Oh really? Humor me by naming another program that has had such a rapid change in trajectory over a 17 week span since 2008.
teams that go from one of the worst offenses in the country, thru a mega cheating scandal which sent talent in droves elsewhere, and missing bowls 18 months ago to a top 10 program knocking off 2 top 20 teams and currently ranked #1 in ncaa offense happens all the time after yr 1 Pilot
Vols are 8th in the AP, with a chance to move up on their bye week (should Kentucky fall at Ole Miss, or Clemson lose to NC State). So, here’s the question… Suppose the Vols roll into Baton Rouge ranked #7 nationally, and leave with their first loss. Is that #7 ranking the highest Josh Heupel will ever climb the polls during his tenure at Tennessee?
Probably because they owned UT in football when they first came to the SEC (First 3 in a row and 5 of the first 7). Thankfully it seems to have swung the other way permanently.
Uhh, Penn State? I sometimes look back at Dooley, Butch, and Pruitt, and wonder “How did anybody ever buy into these guys?” And then I see posts like these, and it all makes sense. Heupel and his coaching staff have had a phenomenal start. Our offense is amazing. We beat a team we probably weren’t supposed to last year (even if it was Kentucky) and played a number of top teams (Ole Miss, Bama) tight. Most importantly, the team, and the game plans, despite inferior talent, looked competent. We are off to a good start again this year and have a chance to make it a special season. But holy shit, pump the breaks a bit. We haven’t really done anything yet. If we end the season 10-2, maybe these sorts of statements start to make sense, but y’all need to remove the orange tinted glasses and put down the koolaid for a bit.
No reason to believe that. We don't even have a defensive backfield totally stood up yet and struggle to fill the running back position. Hooker is carrying the team but I think even he would tell you that the system is going to work for other qbs too. Things are going to get easier, not harder.
Haven’t done anything except rebuild an athletic dept, a program, have Gameday there, just about every former Vol on campus and around the country supporting, etc in short time. No shit we haven’t beaten Ga and Bama
Pump the brakes on what specifically? We won more games in September than we did in 2020. Penn state absolutely doesn’t compare, amazingly. Probably because vols got more upset about hiring Schiano than Penn state gets upset about a child being sodomized in their football facility.
I’m sorry, are we seriously including Gameday as a criterion for our trajectory? You know Gameday did 3 UT games in 2016 (Bristol, UF, A&M) while Butch was here, right? We were ranked 17, 14, and 9, respectively. You know Gameday was in Knoxville for UT/UF in 2012 with Dooley as well, right? Yeah, we’ve got the program headed in the right direction, and things are 100% looking up. But any statement that includes “best since Nick Saban and Bama” should probably include more results on the field. Lucky for us, we get 2 chances in the next 3 weeks to add to that list.
How many teams are good to you and who are they? Is Kentucky not good? Utah not good? Are only Georgia and Bama good?
Why are you dodging the question? Is Florida good at defense? Why should I put any stock whatsoever into the fact that we never punted against Florida when a 1-3 USF team only punted once against them the week prior? You posted it. It’s a cool stat on its face. I don’t think it matters or says anything if you dig anywhere slightly below surface level, and I’ve told you why. Now tell me why it matters.
Including it as a metric of national notice is not the same as claiming it is a criterion of success. We did have a year of high profile under butch. And looking at the number of pro players then, it was justified even though he squandered it.
Gameday was one item of several I listed. It means we were the place to be. And Heup has nothing to do with Butch. We are primed for 9-3 or 10-2 with 2 losses being at #1 ga and at LSU, and the other vs #2.
We don’t have to go THAT far. We will have plenty of opportunities to prove that statement about our trajectory true this season, and it doesn’t require a national championship.
I'm not dodging. You think ranked teams are not good apparently. I am trying to figure out how you judge defenses rather than just say "well they are #20 and aren't known for their offense" and then you argue. Tell me how defenses should be judged
