casual-observer
Pantone 151C
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Below are UT conference rankings since 2009. This is Tennessee's ranking in the SEC, only factoring SEC games. Both cupcakes and out-of-conference play are not considered. It's meant to be a comparison of how UT played against similar conference opponents. There are factors not considered such as: if UT had a weak vs strong conference matchup year. A couple of things stand out:
-> Heupel has clearly achieved more with less. Consider the state of the program he inherited, the mass exodus to the transfer portal, and the compounding twelve years of garbage before him, I would say the numbers are actually more impressive than they look.
-> 2023, while mostly a regressed year, still ranks equal to or better than CDD, CBJ, and CJP in their third year. The worst regression was on the offensive side of the ball...was it Hooker & Hyatt or Golesh or both?
-> Under Heupel, the defense has mostly been improving. Still at or below average in the conference, but the numbers are improving. Passing defense has a lot of room for improvement (Martinez?). Notice the numbers from '13-'16...Martinez was at UT then, too. Maybe it's more personnel vs coach?
-> The worst step-back this year was in both converting in the Red Zone and defending the Red Zone (near the bottom in both categories).
-> Time of possession - near the bottom of the conference every year (badge of honor)
-> Penalties - come on, guys!!! Either (a) it's hard to stay focused in the tempo offense, (b) UT lacks serious discipline, or (c) there really is an officiating conspiracy against UT
-> Turnover Margin - ugh. Always, ugh.
![First_Three_Seasons.png First_Three_Seasons.png](https://www.volnation.com/forum/data/attachments/575/575515-e96f02cd2b5fd24315d0867bcb640443.jpg)
-> Heupel has clearly achieved more with less. Consider the state of the program he inherited, the mass exodus to the transfer portal, and the compounding twelve years of garbage before him, I would say the numbers are actually more impressive than they look.
-> 2023, while mostly a regressed year, still ranks equal to or better than CDD, CBJ, and CJP in their third year. The worst regression was on the offensive side of the ball...was it Hooker & Hyatt or Golesh or both?
-> Under Heupel, the defense has mostly been improving. Still at or below average in the conference, but the numbers are improving. Passing defense has a lot of room for improvement (Martinez?). Notice the numbers from '13-'16...Martinez was at UT then, too. Maybe it's more personnel vs coach?
-> The worst step-back this year was in both converting in the Red Zone and defending the Red Zone (near the bottom in both categories).
-> Time of possession - near the bottom of the conference every year (badge of honor)
-> Penalties - come on, guys!!! Either (a) it's hard to stay focused in the tempo offense, (b) UT lacks serious discipline, or (c) there really is an officiating conspiracy against UT
-> Turnover Margin - ugh. Always, ugh.
![First_Three_Seasons.png First_Three_Seasons.png](https://www.volnation.com/forum/data/attachments/575/575515-e96f02cd2b5fd24315d0867bcb640443.jpg)