I hope you’re wrong. It would be great to see my Gators in that mix but until we sign multiple top 5 classes or win an SEC title I’m staying quiet but hopeful. I’m also not sold on Lincoln Riley making USC a powerhouse. I’d put $100 on the line that USC won’t make the playoffs until it’s expanded to 12 teams.

Come on Rebel, not ever kid that visits Tennessee will get the chance to ride in a $200,000 car.

Honestly, as a fan I have a lot of questions about our ability to recruit linemen on both sides of the ball. The Calloway issue has me concerned and we are thin and young just about everywhere. This team could be 11-1 or 7-5 or anywhere in between. There's just too many inexperienced players and to expect last year's luck again is not realistic. We'll know who we are after 9/24. If we beat Tennessee, then we probably go on to win the East and are competitive against the LSU and FSU. If any key players are lost to injury or other issues and we get exposed by TN then hold on.

Sluva, Alabama, Clemson, Mich St, Stanford and Oklahoma are 5 of the top six programs from last year. Of course if PROVEN WINNERS return 17 players they deserve to be ranked high. Tennessee is NOT a PROVEN WINNER. Hence my argument that returning a lot of players isn't as important as if a top team did.

Sluva, Arkansas is returning 14 and beat TN last year. Heck UF is returning only 5 less and the backups were playing behind 7 players that were drafted. Does that make Arkansas or UF great? No. All I'm saying is that in my opinion, given recent on field production, I don't believe returning 17 players from a 9-4 team warrants a top 10 ranking.

Agreed William. In all honesty I have a friend who is a big TN fan and he allllllways tells me this is the year then makes every excuse as to why things didn't pan out. I'm probably letting that cloud my thinking. My reply should have focused more on Ole Miss and let the TN stuff to be settled on the field. Good luck.

You're right about the draft picks. Also, I don't think it's a crime to support your team. I support UF and hope for the best but the truth is that we haven't recruited all that well comparatively and our on field results have been similar over the last few years. We also were terrible in the second half of the year last season. Maybe TN will surprise me, but it wasn't a talent issue that lost the game against UF last year. As I recall, a lot of TN fans were calling for the coach to be replaced after bad decisions resulted in losing after having big leads. What my point was meant to be was that returning talented kids to a team with coaching and other issues after going 9-4 doesn't warrant a top 10 ranking in my view. I may be proven wrong. More than anything I really just like expressing my thoughts and having others challenge my thinking. You Vols fans definitely have a point on my draft comments, thanks for the thoughts. Let’s both hope for better seasons.

WildTurkey and VolsToThaWall you both have solid points. Citing the draft picks IS irrelevant. I still have a hard time ranking TN in the top ten but that isn't my job. Good luck until you play UF.

Tennessee hasn't sent anyone to the NFL in 2 years. Please tell me how a 9-4 team returning a bunch of starters that couldn't get drafted justifies a top 10 ranking.

As a Gator booster and fan I know UF hasn't earned the right to talk trash with the way that we closed the season last year. Too many big questions. I would caution Ole Miss and Tennessee fans to zip it until they can at least beat a terrible Gator team. With the sexual assault issues at TN and the already published NCAA violations at Ole Miss guess is that you guys will be wishing it was as easy as a dumb kid taking a banned substance.

Out of the last 26 years there are only about 6 that I want to forget. The funniest was 2014 where we ran it 60 times and only completed 3 passes and still won by 18 points.

Really Fisher Mann? Since 2005 Tennessee is 10-44 vs ranked teams with no wins vs a top 10 team since 2005. Last win vs UF was 2004. G. W. Bush was finishing up his 1st term and Google just went public. Hold on to the past and don't stop believing in recruiting rankings. They should surely get you a 10 wins this year.

Great point Vol4L1992. It was Butch's time out, the call not to go for a two-point conversion, two bad schemes on defense on 4th downs and a missed kick that cost you the game with UF last year, not Dobbs.

Refreshing and honest post. Hopefully you guys beat everyone but the Gators. Good luck.. I'm just hoping that our journeyman multi transfer QB looks as good in the games as he has in practice. Anything is better than the end of last year. I'm just not sure that our line has the talent or depth to make us competitive. Here's to hope!

Honest Florida Fan here. First McElwain did a great job salvaging the class and getting offensive linemen to fill the void left by Muschamp's terrible recruiting there. It's very tough to have a successful offense with a terrible line, and our's is well below average but the future looks promising. Treon is not the same caliber QB as Will Grier, he's short and has below average arm strength and decision making abilities and plays behind a very weak line. That said, Will cheated and although the punishment may be tough it was his decision. Kids at D1 programs don't just accidentally take banned substances, there are too many warnings and systems in place to keep that from happening. Our D playing better than it has since 2012 is the primary driver of our record, even if the offense is at least watchable again. The SEC East is weaker than that West. Tennessee and Kentucky have been irrelevant for years and Missou and USC are having down years. FL and GA have been better as well. Bama fans are often delusional, but Alabama has been the best team in the country for years, it's true and as much as I want to to say otherwise I have eyes and they work. Also, top to bottom, the West in the toughest conference/division in college football and that has also been the case for years. I hope the Gators can continue building and plugging the holes in the roster. We need a QB, offensive linemen, linebackers and receivers. That's a lot of needs. What Gator fans need to do is eat some humble pie, be patient and support the rebuild while being cautiously optimistic. Look on the bright side, Miami is terrible and we have some traction stealing their best prospects.