Does anyone here think we were honestly the "best" team in 98?

#76
#76
Ut beat 8 bowl teams including 6 January bowl teams, four top ten teams and THREE BCS Bowl teams in 98. FYI, no other BCS Champion has matched that, let alone go undefeated against that.

Also, fourteen players that started that year went on the START in the NFL. 2001 Miami can't say that.

If you think we were lucky that year, your on some good sh#t.
 
#77
#77
idiotman82 said:
Ut beat 8 bowl teams including 6 January bowl teams, four top ten teams and THREE BCS Bowl teams in 98. FYI, no other BCS Champion has matched that, let alone go undefeated against that.

Also, fourteen players that started that year went on the START in the NFL. 2001 Miami can't say that.

If you think we were lucky that year, your on some good sh#t.
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Ok, idiotman. I guess the Arkansas game was pure skill. Appropriate username.
 
#79
#79
Yes. they both started that year. FWIW, i think i heard that stat on here sometime and looked it up and confirmed it.

And
Ok, idiotman. I guess the Arkansas game was pure skill. Appropriate username.
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The question posed was whether UT lucked into winning the NC in 98 with the implication being they were not the best team perhaps. I posted stats indicating they were absolutely the best team.

And FWIW, UT still likely wins the NC with an Arkansas loss. I believe their BCS rating would have still been higher than one loss OSU or FSU and they would have still been in the game. Of course, they would've played arkansas again in the SEC title game under this scenario so who knows.
 
#80
#80
The 1998 Tennessee team was the best team in college football that year. Yes, there were a lot of close games but the team was built differently than the air attack we had with Manning. May have been lucky against Arkansas but if we played that game ten times I think we win 8 of them. The fumble was fortunate but lost is what happened next. We didn't attempt a single pass but just throttled it down their throat in what was a championship drive. Stacked team top to bottom from a talent perspective as well.
 
#81
#81
YES ! They did what it took to win every game that year . They proved along the way that they were a team of destiny . Every team that wins the NC has close calls and a break or two along the way . The "best" teams find a way to overcome and in 98 Tennessee was that team
 
#82
#82
We had te best team, but played so many tight games because we still had the sorriest coaching staff assembled.
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#83
#83
TnVolFan14 said:
We have the trophy don't we?
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Where I'm from, that Sears trophy says we were the BEST that year, barnone. It's that simple =) Oh, and thank God we had one heckuva OLINE that year - things would've turned out quite differently otherwise, I suspect.
 
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#86
#86
IPorange said:
Ok, idiotman. I guess the Arkansas game was pure skill. Appropriate username.
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The luck thing doesn't fly with me on the Arkansas game. The Vols outscored them 25-3 for the last 2 1/2 quarters. That is not luck. And the Stoerner fumble is no different than the braindead fumble by Henry against FSU near the goal line with 1 minute left. Our braindead coaches should have been taking a knee. The difference is the Vols plastered Arky on the ground after that fumble and FSU got no where with their "lucky" second chance. Had they scored would you have said FSU lucked into the title because of our idiot play calling at the end?
 
#87
#87
There is no question in my mind that we were the best team in the nation that year. As had been said, all great teams have a few close calls and quite often even have losses. I think that team is one of the ten best teams in the last 20 years or so...of course I may be a wee bit biased.
 
#88
#88
I still think Ohio State got jobbed in favor of florida State in the pick of the Fiesta Bowl, we shouldve definitely played Ohio State in that game and not Free shoes university. if we were clearly the best team that year, theres no doubt Ohio State was clearly the second best team.
 
#89
#89
ZZ13 said:
The luck thing doesn't fly with me on the Arkansas game. The Vols outscored them 25-3 for the last 2 1/2 quarters. That is not luck. And the Stoerner fumble is no different than the braindead fumble by Henry against FSU near the goal line with 1 minute left. Our braindead coaches should have been taking a knee. The difference is the Vols plastered Arky on the ground after that fumble and FSU got no where with their "lucky" second chance. Had they scored would you have said FSU lucked into the title because of our idiot play calling at the end?
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Yes. Yes, I would have.
 
#90
#90
of course we were...BCS ain't great but it beats the MNC way....
 
#91
#91
Brave Volunteer said:
Yes I know we won the championship and I am as happy as anyone about that!

We were very lucky that year! We were lucky with Syracuse, with Arkansas, with Florida, and with Miss St in the SEC championship game. We were never "world beaters" against anyone. We never really dominated anyone except for Georgia and struggled to win many of our games!

Then there's the fact that we played Florida St. in the championship game. A team that "back doored" their way into the championship game and they had to start a freshman at QB.

Honestly, I think in terms of actual talent I think we were about the 3rd or 4th best team in the country. I thought the 97 team was much more talented.
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I'm a bit confused here. What's your point?

- That we didn't deserve to be in the BCS Championship?
- That we didn't play the right opponent?
- That we were more lucky than good?
- Is this (yet another) dig at Fulmer?

Yeah, we could have been 8-3, but we weren't. We were 11-0, then 12-0, and then 13-0. We beat every team on our schedule. Yeah, so did Tulane. Whoopee. Compare schedules. The comparison ends there. Most of the teams in the SEC would have went undefeated with Tulane's schedule.

Heck, it's still June...let's go back and critique the '39 Vols. Did they really shut out every opponent? Was a touchdown called back that should have been allowed?

Good grief.

Go Vols.
 
#92
#92
GreyWolf1129 said:
I'm a bit confused here. What's your point?

- That we didn't deserve to be in the BCS Championship?
- That we didn't play the right opponent?
- That we were more lucky than good?
- Is this (yet another) dig at Fulmer?

Yeah, we could have been 8-3, but we weren't. We were 11-0, then 12-0, and then 13-0. We beat every team on our schedule. Yeah, so did Tulane. Whoopee. Compare schedules. The comparison ends there. Most of the teams in the SEC would have went undefeated with Tulane's schedule.

Heck, it's still June...let's go back and critique the '39 Vols. Did they really shut out every opponent? Was a touchdown called back that should have been allowed?

Good grief.

Go Vols.
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Well put.:hi:
 
#93
#93
idiotman82 said:
Yes. they both started that year. FWIW, i think i heard that stat on here sometime and looked it up and confirmed it.

And

The question posed was whether UT lucked into winning the NC in 98 with the implication being they were not the best team perhaps. I posted stats indicating they were absolutely the best team.

And FWIW, UT still likely wins the NC with an Arkansas loss. I believe their BCS rating would have still been higher than one loss OSU or FSU and they would have still been in the game. Of course, they would've played arkansas again in the SEC title game under this scenario so who knows.
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Very well stated. Since you only have eight posts would you consider changing your username and starting over? Whatever you decide, welcome aboard the crazy train!!!!!
YouTube - Randy Rhoads - Crazy Train Video (From Tribute Album)
 
#94
#94
When I think about the talent that was assembled on that one team, it is just mind boggling. Every starter knew his position and played it well. I remember hearing Billy Ratliffe's interview after the game and he was talking about how it felt to think they were going to lose and blow their undefeated streak against ARKANSAS and how he and Al Wilson made up their minds to go out there and get the ball back. And they put their money where their mouths were. Yes, they were the best team in the land that year and I hope we see the day we field another team with HALF the heart and talent those guys had. But, win or lose, they will carry my heart onto the field every single time they play. GO VOLS!! :cheer:
 
#95
#95
LadyinOrange said:
When I think about the talent that was assembled on that one team, it is just mind boggling. Every starter knew his position and played it well. I remember hearing Billy Ratliffe's interview after the game and he was talking about how it felt to think they were going to lose and blow their undefeated streak against ARKANSAS and how he and Al Wilson made up their minds to go out there and get the ball back. And they put their money where their mouths were. Yes, they were the best team in the land that year and I hope we see the day we field another team with HALF the heart and talent those guys had. But, win or lose, they will carry my heart onto the field every single time they play. GO VOLS!! :cheer:
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Bravo!! :clap:
 
#96
#96
oklavol said:
When an SEC team goes undefeated for the season and wins their major bowl game they deserve the national championship. Look how many teams have won it without going undefeated.

Every team gets lucky to go undefeated.
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I still can't believe LSU won the damn thing with TWO regular season losses.:no:
 
#97
#97
IPorange said:
Ok, idiotman. I guess the Arkansas game was pure skill. Appropriate username.
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After the fumble we still had to score, which we did.
Arky was pretty good that year.
We are the ONLY SEC team (since the league split East/West) to have a PERFECT season and win the Nat'l Champ.

Yes, we were the best team in the USA in 1998.
 
#98
#98
scottybob said:
The season we beat OSU in the Citrus Bowl, was Fla. our only loss? If so I would like to have seen that team somewhere on that list.
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1995 Season. That was a hell of a team. The brilliant Chavis never had answers to the Fun & Gun.
That is why we would loose to Florida 62 to 37 (I think that was the score that year).
Other than that, we had a really great 11-1 year and that team should be on the list.
 
#99
#99
Funny how so many act like we didn't deserve the one championship, but nobody complains about why in the world we won only one with the talent that we had assembled from 95-99! We can expect more people, or as Ed says "We are Tennessee!"
 
#100
#100
JustWinKiffie said:
Funny how so many act like we didn't deserve the one championship, but nobody complains about why in the world we won only one with the talent that we had assembled from 95-99! We can expect more people, or as Ed says "We are Tennessee!"
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As talented as we were, we got absolutely roasted by Nebraska in 97. That was the first game where I realized that we were incapable of stopping an offense on 3rd and long. It was also the first game I can remember in a long time where Tennesse seemed to have suffered such a physical beat down by another team.
 
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