Just how good are we?

Are we a top 10 team?

  • Yes

  • No

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#27
#27
I think we're good, but hard to say if we're top 10 or not. The offense is looking good so far. The defense had an up and down day, but i expect them to rebound. If the defense plays like they did last year and the offense plays similar to how they did on Saturday, then i think we are a top 10 team.

If we can just beat one of the big 3, then we'll be a playoff team. I think we don't really know what Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, or Arkansas are quite yet given who they've played. We'll find out a lot about Oklahoma since they play Michigan (who I'm not convinced about at all). Alabama feels beatable, unless they make a change at QB before our game.
 
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#28
#28
Our defense wasn’t dominant as I anticipated they would be. The DL drop off from last season is concerning, but we can all be hopeful that our tackles can all heal and make an impact. The receivers are going to have to help the new QB out more as it appears we’re not going to beat teams in low scoring games. Will be an interesting season to see how this group matures and comes together as a team.
 
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#30
#30
Wezcoast said:
CJH is doing things with JA that he didn't even do with HH , so our offense could very well be better than 22' if we don't go into a shell against the better teams .
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I watched some guys break down film and you are correct… this is why I really am grateful for CJH… he is not complacent and continues to grow and adapt… he mixed in more traditional pro style formations and concepts than he has in the past and JA was very smooth going through progressions on both sides of the field..
 
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#31
#31
EZE said:
We would beat UCLA by something like 50-70 to 10. We likely would put Nico out of the game.

What were they thinking? Like a band of amateurs who think their product (Nico) is a Bentley when he plays like a broken down Yugo. They took less money to move to a program with lesser players, coaches and facilities and almost zero fan interest and support. They should be resoundly mocked by the press and everyone else for their stupidity.
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I bet the UCLA's AD and coaches are pissed right now they let Nico's dad snooker them.
 
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#33
#33
I still think we are probably an 8-4 team with a shot at 9-3 if we don’t have our usual “how did we lose to Arkansas / fill in the blank team.”

1. Florida has talent / Lagway has a lot of potential . . . And it’s a road game in the swamp. Likely a loss.
2. UGA is simply deeper and more talented - period. Until that changes . . . And we catch them in the talent department . . . We won’t beat them unless we have a situation like Ole Miss did against them last year (they drop a game to us because of turnovers). For whatever reason they seem to always be at their best against us . . . And thus far Kirby seems to have CJH’s number (yes, that could be said about a lot of other coaches).
3. Bama will not play a home game against us like they played a game 1 road game against FSU.

I still think we lose all 3 of the above games.

I see: avoiding losing our usual additional game that makes no sense and going 9-3 OR dropping an additional game and going 8-4 OR potentially upsetting one of the above and dropping a game we should not (per usual) and going 9-3.

9-3 would be a great season for this team with a good bowl game . . .

Next year we are set up to be even better I think with 9-3 likely / 10-2 possible.

We may drop the game to Oklahoma.
 
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#35
#35
#1fulmerite said:
We beat a decent P4 school handily but, win margin should have been more.

I watched Utah blow out UCLA and their team, especially their QB looked awesome. Watched two top 10 teams fight it out in ND and Miami.

Are they really that good and, if so, how would we fare against those three teams? Hate having to wait two weeks for the test against Georgia. As of now, do you guys think we’re a top 10 team?
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I think we could get there and maybe are, hard to tell this early in the year. In the 2nd half we played a lot of player evidently by design and some injuries sprinkled in. Not saying we let off the gas but one series after halftime we had 4th string RB (i think #19 Freshman Duane Morris) in for a series we went 3 and out on. So I think it was a combination of keeping top players rested and healthy and giving players that have earned playing time some reps in what looked like a comfortable lead. I feel like we could have kept our best in and won 52 to 20 but I like the way we played the 2nd half for a 1st game.
 
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#36
#36
I hope the media polls continue to sleep on us. Almost every outlet predicting the AP Top 25 for this week has Alabama dropping down from #8 to #9 after their humiliating loss to an unranked FSU - which really only serves to discredit the ranking system. All of the pre-season unknowns regarding Aguilar can now be put to rest. He's better than what we would have had and he's clearly built to thrive within a tempo offense. I'm looking forward to getting our second warm-up game in (ETSU) and then seeing where we are when Georgia comes to Neyland.
 
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#37
#37
Are we a top ten team?
You have to answer any question in the context of time, and right now -NO, we are not a top ten team.

If the question was 'Do we finish as a top tem team?'...then YES, we will end the season in the top team. Likely at 9-3.
 
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#38
#38
Don’t really think we’re top 10 right now but believe we can be. If Joey continues to progress we could possibly become great. He’s only been here a couple of months and already actually looks better than the last 2 qb’s we’ve had. Not trying to knock Joe but he just never learned to let a receiver run under the ball. Joey seems to understand that but I still have questions about his arm strength but do believe it’s adequate. If our defense can get and stay healthy a good qb can take us a long way. GO VOLS. Good luck Joey
 
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#39
#39
I think its too early to tell. The offense looked better than expected. I know Syracuse is pretty terrible on defense, but for us to basically roll on offense as quickly as we did with a brand new QB that has only been here since May was pretty impressive. The defense was solid at times and looked to get pushed around at times too. Some of that was who we had on the field due to injuries. But I think we have to be better overall on that side of the ball if we want to be top 10. And we certainly cant lose Moi for an extended period of time and we need Hobbs back ASAP. Robinson is gonna be a solid depth piece but he's beat up too and we cant rely on him to play a gazillion snaps every game for that reason.
 
#42
#42
We were a top ten team before the season as reflected in power rankings. Syracuse game gives you confirmation of balance, competence, (see PFF) prep and coaching ( new offensive wrinkles and consistency). The band wagon is rolling and eventually it will be full.
 
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#44
#44
Wezcoast said:
CJH is doing things with JA that he didn't even do with HH , so our offense could very well be better than 22' if we don't go into a shell against the better teams .
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The reason it looks like we (and other teams) "go into a shell" against better teams is because they are in fact "better" teams. That's how it looks when you are having trouble blocking a team and getting guys open.
 
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#49
#49
JMSqb11 said:
If that Bama team plays that way all season or slightly better, it is still a massive drop off in short amount of time in post Saban world and the outside noise in that fan base will only weigh them down.

Like Bama could improve over their showing at FSU and people will still be down on the program. That is great for us.
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True. We also have to be weary of the QB curse. It has happened several times with Florida. They change QBs and all of a sudden the new QB works well and team gets momentum.
 
#50
#50
Gandalf said:
Think we are a 9-3 team right now that may well become a 10-2 team by end of season but I dont see us being an 11-1 type of team.

Bottom line, I think we very well could fight for a spot in the playoffs but dont see how we would win it.
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I had us at 9-3 but may upgrade us to 10-2 with how Alabama is struggling. Honestly, with a tougher schedule, we are 8-4. Our schedule is still pretty soft. There could be some sneaky good teams on the schedule like Arkansas or Oklahoma but we get them in Knoxville. Syracuse is still likely a better team than UK, Miss State, and possibly even Arkansas and Vandy (as well as the 3 other OOC cupcakes).
 
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