Questions from a Millennial?

#51
#51
I was stationed in Florida in '98. There was no way we were going to beat Florida that year (according to FL fans). Then we did. After that...there was no way we were going to win the SEC (according to FL fans). Then we did. After that FL fans became FSU fans. There was no way we were going to beat FSU in the championship game (according to FL fans and pretty much anyone who was not a UT fan).

Then we did.

I was one obnoxious SOB that year. :)
 
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#52
#52
Not a Vol.....but, AT THE TIME.....

Things were a lot different. Tennessee had a run of success with Peyton, but had really good years just prior to Peyton.

The problem was always Florida and if the Volnation board had existed then, most would have assumed a loss to Florida and believed that there wasn't a reason why they couldn't win the other games on the schedule. However, with losing Peyton, maybe they would drop another game or two.

HOWEVER....with a new QB....going on the road to open the season against a ranked opponent in Syracuse to be followed by a game against Florida (who Tennessee had not beaten with Peyton), it was a possibility Tennessee might start the season 0-2, which they almost did.....except they didn't.

I looked it up and the preseason poll had Tennessee ranked 10th. The only team on Tennessee's schedule ranked ahead of Tennessee was Florida. Three other teams on Tennessee's schedule were ranked in the preseason and they were all road games (Syracuse #17, Georgia #19, and Auburn #25). And if Daj was posting his analysis back then, he would have had Tennessee going 10-1. So, I don't think imagining a national title in 1998 would have been all that crazy. But, I do think (whether anyone here will admit it or not), the thought of beating Florida without Peyton seemed like an impossibility. Part of that was influenced by the fact that the previous few meeting weren't really close.

But, to show you how this all can turn out. Tennessee was ranked #10 in the preseason and won the national title. LSU was ranked #9 in the preseason and finished the season 4-7.

But, I think anyone here would probably tell you that after beating Florida, people quickly began to look and say "hey, we can do this." Didn't mean anyone was counting their chickens, but the path was clear.
 
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#53
#53
Being a Millennial I can see the that there would be a problem with seeing optimism.

Seeing the Vols evolve over 50 years has been a real treat. Its had it's ups and downs.

67 & 68 teams put us back on the map. Battle let the talent dry up and Majors had to undertake a major rebuild.

Tennessee was back on the seen in 1985 with solid recruiting and coaching 1986 to 2003 but the decline was showing due to Coaching I believe because it appeared Coaches got to comfortable.

We took it for granted fired Fulmer and hired a couple of "Jerks" Unfortunately the jury is still out on CBJ as he has had to change his ways.

The one thing that has been constant is facility upgrades. Money spent there and not on solid coaching hires.

The Staff for this season is one of the most experienced staffs we have had here in 20 years overall.

This is the reason to be optimistic if CBJ does not screw it up.

IMO, Over the past 20 years when we had talent we didn't have coaching and vice versa.
 
#54
#54
We had a stacked team, our Jr QB had nearly zero game experience. T Martin set records while Al Wilson won us a NC.

They acted like they were a team without stars, when so many would end up getting drafted and play in the NFL. There were stars at every position.

An unproven QB set records.

2017 looking good.

Figure it out Butch.
 
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#55
#55
zeppelin128 said:
Millennial here also. After checking our wiki, this blew my mind:

We lost nine games in five seasons (1994-1998), won two SEC Championships, and a BCS National Championship.

Peyton's freshman season was four losses. Not counting that, we had five losses in four years. That is insane. What a time to be a fan.
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90's were great starting with Heath.
 
#56
#56
IN Jed said:
I attended Gallatin HS from 89-93 where we lost (i think) 3 games in 4 years and then UT from 93-97. I was conditioned that more than 1 loss in a season as a complete failure. Definitely did not prepare me for the last decade.
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Oak Ridge played you in the state final. Your star player was named Calvin something?
 
#58
#58
Big Al Wilson was THE man on that team by far and it wasn't even close.

He was the heart, the enforcer, the intimadator and the motivator of that team.

Big Al was scared of no man but most all were scared of him.

No matter how big they were or what position they played if Big Al got in their face and threatened to beat their azz if they didn't step it up and play like he knew they could play those guys came out in the 2nd half and played better...to the Al Wilson standards.

I'll always believe that without Big Al Wilson we would never have WON like we did that season.

Before the National Championship game I don't remember hearing anyone picking Tennessee to beat Bobby Bowden and Florida State, nobody.

FSU was loaded with talent all over the field and stacked with talent in a solid 2 deep roster.

I remember that I was stoked but I was also worried because back in those days Bowden and FSU was always way up in the rankings.

During the end of the Arkansas game I was also really nervous but something in me was also confident, I believed that Big Al and our D would do something and get us the ball back so we could score again and they did.

During the National Championship game I stayed nervous the entire game and never got that totally confident feeling, FSU was too good to take lightly at any time.

That was a really great game and I enjoy every minute of it still to this day.

The very 1st BCS National Champions...Tennessee Volunteers!!!

I'm 63 years old now and I want to feel like that at least 1 more time before they dress me in my Tennessee Orange, close the lid on the box and drop me in the hole for all times.

I'd love for Team 121 to stun the world like our 98 Vols did!

We need another serious enforcer on every team like Big Al Wilson was.

Big Al, 1 of our best and he proved it in the NFL too!

Damn, I love my Vols!!!

VFL...GBO!!!
 
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#60
#60
Hairy Vols said:
It being the off season we all obviously have a lot more time to think. I often find myself in the off-season looking reasons of optimism regardless of the state of the program.

Today while thinking I came across an interesting thought. Being as young as I am I didn't get to enjoy the 1998 Championship as much as some of you did. Which is what brought me to the question I'm about to ask. (Note this has no relation to the upcoming season, rather just a question of curiosity)

What was the mental state of the program and the fans going in to the 1998 season?

What were fans opinion of Fulmer, Manning's last game, and just what the next season held? Were there already National Championship talks at hand or was Manning's departure and inability to win a National Championship, for some, a sign of the decline to come?

Figure this would spark some fun conversation and reminiscence of the "Good Ol' Days".

Thank for those who reply. :)
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Good idea for a thread. It's nice to remember better times.

The program was good enough in those days that we fans viewed a national title as an attainable goal. But most reasonable fans knew we would need to get some breaks, since history suggests just about any champion does (witness Colorado's '90 NC team that needed a fifth down to beat Mizzou that year). We were fortunate to have some breaks go our way that year. Some of the so-called "fans" who put a lot of emphasis on how "lucky" we were must be the most miserable curmudgeons you could ever meet.

Most of us thought our best shot was Peyton's senior year. And when that didn't materialize, we thought we had missed our chance. But we still had a good team and expectations were still pretty high. I don't think anyone could have predicted we would win it all with Tee Martin at QB -- although one sports writer in Arizona did, as I recall, before the season started. So he must have seen something the rest of us did not.
 
#61
#61
Iam4utalways said:
We had a stacked team, our Jr QB had nearly zero game experience. T Martin set records while Al Wilson won us a NC.

They acted like they were a team without stars, when so many would end up getting drafted and play in the NFL. There were stars at every position.

An unproven QB set records.

2017 looking good.

Figure it out Butch.
Click to expand...

Tee Martin wasn't a star at the beginning of that season. He was bad/ horrible throwing the ball. As the season went on Cutt found ways to make the passing game effective within Tee's ability and it worked perfectly.
 
#64
#64
volfanbill said:
I like how you conveniently forget Butch gets an extra game to get ten wins from. As stated a billion+ times on here, ten wins isn't what it used to be
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It does all depend on how many games are played. That is why any criteria should not be solely based on number wins. 10 wins in 12 is better than 9. 10 wins in 13 tries = 9 of 12. 10 wins in 14 tries less than 9 of 12.

You also need to factor in the state of the SEC, the state of the competition and the state of the team (.. rebuilt verses needing to rebuild ...).

Bottom line the 90's were good but do not rival anything that Alabama or Florida have done in similar time frames. But that is what folks want, expect and allude to when talking about the 90's.

Aligning with the state of the 90's = 10 wins. Tennessee has been 1 short the last two years. That does not = the crisis that some on here make it out to be.
 
#65
#65
volfanbill said:
To further blow up his agenda, Fulmer's floor during that stretch was 4 losses. That's Butch's ceiling so far
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Let's all act like Fulmer would've automatically won the additional game. In reality, those 9-3 seasons could've easily been 9-4.

There is an opportunity for an additional win with an extra game, but also an extra loss. Comparing records of a team that didn't play the additional game to a team that did is a fool's errand.

Additionally, Fulmer didn't start his time as HC by taking over a dumpster fire and rebuilding it from the lowest point in program history. Even though he had a good team to begin with, it wasn't until his 6th year as HC that he won anything.
 
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#66
#66
volfan102455 said:
A run like what? Lady luck had a big role that year for Tennessee.
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You can find that with pretty much every team that has finished on top.

But continue to dress down that era and run to make you feel better about the present. You won't be alone.
 
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#67
#67
jakez4ut said:
it can, but even that year, as well as they did, and they just kept winning, nationally it felt like most were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

people still talk about that title game as a farse because weinke didn't play...but no one ever brings up the fact that FSU was still favored to win, and most everyone that picked the game picked FSU to win.

those that picked TN did so out of "team of destiny" idea, not necessarily b/c they had any tangible reasons to pick us. which was fine, and there probably was a little of that to it as well.

bottom line, imo, Tennessee earned that title. we weren't the pre season gimmie pick for a national title. we weren't on everyone's top 5 list, and it was, as has been mentioned already, debatable up to the last week of the season whether TN, KSU, or UCLA should get a spot in that game. in the end, TN is the only one that wound up controlling it's own destiny.

that season, for that kind of team, was the epitomy of taking it one week at a time, and not listening to the outside "stuff".
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Agree totally with your last statement - that team was great at ignoring all the outside noise and concentrating on what they could control.

But honestly with social media today that is hard to do. Sometimes I wonder if coaches and players should stay away from it. Unfortunately it seems that having a presence is a must with the new generation.
 
#68
#68
Enki_Amenra said:
Let's all act like Fulmer would've automatically won the additional game. In reality, those 9-3 seasons could've easily been 9-4.

There is an opportunity for an additional win with an extra game, but also an extra loss. Comparing records of a team that didn't play the additional game to a team that did is a fool's errand.

Additionally, Fulmer didn't start his time as HC by taking over a dumpster fire and rebuilding it from the lowest point in program history. Even though he had a good team to begin with, it wasn't until his 6th year as HC that he won anything.
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even in the Jones era, the extra game is typically a win. We still only play 8 conference games, so you can have fun with that belief if you want. We both know making that extra game a loss isn't likely in either era based on opponents. Jones is losing the games that Fulmer managed to win. Bottom line.
 
#69
#69
BeecherVol said:
You can find that with pretty much every team that has finished on top.

But continue to dress down that era and run to make you feel better about the present. You won't be alone.
Click to expand...

Not trying to dress it down - it just wasn't what some folks dress is up to be.
 
#70
#70
volfanbill said:
even in the Jones era, the extra game is typically a win. We still only play 8 conference games, so you can have fun with that belief if you want. We both know making that extra game a loss isn't likely in either era based on opponents. Jones is losing the games that Fulmer managed to win. Bottom line.
Click to expand...

Folks in Memphis says HI.
 
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#71
#71
Boca Vol said:
Tee Martin wasn't a star at the beginning of that season. He was bad/ horrible throwing the ball. As the season went on Cutt found ways to make the passing game effective within Tee's ability and it worked perfectly.
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He was a star. Just had to wait his turn. As a starter he was undefeated between 7th grade and the Florida game his Sr. Year at UT(Or something crazy like that). Then lost to the hogs too.

Cutt is a great coach.
 
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