DL coaches in football. Amazingly, they lost and culled a few guys from this group and still ended up with a better depth chart. The secondary has 5 or 6 guys vying for serious time at CB... including 3 guys with multiple starts. CB was thin somewhat before they helped themselves with the transfer portal. You have 8 guys in the mix for PT at N and S.

You've been around for a long time. You like me have seen rosters that truly were thin. Rosters where you might have some experienced starters but backed up by Fr or in some cases no one with the size and talent to compete in the SEC. Jones inherited an OL with zero depth as did Dooley. Neither Dooley nor Kiffin inherited a roster with more than one credible DT on it. Both played DE's at DT.

If you take an honest look at this roster and two (3) deep then there are two things. There's not as much experience as you'd like at WR and RB. That could be important. But the second thing is that there IS talent and depth of talent in every unit.

Depends on coaching and again if you view this roster in comparison with not only previous UT rosters but rosters around the conference outside the top tier... UT isn't in bad shape comparatively. The thing this roster needs and I hope their getting is quality coaching. Some of the losses are "natural" that every team has every year- graduations, early draft entries, discipline, and injuries. Even some transfers are normal.

UT lost two OL's to the portal who would have contributed. Morris however has never lived up to his 5* hype. J Johnson may be the bigger loss. The Vols still have returning experience and even more depth than previously in terms of "bodies". Comes down to coaching.

I think Gray is the most critical transfer. UT has depth but IMO the Vols do not have anyone with his game breaking ability. It would have been great to see how Heupel used him. I like and appreciate Chandler but he seemed to lose a step or two as he aged. I think this group is deeper with guys who can play but no one has the top end talent IMO of Gray. Only one DL from

I personally don't think Crouch ever played well or consistent for UT. I see Mitchell as a one for one for HT who underperformed last year.

One DL who was in the Vandy two deep (Emerson) is gone replaced by Perry and Tremblay.

I don't see any portal losses in the secondary. I always liked Brandon Johnson and thought he was underutilized but who else was lost to the portal who would have contributed? TE?


Where specifically are you seeing these massive problems?




Fair or realistic? They don't seem to be the same in this case. This is a talented roster if coached well. "History" has no necessary bearing on that.... and it really should not influence our expectations that previous coaches underperformed the talent they had.

I don't think they are great on either side of the LOS and at LB. The Mitchell transfer helps at LB a ton but they're thin on proven players after that. I don't know about you, but I've never been wowed by Cade Mays (at Tennessee, anyway), Carvin, Solomon, Matthew Butler, etc, and those guys are some of our best players at those positions. Remember when everybody thought the ruling on whether or not Solomon could play immediately was going to determine whether or not we were good that year? Has he shown to be anywhere remotely near that big of an impact player?

I think they'll be pretty good in the secondary (I don't think there is elite talent there, but a lot of experience), at RB, and at WR. However QB is a gigantic question mark, there are reasons for concern on both sides of the LOS, and I really think they struggle at LB. I think in order to get to 6 wins Heupel needs to hit a home run with whoever the QB ends up being.

If we were super deep across the LOS but had question marks at the skill positions, I'd be way more optimistic than I am.

 

[tennrich1]

These rankings mean absolutely nothing but they do generate discussion. It’s still interesting to me our fan base STILL doesn’t seem to understand there are no cupcake teams anymore. That disappeared a few years ago when “transferring” became a common practice. All teams have capable players because of transfers, better high school coaching, more developmental camps, better workout schedules and several other crucial issues. The “shock” over seeing some of the traditional weak teams ranked high still amazes me. Ask any honest college coach…he will tell you “you’d better show up to play every single game or you’ll get BEAT”.

 

[GulfCoasterVol]

CBS hates us !