Comparing UT's final 5 opponents to the first 7

#1
kamoshika

kamoshika

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#1
Tennessee has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation through seven games. The Vols have put together a respectable 5-2 (2-2 SEC) mark to this point, but the numbers show a dramatic shift coming in terms of quality of opponent.

Tennessee’s first seven opponents – Appalachian State, Virginia Tech, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M and Alabama – have combined for a 38-12 (76%) record this season through Week 8 on the schedule. Take out the seven games those opponents played against UT, and that mark improves to 36-7. UT’s four SEC foes thus far have been great in conference as well, posting a 14-5 SEC record.

Over the next five weeks, UT will face South Carolina, Tennessee Tech, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt. Those five teams have combined for a 16-21 (43.2%) overall record, with the four SEC teams coming in at 5-12 in conference play.
Comparing UT's Final Five Opponents To The First Seven | Rocky Top Insider

The Vols travel to play South Carolina at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. No one is sure exactly what combination Tennessee will put on the field on account of all of the injuries and attrition the Vols have sustained this season.

Tennessee is coming off a bye week, a time Coach Butch Jones says lends itself to experimenting with players and perhaps even the playbook.

Ranking the Vols final five games, least difficult to most difficult:
https://www.seccountry.com/tennessee/tennessees-final-5-opponents-ranked-why-south-carolina-is-scary
 
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#2
#2
We are playing some awful teams. I wonder if Vandy or UK will be our toughest test? Vandy has a stingy defense and UK at least puts up a strong fight for four quarters. I think Mizzou and USC have pretty much given up football for the year.
 
#3
#3
kamoshika said:
Tennessee has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation through seven games. The Vols have put together a respectable 5-2 (2-2 SEC) mark to this point, but the numbers show a dramatic shift coming in terms of quality of opponent.

Tennessee’s first seven opponents – Appalachian State, Virginia Tech, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M and Alabama – have combined for a 38-12 (76%) record this season through Week 8 on the schedule. Take out the seven games those opponents played against UT, and that mark improves to 36-7. UT’s four SEC foes thus far have been great in conference as well, posting a 14-5 SEC record.

Over the next five weeks, UT will face South Carolina, Tennessee Tech, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt. Those five teams have combined for a 16-21 (43.2%) overall record, with the four SEC teams coming in at 5-12 in conference play.
Comparing UT's Final Five Opponents To The First Seven | Rocky Top Insider
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16-26, I'm already counting their losses to us.

:loco:

Tennesseeduke
 
#4
#4
I worried the most about Vandy. We could not stop that running back Appy State has and that was when we were healthy. Webb for Vandy is even better. I think they will be able to score on us and our best chance of winning will be Dobbs having a big day against a tough defense.
 
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#5
#5
millst987 said:
We are playing some awful teams. I wonder if Vandy or UK will be our toughest test? Vandy has a stingy defense and UK at least puts up a strong fight for four quarters. I think Mizzou and USC have pretty much given up football for the year.
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I'd say Kentucky. They beat Vanderbilt head to head, and Stephen Johnson seems to have breathed new life into their offense.
 
#6
#6
kamoshika said:


Over the next five weeks, UT will face South Carolina, Tennessee Tech, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt. Those five teams have combined for a 16-21 (43.2%) overall record, with the four SEC teams coming in at 5-12 in conference play.
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Good.
 
#8
#8
joe7514 said:
I worried the most about Vandy. We could not stop that running back Appy State has and that was when we were healthy. Webb for Vandy is even better. I think they will be able to score on us and our best chance of winning will be Dobbs having a big day against a tough defense.
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They will also be fighting to be bowl eligible, if they don't pull off a win against Mizzou. If we sustain any further injuries, that game could be much more difficult than it should be.
 
#10
#10
rdk4121 said:
I hope to God it's not 5 now app states. Barely won the first time. Either way, shouldn't have any real trouble against these teams.
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Tn St., KY, SC, MO, and Vandy is not an intimidating list for anything, much less football. They are fighting for 4th in the east, we can't fumble enough to lose to these busters. The best team out of the bunch isn't in the SEC.
 
#11
#11
Iam4utalways said:
Tn St., KY, SC, MO, and Vandy is not an intimidating list for anything, much less football. They are fighting for 4th in the east, we can't fumble enough to lose to these busters. The best team out of the bunch isn't in the SEC.
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Agree. Tennessee is better than some want to admit, for whatever reasons.

We run through these next 5 like Drano.
 
#12
#12
millst987 said:
We are playing some awful teams. I wonder if Vandy or UK will be our toughest test? Vandy has a stingy defense and UK at least puts up a strong fight for four quarters. I think Mizzou and USC have pretty much given up football for the year.
Click to expand...

I'll be biased and say UK...although Vandy/MO are capable of winning it if it turns into an ugly slugfest past the 1st half.

If we actually show up like 2nd half MSU or 1st half Southern Miss. Yes, those teams are bad. But we've shown flashes throughout the year. I don't think we've had a solid game yet all season (kinda like UT, where we play bipolar games over and over). Eventually we are due for a solid game right? The last two years everything has gone wrong against UT.

UK has the playmakers at WR/RB and the OL is decent. It all depends on Johnson's turnovers. The defense will give up it's usual stuff (bend don't break style), the offense just has to barely be better.
 
#13
#13
Rockytoptalker said:
I'd say Kentucky. They beat Vanderbilt head to head, and Stephen Johnson seems to have breathed new life into their offense.
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Johnson is bad. Watching the MSU game for the life of me I couldn't understand why MSU did not try to put more pressure on him in the pocket, especially on that last drive. Continued to only rush 3 and allowed him to throw from a clean pocket and move the ball into FG range. The few times in the game where MSU did bring pressure he looked very pedestrian.
 
#14
#14
To be honest I am anxious about South Carolina. There have been a lot of injuries - the loss to Bama had to take its toll mentally.

I"m hoping this team is really good at 'snap and clear' and moving on. I hope they have their sights clearly set on 10-2 and hopefully another round with a team from the west.
 
#16
#16
LittleCat said:
I'll be biased and say UK...although Vandy/MO are capable of winning it if it turns into an ugly slugfest past the 1st half.

If we actually show up like 2nd half MSU or 1st half Southern Miss. Yes, those teams are bad. But we've shown flashes throughout the year. I don't think we've had a solid game yet all season (kinda like UT, where we play bipolar games over and over). Eventually we are due for a solid game right? The last two years everything has gone wrong against UT.

UK has the playmakers at WR/RB and the OL is decent. It all depends on Johnson's turnovers. The defense will give up it's usual stuff (bend don't break style), the offense just has to barely be better.
Click to expand...

This isn't "the year" part 2. VOLS by 28.
 
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