10-25-2013, 03:50 PM
This weekend marks on of the biggest weekends (in my mind) in SEC football, the third Saturday in October. The historical match up between the top two winningest teams in the SEC. I half-heartedly picked vols in our upset thread. But do they actually have a shot? To break down their opponents so far:
Austin Peay (Currently winless) W 45-0 - Easily won, not much to assess here.
W Kentucky (4-3) w- 52-20 - The sunbelt is really a mixed bag of schools. W Kentucky is a well coached team. Two notable wins with UK, and a pretty scrappy navy team. They have losses at the hands of what seems to be an okay South Alabama team and a tough ULL (5-2).
@#2 Oregon (7-0) L 59-14 - Nothing to be ashamed of losing to Oregon, however they embarrassed the Vols on their first road game of the season. Being the offensive powerhose that Oregon is, it's not much of a surprise that the Vols defense struggled. Had Tennessee put up more points I'd feel better about this weekend. That being said a lot of time has passed since this game and I'd imagine Tennessee would look like a different team going back to Eugene.
@#19 Florida (4-3) L31-17 - The jury is till out on this Florida team as far as I'm concerned. While not as good as previous seasons, I'm not ready to throw the gators into the fire pit. They've lost to what looks to be a bit of a down LSU team (though ole miss is looking pretty sharp this season) in-state rival Miami (who is having a heck of a year) and our darkhorse Mizzou. All three quality teams, but a good FL team should have won one or two.
South Alabama (3-3) W31-24 - South Alabama gave the Vols a pretty good ball game in Knoxville. USA has quality wins over WKU and a very good Tulane team. Off topic - Tulanes new energy with the on campus stadium they're building and their solid recruiting classes is really turning their program around. They will compete for the CUSA championship. Back to USA - Like I said, the sunbelt is a mixed bag. Many teams losing and winning games they shouldn't.
#6 Georgia (4-3) L34-31 OT - Tough loss at home to the bulldogs who seem to be having trouble this season. Tennessee had their chances but could not seal the deal. I haven't kept up with Georgia like I should but from what I hear they are injury plagued. A tough season opener to a healthy Clemson team, a loss to Mizzou and a tough loss to a pretty solid (in my opinion) Vandy team have bulldog fans scratching their heads.
#11 South Carolina (5-2) W23-21 - A solid last second win to the gamecocks may have the volunteers hyped up for this Saturday. While this may not be one of the ol ball coaches best teams, I'd say they can play with just about anybody this season. A great victory for Tennessee since their heart breaker against Georgia. This is what gives me hope for the Vols. If they had laid down and lost every close game to a good opponent this season, I'd be ready to write this year off as another bad UT team. Winning at least one of these close games gives me hope for the Volunteers.
What do I take away from this? UT is not a very good road team. In both games they've played on the road this year, they've handily lost. At home the Vols have played pretty good football and would be undefeated if not for a heart breaker from UGA.
Both my heart and mind tell me that this upset is not happening. That being said, if the Vols had no chance of winning this weekend, why even play the game? Crazier things have happened, David beat Goliath, Truman defeated Dewey, and the US beat the Soviets. I'll go ahead and say the Vols win this one due to the fire in the belly of the players after the SC win, and the new leadership of Butch Jones. If I'm wrong, oh well.... I'm just another loony sports fan.
Austin Peay (Currently winless) W 45-0 - Easily won, not much to assess here.
W Kentucky (4-3) w- 52-20 - The sunbelt is really a mixed bag of schools. W Kentucky is a well coached team. Two notable wins with UK, and a pretty scrappy navy team. They have losses at the hands of what seems to be an okay South Alabama team and a tough ULL (5-2).
@#2 Oregon (7-0) L 59-14 - Nothing to be ashamed of losing to Oregon, however they embarrassed the Vols on their first road game of the season. Being the offensive powerhose that Oregon is, it's not much of a surprise that the Vols defense struggled. Had Tennessee put up more points I'd feel better about this weekend. That being said a lot of time has passed since this game and I'd imagine Tennessee would look like a different team going back to Eugene.
@#19 Florida (4-3) L31-17 - The jury is till out on this Florida team as far as I'm concerned. While not as good as previous seasons, I'm not ready to throw the gators into the fire pit. They've lost to what looks to be a bit of a down LSU team (though ole miss is looking pretty sharp this season) in-state rival Miami (who is having a heck of a year) and our darkhorse Mizzou. All three quality teams, but a good FL team should have won one or two.
South Alabama (3-3) W31-24 - South Alabama gave the Vols a pretty good ball game in Knoxville. USA has quality wins over WKU and a very good Tulane team. Off topic - Tulanes new energy with the on campus stadium they're building and their solid recruiting classes is really turning their program around. They will compete for the CUSA championship. Back to USA - Like I said, the sunbelt is a mixed bag. Many teams losing and winning games they shouldn't.
#6 Georgia (4-3) L34-31 OT - Tough loss at home to the bulldogs who seem to be having trouble this season. Tennessee had their chances but could not seal the deal. I haven't kept up with Georgia like I should but from what I hear they are injury plagued. A tough season opener to a healthy Clemson team, a loss to Mizzou and a tough loss to a pretty solid (in my opinion) Vandy team have bulldog fans scratching their heads.
#11 South Carolina (5-2) W23-21 - A solid last second win to the gamecocks may have the volunteers hyped up for this Saturday. While this may not be one of the ol ball coaches best teams, I'd say they can play with just about anybody this season. A great victory for Tennessee since their heart breaker against Georgia. This is what gives me hope for the Vols. If they had laid down and lost every close game to a good opponent this season, I'd be ready to write this year off as another bad UT team. Winning at least one of these close games gives me hope for the Volunteers.
What do I take away from this? UT is not a very good road team. In both games they've played on the road this year, they've handily lost. At home the Vols have played pretty good football and would be undefeated if not for a heart breaker from UGA.
Both my heart and mind tell me that this upset is not happening. That being said, if the Vols had no chance of winning this weekend, why even play the game? Crazier things have happened, David beat Goliath, Truman defeated Dewey, and the US beat the Soviets. I'll go ahead and say the Vols win this one due to the fire in the belly of the players after the SC win, and the new leadership of Butch Jones. If I'm wrong, oh well.... I'm just another loony sports fan.
