It's Going To Be A long Year!

#26
#26
I don't see us catching up with the big boys any time soon. Maybe if they decline at the same rate we ascend we can meet in the middle in five years.

I'm not worried about the "big boys" at this point. Right now I just want to consistently get 8 or 9 wins a year without the huge drop offs. We don't have to be "Ohio State" right now. Let's just focus on consistently being Wisconsin or Iowa. THEN we can talk about the "big boys".
 
#27
#27
Just accept the fact that Tennessee football has been mismanaged so badly that it’s a 3 year rebuild MINIMUM. I don’t even blame Kiffin. It started with the rush to hire Dooley which was the dumbest thing ever.
 
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#28
#28
Guys- anyone who did not think we would be at the bottom of the heap of power 5 teams this year was not being honest with themselves.
That being said - this team showed alot of fight and a never-die attitude against Pitt. The last 3 years the team would have quit. They were competitive against Pitt. That is an improvement. Baby steps are good right now!!. We will not be competitive against most of the SEC teams and that is okay because that is simply where this program is right now. However, I hope the keep showing that fight and never quit attitude in rhe SEC games.
 
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#29
#29
I'm not worried about the "big boys" at this point. Right now I just want to consistently get 8 or 9 wins a year without the huge drop offs. We don't have to be "Ohio State" right now. Let's just focus on consistently being Wisconsin or Iowa. THEN we can talk about the "big boys".

Adding Texas and Oklahoma drops 2 out of conference games

That means 2 easy wins get erased

Your 8 to 9 wins are not obtainable at that point unless you beat one or two of the big boys

Heck, we cant even beat the little boys
 
#30
#30
Guys- anyone who did not think we would be at the bottom of the heap of power 5 teams this year was not being honest with themselves.
That being said - this team showed alot of fight and a never-die attitude against Pitt. The last 3 years the team would have quit. They were competitive against Pitt. That is an improvement. Baby steps are good right now!!. We will not be competitive against most of the SEC teams and that is okay because that is simply where this program is right now. However, I hope the keep showing that fight and never quit attitude in rhe SEC games.

3 turnovers and 13 penalties for over 130 yards. That's why we lost the game. We showed a lot of fight, yes. But if we play a clean game we win it and win it pretty handily. Top to bottom we are absolutely a more talented team than Pitt. They had a better QB but even still, the turnovers and penalties were the difference in the game.
 
#31
#31
I'm not even sure it's actually so much a rebuild as it is this is who we are now. I'm not saying being 4-8 every year is who we are but I think the idea of "rebuild" isn't what some think. My idea of rebuild is getting back to 8-4/9-3 being a good year. The idea of us "rebuilding" to get back to the 90s level Vols is pretty much a fantasy to me or at the least very, very, very unlikely. We're 23 years since our last SEC Championship and if we're honest we all know we're not winning one in the next 7 years so it will be 30+ years before our next one. 30 freakin' years.
This is the reality. We are not a powerful team in the new age of NCAA football. A turnaround just won’t happen in most of our lifetimes. I think it is time to reset expectations and just be a fan of the team and not expect SEC or National Championships.
 
#32
#32
This is the reality. We are not a powerful team in the new age of NCAA football. A turnaround just won’t happen in most of our lifetimes. I think it is time to reset expectations and just be a fan of the team and not expect SEC or National Championships.

Whose been expecting SEC and National Championships? Only the delusional bunch expect something like that under another rebuild with a new HC.

I just want to see improvement and win 6-7 games this year.

It’s way too early to tell how Heupel will work out. Yes, he’s made some questionable calls and decisions but this is the SEC. Probably needs more time to adapt.

I’m burnt out going through numerous coaching searches every three years just to get turned down over & over again.

Might as well just ride it out with Heupel.
 
#33
#33
I'm not even sure it's actually so much a rebuild as it is this is who we are now. I'm not saying being 4-8 every year is who we are but I think the idea of "rebuild" isn't what some think. My idea of rebuild is getting back to 8-4/9-3 being a good year. The idea of us "rebuilding" to get back to the 90s level Vols is pretty much a fantasy to me or at the least very, very, very unlikely. We're 23 years since our last SEC Championship and if we're honest we all know we're not winning one in the next 7 years so it will be 30+ years before our next one. 30 freakin' years.
I think you have to get back to the 8-4 and 9-3 type seasons in order to get to the championship level football. That's just the way it works. Not many teams go from the outhouse to championships in a linear straight line. over a few seasons If we can get back to 9-3 and consistent top 15 finishes, we are well positioned to take the next step.
 
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#34
#34
Just accept the fact that Tennessee football has been mismanaged so badly that it’s a 3 year rebuild MINIMUM. I don’t even blame Kiffin. It started with the rush to hire Dooley which was the dumbest thing ever.
I think Kiffin was a good hire. Frankly I would have hired him again.
 
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#35
#35
I think this is a 4-5 year rebuild. I’m settling in for it with the Predators as well.

The question is, will Vol fans accept that this is the new reality or after 3 years will the push to replace him happen if we're still lurking around 5-6 wins a season.
 
#36
#36
3 turnovers and 13 penalties for over 130 yards. That's why we lost the game. We showed a lot of fight, yes. But if we play a clean game we win it and win it pretty handily. Top to bottom we are absolutely a more talented team than Pitt. They had a better QB but even still, the turnovers and penalties were the difference in the game.

There is NO WAY that this team is more talented that the Pitt Team!!!. I have spoken to alot of people who KNOW talent and they all say that the talent of this team is on par with a team in the American Conf. This year we will be outmanned and outgunned at virtually every position with most SEC teams. Have Patience. We seem to be heading in the right direction finally.
 
#37
#37
I think Kiffin was a good hire. Frankly I would have hired him again.

In retrospect Kiffin was a great hire. Look at the kids he was bringing in. I wouldn’t have been opposed to going after him when Butch was fired (know Phil wasn’t going to allow that anyway) and I think we should’ve pursued Freeze after Pruitt was canned. But, we are mid-major U.

Blame Hamilton. He should’ve worked a higher buyout into Kiffin’s contract.
 
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#40
#40
The question is, will Vol fans accept that this is the new reality or after 3 years will the push to replace him happen if we're still lurking around 5-6 wins a season.

We’ve been through Hamilton, Currie, Fulmer, and now DW and none of them has able to lure in a big time hire.

Many fans don’t want to accept it but if it hasn’t happened then, it won’t happen now.

Too much damage to overcome to become SEC title contenders again.
 
#41
#41
I felt like this game was an absolute must win for us for a couple of reasons...

1.) In a season where wins were already going to be hard to come by, we absolutely needed to win the toss ups to get bowl eligible and this was one of those toss ups. Not saying we still can't get to 6-6 but the hill has suddenly become much steeper to get there.

2.) To put it bluntly, recruiting is not going very well. Granted, one of the reasons for this is due to the negative recruiting other programs are doing against us due to the impending NCAA sanctions. However it is imperative that Coach Heupel and his staff establish some legitimacy to this program as quickly as possible and the fastest way to do that is to get this team bowl eligible and NOT lose games like the one we lost yesterday.

Make no mistake. When you're at the bottom like we are, every loss has a greater negative impact to your program than if you're on top. Yesterday's loss was a blow to Heupel's program because it's just going to make everything harder to overcome. Bowl eligibility, recruiting, fan interest, everything. We really needed to win that game.
Johnny Majors went 4-7 his first year and then promptly went out and signed UT's best ever class. The name can still sell
 
#42
#42
I think you have to get back to the 8-4 and 9-3 type seasons in order to get to the championship level football. That's just the way it works. Not many teams go from the outhouse to championships in a linear straight line. over a few seasons If we can get back to 9-3 and consistent top 15 finishes, we are well positioned to take the next step.

I agree; however....we pretty much had that with Butch Jones before he fell apart in Year 5.
 
#43
#43
We’ve been through Hamilton, Currie, Fulmer, and now DW and none of them has able to lure in a big time hire.

Many fans don’t want to accept it but if it hasn’t happened then, it won’t happen now.

Too much damage to overcome to become SEC title contenders again.

Agreed. Like I said before, we just need to focus on getting consistently bowl eligible every year without inexplicable drop offs like in Butch Jones' 5th year.
 
#44
#44
The question is, will Vol fans accept that this is the new reality or after 3 years will the push to replace him happen if we're still lurking around 5-6 wins a season.
I honestly think there will be noticeable improvement. I’ve bitched as much as anybody for the last 24 hours, and I think everybody has a right to be pissed about losing a game that we should’ve won. But I think the majority of fan base wont go total nuclear if it actually looks and feels like we are moving forward. But games like yesterday will do nothing to move that notion forward.
 
#45
#45
I have been wondering what the problem with Bailey has been? Milton, more experienced; Hooker looked pretty good outside of the int he threw, good scramble with his legs; but the only thing I can think of is Bailey doesn't have the experience. He's not going to get it on the bench. I hope they play his some good reps in the next game. Think Milton needs to go to the Peyton Academy to get his rocket arm tuned to hit receivers.
Bailey doesn't have the talent. That is the problem with him. He is not getting in because he doesn't deserve to get in.
 
#46
#46
I think it is gonna be a long year as well though maybe an upset or two shows up.
 
#47
#47
I honestly think there will be noticeable improvement. I’ve bitched as much as anybody for the last 24 hours, and I think everybody has a right to be pissed about losing a game that we should’ve won. But I think the majority of fan base wont go total nuclear if it actually looks and feels like we are moving forward. But games like yesterday will do nothing to move that notion forward.

Again....maybe, but Butch Jones had us making noticiable improvement up until the end of his 4th year. Maybe some of that was because he wasn't very likable and JH seems to have a better personality.
 
#49
#49
Johnny Majors went 4-7 his first year and then promptly went out and signed UT's best ever class. The name can still sell

Coach Majors wasn't facing NCAA sanctions either and even at 4-7, I'm not sure that Tennessee's reputation was as tarnished then as it is now.

It's a different era my friend. I'm not sure if you can apply that logic to 2021 recruiting. I would LOVE to be wrong, believe me! But in a social media world where these coaches and recruits can network like never before, transfer portal, and NIL , it's going to be much tougher to overcome these types of circumstances. Plus we no longer have any infrastructure advantages. EVERY major college football program has great facilities. Everybody has indoor practice fields, training centers, state of the art locker rooms, weight rooms, cathedral-like stadiums, etc. Those are nothing unique anymore and Tennessee hasn't even managed to keep up with the jones's in that sense. We have nice facilities but we're not at the top anymore.
 
#50
#50
Coach Majors wasn't facing NCAA sanctions either and even at 4-7, I'm not sure that Tennessee's reputation was as tarnished then as it is now.

It's a different era my friend. I'm not sure if you can apply that logic to 2021 recruiting. I would LOVE to be wrong, believe me! But in a social media world where these coaches and recruits can network like never before, transfer portal, and NIL , it's going to be much tougher to overcome these types of circumstances. Plus we no longer have any infrastructure advantages. EVERY major college football program has great facilities. Everybody has indoor practice fields, training centers, state of the art locker rooms, weight rooms, cathedral-like stadiums, etc. Those are nothing unique anymore and Tennessee hasn't even managed to keep up with the jones's in that sense. We have nice facilities but we're not at the top anymore.
Our facilities were in the gutter when Majors arrived. I call BS on your post. Both Dooley and Butch Jones had top 5 classes while here
 

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