Official: Tennessee Vols vs Indiana Hoosiers in the Gator Bowl

#176
#176
Jaws said:
Congrats Tennessee fans, hope y’all have a great time in my city. I know the city of Jacksonville is thrilled to be hosting Vol Nation as opposed to some of the other options. Plus, I’m fairly certain y’all will beat the hell outta Indiana to top off a solid season.

If you have any questions about Jacksonville or the surrounding areas, I’m here to help.
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Recommendations on areas to stay with a busy nightlife nearby?
 
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#177
#177
I40flyer said:
I'm interested in your call for the opening point spread-what do you think?
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Mind you, you're asking someone who routinely finishes in "also showed up" place in the annual Freak Pick 'em contest.

But you asked, so...

Sagarin has UT and IU within a point of one another. 76.64 to 76.28. Edge to UT. But in "recent", UT holds a 79.23 to 76.87 advantage. Now it's around 3 points, favoring UT. UT ranks 33rd to IU's 38th there.

Bowl games are awfully hard to predict, because some teams want to be there, and some teams don't really care. In this case, I think both teams want to be there, so let's go with that.

Sagarin would have UT a a 1-3 point favorite. On defense, using the NCAA stats as a reference, I'd give UT a 3 point edge. On offense, IU at ~31, and I think UT at ~22. Advantage IU.

I like defense over offense, I like the SEC over the Big 10, and I like Pruitt over Allen. JJ out for the first half bothers me, but I like all the afore-mentioned, and I like the UT run defense, and I like our momentum, and I like a Jax crowd that will likely favor UT, so...

Point spread is simply designed to get even money on both teams, but I think UT...if UT shows up...wins by 4 to 10.

Go Vols.
 
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#179
#179
GreyWolf1129 said:
Mind you, you're asking someone who routinely finishes in "also showed up" place in the annual Freak Pick 'em contest.

But you asked, so...

Sagarin has UT and IU within a point of one another. 76.64 to 76.28. Edge to UT. But in "recent", UT holds a 79.23 to 76.87 advantage. Now it's around 3 points, favoring UT. UT ranks 33rd to IU's 38th there.

Bowl games are awfully hard to predict, because some teams want to be there, and some teams don't really care. In this case, I think both teams want to be there, so let's go with that.

Sagarin would have UT a a 1-3 point favorite. On defense, using the NCAA stats as a reference, I'd give UT a 3 point edge. On offense, IU at ~31, and I think UT at ~22. Advantage IU.

I like defense over offense, I like the SEC over the Big 10, and I like Pruitt over Allen. JJ out for the first half bothers me, but I like all the afore-mentioned, and I like the UT run defense, and I like our momentum, and I like a Jax crowd that will likely favor UT, so...

Point spread is simply designed to get even money on both teams, but I think UT...if UT shows up...wins by 4 to 10.

Go Vols.
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Good post, JJ out first 1/2 may be a little bigger factor than you're calculations show, but interesting call nonetheless! I understand the point spread and the even money , but setting the line, if off can be costly, as no one will buy action they can't sell. Example, opening line has UT by 21 points, money goes to Indiana, the book couldn't lay off much of that action without a discount. There is little doubt the opening line isn't a prediction of final score, it is as close as the book can figure, in order to draw action. Thanks for the good post.
 
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#183
#183
Bumping this thread because I read earlier on here where it was Louisville in Nashville. I’m very glad it’s not and we are in Florida. I see some are disappointed it’s Indiana but I love it when we take the Big10 to the woodshed. GBO.
 
#184
#184
Is going to a bowl that important in regards actually getting better? I've heard folks say the practice is huge, but we haven't had it for 3 years and now we hoped to 3rd in east. So really the bowl is good for recruiting, but not really needed to get ready for the next season that is roughly 8 to 9 months away.

Just was reading a few threads where folks said we need the practice, but we really don't. We need to show recruits we got better.
 
#187
#187
Rec. fans stay at Amelia Island. Not many hotel rooms but quite a few condos. Fernandina Beach is a very active (but small) place and will most likely have good New Years stuff. We've vacationed there for years and it's an easy drive down to J'ville.
 
#189
#189
Jaws said:
Congrats Tennessee fans, hope y’all have a great time in my city. I know the city of Jacksonville is thrilled to be hosting Vol Nation as opposed to some of the other options. Plus, I’m fairly certain y’all will beat the hell outta Indiana to top off a solid season.

If you have any questions about Jacksonville or the surrounding areas, I’m here to help.
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Should be fun.....any concern for security (lack of) around downtown and the Landing area where the shooter last year?
 
#194
#194
Shakinthefat said:
Should be fun.....any concern for security (lack of) around downtown and the Landing area where the shooter last year?
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Actually, glad you asked that, the Landing is no more. There was a huge dispute between the city and the owners and long story short, they couldn’t agree and the place is completely closed down now. The idiot shooting up the Madden event didn’t help. That happened in the middle of the dispute and made matters worse. Such a shame, beautiful riverfront property that was such a legendary spot for FL/GA games, bowl games, etc that is now gone.

A great area for visitors to the city is the St Johns Town Center area. There are tons of restaurants, tons of shopping, hotels, bars, lots of entertainment type places (Top Golf, skydiving simulators and Dave n Buster type places in the area). Very clean, very safe, very nice. There is a similar area called the River City Marketplace that also has a ton of restaurants, shopping, movie theater, hotels, etc. It’s a little older than Town Center, thus not quite as nice, but it’s not a bad spot at all if you want a whatever-you-need type area for a couple days.

If you’re down town and you want a really top shelf steakhouse restaurant, I recommend Cowford Chophouse. It has incredible rooftop views of downtown Jax, the bridges, the river, etc. They have awesome cocktails and the best steak you’ll ever put in your mouth. But I’ll warn, it’s pricey! Maybe leave the kids at the hotel on this one with some McDonald’s. Steaks are $60 plus, but in my mind, worth it. I have to leave my jorts at home when we go here and actually dress up a little. Downtown is relatively safe, similar to just about every other medium to big city, there’s areas you wanna avoid, but generally most areas are okay. Cowford Chophouse is the jewel of downtown.

I’ve seen it mentioned already, but the Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach area is just wonderful. There is a Center Street in historic Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach that is about as quaint and charming as it gets. Cigar bars, restaurants, shopping, beach/pirate/paradise theme to just about everything. A few great seafood joints to choose from, some nice beer joints, fudge shops, etc. You’re surrounded by the beautiful Nassau Sound, and only a mile or two from the Ocean. This is a favorite of Georgia fans coming down 95 for the FL/GA game, they take over Amelia Island. Hotels can be tough to get, they can also be pricey. There is a Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island and a few other 5-star hotels on that level.

You can’t go wrong with any of the beach areas of Jax; Jax Beach, Fernandina Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach. All nice areas where you can find about whatever you want. Jax Beach has great night life, beach bars with gorgeous women, live music, cold beers and cocktails.

Don’t forget about St Augustine! People usually forget about it because they have to drive a little further south of Jax. But If you have time on your hands and if you’ve never visited it, St Augustine is one of the coolest places in America. More to do there than I can type here, especially if you’re into American History. It’s an easy 45-minute drive south of Jacksonville, hotels for days and usually very reasonably priced.

Hope this helps. If anyone has any particular questions about a specific area not mentioned, let me know, I’ll be glad to help if I can.

@bigorange
 
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#199
#199
BigSteve09 said:
It's official, the Tennessee Vols will take on Indiana in the Gator Bowl on Jan 2, 2020!

For those looking for tickets, volmanbill found a deal:


How the info unfolded earlier today, in what is a huge win for Tennessee and Vol Nation









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I like it. This will be a good game. Go Vols!!!
 
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