Tennessee ranks No. 88 in preseason rankings

#1
Freak

Freak

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#1
No. 88?

Yes, I watched last year's historic meltdown when Tennessee failed to win a single conference game and I understand the struggles that Jeremy Pruitt's first team will face, but there's something about seeing us ranked No. 88 (out of 129 FBS teams) in print that somehow shocks and disturbs me. You'd think, after the last decade (battered Vol syndrome and whatnot) I'd be numb to it. But I'm not.

Tennessee is a proud and tradition-rich program. Rankings near triple digits are beneath us. It's time for Fulmer and Pruitt to right the ship. We fans have suffered enough and deserve a winner.

/rant

Anyway, this is a pretty detailed preview by the Orlando Sentinel. I'll quote the part about our strengths. lol

Strengths: Following a winless season in SEC play, the Vols do not boast many game-changers.

Receiver Jauan Jennings is the only proven one on offense. Following a seven-touchdown sophomore season highlighted by a Hail Mary grab to beat Georgia, Jennings suffered a broken wrist during the 2017 season opener and briefly was dismissed from the team in November. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior returns to give the Vols one of the SEC’s big-time threats. Jennings and 6-foot-2, 199-pound Marquez Callaway (five TDs and 406 yards on 24 catches) potentially form a physical, playmaking duo.

Sophomore left tackle Trey Smith performed well in difficult circumstances but missed the spring due to an undisclosed injury. Veteran Drew Richmond, a former five-star recruit, and 6-foot-6 junior Marcus Tatum of Ormond Beach have potential but have been largely inconsistent to date.

Pruitt can begin to build his defense around some talented linebackers. Daniel Bituli’s 23-tackle night against Georgia Tech and 97-yard interception return against Alabama highlighted a nice sophomore season. Senior Darrin Kirkland Jr., who has hinted at transferring, has been plagued by knee injuries, but he is a force when healthy. Athletic safety Nigel Warrior, the son of Vols’ legend Dale Carter, had 83 stops in 2017 and anchors the secondary. Senior safety Micah Abernathy and 2016 tackles leader Todd Kelly Jr. also return on the back end.
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Rebuilding Tennessee is No. 88 in 2018 preseason college football rankings - Orlando Sentinel
 
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#4
#4
The only thing that matters is where we end up and hopefully we can crack top 40-50 and most importantly win more than we lose and make it go a bowl.
 
#5
#5
Yea, didn't expect much but it still hurts.

Chit happens. I'm looking forward to seeing what we do on the field.

Go Vols.
 
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#7
#7
Screw Georgia! I'm just mad and didn't know what else to say.
 
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#8
#8
Last year was last year and Mr. Infallible is gone. Tennessee is about to start playing some football again so let them rank us where they want preseason. We'll see how it ends.
 
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#10
#10
We think we deserve to be higher, but our administration has slowly eroded the program to the point that this shouldn’t be surprising. It’s as if the former Chancellors, Presidents, ADs, and even high level boosters all purposely torpedoed the program.

If Pruitt is successful and gets us out of this mess it will be despite the best efforts of the rest of the leaders. I’m not including Fulmer with those dullards. Thank goodness he’s here.
 
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#13
#13
I mean, it's just this one guy's (Matt Murschel) opinion at an Orlando newspaper. What would ya'll be saying if it was John Adams?

Matt Murschel - Sun Sentinel

Who cares. Phuttt...well, actually
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...sheeeeeeeeyiiaaaat!🙄
 

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#15
#15
Wow, Freak. That is the most passion we've seen from you in some time. I agree it doesn't seem right. I know we shouldn't expect anything better give the past 10 years, but something about how Pruitt is handling things, and having CPF back in the fold make me feel like things are going to go better than the outsiders think.
 
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#16
#16
Freak said:
No. 88?

Yes, I watched last year's historic meltdown when Tennessee failed to win a single conference game and I understand the struggles that Jeremy Pruitt's first team will face, but there's something about seeing us ranked No. 88 (out of 129 FBS teams) in print that somehow shocks and disturbs me. You'd think, after the last decade (battered Vol syndrome and whatnot) I'd be numb to it. But I'm not.

Tennessee is a proud and tradition-rich program. Rankings near triple digits are beneath us. It's time for Fulmer and Pruitt to right the ship. We fans have suffered enough and deserve a winner.

/rant

Anyway, this is a pretty detailed preview by the Orlando Sentinel. I'll quote the part about our strengths. lol



Rebuilding Tennessee is No. 88 in 2018 preseason college football rankings - Orlando Sentinel
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Disturbing indeed. And shocking to actually see it in print. It's a business , though, and the numbers show the program is excelling at revenue generation.
 
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#17
#17
Well, I don't place much creditability in pre-season anything, I've seen too many teams that were ranked high only to finish outside the Top 25 and the same for those that were not in the Top 25 end up in a bowl. So, let's watch and see what happens during the season. UT Basketball did a pretty good job and embarrassing the sports writers and demonstrating they don't know squat!

Go Vols!!
 
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#18
#18
I mean, after last year, I can understand the general thoughts that we suck and would probably have agreed that we should be rated in the 40-50 range but 88? No chance. It is as if the person didn't realize we have a completely different coach and program. No way in hell that CJP goes SEC winless this year like Butch did, which is about what it would take to be 88.
 
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#19
#19
One more thing, part of the game is the coaching, are they saying the CJP's staff is ranked 88th out of all the other staff?..............I don't think so.
 
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#20
#20
Freak said:
No. 88?

Yes, I watched last year's historic meltdown when Tennessee failed to win a single conference game and I understand the struggles that Jeremy Pruitt's first team will face, but there's something about seeing us ranked No. 88 (out of 129 FBS teams) in print that somehow shocks and disturbs me. You'd think, after the last decade (battered Vol syndrome and whatnot) I'd be numb to it. But I'm not.

Tennessee is a proud and tradition-rich program. Rankings near triple digits are beneath us. It's time for Fulmer and Pruitt to right the ship. We fans have suffered enough and deserve a winner.

/rant

Anyway, this is a pretty detailed preview by the Orlando Sentinel. I'll quote the part about our strengths. lol



Rebuilding Tennessee is No. 88 in 2018 preseason college football rankings - Orlando Sentinel
Click to expand...


Actually, I think that is right about where they need to be ranked right now, Freak. You don't stay a great program blabbering about tradition and the past. Tradition means little if you don't put in the work in the right ways. We want the Vols to be Elvis in 1972. Right now, they look more like Elvis with a pot belly, a drug addiction, and a weakened voice 5 years later. The Vols might still get the cheers from their faithful fans, but like Elvis, they are a shadow of what they should be.

Hopefully they are heading in the right direction. When they prove that, I will give them the proper praise. But not until. And hopefully, the bickering power brokers (both named and unnamed) will quit meddling and screwing it all up just because they can.
 
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#21
#21
What's crazy is we might be top 25 by week 3 if we beat West Virginia because of them possibly being ranked high and especially if we beat them and Florida
 
#24
#24
Freak said:
No. 88?

Yes, I watched last year's historic meltdown when Tennessee failed to win a single conference game and I understand the struggles that Jeremy Pruitt's first team will face, but there's something about seeing us ranked No. 88 (out of 129 FBS teams) in print that somehow shocks and disturbs me. You'd think, after the last decade (battered Vol syndrome and whatnot) I'd be numb to it. But I'm not.

Tennessee is a proud and tradition-rich program. Rankings near triple digits are beneath us. It's time for Fulmer and Pruitt to right the ship. We fans have suffered enough and deserve a winner.

/rant

Anyway, this is a pretty detailed preview by the Orlando Sentinel. I'll quote the part about our strengths. lol



Rebuilding Tennessee is No. 88 in 2018 preseason college football rankings - Orlando Sentinel
Click to expand...
Haslam must stay out of the way
 
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#25
#25
TNnative said:
Actually, I think that is right about where they need to be ranked right now, Freak. You don't stay a great program blabbering about tradition and the past. Tradition means little if you don't put in the work in the right ways. We want the Vols to be Elvis in 1972. Right now, they look more like Elvis with a pot belly, a drug addiction, and a weakened voice 5 years later. The Vols might still get the cheers from their faithful fans, but like Elvis, they are a shadow of what they should be.

Hopefully they are heading in the right direction. When they prove that, I will give them the proper praise. But not until. And hopefully, the bickering power brokers (both named and unnamed) will quit meddling and screwing it all up just because they can.
Click to expand...

I don't think the ranking is unfair, it just bothers me to see it. I know how bad we are/have been, but seeing it in print -- No. 88 -- is still hard to swallow.

I get what you're saying, I just think the tradition means a lot, personally. That alone won't win games, of course, and every great program has its ups and downs, but the Power T and the orange and white uniforms mean something in the landscape of college football.

Tennessee is one of the all-time winningest programs in history. That means something. We've been there and done it. We've been feared. We've won championships. And we will again. Soon.
 
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