Tennessee-South Carolina statistical comps preview: Close enough to be interesting

The Vols emerge from The Gauntlet mostly intact and now travel to South Carolina to take on a Gamecocks team coming off a bye week. Has the difficult stretch of the last three or four games made Tennessee stronger or has it taken a toll?

Those intangibles will likely be significant factors in this weekend’s matchup, but first, let’s take a look at the stats and comps to see what the Statsy Preview Machine says.

Predictions

SPM: South Carolina 36, Tennessee 19

Eye- and gut-adjusted: South Carolina 28, Tennessee 24

Tennessee rushing yards: 130

South Carolina rushing yards: 130

Tennessee passing yards: 175

South Carolina passing yards: 260

Tennessee rushing

Tennessee is averaging 140.7 rushing yards per game, while South Carolina is giving up 179.2 per game. To date, Florida is slightly better at defending the run than South Carolina, allowing 163.1, and Tennessee got 156 against the Gators. On the other hand, Vanderbilt is averaging 141.1 rushing yards per game but got only 92 against the Gamecocks, and the Vols’ rushing offense appears to be getting worse, not better.

Based on that, my guess for rushing yards for Tennessee against South Carolina is 130.

South Carolina rushing

The Tennessee defense is allowing 162.0 rushing yards per game, while the South Carolina run game is averaging 153.7 yards per game. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is UTEP, which is getting 146.7 yards per game on the ground, and they got 95 against Tennessee. The closest “better-than” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Auburn, which is averaging 172.3 rushing yards per game and got 126 against Tennessee. So, with the Vols generally holding the most similar opponents to below their season averages, I’m going with South Carolina getting about 110 rushing yards against Tennessee’s defense.

Tennessee passing

Tennessee is averaging 209.9 passing yards per game, and South Carolina is allowing 199.2. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is West Virginia, which is giving up 218.5 yards per game through the air, and Tennessee put up 172 against them. The closest “better-than” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Alabama. They’re allowing 194.5 passing yards per game, and Tennessee somewhat surprisingly got 227 against them.

On the other hand, the Gamecocks’ pass defense generally keeps its most similar opponents to well below their passing yard averages.

Based on all of that, my guess is that Tennessee will put up 175 passing yards this weekend.

South Carolina passing

The Tennessee pass defense is allowing 223.1 passing yards per game. South Carolina is getting 250.3. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Georgia, which is getting 235.6 yards per game through the air, and they got 190 against Tennessee. The closest “better-than” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is West Virginia, which is averaging 320.5 passing yards per game and got 429 against Tennessee. The Gamecocks generally get more passing yards than their opponents’ averages, so I’m going with South Carolina getting somewhere around 260 passing yards this week.

Tennessee scoring

Tennessee is averaging 25.9 points per game, and South Carolina is allowing 25.8. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is UTEP, which is allowing 31.6 points per game, and Tennessee got 24 against them. The closest “better-than” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is West Virginia. They’re allowing 20.5 points per game, and Tennessee got 14 against them. Those games were early in the season, and the Vols scored 21 against Alabama and Florida and 24 against Auburn. So, my prediction is that Tennessee will score right around their average against the Gamecocks. Let’s call it 24 points.

South Carolina scoring

Tennessee is allowing 30.0 points per game. South Carolina is averaging 28.8. The closest “not-as-good” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Auburn, which is averaging 28.4 points, and they got 24 against Tennessee. The closest “better-than” comparison for a prior Tennessee opponent is Florida, which is averaging 34.4 points and got 47 against Tennessee. The Gamecocks offense has the potential to run away with it, but if it’s a struggle, I like the chances of the Vols defense to hold them below their average.

Looking at things from the Gamecocks’ perspective, though, they got 37 against both Missouri (giving up an average of 30.9 points) and Vanderbilt (average of 24.4).

So . . . I’m going with South Carolina putting up about 28-31 points against Tennessee. Calling it 28.

Comparison of predictions to other models and Vegas

Left alone, the SPM says South Carolina 36, Tennessee 19, a spread of -17.

With eyeball and gut adjustments, I’m going with South Carolina 28, Tennessee 24, a spread of -4.

Bill Connelly’s S&P+ says Tennessee has a 34.2% chance of winning and puts the score at South Carolina 33.7, Tennessee 26.6, a spread of -7.1.

The Vegas spread favors South Carolina by between -7.5 and -8.5, with an over/under of between 53.5-54, which converts to something like 31-23, Gamecocks.

ESPN’s FPI gives the Vols a 19.8% chance of winning.

2018 college football TV schedule for Vols fans: Week 9

Thursday and Friday

Thursday, October 25, 2018
Away Home Time TV How Why
Baylor No. 13 West Virginia 7:00 PM FS1 Channel Hop Top 25 Team

 

Friday, October 26, 2018
Away Home Time TV How Why
No. 23 Utah UCLA 10:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN Channel Hop Top 25 Team

 

The Vols don’t play until Saturday night this week, but the slate is full of a variety of tasty appetizers, and they start arriving before you even sit down. Thursday you can get a look at former Vols opponent West Virginia (and also former Vol and current Baylor Bear Jalen Hurd), and on Friday, you can see what new UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is up to as his team takes on No. 23 Utah.

Gameday

Saturday, October 27, 2018
Away Home Time TV How Why
NOON SLATE
No. 2 Clemson Florida State 12:00 PM ABC, WatchESPN Channel Hop Top 25 Team
No. 20 Wisconsin Northwestern 12:00 PM FOX Channel Hop Top 25 Team
AFTERNOON SLATE
No. 18 Iowa No. 17 Penn State 3:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN Channel Hop Top 25 Matchup
No. 9 Florida No. 7 Georgia 3:30 PM CBS Channel Hop - Priority 1 Former Opponents
No. 12 Kentucky Missouri 4:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN Channel Hop Future Opponents
EVENING SLATE
Tennessee South Carolina 7:30 PM SECN, WatchESPN Live Go Vols!

 

On Gameday, a couple of Top 25 teams are in action at noon, including No. 2 Clemson taking on new FSU head coach Willie Taggart.

The afternoon is all about the World’s Largest Stupid Game Between Two Stupid Tennessee Rivals, but you can also get an early look at two future Vols opponents as No. 12 Kentucky travels to Missouri.

And then the Vols kickoff at South Carolina at 7:30 on the SEC Network. Go Vols. Beat the Gamecocks.

Full sortable and searchable college football TV schedule

Date Away Home Time TV
Thu Oct 25 Baylor No. 13 West Virginia 7:00 PM FS1
Thu Oct 25 Ball State Ohio 7:00 PM CBSSN
Thu Oct 25 Toledo Western Michigan 7:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Thu Oct 25 No. 25 Appalachian State Georgia Southern 7:30 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
Thu Oct 25 Georgia Tech Virginia Tech 7:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Fri Oct 26 Louisiana Tech Florida Atlantic 6:30 PM CBSSN
Fri Oct 26 Miami Boston College 7:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Fri Oct 26 Indiana Minnesota 8:00 PM FS1
Fri Oct 26 Wyoming Colorado State 10:00 PM CBSSN
Fri Oct 26 No. 23 Utah UCLA 10:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 No. 2 Clemson Florida State 12:00 PM ABC, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 No. 20 Wisconsin Northwestern 12:00 PM FOX
Sat Oct 27 Army Eastern Michigan 12:00 PM CBSSN
Sat Oct 27 Bethune-Cookman Nebraska 12:00 PM BTN
Sat Oct 27 Central Michigan Akron 12:00 PM ESPN3
Sat Oct 27 Purdue Michigan State 12:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 Texas Tech Iowa State 12:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 UMass UConn 12:00 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 Vanderbilt Arkansas 12:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 Wake Forest Louisville 12:00 PM ACCNE, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 North Carolina Virginia 12:20 PM ACCNE, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 Coastal Carolina Georgia State 2:00 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 27 Southern Mississippi Charlotte 2:00 PM ESPN3
Sat Oct 27 Oregon State Colorado 3:00 PM PAC12
Sat Oct 27 TCU Kansas 3:00 PM FS1
Sat Oct 27 No. 18 Iowa No. 17 Penn State 3:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 No. 9 Florida No. 7 Georgia 3:30 PM CBS
Sat Oct 27 Kansas State No. 8 Oklahoma 3:30 PM FOX
Sat Oct 27 No. 21 South Florida Houston 3:30 PM ABC, ESPN2
Sat Oct 27 Arizona State USC 3:30 PM ABC, ESPN2
Sat Oct 27 Cincinnati SMU 3:30 PM CBSSN
Sat Oct 27 Duke Pittsburgh 3:30 PM ACCNE, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 Illinois Maryland 3:30 PM BTN
Sat Oct 27 Middle Tennessee Old Dominion 3:30 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 27 Northern Illinois BYU 3:30 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 No. 12 Kentucky Missouri 4:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 New Mexico Utah State 4:00 PM
Sat Oct 27 Rice North Texas 4:00 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 27 No. 15 Washington California 6:30 PM FS1
Sat Oct 27 UNLV San Jose State 6:30 PM
Sat Oct 27 No. 14 Washington State No. 24 Stanford 7:00 PM PAC12
Sat Oct 27 No. 16 Texas A&M Mississippi State 7:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 No. 22 NC State Syracuse 7:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 Arkansas State Louisiana 7:00 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 27 Boise State Air Force 7:00 PM CBSSN
Sat Oct 27 New Mexico State Texas State 7:00 PM ESPN3
Sat Oct 27 Tulane Tulsa 7:00 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 Tennessee South Carolina 7:30 PM SECN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 Florida Intl Western Kentucky 7:30 PM
Sat Oct 27 UAB UTEP 7:30 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 27 No. 3 Notre Dame Navy 8:00 PM CBS
Sat Oct 27 No. 6 Texas Oklahoma State 8:00 PM ABC, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 No. 19 Oregon Arizona 10:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 Hawai'i Fresno State 10:30 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 27 San Diego State Nevada 10:30 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN

Tennessee Vols statistical rankings after The Gauntlet

You’d expect the Vols’ national stat rankings to take a hit after playing Georgia, Auburn, and a historically good Alabama team all in a row, and you do see some of that. But Tennessee seems to have survived that stretch without too much dropoff, and when you compare things to this time last year, you might just be encouraged.

Offense

The Tennessee offense is doing some things really well and some things not well at all, but most the offense is stuck in that middle not-great-not-terrible territory. Overall, though, it is better than this time last year, when it was all just plain terrible.

Defense

I think maybe the most important takeaway here is that Rushing Defense has improved fairly significantly. Great defenses tend to start there and build off it.

Special Teams

Turnovers and Penalties

 

Updated projected win totals for the Vols after Alabama

Tennessee got thumped good by Alabama this weekend, but how did the other teams look, and how does it all affect our expectations for the back half of the season?

My new expected win total:

  • This week: 6.0
  • Last week: 6.3
  • After Week 6: 5.0
  • After Week 5: 4.9
  • After Week 4: 4.55
  • After Week 3: 5.5

I have Kentucky steady at 45%, Missouri and South Carolina steady at 50%, Vanderbilt up to 60% (from 75% last week), and Charlotte steady at 95%. Not much change, really. I think we’re basically looking at four essential tossups, with the order being Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt, with there being a bit of space between the Commodores and the other three.

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

Current record: 3-4 (1-3), 5th in the SEC East

  • Lost to #17 WVU*, 40-14
  • Beat ETSU, 59-3
  • Beat UTEP, 24-0
  • Lost to Florida, 47-21
  • Lost to #2 Georgia, 38-12
  • Beat #21 Auburn, 30-24
  • Lost to #1 Alabama, 58-21
  • S Carolina, TBD
  • Charlotte, TBD
  • Kentucky, TBD
  • Missouri, TBD
  • Vanderbilt, TBD

The Vols’ past opponents

West Virginia Mountaineers

Current record: 5-1 (3-1), 2nd in Big 12, #13

  • Beat Tennessee*, 40-14
  • Beat YSU, 52-17
  • NC State, Canceled
  • Beat Kansas St, 35-6
  • Beat #25 Texas Tech, 42-34
  • Beat Kansas, 38-22
  • Lost to Iowa State, 30-14
  • Bye
  • Baylor, 7:00 PM ET FOX Sports 1
  • Texas, TBD
  • #17 TCU, TBD
  • #15 Oklahoma St, TBD
  • #5 Oklahoma, 8:00 PM ET

East Tennessee State Buccaneers

Current record: 6-2 (4-1), 1st in Southern

  • Beat Mars Hill, 28-7
  • Lost to Tennessee, 59-3
  • Beat VMI, 27-24
  • Beat Furman, 29-27
  • Beat Chattanooga, 17-14
  • Beat Gardner-Webb, 45-0
  • Beat The Citadel, 26-23
  • Lost to Wofford, 31-17
  • W Carolina, 3:30 PM ET ESPN+
  • Mercer, 3:00 PM ET ESPN+
  • Samford, 1:00 PM ET

UTEP Miners

Current record: 0-7 (0-3), 6th in C-USA – West

  • Lost to N Arizona, 30-10
  • Lost to UNLV, 52-24
  • Lost to Tennessee, 24-0
  • Lost to New Mexico St, 27-20
  • Lost to UTSA, 30-21
  • Lost North Texas, 27-24
  • Bye
  • Lost to LA Tech, 31-24
  • 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: 6-1 (4-1), 1st in SEC – East, #9

  • Beat Charleston So, 53-6
  • Lost to Kentucky, 27-16
  • Beat Colorado St, 48-10
  • Beat Tennessee, 47-21
  • Beat #14 Miss St, 13-6
  • Beat #5 LSU, 27-19
  • Beat Vanderbilt, 37-27
  • Bye
  • #2 Georgia*, 3:30 PM ET CBS
  • Missouri, TBD
  • S Carolina, TBD
  • Idaho, TBD
  • Florida State, TBD

Georgia Bulldogs

Current record: 6-1 (4-1), 1st in SEC – East, #7

  • Beat Austin Peay, 45-0
  • Beat #24 S Carolina, 41-17
  • Beat MTSU, 49-7
  • Beat Missouri, 43-29
  • Beat Tennessee, 38-12
  • Beat Vanderbilt, 41-13
  • Lost to #13 LSU, 36-16
  • Bye
  • Florida*, 3:30 PM ET CBS
  • Kentucky, TBD
  • #9 Auburn, TBD
  • UMass, TBD
  • Georgia Tech, TBD

Auburn Tigers

Current record: 5-3 (2-3), 4th in SEC – West

  • Beat #6 Washington*, 21-16
  • Beat Alabama St, 63-9
  • Lost to #12 LSU, 22-21
  • Beat Arkansas, 34-3
  • Beat Southern Miss, 24-13
  • Lost to Miss St, 23-9
  • Lost to Tennessee, 30-24
  • Beat Ole Miss, 31-16
  • Texas A&M, TBD
  • Georgia, TBD
  • Liberty, TBD
  • Alabama, TBD

Alabama Crimson Tide

Current record: 8-0 (5-0), 1st in SEC – West, #1

  • Beat Louisville*, 51-14
  • Beat Arkansas St, 57-7
  • Beat Ole Miss, 62-7
  • Beat #22 Texas A&M, 45-23
  • Beat Louisiana, 56-14
  • Beat Arkansas, 65-31
  • Beat Missouri, 39-10
  • Beat Tennessee, 58-21
  • LSU, TBD
  • Miss St, TBD
  • The Citadel, TBD
  • Auburn, TBD

The Vols’ future opponents

South Carolina Gamecocks

Current record: 3-3 (2-3), 4th in SEC – East

  • Beat C. Carolina, 49-15
  • Lost to #3 Georgia, 41-17
  • Marshall, Canceled
  • Beat Vanderbilt, 37-14
  • Lost to Kentucky, 24-10
  • Beat Missouri, 37-35
  • Lost Texas A&M, 26-23
  • Bye
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • Ole Miss, TBD
  • Florida, TBD
  • Chattanooga, TBD
  • Clemson, TBD

Charlotte 49ers

Current record: 3-4 (2-2), 4th in C-USA – East

  • Beat Fordham, 34-10
  • Lost to App St, 45-9
  • Beat Old Dominion, 28-25
  • Lost to UMass, 49-31
  • Lost to UAB, 28-7
  • Beat Western Kentucky, 40-14
  • Lost to MTSU, 21-13
  • 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: 6-1 (4-1), 1st in SEC – East, #12

  • Beat Cent Michigan, 35-20
  • Beat #25 Florida, 27-16
  • Beat Murray State, 48-10
  • Beat #14 Miss St, 28-7
  • Beat S Carolina, 24-10
  • Lost to Texas A&M, 20-14
  • Bye
  • Beat Vanderbilt, 14-7
  • Missouri, TBD
  • Georgia, TBD
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • MTSU, TBD
  • Louisville, TBD

Missouri Tigers

Current record: 4-3 (0-3), 6th in SEC – East

  • Beat UT Martin, 51-14
  • Beat Wyoming, 40-13
  • Beat Purdue, 40-37
  • Lost to #2 Georgia, 43-29
  • Lost to South Carolina, 37-35
  • Lost to Alabama, 39-10
  • Beat Memphis, 65-33
  • Kentucky, TBD
  • Florida, TBD
  • Vanderbilt, TBD
  • Tennessee, TBD
  • Arkansas, 2:30 PM ET CBS

Vanderbilt Commodores

Current record: 3-5 (0-4), 7th in SEC – East

  • Beat MTSU, 35-7
  • Beat Nevada, 41-10
  • Lost to #8 Notre Dame, 22-17
  • Lost to S Carolina, 37-14
  • Beat Tennessee St, 31-27
  • Lost to Georgia, 41-13
  • Lost to Florida, 37-27
  • Lost to Kentucky, 14-7
  • Arkansas, TBD
  • Missouri, TBD
  • Ole Miss, TBD
  • Tennessee, TBD

Sunday Best: Everything Starts Now, But For Which Quarterback?

 

Up until the minute Jarrett Guarantano left Saturday’s game with what originally was called a collarbone issue but wound up being bruised ribs, I would have told you the guy under center was the one who gave the Vols the best chance to win.

After watching Keller Chryst against Alabama and rewatching him again in a replay of the game, I’m not so sure.

And you know what, Vols fans? That is an excellent thing moving forward.

There’s no question you’re in one camp or the other when it comes to who should be Tennessee’s quarterback when the Vols travel to Columbia, South Carolina, next weekend for Saturday night’s all-important game against the Gamecocks that could determine how the rest of the season goes.

You know who’s camp I’m in? Neither. I’ve decided to spend the rest of the fall at Camp Whoever-helps-us-win.

I don’t see practice everyday, and I don’t know if Guarantano or Chryst gives Tennessee the best chance to do that. I don’t know if Alabama backed off a bit in coverage by the time the Stanford transfer replaced Guarantano, and I don’t know how Chryst would play a complete game against mere mortals.

But Chryst certainly had his exceptional moments against those crimson cyborgs on Saturday. That’s encouraging, and nothing else. It’s not worrisome. It’s not a reason to get on a soap box. It’s not a reason to start flinging darts in JG’s direction. It’s ONLY encouraging. You know why? Because now both guys have proven they can do good things against good teams, and it’s very possible Tennessee will need both of them before this season is over, especially considering just how bad this offensive line remains.

If you’re looking for positives in yet another Bama beat-down, this time a 58-21 loss that marked the record 12th-straight Crimson Tide victory in the Third Saturday in October, there aren’t that many. The best thing by far is that it’s over, and, barring the news on receiver Josh Palmer who went out with an injury, Tennessee may have survived. Guarantano is hurt, but is he injured? Coach Jeremy Pruitt didn’t sound terribly concerned Saturday night.

Chryst came in, however, and more than did his job. He finished 9-of-15 for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It wasn’t just that he posted decent numbers, either. It’s that he looked really good doing it. He utilized Jauan Jennings, who had his second strong game in a row, catching six balls for 102 yards; he threw an absolute dime over the middle to Tyler Byrd [HE EXISTS!] for a touchdown; and he kept Ty Chandler in the passing game, throwing him a scoring strike, too.

There was plenty of zip on his throws, and it’s simply something we haven’t seen from him. According to practice reports, the coaches hadn’t seen it much, either.

All of those things are positive, but the most important thing — especially with this offensive line — is Chryst recognized blitzes, moved away from pressure and made some plays. His pocket presence is a lot better than JG’s, even if the latter can advance the ball downfield with authority and make every throw.

Now, I’m not saying that you absolutely need to start Chryst next week. As a matter of fact, I think if Guarantano is ready to go and I was the coach, he would probably remain the starter until he proves he isn’t the guy. Tennessee doesn’t really need a quarterback controversy right now, especially before such a pivotal stretch of the season — the most pivotal stretch of the season.

But Chryst’s emergence and Saturday’s performance gives Tennessee options, right? That’s not a bad thing.

Is it really a controversy to have a competition? If you believe Pruitt, every player every week is evaluated, and his game reps mirror how well he performed in practice. He reportedly hasn’t done that with the quarterbacks because the offense needs to develop continuity with “The Man” who is going to lead the team. That’s been Guarantano, and other than taking some absolute shots because he doesn’t yet have the pocket vision, he’s done nothing to be benched.

As a matter of fact, he’s coming off his career game in the huge win at Auburn. Do you punish him for getting hurt against Alabama?

No. But you also have to realize that taking those kind of hits may make you a warrior, but they hurt your team. They cause turnovers, extra possessions for the opponent, and drive-killing sacks. Those are mistakes the Vols can’t afford with such a slim margin for error.

So, why not split first-team reps this week, just to see? Guarantano may not be able to go against South Carolina, anyway. We don’t know yet.

Some of you on Twitter have argued that you believe the coaches are not only doing what they think is best for now but adding weight to what’s best for the future, and that’s why Guarantano is getting the nod. I don’t agree with that at all. These coaches know how important selling marked improvement is to recruits, and if there’s anything we learned about Pruitt after Saturday’s comments, it’s that he still values recruiting above all else and knows he needs to recruit 25 players who do things his way because there are still people on this UT team who don’t. You don’t strive for the future to hurt the present. I believe they really believe JG is the man for the job.

Do they still? We’ll see.

It’s hard to fault what JG has done in games, even though offensive coordinator Tyson Helton has only let him loose a couple of times.

We all loved him last week, remember? This week, we all love Chryst.

It’s just vitally important to remember that both are Vols, and now we know that both are capable. If JG wants to keep his job, he may need to elevate his game, right? How can that be a bad thing? If you pull him against South Carolina, you should now have confidence in Chryst where, before, any of that would have been blind hope.

Tennessee lost a game on Saturday, but it found out that the offensive hopes don’t necessarily hinge of the health of Guarantano. That is a huge positive, because you know what?

The rest of this season — Every. Single. Game. — is winnable.

You heard that right. Though I would say the odds certainly are against the Vols to run the table (can you even fathom an eight-win season, especially with how we started??) there are no reasons why the Vols should be huge underdogs in any remaining game.

Will Missouri’s high-flying passing attack be a problem for Tennessee’s youthful secondary? Absolutely. Will Kentucky’s dynamic defense and Josh Allen wreak havoc on the Vols awful offensive line? Sure, it will. Is South Carolina a more talented team? Yeah, probably. Can Vanderbilt beat UT? Well, yeah, it has two years in a row, hasn’t it?

But are you scared of any of those teams? You shouldn’t be. Especially not now.

Don’t let Saturday’s slaughter do anything to make you feel worse about this season. What happened was what was always going to happen, and it’s happened to every team Alabama has played this year. The Tide are an NFL team single-handedly sucking the life out of college football. It is what it is.

Anything is possible for the Vols from here on — from 8-4 to 4-8 — and they’ve got two capable quarterbacks who can do good things with the football and lead this team on drives.

At this point, we have to trust the coaches to make the right decisions, and if they’re struggling within the framework of a game, the other needs to be ready to play. If they seize that opportunity, all the better, right?

Chryst seized his chance against the Tide and looked excellent doing it. Guarantano did the same a week before against Auburn.

Small sample sets, both. Neither have proved they’re elite, dynamic signal-callers capable of carrying this team on their shoulders. Both are proving they’re perfectly competent, and it’s going to be fun watching this growing, developing team play against some competition that is on the same plane as them right now.

Florida is, and the Vols turned it over six times in a lopsided loss. Auburn is, and Tennessee finally took advantage, made its own breaks and won a big game. Every other team is in that sack of potatoes, too.

It’s time for Tennessee to take care of business in the “real” season, which starts next week. It will be interesting to see how Pruitt, Helton and crew handle the developing quarterback situation. However they do, the dude out there will have the Power T on their helmet.

We should all be encouraged by what we’ve seen recently, because we will need the quarterback to make plays for us to win games, especially next week against a South Carolina team that is angry, will be playing at home and had an extra week to rest and prepare.

You say the goal should be 6-6? I don’t agree. Every game is winnable, so the goal should be 8-4. Pruitt and Co. need to do whatever it takes to get there, including opening up the quarterback competition and seeing what shakes out.

Keep Punching

Progress looks smallest against Alabama and doesn’t feel like much progress at all. But the right feel was indeed present yesterday, even if briefly: down 28-0 with more than 11 minutes left in the second quarter, Tennessee forced consecutive three-and-outs on Alabama’s first-team offense. Then Tennessee’s own offense, which at that point had earned all of one first down (plus a second via penalty), came alive: Guarantano-to-Palmer for 30, then consecutive completions from Keller Chryst to Ty Chandler for a touchdown. And when Alabama answered after another near-miss on an onside kick, so too did the Vols: Jauan Jennings on 3rd-and-12, Jennings on a flea flicker (I was impressed but not surprised by the number of people in the stands who were absolutely confident Jennings would come out of the pile with that fumble), then Tyler Byrd (!) for a 20-yard touchdown.

The Vols were down 35-14 with 2:18 to play in the second quarter, and would receive the second half kickoff. I don’t think any of us thought we were winning. But Tennessee was alive, not just throwing wildly but landing some punches.

It didn’t last, of course: Tua’s six yard run on 3rd-and-5 three plays later was one of the game’s more important snaps, Bama punched it in with 15 seconds left before halftime, and more shenanigans on the second half kickoff ended most of the interest. But for Tennessee, against Alabama, this was progress.

It’s much more noticeable on paper. The Vols gained 258 yards in 55 plays against the Tide, 4.69 yards per play. Almost all of the damage was done against Bama’s first team: in the second half Tennessee ran only 24 plays for 84 yards (3.5 per play). It’s not just that Tennessee’s offense had a better day than Louisville, Ole Miss, and Missouri against Alabama’s defense. It’s how much better this Tennessee team was against the Crimson Tide than last year’s…and the year before that.

Hopelessness in this rivalry was last season, when the Vols gained 108 yards on 46 plays (2.35 per). The year before, still ranked ninth and with plenty of NFL talent, Tennessee gained 163 yards in 63 plays (2.59 per). Even trailing only 21-7 at halftime in 2016, there was a sense of impending doom quickly realized in the second half. To be fair, that team was decimated by injuries coming off Texas A&M, but Alabama made inept an offense that would go on to be the best in college football in the month of November.

We’ve been saying it all year, and it was true again yesterday: this year, competence is progress. Doing much of anything right against this Alabama team is competence, and the Vols showed it with a little flair in the second quarter. It was never going to be enough to win. But I like both the fight of this team, and the way that fight manifests itself versus last year.

Of course, the Vols already have their signature win, seem to have avoided any catastrophic injuries coming out of Bama, and still need just a split of their secondary SEC East rivals (plus a win over Charlotte) to get bowl eligible. So far Jeremy Pruitt has pushed the right buttons with this team.

Were his postgame quotes the right button? Pruitt is no doubt tired of losing, and tired of being non-competitive in the final analysis. So far he has not lost his team, and they have not lost their fight. It’s different, perhaps, when you’re coming off the worst season in school history and not a mediocre finish that ended the tenure of a longtime coach. These players, so far, have been invested as Pruitt has done the same in them.

This next part – South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, and Vanderbilt – was always going to be the most important for Tennessee to achieve its goals this year. And the Vols picked up a signature win along the way at Auburn. Tennessee seems to be entering the backstretch physically okay.

This has been the question all year: can the Vols be better in November than they were in September? To do that, Pruitt will have to keep his team together while continuing to challenge them to improve. I don’t doubt Tennessee’s spirit at this point. But can the Vols continue to throw and land meaningful punches and score meaningful wins against the rest of the schedule? Or will this team be beaten down, throwing punches with less behind them before collapsing to the canvas themselves?

These things are always a marathon, and in many ways the toughest miles should be behind us now. Does Tennessee have enough left to take advantage of what’s in front of them? If the answer is yes, progress will start looking better every week.

 

GRT Guessing Game Results Weeks 7 & 8: Displaced_Vol_Fan takes the lead

Here’s the play-by-play for the last two weeks.

Week 7 – Auburn

Round 1

Q: Who scores first for the Vols? (10 – 30 points available)

A: A field goal kicker (10 points)

Only four players get this right.

Mushrooms: Gavin Driskill and HT

Bananas: jfarrar90 and Mariettavol

Blue shells and bolts: 

  • We get both a new blue shell and a thunderbolt, the bolt thrown by Isaac Bishop
  • Blue Shell #2 reaches the leader, Randy Holtzclaw, and blows him up. He loses 10 points and yet was so far ahead that he still maintains the lead.
  • Blue Shell #3 Counter: 5

Top 10 after Round 1:

  1. Randy Holtzclaw
  2. Displaced_Vol_Fan
  3. Jayyyy
  4. Will Shelton
  5. daetilus
  6. Joel Hollingsworth
  7. Mitchell K
  8. cscott95
  9. jfarrar90
  10. Sam Hensley

Round 2

Q: Tennessee is allowing 7.6 tackles for loss per game. Auburn is getting 8.2. How many TFLs does Auburn get this weekend against the Vols? (10 – 20 points available)

A: 8-10 (10 points) (they got 10)

Six players get this right.

Mushrooms: jrstep and Isaac Bishop

Bananas: Isaac Bishop and Jayyyy

Blue shells and bolts: 

  • New rule on bolts (to make it easier to administer): The player who throws it gets 15 points. These go to Isaac Bishop this round. In the future (including this round), they’ll be awarded at the time the bolt is thrown rather than one round later.
  • No new blue shells
  • Blue Shell #3 Counter: 4
  • A bolt is thrown, again by Isaac Bishop, who gets another 15 points.

How is this happening? If the random number generator chooses someone who has played in the past but didn’t play that week, I move it to the closest player. Most of those folks are at the bottom of the standings, and Bishop has been in last place among the folks persevering through the season, so he’s been the recipient of a bunch of these. Congrats?

Top 10 after Round 2:

  1. Displaced_Vol_Fan
  2. Jayyyy
  3. Randy Holtzclaw
  4. Mitchell K
  5. Will Shelton
  6. daetilus
  7. Joel Hollingsworth
  8. Isaac Bishop
  9. cscott95
  10. jfarrar90

Round 3

Q: Which team has the most punts? (10 – 20 points available)

A: Tennessee (10 points) (The Vols had 4 to Auburn’s 3.)

Ten players get this right.

Mushrooms: jrstep and Gavin Driskill

Bananas: Sam Hensley and Raven17

Blue shells and bolts: 

  • Blue Shell #3 Counter: 3
  • New Blue Shell #4 Counter: 5
  • New bolt, thrown by Raven17, who gets 12 points (15 for the bolt, minus 3 for the mushroom)

Final Standings After Week 7:

Rank Player Points
1 Displaced_Vol_Fan 67
2 Randy Holtzclaw 59
3 Mitchell K 57
4 Jayyyy 53.5
5 daetilus 52
6 Will Shelton 46.5
7 jfarrar90 44
8 Joel Hollingsworth 38.5
9 Isaac Bishop 38.5
10 Sam Hensley 38
11 cscott95 35
12 jrstep 35
13 Raven17 32.5
14 Evan 29
15 JWheel101 28.5
16 MitchellK 27
17 LTVol99 26.5
18 Harley 26.5
19 Gavin Driskill 26
20 Mariettavol 24
21 HT 23
22 Corndawg 19
23 Brunovol 15
24 Rocky Top 13
25 RockyTop5 13
26 chris weatherly 12
27 Dave S 12
28 Jdsimp 12
29 Drew 10
30 BallerVawl 8.5
31 Dave Burton 8
32 Phil 7
33 TexasVolFan 6.5
34 Jim Cornwell 5.5
35 Bulldog85 4
36 Rockytopinky 4
37 RockyTopPride 3.5
38 Mark Dotson 3
39 LeniVol 1.5
40 Jordon74 0
41 Mitchell Killian 0
42 PaVol 0
43 Sam 0
44 Simpson_vols 0
45 Kent -1.5
46 CrazyVol -3
47 Jason -3

 

Week 8 – Alabama

Note: Mushrooms are now worth 5 points and bananas are now worth -5.

Round 1

Q: How many points does Alabama score? (10 – 20 points available)

A: Over 50 (20 points) (They scored 58)

Only three players get this right.

Mushrooms: Joel Hollingsworth and Mariettavol

Bananas: Harley and rdbulet96

Blue shells and bolts: 

  • Blue Shell #3 Counter: 2
  • New Blue Shell #4 Counter: 4
  • Yet another new blue shell: Blue Shell #5 Counter: 5
  • No bolts this round

Top 10 after Round 1:

  1. Displaced_Vol_Fan
  2. Randy Holtzclaw
  3. Mitchell K
  4. Jayyyy
  5. Raven17
  6. daetilus
  7. JWheel101
  8. Will Shelton
  9. jfarrar90
  10. Joel Hollingsworth

Round 2

Q: How many of the following things happen? (10 – 50 points available)

  • Alabama doesn’t score a touchdown on its opening drive
  • Tua throws an interception
  • Tua throws a pass in the fourth quarter
  • Alabama scores 38 points or less

A: None of them (10 points). Bleck.

Nobody got this right.

Mushrooms: Mariettavol and LTVol99

Bananas: JWheel101 and brandongalford

Blue shells and bolts: 

  • Blue Shell #3 Counter: 1
  • New Blue Shell #4 Counter: 3
  • Blue Shell #5 Counter: 4
  • Aaaand it’s raining blue shells. Blue Shell #6 Counter: 5
  • No bolts

Top 10 after Round 2:

  1. Displaced_Vol_Fan
  2. Randy Holtzclaw
  3. Mitchell K
  4. Jayyyy
  5. Raven17
  6. daetilus
  7. Will Shelton
  8. jfarrar90
  9. JWheel101
  10. Joel Hollingsworth

Round 3

Q: Who throws the first interception? (10 – 20 points available)

A: Somebody else (20 points) (It was Jalen Hurts.)

Only Raven17 got this right, and it put her in first place.

Mushrooms: Evan and brandon galford

Bananas: LTVol99 and Evan

Blue shells and bolts: 

  • Raven17 takes the lead just in time for Blue Shell #3 to blow her up. She loses 10 points.
  • New Blue Shell #4 Counter: 2
  • Blue Shell #5 Counter: 3
  • Aaaand it’s raining blue shells. Blue Shell #6 Counter: 4
  • No new blue shells
  • No bolts

Final Standings After Week 8:

Rank Player Points
1 Displaced_Vol_Fan 67
2 Raven17 62.5
3 Randy Holtzclaw 59
4 Mitchell K 57
5 Jayyyy 53.5
6 daetilus 52
7 Will Shelton 46.5
8 jfarrar90 44
9 JWheel101 43.5
10 Joel Hollingsworth 43.5
11 Harley 41.5
12 Isaac Bishop 38.5
13 Sam Hensley 38
14 cscott95 35
15 Jrstep 35
16 Mariettavol 34
17 Evan 29
18 MitchellK 27
19 LTVol99 26.5
20 Gavin Driskill 26
21 HT 23
22 Corndawg 19
23 Brunovol 15
24 Rocky Top 13
25 RockyTop5 13
26 chris weatherly 12
27 Dave S 12
28 Jdsimp 12
29 Drew 10
30 BallerVawl 8.5
31 Dave Burton 8
32 Phil 7
33 TexasVolFan 6.5
34 Jim Cornwell 5.5
35 Bulldog85 4
36 Rockytopinky 4
37 RockyTopPride 3.5
38 Mark Dotson 3
39 LeniVol 1.5
40 Jordon74 0
41 Mitchell Killian 0
42 PaVol 0
43 Sam 0
44 Simpson_vols 0
45 brandon galford 0
46 Kent -1.5
47 CrazyVol -3
48 Jason -3
49 rdbulet96 -5

Week 7 and 8 winners of the 2018 Gameday on Rocky Top Pick ‘Em Contest

A little bit a catchup this week — Congratulations to rsbrooks25 and Jahiegel, who won Weeks 7 & 8 of our Gameday on Rocky Top Pick ‘Em contest. They get a Gameday on Rocky Top t-shirt from our custom tee store, Web Community Tees.

Rsbrooks25 and Jahiegel, watch for a message from me (it will come through the Fun Office Pools system) about how to claim your prizes.

Gameday on Rocky Top Logo Tee

 

Here are the full results for last week:

Rank Selection Name W-L Pts Tie Breaker Game (30-24)
1 rsbrooks25 14-6 154 23-20
2 Keep on truckin’ 14-6 152 16-24
3 Timbuktu126 12-8 149 6-14
4 ThePowerT 14-6 147 21-19
5 Bulldog 85 13-7 145 20-27
6 mariettavol 12-8 144 16-19
7 MariettaVol1 13-7 143 23-15
8 mmmjtx 13-7 140 24-21**
8 JLPasour 13-7 140 28-42
10 RockyTop5 13-7 139 13-27
11 Fred4UT 11-9 136 13-27
12 UTSeven 12-8 134 27-20
13 Fightin Walking Horses 14-6 133 23-20**
13 cnyvol 11-9 133 17-27
13 DinnerJacket 11-9 133 13-27
13 TennRebel 12-8 133 10-24
17 alanmar 12-8 132 24-31**
17 UNDirish60 11-9 132 17-31
19 DMike 12-8 131 10-27
20 vols95 12-8 130 21-20**
20 PensacolaVolFan 13-7 130 10-0
20 dgibbs 12-8 130 13-27
23 Rossboro 12-8 129 21-0**
23 GeorgeMonkey 12-8 129 17-31
23 Jahiegel 12-8 129 15-31
26 Will Shelton 11-9 128 20-17**
26 birdjam 12-8 128 13-27
28 PAVolFan 11-9 127 14-34**
28 spartans100 12-8 127 14-31
30 tbone9591 12-8 126 28-21**
30 Jrstep 11-9 126 20-17
30 daetilus 11-9 126 19-14
30 Anaconda 11-9 126 18-30
34 Joel @ GRT 10-10 125 17-28
35 Phonies 11-9 120 35-28**
35 wedflatrock 10-10 120 17-38
35 C_hawkfan 10-10 120 15-30
35 Willewillm 10-10 120 14-24
39 tpi 11-9 119 0-0
40 tcarroll90 12-8 118 21-20**
40 chuckiepoo 11-9 118 24-27
40 jfarrar90 11-9 118 17-27
40 BZACHARY 10-10 118 0-0
44 Displaced_Vol_Fan 11-9 116 13-24
45 Rocky4 11-9 115 24-21
46 Volfan2002 11-9 114 17-31**
46 boro wvvol 10-10 114 17-24
48 mmb61 9-11 113 13-35**
48 ctull 11-9 113 10-28
50 Knottfair 11-9 111 17-31**
50 Dmorton 10-10 111 19-24
50 jstorie1 10-10 111 6-30
50 RockyPopPicks 10-10 111 10-24
50 Sam 11-9 111 13-16
50 rockytopinky 10-10 111 0-0
56 chatty daddy 10-10 110 13-42**
56 ga26engr 11-9 110 17-24
56 LuckyGuess 11-9 110 10-31
59 BlountVols 9-11 109 14-38
60 waltsspac 10-10 108 23-17**
60 crafdog 11-9 108 17-34
60 aquasox 10-10 108 15-24
63 Joelarbear 10-10 106 13-27**
63 VillaVol 12-8 106 11-28
65 King Nothing 11-9 104 15-35**
65 KeepsCornInAJar 10-10 104 13-34
65 Dylan pickle 10-10 104 13-14
68 ltvol99 11-9 100 17-24**
68 Jayyyy 9-11 100 17-20
70 Raven17 10-10 98 21-17
71 RandyH112 10-10 96 28-24**
71 TennVol95 in 3D! 10-10 96 17-10
71 BirdDawg55 8-12 96 17-52
74 patmd 10-10 94 17-42**
74 IndyVolFan 10-10 94 13-24
76 ddayvolsfan 9-11 93 17-27**
76 edgarmsmith 9-11 93 12-20
78 Brandon88 0-20 92 0-0**
78 VandyVol 0-20 92 -
78 War Birds 0-20 92 -
78 JohnCoctostan 0-20 92 -
78 BallerVawl 0-20 92 -
78 Pat OMalley 0-20 92 -
78 ChuckieTVol 0-20 92 -
78 utvol2 0-20 92 -
78 Techboy 0-20 92 -
78 Nick_Drake87 0-20 92 -
78 Orange Swarm 0-20 92 -
78 tallahasseevol 0-20 92 -
78 IBleedVolOrange 0-20 92 -
78 Gman15 0-20 92 -
78 CajunVol 0-20 92 -
78 Aaron Birkholz 0-20 92 -
78 OriginalVol1814 0-20 92 -
78 JWaldroop 0-20 92 -
78 Smokin Turkeys 0-20 92 -
78 I guess Randy Sanders was good after all 0-20 92 -

 

And this week:

Rank Selection Name W-L Pts Tie Breaker Game (58-21)
1 Jahiegel 17-3 184 42-18
2 wedflatrock 17-3 183 45-17
3 Anaconda 18-2 182 37-10
4 Bulldog 85 15-5 181 43-20**
4 Joel @ GRT 17-3 181 45-17
4 cnyvol 16-4 181 40-17
4 mmmjtx 17-3 181 41-14
8 spartans100 16-4 180 34-21**
8 birdjam 17-3 180 48-6
10 mmb61 15-5 179 40-24**
10 LuckyGuess 15-5 179 45-17
10 GeorgeMonkey 17-3 179 42-14
13 chatty daddy 16-4 178 42-13**
13 PAVolFan 16-4 178 37-17
13 Volfan2002 17-3 178 35-17
16 JLPasour 15-5 176 42-21**
16 ChuckieTVol 17-3 176 38-17
16 UTSeven 16-4 176 28-30
19 BZACHARY 16-4 175 0-0
20 jfarrar90 15-5 174 49-20**
20 C_hawkfan 16-4 174 42-14
22 vols95 16-4 173 42-21**
22 DMike 16-4 173 51-10
24 Displaced_Vol_Fan 17-3 172 48-10
25 Fred4UT 15-5 171 38-13
26 RockyTop5 14-6 169 45-16**
26 Fightin Walking Horses 15-5 169 27-30
26 tpi 16-4 169 0-0
29 rsbrooks25 15-5 166 38-27**
29 VillaVol 15-5 166 48-6
31 RockyPopPicks 15-5 165 0-0
32 alanmar 15-5 164 56-31**
32 jstorie1 14-6 164 45-14
32 Nick_Drake87 17-3 164 42-17
32 ctull 15-5 164 40-10
32 Sam 16-4 164 0-0
37 Dylan pickle 16-4 163 57-7**
37 Knottfair 15-5 163 42-17
37 UNDirish60 16-4 163 0-0
40 crafdog 15-5 162 37-10
41 Rocky4 14-6 160 52-17**
41 Willewillm 13-7 160 42-17
41 Rossboro 13-7 160 0-21
44 tbone9591 13-7 159 38-17**
44 tcarroll90 14-6 159 41-10
46 Raven17 14-6 157 50-20**
46 Jayyyy 15-5 157 49-20
46 chuckiepoo 14-6 157 39-20
46 MariettaVol1 13-7 157 38-13
50 dgibbs 13-7 155 48-13**
50 mariettavol 13-7 155 38-13
50 edgarmsmith 14-6 155 1000-3
53 Phonies 14-6 152 60-24**
53 ltvol99 12-8 152 38-10
53 TennRebel 14-6 152 38-9
53 Will Shelton 11-9 152 16-24
57 ThePowerT 14-6 151 42-28
58 Joelarbear 12-8 149 55-14
59 KeepsCornInAJar 13-7 148 49-10
60 RandyH112 13-7 147 52-20
61 Gman15 15-5 146 41-14
62 waltsspac 14-6 144 48-10**
62 Jrstep 14-6 144 24-31
64 Timbuktu126 14-6 141 28-17
65 King Nothing 13-7 140 49-13**
65 daetilus 12-8 140 41-20
65 DinnerJacket 14-6 140 42-10
68 BlountVols 12-8 137 42-14
69 IndyVolFan 14-6 135 56-17
70 boro wvvol 12-8 133 38-10
71 aquasox 12-8 126 55-6**
71 Keep on truckin’ 11-9 126 34-17
73 patmd 13-7 119 56-17
74 TennVol95 in 3D! 10-10 111 31-34
75 ga26engr 11-9 110 56-9
76 ddayvolsfan 11-9 97 42-16
77 PensacolaVolFan 9-11 82 40-20
78 JWaldroop 0-20 81 0-0**
78 VandyVol 0-20 81 -
78 Brandon88 0-20 81 -
78 War Birds 0-20 81 -
78 JohnCoctostan 0-20 81 -
78 BallerVawl 0-20 81 -
78 Pat OMalley 0-20 81 -
78 utvol2 0-20 81 -
78 Techboy 0-20 81 -
78 Orange Swarm 0-20 81 -
78 rockytopinky 0-20 81 -
78 BirdDawg55 0-20 81 -
78 tallahasseevol 0-20 81 -
78 Dmorton 0-20 81 -
78 IBleedVolOrange 0-20 81 -
78 CajunVol 0-20 81 -
78 Aaron Birkholz 0-20 81 -
78 OriginalVol1814 0-20 81 -
78 Smokin Turkeys 0-20 81 -
78 I guess Randy Sanders was good after all 0-20 81 -

 

 

C_hawkfan is still in the lead in the season standings. Here are the complete standings after Week 8:

Rank Player W/L Points
1 C_hawkfan 112-46 1261
2 cnyvol 105-53 1255
3 Jahiegel 112-46 1235
4 GeorgeMonkey 110-48 1229
5 wedflatrock 109-49 1228
5 birdjam 107-51 1228
5 Volfan2002 107-51 1228
8 BZACHARY 108-50 1226
9 Fred4UT 107-51 1224
10 RockyTop5 107-51 1220
11 PAVolFan 107-51 1219
12 spartans100 108-50 1216
13 Displaced_Vol_Fan 105-53 1214
14 Bulldog 85 102-56 1211
14 JLPasour 104-54 1211
16 VillaVol 107-51 1210
17 LuckyGuess 105-53 1209
18 Knottfair 108-50 1196
19 dgibbs 100-58 1193
19 MariettaVol1 101-57 1193
21 Will Shelton 99-59 1192
22 alanmar 105-53 1191
23 ctull 108-50 1188
24 mmmjtx 105-53 1186
25 Joelarbear 102-56 1183
25 UNDirish60 105-53 1183
27 jfarrar90 98-60 1181
27 chuckiepoo 102-56 1181
27 chatty daddy 103-55 1181
30 mmb61 99-59 1178
30 ChuckieTVol 92-66 1178
32 Jayyyy 102-56 1175
33 Rossboro 99-59 1171
34 Willewillm 100-58 1170
35 DinnerJacket 105-53 1164
36 ThePowerT 100-58 1162
37 DMike 94-64 1159
37 UTSeven 91-67 1159
39 boro wvvol 102-56 1157
40 jstorie1 100-58 1150
41 Raven17 97-61 1148
41 tcarroll90 99-59 1148
43 Rocky4 103-55 1146
44 mariettavol 89-69 1143
45 Fightin Walking Horses 101-57 1142
46 Timbuktu126 108-50 1139
47 Sam 97-61 1136
48 TennRebel 106-52 1133
49 vols95 95-63 1129
50 crafdog 106-52 1128
51 tpi 103-55 1124
52 RockyPopPicks 99-59 1123
53 daetilus 92-66 1117
54 tbone9591 95-63 1114
55 Joel @ GRT 97-61 1106
55 KeepsCornInAJar 98-60 1106
57 BlountVols 87-71 1093
58 RandyH112 85-73 1091
59 Anaconda 100-58 1089
60 rsbrooks25 100-58 1088
61 Dylan pickle 110-48 1084
62 Nick_Drake87 77-81 1083
63 Gman15 88-70 1074
64 Phonies 86-72 1070
65 Jrstep 87-71 1059
66 ddayvolsfan 97-61 1053
67 Keep on truckin 94-64 1043
67 Brandon88 72-86 1043
69 ga26engr 96-62 1038
70 edgarmsmith 91-67 1029
71 ltvol99 87-71 1024
72 aquasox 82-76 1023
73 JWaldroop 61-97 1018
73 Orange Swarm 73-85 1018
75 waltsspac 73-85 1015
76 TennVol95 in 3D! 87-71 981
77 rockytopinky 71-87 955
77 Dmorton 88-70 955
79 King Nothing 82-76 946
80 patmd 76-82 937
81 OriginalVol1814 47-111 929
82 IndyVolFan 83-75 918
83 BallerVawl 58-100 899
84 PensacolaVolFan 73-85 891
85 tallahasseevol 49-109 888
86 VandyVol 34-124 883
87 CajunVol 56-102 880
88 Techboy 70-88 867
89 War Birds 49-109 858
90 Smokin Turkeys 22-136 850
91 Pat OMalley 31-127 792
92 Aaron Birkholz 10-148 773
93 utvol2 11-147 772
94 IBleedVolOrange 10-148 735
95 BirdDawg55 17-141 728
96 I guess Randy Sanders was good after all 0-158 721
96 JohnCoctostan 0-158 721

Alabama 58, Tennessee 21: And now, for the rest of the season

The Tennessee Volunteers lost to a historically good Alabama Crimson Tide team today 58-21, but at the same time completed their time in The Gauntlet, a three-game stretch against Georgia, Auburn, and Alabama.

They survived. Beaten, but not broken. Pressed, but not crushed. And only time will tell, but they may even be stronger for the experience. (Assuming the injury that sidelined Jarrett Guarantano this afternoon doesn’t keep him out for long. But even then, Keller Chryst looked as good today as well.)

Oh, and instead of stumbling out of the exit with an anticipated 0-3 record, they even managed to emerge with a surprise win in hand.

Forget about getting trounced by Georgia and run over by Alabama on its way to the history books. The only thing that matters about those games now is that they’re over.

Now, the team turns its attention to the games that are really going to matter this season. Winnable games that can earn a bowl trip and the extra practice that goes with it.

Assuming a win against Charlotte gets Tennessee to four wins, Tennessee needs only two of South Carolina, No. 14 Kentucky, Missouri, and Vanderbilt to make Jeremy Pruitt’s first season a modest success.

South Carolina is 3-3 with losses to Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas A&M, and a mere 2-point victory over Missouri. They’re beatable.

Kentucky is ranked for good reason, but although they appear to be a worthy opponent, it’s fairly easy to rationalize away some of their wins. They’re especially good this year, but they’re nowhere near as good as either Georgia or Alabama. They can be beat as well.

Missouri is winless in conference play, although those losses came to Georgia, Alabama, and the aforementioned 2-pointer to South Carolina. They know how to score, but they also know how to lose.

And Vanderbilt, while not looking terrible, is certainly no better than Tennessee.

The goal the rest of the way, then, is to win two of those four games. It won’t be easy. Those teams are looking better than usual, and Tennessee’s rebuild is still a work in process and fragile enough to shatter.

Hopefully, this won’t be the case for any season beyond this one, but those games are as important this year as games against Florida, Georgia, and Alabama have been in years past.

Get two or more, go bowling. Get the extra practice. Tout the progress to as many blue-chip recruits as will listen. And then see how much more ground we can gain against the elites next season.

Winning two more SEC games the rest of the way is the path to getting better next year, when we can really start closing the gap against the nation’s best.

Forget Alabama for now. The Gamecocks are up next. They’re not Alabama or Georgia. They’re beatable.

So let’s do it.

Your Gameday Gameplan: Tennessee-Alabama

It’s Gameday on Rocky Top, with the 3-3 (1-2) Tennessee Vols hosting the 7-0 (4-0) Alabama Crimson Tide at 3:30 on CBS.

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, October 13, 2018
Away Home Time TV How Why
NOON SLATE
No. 6 Michigan No. 24 Michigan State 12:00 PM FOX Channel Hop Top 25 Matchup
AFTERNOON SLATE
No. 1 Alabama Tennessee 3:30 PM CBS Live Go Vols!
No. 16 NC State No. 3 Clemson 3:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN DVR Top 25 Matchup
EVENING SLATE
No. 22 Mississippi State No. 5 LSU 7:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN Channel Hop Top 25 Matchup
No. 12 Oregon No. 25 Washington State 7:30 PM FOX Channel Hop Top 25 Matchup
Vanderbilt No. 14 Kentucky 7:30 PM SECN, WatchESPN Channel Hop Future opponents

 

And here’s a searchable version of the entire college football TV schedule for the day:

Date Away Home Time TV
Thu Oct 18 Georgia State Arkansas State 7:30 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
Thu Oct 18 Stanford Arizona State 9:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Fri Oct 19 Colorado State Boise State 9:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Fri Oct 19 Air Force UNLV 10:00 PM CBSSN
Sat Oct 20 No. 6 Michigan No. 24 Michigan State 12:00 PM FOX
Sat Oct 20 Illinois No. 23 Wisconsin 12:00 PM FS1
Sat Oct 20 Maryland No. 19 Iowa 12:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 No. 20 Cincinnati Temple 12:00 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 No. 9 Oklahoma TCU 12:00 PM ABC, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 Auburn Ole Miss 12:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 Buffalo Toledo 12:00 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 20 Miami (OH) Army 12:00 PM CBSSN
Sat Oct 20 Northwestern Rutgers 12:00 PM BTN
Sat Oct 20 Tulsa Arkansas 12:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 North Carolina Syracuse 12:20 PM ACCNE, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 Virginia Duke 12:30 PM ACCNE, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 Bowling Green Ohio 2:00 PM ESPN3
Sat Oct 20 Idaho State Liberty 2:00 PM ESPN3
Sat Oct 20 Florida Atlantic Marshall 2:30 PM
Sat Oct 20 Utah State Wyoming 2:30 PM
Sat Oct 20 Charlotte Middle Tennessee 3:00 PM ESPN3
Sat Oct 20 Eastern Michigan Ball State 3:00 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 20 Western Michigan Central Michigan 3:00 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 20 No. 1 Alabama Tennessee 3:30 PM CBS
Sat Oct 20 No. 16 NC State No. 3 Clemson 3:30 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 Colorado No. 15 Washington 3:30 PM FOX
Sat Oct 20 No. 18 Penn State Indiana 3:30 PM ABC, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 Akron Kent State 3:30 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 20 Coastal Carolina UMass 3:30 PM
Sat Oct 20 Houston Navy 3:30 PM CBSSN
Sat Oct 20 Kansas Texas Tech 3:30 PM FS1
Sat Oct 20 Louisiana Appalachian State 3:30 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 20 Minnesota Nebraska 3:30 PM BTN
Sat Oct 20 SMU Tulane 3:30 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 UTEP Louisiana Tech 3:30 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 20 Wake Forest Florida State 3:30 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 California Oregon State 4:00 PM PAC12
Sat Oct 20 Georgia Southern New Mexico State 4:00 PM
Sat Oct 20 Memphis Missouri 4:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 No. 22 Mississippi State No. 5 LSU 7:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 No. 10 UCF East Carolina 7:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 UConn No. 21 South Florida 7:00 PM CBSSN
Sat Oct 20 Texas State UL Monroe 7:00 PM ESPN3
Sat Oct 20 UTSA Southern Mississippi 7:00 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 20 No. 12 Oregon No. 25 Washington State 7:30 PM FOX
Sat Oct 20 No. 2 Ohio State Purdue 7:30 PM ABC, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 Vanderbilt No. 14 Kentucky 7:30 PM SECN, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 Fresno State New Mexico 7:30 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 North Texas UAB 7:30 PM
Sat Oct 20 Old Dominion Western Kentucky 7:30 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 20 Rice Florida Intl 7:30 PM ESPN+
Sat Oct 20 USC Utah 8:00 PM PAC12
Sat Oct 20 Arizona UCLA 10:30 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Sat Oct 20 San Jose State San Diego State 10:30 PM CBSSN
Sat Oct 20 Nevada Hawai'i 11:59 PM

 

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 Friday appearance with Josh Ward and Will West on WNML’s Sports 180:

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:

Go Vols!