Schedule Breakdown

[AbarVolfan15]

From a realistic standpoint if you study our depth chart, staff, and schedule I don't think anyone could disagree. We have some depth at every position level. If the season doesn't look similar to this we will have a new coach in 2013.

Wins
NC State Wolfpack
Georgia State Panthers
Akron Zips
at Mississippi State Bulldogs
Troy Trojans
Missouri Tigers
at Vanderbilt Commodores
Kentucky Wildcats

-These are 8 must win games, I believe the VOLs have what it takes to win these.

SEC Battles
Florida Gators
at Georgia Bulldogs
at South Carolina Gamecocks

-These will be our toughest games that we could win. Dooley will be fighting for his job and a signature win, and I believe the VOLs will win 1 of 3.

loss
Alabama Crimson Tide

-As much as I hate this they have recruited better, have better talent, and are better coached. This is a loss.

Even if it takes a bowl win, any combo of 8 or more wins and less than 5 losses for the VOLs will keep Dooley's job. We have the talent to get to 9, and if we get 9 wins we will without a doubt be ranked and finish the season in top 25. If our run game improves we will have the most explosive offense in the SEC.***This is baring a 2nd season of the injury bug that struck us last year with all of our top players going down.

 

[Carlitovol]

Good post - I agree for the most part.

I would probably put Mizzou and MS State in a separate category falling in between "Wins" and "SEC Battles". Maybe call it "Probable Wins"..

Mizzou has a potent O with a dual threat QB and could very well cause problems. It will be a shootout and will likely come down to who can force the most turnovers.

MS State seems to always play us tough and they're always physical. Mullen is a good coach and it could be a tough one, especially since we play them @ their place.

 

[Boca Vol]

UF would be a signature win from historic perspective. Based on the team they have in 2012, it isn't. Still, the way most, if not all, Vol fans view ANY win over the Gators it would certainly cool any talk of a hot seat.

 

[TennesseeStudVOL]

i just think if everbody thinkin we gonna beat georgia then we got to beat bammer. georgia will be toughest game imo. bammer lost alot of good players this year.

 

[GoBigOrangeVols]

i just think if everbody thinkin we gonna beat georgia then we got to beat bammer. georgia will be toughest game imo. bammer lost alot of good players this year.

You are right about Bama losing a lot of the core players, and UGA may even have a slight talent edge over them this season... But as long as the coaching staff is what it is at Bama and is what it is at UGA, I'm going to continue believing that Bama is the tougher opponent regardless of home or away, or a slight talent gap.

 

[Panthro]

Good post - I agree for the most part.

I would probably put Mizzou and MS State in a separate category falling in between "Wins" and "SEC Battles". Maybe call it "Probable Wins"..

Mizzou has a potent O with a dual threat QB and could very well cause problems. It will be a shootout and will likely come down to who can force the most turnovers.

MS State seems to always play us tough and they're always physical. Mullen is a good coach and it could be a tough one, especially since we play them @ their place.

I actually think the nc state game will be tougher than MSU. Still, both should be wins.

 

[fishheadspin]

i aint taking anyone for granted...Vandy is going to be a tough game as well as Kentucky...

 

[Chilmonty]

I think it comes down to 1 thing, assuming we can stay fairly healthy (Please Lord)!

Offense:
No team on our schedule has the potential to be as explosive on offense as us. (thankfully no ARK or LSU) This bodes well for our D, ie less pressure and hopefully less time on the field.

Defense:
Remains to be seen if we can stop teams like USC, GA, Mizzou even UNC enough to win.

With that said, it will come down to what it always comes down to in the SEC, Defense. If the D can get some stops when it counts, I think we can play with anybody on our schedule including Bama! If the D struggles though, we may loose too many of our tougher games.

PS please just win the first game, and I don't care if it's by one point! :clapping:

 

[AbarVolfan15]

Good post - I agree for the most part.

I would probably put Mizzou and MS State in a separate category falling in between "Wins" and "SEC Battles". Maybe call it "Probable Wins"..

Mizzou has a potent O with a dual threat QB and could very well cause problems. It will be a shootout and will likely come down to who can force the most turnovers.

MS State seems to always play us tough and they're always physical. Mullen is a good coach and it could be a tough one, especially since we play them @ their place.

I think Mizzou(at Neyland) will be banged up late in the season when we play them with their first season of SEC games. I also think J.Franklin is an overrated passer, and unless he is the next Cam Newton the Vols will be able to contain his running ability. MSU could be a trap game though.

 

[AbarVolfan15]

i aint taking anyone for granted...Vandy is going to be a tough game as well as Kentucky...

After last seasons performance I understand that no game is a sure win, but if Dooley likes his 7-figure check then he will win the games I listed above. I also think we will be very talented this year.

 

[VolBeef88]

From a realistic standpoint if you study our depth chart, staff, and schedule I don't think anyone could disagree. We have some depth at every position level. If the season doesn't look similar to this we will have a new coach in 2013.

Wins
NC State Wolfpack
Georgia State Panthers
Akron Zips
at Mississippi State Bulldogs
Troy Trojans
Missouri Tigers
at Vanderbilt Commodores
Kentucky Wildcats

-These are 8 must win games, I believe the VOLs have what it takes to win these.

SEC Battles
Florida Gators
at Georgia Bulldogs
at South Carolina Gamecocks

-These will be our toughest games that we could win. Dooley will be fighting for his job and a signature win, and I believe the VOLs will win 1 of 3.

loss
Alabama Crimson Tide

-As much as I hate this they have recruited better, have better talent, and are better coached. This is a loss.

Even if it takes a bowl win, any combo of 8 or more wins and less than 5 losses for the VOLs will keep Dooley's job. We have the talent to get to 9, and if we get 9 wins we will without a doubt be ranked and finish the season in top 25. If our run game improves we will have the most explosive offense in the SEC.***This is baring a 2nd season of the injury bug that struck us last year with all of our top players going down.

There's ZERO excuse to lose any of the 8 you mention. The other 4 is where we find out who we are.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[LynxVol]

@ MSU is not a must win game. That could be a pretty close game. Y'all are crazy if you think UT can just walk into Starkville and take home a win.

 

[LynxVol]

We need to win one of USCe or UF.

 

[VolBeef88]

@ MSU is not a must win game. That could be a pretty close game. Y'all are crazy if you think UT can just walk into Starkville and take home a win.

We have much more talent than MSU does. There's no excuse to lose that game.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[AbarVolfan15]

@ MSU is not a must win game. That could be a pretty close game. Y'all are crazy if you think UT can just walk into Starkville and take home a win.

There is a difference, because its a must win doesn't mean it will be an easy win. This might be the game where our special teams gets tested for the W.

 

[LynxVol]

We have much more talent than MSU does. There's no excuse to lose that game.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

A lot of teams have more talent than MSU. That does not mean they are not a good team. Mullen has a system in place and he coaches players up pretty well. It's an away SEC game against an opponent that we don't always play.

Your expectations for a team with new coaches and a new defense are, it seems, absurd.

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

We have much more talent than MSU does. There's no excuse to lose that game.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

Kinda like we had way more talent than UK? I'm not putting anythig in the win column just yet. Well except for Ga St, Akron, and Troy.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[phowell23]

So if we win the must win games, and 1 of the other 4 and win the bowl game we'll have a double digit win season. We haven't had that in 5 years.

I think we'll finish with 9 wins. Which is a dramatic improvement upon the last 4 seasons.

 

[Rudy123]

From a realistic standpoint if you study our depth chart, staff, and schedule I don't think anyone could disagree. We have some depth at every position level. If the season doesn't look similar to this we will have a new coach in 2013.

Wins
NC State Wolfpack
Georgia State Panthers
Akron Zips
at Mississippi State Bulldogs
Troy Trojans
Missouri Tigers
at Vanderbilt Commodores
Kentucky Wildcats

-These are 8 must win games, I believe the VOLs have what it takes to win these.

SEC Battles
Florida Gators
at Georgia Bulldogs
at South Carolina Gamecocks

-These will be our toughest games that we could win. Dooley will be fighting for his job and a signature win, and I believe the VOLs will win 1 of 3.

loss
Alabama Crimson Tide

-As much as I hate this they have recruited better, have better talent, and are better coached. This is a loss.

Even if it takes a bowl win, any combo of 8 or more wins and less than 5 losses for the VOLs will keep Dooley's job. We have the talent to get to 9, and if we get 9 wins we will without a doubt be ranked and finish the season in top 25. If our run game improves we will have the most explosive offense in the SEC.***This is baring a 2nd season of the injury bug that struck us last year with all of our top players going down.

the past few seasons, we have given the game to USC.
One season, Sims was the q.b. and we waited too late to insert Bray. Had Bray been in the game earlier, we would have won.
Last season, Bray was injured again and missed the game. the playbook was limited with Worley in the game.
I see us winning this time around. We keep giving the game to them.

 

[AbarVolfan15]

the past few seasons, we have given the game to USC.
One season, Sims was the q.b. and we waited too late to insert Bray. Had Bray been in the game earlier, we would have won.
Last season, Bray was injured again and missed the game. the playbook was limited with Worley in the game.
I see us winning this time around. We keep giving the game to them.

I agree, we lost 14-3 last year with Worley. Not to mention D.Rogers dropped a easy TD catch(would have been 14-10), and with Bray we could have beaten them. Although they lost M.Lattimore before we played them. I can see this at the most likely place for a top SEC win.

Chance of win- 1.S.Carolina 2.Florida 3. Georgia
once the season starts going everything will probably change.

 

[VFL1800FPD]

i just think if everbody thinkin we gonna beat georgia then we got to beat bammer. georgia will be toughest game imo. bammer lost alot of good players this year.

I really don't see us struggling against UGA this year. Not to mention the fact that we only lost by 8 last year, here's my outlook on the unit battles after their loss of Crowell:

QB: Push. I personally think Bray is a better, stronger QB (Murray led the SEC in INTs last year), but people would attack me if i gave the edge to Bray. No doubt Murray is an elite QB, but i question his decision making.

O-line: Vols. Murray was knocked down the most in the SEC last year while Bray was the least, and UGA lost three o-lineman i believe. I know our running game was terrible, but i think there's a common sentiment that we will be much better this year in that regard. Tiny.

RB: Push. Huge question marks on both sides

WR: Vols. Nuff Said.

D-Line: UGA. Gotta give them this one

Linebackers: UGA. We have potential, but there's no arguing this one.

DB: Push. With all of their suspensions, who is going to step up for UGA? Without any suspensions, who is going to step up for UT?

UGA 2 - UT 2 - Push 3

I think the game all depends on whether or not UT's defense has become a serviceable unit by that time. If we can put pressure on Murray to make errant throws, and our LBs contain, i think we can whip em.

 

[TrueOrange]

I really don't see us struggling against UGA this year. Not to mention the fact that we only lost by 8 last year, here's my outlook on the unit battles after their loss of Crowell:

QB: Push. I personally think Bray is a better, stronger QB (Murray led the SEC in INTs last year), but people would attack me if i gave the edge to Bray. No doubt Murray is an elite QB, but i question his decision making.

O-line: Vols. Murray was knocked down the most in the SEC last year while Bray was the least, and UGA lost three o-lineman i believe. I know our running game was terrible, but i think there's a common sentiment that we will be much better this year in that regard. Tiny.

RB: Push. Huge question marks on both sides

WR: Vols. Nuff Said.

D-Line: UGA. Gotta give them this one

Linebackers: UGA. We have potential, but there's no arguing this one.

DB: Push. With all of their suspensions, who is going to step up for UGA? Without any suspensions, who is going to step up for UT?

UGA 2 - UT 2 - Push 3

I think the game all depends on whether or not UT's defense has become a serviceable unit by that time. If we can put pressure on Murray to make errant throws, and our LBs contain, i think we can whip em.

The suspensions will be over by the UT game

 

[volplaya82]

key to the season is the first 4 games...hopefully we dont come out flat against ncst and get that win and no better shot to beat florida than when they are kind of down and we are at home and at night...we start 4-0 and then we should have no problem getting to at least 8 wins..we lose that ncst game and things could get ugly

 

[VFL1800FPD]

The suspensions will be over by the UT game

I meant in the wake of the 2 DBs being kicked off the team in December. UGA's secondary is pretty dang thin this year.

 

[GoTNvols13]

Spank ncst and go from there