I know this board doesn’t love Bill C and his analytics, but I just thought I’d point out that Tennessee is now up to #19 in his computer rankings: https://www.espn.com/college-footba...ege-football-sp+-rankings-week-5?platform=amp We still have three games left against teams ahead of us (#1 Alabama, #2 Georgia, and #16 Ole Miss) and four against teams behind us (#45 Kentucky, #73 South Carolina, #106 South Alabama, and #125 Vanderbilt). For teams we’ve already played, the computer loves Florida (#5) and Pitt (#13), while we knocked Missouri all the way to #67 this week. S&P+ sees just one remaining opponent (Vanderbilt) with a worse defense than Missouri’s, but also just two (#4 Alabama and #6 Ole Miss) with offenses as good as Florida’s. Have to think we’re probably a bit overrated after our best game in years, and computer polls always have some weird results a month into the season, but it’s still nice to see.
I see NC State as 38 and Wake as 52 here? Or are you talking about a different poll? It definitely has plenty of weirdness, with Clemson staying in the top five and Wisconsin in the top ten, both because of top three defenses, along with UNC and their top three offense. I assume some of that is having preseason projections still included, although Clemson’s defense is genuinely great.
Like I said, early season computer polls can be weird, and I don’t put a ton of stock in it. But we’ve gone from 49 in the preseason projection to 19 now, and that seems like a positive development. (Also, computer models tend to assume that a lot of turnover stuff levels out over time, and UNC and Wisconsin have just been horrendous at taking care of the ball)
Assuming that the real Auburn is what we saw last night we'd give them a competitive game but they're still 8 or 9 points better than we are.
I don’t actually know—I’d expect that to be really tough given the small number of games and the significant annual roster turnover.
24th nationally in rush defense, a week removed from facing the best run game in the country, is outstanding with that roster. Most of the talk surrounding a Josh Heupel team will be focused on the offense, but the defensive staff has performed well ahead of all reasonable expectations to this point.
Starting with the BG game, the defense has shocked the hell out of me. Yes, a lot of points were given up, but they fly to the ball and attack the ball carrier. Something we haven't seen in a long, long time. If this staff can stay together and not drink the Stupid Water on the Hill, we could be in for a wild ride.
https://theathletic.com/2867289/202...prises-2021-stop-rate-standings/?redirected=1 Tennessee is 43rd in the country in stop rate, 10th in the SEC but within 4 percentage points of Auburn and SC who are 3rd.
That's because Rodney Garner is a legitimate, battle tested, hard ass of defensive line coach that doesn't accept crap from his guys. We need to ensure he stays on the Hill as long as possible this go around. Will always think him bolting for UGA expedited them replacing us as an SEC East powerhouse.
Said this in another thread, but Pitt had 4.8 yards per play against us. They’ve ranged from 7.0 to 8.8 in their other games. The defense played a hell of a lot better than the scoreboard indicated.
