re: If Tennessee Loses to BYU on Saturday...

Tennessee fans are among the least knowledgeable football fans in the SEC. I believe it’s in part because most never played the game, and lots are from more rural parts of the state. All schools have sidewalk, uneducated fans, but the Vols seem to have a much larger percentage of those types. A lot of that base doesn’t really know what went on the previous week, they just know they scored a ticket to K’ville and will show up.

Vol fans are also among the most unreasonable and fickle in all of CFB. I’ve heard all of the “Kirby can't beat Proot” comments (because UGA hasn’t beaten Bama in a big game in awhile and they gave Pruitt the credit), along with the 10-2 predictions for this season with absolutely no basis. One UT fan changed his win total from 7 to 10 games when Solomon was declared eligible!

All of this served the program okay when UT had the brand to get a lot of good GA, NC, SC, etc. players, and recruit nationally. Now schools like UGA are cherry picking TN players.

UT didn’t get this way overnight and, if the program recovers, it will take years to do so. They keep making bad coaching hires, and they don’t have the recruiting base to get the players they need. Pruitt is probably the worst hire they could have made. He’s a good guy, and a good coordinator when he has the players, but he doesn’t have the personality or IQ to be a HC. But they’re stuck with him for at least two more years. And, if the transfer portal remains status quo, they’ll lose some young players.

I’d say that, along with the MS schools, UT’s situation is among the most dire in the SEC. I’d say UT’s chances of beating BYU are about 50/50.

BYU is usually solid. I’d be shocked if Tennessee wins

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i think recruiting/talent evaluation is the biggest issue right now. The WORST thing in my opinion for Tennessee right now is that Clemson and UGA are title contenders, and UT is far from it. My buddy seems to believe that UT can still recruit with best of them (everyone in the SEC will get some highly coveted recruits), but getting them on a consistent basis, building depth, etc. will never happen while Clemson and UGA continue to dominate. Throw in Alabama, and Tennessee Geographically is sitting in an impossibly territory in my opinion.

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I don't think you recognize the strengths of your position. I imagine you understand the weaknesses, but we'll get to that.

Look at one time Tennessee HAD to recruit widely across the South and nationally to compete with their SEC rivals (Fulmer era). Richt is the guy that ended that Atlanta pipeline, and Fulmer, IMO.

But things are different now. There are a ton of players coming out of Middle Tennessee now. A ton. And the coaches across the South have noticed, and they go there a lot more than they used to.

Actually there are so many now, I'd say it is comparable to Alabama, with just that section of the state alone (and you know of course East Tennessee doesn't produce a lot, and the Memphis area is kind of a different state altogether, at least recruiting wise).

So my thinking is this is a better gig than a lot of SEC schools have. I'd rank Florida, Georgia, A&M, LSU (for now Middle Tennessee is still growing like gangbusters) as jobs with built-in better recruiting bases.

The right coach could do wonders in Rocky Top.

But see that Big Orange Thing lurking in the background? You probably aren't going to get anyone to bite on the job you'd want as long as he is there.

He's like the Slender Man, only you know, he isn't. But he gives off the same aura.

Good post. I agree with a lot of what you just said. I have no idea where the Vols turn if Pruit isn't the answer. The School is now becoming a dead end for head coaches aside from Kiffin.

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I would say TN finds out a lot about their head coach on Saturday.

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Even more than they found out last Saturday?

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I would say TN finds out a lot about their head coach on Saturday.

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They'll find out more about their players.

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You will know this teams character this week. If they come out angry then things arent completely broken. If they come out lethargic and dont give all they have...shits done.

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Agree- this could very easily turn into Chizik's last season at AU. I've never seen a team quit to that level. And the fans might have been worse.

That said, it was just 1 game....a bad one, but still just a single game.

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The Tuscaloosa turds melted pretty bad with Dubose, but not even close to this.


Dubose won a SEC championship. And it is more recent that the last one for Tennessee.

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Dubose actually beat Spurrier twice in one season...and one of those was in the Swamp. Someone tell us when Lardass ever did that.

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Absolutely.... does the team quit on him, or do they show some pride ? We lost to UAB in 2000 with Saban....next week we beat Tennessee.

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I don't think there's any comparison between Saban and Pruitt but, you're right, we'll find out Sat.

What's your guess?