Question from a Gator: Expectations for the program?

#1
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Back2BackGator

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#1
Hey guys, I like reading this forum because there is good traffic. I am just wondering what your expectations are under Lane Kiffin. Obviously the expectations will be low for this year and next as the program just waits for the recruits to come in. But starting in 2011, what do you think the expectations will be? For example...

-Where do you see UT ranking in the SEC during a given 5 year period of time?

-How will the Vols compare to Florida--the big-dog of the SEC right now?

-How will the Vols compare to LSU and Alabama?

-Will the talent level match or even pass what Urban has been doing in Gainesville?

Thanks guys and good luck against Alabama this week.
 
#3
#3
We expect to move back to where UF and UA are today. Competing at the top level in College Football and rightfully in the conversation about SEC champs and National Champs. We don't expect to win them regularly, but we do expect to be competitive for them and win our statistical share.
 
#4
#4
BigPapaVol said:
We expect to move back to where UF and UA are today. Competing at the top level in College Football and rightfully in the conversation about SEC champs and National Champs. We don't expect to win them regularly, but we do expect to be competitive for them and win our statistical share.
Click to expand...

We being the rational group of fans. I think most intelligent people realize that the SEC champ has basically a 50/50 shot to be in the national title game. If we can win the SEC 2-3 times/decade, then the other will take care of itself. There is no reason we shouldn't be able to win the conference every few years.
 
#5
#5
This year: 6-6 or better with a bowl game, any bowl game
Next year: 9-3/10-2 competing for an SEC East title
Year 3: 10-2 or better winning SEC title/BCS bowl
Year 4: National Title Contenders
Year 5: National Champions
 
#6
#6
He will get a ramp up but Mike Hamilton is on record as saying his expectations at Tennessee are to win at least two SEC championships during a 10-year period and get to the SEC title game every three or four years, as well as play in BCS bowls with some regularity.
 
#7
#7
We'll be asking you the same question next year after Urban Meyer heads for South Bend.
 
#8
#8
I think we all acknowledge that 2010 is still rebuilding.

I also think that most expect us to be competitive enough (9-12 win regular season) to contend for a SEC championship in 2011, and I would think most here will be disappointed if UT doesn't win the SEC sometime in the 2011-2014 window (Kiffin currently has a 6 year contract). Perhaps a SEC East title and a close loss in the championship game would be enough for a small extension, but the expectation at UT should be about 2 SEC championships per 10 year period. If Kiffin makes it through 6 years and doesn't win (or at least come extremely close) a championship, then you can probably expect the moving trucks to start showing up on his lawn.

Recruiting is the one thing I know this staff will do extremely well. I don't know if you can say UT will get more talent than UF has right now (because UF is extremely talented), but we will all be extremely disappointed if there is a visible talent gap from 2011 on. This is also why I've always said Kiffin is win-win for UT. Our worst case scenario is him getting run out of town in 5-6 years and leaving behind an extremely talented team for the next incoming coach. Of course we all hope for the best case scenario where we are winning championships in 2011 or 2012, and Kiffin decides to stay for (at least) what has become the normal coaching stint at UT (approx. 15 years, Fulmer and Majors both stayed a little over that before they were asked to leave).

I did want to add that if the team has a bad year next year (less that .500) and a meltdown in 2011, I think you'll see Kiffin gone in 3 seasons, but I think that is very unlikely...
 
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#9
#9
My expectations for the program -

Two SEC East titles every five years.

Two or three SEC titles a decade.

Four to five BCS bowls per decade.

Perennial top 10 program.

Be in national title "discussion" 8 of 10 years, legitimate serious contender two or three times per decade.

I don't think I'm that unrealistic.
 
#10
#10
JamesBenUT said:
This year: 6-6 or better with a bowl game, any bowl game
Next year: 9-3/10-2 competing for an SEC East title
Year 3: 10-2 or better winning SEC title/BCS bowl
Year 4: National Title Contenders
Year 5: National Champions
Click to expand...

Sounds pretty good but IMO, year 3 which is 2011 could be a NC season! The class CLK & staff is putting together for 2010 and god knows who he will bring in for 2011, sky is the limit!!! Also alot of the big name recruits this year are early entries, including Tyler which will be huge for him. The more time the better to grasp this offense. That said, the Gators run of owning the SEC will be over!!
 
#11
#11
Oldblood said:
We being the rational group of fans. I think most intelligent people realize that the SEC champ has basically a 50/50 shot to be in the national title game. If we can win the SEC 2-3 times/decade, then the other will take care of itself. There is no reason we shouldn't be able to win the conference every few years.
Click to expand...
agreed. I don't ever want to claim to speak for the wingnut crowd.
 
#12
#12
We're coming.

This staff has shown it can get the players needed. After next years class, the depth should start to even out. Bama has won the last 2 years, by winning the line of scrimmage. UF has had the skill players for their system the past few years.

It will take some time, but we are coming.
 
#13
#13
JamesBenUT said:
This year: 6-6 or better with a bowl game, any bowl game
Next year: 9-3/10-2 competing for an SEC East title
Year 3: 10-2 or better winning SEC title/BCS bowl
Year 4: National Title Contenders
Year 5: National Champions
Click to expand...

I still think people's expectations for next year are way too high. We will be very young in some key spots. I view 2011 as a break out year.
 
#14
#14
My expectations for 2010 are much higher than you would think. We should do a lot better next year than what people think as well. Two reasons why Tennessee has declined recently: coaching and quarterback play. Our defense was great last year and its great this year. If we had decent QB play in every game this year, we'd be sitting at 5-1 right now.......and yes.....possibly 6-0. Our biggest loss was to you Gators by 10. The other two were by 4 pts each......and they were to medicore UCLA and Auburn....who we held to 19 and 26 pts. Our offense only scored 13 points against Florida while our defense held them to 23 points......any QB play would've been a closer game.

With that said, we have a lot of great young players who will be back next year. Except this time they'll have more knowledge and more experience. At the rate we're going in recruiting, we should have a top 3 recruiting class as well.

-Where do you see UT ranking in the SEC during a given 5 year period of time? We will rank #1 or #2 in the SEC sooner than most think

-How will the Vols compare to Florida--the big-dog of the SEC right now? Honestly, I think Florida will still be a good team. But not as good as they have been the past few years. It'll be like it used to be......FL & TN fighting for the #1 spot of the east.

-How will the Vols compare to LSU and Alabama? LSU is on a decline I believe. We'll be better than LSU. Alabama will rule the west for a while and LSU will take the #2 seat. However, I do believe Auburn's got a lot of potential the next few years.......they could slide into the #2 spot in a few years.

-Will the talent level match or even pass what Urban has been doing in Gainesville? The talent level will match for sure. By year 3 or 5, the talent level may even pass what Urban has done. We've already seen recruiting match what Urban has done. The recruiting will probably pass Urban for 2010.
 
#15
#15
That is sort of how I see things going as well. If I had to just randomly guess on the next 10 years of the SEC, here is how I would rank the winners/national champions, etc

-Florida: 4 SEC Titles over the next 10 years (2 National Titles)
-Alabama: 2 SEC Titles over the next 10 years (1 National Title)
-LSU: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years
-Tennessee: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years (1 National Title)
-Georgia: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years
-Auburn/Arkansas/etc: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years
 
#16
#16
Where do you see UT ranking in the SEC during a given 5 year period of time? I think that we expect to be in contention for SEC C'ships within five years while winning a NC within ten. That is reasonable to me as a Vol fan. Could it come sooner, yes. Later, yes...but Kiffin won't last if neither comes.

How will the Vols compare to Florida--the big-dog of the SEC right now? I don't think that you can compare the two, because the nature of the SEC has teams on a roller coaster. And, I hate to say it, but you guys are at the peak of the highest hill right now, and it can't get much better. But, you shouldn't expect that to remain at all. I think your best days under Urban are now. Two things...1) Give it another 5 years and recruits will start to shy away from UF given the unproductivity of their NFL players in comparison to UT, Bama, etc. 2) What if Notre Dame comes calling Meyer in the next 5 years? Uh oh!

How will the Vols compare to LSU and Alabama? First, I think the "real" Les Miles is starting to stand up, and they will be the Georgia of the SEC West...always decent, everyone gets pumped to start the year...never meets expectations. I think that the Vols and Bama will become the most heated rivalry in the SEC again in the next 5-10 years.

Will the talent level match or even pass what Urban has been doing in Gainesville? I wouldn't necessarily compare the talent levels because we play players in a different way because of the different offenses we run. If you look at star rankings, they will be comparable starting with the incoming class. If you look at NFL prospects, UT will have an edge in the future, I believe.

These are just my opinions. I'm sure others on this board differ from me one way or another.

Another question: So where does this leave UF in 5-10 years? If Meyer stays, I expect it to be a UT-UF dominated SEC East, jockeying back and forth to go to the SEC title game. If Meyer leaves, you guys may "Zook it" for another while because as Tennessee has proven, multiple offensive changes and uncertain coaching futures are not good for recruiting or executing a legit offense.

Good luck against Mullen and Miss. St.!
 
#17
#17
Back2BackGator said:
That is sort of how I see things going as well. If I had to just randomly guess on the next 10 years of the SEC, here is how I would rank the winners/national champions, etc

-Florida: 4 SEC Titles over the next 10 years (2 National Titles)
-Alabama: 2 SEC Titles over the next 10 years (1 National Title)
-LSU: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years
-Tennessee: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years (1 National Title)
-Georgia: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years
-Auburn/Arkansas/etc: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years
Click to expand...

I think that your UF picks are overly optimistic.
 
#18
#18
I expect next year to be another rebuilding year, thanks to the OL and QB situations. I expect to be competing seriously for an SEC championship by 2011.

I expect to vault quickly back over Georgia in the SEC East pecking order. I expect to stand toe to toe with UF, and win our share. And if Meyer decides to leave UF and go somewhere else, I expect Kiffin to jump in and exploit that in a way that Fulmer failed to do when Spurrier left.
 
#19
#19
Back2BackGator said:
That is sort of how I see things going as well. If I had to just randomly guess on the next 10 years of the SEC, here is how I would rank the winners/national champions, etc

-Florida: 4 SEC Titles over the next 10 years (2 National Titles)
-Alabama: 2 SEC Titles over the next 10 years (1 National Title)
-LSU: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years
-Tennessee: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years (1 National Title)
-Georgia: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years
-Auburn/Arkansas/etc: 1 SEC Title over the next 10 years
Click to expand...

Considering the fact that all dynasties in college football eventually fall back down to earth, I think you are a little too optimistic about UF's future. Of course, you are a gator fan, so I expect nothing less. I also think that UT has a good chance at more than one SEC title in the next decade (and with that a shot at more than 1 National Title), but as a UT fan that is what I should think.

Otherwise, I think you have a pretty good handle on the rest of the conference....
 
#21
#21
Another thing...

I fully expect to see at least one (probably 2-3) UT vs. Bama SEC Title Game in the next decade...
 
#22
#22
VolDad said:
I think that your UF picks are overly optimistic.
Click to expand...

I am just looking at what we have done over the last 20 years and trying to project that forward. From 1990-1999 we had 5 SEC Titles and 1 National Title. From 2000-2009 we have had 3 SEC Titles and 2 National Titles with this year still being up in the air.

Urban now has this thing rolling. Recruiting is amazing and we are stocked with outstanding players. I think 4 SEC Titles and 2 National Titles over the next 10 years is very reasonable when you consider what Urban did at Bowling Green, Utah, and most importantly what he has done in his first 5 years at Florida.
 
#23
#23
Yeah I agree with mfranklin my expectations for 2010 are alot higher than what people seem to think. If we would've had decent quarterback play we would probably be 6-0 right now considering that our defense has played phenominal this year. The fact that Florida is basically losing everybody after this year I think that's when we'll break out and be not only SEC East contenders but SEC contenders as well. But I do think by 2011 that we're going to be in the national title hunt. I remember a friend of mine telling me that in three years, by 2011, the national championship will be Tennessee vs Miami. I don't know if that's going to happen but it is a possibility.
 
#24
#24
CLK has already stated that he has a 3 yr. plan. We are in year 1, so that would put us, according to CLK, in the SEC CG in '011.
I think UT and UF battle each year for the championship after that. UF will always get their share of great talent, just because that state is chocked full.
2009 6-6 Maybeeeeeee 7-5
2010 8-4 Maybe 9-3 with luck
2011 10-2 Not predicting any CG's this year, but it could happen.
2012 we'll have a lot of good players who are juniors or seniors. This might be the year for the NC IMO.
 
#25
#25
The Gators are on top right now, and will continue to be a force.

Bama has caught up to them, for the near future. Bama will be right in the middle of it. IMO UF will not win anymore than Bama will.
 
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