When is it going to be "our turn" again for Football?

#76
#76
wmcovol said:
They didn’t have a roster remotely close to the top 10 in the country. The entire 2021 recruiting class for Tennessee didn’t exist for the 2024 team. It was a complete washout. The only player outta Pruitt’s last class (2021) that actually contributed was Jaylen Wright, and he was already in the NFL. The 2022 & 23 classes were severely impacted by the NCAA penalty possibly.

OSU for example had 7 5 star players from their 2021 class playing their senior year that night along with probably another 10 or more 5 star guys in other classes. Tennessee had 4 5 star guys total on their roster. 2 were true freshman (Matthews & Ross) The blue chip ratio had Tennessee at under 50%. That is overachieving.
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As futile as you make it sound for poor ole UT, weren’t the Vols favored in 10 out of 12 games? What was their record?
 
#77
#77
Boca Vol said:
As futile as you make it sound for poor ole UT, weren’t the Vols favored in 10 out of 12 games? What was their record?
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favored? That’s simply a reflection on how the idiots who gamble on games think. OM was favored in every game but 1 that year, Ala was favored in every game. How did that work for them?

At best Tennessee had a mid tier roster in the SEC in ‘24. The program benefited from a reasonable schedule, 5&6th yr guys on the DL, & effective coaching with an ineffective QB.
 
#78
#78
I’m not usually a next year kinda guy but 2027-2028 is gonna be our year!

Qb will be good whichever one wins the job and another year in the defensive scheme!
So book it 27-28 is gonna be great!
 
#79
#79
barrylee said:
I’m not usually a next year kinda guy but 2027-2028 is gonna be our year!

Qb will be good whichever one wins the job and another year in the defensive scheme!
So book it 27-28 is gonna be great!
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Heupel has 3 years imo to have us in the college playoff semis with a chance to win a national championship.

Do I think we compete for a playoff spot this season? Probably not. I’m not saying we can’t, but it’ll be tough with a young, untested QB and schedule.

I think the season hinges on the Texas game….Texas is being billed as the favorites to win it all with all the talent they have. We need to win that game or have it come down to the wire to give us confidence.

Texas, Bama, LSU, Auburn, Kentucky, Miss St🏡
USCjr, OU, A&M, Arkansas road

6-3 in the conference imo would be really good. Anything better than that, and we have a shot at the playoffs. If we beat Texas (which we can’t…they aren’t the same team on the road) who knows what happens.
 
#81
#81
fossilfiction said:
IDK. I am still just happy that my team can go and beat almost anyone on any day. Don't like the crazy melts we see a few times per year, but I am happy just being in the CFP hunt atm. Maybe a low bar for some but that bar was at the bottom of an endless pit for a long time. Being a consistently good team is a good place to be.
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For a fringe top 10 program all time, that bar is low. But I agree, after 15 years of embarrassment where we are at now feels incredible by comparison
 
#84
#84
volbound1700 said:
Watching the success with Basketball this year, a year where we have overachieved, I keep wondering when is it going to be our chance in Football. 0 Playoff wins, No SEC titles in the 21st Century, and no real years that I feel like Tennessee has overachieved other than that special 2022 team.

It has been so long. I think Heupel is the right coach. I am NOT excited about this season as it screams rebuilding year. I think bringing in Jim Knowles could pay dividends. The recruiting is getting better. However, it is draining seeing our rivals: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, etc. having top level success (well Florida hasn't recently but the Tim Tebow era was at least this CENTURY).

It is draining. Looking at what Rick Barnes has achieved, what Tony Vitello achieved, etc. I just keep waiting and hoping.

Our school is a Football school, we cut our teeth there. Yet, it has been one of our weakest sports in the 21st Century. In fact, the two sports that Tennessee has had the most historical success at: Football and Women's Basketball, are Tennessee's weakest programs right now.

The SEC getting its teeth knocked in by the B1G in Football regularly might help Tennessee as our rivals all are starting to struggle/show weaknesses. Sounds like the NIL era hasn't been good to the SEC.

Hopefully, something good is coming soon...
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Not going to happen anytime soon with zero cap NIL in place. The schools with the biggest alumni donors will always be at the top.
 
#85
#85
Orange_Vol1321 said:
Not going to happen anytime soon with zero cap NIL in place. The schools with the biggest alumni donors will always be at the top.
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Like Indiana or Vanderbilt? If NIL always wins, Texas would have won it easy this year. They spend the most money and didn't even make the playoffs.

You still need good coaching and a good system like what Indiana had. If anything, NIL has taken the power away from the Alabama/Georgia/Clemson/Ohio State gauntlet. It has opened the door for more teams to compete versus less.
 
#86
#86
hUTch2002 said:
Georgia was loaded and it still took years for Smart to exceed what Richt had done. Yes, Indiana caught lightning in a bottle and it’s easier to do that than ever. The only reason it happened is the current state of things. However, it’s not a realistic expectation. Let’s see what these next couple years hold. We should have a returning QB in 2027 so hopefully this year will be about development at that position and lining things up so 27 and 28 are special years.
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I feel like that Tennessee is going to have to catch lightning in the Bottle with Heupel's system. That is what we are going for and we got close in 2022.

We just can't be Alabama or Georgia right now because we can't land players like they do and we don't have legendary coaches. Same is true with Ohio State. Those programs are just better than Tennessee. The Indiana route or 2019 LSU route is probably what we need to do.
 
#87
#87
Football is the toughest for the simple reason you have to pay players huge amounts of money to come to Knoxville. Unlike a lot of the top tier schools we are limited talent wise in this state to get the home grown players with elite skills. Most of the elite kids you see today their parents have moved here from somewhere else for work or environment and they have little if any "state" loyalty. Where as Texas, Florida, California and most mid-western states are ripe with talent and have a school loyalty we just don't have. Back in the day we had the largest recruiting budget in the country for a reason, we had to go get the talent. Today getting talent and paying talent to stay is a different animal.
 
#88
#88
volbound1700 said:
I feel like that Tennessee is going to have to catch lightning in the Bottle with Heupel's system. That is what we are going for and we got close in 2022.

We just can't be Alabama or Georgia right now because we can't land players like they do and we don't have legendary coaches. Same is true with Ohio State. Those programs are just better than Tennessee. The Indiana route or 2019 LSU route is probably what we need to do.
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In this new world, we won’t see a run like Bama had again.
 
#89
#89
hUTch2002 said:
In this new world, we won’t see a run like Bama had again.
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Possibly but people said the same thing about Alabama prior to getting Saban. I remember Lee Corso once commenting in Tuscaloosa that Bear Bryant is dead and he will never come back.

I think there could be a coach that can figure out this new system and win regularly with it. In fact, Curt Cignetti could be that guy. I think the NIL system actually makes it easier on coaches despite the complaining because if you get a bad recruiting class, it is easier to fix it via Transfer Portal.

Pre-NIL football tended to favor teams based on current program health, geography, and coaching.

I think coaching will still be a big deal, it just needs to be different, but the other two are no longer major factors. This helps programs like Tennessee, Penn State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, etc. that are not in recruiting hotbeds but have $$$ and fans. You notice how that we have gotten more competitive against Alabama, Georgia, etc. in the NIL era.

The key is picking the right players. We picked players like Nico Iamaleava or Boo Carter that were waste of our $$$ and useless. I think people are missing that. It isn't just about money, it is about how you are spending it. Tennessee has spent it on some major duds.
 
#90
#90
volbound1700 said:
Possibly but people said the same thing about Alabama prior to getting Saban. I remember Lee Corso once commenting in Tuscaloosa that Bear Bryant is dead and he will never come back.

I think there could be a coach that can figure out this new system and win regularly with it. In fact, Curt Cignetti could be that guy. I think the NIL system actually makes it easier on coaches despite the complaining because if you get a bad recruiting class, it is easier to fix it via Transfer Portal.

Pre-NIL football tended to favor teams based on current program health, geography, and coaching.

I think coaching will still be a big deal, it just needs to be different, but the other two are no longer major factors. This helps programs like Tennessee, Penn State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, etc. that are not in recruiting hotbeds but have $$$ and fans. You notice how that we have gotten more competitive against Alabama, Georgia, etc. in the NIL era.

The key is picking the right players. We picked players like Nico Iamaleava or Boo Carter that were waste of our $$$ and useless. I think people are missing that. It isn't just about money, it is about how you are spending it. Tennessee has spent it on some major duds.
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I agree it makes it easier for the likes of us or anyone else to compete and that’s why you won’t see a run like Bama in the current model. Too much competition.
 
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#92
#92
hUTch2002 said:
I agree it makes it easier for the likes of us or anyone else to compete and that’s why you won’t see a run like Bama in the current model. Too much competition.
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Maybe or maybe you just might get a coach that is the Nick Saban expertise of the NIL setup. Like I said, a good strategist would find a way. Curt Cignetti already shows potential. It is a different game but it has its own rules and strategies that people could play to win big.

EDIT: By the way, enjoying the discussion. I don't want it to sound like I am just arguing with you lol. We slightly disagree but it is fun talking to you about it.
 
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#93
#93
volbound1700 said:
Maybe or maybe you just might get a coach that is the Nick Saban expertise of the NIL setup. Like I said, a good strategist would find a way. Curt Cignetti already shows potential. It is a different game but it has its own rules and strategies that people could play to win big.

EDIT: By the way, enjoying the discussion. I don't want it to sound like I am just arguing with you lol. We slightly disagree but it is fun talking to you about it.
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Dang. I was just getting ready to devolve into name
calling.

It’s all good. People can disagree and discuss. The reality is we have no idea and, like you said, it’s just fun to discuss.

I’ll say that Cignetti proved me wrong this past season. I didn’t buy in all season until I saw what they did to Bama. After that, I knew they wouldn’t lose.

The earlier win at Oregon certainly grabbed my attention but I thought it was just one win. I was actually pretty impressed by their win at Penn State. They didn’t play well, looked dead in the water and PSU has talent and was playing well. To pull that game out was impressive. Them beating Ohio State was good for sure but OSU seemed to blow that one. After all that, I thought Bama would beat them but I was dead wrong. Maybe they/he will keep proving me wrong.

Whatcha thinking about our situation this year?
 
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#94
#94
hUTch2002 said:
Dang. I was just getting ready to devolve into name
calling.

It’s all good. People can disagree and discuss. The reality is we have no idea and, like you said, it’s just fun to discuss.

I’ll say that Cignetti proved me wrong this past season. I didn’t buy in all season until I saw what they did to Bama. After that, I knew they wouldn’t lose.

The earlier win at Oregon certainly grabbed my attention but I thought it was just one win. I was actually pretty impressed by their win at Penn State. They didn’t play well, looked dead in the water and PSU has talent and was playing well. To pull that game out was impressive. Them beating Ohio State was good for sure but OSU seemed to blow that one. After all that, I thought Bama would beat them but I was dead wrong. Maybe they/he will keep proving me wrong.

Whatcha thinking about our situation this year?
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I think QB play could be a problem for us. I expect the defense to get better but I am not sure it will be elite. I do like the fact that we don't have to play Georgia this year. Despite having 9 SEC games, I just feel like our schedule is a little more manageable. The toughest game will be at Texas A&M.

One weakness with Heupel's offense is the running play calls. I don't think we are very creating in the rushing game. We have one of the most creative pass offenses in the nation but most of our rush plays are runs up the middle with no real strategy. Interesting, Texas A&M is entirely the opposite of us, they have poor pass play calling but some of the most creative run plays in the SEC. Good run plays put blockers in the right spot to create holes and use both outside and inside running (to go outside, with the DE speed in the SEC, you need blocking support and it has to be creative, Texas A&M does a great job of that).

8-4 sounds about realistic again, maybe 9-3 if ball bounces our way. I will try to go through and pick:

Furman - Win
at Georgia Tech - Difficult win (we could lose this one). It just seems like we always do well against the ACC.
Kennesaw State - Win
Texas - Loss (this could be a win if Manning struggles)
Auburn - Win but not easy. I see something like the Arkansas game last year
at Arkansas - This one is a tough call but I think Tennessee can beat them with a new coach in place
Alabama - Another tough one, I am going to go with a win. I think Alabama struggles in 2026 and it is in Knoxville
Kentucky - Tight win, I think Kentucky will be decent
at Texas A&M - Loss, toughest game on our schedule
LSU - As much as I want to beat Kiffin, I think we lose this one
at Vanderbilt - Win... revenge game

I list 9-3 but I think 8-4 is more likely. We will loss one of Georgia Tech, Arkansas, and Alabama, just not sure which one. We could beat LSU but I think LSU will be good. I think we lose a lot of close one.
 
#96
#96
Not to be a pessimist but it might not happen again. I’m glad I was around for the 90s. In any case, I’m just enjoying the games as a way to spend more time with my kids who are growing at a rapid pace.
 
#98
#98
Seems like teams like Texas Tech has decided that all sports iat the school are now professional teams and they are paying whatever it takes to be in the hunt. Just look at what they did in one year in women’s softball. This years football and basketball is not too shabby either.
 
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