Two weeks ago today, we talked about how progress was the expectation, and how much would be the fun part. More important than the difference between 6-6 and 7-5 would be how the team performed play-for-play a year after losing six games by four-plus possessions. Preseason projections from SP+ had […]
Author: Will Shelton
What Do We Make of Pruitt and Fourth Down?
In a sea of sound bites this week, I thought this one was interesting: We’ve talked a lot about Pruitt’s nature as it relates to the offense, especially because the Vols ran fewer plays than any team in college football last season. Does he naturally lack aggression? Was he trying […]
Embrace/Refrain
ESPN’s win probability data is available on their Gamecast page for every game since 2016, one year shy of the most famous blown late leads of this decade. So I can’t quantify the comparison, at least in this way, between the BYU loss and what happened against Oklahoma or Florida […]
What Can We Expect Now?
Ye olde GRT Expected Win Total Machine has been on quite the ride. Expectations at the start of fall camp hovered around 6.9 wins, rising to 7.2 last week with Trey Smith and Aubrey Solomon eligible and kickoff knocking on the door. But in the aftermath of the Georgia State […]
Where’s the Line Between Perspective and Apathy?
Saturday was Tennessee’s 18th loss as a favorite of at least a touchdown since 1985, which is as far back as the data at Covers.com goes. That’s roughly one every other season, a pace that hasn’t slowed in the last 11 years despite the Vols having far fewer opportunities to […]
Georgia State 38 Tennessee 30 – The Slow Knife
In the “worst loss ever” conversation, the math will support your candidate of choice. Via Covers.com, the Vols were between 25-27 point favorites against Memphis in 1996, Wyoming in 2008, and Georgia State today. If you’d like to increase your suffering, we can argue which one was truly worse (and […]
Progress is the Expectation. How Much is the Fun Part.
How would you feel about a season like this: Beat Georgia State by four possessions, UAB by three possessions, and Chattanooga by as much as you want Beat BYU and Vanderbilt by a touchdown Toss-ups with South Carolina and at Kentucky Lose to Mississippi State by a touchdown Lose at […]
Make a Memory
When the Butch Jones era took a decisive turn from still possible to highly improbable via a 41-0 beat down from Georgia, we wrote on its failure to make lasting memories. The Vols missed opportunities to score a “we’re back!” win on the way to being nationally competitive, then saw […]
2019 Gameday on Rocky Top Picks Contest
Our annual picks contest through Fun Office Pools is back! If you played before, you should’ve received an email inviting you to play again. If you’re new with us, you can play for free and join our pool here! As always, we pick 20 games per week, straight up, using […]
The Idiot Optimist’s Guide to the 2019 Season
Seven wins. Seven wins is a good year. That’s what my court-appointed therapist made me say out loud in her office. A bunch. I guess my debts finally caught up to me after I spent all that money on Bristol, non-refundable hotel/airfare to Tampa, and the Vols at 18-1 to […]