SicEm

Agree with AFan. The entire offseason was spent talking about complacency and not letting it creep in. I think there is a sense of entitlement with this team. It's time to have a tough fight and come out with a win but maybe a bloody nose to put the hunt back in the "hunters."

How is an 8pt win for the Vols a "fearless prediction"? That is supposed to happen.

Interesting take from probably one of the better offensive play callers in CFB. Just gotta get and keep guys healthy to see how good this defense can be. LBs and Secondary has seemed to be held back by health issues. Although I think at this point D Everette is in over his head...he could improve (i.e. Tyson Campbell). The DL should improve with Mykel back.

Sit back and let him run around and it will be a long day. Put pressure on him and he folds like a wet napkin.

Correct to some extent. Lassiter is great at one CB, but Everette has been a liability. Mykel makes a big diff on the DL, Nazir has a high ceiling too. IMO Chambliss is not consistent at OLB.

There is ALWAYS a chance of the upset in Jordan Hare. And, you can bet Freeze has some new wrinkles yet to be shown. It should be a good game. Go Dawgs!

There's NO CRYIN' in football!

100% correct. All levels of Fed gov (especially the Senate and House) are a glorified geriatric ward.

I'm sure this "down trodden year" for Bama will pass and, if Saban stays on, he will continue to lead the Tide at an elite level. This song has been played before. Klem's Son on the other hand is not Bama in spite of the 6-8 yrs of success. Dabo is NOT a COACH but a team manager with good recruiters and one of the best DCs in the game during his run of success. Without two generational QBs, a slew of elite receivers, and a top DC, the tiggers have quickly dropped back to the pack in the ACC. And during this time, both FSU and Miami are creeping back into relevance. We shall see but to me the slide will continue for clemson (may not get worse, but they don't dominate) and Saban will get Bama back quickly.

All these hillbillies infighting.... I hear banjo music in the background.

DGD and great person! Prayers up for Chubb!

Dang Fuzzy, that loss really surprised me! Fully expected the Vols to get it done in Fla. Your boys best get it together for sc in a couple of weeks. I think we showed you what not to do (first half) and what you can do (2nd half) to get Rattler off his game. You got the studs on defense to do that.

well, close. Probably would've had 1/2 dozen sacks if they would've pressured more in the first half. allowing that DL from s carolina to push our OL around in the first half was inexcusable though.

Bill is right. Our OL didn't impose a will on anyone in the first half. The second half was a diff story. The curious thing for me sitting in the stands was that push was created without Mims. SC didn't "stack the box" as much as you'd think. The offensive sets dictated most of that. Most of the time there were 6 technically "in the box" and sometimes 7. Even with that, this is supposed to be the deepest, most talented OL we've had in a while (aka Joe Moore nominated). The DL to me was more troublesome. There is no way you can convince me that the same coot OL that allowed a flood of sacks to UNC kept our DL outta the backfield nearly the whole first half. Then, in the second half we were able to generate pressure with 3 or 4 a lot of the time. Comment of the day on Saturday was a guy sitting two rows behind me everytime we lined up for a FG or XP...."come on little kicker, come on little kicker, YOU SUCK."

95, your boys were better than expected and I really didn't believe the 4 TD spread. I've been a doubter of Rattler since the beginning, but given the OL woes, he played very well and showed his elusive nature. If he hadn't been running for his life in the 2nd half, that game may have been different. You are right, without a running game, his struggles will continue and the lack of a true deep threat doesn't help. But, we've got our own problems and TBH, this does not look like a playoff team.

Awful first half. Give the coots credit they came to play. A slight upgrade in competition nearly cost the Dawgs. I imagine Kirby melted the walls in the locker room at the half. The predictable Bobo is back. It just seemed like the last two yrs Monken had an answer for everything. I think the defense will be fine ,but need some work at the one corner spot. Everette didn't look up to the challenge.

Can I get an AMEN!

To say clemson is dead would be inaccurate. Afterall, how "not-dead" do you have to be to win the ACC in most years. They haven't lost talent on the defensive side but you can argue (stats) that the defense has slipped noticeably without Venables (2022 - total def rank (24), pass def rank (77), rush def rank (10), scoring def rank (17)). The previous year, not one of the best under Venables was (total def rank (9), pass def rank (38), rush def rank (8), scoring def rank (2)). Saying Venables had no effect on clemson's success is plain stupid as well as the fact that he was and still is considered one of the top 3 defensive coaches. Some will say that over time Kirby's departure from Bama had the same effect... not sure about that. The other key point that Hayes does make, and it's valid, is that clemson simply doesn't have the playmakers on the perimeter that it had in their CFP runs. Clemson fans like to say G Riley would do better with the tigers than TCU because of the caliber of weapons at his disposal. That ain't really true. The clemson wr room and qb room isn't even remotely close to what Riley had in '22 at TCU. And to argue that Klubnik is a first rounder is absurd at this point. Duke ate his lunch... imagine what FSUs defense will do to him.

"SC can not run the ball." Kirby will turn em loose on Rattler. He might throw for 300 but a lot of that could be in garbage time. I see 2-3 picks and half a dozen sacks.

I've picked TN. But, if UF can run the ball effectively (200+), shorten the game, I think they win. Milton ain't Hooker 2.0 and I think the gators have enough on defense to make it interesting.

The young pups have stepped up but having Mondon healthy is a positive with an active QB like Rattler. Hopefully, the Dawgs D can repeat what they did to him in '22.

EThillbilly....the name says a lot about comprehension!

Picking the Vols to win 31-10. However, let the gators defense stop the TN run game and make Milton beat you and on offense I'd run Etienne and Co till TN proved they can stop it. Do those two things and the swamp curse may still happen.

Need to walk in to Sanford on Saturday with the same attitude they walked into Sofi with in January; "leave no doubt." They were told they sleep walked through the first half of '22 and pounded TN, then told they didn't deserve to beat the bucknuts, then got to Englewood with an attitude. Been doubted due to a soft schedule (thanks SEC) and sleep walking again. Don't let this be Mizzou! Home game against a lower Tier SEC Team, put the doubts to rest and put the coots in their place!

Saban has lost it, the Tide is washed up and Miss State will win the West. Stop it! Bama got beat, in their house, (I hate to say this) by a very good TX team. They are, along with FSU, the scariest teams right not in my opinion. Neither looks like they have a weakness. The bucknuts looked good but not last year good so far and Michigan will s h i t itself again if they make the playoff. Clemson is dead. But Bama, they have issues, just like the Dawgs, LSU, and most Top Tier Teams right now with a couple of exceptions (see above). But, just like Smart, Saban will figure out a motivation tool and they'll start curb stomping teams to an 11-1 record and probably be in ATL. I to am tired of the Bama dynasty, but also am realistic that, even in a down year, they are still better than 99% of the country. They are loaded with talent and just need motivation.

Well said, but it's "whoooooo!" Not, "whooaa.". If you gonna quote the man, do it right

Now that's funny.

Be careful. You might just get what you asked for.

Vols beat the gators by fiddy.

Beat two teams we should by 40+ and everyone is panicking. What has Kirby not done in his time as HBC...run up the score! Unless he needs to send a message...ummm, TCU after doubts playing the bucknuts. It has been vanilla as it should be. He's testing younger guys, allowing guys to heal. Now if they go out flat and look bad against the coots, then hit the panic button.