Category Archives: Football

Gameday on Rocky Top Podcast, Episode 149: the UTEP post-game

Subscribe!

 Listen on Google Play Music

Listen here

Robo-Transcript below.

Pardon the errors, as the bot understands neither southern accents nor football.

GRT Podcast 9.17.18

Bookmarks:

[00:03:21] Did the 24-0 score against UTEP bother you, and if so, how much?
[00:08:16] The UTEP criticism sandwich: One good thing about the game, a bad thing, and another good thing.
[00:11:34] Hilarious robo-transcript error here. 🙂
[00:16:50] Looking ahead to Florida. Is the game for last in the SEC East?
[00:21:18] Brad’s unnatural fascination with Derek Dooley.

TRANSCRIPT

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:13] This is the Gameday on Rocky Top podcast episode 149. I’m Joel Hollingsworth and I’m with Brad Shepherd again this evening. Brad how you doing.

Brad Shepard: [00:00:24] Great. How are you doing.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:25] I’m doing just fine. I’m not texting and driving unlike some people I know. So

Brad Shepard: [00:00:30] Oh I was at a red light so

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:31] Ok.

Brad Shepard: [00:00:31] You know

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:32] All right. All right.

Brad Shepard: [00:00:34] Grey

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:35] Well

Brad Shepard: [00:00:35] area there

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:36] Yeah well OK. You know they got cameras of those red lights now though. So you know

Brad Shepard: [00:00:44] Whether they’re probably. Yeah I’m going to plead the Fifth here. I don’t know what you’re talking about

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:49] It’s too late for the fifth man. Who is your attorney.

Brad Shepard: [00:00:55] Joel Hollingsworth

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:00:57] He’s terrible. Don’t rely on him. All right. So we got several Vols related things to get to tonight but I wanted to get the off topic question out of the way first something you mentioned on your Twitter timeline. I guess it was probably several weeks ago caught my eye and I’ve been meaning to ask you about it since. But you mentioned the book Boys Life by Robert R McCammon and I didn’t know that anybody else knew who Robert R McCammon was. So tell me about boys life into why you like that so much.

Brad Shepard: [00:01:28] Well I just I mean it’s it’s really probably if it’s not my favorite book I’ve ever read it. It’s in the top five. I mean I’ve read it probably five times in my life seeming seemingly every three or . . . since the time I first read it when I was 14 just get this urge to reread it it’s a great summer read it’s probably the best novel coming of age story. I’m still love The Body which was

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:01:56] Yeah

Brad Shepard: [00:01:57] Made in the movie Stand By Me by Stephen King.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:01:58] Right.

Brad Shepard: [00:01:58] But it’s probably the best you know full length novel a coming of age story that I’ve ever read. It’s just it’s just beautiful writing. It’s just everything that’s magical about being a kid growing up in the south and it’s just. I mean you know it’s it’s perfection. I mean I really can’t describe it any other way. Every

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:20] Wow.

Brad Shepard: [00:02:20] Time I read it I find these other things and it’s just it’s just great. It’s a great fun book to read.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:27] I have to go back and read that because I like McCammon Swan Song was actually one of my favorite books for a really really long time. Have you read that one?

Brad Shepard: [00:02:37] I have. I

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:38] Oka

Brad Shepard: [00:02:38] Have already gone south. Those

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:39] Ok

Brad Shepard: [00:02:39] Are the three

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:40] Yeah

Brad Shepard: [00:02:40] That

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:40] Yeah.

Brad Shepard: [00:02:40] I’ve actually downloaded a couple more. those are a good man. Is really good

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:46] Yeah.

Brad Shepard: [00:02:46] As fallen off the face of the earth a little

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:02:49] I always thought he was like a pen name of Stephen King there for a while because it seemed like Swan Song was basically like another draft of The Stand you know.

Brad Shepard: [00:03:00] Yeah you’re right.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:02] So anyway.

Brad Shepard: [00:03:03] And

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:03] But

Brad Shepard: [00:03:03] I think they were they were good friends I mean they were you know they were both huge parts of that horror boom in the 80s. But this is not you know this is not a horror book it’s a just a it’s really just you know it’s it’s his masterpiece. I love it.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:21] I’ve got to go back and read it again I don’t remember it so. But oh I have to do that. So anyway the Vols. I guess that’s why we’re here right. So

Brad Shepard: [00:03:30] Yeah.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:31] Ok.

Brad Shepard: [00:03:31] Yeah that was.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:32] So the Vols beat you up this past weekend. The score though was 24 to nothing and that seems

Brad Shepard: [00:03:39] Either

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:03:40] To have caused some consternation among some Vols fans. I have some things to say about that but I was wondering first does that score bother you and how much if it does.

Brad Shepard: [00:03:54] You know. Yes. No. I mean they should have been 38. Nothing. You know if it wasn’t for the fumble that in my opinion was not a fumble then the chop block that will have been and we felt a little bit better about 38 than 24 I mean the course UNLV hung 50 on them so but you can’t play that you know you can’t play that game but that is it you know it wasn’t pretty. I mean I think that that’s kind of why I wanted to see head into Florida and you want style points and you want to you want everybody to have the warm and fuzzies and you want things to look great. But you know the bottom line was it was thorough. I mean there was never it was not like UMass last year worker you never comparable to it. You know the team was a player to say well the whole. I mean the same issues that have cropped up that we that we have at which is the offense. And the Astros are like there. But you know it was last week against ETSU Tennessee created a lot of mistakes and capitalized and turned those two into points. And this week that didn’t happen. Matter of fact it kind of went the opposite way and Tennessee kind of shot itself in the foot. And I think that that’s where your points are made. So you know Tennessee made another couple plays oldies dance. You know it could have could have led to some points had they not made those at least two bad mistakes at crucial times. Well that’s what I’m you know going back and watching it wasn’t nearly as bad as I felt during the game.

Brad Shepard: [00:05:40] I think that you know Tennessee looked good run in the football which was encouraging as I should have against UTEP and then the and so even though it didn’t. I mean it’s even you know even though it didn’t create turnovers it’s still played very well. I mean you know it’s encouraging to play that those guys are the second level. And and in the in the defensive backfield even even though the defensive back. So it is not right. There you see them in the wrong place. And that’s something that we did not see ever during the Butch Jones era. And you know I saw a lot of development from just players being in the right place. No one no one where to be knowing what to do. And we’ve seen growth and that even from game 1 to game 3. Also when you see them in those positions you can still see the talent deficiencies Tennessee has. But that’s going to come what I have been encouraged by the progression in the development of guys seemingly knowing what’s going on and that think that those are the little things that we’ve all talked about that we need to look for. So it’s not perfect. Lots of room for improvement. But I mean it was 24 did nothing but it was it was a thorough 24 to nothing and it very easily could have been 38 or even you know 45 at Tennessee not a stop really trying to score in the fourth quarter

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:07:07] Yeah that’s mostly what I was thinking. The if you look at the yards the nonpoint stuff the first downs you know it was like you said pretty thorough beating. There’s probably should’ve been 35 to 0 because you know we do get three out of that one with the chop block but still there

Brad Shepard: [00:07:26] Right

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:07:27] Were there were several other drives that got stalled out by penalties as well and then we also gave what three or four possessions to Chryst which sort of interrupted the continuity. And I wonder how much to with switching quarterbacks whether that can actually lead to more penalties along the offensive line if they’re different too you know they’re used to a different cadence or whatever you know. So anyway I think there were more points on the board there I’m really not all that concerned about it. It would have been nice to go in with another 53 to something you know but hey it it also gave Pruitt the opportunity to be really unhappy afterwards which is probably going to pay dividends this week. So

Brad Shepard: [00:08:15] Right.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:08:16] All right. So the criticism sandwich like we did last time now you probably already mentioned a bunch of stuff but just so we can get it in a pretty little package. Want one good thing about the game a bad thing in the middle and then another good thing

Brad Shepard: [00:08:31] Yes. The best thing I saw was Ty Chandler. Right you know wrote about that yesterday and I think that we’ve all been encouraged by the running backs and how they looked so far win when Chandler goes down in the first game you’ve got Tim who comes and looks like he’s an SEC running back for lack of better terms. I mean I’m not saying he’s wrong in that Alabama group or anything but the kid can play ball. He’s got three years left and we should be excited about that. Of course Banks comes in and you know runs like his hair’s on fire against yes

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:03] He’s got a

Brad Shepard: [00:09:03] You

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:03] Lot of hair

Brad Shepard: [00:09:03] And

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:04] Too.

Brad Shepard: [00:09:04] He does have a lot of hair. And you know that looks like and that looks like an exciting future that you gotta get the one or two yards if they need it. You know be kind of a guy that’s going to be a really good player for Tennessee. He’s going to learn to hang on football. And let’s face it Lots of freshmen have that issue. It’s frustrating but it’s it’s it’s freshmen

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:28] That

Brad Shepard: [00:09:28] Those

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:28] Was probably

Brad Shepard: [00:09:28] Frustrating

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:29] The

Brad Shepard: [00:09:29] Freshmen are synonymous.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:31] Probably the perfect place to learn that lesson. Not when Pig

Brad Shepard: [00:09:34] Sure

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:34] Howard learned

Brad Shepard: [00:09:35] Absolutely.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:35] It but would bet against UTEP

Brad Shepard: [00:09:38] Yeah

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:09:38] Yeah.

Brad Shepard: [00:09:39] But Ty Chandler man I mean we know we’ve been hearing that each day brings a different level of other athlete to Tennessee. We didn’t really get to see it last year because the offensive line was so bad. And the receivers blocked so terribly and I wrote about it yesterday. You go back and watch the one yard touchdown run it’s a thing of beauty because everybody had a hat on their man. I mean the great block by POpe to spring it. Everything worked perfectly. But then you go but you take that run away and he’s still had 11 carries for 77 yards which you know a seven yard for carry average against anybody is pretty darn good. So I like what we saw there. I think he’s that kind of player that Tennessee has hit the ball 20 times against Florida and he’s not going to help you beat Georgia or Alabama this year. But you know neither is Bo Jackson. I mean so it’s

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:32] Well

Brad Shepard: [00:10:32] It’s

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:32] Bo’s over the hill a little

Brad Shepard: [00:10:33] Yet. I’m talking like prime time Bo Jackson. You know he he can help you win games like we’ve got coming up this weekend. So that is encouraging. Tennessee’s not really had a game breaking running back like him since Coker. And then you know the negative thing is I’m going to talk about that now. Are we going to wait or even talk about it.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:57] About

Brad Shepard: [00:10:57] What

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:57] Which

Brad Shepard: [00:10:57] Do you want me

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:10:57] Think

Brad Shepard: [00:10:57] To do. Yeah you want me to say the negative thing now.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:00] Yeah yeah go ahead do the negative and then yeah. You can’t have

Brad Shepard: [00:11:03] Yeah

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:03] Just

Brad Shepard: [00:11:03] You

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:03] A

Brad Shepard: [00:11:03] Know

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:03] Piece

Brad Shepard: [00:11:04] I’m

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:04] Of bread. Man you’ve got to have the whole sandwich

Brad Shepard: [00:11:05] Telling you

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:06] All at once.

Brad Shepard: [00:11:06] I’m telling you I’m I’m bummed out about the pass rush. You know I just got to do something there. I don’t know what they can do. Maybe you can’t tell me that there’s not one kid on that roster. The pressure on the quarterback. I don’t I don’t understand it. And that’s

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:23] How many times

Brad Shepard: [00:11:24] The

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:24] Have they blitzed though. I mean are they is that vanilla that we’re seeing. Or is it

Brad Shepard: [00:11:31] Maybe.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:11:31] Really just not able to do it.

Brad Shepard: [00:11:34] You know it’s I think it could be. But Jesse Simonton from Volquest had a great tweet today. It kind of makes you think twice it’s like you would think that Felipe FranksFlorida’s quarterback would really struggle against the blitz and apparently his numbers this year are something like 14 of 19 with five touchdowns when blitzed and like three of 14 for 22 yards when he faces a standard women [LEAVING THIS ERROR BECAUSE HA!] rush then somebody had a great comment on Volquest it was like hey if if if is blitzing him it’s not the right answer them with my play right into our hands because we’ve not got any pressure on them. You know that’s something that you know but it’s it’s funny it’s almost like when I’ve watched a lot of football this year and it’s almost like when Franks’s got time to make plays and run through his progressions he doesn’t do a very good job. So you know maybe maybe this is the top game where Tennessee can give a little bit of help on the back end and maybe just try to get some pressure with the four man rush. I don’t like that and that’s never that never needs to be part of your game plan. Hey we’re not going to pressure the quarterback at all in play. But you know it really might play into Tennessee but they’ve got to get that fixed. I mean they’ve got up on somebody. Deandre Johnson had some had some glimpses up all out even though he’s not.

Brad Shepard: [00:12:58] And even though you know this guy that I’m going to mention is not a pass rusher per se but I thought Will Ignont had a good game on Saturday. You’ve got some talent and athleticism that’s kind of flashing a little bit for Tennessee now. I mean I just know what it is that they’re doing. I mean you know it might be some of those guys just don’t know that yet. But I don’t see I don’t see what Kongbo give you on the field right now personally and it’s very much like Drew Richmond on offense I mean I’m I don’t want to pick scabs and throw darts. But you know Tennessee’s got to go a different direction because he’s not. But so anyway the pass rush is the thing to me that that just is more frustrating than anything. I think that I’ve seen thus far and then the final the other good thing. I mean I think that we should all be encouraged by Guarantno’s development. I think I think his ability to throw the ball is something that we’ve not really seen a lot. I mean Dobbs could throw the ball and then he didn’t get an opportunity to do that enough Bray could throw a deep ball. No it really it was it was just kind of weird and the intermediate game. Neither of those guys were very were very accurate. And Guarantano’s done a lot of good things.

Brad Shepard: [00:14:19] And yeah. Yeah. I mean he’s still he’s still young he still makes mistakes he still sometimes stalls drives by not you know not really. Knowing what to do with the football but it’s it’s few and far between. I mean he looks to me like he’s like he’s really gonna be a good player and that we can really rely on him. Of course we’ll know more about that this week because Florida does get the quarterback and you’ll have to face some some duress this week. Is that internal clock that we’ve talked about a lot with him. There is I don’t know we’ll know for sure this week whether whether that’s progressed and improved. But he can make all the throws every single throw. He can make the outs, he can throw the deep ball, he can throw the crossing patterns. He’s you know he everything has looked really good to me so far. And I did not expect to see that at this point of the season so I’m very encouraged by that. I think that if Helton would let’s say. But we haven’t really seen it yet. It’s Helton can get into a groove in a play calling and really and I think that that also could just be you didn’t really know what he had going into season but if he if he can get into a groove with his playcalling I believe Tennessee’s offense has got a chance to be pretty good.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:15:43] Yeah I agree with that. And continuity is a little hard to achieve when you’re devoting a certain number of possessions to the other guy to try to get him ready so you know hopefully that they can get things roll in that way and like you said earlier the defense actually you know I know that we’ve played ETSU and UTEP but the defensive numbers look pretty good. And and that’s that’s also you. If you’re going to if you’re going to try to poo poo it by saying Well look we’ve played. Yeah well look we played West Virginia’s on there you know and those guys are probably pretty good. So having the numbers where they are right now. I think that’s pretty encouraging. I think it shows that yeah Pruitt probably knows what he’s doing now. They’re going to take a hit because we got some elite level competition coming up probably after this week. But yeah it’s I’m encouraged. We’ll find out this week I think. How much further we still have to go.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:16:50] But you know and so since you know since we’re talking about Florida a little bit we’re going to talk more about them on the next podcast. We’re going to try to have we’ll on tomorrow and then you again the day after that. But so save some stuff to talk about Florida later but I wanted to ask you quickly before we got off on this one and I don’t mean to be negative or anything but is this game this Saturday between Tennessee and Florida a game between the two worst teams in the SEC east.

Brad Shepard: [00:17:32] I would say at this point. Yes. And

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:17:35] That

Brad Shepard: [00:17:35] Now

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:17:35] Depressing

Brad Shepard: [00:17:36] You know it’s it’s pretty depressing. And you know what I want to go back and talk about you know just to say one thing regardless because I feel like that this answer I’m about to does need a buffer. But my dad said something on Saturday that I would be I would be remiss not to repeat because I think it’s something that we can all be encouraged by. Even though you know Tennessee struggle a little bit on the scoreboard and didn’t scores as many points we would have liked. He said Well you know at least we’re watching football and I thought about that. And you know what I mean. We are. And that’s something that we can be encouraged about because what I talk about from a defense standpoint you know Tennessee lining up in the I formation on offense and they you know they’ve got some some motion they’ve got some some lead blocking. I mean they are throwing the ball downfield are mixed with their you know the run in some toss suites and then the run off tackle and it looks like football and not an unfolding rusty lawn chair off the fence that Butch Jones had. You know I mean it’s true. I’m encouraged by both sides of the ball and the coaching of what Tennessee wants to ultimately actually do. I just don’t think that the players are there yet to quite do it. But but yeah I mean you know a SEC Power Rankings article every week for Bleacher Report. And and right now you know Arkansas is number 14 team Ole Miss is on Number 13 team Tennessee’s number 12 team and Florida is number 11. So I think that I would be lying to you. I didn’t think that if I didn’t tell you that yeah it’s the two worst things right now do I think that Tennessee will be one of the two worst teams in the SEC east by the time they play Kentucky in Vanderbilt.

Brad Shepard: [00:19:21] I’m not sure it really depends on how Tennessee weathers the gauntlet that they’re about to go through from an injury standpoint. And how much these young kids get better. But until you know kinda my reasoning for that and I know that we want to know that we all want to and need to move on from last year. But Tennessee is 0 and 8 until they’re not. You know I mean they they lost to Vanderbilt they lost to Kentucky they lost to Missouri. And then and until they prove that they can beat any of those teams there’s no reason to rank Tennessee higher than those teams especially considering that all of those teams have looked better than Tennessee has looked so far this season. So you know to me Yes but that doesn’t mean that out think that Tennessee is going to go 0 8 again and that Vanderbilt Kentucky and Missouri and South Carolina are all. Worlds better than Tennessee and Florida. I don’t. I don’t think those things are. I think they’re all kind of right there. It’s like Dooley’s sack of potatoes you know. I mean. They’re all kind of right there. In the. In the sack. And whoever. Emerges as the you know. The. You. Know not. The least rotten potato and. You know they get to be third in the. East but. It’s it’s. It’s not it’s not great right now but. You know I don’t think it’s That doomsday scenario that we were looking at last year either.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:20:47] All right. That’s Brad Shepard and that’ll do it for our Gameday on Rocky Top Podcast this evening. Please remember to subscribe via iTunes or Google Play. Give us a rating. Give us a review. Give us a good one. Bonus points for using the phrase Dooley’s sack of potatoes. Because that is such an awesome phrase.

Brad Shepard: [00:21:12] I’ll never get it out of my head. It was just a great quote It was a great quote.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:21:16] Well I had written

Brad Shepard: [00:21:17] I

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:21:17] In

Brad Shepard: [00:21:18] See. I love seeing Derek Dooley. I watched Missouri game just to see it. He cracks me up. I just I don’t know.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:21:27] Does he do postgame media.

Brad Shepard: [00:21:30] He doesn’t. But you know and I want to just you know he’s he’s so he’s such a smart dude but you know every time I see him I think that’s our fool not to see him and I think there’s that guy. We all know that guy. They show him up at the press box and it’s just like yeah I just picture him. I want to see him put his whole hold his hands up to his eyes like the binoculars the Rommel binoculars.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:00] Once again that’s Brad Shepherd. Huge Derek Dooley fan, stalker, practically.

Brad Shepard: [00:22:06] Huge.

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:07] And so for Brad. I’m Joel Hollingsworth and this has been the Gameday on Rocky Top Podcast.

Brad Shepard: [00:22:16] I don’t love Derek Dooley but

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:18] Matthew

Brad Shepard: [00:22:19] You know

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:20] I’m

Brad Shepard: [00:22:21] I’ve

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:21] Going to

Brad Shepard: [00:22:21] Learned

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:21] Record

Brad Shepard: [00:22:21] To

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:21] That and so you know you won’t be able to do anything about it. I got the editing controls

Brad Shepard: [00:22:27] Embrace

Joel Hollingsworth: [00:22:27] Here man.

Brad Shepard: [00:22:28] I’ve learned to embrace the embarrassment. It’s been it’s been so many years of it that it just becomes part of you. And if you can’t look back at it and think wow you know one of the most storied football programs in college football hired Derek Dooley and Butch Jones back to back then. If you can’t come to terms with that and that can’t help you digest where we are as a football program right now then nothing will.

Tennessee Vols statistical rankings after UTEP

Looking at the national statistical rankings after Week 3, Tennessee’s rushing offense appears to be improving, while its passing offense appears extraordinarily safe but also largely ineffective, comparatively speaking.

Meanwhile, the defense’s numbers look promising heading into SEC play, and the team’s turnovers and penalties rankings took a major hit this week.

Offense

The Vols’ passing game is interesting. On one hand, you can’t get any better than No. 1 at not throwing interceptions. And completion percentage and team passing efficiency make you think that something is going well for the passing attack. On the other hand, though, the actual number of passing yards is ranked woefully low.

The competition certainly has something to do with these numbers (and all of the rest of them in this post as well), but there is some promise there.

Defense

If you’re going to point to ETSU and UTEP being responsible for some of these promising numbers, you also need to acknowledge that West Virginia is on the resume, too. The numbers looked bad after that first week, but now that most teams are beginning to add real opponents to their schedules, things are beginning to even out. So yeah, ETSU and UTEP, but with the Mountaineers on there, too, having a Top 15 defense after Week 3 is a happy thing. The team is also Top 20 in Scoring Defense and First Downs Defense.

If they can start to generate some pressure behind the line of scrimmage in the form of sacks and TFLs without breaking the stuff they’re doing well, the team could be good on defense. Even if the SEC schedule does some damage to that concept, at the very least it seems like a positive development to have those numbers at this point of the season.

Special Teams

Turnovers and Penalties

This right here shows the reason for the difference in the ETSU and UTEP outcomes, as there was a major negative change in both penalties and turnovers. I’ve been thinking (and saying) that that has been uncharacteristic of the team this year, but looking back to the numbers right after the West Virginia game, that may not be the case.

Updated projected win totals for the Vols after Week 3

As I said after the game, the Vols weren’t nearly as bad as they were sloppy against UTEP on Saturday. On one hand, a 24-point win over a team that is really struggling doesn’t instill a lot of confidence going forward, but on the other, it’s easier to clean up a mess than it is to actually get better, and overall, I didn’t think the team was as bad as Pruitt made them sound after the game. If the turnovers and penalties weren’t uncharacteristic of the team so far this season, it would be a different story, but they were as good the first two games in those categories as they were bad the third. So, on balance, I don’t really feel much different about the team after this weekend.

West Virginia’s game against NC State was canceled due to the hurricane, so we don’t have any additional data about how good they might be. ETSU did win their game, and the Bucs are now 2-1. But none of that changes Tennessee’s resume much, either.

It’s with most of the Vols’ future opponents that we begin to see a bit of gloom on the horizon. Fortunately, for Tennessee, it’s next opponent — Florida — might be an exception. The Gators’ resume so far includes a beatdown of an inferior opponent in Charleston Southern, a solid win over a struggling non-Power 5 conference opponent in Colorado State, and a loss to what is probably a good team in Kentucky. Their loss to Kentucky looks worse than Tennessee’s loss to West Virginia, but their win over Colorado State looks better than the Vols’ win over UTEP. Let’s call it a toss-up at this point.

Missouri, too, needed a last-second field goal to beat a struggling Purdue squad, and although Charlotte won its game this week, they’re still squarely in the almost certain win category.

The rest of Tennessee’s opponents, though, look like more trouble after this week. The teams that looked unbeatable last week still look so this week. Georgia rolled, Auburn lost by a single point to LSU, a top 15 team, and Alabama looks like the best team in the history of college football.

In rolling against Murray State, Kentucky did nothing to ease fears that its win over Florida said more about the Gators than it did about the ‘Cats. And Vanderbilt was a real threat to No. 8 Notre Dame in South Bend right up until the very end of the game.

All of that said, I don’t feel any better or worse about the Vols this week, but I do feel worse about several future opponents.

My new expected win total after Week 2 is 5.5. I have Georgia and Alabama at 10%, Auburn at 15%, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Missouri at 40%, Florida and Vanderbilt as toss-ups, and Charlotte at 95%.

Use the form below to calculate yours and post it in the comments below the post.

Explanations are below, but here’s the updated chart for this week:

Tennessee Volunteers currently

  • Lost to #17 WVU*, 40-14
  • Beat ETSU, 59-3
  • Beat UTEP, 24-0
  • Florida, 7:00 PM ET
  • #3 Georgia, TBD
  • #7 Auburn, TBD
  • #1 Alabama, TBD
  • S Carolina, TBD
  • Charlotte, TBD
  • Kentucky, TBD
  • Missouri, TBD
  • Vanderbilt, TBD

The Vols’ past opponents

West Virginia Mountaineers

Current record: 2-0 (0-0), 2nd in Big 12

  • Beat Tennessee*, 40-14
  • Beat YSU, 52-17
  • NC State, Canceled
  • Kansas St, 3:30 PM ET
  • Texas Tech, TBD
  • Kansas, TBD
  • Iowa State, TBD
  • Baylor, 7:00 PM ET FOX Sports 1
  • Texas, TBD
  • #15 TCU, TBD
  • #24 Oklahoma St, TBD
  • #5 Oklahoma, 8:00 PM ET

East Tennessee State Buccaneers

Current record: 2-1 (1-0), 1st in Southern

  • Beat Mars Hill, 28-7
  • Lost to Tennessee, 59-3
  • Beat VMI, 27-24
  • Furman, 7:30 PM ET
  • Chattanooga, 7:30 PM ET ESPN+
  • Gardner-Webb, 3:30 PM ET ESPN+
  • The Citadel, 2:00 PM ET
  • Wofford, 1:30 PM ET ESPN+
  • W Carolina, 3:30 PM ET ESPN+
  • Mercer, 3:00 PM ET ESPN+
  • Samford, 1:00 PM ET

UTEP Miners

Current record: 0-3 (0-0), 1st in C-USA – West

  • Lost to N Arizona, 30-10
  • Lost to UNLV, 52-24
  • Lost to Tennessee, 24-0
  • New Mexico St, 7:30 PM ET
  • UTSA, 7:00 PM ET ESPN+
  • North Texas, 7:30 PM ET
  • LA Tech, 3:30 PM ET ESPN+
  • UAB, 7:30 PM ET ESPN+
  • Rice, 3:30 PM ET
  • MTSU, 3:00 PM ET ESPN+
  • W Kentucky, 7:30 PM ET
  • Southern Miss, 3:00 PM ET ESPN+

Florida Gators

Current record: 2-1 (0-1), 3rd in SEC – East

  • Beat Charleston So, 53-6
  • Lost to Kentucky, 27-16
  • Beat Colorado St, 48-10
  • Tennessee, 7:00 PM ET
  • #16 Miss St, TBD
  • #12 LSU, TBD
  • Vanderbilt, TBD
  • #3 Georgia*, 3:30 PM ET CBS
  • Missouri, TBD
  • S Carolina, TBD
  • Idaho, TBD
  • Florida State, TBD

As difficult as Tennessee’s upcoming slate is, the Gators’ is nothing to smirk at, either. They could go off the rails just as easily as the Vols.

Georgia Bulldogs

Current record: 3-0 (1-0), 1st in SEC – East

  • Beat Austin Peay, 45-0
  • Beat #24 S Carolina, 41-17
  • Beat MTSU, 49-7
  • Missouri, 12:00 PM ET
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • Vanderbilt, TBD
  • #12 LSU, TBD
  • Florida*, 3:30 PM ET CBS
  • Kentucky, TBD
  • #7 Auburn, TBD
  • UMass, TBD
  • Georgia Tech, TBD

We’ll no more about Georgia after this week’s game against Missouri. I don’t think the Tigers will be much of a threat, and if the Bulldogs beat them like they did South Carolina, there’s little hope for anyone in the East.

Auburn Tigers

Current record: 2-1 (0-1), 3rd in SEC – West

  • Beat #6 Washington*, 21-16
  • Beat Alabama St, 63-9
  • Lost to #12 LSU, 22-21
  • Arkansas, 7:30 PM ET
  • Southern Miss, TBD
  • #16 Miss St, TBD
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • Ole Miss, TBD
  • Texas A&M, TBD
  • #3 Georgia, TBD
  • Liberty, TBD
  • #1 Alabama, TBD

Alabama Crimson Tide

Current record: 3-0 (1-0), 1st in SEC – West

  • Beat Louisville*, 51-14
  • Beat Arkansas St, 57-7
  • Beat Ole Miss, 62-7
  • Texas A&M, 3:30 PM ET
  • Louisiana, TBD
  • Arkansas, TBD
  • Missouri, TBD
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • #12 LSU, TBD
  • #16 Miss St, TBD
  • The Citadel, TBD
  • #7 Auburn, TBD

South Carolina Gamecocks

Current record: 1-1 (0-1), 3rd in SEC – East

  • Beat C. Carolina, 49-15
  • Lost to #3 Georgia, 41-17
  • Marshall, Canceled
  • Vanderbilt, 4:00 PM ET
  • Kentucky, TBD
  • Missouri, TBD
  • Texas A&M, TBD
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • Ole Miss, TBD
  • Florida, TBD
  • Chattanooga, TBD
  • #2 Clemson, TBD

Charlotte 49ers

Current record: 2-1 (1-0), 1st in C-USA – East

  • Beat Fordham, 34-10
  • Lost to App St, 45-9
  • Beat Old Dominion, 28-25
  • UMass, 3:30 PM ET
  • UAB, TBD
  • W Kentucky, 3:30 PM ET ESPN+
  • MTSU, 3:00 PM ET
  • Southern Miss, 2:00 PM ET
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • Marshall, 2:30 PM ET ESPN+
  • FIU, 2:00 PM ET
  • FAU, 6:00 PM ET

Kentucky Wildcats

Current record: 3-0 (1-0), 1st in SEC – East

  • Beat Cent Michigan, 35-20
  • Beat #25 Florida, 27-16
  • Beat Murray State, 48-10
  • #16 Miss St, 7:00 PM ET
  • S Carolina, TBD
  • Texas A&M, TBD
  • Vanderbilt, TBD
  • Missouri, TBD
  • #3 Georgia, TBD
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • MTSU, TBD
  • Louisville, TBD

This weekend’s game against No. 16 Mississippi State will be telling.

Missouri Tigers

Current record: 3-0 (0-0), 3rd in SEC – East

  • Beat UT Martin, 51-14
  • Beat Wyoming, 40-13
  • Beat Purdue, 40-37
  • #3 Georgia, 12:00 PM ET
  • S Carolina, TBD
  • #1 Alabama, TBD
  • Memphis, TBD
  • Kentucky, TBD
  • Florida, TBD
  • Vanderbilt, TBD
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • Arkansas, 2:30 PM ET CBS

Again, how Missouri does against Georgia this week will give us some meaningful data for a projection against Tennessee.

Vanderbilt Commodores

Current record: 2-1 (0-0), 3rd in SEC – East

  • Beat MTSU, 35-7
  • Beat Nevada, 41-10
  • Lost to #8 Notre Dame, 22-17
  • S Carolina, 4:00 PM ET
  • Tennessee St, TBD
  • #3 Georgia, TBD
  • Florida, TBD
  • Kentucky, TBD
  • Arkansas, TBD
  • Missouri, TBD
  • Ole Miss, TBD
  • Tennessee, TBD

 

Gators, Guarantano, and the Run-Pass Ratio

It seems fair to say Tennessee isn’t asking Jarrett Guarantano to do too much so far. He only attempted 25 passes despite trailing all day against West Virginia. And the Vols didn’t seek to step on the gas to create additional separation from UTEP on the scoreboard, thus Guarantano attempted only 16 passes. His 54 attempts through three weeks rank 11th in the SEC, ahead of only the starters from Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi State, whose assistance hasn’t been required much beyond halftime.

But in those 54 attempts, however restrained the offense may or may not have been…Guarantano has been pretty good.

He’s hit on 39 of them, for a 72.2% completion percentage. That’s 10th nationally through three weeks. His 9.1 yards per attempt are tied for 22nd nationally. And the Vols are one of just 14 teams yet to throw an interception.

It’s one game against an FCS foe, one game against what may be the worst team in FBS, and one against a West Virginia team not known for its defense. But what he’s been asked to do, he’s done well.

How much more will the Vols ask of him this week?

The coaches change, but the first rule of Tennessee-Florida remains: the team that runs the ball best has the best chance to win. The best chance doesn’t guarantee victory – the Vols have won the rushing battle three years in a row now – but it’s still the best philosophy. And it’s one Jeremy Pruitt should enjoy.

Tennessee has run the ball 132 times this year to Guarantano’s 54 passes (plus six for Keller Chryst). So far they’ve kept the ball on the ground 68.8% of the time. It sounds like a winning formula in this series…but the results have been mixed thus far. The Vols are clearly more explosive this year: after just 46 runs of 10+ yards and 13 of 20+ yards last season, Tennessee has 21 and six, respectively, in 2018.

But slow starts are both perception and reality. What do we make of this:

  • 1st Quarter: 28 carries, 35 yards, 1.6 ypc (129th nationally)
  • 1st Half: 69 carries, 237 yards, 3.4 ypc (97th nationally)
  • 2nd Half: 63 carries, 427 yards, 6.8 ypc (9th nationally)

(Stats from Sports Source Analytics)

Are the Vols simply wearing down lower-level competition as the game goes on? Ty Chandler’s 81-yard run in the third quarter certainly helps, and that first series against West Virginia certainly hurt the first quarter numbers. But Tennessee clearly has to get off to a better start.

And this is where the rubber will meet the road for Jeremy Pruitt and Tyson Helton: how long do you stay patient with the ground game against the Gators? How much more do you give Guarantano to do instead?

Of his 54 passes, I can’t remember many (if any) that were in danger of being intercepted. The Vols will have to take more chances. How this new staff manages risk will matter a lot; it’ll feel like even more to us watching after the way the previous staff often failed to manage it well. Tennessee is built on Maxim #1, and Jeremy Pruitt seems like a guy who likes coaching the team that makes the fewest mistakes. But it takes all seven maxims to beat the Gators. How the new coach plays for and makes the breaks will go a long way Saturday night.

 

Worth reading 9.16.18: Takeaways from the Tennessee-UTEP game

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

. . . make it this, from GRT’s Brad Shepard:

Other Vols stuff worth reading today

  1. Rucker: UTEP dud a lesson for Tennessee in opportunism, via 247Sports
  2. Guarantano leading Vols ‘with a lot of confidence right now’, via 247Sports
  3. Vols’ Banks learns tough lesson on goal-line fumble, via 247Sports
  4. Vols’ defense ‘wasn’t perfect’ but posts shutout against UTEP, via 247Sports
  5. The Day After, via VolQuest
  6. Jeremy Pruitt: Vols need to practice better after UTEP win, via KnoxNews
  7. Jauan Jennings rounding into form — just in time for Gators, via 247Sports
  8. Vols football: Bits and pieces, via the Times Free Press
  9. Jeremy Pruitt calls on fans to be ready for game against Florida on Saturday, via Saturday Down South
  10. Jimmy’s blog: After 3 games, are Vols ready for SEC play?, via WNML
  11. Pruitt: Hard ‘to beat anybody in the SEC’ without forcing TOs, via 247Sports
  12. Sapp held out against UTEP due to injury, via 247Sports
  13. ‘Thankful’ Chandler returns to Vols in style, via 247Sports
  14. Pruitt: Sluggish win shows Vols need ‘to improve practicing’, via 247Sports
  15. Kick time, TV finalized for Vols-Florida, via 247Sports
  16. Five Answers: Tennessee 24, UTEP 0, via 247Sports
  17. Ground Game, Defense Propel Vols To 24-0 Win Over UTEP – University of Tennessee, via UTSports

Just going to leave this here

Behind the paywalls

Sunday Best: Ty Chandler Is the Spark This Offense Needs

Editor’s note:  With my esteemed colleagues taking care of the heavy postgame lifting as I’m handling my national college football obligations on Saturday, I wanted to do something a little different. Each Sunday from now through the end of the year, we’ll take a last look at the game before, pointing out some positives as we move through the various phases of the Jeremy Pruitt rebuild.

We’ll call it Sunday Best. Hope you guys enjoy…

***

There weren’t a lot of things to be excited about after Saturday’s sleepwalking victory over UTEP where it looked like the Tennessee Vols failed to wake up following a night out on the Strip.

Winning 24-0 against arguably the worst FBS team in the nation is nothing to be thrilled about. But with Florida coming to Neyland Stadium next Saturday night, style points don’t matter anymore. The only takeaway from Saturday is there is still so much to be worked on.

Jeremy Pruitt acknowledged as much in his man-of-few-words mode following the game when he did his postgame interview with the SEC Network. He said there’s far too much for Tennessee to work on internally to worry about Florida. He believes if the Vols take care of themselves, they can take care of a lot of issues.

We’ll see on Saturday.

But the past two weekends were all about fact-finding missions. Who can help this team win the important games? Can this team win important games?

The answer to those questions may very well be “nobody this year” and “nope, not this year,” but those aren’t acceptable answers to Pruitt and this staff. Say what you will about this team, but it’s obvious that Pruitt knows football, and that the Vols are going to play real hard-nosed football once they get the players in the right places and the trenches fixed. This year’s roster simply doesn’t have the horses, but the brand of ball the Vols want to play — whether they can play it in 2018 or not — is encouraging.

One of the building blocks for this rebuild was on full display against the Miners in sophomore running back Ty Chandler.

This was a player coveted by Alabama, Georgia and others a couple of years ago when Butch Jones plucked him out of Nashville. Unlike a lot of highly ranked players on this roster, he doesn’t look like a “miss.” If anything, he’s the most dynamic player on the entire roster, and we got a glimpse of what he can do Saturday.

I don’t care that it was against UTEP; that matters none. What Chandler brings to the offense is a dimension the Vols haven’t had since Lamarcus Coker, who just happens to be the last player to break off a run like Chandler’s 81-yard touchdown yesterday.

But take that run away for a moment. On his other runs, he had 77 yards on 11 carries, an average of (even I can do this one…) 7 yards per carry.

We’ve spent the past couple of games oohing and ahhing about how good Tim Jordan looks and that he can be a primary back in this offense, and we all fell in love with Jeremy Banks and his hard-nosed running. He looked good at times again against UTEP, though it looked to me like the officials blew the call on his ruled fumble at the goal line. Regardless, he’s got to do a better job taking care of the ball.

Madre London looks like a quality stopgap this year too, even though this will be his only year in orange.

But no matter how those guys looked at times throughout the season’s first couple of games, they aren’t Chandler. He’s deceptively shifty, and he is bigger than you think. Most importantly, he possesses the kind of breakaway speed Tennessee needs to produce big plays in the running game. Hopefully, as the season progresses, this offensive line will improve, and if it does, Chandler’s upside gets higher and higher.

He’s the kind of player who can win you a game against a Florida or South Carolina if he breaks free.

The only other players on UT’s offense who have that kind of different-level ability are receivers Marquez Callaway and Jordan Murphy.

After getting concussed in the second quarter against West Virginia, the Vols were cautious with Chandler the past couple of weeks. They unleashed him against UTEP, and he is an X-factor to be reckoned with against the Gators. If he’s not a major part of the game plan, something’s wrong.

He will be.

“Ty is a guy that he’s a pretty instinctive runner,” Pruitt said in the postgame interview, according to GoVols247’s Patrick Brown. “He’s got good vision, but he’s got good speed, so he got out there and done a good job finishing that run. It’s a good thing he did, because I’m not sure that we wouldn’t have gotten another penalty before we got in the end zone, so I’m glad he got it to the end zone.”

As we’ve discussed before, this season is about finding those pieces of the puzzle for building blocks, not only this year but next season, too. Against ETSU, we watched a defense that forced turnovers and turned them into points. That defense pitched a shutout against UTEP, but the turnovers were nowhere to be found.

Murphy had a huge game against the Buccaneers but barely made a noise on Saturday.

Callaway has been a consistent weapon, and Jarrett Guarantano is the no-doubt starting quarterback for this team in ’18 and in the future.

The running back room looks good for the future, and hopefully, after Saturday, we see who the leader of that group is going to be.

To be fair to Chandler, though, legends aren’t forged against the UTEP Miners. They’re bad — really bad — and all the mistakes on offense, the line issues and the ability to finish drives kept anybody from being truly happy with Saturday’s outcome.

Next weekend is the season’s first opportunity to make a name for himself. A year ago, with John Kelly in the backfield, Chandler had to play a support role. He’ll have to do the same at times this year with so many players who should get carries for UT. But the Vols need to ride the player who can turn a game in their favor in a hurry. The Gators don’t have a lot of players like him on their offense, either.

Look for Chandler to get a load of touches next weekend if this offensive coaching staff is confident. Of course, a lot of his success will be determined by the play of his offensive line, but Chandler has a window to become one of the most beloved players on this football team despite a difficult season.

Hopefully, he takes advantage.

Tennessee 24, UTEP 0: Vols not bad, but sloppy against the Miners

A sleepy 24-0 Tennessee win over the UTEP Miners capped off a sleepy week for Vols fans this afternoon in Neyland Stadium. The UT offense sputtered early again this week, managing a paltry 17 yards on its first possession against a Miners team that was among the worst in the FCS last season.

Tennessee’s next possession began better but ended badly, as a 60-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown was undone by a chop block, sending Tennessee back out of the red zone and into settle-for-a-field-goal range.

Then, their third possession went for 64 yards but ended with a goal-line fumble. The call was somewhat controversial, as there were questions whether running back Jeremy Banks was down and/or whether he crossed the goal line before he lost the ball, but upon review, the on-field call was upheld.

Tennessee led only 3-0 after the first quarter. They scored a touchdown on their next possession to go up 10-0, but then punted out the remainder of the first half.

Despite the gloomy feel of the first half, though, the non-turnover and non-penalty stats were mostly sunny:

As Will pointed out during the game, the team was more sloppy than bad:

Running back Ty Chandler, who didn’t play last week against ETSU, had the highlight of the day on the first play of the second half:

That made the score 17-0, Vols, but the offense again stalled out on its next two possessions. A touchdown pass from Jarrett Guarantano to Jauan Jennings a few minutes into the fourth quarter capped the scoring for the game.

Defense

As a shutout would suggest, the Tennessee defense did a pretty good job all game, holding the Miners to a total of 134 yards, 95 on the ground and 39 through the air. UTEP managed only seven first downs and were 2-14 on third down conversions.

In comparison, the Vols’ offense, as disappointing as 24 points may have been, had 512 total yards, 345 rushing and 167 passing. They had 24 first downs and were 4-12 on third down and 1-1 on fourth.

Players

Guarantano had a solid day, as he was 12-16 for 168 yards and a touchdown and looked mostly in control the entire game. He threw no interceptions for the third week in a row.

The running backs were led by Chandler’s 158. Madre London added 74, Tim Jordan 49, and Jeremy Banks 45. Guarantano had 20.

Six different players caught balls for the Vols. Josh Palmer had 64 yards on two catches with a long of 53, and Brandon Johnson had four catches for 51 yards. It was great to see Jennings get more involved this week with three catches for 22 yards and a touchdown, and Dominick Wood-Anderson was targeted multiple times and caught two balls for 21 yards. Marquez Callaway seemed to be much more involved than his stat line is willing to admit: It says he had only one catch for 8 yards. Perhaps it’s all of his punt returns that made him seem more involved.

Only 24-0?

It’s hard to be disappointed in a defense that allows no points, no matter the team. The offense scoring only 24 points, though, is a cause for concern, but in my view there are three main reasons the Vols didn’t score more points, and they’re not quite as concerning as they might seem, as they are easily-correctable and/or uncharacteristic of the team so far this season.

Penalties

The Vols committed eight penalties for 65 yards, the majority of which were on the offense. The first — a chop block — negated a touchdown. Half of the drives that resulted in punts were stalled out by penalties. The offense moved when not behind the chains due to stupid penalties.

Turnovers

As mentioned earlier, Tennessee’s third offensive possession was rolling right along until freshman running back Jeremy Banks lost the football as he was stretching for the goal line. It may or may not have been the right call, but in any event, it ended an almost certain opportunity for another 7 points.

The score could have been worse due to turnovers, as punt returner Marquez Callaway also muffed a punt and gave the ball to the Miners’ offense at the 33-yard line. Fortunately, their own penalties and the Vols’ defense pushed them back and forced a punt.

Splitting time among the quarterbacks

As I said before, Guarantano was 12-16 (75%) for 168 yards. Despite him doing well and the team not clicking or pulling away from the Miners, the coaching staff decided to give backup quarterback Keller Chryst playing time at key junctures of the game.

That didn’t work so well.

With the Vols only up 10-0 and getting the ball back with 1:40 to play in the first half, Chryst’s first opportunity netted 6 yards in four plays and a punt.

Chandler limited the Vols’ first possession after the break to a single-play drive resulting in a touchdown, and Guarantano put together an eight-play, 38-yard drive after that, although that one ended up in a punt as well.

Chryst got the next possession, with 5:43 left in the third quarter and the Vols leading 17-0, and the team promptly went three plays for 1 yard before punting.

Guarantano got the next one and went 71 yards in 11 plays, throwing the touchdown pass to Jennings to finish it off.

Chryst’s next possession was his best. With 8:23 left in the game, he led the team on a six-play, 37-yard drive. But the only pass went for a loss of 1 yard, and the drive still ended with a punt.

The rest was garbage time with nothing but run plays and a kneel down.

I suppose it’s a good idea to get the backup quarterback ready to play, just in case. Somehow, though, it seems like a better idea when the team is already firing on all cylinders with the first-string guy, and although Guarantano was doing his part, the team wasn’t exactly rolling even with him at the helm. Continuity seems like a better goal than experience for the backups at this point.

Maybe we’ll be glad sometime in the future that Chryst has had some live fire, but it’s become quite clear that Guarantano is the team’s No. 1 quarterback, and although the team moved the ball well this afternoon, I don’t know that it really made Vols fans feel any better in advance of next week’s big showdown with the Gators.

 

 

 

Your Gameday Gameplan: Tennessee-UTEP

It’s Gameday on Rocky Top, with the 1-1 Tennessee Vols hosting the UTEP Miners at Neyland Stadium today at noon.

Here’s the Gameday Gameplan for Vols fans. Where and when to find the Vols game on TV, what other games to watch, 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 other games for Vols fans to watch today

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

Saturday, September 15, 2018
Away Home Time TV How Why
NOON SLATE
UTEP Tennessee 12:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN Live Go Vols!
Murray State Kentucky 12:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN DVR Future Opponent
Vanderbilt No. 8 Notre Dame 2:30 PM NBC DVR Future Opponent
AFTERNOON SLATE
No. 12 LSU No. 7 Auburn 3:30 PM CBS Channel Hop - 2 Top 25 Matchup
No. 17 Boise State No. 24 Oklahoma State 3:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN Channel Hop Top 25 Matchup
Colorado State Florida 4:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN Channel Hop - 1 Next Opponent
EVENING SLATE
No. 1 Alabama Ole Miss 7:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN Channel Hop Future Opponent
Middle Tennessee No. 3 Georgia 7:15 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN Channel Hop Future Opponent
Missouri Purdue 7:30 PM BTN Channel Hop Future Opponent
No. 4 Ohio State No. 15 TCU 8:00 PM ABC, WatchESPN Channel Hop Top 25 Matchup

See also, this week’s full college football TV schedule.

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

No, we haven’t kicked the Gameday on Rocky Top Podcast to the curb. It just got swallowed up by an over-busy schedule this week. Rest assured, it will return this week, and to be sure you won’t miss it, subscribe via iTunes or Google:

 Listen on Google Play Music

You can still hear Will on his weekly appearance with Josh Ward and Will West’s Sports 180 on WNML:

Pre-game prep

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

New, experimental game thread

It seems that most people discuss live events on Twitter these days. The problem with that, in my opinion anyway, is that Twitter is much too noisy. It can sometimes be like having a bunch of uninvited people in your basement while you’re trying to watch the game with friends in peace. The thing I like about an open game thread here is that it’s a discussion among friends, like-minded folks who want to enjoy the game together because they also enjoy each others’ company. The problem is that Twitter has all the best snacks, so nobody shows up.

So, in an experimental attempt to get the best of both worlds, I’m going to create a special Twitter list of our esteemed Gameday on Rocky Top community members and then embed it here. I don’t know that it’s going to offer anything better than all-Twitter or all-GRT, but I figure it’s worth a shot.

So . . . if you’d like to be included in the Twitter GRT Game Thread list, post your Twitter handle in the comment section below so I can add you.

Here goes nothing. 🙂

Go Vols!

Gameday on Rocky Top Guessing Game: UTEP edition

It’s time for this week’s edition of the Gameday on Rocky Top Guessing Game. If you are wondering what that is exactly, 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!

The Unpredictable (Non-UGA) SEC East

Two weeks into the season, our top two thoughts about the SEC East remain unchanged:

  • Georgia is waaaaaaayyyyyyy better than everyone else; the Vols shouldn’t compare themselves to UGA right now.
  • There’s little separation between the rest of the division; the Vols may have finished last in 2017, but how they do against the non-UGA East is still a good barometer in 2018.

South Carolina was the most popular choice to come in second; they got dusted by Georgia at home, trailing 41-10 until a late touchdown trimmed the final margin to 24. And on the other end of the spectrum, Kentucky beat Florida – in Gainesville – for the first time in more than three decades.

There’s an anything-can-happen feel to the rest of the division behind the Dawgs. Case in point: look who’s leading the non-UGA pack in S&P+ through two weeks:

Team S&P+ FPI
Missouri 16 27
Vanderbilt 23 53
Kentucky 35 47
South Carolina 43 33
Florida 46 32
Tennessee 57 61

Wyoming-over-Missouri was a trendy preseason pick; the Tigers routed the Cowboys 40-13 and now face a suddenly 0-2 Purdue team this week. And if your reflex is still to pick against Vanderbilt no matter what, you paid dearly for it the first two weeks: 35-7 over MTSU, 41-10 over Nevada.

These numbers will be tested over the next two weeks. Vanderbilt is in South Bend Saturday afternoon, Missouri hosts Georgia next week. We’ll see how good those two are against top-level competition. But the anything-can-happen-ness among the rest of the division is still good news for a Tennessee team looking to move its way up the ladder.

Recruiting is still the long-term solution, and Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Missouri are still not threats there. The Vols (11th) have the lead on South Carolina (16th) and Florida (18th) in the 247 Composite Rankings, but the Gators (53.3%) and Gamecocks (44.4%) now lead the Vols (40%) in blue chip ratio. Without the on-field results, it will be difficult for Jeremy Pruitt and staff to separate themselves from Muschamp and Mullen in recruiting.

That makes whatever separation can be earned on the field even more important. Thus Tennessee’s five most important games are all against the non-UGA SEC East, all of them some version of up for grabs. The Vols get one more tune-up this week, then the Gators, then three straight “brace yourself” opponents with a bye week thrown in for good measure. But whatever happens there or even against Florida, four of those most important games are in the last five down the stretch (plus Charlotte). What happens against those big rivals in the middle may feel like it carries more weight, but it may be what the Vols can do against their secondary rivals from the SEC East down the stretch that becomes the best sign of progress. For Tennessee to be successful, historically speaking, it has to separate itself from Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina. The Vols can’t allow those secondary rivalries to become actual rivalries in the long-term.

In the short-term, though, we should be in for interesting outcomes when these six teams face each other.