Tennessee... I don't know what to quite make of this team. They are good enough to win this division, although that's more of a reflection on the division than the team. They have talent. They have a fantastic, strong armed QB and they always seem to have a few punishing RBs..Tennessee's tradition of great WRs isn't hurt by this group of Rogers, Rogers, Dallas and Neal (sounds like a law firm).. anyway.. I believe they return 9 starters on offense and 8 on defense... could be 10 and 9... either way, they return A LOT. As weird as this may sound, I will be interested to see how their younger OLs develop. I think for this team to be successful, they are going to have to pound the ball on the ground and let Bray beat people with the play action pass. They can already throw the ball all over the yard, but they need to control the clock. They have the backs to do it.. Will they have the line? Defensively, this is Tennessee.. they hit you.. they have good size/speed. Oddly enough, I don't like their LBs to this point other than being run stoppers (not a bad thing). They are going to need to get pressure on the QB.. I think that's the big question for the Vols this year. Their secondary is stout and can hold their own with no help from a pass rush.. but give them a bit of help and they'll burn you. I think they are switching schemes this year. Blah blah blah, it will all come down to execution. This is Tennessee, they have the players...except when Fulmer left.. which brings me to... The coach.. I think Captain Orange pants will be feeling the heat if this team isn't a solid 2nd or 3rd place team in the SEC East. I know a lot of people blame Kiffikins for being a bastard (he is)... Fat Phil left the program in a bad state and I think most Vol fans taking an honest look in the mirror will admit that to themselves. The reality is.. bastard or not.. Lord Kiffikins the bastard had a winning season in his only year in Knoxville and he did it with mirrors and stop gap measures... This is now Dooley's 3rd season and he still doesn't have a winning season. I like Dooley.. seems like a good guy in a league that doesn't have a lot of em.. He needs to put up or shut up real soon. The division is down, their rivals except for Alabama are not streaking or top shelf.. There's just no excuse in year 3 for Dooley to not be in a major bowl game and have a good (not NC) year in Knoxville... If he doesn't... I don't think they'll fire him but he'll only get one more year to show he deserves anything beyond that.. basically, dead man walking.. It's a big year for Dooley. Looking at the schedule.. NC State in Atlanta, and Georgia State at home should be all the tune up they need for the Gators when they come calling to Knoxville.. To say that UF game may define the future (not legacy) of Dooley at UT is not a stretch. They play Akron at home and Georgia at Georgia... If they top UF, the game in Athens could be for all the marbles in the East (yes, I do keep counting out SCAR). They have an open date followed by a road trip to Miss State (in a battle royale for coaching futures?), then the Tide comes calling before a road trip to SCAR... The Vols close out light, as they always do with Troy, Missouri, Vandy and Memphis... If those games aren't light for the Vols, it's a bad year in Knoxville although Missouri is a new twist..
Mississippi State... Dan Mullen... you poor bastard.. The good news.. Dan Mullen has built Miss State back into a formidable opponent who can beat any team on any given day. However, they have not beaten an SEC West opponent other than Ole Miss with Mullen as coach. The bad news, they play in the SEC West... To make it worse, when the new additions were made to the conference the historically weaker Missouri was stuck in the East while Texas A&M was stuck in the West... sorry Dan, the road just got tougher. Miss State is a weird team. It's a tiny state and a tiny school... yet per capita, they put out great football talent.. yet some of the better ones play at Alabama and LSU.. The team is physical and will continue to be. Their running game is non-existent at times and that needs to change. Don't look for that Florida style single wing they ran with Relf at QB. There has been much hype about young Tyler Russell and honestly, this team will hinge on his success. Look for them to throw the ball a bit more with Russell and be more effective at it. That being said, even if this kid comes out and throws the ball all over the yard.. they are going to need to control the clock (something Mullen absolutely loves to do)... He covers defensive shortcomings this way and eliminates the other teams offense.. (for example, they were only 7th against the run on defense yet they only allowed 20 ppg... ball control, Lombardi style..) Jeez, there are just so many questions here still. This is a team that also has to replace 3 starting OLs, but Mullen seems to have a good track record here. Fletcher Cox bolting for the NFL really hurt their defense but that doesn't mean they don't have talent. If they can find a way to plug up the middle, they'll be tough to score on. They have a decent secondary and LB corps. Like a lot of Miss State teams, they have a boat load of guys you've never heard of but one day you'll notice on Monday Night Football that Miss State seems to have more guys in the league than you realized.. The problem is.. they just aren't that talented and sweet Jesus their division is good. To me, the barometer for Miss State is Auburn. They should have beaten the Cam Newton Tigers (they were cheated, yes I am pulling a Dave).. They lost a shoot out to a rather blah Auburn Tiger team last year. If the Bulldogs are to move upward in this division, it is the Auburn Tigers they will have to unseat. More on Auburn later, but I don't think they are that good.. Mullen needs to get that SEC West monkey off his back and it starts by beating Auburn. If he can't... I think he's another dead man walking, although I think Miss State would be foolish to let him go. Arkansas losing the big bad biker daddy as HC could possibly help, but we'll see.. His players are still there. Looking at the schedule.. Sept: Jackson State, Auburn, AT Troy, South Alabama Oct: AT Kentucky, Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, AT Alabama Nov: Texas A&M, AT LSU, Arkansas, AT Ole Miss If things go Miss State's way, they could roll into the game against Tennessee 5-0 or 4-1 at worst.. They should be no worse than 4-1. They could finish up October at 7-1 or 6-2.. Honestly, anything less than 6-2 could be a bad sign because November is a nightmare.. Fortunately for them, they get A&M and Arkansas at home (Starkville is a crooked **** hole to play at)..and they should beat Ole Miss.. but LSU in Baton Rouge... oh my.. Oddly, Miss State gives Alabama some trouble at times.. it's often closer than you think.. but I see two teams that Miss State has no hope against (Alabama/LSU).. 3 teams who probably should beat Miss State (A&M, Tennessee and Arkansas).. Auburn is a coin flip.. like I said, that will tell us a lot about this team..
Very good analysis Corey. I agree that Dooley's seat is warming up and a losing season will make it downright unbearable. They do have some very tough games however and they would have to be having a pretty good year to win at MSU this year......not sure that's going to happen and I'm 70-30 UF beats the Vols because I do believe UF will be much better in Muschamp's second season. Beating Florida will absolutely buy Dooley another year so it's a critical....critical game for him Over at MSU I don't think Mullen's seat is as hot....his competitive teams should be making the MSU fans feel better about themselves. I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on Tex A&M in their new home....the SEC West. Shockingly hard? Easy?
Thanks, and I think you're right Dave. That Florida game means so much for Tennessee (and Dooley) this year. It always does, but it means a lot more to UT this year than it does UF. I think it is a great opportunity for Dooley to put a mark on the brand of football UT will play. Fulmer had this way of choking when the pressure was on, as did his teams. Kiffikins teams were fighters, they were scrappy and they weren't afraid of anyone. They weren't very good, but they'd fight you like you talked about their mommas. I think you see that same attitude at USC now under Kiffikins. Dooley's teams, to date, play without an identity. That Florida game would be a great chance to establish one. This UT team is just too talented to have a losing season. If they do, he'll have to answer for it and there's just no excuse. I also agree that Mullen's seat is less hot than Dooley, at the same time, he's in a worse position because of the division he's in.. Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn, and Texas A&M is no easy road. All of those teams have more talent than Miss State does. The wussy in his division is the in-state rival and we all know rivalry games can go either way. A few bad injuries and Miss State could have a disastrous losing season. If that's the case, he could be in a lot of trouble. Either way, I think they'll both get another year even with bad seasons but Mullen's road is tougher to travel IMHO.
Kitten only had one year at Tenn.....but yes his team was a fighter because in the face of all odds against them in 2009 they managed not to get slaughtered in the Swamp when all indications were that Meyer and the Gators were ready to turn up the jets and shut the brash talking coach up. Didn't quite happen that way although UF won so it did appear his team wamted to play for him. Until he wins something at USC we won't really know if he's more than just a good recruiter though. RE; Tenn this year......a winning season had better be the case or else Dooley's gone imho.
He should have a Nat'l title contender this year if Barkley stays healthy the whole season and those sanctions haven't slowed USC recruiting down even a little bit. They will have a smaller roster than their competitiors, but every player on the roster will seemingly be a 5* or 4* players. They just picked up another stud the other day, Su'a Cravens the #1 rated safety. I think the real test for him will be after Barkley leaves, but by then he'll have a roster so full of talent that it will make that 2009 Gator roster look like a DivII team. 8)
I don't see why Mullen should be on any kind of hot seat at Miss State. He has them the most competitive they have been in some time. Tennessee, I don't know what to think of them. Do they really have the talent Corey refers to? I'm not sure I have seen the indication that they can be that good. On the other hand Tennessee has a long history in the SEC and I sure don't see them being down permanently. Let's just say I am skeptical. But for the record I am also skeptical about the Gators, the Gamecocks and the Dawgs.
I agree the potential to acquire talent is still at Tenn bit it's not all there right now. UT could rise from the ashes like OU and USC did in the late 90s......but they had better get to it.
I think the Vols are like a number of big time schools who go through periods of not being great. Texas was up and down from the time Royal left till they hired Mack Brown. Some really good years but no coach could sustain anything. USC went through that after John Robinson left for the Rams, still had talent but didn't have the coaching to sustain excellence like they had under McKay/Robinson. Need I mention the Irish? Alabama wandered after the Bear as well. You got to get the right guy in place. If Cooley is that guy then they'll be off on another run, but if not then NEXT!