Will the Vols really be in the top 25 next year?

[ETV]

I was being sarcastic.....Im predicting 8-4

Same here. Dry Erase boards - 8. Pruitt. - 4

 

[Brave Volunteer]

7-5 this year. Losses will be to Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Miss St and South Carolina.

 

[BeardedVol]

The majority of the analyst and scouts believe he is top half in the SEC as a rising Jr. Only a very few lowly thought of fans believe different.

 

[peaygolf]

7-5 this year. Losses will be to Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Miss St and South Carolina.

I see a win over either Miss St or So Car.
Maybe both...........

 

[rjd970]

I think Miss St is a win next year. They lost a lot of production. SC is a toss-up, and Bama, GA, and UF are losses. It will most likely be a 7-5 or 8-4 type year.

 

[diehardvolsfan]

I'm hoping for 8 wins including the bowl.

If we finish at 5 wins again, with an easier schedule, that will.be disappointing.

If this team can’t win at minimum 7 next year then something is very very wrong!!! Most fans likely will give him till after the 2020 season before giving their overall assessment of Pruitt. I’m giving him at least that long myself....

 

[JohnD13]

Really be in the top 25 next year? Was the poll I saw that had us at 17 real?

No. Unless our oline is markedly improved

 

[diehardvolsfan]

No. Unless our oline is markedly improved

Even if we get lucky to see 8-4 the best we likely will be ranked is 24 or 25....it will be a few years of 8-9 win seasons to start climbing the polls..

 

[KBVol]

If we end the regular season 7-5 and win the bowl to go 8-5 we will for sure be a Top 25 team at seasons end.
The only way we don’t end up ranked at 8-5 is ifbhe have 2 embarrassing losses outside of Al, UG and UF.

We had 7 embarrassing losses last year, 6 of which were by 25+ points. We can improve a good bit this year and still go 5-7, which I’d say is pretty likely.

 

[KBVol]

As much as I would like it, I just don't see it.

Ga. State - win
BYU - toss up
UTC - win
UF - loss
UGa - loss
Miss State - toss up
Bama - loss
SC - win
UAB - win
UK - win
Mizzou - loss
Vandy - win

If we win both of my toss up predictions and the rest plays out as I predict, no Top 25. Win any one of the predicted losses, and 9-3 would exceed my wildest dreams.

Then again, I predicted 3-9 last season, so what do I know?

Both SCar and Vandy are toss-ups, at best.

 

[General Jack]

Will Tennessee be in the top 25 next season?

 

[Frozevol]

I feel we will do better but honestly, if we beat FL, than this season is a successful one in my book!

Too bad you are setting yourself up for a long season.

 

[KBVol]

I feel we will do better but honestly, if we beat FL, than this season is a successful one in my book!

Then the season is already a failure for you. Tennessee ain’t beating Florida, as usual. More likely to beat UGA if you ask me.

 

[bornbleddinorange]

We had our chance to beat UF multiple times when they Jim Mclewain but we had Botch Jones at the helm...

Will be lucky to beat them now with Mullen.

 

[VOL_Lyfe]

Same here. Dry Erase boards - 8. Pruitt. - 4

Take Pruitt and the points

 

[08Vol]

This team looked bad last year for the majority of the games. Players were quiting during games. With the chance to make a bowl game we were blown out with reports of players not wanting to win and spend their Christmas break at a meaningless bowl. Pruitt even said (paraphrasing from a post game quote) “I’ve never seen anything like this, players are put in the proper position to make plays and are refusing to execute”.

Unless the majority of our starters are freshmen and sophomores we should expect more of the same. Butch was a bad coach but he connected with the players. A lot of guys on the team in 2017 blamed the losses on injures and feel Butch was unfairly forced out. They spent last year just going through the motions which resulted in blowout after blowout. I am disappointed to see so many of them still on the team as I don’t think Pruitt can inspire them to work and play at an SEC level.