We beat mizzou last year and we beat ourselves vs UK last year we moved the ball very easy just gave them TDs on pick 6s and crazy fumble TOs… our secondary is not terrible at all especially with the 2 transfer corners and a very experienced safety group… DL took a slight hit but still have a very solid 2 deep no super stars but a bunch of dudes that play hard with an elite DL coach could be good… LB play is the weakest spot but the transfer from Texas, banks, Harrison, Willis could all be formidable better than ovc level… and when your offense is playing well it causes momentum and allows the defense to play with more freedom and confidence… our defense wasn’t terrible last season it’s hard to be inspired to play defense when you know the offense is terrible… all this factors into my thinking and I think it’s a good thing that one Qb has not separated themselves at this point we need a legit fair Qb competition… ppl look at it negative I look at it as we have multiple Legit options at Qb… we named JG the Qb way too early last year CJH will pick the guy and put him in positions to succeed… I understand the hesitancy but this schedule is not a gauntlet and there are 9 winnable games…
I hope you are right, but:
--DL: Still no speed rusher in sight and that's a must w/inexperience LBs and a suspect DB
--LB: The guy from Texas was a starter but this group needs a lot more
--DB: Still don't see a shutdown guy or top end speed here.
But, this group works on causing turnovers so maybe they can get enough of these to keep the offense in the game.
--OL: best unit on the team but still a lot of new guys. If they can open some holes a RB could get some big plays
--RB: No proven HR threat at this point. I like the big guy but this offense is not set up for 6'5" RBs. Hope the JUCO guy can be a +
--WR: Speed on paper. Need a #1 guy to take pressure off the other guys. But, at least enough potential to be excited about this group....some
--QB: Vols brought in another guy this week. Appears they are not confident in anyone yet. If one of them gets hot, this could change a lot for this team
Best news is JG and Pruitt "is" (Pruittism) gone and this team may play with more passion than the slop we saw last year. If Heupel is the offensive guru as advertised, the games could at least be entertaining. This team will need to win the turnover battle every week but the schedule pretty much guarantees 3 wins. Pitt, SC, & Vandy are toss ups, Vols will need a break or two to win at UK and Missouri. Vols will have to score 60 to beat Ole Miss. Any other win will be an upset........I guess I just gave some credence to your possible 9 wins but I think I'd have a better chance of hitting the lottery for all of those to click.
BTW: I was at last year's Missouri game but it was early in the year and the rest of the season became a blur of head scratching mistakes and losses that all of the games ran together. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.