How many football games will Tennessee win this season?
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How many football games will Tennessee win this season?
© 2010, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 21
CoverOrange writes:
Finally. A poll worth asking. Good job Phil, Jack, et al.
andy112382#209793 writes:
People have been focused so much on what we don't have, and basing that on lack of experience. What the 'experts' fail to factor in is what if those guys that are simply lacking the playing time on their resume show up faster than expected ready to go? Not to mention people leave we have depth at LB, WR, DE, Secondary looks ready, RBs are there, senior FB...and then the intangibles like the strength and conditioning of Bennie Wylie and the preparing of most every scenario imaginable by Dooley, that'll get you a win or two in the tight games.
WIthout putting a number on it, since that is purely guess work, that goes for anyone making specific guesses on win totals I say this:
UT Martin, UAB, Memphis, Vandy are a 85%+ of a W, so that is 4 there.
Ole Miss, SC, Kentucky are 60-70% for each, roughly.
Georgia, LSU I say 50/50 given our luck lately against UGA and the fact Dooley almost beat LSU last year with LA Tech for cryin' out loud, and they have QB, RB, and LB questions of their own.
Oregon....40-50% chance. Tough one to say, that guy starting at QB has never started before, so the fact his first rd game is in knoxville may boost that to 50-60%.
Florida and Bama....20-30% maybe, rival games, so there is always a chance of crazy stuff happening, otherwise would typically be 10-20%, IMO.
Sound fair? GO VOLS!!! Try to win'em all!!!
straightshooter writes:
I don't know why they like to post questions such as this unless they want negativity. No one knows at this time what this team is capable of this year. After 3 games, then post the question.
BIVOLAR_BEAR writes:
However many we play, 13??
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
Let's see, Andy..I agree with your four sure wins, but add Kentucky because of the 26-win streak..I think we will beat Ole Miss because they won't have McCluster and he is the one that killed us last year..Great chance to beat South Carolina because our odds are good because of our record against them since they been in the SEC..Georgia will be a tough one, but definitely a chance...LSU could be an upset..I think Oregon will be a win(not a 100% sure)..Possibly either Florida or Alabama could be a surprise win..I think we could win definitely six games, but as many as 7 or 8 or maybe even 9..That's why they play the games!!
andy112382#209793 writes:
Exactly why I have always thought national polls shouldn't come out until after week 3 or 4, look how Auburn got screwed in 2004 because they started out ranked so low compared to USC and Oklahoma....all of these predictions and preseason polls are partially educated guesses and largely uneducated guesses by the so-called experts.
Proof was very easy to find the other night when David Pollack on ESPN said Justin Wilcox will play a big role in stopping VT when Boise St plays them a week from monday....which is amazing considering he left Boise St for us, though Pollack said we basically can't do anything this year....
OldNumber7 writes:
Defense wins championships...and this one could be very special. It will be more trickery and blitz than anything we've seen. Watch out, this season could get very special if anyone underestimates Tennessee.
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
oregon will start Thomas a redshirt soph. who played some as a freshman..If that goes south they have the SR Costa.Playing Oregon isn't that much different from playing FLA..They are 10th ranked and bring in a deep,experienced;talented team that won the pac 10!!On the plus side our offense is probably different than last year so they won't have much film to study..The heat won't decide this game.
andy112382#209793 writes:
Hey, I agree with you 100%....I was trying to stick with the conservative side of odds but yes, Kentucky is a 'W' IMO, they couldn't beat us the year we lost to Wyoming, 'nough said.
South Carolina is a team we have lost to, what, 3 times all time or something like that, but anywho, certainly winnable. (I plan on being at that one)
Ole Miss, McCluster, you said it, is no longer there and he was public enemy #1 last year against us and we have them at home. (I plan on making the trip for that one too, never been to a loss at Neyland stadium...have to keep the streak alive!!!)
LSU is our most likely upset and Oregon could very well be a win.
And like you said, Alabame and Florida, either would be huge, an upset, but in college football, nothing is out of the realm of possibilities, especially when you have both at home, Florida lost 9 to the draft and Bama lost almost their entire defense and Florida doesn't have Charlie Strong anymore.
orangecountyvols writes:
This is a loaded poll/question. I have to agree with straight shooter. Of course it's just an opinion sort of thing just to while away the time before the season starts. If we knew for sure it would be a moot point.
My 86 year old friend who is a die hard Vol fan sent his predictions on a separate site and said 4-8, and we'd lose 49-6 to Florida. I told him I disagreed on both counts. Vols have never lost 8 games and I don't see anyone scoring 49 points on this defense.
To answer the qx about how many wins.......I don't want to even guess. Trying to be optimistic, I don't concede a game to anyone before it's played.
midgetangel#279179 writes:
Lets not get dillusional here yall. I would love a 11-1, 10-2 or 9-3 season. What true Vol fan wouldnt? Can it happen? Sure, but not likely.
I would HATE to see 2-10, 3-9 or 4-8 as well. Can it happen as well? You bet it can, but not likely.
The past two years, we have had 5-7 and 7-6 seasons with superior talent compared to this year's team. Loses include Berry, Martin, Walls, Hardesty, etc. Yes, we do have talent this year. But we dont have the coach/player chemistry with a PROVEN head coach, yet. I know, Dooley coached w/ Saban. We were saying the same sort of things last year when "doofus" was starting with no HC experience.
Bottom line, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This year is even harder to predict than last year's team. Too much NEW talent. Can Dooley win in the SEC as a HC? Is Sims for real? Are we going to have the depth needed to have a respectable season? Will injuries steal away some of our W's? We are too thin in areas that we need to produce quality W's.
Less talent due to NFL and injuries. A coach that has less coaching experience than last year. (not saying much) SEC being not as strong as last year. My guess is 6-7 with a Bowl game loss to Ga. Tech in the Music City Bowl. FOR ALL OF THE KOOL-AIDers, I HOPE IT'S BETTER THAN 6-7!
Mule_Days_King writes:
How many stupid polls will KNS run this year?
A1A writes:
No coach/player chemistry? There are tons of articles at KNS detailing how these players absolutely LOVE CDD and his staff. They have completely bought in to his system and his personality, and they are on fire to go out and play for the dude.
I understand he is not "proven" but you can't discount the 6 months he's had with them...coaching...and instilling work ethic and pride. These guys will perform, maybe not to 8, 9, or 10 wins...and they may even be brought down a notch or two once they face the likes of Ore and Fla, but they have the building blocks in place, and when they start to gel, and barring the 44 missed starts like we had last year, then we will see a lot of chemistry come Oct and Nov. And with regard to the 44 missed starts, I would say a large percentage of those were due to a lack of conditioning...which they apparently are getting with BW.
There is definitely chemistry with this squad and with the coaching staff. Certainly more than what the business minded and underhanded Kiffin and Co. had, and I dare say even more than what "Phil's Kids" had with him. Phil's approach with his "kids" was all fine, well, and good, but if you've ever had kids, you know there has to be a healthy dose of "tough love" if you want them to succeed in life. Otherwise, they just go through life thinking everything will be okay if Daddy just pets them and says, "it's alright buddy...we'll get `em next time...which was directly from the Phillip Fulmer school of coaching.
Peace and GBO!
midgetangel#279179 writes:
Nice post A1A. I agree that CDD and the players have chemistry. But there were two words that I put in that sentence to justify what I was saying. I even capitalized all of the letters of one of the words for emphasis. PROVEN. Dooley hasn't proven anything yet.
I don't disagree that the players love him. I don't disagree that during the spring/fall camps that they have developed a close bond.
BUT, wait until a couple of losses show up to test their chemistry and we will see the true chemistry that they have. AND if we lose to a team that we are supposed to beat, that chemistry will be tested even more. The other word that I used was YET. It will come. I hope that CDD and players will light it up and go all of the way. Probably in two to three years but not this one!
xvillefan writes:
Wins-- UT Martin, UAB,Memphis, Vandy
Losses-- Oregon, Florida,LSU, Alabama, GA,S.C.
Toss up-- Ole Miss, Kentucky
Must avoid an upset to be bowl eligible.
orangecountyvols writes:
Uh excuse me Mr. Vandy whomever---------
First let me say I like the way Rich Richey thinks. Go Vols !
Next, back to the Vandy whatever.......you don't have any say here. This is about football, I mean we are talking football. Since we saw the Vandy whatever name, immediately we could see you were rambling about something which you and your "team" are not qualified to talk about.
Again, this is about football and you don't have a leg to stand on here. You do keep trying though, don't you? You keep struggling to say something that means anything. What a loser troll...
mercuryvol writes:
6-6;W=UTM,Oregon,UAB,Memphis,UK,VU.I hope I'm wrong,but this is the way it plays IMHO.
TnTravelerVol writes:
I don't think nine either, I'll say anywhere between 5-8, with 7 being my guess. Vandy may very well lose every single game this year. They aren't playing non conference power houses, but Northwestern, Uconn, and Wake are all capable of beating Vandy. I'll put Vandy's wins at between 0 and 4, with 2 likely.
rockytopatl writes:
If we beat Oregon, we will win more than 6.
Here's the problem with the Vols, though. You can almost bet that injuries will hit us in the areas where we have the least depth and we are thin as a razor blade at a bunch of positions. Last year, injuries killed us at linebacker. This year, I wouldn't be surprised to see injuries kill us on the O and D lines. We only have one decent defensive tackle. What if he gets hurt -- or the 248 pound linebacker we're going to play at DT beside him? Without decent tackles, we can't stop the run and we can't rush the passer or defend against the pass.
You can't count on 1's and 3's, and that's what Dooley has made it clear we have. Lots of ones and lots of threes. If we had more legitimate 2's, it would be easier to predict more wins and more upsets. It will take time to get back up to 85 players and build some depth and find some 2s.
A1A writes:
Aw come on VD...we all know why you continue to post all over GVX. You have an inferiority complex that has been perpetuated by an unhealthy jealousy of a team that continues to pound your team to dust. The only way you have in fighting back is to anonomously post inflamatory remarks against the object of your jealousy and then salivate as you read all the replies. It's the only way you have to relieve the pain and suffering that you go through as Dork fan on a daily basis. Session is over...free counseling is concluded...hope you are better now.
Dr. A1A
Peace and GBO!
midgetangel#279179 writes:
That seems about what I'm thinking as well. I think we lose to Oregon and beat South Carolina. But, those games to me are phooey-shoots.
Oregon has a RB that alot of people are talking about. Their QB is inexperienced so that one can go either way especially if we get them passing and stop the run.
South Carolina's QBs are really ticking off Spurrier in fall camp. Neither seems to want to make good decisions. If our DBs are not injured by then, I think we take it.
Agree with the rest, as most people on here do. Six wins losing to Oregon, Seven if we beat them.
(apparently you cant say c r a p on here. It changes to phooey)
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