Is the East on it's way back?

[bpalmer28]

I hear that but Ga has so much talent in the state that uga cant take it all. Thats how u get guys like Callaway, Tank, Roman, Wanya etc

Dobbs, Sutton, on and on

 

[Sarms58]

I’m not sure it’s possible for Tennessee to achieve the heights seen in the 90s when UGA is at its peak. We rely so much on recruiting boarder states and GA is a big one. The dominance in the southeast doesn’t help us. It’s now much more difficult to pull kids from GA, SC, and Alabama.

Yea, before Spurrier took South Carolina and Clemson got back in the picture, we used to cherry pick the top talent out of South Carolina. But we have struggled to sign the top kids out of a Tennessee over the last decade. Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and others have cherry picked some of the top players out of Tennessee. I was glad we got Gray last year but I want us to routinely get the top 10 to 15 in state kids.

 

[Seattle Hillbilly]

Your question is the better question, imo. Are defensive teams a thing of the past...even in the SEC? The rules / officiating favor the offense. And it is very tough to outpace teams consistently scoring 40+ per game.

Mike Leach endorses this proposal.

 

[Seattle Hillbilly]

Tennessee 2020 football schedule and my predictions

Charlotte W
@Oklahoma W
Furman W
Florida L
Missouri W
@South Carolina W
Alabama L
@Arkansas W
Kentucky W
@Georgia L
Troy W
@Vanderbilt W

2020 Tennessee 9-3 and 5-3 in the SEC

Beating Oklahoma, at Oklahoma, in the second game of the season is a tall order. You must be counting on Pruitt and company coming out of the gates much faster than the last two years. Hope you are correct.

 

[sjt18]

I disagree with Bama being in decline to an extent.

I think it's more on an issue of them having an identity crisis of sorts as loaded as they have been with those WRs and Tua the past couple of seasons. I don't recall a team having the kind of top end talent at WR like they have had recently.

Focus has been on the wide open offense and the defense hasn't been quite as dominant. Still giving up 18 ppg isn't bad at all in this day and age. They just looked really bad in their 2 biggest games this season.

The talent is still there on both sides of the ball, I'd expect them to send at least 10 to 12 to the NFL next season.

I tend to think Saban will hit the reset button to an extent next year and get the focus back on running the ball and defense with all the impending defections and that defense will get nastier next year.

Hope you're right though. I'd rather they decline and implode to the point that Saban hangs it up.

With all due respect to our own Vols and their other victims... but their "big" OOC game was against one of Cut's worst Duke teams. MSU, Arkansas, and Ole Miss just aren't very good. Their alternating East game was USCe... a bad team. TAM is middling at best. Bama lost to the only two "good" teams on their schedule.

This season certainly could be an aberration but they're actually worse than their record.

 

[Tennesseefan2019]

Beating Oklahoma, at Oklahoma, in the second game of the season is a tall order. You must be counting on Pruitt and company coming out of the gates much faster than the last two years. Hope you are correct.

I think Tennessee will trip up an Oklahoma team who will have a new quarterback who probably wont have hit his groove yet

 

[vegasvolfan]

It's all speculation at this point, but Georgia and Florida are going to be the Florida and Tennessee of the 90s, IMO. The way Georgia is recruiting is reminiscent to what Fulmer was doing then, and Mullen is a great coach with a great program, similar to Spurrier then. The rest of the East is well below those two programs right now. If the pendulum will swing, it won't be next year, IMO.

I think we have to wait another couple years to see what Jimbo is capable of and to see if you're right about LSU. Alabama will be Alabama until Saban quits. Auburn is just begging to get rid of Malzahn, which would be a mistake and a big advantage to the EAST, imo.

I don't think the pendulum will swing, but I do think the conferences could be pretty balanced in the next few years.

It all comes down to coaching. If we start out next year where we left off with the Missou game and improve the same way over the year, then we could be in really good shape. We will be extremely deep on OL, DL, QB, Corner, RB... Receiver is where there will be a drop off, but I am hoping Johnson, T and Chaney will develop our receivers into a stable PG led by Palmer.

 

[njvols]

I’m not sure it’s possible for Tennessee to achieve the heights seen in the 90s when UGA is at its peak. We rely so much on recruiting boarder states and GA is a big one. The dominance in the southeast doesn’t help us. It’s now much more difficult to pull kids from GA, SC, and Alabama.

Yeah, in reality, we’ve really only seen two periods of ultimate dominance in SEC by UT...traditionally, outside of these periods, we’ve been a good/decent team w/ a few low periods...mid 70’s and current, with a few splash years of winning or contending for SEC title. It will be a semi slow build, but if Pruitt continues to build ELITE D, and gets a top notch QB w/ solid OL play, we’ll be in play sooner than later. Think TaM is vulnerable to slide, SC already started...will be interesting when LSU needs to replace their QB and OC bolts for HC position somewhere. Gus safe for another couple years. Still think UF is fools gold, but could be wrong. UGA not going anywhere for awhile. Bama aura of invincibility is over, and may start to come back down to the pack...all of this is good for UT, especially if we’re posting a W here or there w/ top shelf SEC.

 

[TNnative]

So who has a great defense? Ohio State? They played Florida Atlantic, Miami-Ohio, Maryland and Rutgers. Lmao indeed.

How about Clemson? They played Charlotte, Boston College and Wofford.

How about Utah? They played NIU, Idaho State and Cal

There, those are the top 3 total defenses in the country. Guess their defense is hot garbage too?
We can do this all day.

If you all are, get a cheap motel room.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

The East has two good teams, one emerging team, two mediocre teams and two dumpster fires.
The West has three good teams, one emerging team, one mediocre team and two dumpster fires.

1. LSU
2. Georgia
3. Florida
4. Auburn
5. Alabama
6. aTm
7. Tennessee
8. Kentucky
9. MissSt
10. Mizzou
11. Ole Miss
12. SCAR
13. Vandy
14. Arky

So the East has: 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 Average: 7.86
The West has: 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14 Average: 7.14

Edge to the West but the gap is narrowing.

 

[Volsforlife8]

The stability with Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee will help build the SEC back up.

Vanderbilt has no chance of ever succeeding as things currently stand. Muschamp is probably going to be gone after this season but that can be a good program with the right coach. I'm not sure what to think of Missouri. I guess it will depend on the hire but they probably are not going to be back in the top half of the league any time soon. Kentucky has consistently won against those three schools but Stoops struggles to beat the traditional teams in the East. They're a 7-9 win type program with Stoops but don't scare the top dogs in the league.

Our time is coming back around. It should be a given but we made progress this year taking care of the SEC schools we should beat every year. Hopefully we can take down one of Alabama, Georgia, Florida next season.

 

[livefaith]

I'll go out on a limb here:

GEORGIA BEATS LSU IN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!

It came to me in a vision

I'm with you. The amount of dismissal of that loaded team is staggering. Even this thread has several instances of LSU win before the game is played. LSU wins on paper easily, but UGA is stacked and inexplicably has played uninspiring for a 1 loss team. The psychology has to be way in their favor.

I hope LSU wins, but I've got a bad feeling here.

 

[HooahVol]

I think LSU would still make the playoffs if they lose though. UGA will not unless they win.

 

[ru4real-really?]

USC@ Arlington,Texas
Georgia State
Georgia
Kent State
@Ole Miss
@Arkansas
Mississippi State
@tennessee
@lsu
UT Martin
Texas A&M
Auburn

I think Alabama finishes 11-1 with a loss to LSU and 2nd in the SEC West

Not many of us are old enough to remember back to the fifties and sixties when the Bear went on his tear. But this schedule for next year brings me back to those years. Alabama NEVER played more than one or two quality opponents a year! NEVER! And Tennessee was always one of those quality opponents. They stacked their schedule with cup cakes and roll overs then as much as they do now! If we had Clemson's or Alabama's schedule, we would win a hell of a lot more games. And poor lil Nickie deserves all the chit we can give him now!

 

[HooahVol]

Bama's schedule was bad this year. That is why the committee put them behind Auburn. If you think about it Tennessee and A&M are Bama's only two good wins and we were both 7-5.

 

[Tennesseefan2019]

Not many of us are old enough to remember back to the fifties and sixties when the Bear went on his tear. But this schedule for next year brings me back to those years. Alabama NEVER played more than one or two quality opponents a year! NEVER! And Tennessee was always one of those quality opponents. They stacked their schedule with cup cakes and roll overs then as much as they do now! If we had Clemson's or Alabama's schedule, we would win a hell of a lot more games. And poor lil Nickie deserves all the chit we can give him now!

In 1978 Alabama played powerful USC and Nebraska teams in out of conference games.

 

[vettefool]

One point not made about how bad Bama's defense has become is the obvious missing piece. Jeremy Pruitt.

Kirby smart was there for years before Pruitt. Both were missed by bama this year

 

[sjt18]

The East has two good teams, one emerging team, mediocre teams and two dumpster fires.
The West has three good teams, one emerging team, one mediocre team and two dumpster fires.

1. LSU
2. Georgia
3. Florida
4. Auburn
5. Alabama
6. aTm
7. Tennessee
8. Kentucky
9. MissSt
10. Mizzou
11. Ole Miss
12. SCAR
13. Vandy
14. Arky

So the East has: 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 Average: 7.86
The West has: 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14 Average: 7.14

Edge to the West but the gap is narrowing.

I think an argument could be made for UT ahead of TAM but also Auburn ahead of UF... probably Bama still too at this point.

I look for Mizzou to sink like a rock. They're unlikely to pay "SEC wages" for their next HC. The state has very little talent. Most of the guys on their team are "program" players. They were chosen and developed to play in those schemes and that program. I think Pinkel's DC went to be HC at Missouri State a few years back. But he's not the guy. Other than that... they're looking "outside the family".

Most won't remember but before Pinkel they were pretty much a Doormat... for the other Doormats in the Big 12/8.

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

I think an argument could be made for UT ahead of TAM but also Auburn ahead of UF... probably Bama still too at this point.

I look for Mizzou to sink like a rock. They're unlikely to pay "SEC wages" for their next HC. The state has very little talent. Most of the guys on their team are "program" players. They were chosen and developed to play in those schemes and that program. I think Pinkel's DC went to be HC at Missouri State a few years back. But he's not the guy. Other than that... they're looking "outside the family".

Most won't remember but before Pinkel they were pretty much a Doormat... for the other Doormats in the Big 12/8.

I gave aTm the benefit of doubt due to them have less blowout losses. But I almost switched them due to positive momentum by Tennessee.

I also was close to switching SCAR with Ole Miss as SCAR had more SEC wins (3).

I get what you are saying about Mizzou. If I were a HC candidate, I believe I would rather take the Arky job over Mizzou.

 

[Sarms58]

Kirby smart was there for years before Pruitt. Both were missed by bama this year

Let’s not forget the impact of Butch Jones joining the Bama staff....