Simple question - Are these high caliber OOC games hurting us more then they are helping us? Are they helping us get back to our feet or keeping us on the mats? I understand that Tennessee does not produce enough in-state talent to recruit in state so there is a need for out-of-state recruiting, but are these high caliber games against Notre Dame, Cal, Oregon etc really doing anything but hurting this program at this point? My opinion is that they are. Since 2000, we are 3-7 in these games and have missed 3 bowl games. In two of those seasons, an extra W was all we needed to make a bowl game and get an extra couple weeks of practice in. You don't need to look far for a great example. Dan Mullen has turned Mississippi State around. A part of the reason is because unlike Ole Miss who is playing Texas, they don't schedule needlessly tough games, afterall they had to play Arkansas, LSU, and Alabama every year. If you are at the top of the mountain, bring it on, lets go out and play the best. I think it goes without saying that are not at the top of the mountain. We need some easy W's on our schedule more then blowout L's on national television.
Depends what you want to do. Win championships or go 9-3. While it's true that the bcs doesn't reward tough schedules, generally, the top programs, LSU, Bama, USC, play at least one top non conference opponent a year.
Kentucky schedules nothing but cupcakes for this exact reason. That's how they get to a bowl game. We're not Kentucky.
Play em. Maybe you don't load your schedule with 4 of them seeing as how you're already playing an SEC schedule, but it's only going to help the program IMO, especially with a competent coaching staff that are building something worthwhile.
