What will define a successful season?

#26
#26
At this point, I'd say an SEC Championship constitutes a successful season. Each year is somewhat relative to the year(s) before. If you win a NC or SEC Champ and lose a bunch of key players, it's probably not realistic to demand a follow up. Being that we haven't won the SEC in 9 years, it's long overdue. Fulmer's list of excuses are meaningless. Every team battles injuries, youth(real youth not Fulmer youth), refs, ect.

10 wins seasons and Citrus Bowl wins are nice, but they shouldn't be our crowinging achievment this decade.
 
#28
#28
I'm not saying anything just stay on topic. It was just a slick punch in the arm so relax.
 
#31
#31
A Successful season is one where we redeem ourselves for the horrible losses to Florida and Alabama.
Then I would like to see Clawsen have a great year as the OC. I think he could be the face of our team for years to come. I think that if we handle business against the teams that we know we should beat and escape the SEC with only 2 losses and we Beat Florida. I think we make it back to the SEC championship. Then that would be a successful season to me.
I am a true fan and I think we can win them all but I am a realist too and I know that the SEC is the truth and it is hard to go all the way undefeated.
 
#32
#32
Expectations from VOLS fans must remain high, even if what our coaching staff brings to the field isn't what it should be.
Just being UT generates a positive and we can expect our players to rise to the occasion.

2005 was ugly, but all great schools go through unforgetable seasons (good and bad).

With the SEC as strong as it is, to say a number of losses is acceptable is hard to say.

SEC Championship will get us to where we should be and is expected.
 
#35
#35
Still fairly evenly split on whether a championship is necessary for a successful season, but there is pretty unanimous agreement that at least 10 wins is necessary.

I think that's fair, with our '05 and '07 recruiting classes in their fourth and second years, respectively, and our 2 biggest rivals at home, expectations should be reasonably high.
 
#36
#36
Undefeated at home

No more than 3 losses total

Defense improves tremendously from past 2 seasons.
 
#37
#37
Most of you have much stricter standards for a successful season than I do. 9 regular season wins and winning the East is certainly successful in my book. I'm not even sure I could consider 9 wins but not winning the East to be a failure. A disappointment maybe, but not failure.

If winning the SEC is the minimum definition for success then Tennessee's football program has been largely unsuccessful over it's history, and I certainly don't feel that way.

Winning the SEC always makes for a great season, and winning the National Championship would be a fantastic season for me.
 
#38
#38
1. Beating Florida and Bama
2. Winning at least 10 regular season games
3. No blowout losses
4. BCS bowl
 
#40
#40
I think 10-2, but you have to beat florida. If you lose to Georgia and Auburn, then that would be good enough to get to a bcs bowl and win the bowl game. So 11-2 would be excellent
 
#46
#46
I think 10-2 would be very sucessful...We all are looking through orange colored glasses though because we do have a new offense that is being implemented and a unproven QB for starters...For someone to say the season is unsucessful if we do not win the SEC is asking a lot IMO...I agree with the previous posts on the showing improvement and definately paying back for the bad losses but I will take 9-3 if we beat Florida:good!:
 
#48
#48
There's been much debate over Fulmer's new contract, and obviously the pro/anti Fulmer discussions have been ongoing for several years now. It got me to thinking, what should we define as a successful season? I'm curious to see what the nation thinks... and then revisit after the season. I'm assuming it will follow the party lines, but it could be interesting.

We have 2 consensus top 3 rated recruiting classes making significant contributions this year. I'm going with achieving any one of the following:

  • final ranking in the top 10
  • BCS bowl appearance, or
  • regular season record of 10-2 (would necessitate beating at least two of florida, georgia, auburn and alabama)
I realize this list does not include winning a championship, and some may disagree that a season could be a success without one. I'm torn, but for discussion sake I will say that we could consider '08 to be a success without a championship.

However, I would caveat the above list by saying 10-2 would be somewhat marginalized if the 2 losses were to florida and alabama.

Further, it would be marginalized if we lost our bowl game to a team we should beat.

...I agree with your post. 10-2, beat bama, and compete each and every game (there have been too many games last couple of years that I feel we did not come to the field ready to compete, thus the blowout by fla, last minute game winning FG's in game we should have wrapped up by end of 3rd quarter, etc.). If this group takes it's on field leadership from fellas like Berry, we will be just fine. The competitive spirit I am looking for was on display against Ark.Wisc. and Geo. in 07, missing against fla/bama and one that really hit me was penn state in 06 bowl. GO VOLS
 
Advertisement



Back
Top