MOOT: Game-planning Tennessee-Texas A&M, based on head-to-head statistical rankings

UPDATE: The Tennessee-Texas A&M game has been postponed until December 12. We’ll leave this here for contemplation but re-run the numbers the week before the game.

Below is a look at Tennessee’s national stat rankings side-by-side with the counterpart rankings for the Texas A&M Aggies. The Vols better be up for a challenge this weekend, as the Aggies appear to have advantages all over the place.

On offense, Tennessee is going to need to make the most of first downs to stay out of third-and-long situations, and they’ll likely need to do it with a safe passing game, as rushing yards may be hard to come by.

On defense, the team is going to have its hands full against a very good passing-oriented offensive attack that is lethal on third down and particularly well-suited to have a good day against a Tennessee defense struggling mightily on third down. Expect the Vols to roll out a bend-and-hope-we-don’t-also-break game plan, utilizing nickel and dime packages most of the day and being thrifty about sending extra rushers against an offensive line good at preventing sacks.

When the Vols have the ball

Link to table

Where’s the opportunity?

If only we can get to fourth down! 🙂

Seriously, though, the only real opportunity looks to be on first downs. Team passing efficiency is basically a push as well, but most everything else leans toward the Aggies.

Where’s the danger?

Apart from A&M basically just being better on defense than the Vols are on offense, the biggest challenges are going to be running the ball, third downs (gulp), and not throwing interceptions.

Gameplan for the Vols on offense

Make the most of first downs. Pass the ball, but don’t get reckless through the air, and stay out of third-and-long situations (gulp).

Vols on defense

Link to table

Where’s the danger?

Tennessee’s defense is stronger than its offense, but it’s not as strong as A&M’s offense, which appears to have an advantage everywhere you look. The biggest monster here? Third downs, where the Aggies are No. 2 in the nation and will be going against a defense that ranks No. 103rd in that category. Generally speaking, the strength of A&M’s offense is its passing attack.

Where’s the opportunity?

If only we can get them to fourth down! 🙂

As I said above, the Aggies’ offense appears to have every advantage. The smallest of those advantages? Interceptions, rushing.

Gameplan for the Vols on defense

Coach up that secondary and that defensive line. Play nickel or dime. Get as much pressure on the quarterback as you can, but be selective on blitzes, because they’re really good at not allowing sacks, so sending extra guys may be wasted effort. Use those guys to keep all receivers in front of you. This may be a bend-don’t-break Saturday.

Special teams

Link to table

The Vols are pretty good on special teams, but so are the Aggies, mostly. Perhaps Tennessee can pick up some extra yards on kickoff returns.

The kickers appear about equal, with Seth Small 4-5 on the season and Brent Cimaglia 4-6, but with a couple of longer kicks on his resume so far.

Turnovers and penalties

Link to table

Both Tennessee and Texas A&M are about as likely to commit penalties. A&M appears to be a little less turnover-prone. There could be some hidden yards and opportunities if the Vols are able to limit penalties, and turnovers could decide the game if they start bouncing the Vols’ way.

Tennessee Vols statistical ranking trends – After Arkansas

Here’s our weekly color-coded look at how the Vols’ national rankings are trending in each of the official NCAA stat categories.

Offense

If the table above doesn’t display well, try using this link. If it still looks bad, that’s because of the data that’s in it. 🙂

Currently in the Top 30: There is no green here.

Fell out of the Top 30 this week: Nothing was in the Top 30 last week.

Climbed out of the Bottom 30 this week: Nothing got better this week, so . . .

Currently in the Bottom 30: 3rd down conversion percentage, total offense, passing offense, scoring offense, team passing efficiency, passing yards per completion, passes had intercepted

Defense

If the table above doesn’t display well, try using this link.

Currently in the Top 30: Defensive TDs, 4th down conversion percentage defense

Fell out of the Top 30 this week: Nothing

Climbed out of the Bottom 30 this week: Nothing was in the Bottom 30 last week.

Currently in the Bottom 30: 3rd down conversion percentage defense, team passing efficiency defense

Special Teams

If the table above doesn’t display well, try using this link.

Currently in the Top 30: Blocked kicks allowed, blocked punts allowed, punt return defense, kickoff returns, net punting

Fell out of the Top 30 this week: Punt returns

Climbed out of the Bottom 30 this week: Nothing was in the Bottom 30 last week

Currently in the Bottom 30: Kickoff return defense

Turnovers and Penalties

If the table above doesn’t display well, try using this link.

Currently in the Top 30: Fumbles recovered

Fell out of the Top 30 this week: Nothing

Climbed out of the Bottom 30 this week: Nothing was in the Bottom 30 last week

Currently in the Bottom 30: Turnovers lost

Can the wilderness be rushed?

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.

It’s been a metaphor I and many others have used for Tennessee going on more than a decade now. This is on pace to be the 13th year the Vols have struggled, in one form or another. But those first couple, you didn’t think we’d have to spend too much time there. For me, it wasn’t until Lane Kiffin left and we replaced him with Derek Dooley that I really thought, “Okay, this is going to take a minute to get figured out.”

Not a while, back then. A minute. A bit, maybe. A year, maybe two, no wait Tyler Bray is awesome, etc.

Then when it didn’t work with Dooley, you knew whoever was next was going to take a few years, at least three. That turned out to be the right calculation, actually, or at least it should’ve been. We could see the Promised Land from 2015 and 2016, we just didn’t get in.

Then when it all fell apart with Butch Jones, we went to a very vulnerable place between John Currie and Greg Schiano, but came out of it with Phillip Fulmer, which at least made me feel better. We knew the day it happened that saying no to Schiano in such a fashion would set the short-term back, not forward. But we appreciated that, in hiring Jeremy Pruitt, it didn’t feel like a move made in the name of damage control.

(Also, I know defending Fulmer is my thing, but for people saying he should get killed for this hire…who else were we getting after that mess? Mel Tucker just took a 49-7 L to Iowa. Kevin Steele hasn’t been hired by anyone else. Wasn’t Pruitt the best we were doing in that moment in time?)

And then we lost to Georgia State. But then it didn’t matter!

But now, it matters again.

You’re going to lose games, some of them badly in one way or another. The hope is you keep those losses far away from each other, and put enough winning between them to not allow those dots to be reasonably connected. Even when Tennessee was blown out by Kentucky earlier this year, there was a hope – especially after watching the first half of the Georgia game and really deep into the third quarter – that it was an isolated incident. Maybe not isolated for Guarantano, but for Tennessee’s progress, which wasn’t far enough down the road to avoid beat down by pick six.

But the way Tennessee struggled against Arkansas – the Vols didn’t just lose, they struggled – draws a line through a lot of things. Reasonably so.

Big picture, these things remain true:

  • Tennessee’s talent level has improved and is improving, especially since 2017.
  • But it’s not improving nearly as fast as what’s happened at Florida and Georgia since then.
  • Tennessee’s SP+ rating is currently lower than at the end of any season since the rating’s inception in 2005.

The Vols are getting better players, but not at the same rate as their biggest rivals – not just Alabama, but Florida and Georgia. The Vols are trying to chase down the rest of the top half of the SEC doing a less talented version of what a lot of them are doing. And right now, the on-field product is as bad or worse, play-for-play, than anything we’ve seen.

We can throw around, “This is the worst I’ve ever seen,” a lot, and it’s usually wrong. But play-for-play, that might be true right now. In May, we compared Tennessee’s preseason SP+ rating to the way the Vols ended in each of the last 15 years, grouping them into tiers. The Vols had a 14.8 (points better than the average team) rating back then, making them most similar to the 2009, 2012, and 2016 (full-season edition) Vols. The common denominator there was having a real chance to win almost every Saturday, which was a good goal for 2020, we thought.

Instead, Tennessee plummeted to a 0.5 SP+ rating this week. In the last 15 years, only Butch Jones’ final season in 2017 comes close, and it’s at 1.2. The next lowest on the list is Jones’ first season at 5.1.

There’s losing to, or even getting blown out by, teams that are much better than you. There’s losing to Kentucky, maybe, as a fluke because you threw consecutive pick sixes. But play-for-play, Tennessee has simply been bad and very bad since halftime of the Georgia game. It’s mostly the offense’s problem, though the defense too is down from their preseason projections. But when you add “hard to watch” to these equations, they don’t get any easier to solve.

Back in the good old days of 2007, I wrote about how curiosity was becoming the dominant emotion with the Vols too often: “Let’s see what happens this week!”, instead of feeling like you should win every single Saturday the way we knew and loved for so long at Tennessee’s peak. But right now, it feels like the only curiosity left surrounds Harrison Bailey, who either can’t get in the game or can’t have the game plan set up to do anything other than hand off.

And sure, the world is super unfair right now. Bailey gets no spring practice and a bunch of contact tracing in the fall. Saturday night the SEC Network shared sentiments from Jeremy Pruitt on not wanting to play young kids before they were ready for fear that it might ruin them, and that he thinks that might be what happened with Jarrett Guarantano in 2017. I don’t love the comparison – JG was a redshirt freshman in 2017 and didn’t beat out Quinten Dormady in fall camp – and sure, maybe don’t give him his first start against Alabama. It’s an idea that might actually be true for Harrison Bailey, but the comparison with Guarantano is off by enough to make you question the entire logic. And if Guarantano can’t go against Texas A&M, I think at this point you clearly have to play Bailey no matter what.

So there’s curiosity about your quarterback, and then curiosity about whether the Vols can just keep it close. Tennessee opened as only a 12-point underdog, and it’s around two touchdowns in SP+ even with Tennessee rated so low. It would be the same against Auburn this week. Statistically, even at a low point, it doesn’t feel impossible. But in the eye test, and after so long, the gut test, it sure can feel that way.

If you’re chasing pageviews, maybe you slap Hugh Freeze’s name in the title up there. But because of the virus, I’m not sure there’s anything that could happen on the field – or even in recruiting – this season to cause Jeremy Pruitt to lose his job, or create significant turnover among the assistants. If the team that showed up against Kentucky and Arkansas – and failed to show up, in so many ways, in the second half – plays A&M, it’s going to lose by a lot more than 12-14 points no matter who’s playing quarterback. And then it’s going to lose that way to Auburn. And no matter what it does against Vanderbilt, least fun of all to Florida.

I do not know how a team that was so resilient in the back half of last year – not just winning six in a row, but playing from behind in every one of them that wasn’t UAB – seems to fold so fast this year. It carries a bit of Derek Dooley’s, “We don’t handle adversity well,” business, with that same silent acknowledgment from the listener that, in year three, whose fault is that?

We have played so many of these games before. And a stiff neck will not get you out of the wilderness any faster.

But perhaps it’s finally become the wrong metaphor. Because I’m afraid, no matter how bad it might get on the field, the virus is going to make it feel more like exile for a minute. Or maybe a bit. Who knows, because who knows where this virus is going. But, as we discussed on our podcast last night, that feels like the dominant question for Tennessee right now: “Where is this going?”, at a time when the virus may not let you go anywhere else.

What do you do in exile? Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have children. Multiply, do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city you’ve been exiled to.

And, most painfully, don’t listen to the prophets who tell you this will all be over soon. For Tennessee, in the midst of this virus, I don’t know how realistic that possibility is.

All of that is the context for Jeremiah 29:11, in the six verses that precede it. “For surely I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” But sometimes those plans include a period of exile.

No matter how it feels, of course, we’ll still be here. Still trying to figure it out, still learning how to love this team well. Trying to be fruitful and multiply in a harsh season with no easy outs on the horizon. Curiosity, however much is left, will still beat apathy.

But I think one of the most valuable gifts in exile is honesty about the reality of one’s situation. No matter who ultimately leads Tennessee out of exile – Pruitt, Fulmer, someone else – or how long it takes, the first step will always be admitting you have a problem. It’s a gift to be able to acknowledge the reality of one’s situation, even when you like it so very little.

We need honesty. Honesty, and basketball.

Go Vols.

Expected Win Total Analysis: After Arkansas

Friends, we got problems, and our weekly reassessment of expected win totals is likely to reflect the extent of those problems. You can get your own expected win total (and have your number used in our community results) using the GRT Expected Win Total Machine.

Statsy Preview Machine Current Predictions for the Remainder of the season

Opponent Preseason W7 W8 W9 W10
SC TN -21.9
MO TN -10.1
GA GA -26.2
KY KY -.7
AL AL -27.9 AL -25.1
AR TN -14.1 AR -.2 AR -4.1 TN -.5
TAMU TAMU -6.4 TN -1 TAMU -3.7 TAMU -9.7 TAMU -29.8
AUB AUB -9.6 AUB -4.8 AUB -6.9 AUB -18.7 AUB -15.7
VAN TN -9.4 TN -21 TN -21.2 TN -21 TN -24
FL FL -22.8 FL -13.6 FL -14.4 FL -21.8 FL -24.9

Those are unhappy predictions. Two-to-four touchdown underdogs in three of the last four games. Woo.

My assessment

My expected win total for this season is now 2.95.

Here’s how I’ve tracked this season:

  • Preseason: 5.4
  • After beating South Carolina: 5.8
  • After beating Missouri: No analysis, but would have gone up
  • After the loss to Georgia: 5.45
  • After the loss to Kentucky: 4.3
  • After the loss to Alabama: 4.25
  • After the bye week: 4.0
  • After the loss to Arkansas: 2.95

Details: I have Florida at 5%, Texas A&M and Auburn both at 15%, and Vanderbilt at 60%.

Here’s a visual:

Tennessee Volunteers currently

Current record: 2-4, 4th in the SEC East

Somehow, the loss to Arkansas did more damage to my expectations than I figured a toss-up game could. I think it’s that the first half made me believe they were who I thought they were and the second half made everybody forget everything. Apart from Vanderbilt, Arkansas should have been the easiest out in the back half of the season, and an almost unanimous toss-up turned from a brewing confidence-builder to an 11-point loss in the span of 15 minutes. The Vols can still find themselves, but if they don’t, they’re in real trouble most of the rest of the way.

Bottom line for me, their own inconsistency is reducing expectations pretty significantly.

The Vols’ future opponents

Texas A&M

Current record: 5-1, 2nd in the SEC West

The Aggies made it look easy against the Gamecocks, so we’re going to have to double dip on this one, docking the Vols 10% and crediting A&M 10%. This one’s moving from 35% to 15% for me.

Auburn Tigers

Current record: 4-2, 3rd in the SEC West

Off this week. I’m moving this game 25% to 15%.

Vanderbilt Commodores

Current record: 0-5, 7th in the SEC East

Vanderbilt appears to be who we thought they were. But we appear not to be, so I’m moving this one from 80% to 60%.

Florida Gators

Current record: 4-1, 1st in the SEC East

I think I have sighed at least 100 times today, no exaggeration. On the bright side, the Vols are going to get an opportunity for a really big win when they play Florida. Examining the empty part of the cup, though, the Gators appear to be the main challenger to Alabama this year, so yeah, it’s really, really unlikely to happen. Awesome. I’m moving this one from 10% to 5%.

The Vols’ past opponents

South Carolina Gamecocks

Current record: 2-4, 5th in the SEC East

Clobbered by the team we’re playing next week. Ugh.

Missouri Tigers

Current record: 2-3, 3rd in the SEC East

Off this week.

Georgia

Current record: 4-2, 2nd in the SEC East

I’m all for seeing another loss on Georgia’s 2020 resume and everything, but if it means the Gators get a win, well, the world can be a hard and cruel place. Also, the Dawgs were down several key defenders, so maybe they just got 2020’d. Also also, we figured in the preseason that the offense would be their undoing, and it looks like maybe it’s turning out that way. It’s just that Stetson Bennett did a good job of hiding that for a few games.

Kentucky Wildcats

Current record: 2-4, 5th in the SEC East

Also off this week.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Current record: 6-0, 1st in the SEC West

Off.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Current record: 3-3, 4th in the SEC West

Should be 4-2 and tied with Auburn (but with a head-to-head tiebreaker) for 3rd in the West.

One more: Sigh.

Don’t forget to submit your own ballot to the GRT Win Total Machine.

Read: Arkansas post-game

If you read only one thing about the Vols today . . .

. . . make it this, from 247Sports:

Other Vols stuff worth reading today

  1. Third-quarter collapse dooms Vols in loss at Arkansas, via 247Sports.
  2. The Day After, via VolQuest
  3. 2020 GRT Expected Win Total Machine: Update your expectations after the loss to Arkansas, via Gameday on Rocky Top
  4. Team Talent: The Gap and The Window, via Gameday on Rocky Top
  5. 2020-21 Men’s Basketball Schedule, via UTSports

Behind the paywalls

Tmfountain14 wins Week 10 of the 2020 GRT Pick ‘Em; birdjam remains season-leader

Congratulations to tmfountain14, who finished first in Week 10 of the 2020 GRT Pick ‘Em with an impressive record of 17-2 and 179 confidence points.

Here are the full results for this week:

Rank Player W-L Points Tiebreaker
1 tmfountain14 17-2 179 14-17
2 DinnerJacket 15-4 158 23-24
3 patmd 15-4 157 24-42
4 Hunters Horrible Picks 14-5 155 15-17
5 ga26engr 16-3 154 17-27
6 Raven17 14-5 153 31-21
7 boro wvvol 14-5 151 21-17
8 GeorgeMonkey 15-4 150 24-28**
8 vols95 13-6 150 21-21
10 keeps corn in a jar 13-6 149 14-21
11 Jahiegel 15-4 148 26-27**
11 LuckyGuess 13-6 148 34-29
13 Hjohn 14-5 147 21-20**
13 jfarrar90 14-5 147 27-24
15 ChuckieTVol 12-7 146 27-13
16 TennRebel 14-5 145 17-24**
16 tcarroll90 16-3 145 20-28
16 PAVolFan 14-5 145 28-21
19 ltvol99 14-5 144 28-27**
19 cnyvol 12-7 144 30-27
21 MariettaVol1 12-7 143 27-25**
21 ddayvolsfan 14-5 143 31-28
21 Bulldog 85 11-8 143 0-0
24 Tennmark 13-6 142 27-24
25 birdjam 11-8 141 24-22
26 Joel @ GRT 13-6 140 28-27
27 Anaconda 12-7 138 28-25
28 spartans100 11-8 136 28-24
29 Timbuktu126 11-8 132 15-12
30 Neil 10-9 130 28-24
31 Krusher 11-8 129 28-24
32 BlountVols 12-7 126 32-28**
32 joeb_1 9-10 126 34-31
32 Knottfair 13-6 126 270-24
35 crafdog 10-9 121 0-0
36 rollervol 14-5 120 27-24**
36 Will Shelton 11-8 120 17-6
38 PensacolaVolFan 14-5 113 20-10
39 C_hawkfan 12-7 112 27-24
40 Jayyyy 6-13 95 31-30
41 memphispete 0-19 94 -
41 Jackson Irwin 0-19 94 -
41 ctull 0-19 94 -
41 TennVol95 in 3D! 0-19 94 -
41 shensle6 0-19 94 -
41 volfan28 0-19 94 -
41 Fowler877 0-19 94 -
41 OriginalVol1814 0-19 94 -
41 HOTTUB 0-19 94 -
41 GasMan 0-19 94 -
41 Wilk21 0-19 94 -
41 HUTCH 0-19 94 -
41 ed75 0-19 94 -
41 Picks of Someone 0-19 94 -
41 rsbrooks25 0-19 94 -
41 Rossboro 0-19 94 -

Season Standings

Birdjam still remains in the lead for the season now with 1,093 points and a record of 108-47. Here’s the full list:

Rank Player W-L Points Tiebreaker
1 birdjam 108-47 69.68 1093
2 LuckyGuess 104-51 67.10 1084
3 tmfountain14 104-51 67.10 1083
3 Anaconda 103-52 66.45 1083
5 PAVolFan 107-48 69.03 1078
6 jfarrar90 104-51 67.10 1077
7 GeorgeMonkey 106-49 68.39 1073
8 Jahiegel 101-54 65.16 1066
9 keeps corn in a jar 97-58 62.58 1062
10 ChuckieTVol 99-56 63.87 1061
11 BlountVols 105-50 67.74 1056
12 TennRebel 100-55 64.52 1053
12 Hunters Horrible Picks 102-53 65.81 1053
14 spartans100 102-53 65.81 1052
15 Hjohn 103-52 66.45 1051
16 crafdog 108-47 69.68 1049
17 Bulldog 85 96-59 61.94 1045
18 DinnerJacket 101-54 65.16 1041
19 Tennmark 95-60 61.29 1040
19 Raven17 100-55 64.52 1040
21 joeb_1 92-63 59.35 1038
22 MariettaVol1 91-64 58.71 1037
23 boro wvvol 93-62 60.00 1031
24 Krusher 100-55 64.52 1030
25 cnyvol 93-62 60.00 1026
26 Joel @ GRT 99-56 63.87 1022
27 Knottfair 100-55 64.52 1013
28 Jayyyy 84-71 54.19 1010
29 tcarroll90 96-59 61.94 1000
30 ltvol99 101-54 65.16 992
31 PensacolaVolFan 106-49 68.39 990
32 Timbuktu126 99-56 63.87 987
33 ga26engr 102-53 65.81 983
34 patmd 107-48 69.03 982
35 Will Shelton 85-70 54.84 966
36 C_hawkfan 91-64 58.71 927
37 ddayvolsfan 101-54 65.16 913
38 Neil 58-97 37.42 890
39 rollervol 97-58 62.58 881
40 volfan28 78-77 50.32 825
41 vols95 59-96 38.06 795
42 Picks of Someone 46-109 29.68 736
43 HUTCH 18-137 11.61 660
44 Fowler877 30-125 19.35 644
45 memphispete 20-135 12.90 608
46 Wilk21 25-130 16.13 605
47 TennVol95 in 3D! 33-122 21.29 598
48 HOTTUB 3-152 1.94 545
48 ed75 3-152 1.94 545
48 ctull 3-152 1.94 545
51 Jackson Irwin 1-154 0.65 540
52 rsbrooks25 0-155 0.00 536
52 GasMan 0-155 0.00 536
52 shensle6 0-155 0.00 536
52 OriginalVol1814 0-155 0.00 536
56 Rossboro 0-155 0.00 296

JWheel101 takes the lead in the 2020 GRT Guessing Game after Week 10

Here’s the play-by-play for this week’s Guessing Game.

Week 10 – Arkansas

Round 1

Q: Arkansas is a turnover glutton. Tennessee has been overly charitable. How many turnovers do the Vols give up against Arkansas? (30-50 points available)

A: 2 (30 points) (Harrison Bailey threw two interceptions, both on desperation plays, which shouldn’t be counted against him but do count in the Guessing Game.)

These folks get 40 points for the right answer:

  • Josh Farrar
  • LTVol99

Mushrooms (30 points): Harley and Joel Hollingsworth

Bananas (-30 points): hounddog3 got both of these.

Blue shells and bolts: 

  • Blue Shell No. 7 (launched by Evan): BLOWS UP and takes out Harley (-50 points)
  • Blue Shell No. 8 (launched by HixsonVol): Counter 4
  • New Blue Shell No. 9 (launched by Week 10 newcomer GtownRockyTop): Counter 5
  • No new bolts

Top 10 after Round 1:

  1. Josh Farrar (260)
  2. Harley (240)
  3. JWheel101 (240)
  4. Isaac Bishop (230)
  5. LTVol99 (230)
  6. Joel Hollingsworth (230)
  7. Mitchell K (200)
  8. Sam Hensley (170)
  9. Will Shelton (160)
  10. Evan (153)

Round 2

Q: Who leads at the half? (50 points available)

A: Tennessee (50 points) (the Vols led 13-0)

These players get 50 points for getting this one right:

  • Josh Farrar
  • JWheel101
  • Isaac Bishop
  • LTVol99
  • Joel Hollingsworth
  • Sam Hensley
  • Will Shelton
  • Raven17
  • HixsonVol
  • GtownRockyTop

Mushrooms (30 points): JWheel101 and Will Shelton

Bananas (-30 points): Mitchell K and HixsonVol

Blue shells and bolts: 

  • Blue Shell No. 8 (launched by HixsonVol): Counter 3
  • Blue Shell No. 9 (launched by GtownRockyTop): Counter 4
  • No new blue shells or bolts

Top 10 after Round 2:

  1. JWheel101 (320)
  2. Josh Farrar (310)
  3. Isaac Bishop (280)
  4. LTVol99 (280)
  5. Joel Hollingsworth (280)
  6. Harley (240)
  7. Will Shelton (240)
  8. Sam Hensley (220)
  9. Raven17 (200)
  10. Mitchell K (170)

Round 3

Q: Who wins and by how much? (20 – 100 points available)

A: Hogs, by 11-14 (80 points) (Arkansas won, 24-13)

We must be one sorry bunch of disappointed fans, as no one got this right.

Mushrooms (30 points): Isaac Bishop and Sam Hensley

Bananas (-30 points): Evan and Jayyyy

Blue shells and bolts: 

  • Blue Shell No. 8 (launched by HixsonVol): Counter 2
  • Blue Shell No. 9 (launched by GtownRockyTop): Counter 3
  • No new blue shells
  • GtownRockyTop draws a bolt and gets 100 points

Final Standings After Week 10:

Rank Player Points
1 JWheel101 320
2 Josh Farrar 310
3 Isaac Bishop 310
4 LTVol99 280
5 Joel Hollingsworth 280
6 Sam Hensley 250
7 Harley 240
8 Will Shelton 240
9 Raven17 200
10 Mitchell K 170
11 GtownRockyTop 150
12 Evan 123
13 HixsonVol 120
14 hounddog3 100
15 Jayyyy 80

Gameday Gameplan for Tennessee fans: Arkansas

It’s Gameday on Rocky Top, and the Tennessee Volunteers — currently 2-3 and tied with Missouri and South Carolina for third in the SEC East — take on the Arkansas Razorbacks, also 2-3 on the season. Here’s the Gameday Gameplan for Tennessee fans. Where and when to find the Tennessee-Arkansas game on TV, what other games to watch as well, and what to listen to and read as you wait for kickoff.

When is the Vols game, and what TV channel is it on?

Here are the particulars for today’s Tennessee game:

The best games for Vols fans to watch today

With the Pac-12 and MAC finally joining the fray, it’s a full slate of college football today, including the Vols-Hogs game this evening and the Cocktail Party at 3:30.

Here’s our list of games to watch today, curated just for Big Orange fans:

Away Home Time TV How Why
NOON
#13 Michigan #17 Indiana 12:00 PM FS1 Live Top 25 matchup
AFTERNOON
#10 Florida #5 Georgia 3:30 PM CBS Live Top 10 SEC East matchup
Vanderbilt Mississippi State 4:00 PM SECN DVR/ignore Future Vols' opponent
EVENING
Tennessee Arkansas 7:30 PM SECN Live GO VOLS!
#8 Texas A&M South Carolina 7:00 PM ESPN DVR Next Vols' opponent
#1 Clemson #4 Notre Dame 7:30 PM NBC DVR/Check in Top 5 ACC matchup

And here’s a searchable version of this week’s entire college football TV schedule:

11/4/20 Eastern Michigan Kent State 6:00 PM ESPN+
11/4/20 Western Michigan Akron 6:00 PM ESPN3
11/4/20 Buffalo Northern Illinois 7:00 PM ESPN2
11/4/20 Ohio Central Michigan 7:00 PM ESPN
11/4/20 Ball State Miami (OH) 7:00 PM CBSSN
11/4/20 Bowling Green Toledo 8:00 PM ESPNU
11/5/20 Utah State Nevada 7:00 PM FS1
11/5/20 Wyoming Colorado State 9:00 PM CBSSN
11/6/20 #12 Miami NC State 7:30 PM ESPN
11/6/20 San José State San Diego State 9:00 PM CBSSN
11/6/20 #11 BYU #25 Boise State 9:45 PM FS1
11/7/20 Rutgers #3 Ohio State 7:30 PM BTN
11/7/20 #6 Oklahoma State #16 Kansas State 4:00 PM FOX
11/7/20 #13 Michigan #17 Indiana 12:00 PM FS1
11/7/20 Maryland #18 Penn State 3:30 PM BTN
11/7/20 Baylor #23 Iowa State 7:00 PM FS1
11/7/20 Nebraska Northwestern 12:00 PM BTN
11/7/20 Minnesota Illinois 3:30 PM BTN
11/7/20 Air Force Army 11:30 AM CBS
11/7/20 #15 North Carolina Duke 12:00 PM ESPN2
11/7/20 Arizona State #21 USC 12:00 PM FOX
11/7/20 #22 SMU Temple 12:00 PM ESPN+
11/7/20 South Florida Memphis 12:00 PM ESPN+
11/7/20 Tulane East Carolina 12:00 PM ESPN+
11/7/20 Tulsa Navy 12:00 PM CBSSN
11/7/20 Michigan State Iowa 12:00 PM ESPN
11/7/20 West Virginia Texas 12:00 PM ABC
11/7/20 UL Monroe Georgia State 12:00 PM ESPN3
11/7/20 Liberty Virginia Tech 12:00 PM ACCN
11/7/20 Arkansas State Louisiana 12:00 PM ESPNU
11/7/20 Troy Georgia Southern 1:00 PM ESPN3
11/7/20 Boston College Syracuse 2:00 PM ESPN3
11/7/20 UMass #19 Marshall 2:30 PM ESPN+
11/7/20 North Alabama Southern Mississippi 3:00 PM ESPN3
11/7/20 Appalachian State Texas State 3:00 PM ESPN+
11/7/20 #10 Florida #5 Georgia 3:30 PM CBS
11/7/20 Houston #7 Cincinnati 3:30 PM ESPN
11/7/20 Purdue #9 Wisconsin CANCELED
11/7/20 Kansas #24 Oklahoma 3:30 PM ESPN2
11/7/20 UTSA Rice 3:30 PM ESPN3
11/7/20 Charlotte Middle Tennessee 3:30 PM ESPN+
11/7/20 Texas Tech TCU 3:30 PM
11/7/20 Fresno State UNLV 3:30 PM CBSSN
11/7/20 Arizona Utah 4:00 PM ESPNU
11/7/20 Vanderbilt Mississippi State 4:00 PM SECN
11/7/20 Florida International UTEP CANCELED
11/7/20 Pittsburgh Florida State 4:00 PM ACCN
11/7/20 Western Kentucky Florida Atlantic 6:00 PM
11/7/20 #8 Texas A&M South Carolina 7:00 PM ESPN
11/7/20 Louisiana Tech North Texas 7:00 PM CBSSN
11/7/20 UCLA Colorado 7:00 PM ESPN2
11/7/20 #1 Clemson #4 Notre Dame 7:30 PM NBC
11/7/20 Stanford #14 Oregon 7:30 PM ABC
11/7/20 Tennessee Arkansas 7:30 PM SECN
11/7/20 South Alabama #20 Coastal Carolina 8:00 PM ESPNU
11/7/20 Louisville Virginia 8:00 PM ACCN
11/7/20 Washington State Oregon State 10:30 PM FS1
11/7/20 Washington California 10:30 PM ESPN
11/7/20 New Mexico Hawai'i 11:00 PM
Date Away Home Time TV

GRT games and contests

While you’re waiting for the games to begin, make sure that you submit your answers to the GRT Guessing Game questions and update your picks for the GRT Pick ‘Em.

GRT game-week audio

Here’s Will’s regular spot on WNML’s Sports 180 with Josh Ward and Heather Harrington.

Pre-game prep

To catch up on your pre-game reading, have a look at our game preview posts from earlier this week:

Go Vols!