Author Archives: Joel Hollingsworth

How concerned should we be about the Vols recruiting class?

In the three days since the Vols’ disaster against the Georgia Bulldogs, a few aftershocks have raised alarm among fans. First, backup offensive lineman Venzell Boulware published a Tweet early yesterday afternoon that he was leaving the program:


Shortly after that, UT wide receiver commit Jatavious Harris announced via Twitter that he’s “now open to all schools,” and that was followed by a similar announcement by 4-star safety Brendon Harris. Silence from Cade Mays, the jewel of the class, is being construed as ominous.

But just how concerned should we actually be about a player leaving the program in the middle of the season and a couple of commits deciding to re-open their recruitment?

Some, certainly. But also, not too much.

Acknowledging the situation

A little shifting and sifting after a loss like the one the Vols endured Saturday is to be expected and shouldn’t be too alarming. There should be no one associated with the program who is not less comfortable today than they were Friday, and when circumstances change, there’s nothing wrong with changing your posture so that you’re ready to react if need be.

I’m not even convinced that Boulware’s announcement was a result of the loss as much as it was a realization of his place in the pecking order of the offensive line. Boulware redshirted his first season on campus and then played in seven games last season, starting three of them, before an academic issue caused him to miss the bowl game. This season, Boulware was involved in a competition with Jack Jones for the starting position at left guard. Jones was ahead of Boulware initially, but Boulware then started against UMass. Against Georgia, the team tried a combination not involving either Jones or Boulware, and when that didn’t work out as hoped, they settled on Jones at left guard. Boulware’s statement was a respectful one, and no further reasons for leaving were given, but a reasonable conclusion is that he simply believes he has better opportunities elsewhere. Best of luck to him.

The announcements of the two recruits are also not alarming, in my opinion, although for different reasons. First of all, Jatavious Harris told GoVols247 that although he’s re-opening his recruitment, he’s actually still committed to the Vols. But even if you consider his and Brendon Harris’ respective announcements as true de-commitments, it really only signals some justified anxiety about the current situation. That anxiety is not only completely understandable, it will almost certainly be resolved in time for the Vols to attempt to secure their re-commitments. If Jones gets things turned around, he’ll have the inside track, and if the front falls off and Jones gets fired, then everyone will presumably love the new guy, and he’ll have an opportunity to re-recruit the class back into the fold.

In addition to that, it’s also important to note that many of the current commits have publicly reaffirmed their commitments to Tennessee:


…


…


It should be noted that Horn also tweeted yesterday that he was excited to receive an offer from Clemson, so make of that what you will, but these guys could have either followed the lead of the guys re-opening their recruitment or stayed silent, but instead they publicly re-upped.

Add to all of that that stud quarterback commit Adrian Martinez not only publicly reaffirmed, he’s been all over the place (Twitter, radio appearances) actively working to rally the troops.

There’s plenty of time

Things could change, no doubt. But they can change in a lot of ways. They could get better. They could get worse.

But either way, there should be ample time to recover and re-recruit any commits anxious about the future at Tennessee. And that means that it’s too early to panic.

 

joeb_1 wins Week 5 of the Gameday on Rocky Top Pick ‘Em Contest

Congratulations to joeb_1, who went 17-3 and finished first in this week’s Gameday on Rocky Top Pick ‘Em Pool with 196 confidence points. He (or she) wins a $25 gift card to our custom tee store, Web Community Tees, where he or she can get this sweet Gameday on Rocky Top t-shirt:

Gameday on Rocky Top Logo Tee

joeb_1, watch for a message from me on how to get your tee.

Knottfair remains in the lead in the overall standings after Week 5.

Here are the full results for this week:

Rank Selection Name W-L Pts Tie Breaker Game (41-0)
1 joeb_1 17-3 196 31-27
2 RichVols 18-2 190 38-17
3 Joel @ GRT 18-2 189 31-24**
3 mmmjtx 18-2 189 0-0
5 LuckyGuess 17-3 188 27-17**
5 birdjam 16-4 188 31-20
5 UNDirish60 18-2 188 0-0
8 DinnerJacket 17-3 187 42-0
9 GeorgeMonkey 16-4 185 28-17**
9 Knottfair 17-3 185 31-21
9 Volfan2002 17-3 185 31-24
9 utkjmitch 16-4 185 21-24
9 Anaconda 17-3 185 0-0
14 VandyVol 16-4 184 34-17**
14 rockhopper78 15-5 184 37-26
16 C_hawkfan 16-4 183 29-20**
16 mariettavol 16-4 183 34-21
16 VillaVol 17-3 183 52-3
19 spartans100 17-3 181 24-21**
19 OriginalVol1814 15-5 181 31-17
19 Phonies 18-2 181 30-24
19 Techboy 17-3 181 0-0
23 tdrb42 17-3 180 31-14**
23 PAVolFan 17-3 180 34-17
25 dgibbs 15-5 179 31-14
26 CajunVol 18-2 178 28-17**
26 chuckiepoo 15-5 178 24-27
28 ChuckieTVol 17-3 177 31-20**
28 jfarrar90 15-5 177 31-20
28 jeremy.waldroop 16-4 177 38-30
28 mobilevol 17-3 177 21-24
32 TNann 18-2 175 28-21**
32 Bulldog 85 16-4 175 27-23
32 patmd 18-2 175 42-13
32 jstorie1 14-6 175 0-0
36 IBleedVolOrange 14-6 174 31-33
37 tpi 17-3 173 0-0
38 Jahiegel 17-3 172 28-22
39 Displaced_Vol_Fan 14-6 170 24-27
40 Jaywine 17-3 168 28-13**
40 ThePowerT 13-7 168 0-0
40 BZACHARY 13-7 168 0-0
43 BlountVols 13-7 167 32-13**
43 waltsspac 14-6 167 38-14
43 PrideofTheSouthlandFan 17-3 167 42-24
46 mmb61 16-4 162 34-10
47 crafdog 16-4 160 24-27
48 ctull 14-6 159 28-10
49 Sam 13-7 158 31-13**
49 Volboy 13-7 158 31-17
51 Gman15 15-5 157 41-24
52 rsbrooks25 15-5 156 28-0**
52 boro wvvol 13-7 156 35-21
54 Rossboro 8-Dec 155 24-0
55 edgarmsmith 14-6 154 49-3
56 vols95 9-Nov 153 24-27
57 daetilus 13-7 152 34-17
58 Raven17 9-Nov 151 34-35**
58 1hoss2 14-6 151 0-0
60 HUTCH 14-6 148 38-6**
60 ddayvolsfan 15-5 148 38-28
60 Timbuktu126 14-6 148 16-24
63 ltvol99 10-Oct 145 27-30
64 Jrstep 14-6 144 24-26
65 TennVol95 in 3D! 13-7 143 24-28
66 Drew 13-7 140 31-27
67 alanmar 15-5 135 34-27
68 Harley 13-7 132 17-27
69 Dylan pickle 13-7 131 30-28**
69 rockytopinky 14-6 131 21-24
71 RandyH112 8-Dec 128 42-24
72 rudydog 13-7 122 28-31
73 the-albatross 9-Nov 118 32-35
74 PensacolaVolFan 9-Nov 116 17-35
75 aquasox 8-Dec 113 31-10
76 rollervol 9-Nov 110 20-21
77 bking 10-Oct 109 37-17
78 ga26engr 9-Nov 104 32-17
79 jobliner 10-Oct 100 34-27
80 CNMcCreary 9-Nov 94 31-21
81 Will Shelton 0-20 93 0-0**
81 KeepsCornInAJar 0-20 93 0-0**
81 waitwhereami 0-20 93 0-0**
81 sncdaisy 0-20 93 -
81 BritishVol 0-20 93 -
81 901Vol 0-20 93 -
81 The Alyas Greys 0-20 93 -
81 EVOL 0-20 93 -
81 wreckvol 0-20 93 -
81 PaVol 0-20 93 -
81 T dog 0-20 93 -
81 kmchugh 0-20 93 -
81 over754ut 0-20 93 -
81 wedflatrock 0-20 93 -
81 biologydropout 0-20 93 -
81 SouthernDCist 0-20 93 -
81 MeytonPanning 0-20 93 -
81 DCVFL 0-20 93 -
81 ed75 0-20 93 -
81 memphispete 0-20 93 -

 

And here are the current overall standings after Week 5:

Rank Selection Name W-L Pts
1 Knottfair 80-20 921
2 LuckyGuess 78-22 916
3 dgibbs 77-23 911
4 joeb_1 77-23 910
4 rockhopper78 76-24 910
6 spartans100 81-19 906
6 C_hawkfan 80-20 906
6 UNDirish60 80-20 906
9 birdjam 79-21 905
9 jfarrar90 79-21 905
11 RichVols 80-20 904
12 OriginalVol1814 76-24 903
13 ChuckieTVol 79-21 899
13 Volfan2002 79-21 899
15 GeorgeMonkey 76-24 897
16 Phonies 80-20 894
17 Displaced_Vol_Fan 75-25 893
18 BlountVols 75-25 887
19 jeremy.waldroop 80-20 885
19 mmmjtx 78-22 885
21 tdrb42 80-20 883
21 CajunVol 81-19 883
23 mariettavol 78-22 882
24 utkjmitch 76-24 880
25 Joel @ GRT 79-21 878
26 waltsspac 76-24 877
27 PAVolFan 76-24 876
27 chuckiepoo 75-25 876
29 TNann 80-20 866
30 DinnerJacket 75-25 865
31 Jahiegel 77-23 864
32 boro wvvol 72-28 862
33 PrideofTheSouthlandFan 75-25 859
34 ThePowerT 71-29 858
35 rsbrooks25 78-22 856
35 tpi 78-22 856
37 Volboy 73-27 853
38 BZACHARY 70-30 846
39 mmb61 73-27 843
39 Raven17 71-29 843
41 Sam 74-26 837
42 jstorie1 72-28 836
43 vols95 67-33 834
44 alanmar 76-24 828
45 ctull 72-28 827
45 edgarmsmith 74-26 827
47 Anaconda 61-39 824
48 VillaVol 61-39 822
49 mobilevol 72-28 821
50 1hoss2 75-25 818
51 Gman15 74-26 817
52 patmd 76-24 816
52 IBleedVolOrange 73-27 816
54 ddayvolsfan 72-28 804
55 TennVol95 in 3D! 71-29 803
56 Drew 72-28 800
57 crafdog 75-25 799
58 waitwhereami 61-39 798
59 Techboy 68-32 793
60 wreckvol 60-40 790
61 KeepsCornInAJar 61-39 788
62 ltvol99 67-33 779
63 Jrstep 69-31 765
64 Rossboro 56-44 761
65 rollervol 70-30 759
66 aquasox 72-28 756
67 bking 66-34 753
67 Will Shelton 52-48 753
69 biologydropout 47-53 747
70 EVOL 42-58 727
71 MeytonPanning 55-45 726
72 rudydog 56-44 721
73 ga26engr 65-35 695
74 daetilus 57-43 691
75 ed75 53-47 689
76 Timbuktu126 63-37 688
77 PensacolaVolFan 65-35 679
78 VandyVol 57-43 677
79 kmchugh 31-69 664
80 BritishVol 39-61 663
81 SouthernDCist 44-56 650
82 CNMcCreary 50-50 649
83 rockytopinky 56-44 629
84 HUTCH 56-44 621
85 sncdaisy 40-60 615
86 over754ut 29-71 593
87 Harley 52-48 564
88 DCVFL 21-79 538
89 memphispete 18-82 529
90 901Vol 18-82 526
91 Dylan pickle 48-52 515
92 jobliner 22-78 498
93 Bulldog 85 44-56 493
94 wedflatrock 0-100 460
94 T dog 0-100 460
96 Jaywine 30-70 444
97 RandyH112 38-62 424
98 The Alyas Greys 15-85 407
99 PaVol May-95 338
100 the-albatross 26-74 305

Gameday on Rocky Top Guessing Game Results: Georgia Bulldogs

Daetilus maintains his lead over the field in this week’s edition of the Gameday on Rocky Top Guessing Game, but there is finally a blue shell on the way to save the day.

The full play-by-play is below. Note: We may play this week with questions about a non-Vols game, or we may take the week off. Watch Friday for the decision. Also, mushrooms and bananas will be increased to five points each next time around.

Top 10 as of the end of last week

Daetilus 42
PaVol 32
Fatso 31
Dave Strunk 30
Josh Farrar 28
Harley 28
Marietta Vol 27
Will Shelton 26
Alyas Grey 26
Joel Hollingsworth 25

 

Round 1

Q: The Bulldogs are averaging 223 yards on the ground. How many do they get against the Vols? (5-20 points)

A: 234-300 (5 points) (294)

Only four players get this right and get five points for it.

Mushrooms: Harley and Sam

Bananas: Daetilus and Oleg Zeltser

Blue shells and bolts: None!!!!

Top 10 after Round 1:

Daetilus 41
Dave Strunk 35
PaVol 32
Fatso 31
Joel Hollingsworth 30
TennVol95 29
Harley 29
Josh Farrar 28
Marietta Vol 27
Alyas Grey 26
Will Shelton 26

 

Round 2

Q: Which team throws the first interception?

A: Tennessee (8 points)

This was a popular answer, with 16 players getting it correct and getting eight points for it.

Mushrooms: TennVol95 and LTVol99

Bananas: Joel Hollingsworth and Marietta Vol

Blue shells and bolts: None!!!!!

Top 10 after Round 2:

Daetilus 49
Fatso 39
TennVol95 38
Joel Hollingsworth 37
Harley 37
Josh Farrar 36
Dave Strunk 35
Marietta Vol 34
PaVol 32
Sam 32

 

Round 3

Q: What is the final point spread?

A: 22+ (10 points) (41)

Not even the most pessimistic among us guessed this correctly. Nobody got it right, and that’s even with about 20 points to spare. Bleck.

Mushrooms: Sam gets both of these.

Bananas: LTVol99 and Evan

Blue shells and bolts: Finally. A blue shell, released by Displaced_Vol_Fan. I’m not sure how fast that thing’s traveling, so watch out!

Top 10 after Round 3:

Daetilus 49
Fatso 39
TennVol95 38
Joel Hollingsworth 37
Harley 37
Josh Farrar 36
Dave Strunk 35
Marietta Vol 34
Sam 34
PaVol 32

 

Full table

Player Prior Prior Specials R1 R1 Sub R1 Specials R1 Total R2 R2 Sub R2 Specials R2 Total R3 R3 Sub R3 Specials R3 Total
Daetilus 42 42 -1 41 8 49 49 49 49
Fatso 31 31 31 8 39 39 39 39
TennVol95 24 5 29 29 8 37 1 38 38 38
Joel Hollingsworth 25 5 30 30 8 38 -1 37 37 37
Harley 28 28 1 29 8 37 37 37 37
Josh Farrar 28 28 28 8 36 36 36 36
Dave Strunk 30 5 35 35 35 35 35 35
Marietta Vol 27 27 27 8 35 -1 34 34 34
Sam 23 23 1 24 8 32 32 32 2 34
PaVol 32 32 32 32 32 32 32
MitchellK 23 23 23 8 31 31 31 31
Jayyyy 21 21 21 8 29 29 29 29
Oleg Zeltser 21 21 -1 20 8 28 28 28 28
Alyas Grey 26 26 26 26 26 26 26
Will Shelton 26 26 26 26 26 26 26
Raven17 18 18 18 8 26 26 26 26
RockyTopinKY 18 18 18 8 26 26 26 26
RandyH 16 16 16 8 24 24 24 24
vfl_mks 14 14 14 8 22 22 22 22
LTVol99 21 21 21 21 1 22 22 -1 21
Evan 12 12 12 8 20 20 20 -1 19
Packtar 13 13 13 13 13 13 13
hoosiervol 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
NJ Vol 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Phil 0 0 0 8 8 8 8 8
RockyTop5 0 0 0 8 8 8 8 8
charles matthews 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
cscott95 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Displaced_Vol_Fan 2 5 7 7 7 7 7 BLUE SHELL 7
GoVols365 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
nelsona350 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Bulldog 85 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
driskigm 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Gr82baTNVol 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Jason 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Rockytop01 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
btpenley 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
wreckvol 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Drew 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
BibleVol 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Craig 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Larry Hildebrand 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
utkjmitch 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
GTZW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Volfaninsc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

How many games might the Vols win or lose the rest of the way?

Well, this was not a happy post to write. I am trying to not overreact, but I still now have the majority of the remainder of Tennessee’s games at 50%, with Alabama and Southern Miss the only exceptions. Plus, where games are tied at 50%, I’m forming the line in the red zone. Explanations are below, but here’s the updated chart for this week:

The Vols after Georgia

Zero points. 62 yards rushing. 80 yards passing. Two interceptions, two fumbles. Seven first downs, two of which came courtesy of penalties. The defense gave up 41 points.

There’s not much there for Vols fans to feel good about going forward. Maybe Georgia’s just as good as Alabama? That’s a pretty small peg to hang your hat on.

The Vols’ past opponents

Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-0 ACC, NR)

  • W1: Lost to Tennessee 42-41 in double overtime.
  • W2: Beat Jacksonville State, 37-10.
  • W3: At UCF (canceled)
  • W4: Beat Pitt, 35-17.
  • W5: Beat North Carolina, 33-7.
  • W6: Bye
  • W7: At #17 Miami
  • W8: Wake Forest
  • W9: At #3 Clemson
  • W10: At Virginia
  • W11: #16 Virginia Tech
  • W12: At Duke
  • W13: #13 Georgia

Georgia Tech held the ball for 38 minutes against North Carolina, dominating the clock and the Tar Heels, 33-7. The only game they’ve lost is the one they played against Tennessee, and with the exception of that double overtime game, they are averaging over 30 points and holding opponents to 17 or less. I think they’re pretty good. They win the award this week for Best News for the Vols.

Indiana State (0-4, 0-1 MVFC, NR)

  • W1: Lost to E Illinois, 22-20.
  • W2: Lost to Tennessee, 42-7.
  • W3: Lost to Liberty, 42-41 on a blocked 23-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
  • W4: Bye
  • W5: Lost to Illinois State, 24-13.
  • W6: North Dakota State
  • W7: At South Dakota
  • W8: S Illinois
  • W9: At Missouri State
  • W10: Youngstown State
  • W11: W Illinois
  • W12: At Northern Iowa

Winless.

Florida (3-1, 3-0 SEC, #21)

  • W1: Lost to #11 Michigan, 33-17.
  • W2: Canceled game with N Colorado.
  • W3: Beat #25 Tennessee, 26-20.
  • W4: Beat Kentucky, 28-27.
  • W5: Beat Vanderbilt, 38-24.
  • W6: LSU
  • W7: Texas A&M
  • W8: Bye
  • W9: vs Georgia
  • W10: At Missouri
  • W11: At South Carolina
  • W12: UAB
  • W13: Florida State

Here they go again, 3-0 in the SEC. They did lose quarterback Luke Del Rio to a season-ending broken collarbone injury, but with the exception of Georgia, their schedule the rest of the way is softening up.

UMass (0-6, 0-0 IND, NR)

  • W1: Lost to Hawaii, 38-35.
  • W2: Lost to C. Carolina, 38-28.
  • W3: Lost to Old Dominion, 17-7.
  • W4: Lost to Temple, 29-21.
  • W5: Lost to Tennessee, 17-13.
  • W6: Lost to Ohio, 58-50.
  • W7: Bye
  • W8: At #21 USF
  • W9: Ga Southern
  • W10: Appalachian State
  • W11: At Mississippi State
  • W12: Maine
  • W13: At BYU

Also still winless.

Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC, #5)

  • W1: Beat Appalachian State, 31-10. QB Jacob Eason went down, but freshman Jake Fromm looked good and took care of business.
  • W2: Beat #24 Notre Dame, 20-19.
  • W3: Beat Samford, 42-14.
  • W4: Easily handled #17 Mississippi State, 31-3.
  • W5: Demoralized Tennessee, 41-0.
  • W6: At Vanderbilt
  • W7: Missouri
  • W8: Bye
  • W9: vs. #22 Florida
  • W10: South Carolina
  • W11: At #13 Auburn
  • W12: Kentucky
  • W13: At Georgia Tech

The Vols’ future opponents

10/14/17: South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC, NR)

  • W1: Beat NC State, 35-28.
  • W2: Beat Missouri, 31-13.
  • W3: Lost to Kentucky, 23-13.
  • W4: Beat LA Tech, 17-16.
  • W5: Lost to Texas A&M, 24-17.
  • W6: Arkansas
  • W7: At #25 Tennessee
  • W8: Bye
  • W9: Vanderbilt
  • W10: At #15 Georgia
  • W11: #22 Florida
  • W12: Wofford
  • W13: #3 Clemson

Expectations for a Vols win: South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley was sacked seven times but still threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns. I had this game at 75% last week, but the Vols currently have no answers on offense, so I’m calling this one 50/50.

PREDICTIONS – SOUTH CAROLINA
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13
69 69 60 75 75 50

10/21/17: Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC, #1)

  • W1: Beat #3 Florida State, 24-7.
  • W2: Beat Fresno State, 41-10.
  • W3: Beat Colorado State, 41-23.
  • W4: Beat Vanderbilt, 59-0.
  • W5: Beat Ole Miss, 66-3.
  • W6: At Texas A&M
  • W7: Arkansas
  • W8: #25 Tennessee
  • W9: Bye
  • W10: #12 LSU
  • W11: At Mississippi State
  • W12: Mercer
  • W13: At #13 Auburn

Expectations for a Vols win: Based on what they’ve done to Vanderbilt and Ole Miss the past two weeks, well, things don’t look very good at all. Last week, I moved this game from 10% to 5% and called it “never-never land.” Well, I’m going down the rabbit hole this week, to 1%.

PREDICTIONS – ALABAMA
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13
10 10 10 10 5 1

10/28/17: Kentucky (4-1, 1-1 SEC, NR)

  • W1: Beat Southern Miss, 24-17.
  • W2: Best E Kentucky, 27-16.
  • W3: Beat South Carolina, 23-13.
  • W4: Lost to #20 Florida, 28-27.
  • W5: Beat E Michigan, 24-20.
  • W6: Missouri
  • W7: Bye
  • W8: At Mississippi State
  • W9: #25 Tennessee
  • W10: Ole Miss
  • W11: At Vanderbilt
  • W12: At #15 Georgia
  • W13: #17 Lousiville

Expectations for a Vols win: I wouldn’t read too much into Kentucky struggling with Eastern Michigan a week after a heart-breaker to Florida. I’m moving this to 50% and hoping that the Vols find some answers in a hurry.

PREDICTIONS – KENTUCKY
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13
65 65 70 65 55 50

11/4/17: Southern Miss (2-2, 0-1 C-USA, NR)

  • W1: Lost to Kentucky, 24-17.
  • W2: Beat Southern, 45-0.
  • W3: Beat UL Monroe, 28-17.
  • W4: Bye
  • W5: Lost to North Texas, 43-28.
  • W6: UTSA
  • W7: UTEP
  • W8: At LA Tech
  • W9: UAB
  • W10: At #25 Tennessee
  • W11: At Rice
  • W12: Charlotte
  • W13: At Marshall

Expectations for a Vols win: I was this close to calling this one a 50/50 game as well. But I’m going with 55%.

PREDICTIONS – SOUTHERN MISS
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13
90 85 80 80 70 55

11/11/17: Missouri (1-3, 0-2 SEC, NR)

  • W1: Beat Missouri State 72-43.
  • W2: Lost to South Carolina, 31-13.
  • W3: Lost to Purdue, 35-3.
  • W4: Lost to #15 Auburn, 51-14.
  • W5: Bye
  • W6: At Kentucky
  • W7: At #15 Georgia
  • W8: Idaho
  • W9: At UConn
  • W10: #22 Florida
  • W11: #25 Tennessee
  • W12: At Vanderbilt
  • W13: At Arkansas

Expectations for a Vols win: Missouri didn’t play this week, but the Vols did. Moving this game to 50/50.

PREDICTIONS – MISSOURI
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13
70 65 70 70 70 50

11/18/17: LSU (3-2, 0-1 SEC, NR)

  • W1: Beat BYU, 27-0.
  • W2: Beat Chattanooga, 45-10.
  • W3: Lost to Mississippi State, 37-7.
  • W4: Beat Syracuse, 35-26.
  • W5: Lost at home, during Homecoming, to Troy, 24-21.
  • W6: At #22 Florida
  • W7: #13 Auburn
  • W8: At Ole Miss
  • W9: Bye
  • W10: At #1 Alabama
  • W11: Arkansas
  • W12: At #25 Tennessee
  • W13: Texas A&M

Expectations for a Vols win: So, I guess things actually could be worse. Derrius Guice didn’t play, but Troy just won this thing outright, getting up early, and holding on late. LSU may be the one team that didn’t gain any ground on the Vols this week, and so they are Runners Up for the Good News for the Vols Award this week. I had this game at 25% to start the season, and I’d moved it to 45% since then. I’m calling it 50/50 now.

PREDICTIONS – LSU
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13
25 25 25 45 45 50

11/25/17: Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2 SEC, NR)

  • W1: Beat MTSU, 28-6.
  • W2: Beat Alabama A&M, 42-0.
  • W3: Beat #19 Kansas State, 14-7.
  • W4: Lost to #1 Alabama, 59-0.
  • W5: Lost to #21 Florida, 38-24.
  • W6: #15 Georgia
  • W7: At Ole Miss
  • W8: Bye
  • W9: At South Carolina
  • W10: W Kentucky
  • W11: Kentucky
  • W12: Missouri
  • W13: At #25 Tennessee

Expectations for a Vols win: Hmm. Another 50/50 game? Okay, then.

PREDICTIONS – VANDERBILT
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13
72 72 65 55 55 50

All of that puts me at 6.06 wins, down from 7.39, but it also leaves me with only one game that I feel is better than a coin flip.

I’m interested in what y’all think. Here’s the form to submit your info:

Vols video roundup 10.1.17

I am so incredibly impressed at these guys, 18-22 years old having to face the media, the microphones, and the cameras to answer direct questions about their most disappointing mistakes immediately after they happen. (And also how much more mature they are than the people (probably adults) in the YouTube comment sections. Sheesh.)

Micah Abernathy, obviously extremely disappointed, still doing his job:

Kendal Vickers and Brett Kendrick, after the game. Vickers: “This week is going to show a lot about everybody’s character.” True, and I’d bet that these guys are going to pass that particular test.

Butch Jones, after the game: “Right now, our character’s being tested.”

Good and fair breakdown of the game from WNML’s Vince Ferrara and Josh Ward:

ALVIN!

And now for something a little more lighthearted: Trevor Daniel was Tim Tebow’s Freak of the Week. (Just don’t ask him to rugby punt!)

And an appearance by former UT track phenom Christian Coleman, who runs a 4.1 40 (4.1!):

And hey, basketball could be fun this year!


…

Georgia 41, Tennessee 0: That hurt, now what?

What just happened?

You wake up, a blurry sky slowly coming into focus. Your head is pounding. You think you might be bleeding. You blink.

Oh. Right. You just got your butt kicked. That’s what happened. You hope the guy’s gone, because right now, you can’t even move, and you need some time to recover.

———————————————————————–

Butch Jones is saying about the only thing there is to say after the Vols got dominated by the Georgia Bulldogs, 41-0 at Neyland Stadium on Saturday: There are “no excuses.” The team is “very concerned,” about the “inexcusable” offensive numbers. Numbers like 142 total offensive yards and two interceptions. Numbers like seven first downs to four turnovers. Numbers like 41-0. Numbers like 1905, the last time something like this happened at home.

But the words predictably do nothing to shoo away the vultures that, circling high a week before, now begin to test the safety of the ground: Butch Jones is in trouble. His Georgia is just like Dooley’s Kentucky. He’s past the point of no return. He’s a dead coach walking.

The worst thing? There’s almost nothing good to learn from this game. The Vols are looking for answers, but there are just too many [Fulmerized] questions.

Quarterbacks

Quinten Dormady had zero turnovers after the first game and a half of the season. Since then, he’s thrown six interceptions and lost two fumbles. Jones says now that every position, including the quarterback position, is up for grabs and that “the individuals who have the best week of practice” will start. The problem with that is that it’s the same thing he said all summer and all fall camp, and Dormady reportedly doesn’t turn the ball over in practice. We wonder, at what point do the coaches start evaluating on game tape?

The other problem: Jarrett Guarantano hasn’t looked any better. Of course, he hasn’t thrown any interceptions in games, yet, either, but maybe that’s from lack of opportunity. Has Dormady learned valuable lessons from the interceptions he’s thrown, or might he be interception-prone? Might Guarantano need to throw six interceptions, too, until he zeroes in on the bullseye? Who knows?

Punting. Wait, what?

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I spent a good half hour before driving to the game just intentionally getting in the right frame of mind. I was hoping for and actually expecting a close game (as was almost everybody else), but I was also mentally prepared for a rout, so I was girded against the effects of that. The only thing that I was totally unprepared for was a rugby-style punt from Trevor Daniel, who’s been probably the best and most consistent player on the team the past three years. Thanks to Daniel, punting was literally like one of three or four things that wasn’t broken as late as last week. The guy has a handle on depth, accuracy, and hang time, every single thing you want in a punter. So, when Daniel attempted a rugby punt Saturday, an entirely new style for him, I lost the wheel and my mind careened off into the ditch for a brief minute. I would love to know whose decision that was and what they were thinking. I’m open to a reasonable explanation, but for the life of me, I can’t think what that would be. Fix the things that are broken and keep your hands off the things that are working. It’s not like there aren’t enough broken things to focus on. SERENITY NOW!

Where do we go from here?

Jones says it’s “gut-check time,” and that “The only thing you can do in life when things go wrong and they don’t go according to plan, is you have to get back up and you have to go to work the next day.”

That’s true, and it’s the only way forward. Without any snark whatsoever, I’ll say I truly admire his grit and determination. And it’s true that the preseason expectation of 8-4 is technically still on the list of goals for this year’s team, even if the reasonableness of that goal is now reasonably being questioned.

And I’ll also just say this before moving on: Jones’ future won’t be determined by Paul Finebaum, Clay Travis, Tom Fornelli, me, or you. Unless your name is John Currie, your title is John Currie’s Boss, or you write checks to the University with lots of zeroes, you’re not making the decision. I always root for the pilot of the plane that I’m on. If and when someone with decision-making authority decides to have someone else take over, then I’ll root for that guy.

Players’ reactions

After having read through pretty much everything that’s out there this afternoon — well, everything except Twitter, which I’m avoiding because I already know what lurks there — the one thing that I really liked came from the lips of Colton Jumper:

“I think this is really when you find out who you really are. I think everybody’s true character is going to come about.”

At times like these, you find out who you are.

The positives

Even in times like these, though, you can find some positives if you look for them. Blue-chip quarterback commit Adrian Martinez was in town to witness the whole thing, and his commitment to Tennessee remains steadfast:

“No. I’m not going to lie. I was obviously upset, but I’m a Tennessee fan and I want us to do well. The coaches weren’t thrilled with it either. I think a performance like that is unacceptable, but it doesn’t sway me one way or another. I’m hoping when I come here (to Tennessee) and when I really dive into the playbook and get affiliated with things, I can make an impact and we can start winning games.”

In other good news, Quart’e Sapp had a great game, and Kendal Vickers, Colton Jumper, Micah Abernathy, and Nigel Warrior all did mostly well. In fact, the defense looked ready to play had they not been asked to do it all. Oh, and the Peyton Manning halftime presentation was cool.

Tennessee Vols vs. Georgia Bulldogs: online game-watching party

The Tennessee Volunteers host the the Georgia Bulldogs today at 3:30 in Neyland Stadium. If you can’t be there, this is the second-best place to watch. The game’s on CBS.

In case you haven’t seen it yet, you absolutely must watch the Peyton Manning video that VFL Films put together:

And there’s also this:

Get your Guessing Game answers in before the game kicks off.

Once the Vols game is over, shift to watching the rest of today’s college football slate. You can find our weekly college football TV schedule and rooting guide for Vols fans here, and that will serve as our “other games” thread as well.

College Football TV Schedule and Rooting Guide for Vols fans: Week 5

The Tennessee Volunteers have to take care of business against the Georgia Bulldogs at 3:30 on Saturday. Assuming they do, there are some other games that will be important to the rest of the season as well, most notably Vanderbilt traveling to Florida.

Here’s the Week 5 college football TV schedule, curated for Vols fans. It includes kickoff times, TV stations, and what’s at stake in each game from the perspective of a Vols fan. It also includes helpful suggestions on how to watch everything most efficiently and who to root for in each game.

The full schedule for the entire weekend is also included at the bottom of the post.

Go Vols!

Thursday, September 28

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV Why How Root for
Texas at Iowa State 8:00 PM ESPN It's football Live An entertaining game

 

Cows vs. corn? I’m going with the cows.

Friday, September 29

Friday, Sept. 29, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV Why How Root for
(14) Miami, FL at Duke 7:00 PM ESPN It's football Live Miami (recruiting)
(5) USC at (16) Washington State 10:30 PM ESPN Big game Live Discuss

 

I know we Vols fans have a storehouse of affection for David Cutcliffe and everything, but we want Miami to be strong under Mark Richt so that they and Florida State can take as much of that Sunshine State talent away from the Florida Gators as possible. Go Canes. Also, I’m rooting for Mike Leach over whoever’s at USC now. I obviously care a lot.

Gameday, September 30

And then it’s Gameday.

Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV Why How Root for
Vanderbilt at (21) Florida Noon ESPN Direct impact on the SEC East Live Vanderbilt
(7) Georgia at Tennessee 3:30 PM CBS GO VOLS! LIVE GO VOLS!
(24) Mississippi State at (13) Auburn 6:00 PM ESPN Indirect impage on the SEC East Channel hop Auburn
North Texas at Southern Miss 7:00 PM TBA Future opponent Channel hop Discuss
Troy at (25) LSU 7:00 PM ESPNU Future opponent Channel hop Discuss
South Carolina at Texas A&M 7:30 PM SECN Future opponent Channel hop Discuss
(2) Clemson at (12) Virginia Tech 8:00 PM ABC Big game Channel hop An entertaining game
Ole Miss at (1) Alabama 9:00 PM ESPN Future opponent Channel hop Discuss

 

The Vols are 3-1, but it’s been a pretty rough 3-1, and the team could really use a big win over Georgia Saturday. If they don’t get it, the rest of this stuff won’t matter nearly as much, but if they do, then watch and hope for the following as well:

Noon slot

Yeah, Vanderbilt got handled by Alabama. Who doesn’t? It doesn’t mean they can’t beat Florida. All they have to do is figure out how to keep Florida from getting lucky at the end of the game. Seriously, though, the Gators are running out of chances to lose, and Vandy actually does present a challenge.

Afternoon slot

At 3:30, it’s all guns blazing against the Georgia Bulldogs. If the Vols can get it done, everything is still in play.

Evening slot

Here’s where it really gets interesting.

  • After the Vols game, tune in to #13 Auburn vs. #24 Mississippi State. Even if Tennessee beats Georgia, we’re almost certainly going to need Georgia to get another loss somewhere else. Auburn’s on the schedule, so we want them to present a challenge.
  • After that, just channel hop through the rest of your evening as future opponents Southern Miss, LSU, and Alabama are all playing. When that gets boring, tune in to #2 Clemson at #12 Virginia Tech. I’m rooting for the Hokies in that one.

Complete college football TV schedule for Week 5

And here’s the complete schedule for the week, paginated and searchable!

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV
Texas at Iowa State 8:00 PM ESPN
Friday, Sept. 29, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV
(14) Miami, FL at Duke 7:00 PM ESPN
BYU at Utah State 8:00 PM CBSSN
Nebraska at Illinois 8:00 PM FS1
(5) USC at (16) Washington State 10:30 PM ESPN
Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017
Game Time (ET) TV
Houston at Temple Noon ESPNU
Maryland at Minnesota Noon FS1
New Mexico State at Arkansas Noon SECN
North Carolina at Georgia Tech Noon ESPN2
Northwestern at (10) Wisconsin Noon ABC
Rice at Pittsburgh Noon RSN
(18) USF at East Carolina Noon CBSSN
Vanderbilt at (21) Florida Noon ESPN
Syracuse at NC State 12:20 PM ACCN
Central Michigan at Boston College 1:00 PM ACCNExtra
Baylor at Kansas State 3:30 PM ABC/ESPN2
Buffalo at Kent State 3:30 PM ESPN3
Florida State at Wake Forest 3:30 PM ABC/ESPN2
(7) Georgia at Tennessee 3:30 PM CBS
Indiana at (4) Penn State 3:30 PM BTN
Murray State at (17) Louisville 3:30 PM RSN
Navy at Tulsa 3:30 PM ESPNU
Ohio at UMass 3:30 PM 11 Sports
UTEP at Army 3:30 PM CBSSN
Arizona State at Stanford 4:00 PM Pac-12N
Eastern Michigan at Kentucky 4:00 PM SECN
Iowa at Michigan State 4:00 PM FOX
Texas State at Wyoming 4:00 PM Facebook
UConn at SMU 4:00 PM ESPNews
Miami, OH at (22) Notre Dame 5:00 PM NBCSN
Akron at Bowling Green 6:00 PM ESPN3
(24) Mississippi State at (13) Auburn 6:00 PM ESPN
Air Force at New Mexico 7:00 PM CBSSN
Ball State at Western Michigan 7:00 PM ESPN3
Charlotte at FIU 7:00 PM beIN SPORTS
Coastal Carolina at ULM 7:00 PM ESPN3
Marshall at Cincinnati 7:00 PM ESPN3
Memphis at UCF 7:00 PM ESPN2
Middle Tennessee at Florida Atlantic 7:00 PM Stadium TV
North Texas at Southern Miss 7:00 PM TBA
South Alabama at Louisiana Tech 7:00 PM ESPN3
Troy at (25) LSU 7:00 PM ESPNU
(11) Ohio State at Rutgers 7:30 PM BTN
South Carolina at Texas A&M 7:30 PM SECN
(2) Clemson at (12) Virginia Tech 8:00 PM ABC
(15) Oklahoma State at Texas Tech 8:00 PM FOX
(6) Washington at Oregon State 8:00 PM Pac-12N
Ole Miss at (1) Alabama 9:00 PM ESPN
Nevada at Fresno State 10:00 PM ATTSNRM
California at Oregon 10:30 PM FS1
Colorado at UCLA 10:30 PM ESPN2
NIU at (19) San Diego State 10:30 PM CBSSN
San Jose State at UNLV 10:30 PM ESPNU
Colorado State at Hawaii 11:59 PM MWN/Spectrum PPV

The Gameday on Rocky Top Guessing Game: Georgia Bulldogs edition

Time to play the Gameday on Rocky Top Guessing Game. If you have no idea what that is, you can find out everything you need to know here. Last week’s results are here.

Let’sa go!

  1. Submit your answers to our three questions below.
  2. Click the “Submit” button.
  3. Copy and paste your answers in the comments below.

 

Good luck, and Go Vols!

Gameday Today: Everybody knows how to beat Georgia

It’s an absolutely huge game tomorrow for the Vols when the 7th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs come to Neyland Stadium looking to avenge two consecutive losses to their rivals to the north. Based on the history between these two teams, it’s going to feature a fair amount of drama, as the last four games have all been decided by seven points or less. Peyton Manning’s going to be there. Brett Favre is going to be there in his Wranglers. SEC Nation is going to be broadcasting its pre-game show live from campus, and the game is the SEC Game of the Week on CBS.

It’s all hands on deck, and that includes you.

Yes, you. Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop is imploring Vols fans to make Georgia freshman quarterback Jake Fromm uncomfortable in his debut on the road in the SEC:

“This will be his first SEC road game, we’ve got to get Neyland rockin’ on Saturday,” Shoop said. “We’ve got to introduce him to what SEC football’s all about.”

It’s admittedly going to be a tough challenge for the Vols, who are 7.5-point underdogs at home. They are also still trying to establish an identity on offense, and the buzzards continue to circle above Butch Jones despite the attempts to shoo them away by the likes of none other than Phillip Fulmer and Peyton Manning.

And yet the players seem to be tuning all of that out just fine and are quietly going about their business. Game captains this week are junior running back John Kelly, senior defensive tackle Kendal Vickers, junior defensive back Rashaan Gaulden, and senior punter Trevor Daniel. And although Georgia may be one of two teams on Tennessee’s schedule that is more talented than the Vols, it’s not like Tennessee doesn’t have the nation’s most-elusive running back in John Kelly:

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and the second-best true freshman after four games in Trey Smith:

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and one of the SEC’s highest-rated defensive ends in Jonathan Kongbo:

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and one of the SEC’s most efficient tacklers in Daniel Bituli:

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And with Georgia playing a more traditional style of offense, Tennessee will no longer have to choose between talent in Bituli and experience in Colton Jumper as both can get on the field and still leave room for a third talented linebacker in Quart’e Sapp.

Meanwhile, everybody’s weighing in on what the Vols need to do to pull off the upset against Georgia tomorrow:

“Everything is about first-down efficiency,” he said. “When we talk about first-down efficiency, four yards, whether pass or run, is considered efficient. We have to be about 65 percent at first-down efficiency. When you look at scoring drives, most first downs occur on first or second down opposed to third down. When you go and look at the video from last week we had way too many 2nd-and-12 and 2nd-and-15 plays. Against a team like this, we have to be ahead of the sticks. Like I said on Monday, against this defense, a two-yard run can be a productive run. What we have to do is, stay ahead of the chains and work to eliminate negative yardage plays. That’s one of the critical elements of this game, staying on schedule, so to speak, on first and second down. They do a great job on third down, so we can’t be in third and long situations.”

 

Whatever happens, you’ll want to be there, and you’ll want to do your part, as it is shaping up to be a good one that has significant impact on the all-important SEC standings.

Also, you’ll want to stay in your seats at halftime tomorrow, as that’s when we’ll be honoring Peyton Manning by recognizing his induction into the National Football Foundation’s College Hall of Fame. Manning’s using his influence to get both coach Fulmer and coach Majors on the same field with him at the same time, and the Pride of the Southland Marching Band’s halftime performance is reportedly centered around Manning, so that should be interesting as well.

Go.

Vols.

Quick hits

  • It’s not only a big game, it’s a huge weekend for Vols recruiting.
  • The men’s and women’s basketball teams are going to host a Rocky Top Tip-Off on Friday, Oct. 13, at Thompson-Boling Arena from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The event, which is free, features an autograph session, team introductions, a three-point shooting competition, and a dunk contest.