We have the toughest road in more than one way

#1
J

J C Higgins

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#1
Considering logistics and fan support we have the toughest road of any CFP team.

If we win the first game there will be only ~ 9 days for UT fans to make arrangements to travel to Pasadena. Because of geography the Rose Bowl will be a home game for Oregon by overwhelming margin.

If SMU wins they'll have to travel from Dallas to Phoenix but that's a piece of cake compared to Knoxville to LA.

Indiana fans can drive to New Orleans in one day.

And if Clemson wins their first game they'll essentially be home (Atlanta) for their second game.
 
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#3
#3
J C Higgins said:
Considering logistics and fan support we have the toughest road of any CFP team.

If we win the first game there will be only ~ 9 days for UT fans to make arrangements to travel to Pasadena. Because of geography the Rose Bowl will be a home game for Oregon by overwhelming margin.

If SMU wins they'll have to travel from Dallas to Phoenix but that's a piece of cake compared to Knoxville to LA.

Indiana fans can drive to New Orleans in one day.

And if Clemson wins their first game they'll essentially be home (Atlanta) for their second game.
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yeah we got screwed and the cards are stacked against us like usual.... let's just go win :)
 
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#4
#4
Vol fans travel. The team isn’t the only one leaning into the anyone, anywhere, anytime ethos. The NCAA is welcome to spread the air miles around to some other fan bases every now and again, though.
 
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#5
#5
I am upset about being the 9 seed but, honestly, it is just great we made it. I wasn't expecting this team to be a National Title Contender coming into the season. They have definitely met my best expectations for the season already.

I feel like Tennessee is going to be even stronger next year with a full season under Nico and some improvements in WR play. Both lines may take a hit but I am confident in the up and coming players in those spots.


For some odd reason, Tennessee always has gotten hate by CFB Mainstream Media. TN is a top 10-15 all-time CFB Program with 0 Heisman despite being the school that has produced numerous NFL Hall of Famers and some of the best players at their position: Jason Witten, Peyton Manning, Reggie White, Alvin Kamara, Jamal Lewis, Doug Atkins, etc. It doesn't make sense as Tennessee has a massive following and racks in the $$$ when they are good. You would think the media would love Tennessee like they do Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, etc.
 
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#8
#8
J C Higgins said:
Considering logistics and fan support we have the toughest road of any CFP team.

If we win the first game there will be only ~ 9 days for UT fans to make arrangements to travel to Pasadena. Because of geography the Rose Bowl will be a home game for Oregon by overwhelming margin.

If SMU wins they'll have to travel from Dallas to Phoenix but that's a piece of cake compared to Knoxville to LA.

Indiana fans can drive to New Orleans in one day.

And if Clemson wins their first game they'll essentially be home (Atlanta) for their second game.
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We go to Ohio St if we win then we go to Rose bowl to play Oregon and if we win we probably play Texas and that's at the cotton bowl. Where is the championship game?
 
#9
#9
After we beat tOSU look into flying into Ontario, CA it has a very nice smaller airport (smaller than LA) and is not that far from Pasadena
 
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#11
#11
VolBricks said:
After we beat tOSU look into flying into Ontario, CA it has a very nice smaller airport (smaller than LA) and is not that far from Pasadena
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You could also fly into John Wayne/Orange county or Long Beach. both of those are further away. I believe only Southwest flies into Long Beach.
 
#14
#14
J C Higgins said:
Considering logistics and fan support we have the toughest road of any CFP team.

If we win the first game there will be only ~ 9 days for UT fans to make arrangements to travel to Pasadena. Because of geography the Rose Bowl will be a home game for Oregon by overwhelming margin.

If SMU wins they'll have to travel from Dallas to Phoenix but that's a piece of cake compared to Knoxville to LA.

Indiana fans can drive to New Orleans in one day.

And if Clemson wins their first game they'll essentially be home (Atlanta) for their second game.
Click to expand...

LA is literally one of the easiest places to get to from the East Coast.... There will not be a lot of "logistics" for folks to get to LA.

I'm personally skipping going to the playoff game at the Shoe because I want to lock in travel arrangements for LA / Rose Bowl right away if we win.

All my Bama and Georgia friends raved about the Rose Bowl experiences they had. Seeing that Orange in the Rose Bowl would be a hoot
 
#15
#15
Vol fans do travel - but this will end up being a lot of money spent.

And I am torn - I would love to go to the Rose Bowl but that might mean I don't go to the quarterfinal game. If the Vols were to make it to the championship game, I believe that is Atlanta so a day trip for a lot of fans - but in between that are three fairly significant trips of which only 1 is drivable.
 
#16
#16
JMSqb11 said:
LA is literally one of the easiest places to get to from the East Coast.... There will not be a lot of "logistics" for folks to get to LA.

I'm personally skipping going to the playoff game at the Shoe because I want to lock in travel arrangements for LA / Rose Bowl right away if we win.

All my Bama and Georgia friends raved about the Rose Bowl experiences they had. Seeing that Orange in the Rose Bowl would be a hoot
Click to expand...

I'm going to the Shoe, provided I get tickets. I feel the Vols can win at the Shoe, but not banking on it - so to the Shoe I go.

I would then have to make a decision on the Rose Bowl - flights are not cheap.
 
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#17
#17
volbound1700 said:
I am upset about being the 9 seed but, honestly, it is just great we made it. I wasn't expecting this team to be a National Title Contender coming into the season. They have definitely met my best expectations for the season already.

I feel like Tennessee is going to be even stronger next year with a full season under Nico and some improvements in WR play. Both lines may take a hit but I am confident in the up and coming players in those spots.


For some odd reason, Tennessee always has gotten hate by CFB Mainstream Media. TN is a top 10-15 all-time CFB Program with 0 Heisman despite being the school that has produced numerous NFL Hall of Famers and some of the best players at their position: Jason Witten, Peyton Manning, Reggie White, Alvin Kamara, Jamal Lewis, Doug Atkins, etc. It doesn't make sense as Tennessee has a massive following and racks in the $$$ when they are good. You would think the media would love Tennessee like they do Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, etc.
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I think UT will be good next year, but this was the year IMO. We have it on both Lines with a lot of senior leadership, Losing Pili hurt but I think Nico played a little less dynamic than I hoped. I thought it was him and Jackson Arnold to start the season on top young QBs, but Lagway and Lanorris Sellars look to be the real deals. I think this is the year we need to do it losing Sampson. Hoping Nico shines in the Ohio State game and we keep this year going.
 
#18
#18
KTrain said:
I think UT will be good next year, but this was the year IMO. We have it on both Lines with a lot of senior leadership, Losing Pili hurt but I think Nico played a little less dynamic than I hoped. I thought it was him and Jackson Arnold to start the season on top young QBs, but Lagway and Lanorris Sellars look to be the real deals. I think this is the year we need to do it losing Sampson. Hoping Nico shines in the Ohio State game and we keep this year going.
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I disagree. Our WR Core was off and Nico was freshmen. I think this year or 2026 are THE YEAR. We are recruiting better than ever. The defensive line is very deep and will still be great next year IMO. I think WR core will be better and Nico won't be a freshmen anymore. Our RB room will have more depth. We return the LB core and DB core.

Key losses are Cooper Mays (the biggest loss IMO), James Pierce Jr, Bru McCoy, Dylan Sampson, and Omari Thomas. However, I think all are replaceable.

The headache is road play. Heupel needs to figure that out. Next year, we go to Gainesville and Tuscaloosa (ironically, we have played better in Tuscaloosa than Gainesville).

The key ingredient will be QB play. Nico is going to get better as he gets older.
 
#19
#19
volbound1700 said:
I disagree. Our WR Core was off and Nico was freshmen. I think this year or 2026 are THE YEAR. We are recruiting better than ever. The defensive line is very deep and will still be great next year IMO. I think WR core will be better and Nico won't be a freshmen anymore. Our RB room will have more depth. We return the LB core and DB core.

Key losses are Cooper Mays (the biggest loss IMO), James Pierce Jr, Bru McCoy, Dylan Sampson, and Omari Thomas. However, I think all are replaceable.

The headache is road play. Heupel needs to figure that out. Next year, we go to Gainesville and Tuscaloosa (ironically, we have played better in Tuscaloosa than Gainesville).

The key ingredient will be QB play. Nico is going to get better as he gets older.
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I think Nico will get better no doubt, but Losing the QB of the O-Line Mays also lose Karic, Dayne Davis, Lampley, Spraggins and John Campbell that's a lot of reps and starts to replace.,
 
#21
#21
KTrain said:
I think Nico will get better no doubt, but Losing the QB of the O-Line Mays also lose Karic, Dayne Davis, Lampley, Spraggins and John Campbell that's a lot of reps and starts to replace.,
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True but we lost all our secondary last year and it got better. We have been recruiting o-line heavily. Spraggins is another bad loss but our O-line was our PROBLEM most of the year. Getting new faces maybe a big thing. Heard improved a lot as the season progressed and is starting to become a vocal leader like Mays.

Mays will hurt, I am not sugar coating that but I have confidence we can improve.
 
#23
#23
volbound1700 said:
True but we lost all our secondary last year and it got better. We have been recruiting o-line heavily. Spraggins is another bad loss but our O-line was our PROBLEM most of the year. Getting new faces maybe a big thing. Heard improved a lot as the season progressed and is starting to become a vocal leader like Mays.

Mays will hurt, I am not sugar coating that but I have confidence we can improve.
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IMO, O-Line is harder to replace than DBs in portal especially Center and Lance Heard who will be back has underwhelmed and is good for 2 drive stopping penalties about every game.
 
#24
#24
VolBricks said:
After we beat tOSU look into flying into Ontario, CA it has a very nice smaller airport (smaller than LA) and is not that far from Pasadena
Click to expand...

Yes, definitely would recommend this airport. I used it last time I visited California - off the beaten path and away from the crazy traffic associated with LAX.
 
#25
#25
rocytop2624 said:
We go to Ohio St if we win then we go to Rose bowl to play Oregon and if we win we probably play Texas and that's at the cotton bowl. Where is the championship game?
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Omg that is a tough stretch -
@ Ohio St
@ Rose Bowl, Oregon advantage
@ dallas, Texas advantage
@ atlanta, UGA advantage

We have almost 4 road games vs #1, #2, #5 and #6. Well wth lets go win this thing! May be recognized as the most dominant performance in college football history when we pull it off!
 
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