Would you rather we opened with a lesser opponent?

#26
#26
I think it was a good learning curve for the players and coaches last night. I could sit here and nitpick certain aspects but honestly it's a new staff with players learning a new system and I think both gained more from this game than if they played a lesser opponent. Could very well pay dividends in a few weeks versus Florida.
 
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#27
#27
landscapingvol said:
Playing a good team does no one any favors regardless of what many claim on here especially for a team with no confidence like UT. This “anywhere, anytime” mentality is stupid and generally spewed from fans with a small penis complex. Washington WAS a great team till they opened with Auburn, their season is likely over as is Michigan’s. Louisville was embarrassed by Alabama, I doubt their fans feel the great pride of starting with an elite opponent. Great opening opponents and good OOC make no sense. If UT is sitting home in January at 5-7 or worse, an extra win on the team’s record would be much more acceptable. This team was not ready to a WVU type team nor was it talented enough
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Wow. The old take the easy road mentality. I respectfully disagree. We aren’t going 12-0 every year. It is what it is so I would rather play teams that are good because the challenge helps the team grow with a good coach. Plus, it makes college football way more exciting. This is one of the worst years I have seen in regards to few good cross conference games. The first weekend has been good but there’s not nearly as many as last year going forward. It’s like I tell me oldest son, I’d rather you take an honors math course and struggle to get a C than to take math that is easy for you and get an A.
 
#29
#29
eVOLve said:
I think it was a good learning curve for the players and coaches last night. I could sit here and nitpick certain aspects but honestly it's a new staff with players learning a new system and I think both gained more from this game than if they played a lesser opponent. Could very well pay dividends in a few weeks versus Florida.
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I would rather have played and beaten Wofford 42-10 yesterday and be 3-0 going into Florida than lose 40-14 to West Virginia;)
 
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#31
#31
I go back and forth. I do like the quality opponents, but our schedule is unique. The October stretch every year would be a daunting task for ANY team, not just our current Vols. And with that backdrop, I would prefer seeing easier early season games. Then maybe with time we can get back to the days of scheduling a tough early OOC opponent and still be healthy and competitive come October
 
#32
#32
newyorkvol said:
I go back and forth. I do like the quality opponents, but our schedule is unique. The October stretch every year would be a daunting task for ANY team, not just our current Vols. And with that backdrop, I would prefer seeing easier early season games. Then maybe with time we can get back to the days of scheduling a tough early OOC opponent and still be healthy and competitive come October
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I'm glad the toughest OOC game Tennessee has in 2019 is BYU.
 
#33
#33
Pruitt Will Do It said:
At least Tennessee plays these teams OOC in 2019

Georgia State
BYU
UAB
Chattanooga

4 pretty much automatic wins
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Hate to be “that guy” but BYU beat an Arizona team last night that would have rolled us too with their QB play. Don’t sleep on BYU as they have been better than us ever since Dobbs left
 
#34
#34
With an SEC schedule that has Bama on it every season you play the easiest non-conference games possible. 3 easy games leading up to UF might give us a chance to bone up. Instead they get bitch slapped and now have to tell themselves it was a good learning experience. Build a little confidence before SEC play.
 
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#35
#35
I still think we should move either Kentucky or Vandy to the first part of the schedule. I don’t care how long we have been playing them on a certain Saturday. It’s too much to ask every year to have to win the last 4 games of the season to be bowl eligible.
 
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#36
#36
08Vol said:
Hate to be “that guy” but BYU beat an Arizona team last night that would have rolled us too with their QB play. Don’t sleep on BYU as they have been better than us ever since Dobbs left
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BYU was the same as Tennessee in 2017 4-8 record. I think Arizona was mammothly overrated and i don't put all that much stock into BYU's win last night.
 
#37
#37
hUTch2002 said:
Wow. The old take the easy road mentality. I respectfully disagree. We aren’t going 12-0 every year. It is what it is so I would rather play teams that are good because the challenge helps the team grow with a good coach. Plus, it makes college football way more exciting. This is one of the worst years I have seen in regards to few good cross conference games. The first weekend has been good but there’s not nearly as many as last year going forward. It’s like I tell me oldest son, I’d rather you take an honors math course and struggle to get a C than to take math that is easy for you and get an A.
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But we didn’t get a C, we got an F. We chose to play a team that is much better than us for one reason, Butch thought it would help him recruit in North Carolina. He wanted a big name opponent at a neutral site so he could convince local recruits to visit.
 
#39
#39
08Vol said:
But we didn’t get a C, we got an F. We chose to play a team that is much better than us for one reason, Butch thought it would help him recruit in North Carolina. He wanted a big name opponent at a neutral site so he could convince local recruits to visit.
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And we learned more from that F than we would had we opened with ETSU. It’s ok to fail as long as you grow.
 
#40
#40
There is never anything good about losing the season opener. West Virginia will not be that great by seasons end. They're a decent top 20 team. That's it. We couldn't score 1st and goal twice on a team not known for defense. If you believe we learned something from that then you'll be real happy about the lessons we're going to learn all year long. I guess this whole season is one big learning scrimmage experience. And next year. And the year after that. Then we'll have to give the freshmen time to develop for a couple more. So basically Tennessee football fans are stuck waiting half a decade again for a chance to be half way competitive.
 
#41
#41
There is a middle ground between a powder puff team to blow out of the stadium and a ranked team likely to hand us an L and demoralize everybody to start what will already be a rough season, at the very beginning of a new program. It would have been nice to face somebody like MTSU or similar team with good enough talent and coaching to put up a fight and expose what needs work, but still give us a likely W in a season that won't give up a lot of them. I know these games are scheduled years in advance, but that seems like a solid approach to any season. Tough non-conference games are great, but they don't have to be the season opener.
 
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#42
#42
I think you learn more in a game like this than playing UT Martin. The team we played is capable of winning the Big 12 title. While I didn't agree with some of the play calling by our OC am sure he knew what he was trying to do more than I did. I thought they were weak against the pass and believe we could've hit some long ones against them if we'd tried more.
 
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#43
#43
landscapingvol said:
Playing a good team does no one any favors regardless of what many claim on here especially for a team with no confidence like UT. This “anywhere, anytime” mentality is stupid and generally spewed from fans with a small penis complex. Washington WAS a great team till they opened with Auburn, their season is likely over as is Michigan’s. Louisville was embarrassed by Alabama, I doubt their fans feel the great pride of starting with an elite opponent. Great opening opponents and good OOC make no sense. If UT is sitting home in January at 5-7 or worse, an extra win on the team’s record would be much more acceptable. This team was not ready to a WVU type team nor was it talented enough
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Wow, why don't we just join the Southern Conference. How many people do you think are willing to spend $80 per ticket on that level of football?
 
#44
#44
We have BYU/Pitt/Oklahoma and then Nebraska home and away. We take them all on. We are not affraid.
 
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