Vols ranked No. 18 in Coaches Poll

#77
#77
Freak said:
Texas #1
Georgia #4
Alabama #8
LSU #9
South Carolina #13
Ole Miss #15
Florida #17

NCAA College Football Coaches Poll | USA Today Sports

The US LBM Football Coaches Poll, published by USA TODAY Sports, is conducted weekly throughout the NCAA college football season. See the latest Top 25 rankings from the game’s best head coaches.
sportsdata.usatoday.com
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Where would we be ranked w Nico?
 
#78
#78
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
Everyone left the secondary last year as we were replacing 3 starters. We ended up having one of the best secondaries in the country with an All-American corner that's projected to be the 1st CB taken in next year's draft. Just because you are replacing a bunch of guys doesn't mean you'll be worse. That's what high level recruiting is for. You don't rebuild you reload. When you recruit like we've recruited the expectation is to win. No excuses.

I believe the o-line in 2025 will be like the secondary in 2024. We'll be replacing a bunch of mediocre starters with better young talent. Look for the o-line to take a huge step forward and that powering us to a successful 2025 season. I have us going 11-1 and being better than we were last year.
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Here's where your argument is flawed. Your best example is the secondary.
#1 I disagree that they were one of the best in the country. They got exposed a little against the only 2 good QBs they played and greatly benefited from the best DL in the country (I still think they were pretty good tho). But that's more debatable and not the biggest flaw.
#2 and more importantly, they went out and got McCoy. They didn't bring in transfers for this offense outside of a couple of solid IOL that I don't expect to be much better than what left.
No one will disagree about recruiting to the point we have expectations of improvement or reloading.
It's not even so much that any position group on offense is scary, it's that everyone except TE is a question mark, and you need them all to come along or it could be a disaster if no one can lean on the other.
Point is simply, there's a lot of unknown and for outsiders, there's no reason to "expect" the offense to be better, especially when your starting and promising QB leaves the day before the spring game. It's hard to imagine the defense will be better but about the same. It's simply understandable to see an offense that is gutted and not expect the same results (10-2, I think 11-1 is crazy talk but I'll find this post and bump it with great joy and tag you if you're right LOL)
 
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#79
#79
Other_Guy said:
Here's where your argument is flawed. Your best example is the secondary.
#1 I disagree that they were one of the best in the country. They got exposed a little against the only 2 good QBs they played and greatly benefited from the best DL in the country (I still think they were pretty good tho). But that's more debatable and not the biggest flaw.
#2 and more importantly, they went out and got McCoy. They didn't bring in transfers for this offense outside of a couple of solid IOL that I don't expect to be much better than what left.
No one will disagree about recruiting to the point we have expectations of improvement or reloading.
It's not even so much that any position group on offense is scary, it's that everyone except TE is a question mark, and you need them all to come along or it could be a disaster if no one can lean on the other.
Point is simply, there's a lot of unknown and for outsiders, there's no reason to "expect" the offense to be better, especially when your starting and promising QB leaves the day before the spring game. It's hard to imagine the defense will be better but about the same. It's simply understandable to see an offense that is gutted and not expect the same results (10-2, I think 11-1 is crazy talk but I'll find this post and bump it with great joy and tag you if you're right LOL)
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As good as the defense was last season , I do think it be tad even better this season. The defense is more athletic than last season. The offense may take time gell , especially new qb and young wr s …. Think our offense line will be better . We will miss Sampson but I love our running back s we have
 
#80
#80
I think UT should be slightly higher, but with all the questions it’s probably fair. Carolina has a tough stretch where they play LSU, OU, Bama, Ole Miss, and A&M in a row. That’s pretty brutal…
 
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#81
#81
volbound1700 said:
Fine with that. It is higher than I expected. Florida at # 17 is a joke but we will see.

The rest of the poll doesn't seem that bad. Missing Texas A&M (I would swap them in for Florida).
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Captain obvious here, but it all comes down to the Qb. That kid gets healthy and they'll be a really tough team. There's a lot of talent on that roster. Killer schedule, but I think we probably end up with similar records when the season ends....and against a far, far more difficult schedule. Coaching counts.
 
#82
#82
nomads-11 said:
Sounds like hedging their bets because there are several unknowns across the position groups. Particularly on offense (QB, receivers). I suppose if I didn't follow the team, I might throw up an 18. But something tells me that number is gonna be way to low. Find out in 25 days and a wake up.
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I think it's just the Nico effect. Though we wasn't stellar last year, he was known and has obvious potential. We'd probably be #12ish if Nico didn't bolt...but, in reality, we're in a better position w/ him not being here. It's the unknown, and optics that we took a step back at QB... Our D should keep us in most games again this year.... if our QB can efficiently run the JH offense, and has some competitive fire to lead the team, we'll be in good shape.
 
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#83
#83
cherokeeeVOL said:
I think UT should be slightly higher, but with all the questions it’s probably fair. Carolina has a tough stretch where they play LSU, OU, Bama, Ole Miss, and A&M in a row. That’s pretty brutal…
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Why? Honestly, when I look at the QB and WR positions and uncertainty on the OL, I'm kinda shocked to see this bunch in the top 20. Then again, against this schedule, we should be able to rely on our defense and pound the rock to an 8 win season. Yet, Heupel always has that stinker that he drops on us every year. Plus, the injuries appear as if they're going to be a problem this season. If they manage to finish the season in the top 20, it would be a bit of a surprise.
 
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#85
#85
Other_Guy said:
Here's where your argument is flawed. Your best example is the secondary.
#1 I disagree that they were one of the best in the country. They got exposed a little against the only 2 good QBs they played and greatly benefited from the best DL in the country (I still think they were pretty good tho). But that's more debatable and not the biggest flaw.
#2 and more importantly, they went out and got McCoy. They didn't bring in transfers for this offense outside of a couple of solid IOL that I don't expect to be much better than what left.
No one will disagree about recruiting to the point we have expectations of improvement or reloading.
It's not even so much that any position group on offense is scary, it's that everyone except TE is a question mark, and you need them all to come along or it could be a disaster if no one can lean on the other.
Point is simply, there's a lot of unknown and for outsiders, there's no reason to "expect" the offense to be better, especially when your starting and promising QB leaves the day before the spring game. It's hard to imagine the defense will be better but about the same. It's simply understandable to see an offense that is gutted and not expect the same results (10-2, I think 11-1 is crazy talk but I'll find this post and bump it with great joy and tag you if you're right LOL)
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Go watch the YouTube channel TheSportsSource. According to Ollie Lane who watched practice the o-line look good in team drills versus our loaded d-line. Wendell Moe who was a transfer get was mentioned as being very impressive (especially in pass protection). The guys who were at practice said our starting 5 offensive lineman looked really good. Lance Heard has improved a lot and Sanders doesn't look like a freshman.

The early returns thus far say the o-line looks closer to what I predicted. Now the big tell will be after this Saturday when they have the first scrimmage. If we hear the d-line absolutely dominated and we couldn't hold up as an o-line then it's fair to be concerned. But right now the guys on the o-line look great.
 
#86
#86
Bigorangefan 98 said:
As good as the defense was last season , I do think it be tad even better this season. The defense is more athletic than last season. The offense may take time gell , especially new qb and young wr s …. Think our offense line will be better . We will miss Sampson but I love our running back s we have
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That's fine, but you're hoping major ?s at every position but TE work out just to even be as productive as last year. It's understandable that most people don't see it all coming together
 
#87
#87
Bearkat_Vol said:
Point taken - 'totally meaningless' is too strong. My guess is that the teams listed in both the preseason and final 2024 polls had more depth and greater total talent to withstand season grind.
For me, here's the interesting point: Assuming the variability last year is typical (and I don't know if it is), which teams on the 2025 preseason poll will remain be on the 2025 final poll?

The table below looks at the 2024 preseason poll and lists their ranking in the final 2024 Coaches Poll. A "-" indicates that the team wasn't ranked in the preseason poll.
2024 Coaches Poll​
School​
Preseason Rank​
Final Rank​
1​
6​
2​
1​
3​
3​
4​
4​
5​
17​
6​
11​
7​
2​
8​
-​
9​
5​
10​
-​
11​
22​
LSU​
12​
-​
Utah​
13​
-​
14​
14​
15​
9​
16​
-​
17​
-​
18​
-​
19​
-​
20​
-​
21​
-​
22​
-​
USC​
23​
-​
24​
-​
Iowa​
25​
-​

For example, two teams ranked in the top ten in the 2024 preseason poll were not in the final 2024 poll. IF history repeats itself, which two teams, ranked in the top ten in the current preseason poll, are the most likely to not finish in the top twenty-five?
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LSU, for one of 'em.
 
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#88
#88
CAVPUT said:
Captain obvious here, but it all comes down to the Qb. That kid gets healthy and they'll be a really tough team. There's a lot of talent on that roster. Killer schedule, but I think we probably end up with similar records when the season ends....and against a far, far more difficult schedule. Coaching counts.
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I don't see it, I think 7-5 will be great for them. I don't see them beating Miami, Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU, or Texas. That is 5 Ls right there. Texas A&M is probably an L for them as well. That is, count it, 6 Ls already. Then they got to play Tennessee in late season as well as rival FSU who is a total mystery.
 
#89
#89
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
I'm actually happy. I love it when we are disrespected. It makes winning even more enjoyable. Everyone will look stupid doubting us after we go 11-1 and win the SEC.
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I don't think ranking us at # 18 is really disrespect. I would have us around that mark coming into the season. I do think our defense and running game is good enough to probably win 7-8 games even if QB play struggles.
 
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