Recruiting Forum Football Talk V

[RikidyBones]

It’s really unique among the major team sports on how fluid and dynamic it is. The low scoring used to bother me, but I’ve gotten used to it and can appreciate the game for what it is now.

It’s still 3 or 4 on my list, though.

It has a game within a game. Once that is recognized, it's more fun to watch. Just takes exposure to it for most Americans.

 

[Revived2002]

I think we are a 9-2 team with 6-6 talent…. They needed a reminder of who they are and how hard they have to work to get to where they want to go…. I just bought a new 65” tv on Black Friday…. I’m confident we will win but if they don’t beat Vandy … I may have to buy another 65” tv to replace it.

That's a brilliant way to put it and I agree 100%. That's actually what started going through my mind in the second half - preseason, I was kind of expecting a game or two to go exactly how Saturday went. We were just fortunate to get this far without it happening.

I'm still on the fence on whether we win or lose Saturday. I have decided to watch it, though, because we only get 12 games a season guaranteed and I might as well enjoy them. Even if we lose, I'm sure there will be some good and memorable plays!

 

[Revived2002]

Another simple way to explain Saturday - Tennessee went from being an SEC bottom feeder to being everyone's Super Bowl almost overnight, and it has caught the players (and coaches, to a lesser extent) by surprise. They've just never been in this situation. Is what it is and it's part of the program growth. If we go and fire everyone, then the next coaching staff will need to relearn this lesson the hard way (if they ever even get to this point).

 

[volinbama256]

If they don’t get their sht together and beat Vandy by a lot some serious underlying issues are going on.

This is the first "uh oh, wait a minute" moment I've had since Heup came on board... I want to believe so badly that he has his 'ish together and is different than our other coaches who came in and flashed a bit at first... But this past Saturday should give everyone a pause because something still just doesn't smell right about what happened... That loss just didn't add up or make sense at all, especially to that degree based on what we've accomplished, the way we've played thus far, and what was on the line and right there in front of us for the taking...

This is going to be a truly defining game Saturday to see how this coach and staff can rebound and handle this knockout blow we've taken this week. Will our team rally around Hooker and come out and play with the same fire, confidence, and intensity that we have all season, or will we roll over like Butch, Dooley, and Pruitt teams?

On paper and based on the body of work of this team so far against better opponents, there's just no way we shouldn't come out and whip these guys, even with Milton at QB...

If we come out and lay another egg, something is definitely going on internally. You just simply cannot go from the season we've had and how we've played, to shriveling up and sucking our thumb in the corner at the end of the season.

 

[Revived2002]

We're going to miss the College Football playoffs by one game, and the trolls come out in force wanting to burn everything to the ground and start over. What a bunch of drama queens!

Yep - when they do, just ask him them to present a case for changing coaches every 2/3 years from Tennessee's history - when has that ever worked out well for the program?

If they spend any amount of time actually studying the history of the program they claim to love, they'll learn we did our best when we had coaching stability. It's just the facts - plain and simple.

 

[Glitch]

 

[Revived2002]

If they don’t get their sht together and beat Vandy by a lot some serious underlying issues are going on.

Not the least of those issues is that we lost our starting QB, two of our best wide receivers may have been injured Saturday (Bru/Ced), we're losing players in our secondary left and right, and for Vandy, this is their Super Bowl.

That all shapes up to be a wild night - to expect Tennessee to waltz in there and blow them off the field is crazy in my mind, no matter who is coaching our team.

 

[Girth Brooks]

 

[BigSteve09]

love the player quotes

 

[Rizzo924]

Reminds me of Dooley's Vols letting UK beat them. I thought that game meant something more than a loss and I think this one does, too.

I was just starting to feel better about the loss (not good but not despondent) & then you post this.

 

[OrangenSC]

I haven't watched a single second of any college related sports programs or Facebook or anything since the loss.Im a pessimistic kinda guy so I just expect people to be well...... people.Them laughing at Hooker being injured,dawg fans basking in our loss sh*t like that is status quo for the trash bag fans and people of the world.

But then, we have many fans who react the same way when such things happen to other teams.

 

[Jack Burton]

I think we are a 9-2 team with 6-6 talent….

I lean toward this opinion as well. We’ve been coached up playing above our talent all year and this was the first time really being exposed. We didn’t seem to make adjustments either so I’m not just blaming talent.

 

[BigSteve09]

 

[volinbama256]

WAIT.......... Does anyone have info on injuries heading into Saturday?? Are Bru and Ced hurt and not playing? I thought the only two that most likely will not play are of course Hooker and then maybe Turnage??

 

[KPT_VFL]

Seems a waste of some good conspiracy theories, doesn't it? An SEC team that overlooks another SEC team can get their dreams crushed on any given Saturday. Still can't believe this Vols team would let that happen, but here we are.

It is one of the biggest if not the biggest loss in the last 25 years. We can wallow in self pity or we can bounce back, make a statement against Vandy and finish the season strong with a 10 win season, something we haven’t done in decades, or we can roll over and quit. How you respond after games like this often shows where your program is headed. Yes it’s deflating and yes it sucks and nobody should be happy but it’s time to bounce back in a big way. What’s done is done. Championship programs aren’t built over night and everyone one of them has taken a bad loss. We gotta finish strong and show we are here to stay. GBO. 🍊

 

[Revived2002]

Reminds me of Dooley's Vols letting UK beat them. I thought that game meant something more than a loss and I think this one does, too.

Everything leading up to this point with Heupel has gone differently than the pattern of the past ~15 years. Last Saturday was the first thing that fit that pattern, but I'm optimistic the response to it will be different. If this team and program learns and grows from Saturday, it may have been the best thing to happen to Tennessee football in a long time. Better to learn that lesson when you have 6-6 talent versus when you've spent 4-5 years stacking recruiting classes and slowly building hope. We'll see.

 

[ConwayFitty]

I’m not an expert on soccer either and not 100% sure it’s not similar in other countries…. I just know here in America that the high love club teams that these kids come from cost 18-20,000 or more a year… A lot of really great athletes gets left behind here in the states.

A lot of major universities don't have a men's soccer team due to Title IX and that leaves a lot of the male players without a viable avenue to play after high school. Even the schools that do have men's soccer don't give full scholarships to play like other sports most of the time because schollys have to be equal between men and women and most of the men's goes to football and basketball.

 

[Jimmy Football]

Everything leading up to this point with Heupel has gone differently than the pattern of the past ~15 years. Last Saturday was the first thing that fit that pattern, but I'm optimistic the response to it will be different. If this team and program learns and grows from Saturday, it may have been the best thing to happen to Tennessee football in a long time. Better to learn that lesson when you have 6-6 talent versus when you've spent 4-5 years stacking recruiting classes and slowly building hope. We'll see.

We’ve become conditioned to interpret red flags as prophecies of doom.

 

[BigSteve09]

this still stinks

 

[drvenner]

Dunno why anyone is mad at him for speaking the truth.

Because he is a tool?

 

[Enki_Amenra]

The SC loss wouldn't be considered a loss worse than any other loss in 25 years if the Vols hadn't achieved a season as good as or better than any other season in the past 25yrs.

 

[Rizzo924]

It’s a bit concerning that they didn’t learn that they weren’t invincible after Georgia. But it appears they’ve learned it now. It’s maddening to hear, but they seem to be owning up to it.

I agree with you but want to add that I think the fact that we were at 28-24 vs Missouri & won 66-24 may have subconsciously affected players' mindset too. Not an excuse for poor defense etc. but this is why undefeated teams and their coaches get all the accolades -hard to do from a mental standpoint (in competitive leagues).

 

[drvenner]

That poll is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.

That dude who put the poll up - what did he compete in at a high level?

45% of those answering voted yes. It shows how stupid our fanbase and all fanbases can be.

 

[OrangenSC]

It's true. USCe has competitive talent. Rattler's release is quick and he has a strong arm. Wasn't he the No. 1 QB coming out of HS a few years ago. Beamer and the Cock fans have been pointing at the Tennessee game for awhile. Seems like the night game atmosphere over there in Columbia was festive. Wish we had taken the late turn-over rather than given it.

I didn't think the atmosphere was very impressive. I've seen it much louder at other times. But then, there were a lot of Vol fans and empty seats.

Every bit of noise they make is manufactured via the system. They just don't make noise spontaneously.

 

[Volociraptor256]

Y’all really need to dig your panties out of your cooters. For so many years this past week has been the norm and really any quality SEC win has been an outlier. This year’s players and coaches have flipped that script in ways we could have only dreamed of. Last game just goes to show you can’t flip on cruise control in the SEC. All evidence up to now points to the guys bouncing back and obliterating Vandy. I don’t care who we roll out there.