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So tell me about UT Football...

  • Since I'll be coming this weekend to enjoy my first UT game, I wanted to learn a little bit about this team, your expectations and the history.

    1) how big of a game is this for you guys? There is certainly a lot of talk on the board about it.

    2) what are your expectations this year for the team? How does this game affect your perception of this team/season?

    3) who are your current players to watch? Who are your top talent/most exciting players?

    4) what are your expectations for this program over the long haul? What does Dooley need to do keep his job for as long as he wants it?

    5) who are your biggest rivals? Without an in-state program on the same level, who do you hate (or love to hate) the most?

    6) who is on the short list of UT football royalty? Who are the legends that will never be forgotten?

    Thanks for your time. I'll hang up and listen now...

    Double_Spartan

  • Double_Spartan said...

    Since I'll be coming this weekend to enjoy my first UT game, I wanted to learn a little bit about this team, your expectations and the history.

    1) how big of a game is this for you guys? There is certainly a lot of talk on the board about it.

    Huge. It's the biggest game since probably the 2007 SEC championship game.

    2) what are your expectations this year for the team? How does this game affect your perception of this team/season?

    Dooley has never beat a ranked opponent... do this game is huge. A lot of big time recruits are going to be there to watch. The place needs to be rocking

    3) who are your current players to watch? Who are your top talent/most exciting players?

    Bray, Hunter, and Patterson

    4) what are your expectations for this program over the long haul? What does Dooley need to do keep his job for as long as he wants it?

    7-5 this season at least and constant improvement. Eventually a SEC championship.

    5) who are your biggest rivals? Without an in-state program on the same level, who do you hate (or love to hate) the most?

    Florida and Alabama

    6) who is on the short list of UT football royalty? Who are the legends that will never be forgotten?

    Manning, Al Wilson, Reggie White, Pat Summit....etc...

    Thanks for your time. I'll hang up and listen now...

    ^^^

    signature image signature image signature image

    Go Vols

    orangeasylum ●

  • My take . . .
    1. This is arguably THE biggest game in Coach Dooley's tenure at UT. Although neither team is up to past standards, it will still be a good measuring stick for both teams.

    2. I try to temper my expectations because I am an orange colored glasses homer. I'm thinking we beat the teams we should and pull of one upset over Georgia or South Carolina and let Bama know we are on our way back.

    3. Too many to list. The obvious is the passing attack with Bray and a host of talented WRs starting with Hunter & CP. However, it may be difficult to call the Vols WRU because there is much talent on the other side of the ball. Maggitt, Lathers, Johnson, Sentimore, the Man Mountain, Brewer, Randolph, etc. etc. etc. There is also a lot of younger talent that may get opportunities sooner than later.

    4. I think with THIS staff, Coach Dooley has the program moving in the right direction, with the right coaches and quality players both in talent and character.

    5. +1 for the lack of an in-state rival. Vandy fans thought they were going to compete for the SEC East and then the season started . . . . Bama is the all-time fiercest rival, but when the SEC went to divisional play, the games with Florida and Georgia became very important.

    6. General Neyland, Johnny Majors, Phil Fulmer to start. Player wise, Majors again, and some recent stars include some guy named Peyton, Al Wilson, Reggie White, Eric Berry . . . .Good grief we could gone on all night!

    Thanks for asking and hope you enjoy the Big Orange experience to the fullest!

    This post has been edited 2 times, most recently by volviking on 9/12/2012 at 8:56 PM

    signature image signature image signature image

    "Old School"! A strong defense wins championships!

    volviking

  • 1) By far the biggest game in a long, long time for us. The game will not put us "BACK" but it is a sure fire tip that we are headed in the right direction

    2) Personally, we expect to be much improved from last year. Are we ready to compete with Bama& LSU ... No, but can we get back to the same level as USCe UGA Fla ... thats the big ? this year and this game is the first sign of that

    3) Bray, Hunter, Patterson are the three that will make the highlight reels

    4) The goal is to return to the National scene... "Will Dooley be the guy" is the question... He has this year to return for next year. Win or loose but he has made this a much better place than before he got here

    5) Alabama or Florida depending on the generation you ask haha

    6) Peyton, Al Wilson, Holloway, Neyland, Fulmer, Majors, Atkins

    Enjoy the weekend and GO BIG ORANGE!

    EZmoney58

  • Double_Spartan said...

    Since I'll be coming this weekend to enjoy my first UT game, I wanted to learn a little bit about this team, your expectations and the history.

    1) how big of a game is this for you guys? There is certainly a lot of talk on the board about it.

    2) what are your expectations this year for the team? How does this game affect your perception of this team/season?

    3) who are your current players to watch? Who are your top talent/most exciting players?

    4) what are your expectations for this program over the long haul? What does Dooley need to do keep his job for as long as he wants it?

    5) who are your biggest rivals? Without an in-state program on the same level, who do you hate (or love to hate) the most?

    6) who is on the short list of UT football royalty? Who are the legends that will never be forgotten?

    Thanks for your time. I'll hang up and listen now...

    1) biggest since early / mid 2000's IMO, we have been down for a good while now...this game is the possible solid foundation for our newfound relevance in college football, it's time - if we play our game, this win is a program shifter.

    2). 9 wins before the bowl is my expectations....right now. Saturday about 5:45pm it will probably be more Ike 13-0. The potential win will ensure our relevance, and more importantly IMO will give our fanbase something positive, like I said, the last few years have been very rough.

    3) Offense - Bray / Hunter / CP.
    Defense - Big Dan DT / Maggitt & Johnson LB

    4) We have to win AT LEAST 8 wins for Dooley to keep his job, IMO there are simply too many vocal majority fans / supporters to allow him to stay her with less than 8 wins this year (baring injurys - although I'm not sure that could even make 7 wins safe)

    UT WILL compete for the east THIS YEAR. We should compete for the sec east WVERY YEAR, and win it AT LEAST every 4-5 years IMO.

    5) Alabama is our rival. So much tradition here...many of the fans my age and younger think it is Florida, but that is just because they got really good when those fans were becoming a VFL. Don't get me wrong, Florida is a big rival, just 1b to Bama's 1a IMO. For the record, the hate for both is indistinguishable for me.

    So, Vandy isn't "on the same level"? Even when they anchor down??? Haha. Even though Vandy is...well, Vandy - we still hate them too. Why wouldn't we? It's Vandy.

    6) most recently- Peyton and Al Wilson are the first two that jump to mind....there are a ton though.

    IrrationalUTfan

  • Completely forgot about Vandy... Whoops, I guess that says it all in terms of Vandy...

    With Florida and Bama as your consensus biggest rivals (thus far at least), do they feel the same way about you guys? Since they both have big in-state rivals (Auburn and FSU respectively), is it as strong for them?

    I ask since MSU always gets crap from U-M for not being our biggest rival (it being OSU) even though we are in the same division and same state.

    Double_Spartan

  • Double_Spartan said...

    Completely forgot about Vandy... Whoops, I guess that says it all in terms of Vandy...

    With Florida and Bama as your consensus biggest rivals (thus far at least), do they feel the same way about you guys? Since they both have big in-state rivals (Auburn and FSU respectively), is it as strong for them?

    I ask since MSU always gets crap from U-M for not being our biggest rival (it being OSU) even though we are in the same division and same state.

    My guess is that the Vols/Bama rivalry is second to the Iron Bowl (Bama/Auburn) in Bama's eyes and the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (Florida/Georgia) and Florida/FSU is bigger for gator fans, but right now it's all about the Big Orange and the gators.

    signature image signature image signature image

    "Old School"! A strong defense wins championships!

    volviking

  • Double, I would add UGA and LSWho to that dislike list.

    This post was edited by madkels on 9/12/2012 at 8:43 PM

    madkels

  • Double_Spartan said...

    Completely forgot about Vandy... Whoops, I guess that says it all in terms of Vandy...

    With Florida and Bama as your consensus biggest rivals (thus far at least), do they feel the same way about you guys? Since they both have big in-state rivals (Auburn and FSU respectively), is it as strong for them?

    I ask since MSU always gets crap from U-M for not being our biggest rival (it being OSU) even though we are in the same division and same state.

    Bammers hate Auburn more than us, but they also know we are historically a more important game for them on the national stage.

    Florida hates Georgia the most; FSU is right there, and Tennessee is third for them. That fact probably makes them looser against UT.

    This post was edited by Chartervol on 9/12/2012 at 9:01 PM

    Chartervol ●

  • All time record 796-347-53; the most CFB HOFs of any SEC team, etc

    1) The game is big because it is one of our most hated rivals, but also because of the futility the last few years with three coaching changes it is a chance to make a statement that we are back to SEC level competition...it recruiting.

    2) Win or lose we still win 8 games...win and we should win 9...lose and we may pull an upset as the team gels on defense but there is certainly disappointment and are stuck on 8. The team has made a lot of visual improvements. Remember, this is a team that played 21 freshmen in 2010 and 18 in 2011.

    3) Offense: Bray (8) has one of the top three arms in the country. Few qbs can throw a more accurate deep ball...he won the Elite 11 skill challenge as a HS Sr. WRs Hunter (11) and CP (84) are potential 1st rounders next year. Hunter is a year off ACL surgery (4th play in last year's FU game) when he had an eye-popping 28.5 ypc avg. Sr TE Mychal Rivera (81) is steady and is on pace to break school TE records set by Jason Witten (Dallas Cowgirls). On Defense: Watch for our NT Daniel McCullers (98)...you'll recognize him because he is the size of any two players combined...not fat, just huge. If LB Maggitt (59) is healthy (turf toe) he is a playmaker. ILBs AJ Johnson (45) and Herman Lathers (healthy?) (34) will make plays. Nickel back Gordon (24), S Brent Brewer (17), S Byron Moore (3), S Randolph (37) all know how to time big hits. OLB/DE Wille Bo (Bohannon) (86) seems to always find his way to the backfield.

    4) Unless we get blown out this year or only win 6, Dooley will coach through his contract. Win back to back 8/9 win seasons and he is here for the long haul. I believe this staff knows how to coach up talent and he is doing it with high character student athletes. He's also a walking one-liner with the media...he holds a law degree as well as sports management. Being the son of legendary GA coach Vince Dooley he understands the culture of SEC football and embraces our traditions which has endeared him to a large portion of the fanbase.

    5) Do you know why I 65 and I 59 run south? Because Bama sucks. Since division play started GA and FU are big and because Steve Superior is at SCe, we dislike them proportionately. Oldest cross border rivalry is Kentucky...used to have a whiskey barrel as a trophy until the PC police said it was corrupting our kids. Candybuilt is our last game only because we have to play them...nerds.

    6) Gen Robert Neyland (coached the last NCAA team to go unscored upon - 1939 - as well a a few NCs); Johnny Majors (second to Paul Horning in Heisman even though he had 30% better stats - won an NC at Pitt before coming back to coach on the Hill...beat Miami and Vinnie in the 1985 Sugar Bowl 35-7); Reggie White - Minister of Defense; Doug Atkins - 4 time All-Pro and college All-American; Peyton Manning; Heath Shuler; Dale Carter; Willie Gault; Al Wilson; Chad Clifton; Jamaal Lewis; Leonard Little; the entire Colquitt family and both Reveiz brothers; and on and on...
    but I'm not that big on Tennessee football...

    Sorry..forgot you couldn't see VIP.

    This post has been edited 3 times, most recently by Ram_Lock on 9/12/2012 at 8:59 PM

    signature image

    Its not a stupid question until you ask it.

    Ram_Lock

  • ^^^ can't read VIP posts... You guys love to make everything VIP...

    Double_Spartan

  • Double_Spartan said...

    ^^^ can't read VIP posts... You guys love to make everything VIP...

    just unchecked mine...sry

    signature image

    Its not a stupid question until you ask it.

    Ram_Lock

  • shaverschoice said...

    just unchecked mine...sry

    Thanks good stuff!!

    Double_Spartan

  • Don't forget Reggie White, Jason whitten,ect,ect.

    Vollogan33

  • I had Reggie - Minister of Defense...mentioned Witten when talking about Rivera so I didn't feel it necessary to repeat the name. There are a ton of receivers left out, linemen; we just have too many that went on to good pro careers to mention them all. I hope we have a lot more in the next few years to add to the list!!

    signature image

    Its not a stupid question until you ask it.

    Ram_Lock

  • shaverschoice said...

    Oldest cross border rivalry is Kentucky...used to have a whiskey barrel as a trophy until the PC police said it was corrupting our kids.

    I'm being picky here, but it was actually called "The Beer Barrel." But considering both states are known for sipping whiskey, it probably should have been "The Whiskey Barrel."

    Whatever it was, it needs to be restored. Political correctness has gone too far. Having a "Beer Barrel" doesn't mean one guy needs to drink it dry.

    signature image

    RockytopATL

  • RockytopATL said...

    it needs to be restored. Political correctness has gone too far. Having a "Beer Barrel" doesn't mean one guy needs to drink it dry.

    This!!!

    IrrationalUTfan

  • Thanks guys!!! This is really good stuff. Appreciate the info!

    Double_Spartan

  • The Beer Barrel supposedly is labeled "Ice Water." This was intended to mollify the local Temperance Union, according to Vol lore.

    Chartervol ●

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