Since the Kentucky-induced hysteria from last weekend, I have tried to look beyond Tennessee’s season-ending mishap against the Wildcats and focus on something more pertinent: the next game.
The Vols can’t change what happened last Saturday. But they can do something about their next game: They can buy out of it.
Just kidding. I would never favor buying out of a game unless a team was deemed so inferior to its opponent that the competition could be life threatening.
UT has taken a more liberal approach to scheduling. The Vols bought out of the 2011 game with North Carolina and replaced the Tar Heels with Buffalo, which they beat so handily you probably thought they were bowl-bound.
A 10-7 loss to Kentucky slammed that door and sent a pointed message as well: If you are intimidated by North Carolina, you might not be bowl material.
You already know this much about the next schedule. It shouldn’t be as difficult as this one, no matter which N.C. State team it shares the Georgia Dome with in the season opener.
Will it be the N.C. State that fell behind Maryland 41-14 last Saturday? Or the N.C. State that scored 42 unanswered points, including 35 in the fourth quarter, in a 56-41 victory?
The game was a microcosm of one of the strangest seasons in the FBS. N.C. State shut out North Carolina and gave up 45 points to Georgia Tech. It lost to Cincinnati and Florida State by 30 and 34 points, respectively, but beat Clemson by 24 and Virginia by 14.
The Wolfpack will return 13 starters from a 7-5 season that was going so badly at times you had to wonder if coach Tom O’Brien would have a job by the end of it. Those returnees will include the entire secondary, which has been a team strength and features cornerback David Amerson, who has an NCAA-leading 11 interceptions. Also, the return of quarterback Mike Glennon should make for the tallest quarterback pairing of the season. He and UT’s Tyler Bray are 6-foot-6.
The rest of UT’s non-conference schedule should bring back fond memories of Buffalo. Akron just fired its head coach after a 1-11 season. Georgia State and Troy State each have lost eight games.
The Vols’ SEC schedule likely will lighten up as well. The conference is in the process of revamping the schedule to accommodate new members Missouri in the East and Texas A&M in the West. No such revamping should force the Vols to play LSU for a third consecutive season.
Alabama might have plenty of good, young players awaiting their turn, but it won’t have the combination of talent and experience that it does this season. Arkansas could be just as good next season. But if the new schedule allows teams to complete the current rotation, the Vols will have the home-field advantage, and they won’t have to deal with departing wide receiver/punt returner Joe Adams. He embarrassed them more than anyone until Kentucky came along.
In the East, the competition shouldn’t be much different from this season. Georgia could be better, but South Carolina likely will be hurt by early losses to the NFL. Florida returns plenty of starters, yet its offense should be just as bleak. As for Vanderbilt and Kentucky, they will be capable of beating a UT team as bad as this one.
You should expect UT to be much improved. And that’s why the opener is so important.
The last three openers haven’t offered competent enough opponents to provide a clue as to how good or bad the Vols might be. N.C. State should be just good enough to do that.
But not good enough to buy out.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/johnadamskns.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Softball: Tennessee 2, Georgia 1
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 135
Voltillyafall writes:
Along with its other problems, this team (2011) had the hardest schedule I can remember a Tennessee team having. I know J. Adams wrote this article tongue-in-cheek, but in the end the buy-out of North Carolina was the right decision...and thank goodness the 2012 schedule is easier.
florida-volfan writes:
Better get that cluster**** of a mess in knoxville straightened out or it will be another 5-7 season. These football teams the last few years have none of the discipline that coach majors and fulmers earlier teams had. Not really sure what the hecks going on with tennessee football. If there were kids saying they didnt want to play in a bowl game you could bet there would be *** to pay with coach majors for sure.
jimmyogle#287918 writes:
UT does have a very good rerason for buying out NC State...they're scared. Period. I dont remember UT EVER backing out of a game because the game would be too tough. As Spurrier said "Things sure have changed in Knoxville"
bigdisbig writes:
NC State may want to buy out the Tennessee game for having UT on anyone's schedule these days brings your BCS ratings way down.
Pullingguard writes:
Why was the buyout a good decision? It could have been a W for the UT team became worse as the season progressed. It was an embarassment for UT to buy out of this game, and probably sent a message to the team that they were bad, not expected to do much, and it proved they were probably right. Whats the difference between 5 wins and 4 wins, either way you are not going anyplace and you could save some face.
deputy658 writes:
Off topic: does anyone know if Wilcox is going to take the UCLA job and does anyone know about Chaney interviewing for the Illinois HC job?
MikeNPS writes:
Why was this idiotic article even printed? Surely whoever wrote this article is more intelligent than the article suggests. But wait, if the article was written by someone at the Knoxville Tabloid and Enquirer, the writer may in fact have been as ignorant as this article suggests.
VolinCalif writes:
As Bruce P said.
"Thats Horse Shi.."
UTKin1992 writes:
Don't know its true but I heard BSU's Chris Petersen has the inside track on UCLA.
Chaney a head coach? Is that the start of a joke?
jobrando#216494 writes:
Dang, I'll be praying for them
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
Akron, Troy and Ga State---------thats just shameful and embarrassing what we have come to as a scared little program------that itself is much worse even with wins than losing to Kentucky is
MTSUVOL writes:
Nope and Nope! They are both staying in Knoxville and are happy there. Why would they want to leave when this team is getting ready to make great strides.
OwensboroVol writes:
I expect the Tennessee Team to be very much improved next year. I do believe that a 8 win season should be expected and demanded. A 9-10 win season is very possible.
The next thing is that I don't give two hoots in hell how good or bad we are we should never buy out a team. We're Tennessee and we're above phooey like that. I don't care how bad we win or get beat we have more pride than to buy out games.
asleep#212036 writes:
By "discipline" you don't mean off the field I hope. For the first time I can remember, last year's bowl team had no academic casualties. We didn't have to kick a single kid off the team this year and I don't remember any player missing a game for disciplinary reasons. On the field, we had very few personal fouls and played with class. If by discipline you mean assignments and fundamentals, I might give you that one. But neither Fulmer nor Majors ever had a team this young trying to play a schedule this hard. I don't know. I think the issue was more coaching and play-calling, especially on the offensive side of the ball. I do agree with your assessment of a "mess" but I think replacing Chaney, Heistand, and Russell with competent coaches would go a long way towards cleaning that up. As far as the bowl game talk, that all comes from Poole, a bitter senior whose career didn't turn out as he wanted, either as a team or individually. I put no stock in it. Go Vols!!!
the_dooley_eVOLution writes:
No and no.
Classof72 writes:
"You should expect UT to be much improved."
Based on what, exactly?
the_dooley_eVOLution writes:
We should NEVER buy out a game against a decent opponent. Bring on the UT of old where we take on anyone, anywhere.
AtLannaVol writes:
9-3. Easy. as long as we stay healthy. now everybody get off Dooley's back and get behind him instead. If we'd had Georgia's schedule this year and no injuries, we'd have been 9-3 this year. Go Vols! And Go sit down all you impatient nay-sayers!
usnavyvol writes:
ball sack
asleep#212036 writes:
I agree. I don't like buying out of games just to keep from losing. There are legitimate reasons, for instance, if we go to a nine-game conference schedule and have to drop a game. But telling your team that we aren't going to play team X because we need a sure win and they are too tough is ridiculous. Instead of taking a chance, we are going to replace them with some practice dummies so (a) we know we can win and (b) we can pad our stats. Buffalo was that team and it didn't help us at all. If we buy out of NC State, I will be very disappointed. Go Vols!!
cloudodust writes:
I still say Barbara Dooley knows more about this game than many of our 'fans'...There are things that need tweaking, on that I agree but what we need are corners, fresh OLmen that will push the current guys resting in the veal boxes, a RB that will challenge the middle and folks like AJ Johnson who are skilled that want to be a Vol. I'll take those for starters...As a guy that has been a Vol fan since I learned what a pigskin was in 19 hundred and 53, I remain behind the TEAM...
asleep#212036 writes:
The punter and kicker were both highly recruited therefore their problems are most likely coaching, not talent. The O-line likewise needs coaching and an offense suited to their size and skill set. Bray, Rogers, Hunter, Rivera and the O-line will be even better, especially with a different OC (I hope!!). Chaney is unquestionably the worst OC we have had, including Clawson, and he must go. The defense improved over last year and is returning most of the better players, Malik Jackson being the exception. D-line won't be a strength but the emergence of Couch and Smith at season's end, plus the addition of just a couple of key players in the younger classes should help. Every pundit out there said back in August that this would be a rough year and a bowl bid would be an accomplishment. OK, we failed that. But nobody thought this team could win more than 7 games, most thought 6. If we had beaten Kentucky, we would have finished 4th in the East, right where we were predicted. If we had played Kentucky every week, we would have been 11-1. They caught us on the "1" week, it happens. Every pundit also said that 2012 would be the year we should expect marked improvement. I agree. Since we did lose to Kentucky, Dooley will not get the benefit of 2013 if Hart doesn't see that marked improvement. But there is not a snowball's chance in a very warm place Dooley is going anywhere before next year. As far as Chaney, Heistand, and Russell? Well, admin and Dooley have been silent so I think they are gone. Good riddance to all three of them. Looking forward to next year. Go Vols!!!
asleep#212036 writes:
It's Illinois, they hired Zook, why not Chaney?
givehimsix82 writes:
Adams is the worst troll of all.
givehim6 writes:
If Wilcox did leave I would be 50/50 Cheif he is not, but he is ok as a DC. If Chaney goes many would help him pack.
Airman57 writes:
Man, I actually thought most Vol fans were fairly intelligent folks....then I look on here and see folks calling for UT to try & hire guys like Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden,...some calling for Bringing Fulmer back...then the most outrageous one..."bring back Johnny Majors"...Sheesh !!! What a Bunch of Wackos !!!
Look I am as upset & embarrassed as anyone, and I most likely won't go back to a game until some things change over on the hill. Sure, these guys laid down at Kentucky like a bunch of lazy, mangey, dogs...it was sickening to watch, and I wanted to get up & kick their @ss for just going thru the motions....BUT the thing that concerns me most, is that some of these cocky players think they're bigger than the program & want to just worry about their stats, or talk back to coaches, and do what THEY want, not what they're coached to do. That tells me that SOMEONE has lost control of this team & program. If you can't control and motivate these guys to do as they're coached, and then make sure if they don't, there will be serious consequences, then You have LOST the respect of the team, the other coaches, fans, administration,....and it's time to get into another line of work. Derek Dooley....if this is the case with YOU....Get Out NOW !!! The Volunteer Nation can deal with a few losses, but the rumor mills are running rampant that you have lost this team's respect, and some guys are just marching to their own beat, and the heck with the TEAM, it's all about THEM. I'm talking about Bray & Rogers....send 'em packing if that's the case, and you need to go with 'em !!! If you can't be the Man / Coach that we hired to lead this program back to where we all want it to be, do us & yourself a favor and move on !!!!
asleep#212036 writes:
Alabama's non-conference this year included North Texas State, Kent State, and Georgia Southern. Auburn played Utah State, Florida Atlantic, and Samford. Florida played Florida Atlantic, UAB, and Furman. Everybody plays patsies, even the big boys. Those teams are no worse than the teams anybody else in our conference has on their schedules. Go Vols!!!
asleep#212036 writes:
Not sure I would have handed us 9-3 with Georgia's schedule, even injury free, but I can guarantee they wouldn't be 10-2 if they played our schedule, that's for sure. Go Vols!!!
asleep#212036 writes:
Not to be argumentative but he did as good a job with the talent he had as Chavis could have done with the same talent. Wilcox had not a single player listed on the first or second team pre-season all SEC. And yet our D ended up 28th in yards, 38th in scoring. Pretty darned good without a single superstar or a legitimate SEC level 2-deep, and an offense that kept them on the field way too long. Wilcox is being paid well and is only in his mid-thirties so I seriously doubt he is a candidate for a HC position at a big BCS school like UCLA. Chaney is in his 50's and has NFL experience as well as stints at two big BCS schools, UT and Purdue. He MIGHT be a HC candidate somewhere. I hope he takes the job. If so, I agree, I'd drive up there right now with boxes, bubble wrap, and a U-Haul. Go Vols!!!
BamaVol writes:
Discipline & Fulmer, those two words don't fit
givehim6 writes:
Unfortunately this is the new UT. The days were UT & UF ruling the big SEC east, and the west was the little brother are gone. The SEC west is now king, the east is little bro. But look up next year UT has a good shot at UF, just not UK. crazy hu?
arkyvol writes:
its much worse than that. he's the george w. bush of coaching, maybe worse than the assortment of whackjobs, philanderers, and liars who are seeking the nomination this time.
jbc writes:
UT 7 losses. 5 against 10 or more win teams
#1 LSU 12-0 Justin Hunter, Lathers, Bray
#2 Alabama 11-1 Hunter, Lathers, Bray
#8 Arkansas 10-2 Hunter, Lathers, Bray
#12 South Carolina 10-2 Hunter, Lathers, Bray
#14 Georgia 10-2 Hunter, Lathers
Florida 6-6 Hunter, Lathers
Kentucky 5-7 Hunter, Lathers, Bray injured but played
holleyab writes:
They should buy it out.... ask georgia if it's worth it to have an easy schedule? It helped them get to the SEC championship, had UGA bought out boise st and played a nobody, they would be a one loss top 3 team.
oldster writes:
Adams is such a smart alec. He is so typical of the American media these days. They only see things from their own perspective and have no desire to see it from those of others. He just wants something to sell newspapers. Many fans are not dis-similar. They want something to entertain them. They want their team to play - and beat -the number one team in the country every week. If the team does not do that, it does not prove anything. Of course, many do not realize that if you beat number 1s every week, pretty soon your team would be number 1 and would only then be beating inferior teams, which, of course, would then lead to Adams and his ilk complaining that they cannot beat good teams. Neither the media or some fans realize why a coach and his players do not want to go through a gambit of great team after great team. I have played on a team where every team we played was better than we were. By the end of the 5th or 6th game we were so beat up that we were getting hammered worse than the talent disparity alone could account for. Adams, play a few physical games in a row and see how well your body responds and bounces back. Then criticize you twerp.
frblalack writes:
Mr. Adams,
You don't really come across as a UT fan. One would think that the hometown newspaper would actually employ sports writers who would favor the Vols.
Your articles and comments hardly suggest any impartiality toward the University of Tennessee. I would hope you would reconsider how your words adversely affect the thousands of Vol fans.
Isn't it about time for "retirement"? Or how about the Knoxville News Sentinel just firing your a..! I have always appreciated fair-mindedness, but my friend you are simply quite the stretch. Buyouts...N.C.State? Seriously? Isn't it time for your nap?
All Vols - All the time- UT - I bleed Orange!
BigVolinCarolina writes:
If Tennessee buys out the NC State game, then
1. They are incredibly foolish to do so.
2. I will hide my head in shame.
I live in Raleigh and I've had to endure continuous embarassment over cancelling the UNC series. UT had much more to gain than lose by playing UNC. So glad we played Buffalo instead so that we'd "bowl eligible". That worked out well, didn't it?
Let's not make the same mistake twice.
1963VOLS writes:
You just said it all.LOOK all you trolls LOOK!!! jbc shows alot of what happenend,you lose these guys and it hurts alot,ask indy?
tnoutlaw2001#228008 writes:
How exactly was the buy out the right decision?
UT lost to NC last year in the bowl game after the buyout, then did not qualify for a bowl game even though they paid to get a weaker schedule. It's basically money burned now, not good, or the right thing.
1963VOLS writes:
you people need to look at espnu 2012 top 100 recruting.alot of our guys are all over it!!
notorange writes:
If these guys laid down once, who's to say they won't do it again?? Seems to me to seniors were the ones trying to put some fire in the younger players and they will not be around next year, but all may be rosey in 2012 if Bray can use his "slash" thumb...
DwayneElizondoMountainDewHerbertCamacho writes:
Ya'll think that things will be different next year? Read the Tony Basilio piece on the internal problems with the staff and the players. Dooley has LOST control of this program. For a guy that was supposed to restore UT's good name by being a "character" hire...well, if you bought into that krap, reality is still reality.
WaltGoVols writes:
Probably a good idea until the people who continue to blast Coach Fulmer shut their ignorant mouths.
Walt
UT '81
WaltGoVols writes:
150 victories and Fulmer do fit.
Undefeated national championship and Fulmer also fit.
Walt
UT '81
WaltGoVols writes:
Even with the excuses Dooley's defenders continue to offer, there is no way we should have lost to KY. None.
Dooley can't coach; he can't motivate. Keeping him around is like throwing good money after bad.
Walt
UT '81
WaltGoVols writes:
Adams' job is to drive traffic across the site.
He doesn't have to be honest, fair, a fan of the Vols or even a good writer, luckily for him.
Walt
UT '81
OldNumber7 writes:
This is stupid. A bunch of freshmen came out and acted like freshmen. That's the toughest coaching job in America..trying to talk sense to a high-school kid. It will improve as they mature. What's Dooley supposed to do..throw them off the team? Then what? Relax...be patient for heavens sake. Let these players mature some before deciding it's Dooley's fault.
jenna1009001 writes:
why would UCLA want WIlcox. I am not sure he is even good for Tennessee. But I will wait a year before I scream fire Wilcox. at least he learned this year how to count and we didn't have many twelve men on the field penalties.
ScottEmge writes:
I agree. Now if Dooleave can convince Dave Hart to buy out Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Kentucky, and replace them with bad high school teams or pee wee teams, Dooleave might be able to squeak out 6 or 7 wins.
Then all that bamboo watering will look like it's paying off.
CarlChilders writes:
For all those who love misery, it just doesn't get any better than this. It's time for me to get out of the black hole of negativity and take a break. Although I typically throw in a one liner here and there, I'm leaving you with a list of Seven Maxims today. This isn't for everybody, but you'Il know who you are.
#1
Responding to attacks on the state of the program only lead to more. If something upsets you, simply ignore the comment or suggest removal. The "trolls" feed on your emotions.
#2
Many of you go to great lengths to present a case. Your points are well taken and thought provoking, but you're wasting your time trying to convince those you cannot win against.
#3
The overwhelming majority of trolls are not fans of Forida, Alabama, or Vanderbilt. Those fans are basically just interested in their next game. The trolls however, are those who only feel courageous when sitting behind a keyboard. See Maxim #1.
#4
How UT fares in football or basketball is essentially meaningless in our day to day lives. If it upsets you, there is a problem. Focus your energy into something positive that makes a difference in your life.
#5
Dooley, "Dooleave", "Doolittle", or "Doolade" isn't going anywhere until given sufficient opportunity to recover and rebuild from two years of decimation. Get used to the fact that he is the coach and live with it. Name calling will not change anything. Nothing you can post will change anything. Sophomores, redshirt freshmen, and fresmen are not an excuse, just a reality. Sadly, 8-4, 9-3, or even 10-2 in 2012 will not be good enough for many of you.
#6
As long as you express displeasure over Lane Kiffin (a.k.a. The Trojan Worm), KNS will continue to feed you his news. See Maxim #1.
#7
Never forget that these are universities, not franchises. Football is an extracirricular activity that provides an additional outlet for 18 to 23 year olds to grow up. We, as fans, have perverted it. If you were to measure success by a reduction in arrests and an improvement in graduation rates, the program is on the right track.
Everyone have a safe Winter and end enjoyable Summer.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.