A community of reasonable fanatics.
Why does it feel like things constantly go against the Vols? Because in one of football’s most telling statistics, things have indeed gone against Tennessee for a very long time. The 2020 Vols are -3 in turnovers through seven games: 8 takeaways, 11 giveaways. Statistical comparisons are difficult this year, […]
It’s hard to find a good comparison to this football season in Tennessee’s history. That’s fitting, given there is no comparison to the way the virus has impacted this year. A good question for all of us, and one we struggled with on the podcast after the Arkansas loss, is […]
The answer is, in some way, “Ask me after I’ve seen the freshmen.” Fair enough, and we’ll get our chances in just ten days. The Vols host Charlotte (16-13, 10-8 Conference USA last year) next Wednesday, then run it back with VCU on Friday. After that (still unofficially), it’s #1 […]
In a normal year, we’d turn our eyes to basketball the week the football Vols played their November non-conference cupcake. No such delicacies are available this year, but an unexpected bye week provides plenty of opportunity. And it’s a welcome opportunity at that, given the gap between the programs at […]
In the third quarter against Alabama, Jarrett Guarantano hit Jalin Hyatt for 48 yards down the sideline. It should’ve been more, but he was ruled out of bounds. That’s the only play of 40+ yards the Vols have all year. Mike Leach and Mississippi State have two. Kentucky and Vanderbilt […]
Our church has been meeting online and at a minor league baseball stadium the past however many weeks now. We’ve been talking about the wilderness a lot, starting right after Easter, because I think there’s plenty in our current experience that feels at home there. Probably more than we’d like. […]
For two weeks, we’ve talked about the question of “closing the gap.” What’s the best way to measure that? When it comes on the heels of another big loss to Alabama, the answer is talent. There are plenty of options – recruiting rankings, draft picks, etc. – but let’s take […]
There’s no escaping the kinds of conversations we have after a loss like that. Losing to Alabama by 30+ points was, sadly, one of the more normal things about yesterday in Neyland Stadium; the Vols have now lost the last five in this series by 39, 38, 37, 22, and […]
Two weeks after facing one of the best defenses we’ve seen since playing both LSU and Alabama in 2011, the Vols get one of the best offenses we’ve seen in the last 15 years. The Crimson Tide are number one in offensive SP+ this year, and their 48.0 rating puts […]
In the last 30 years, 13 Vol quarterbacks have attempted at least 250 passes as a multi-game starter. Right in the middle of that list is Jarrett Guarantano, who has now thrown 753 passes in a Tennessee uniform. The six quarterbacks in front of him are record-setters and/or champions of […]