Catbone
Hit me baby one more time
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Tennessee can always be questioned though, if you haven't learned that from the national media the last several decades then you haven't been paying attention. Even when we were good. If Mickey can screw us, they will. Florida and Georgia are playing two OOC power 5's this year. I think we need to import a little, "anybody, anywhere" mentality to recapture some swagger with the young kids who never remember us as anything but cellar dwellers.
Look man, I acknowledged we have not been taking care of business. Y'all play FSU every year, you are playing Miami this year. Carolina plays Clemson and frequently plays a North Carolina or NC State also. Georgia is playing GT and ND this year. They played Clemson a few years ago and are playing them again in a few years. I just read where they have UCLA and Florida State scheduled. So yeah, I'd like to see us bulk up for a lot of reasons, for the fans, for recruiting and yes I think it'll help securing an at large in an expanded play-off.The conspiracy theories you all come up with...
Win some games first before worrying about how some selection committee is going to screw Tennessee in some magical hypothetical scenario.
Look man, I acknowledged we have not been taking care of business. Y'all play FSU every year, you are playing Miami this year. Carolina plays Clemson and frequently plays a North Carolina or NC State also. Georgia is playing GT and ND this year. They played Clemson a few years ago and are playing them again in a few years. I just read where they have UCLA and Florida State scheduled. So yeah, I'd like to see us bulk up for a lot of reasons, for the fans, for recruiting and yes I think it'll help securing an at large in an expanded play-off.
Speaking for myself only, where I am coming from is that I don't think we are one of those teams, at least not in this century, who would automatically get the benefit of the doubt. Now granted, we probably don't deserve the benefit of the doubt either. Certainly Alabama has squirreled away quite a bit of brand credibility in recent years and they have done that by winning. So when I say we should play 2 OOC power fives per year, I am saying I don't think we can rely on "we're SEC" and certainly not "we are Tennessee" to get an at-large play-off bid. Now, if we are conference champs, different story.I took the post I quoted to have an outlook that was basically......"should we beef up our OOC schedule because I don't want Tennessee to get screwed out of an invite to the playoff because whatever entity that exists that determines such things will screw Tennessee because of it".
All that matters is a W. A bad win is better than a good close loss. Don't listen to talking heads tell you anything else.
Look at the rankings, beating UT Chatt. is looked at as better than a 1 point loss to Bama or Clemson.
The way we ran the hurry up with a lead late in the 4th quarter makes me ill to this day. That was the best Neyland atmosphere I've ever heard and Butch ruined itI'd say it had more to do with our lack of quality at the time. We played Miami when they were coming off a very strong run and beat them in the Orange Bowl. There is no reason to back away from potentially strong competition. The benefits from winning those games can be huge.
If it wasn't for Butch's awful in game coaching, then we probably beat Oklahoma.
To go to the playoffs with a good seed we have to beat Bama twice. Thats sufficient.For many years (going back to 2004) the Vols have played one OOC power 5 team per season and on a very few occasions played none. In 2003 we played both Miami and Duke. I get that we play Alabama every year from the West, and since 2008 that has been a bad draw, however we all know the Play-off will eventually expand to at least 6 or 8, maybe 12 or even 16. Should we consider bumping back up to 2 OOC power fives to give our team the best shot at a berth (assuming we don't win the conference) when we finally DO put it back together? We've got some more games with OU scheduled, Nebraska and Pitt also I think. Who else would you like to see us play?
I doubt that will happen. If it does, the conferences will shrink, you will play every team in the conference and the SEC CG will be gone. You are talking a 17 game season with the current schedules and I firmly believe that won't happen. I think we go back to 12 teams, play 11 conference games and one OOC or 10 teams, play 9 conference with 3 OOC. That will leave a clear champ, have OOC fodder, and shorten the season a game to 16. I don't think anyone in their right mind that runs the show believes that the coaches, players or schools will increase the schedule from 15 to 17 games. Granted, that's only for those teams making it all the way but a 17 game schedule is a bear.Currently. I'm talking about an expanded play-off up to 16. I'd posit with that few teams, seeding doesn't really matter, you just need to get in.