Vol fans get extra excited about this game because there will always be a bit of love extended to Bruce. I really do believe that if you ask Vol fans if there is any one team in the SEC that they don't mind falling to, it would Auburn. Vol fans love the Bruce Pearl. Always have. Knowledgeable Vol fans will never forgive our former AD, the former SEC commish, and the NCAA for doing the hatchet job on Pearl and his infamous "cookout." Watching the present NCAA current issues makes the NCAA laughable when you consider their actions against Pearl. Regardless, Saturday's game will fill the house in the "TommyBowl."

I assure you, the game on Saturday will not be meaningless to the Vols and Vol fans.

There is one team that is not mentioned as a potential for the dance - Tennessee! It is not likely, but it is not impossible. A win over Auburn on Saturday, along with a couple of wins in the SEC tourney, and it is still not out of the realm. A win over Auburn on Saturday would mean that UT beat the top three teams in the league to close the regular season. A couple of wins in the SEC tourney and the win total goes to 20. Any way you slice it, Rick Barnes has done a marvelous job again of getting the most out of team that had to replace four starters from last years team. That we are even still able to consider it as a possibility to be in the dance at this point of the season is a tribute to Coach Barnes and his success as a coach. Also....Fulky would make a fantastic addition to any team - the guy is a baller! Any coach would love to have him!

I gotta give a shout out to Rick Barnes, who may be conducting his best coaching job ever. How to explain that he has the Vols on the cusp of another 20 win season after losing four starters to graduation, early departure and injury? Barnes has been so successful at UT that I think people take him for granted. Williams, Musselman and Howland all will probably earn higher consideration than Barnes. As such.....Barnes really has become the guy you always expect to win. His career is admirable! Frankly, I think Barnes may be the best coach in the league.

I am a Vol fan. I detest actions like these. A similar situation like this occurred in Auburn with Vol starter Santiago Vescovi being the brunt of a fan who simply was clueless. Both incidents demonstrate that we have much work yet to do in terms of tolerance and removing bigotry. I do not judge this as representative of the Auburn and Kentucky fans. EVERY single team in the SEC has a wing-nut group of fans. We just need to continue to address incidents like these head on. I am impressed with how the Auburn and Kentucky leadership have responded. Good for them. There is no place for this in our league.

Yea...that Phil Fulmer, wanting to hold young men accountable, encourage them to "stick it out" for a fair amount of time sure translated into a terrible coaching career with no success at all for him at UT. Sheessh. I would trust Phil far more than any of you Einstein's on this page.

It will be March and anything can happen.

He will be an All-American before he departs Knoxville. Bank on it! The kid is a baller!

Coach Vitello is the real deal at Tennessee!

I am liking these early predictions. Quite frankly, history shows the Vols always doing better when they are below the hype radar. Of the four games that are considered not to be winnable - Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, and Bama - Jeremy Pruitt will bag one of those this year. Confident he will get a signature win.

Really? Attacking Barnes coaching record, which last I looked is one of the finest in the nation. The guy is a winner. He has lost 4 of last years starting five and still has the Vols above .500. He will have them dancing next year for sure with virtually everyone returning along with one of the best recruiting classes in the nation. Shame on the idiot Auburn fan - frankly, every fan base has it's share of idiots. Auburn's just happened to be yelling into a live mic. This post has nothing to do with Barnes and his coaching ability. SMH

Glad the Vols are NOT in this poll. UT always performs far better without the hype. I actually like our chances this coming Fall. For the first time in a while I believe UT has a great chance to nab one of the four games we are supposed to lose. I think we catch someone snoozing ---Oklahoma, Florida, Bama or Georgia?

Interesting take from a Gator fan. Most Gators I have heard from have the trip to Knoxville marked as an automatic "W". I believe Florida should be favored but I I am quite certain that Pruitt has this game circled as vital. As such...I expect a real battle. We will know more for sure after our game at Oklahoma.

No worries KyBlue. As much as you own us in basketball, the opposite is true in football. I am sure it is as maddening to you as UT's current struggles with Bama and Florida. I really do believe we will flip the script eventually against Bama - the history of the series shows this. It is the maddening struggles with Florida that baffles most UT fans. They seem to be in our head, for whatever reason. I still have a hard time believing we beat you guys especially in 2018 - it made no sense. I will agree that Stoops has brought consistency to your program. Going to be interesting as we move forward.GBO

Kentucky has never actually figured out the Tennessee riddle that remains in every Wildcat fan's head. Tennessee owns you in football. To imply you have only UGA and UF to leap is simply wrong. Tennessee had dominated UK in football. No other way to look at it. Is Kentucky improving? Yea, I can agree with that but there were bright moments in the past also with Fran Curci, Hal Mummee, etc, etc. Stoops is showing signs of consistency. Time will tell but UGA and FLA are NOT the only obstacles for UK. Just clarifying with some history.

Concerned about the changes. Typically, the level of these changes usually follows a big season. Sorry...8-5 and a win over Indiana is not what I would call a "big' season. Frankly, after GA. STATE, everything concerns me about the state of the Vol program. On the one hand, you gotta like the way they finished. Still....there is GA STATE. Sorry, not convinced at the moment. Actually concerned.

Same old SEC hype about the usual suspect teams. Only Florida, Bama, LSU, Auburn and GA..along with the usual overrated Texas A&M story lines in your Top 10. Keep blowing that smoke. Perhaps someone will actually buy it by the end of next season. Seriously? Does the author have too much time on his hands? Oh wait....he's a Florida writer. Never mind. See the Gator's in Neyland in September. We Vols are anxiously awaiting once again.

Really? Like we care?

LMAO

Have to laugh at Mizzou coach. Dude, you have no idea what you are about to experience. Welcome to the SEC, big boy. This a'int no Appy State! ROTFLMAO

I actually think Tennessee fans and leadership have figured out that having a coaching carousel assures mediocrity at best. I think Pruitt recruits and coaches very much like Phil Fulmer - his boss. Fulmer knows all too well what happened when that genius named Mike Hamilton set into motion his efforts to dismiss him. He knows that has led to twelve years of mostly forgettable football in Knoxville. Pruitt is safe and nothing will change that, even another 7-5 record in the rugged SEC including a trip to Norman. GBO

A story about UGA's overall class and it seems the Dawg fans are obsessed with Evans not signing and potentially going to UT or Ole Miss. Weird.

So Mizzou is winning 10? Really?

Lately the SEC officials just seem to get worse and worse. Calipari getting tossed? The MSU coach getting fined for speaking out. The inexplicable ref last year in the LSU/UT game - no favoritism towards the Tigers there, eh? I hope Barnes, Calipari, and others continue to expose the ineptitude of SEC officiating in basketball. BTW, I think this is back to back games where UT's opponent nearly doubled the amount of trips to the FT line. It gets old. Getting out rebounded by your opponents is another sure fire way to lose a game. Still...how much impact did those routine whistles play into that? Again, this stuff is getting old. Hang in there Coach Barnes. You and your young team will weather this.

One win over Bama and suddenly, LSU is out of the Saban shadow? Really? How about if we see if LSU can sustain the winning over Bama. Can the reel off six or seven in a row. I am no Bama fan but clearly this writer is delusional to assert that LSU is out of Bama's or Saban's shadow. Here is a fact - nobody in the SEC is out of Bama's/Saban's shadow in football. Nobody.

A&M needs to start showing some ROI very soon. There is more $$$ poured into that program than virtually anywhere else in the country. They fare no better than their in-state nemesis, Texas. We always hear a lot of noise about both programs, but seldom does it ever pan out on the field. Jimbo, I believe has two years to show something significant or the impatient $$$ folks in College Station will be moving on. There are many big things in Texas - patience is not one of them. Just my $0.02 worth.

I don't see Nebraska ever returning to it's former days of dominance. They have too many hurdles to clear in the Big 10, and with everything based on recruiting - how does the Big Red compete consistently against the SEC in luring the blue chippers from the southeast? Ever spend time in Lincoln from November through April? If I were a Nebraska fan, I would feel grateful for the kind of record that Pelini brought to the program. 9-10 win seasons should be considered huge accomplishments. Gone are the days of Devaney and Osborne. Hell, Solich did a great job and was railroaded out of town by the unrealistic fan base. I admire Nebraska's past and I actually like their program. That said....times have changed. Nebraska fans need to readjust their expectations. As a Vol fan, I would argue that it may be easier for Tennessee to return to prominence than Nebraska - just by conference affiliation alone. Either way, both programs are light years removed from the 1990's. A whole lot of catching up to do. I wish Pelini well at LSU. Either he succeeds and lands another HC job eventually elsewhere or he will retire in the sunset after a couple of years. It really will be a boom or bust experience for him.

Kentucky basketball leaders calling someone else a cheater? Pot meet kettle.

If Tennessee should land this guy, then Jeremy Pruitt may be getting very close to finishing with a Top 10 class. Pruitt already is making serious headway in restoring UT towards recruiting excellence. I was opposed to this hire initially but the guy is showing me that he takes a deep interest in winning by recruiting the best on both the offensive and defensive lines. While Evans does not fall into Pruitts typical recruiting emphasis, to bag this guy would be another indicator of Pruitts ability to flip the script when necessary. He is very much old school football - win by controlling the line of scrimmage and shove the ball down your opponents throat. Pruitt is certainly no "hollywood flash" or media sensation type of personality, and as a Tennessee fan let me the first to say...THANK GOD! I have witnessed ridiculous hyperbole from football leadership at UT for most of the past decade and a half. Pruitt is a ball coach and he pays close attention to the fundamentals. I actually like the man and the hire now. He reminds me in many ways of Phil Fulmer football! I thought the man was totally lost after the GA State game. Turns out, it was just a blip with his effort to transition the Vol program from the Kiffin/Dooley/Jones fiascos. And...I am especially appreciative that I no longer have to listen to those ridiculous one liners from Jones, the prima dona (and lies) BS of Kiffin, not to mention the inexplicable football logic of Dooley. I like Pruitt and I think he has our program headed in the right direction. IF we get Evans, great. If not...no huge concern. I am confident in the direction that Pruitt has this program headed.

My blood is orange, and if anyone does not like the color orange then they can kiss my big orange a$$! Nothing worse than ugly red, crimson, or maroon.