Wow, Vols D is pre-ranked ahead of Bammer's! If the offense over-achieves, them Orange britches could have a shot at 10 wins. Of course, if it plays as this predicts, the D will not have any room for error and we'll drop a game or two which could have won. OL and QB will be the deciding factor though. OL should be improved some, and who knows what we'll get out of QB.

Very true; York, Cimaglia, McPherson, and White were all better than Rod this year.

The Vols get a shot at taking down the dynasty in Knoxville next year. This year, if JG hands the ball to Crouch, they'd have been down 1 score with 7 minutes to go having already forced 2 three and outs in the second half. Both return a bunch of young talent next season. Surely the red team won't let the Vols keep them from a top 10 finish next season...

you misspelled Outback Bowl, but thanks for the well wishes!

I can picture you sitting at your computer eating cheese balls and smirking as you got to type all of football dominance since 2009! You probably still have the Javier Arenas jersey you bought at Walmart on as you type. LOL Getting all riled up over my words, and maybe even a bit nervous that they could be true...this time. We'll see. Good luck in the Citrus Bowl!

mmtanner1974, I realize it is hard for you to know this because you bought your Bama t-shirt at Walmart in 2009, but us Tennessee fans know exactly what a decline looks like. The Vols may not be back yet, but this year was better than last, which was better than the year before. This is the definition of upward trajectory. Bama, by definition, is on a downward trajectory.

2017 national champs 2018 lose big in champ game 2019 finish outside top 10; best win is over Tennessee at Bama. Be careful bashing UT this season. They are Bama's BEST win! lol How is this NOT a decline? Are you looking at it in reverse?

Are you saying this year's results aren't a decline from the previous year? And wasn't 2018 a decline from 2017. Based on this, yes the red team is in a declining trend! Why bring up Auburn which is trending up this year from last? Why bring up Tennessee which is clearly trending up? Deflections from the red team's clear decline! Let Saban retire; Lyle will build you a nice brick mailbox!

Bama's best win was Tennessee in Tuscaloosa. The red team's program is in a clear decline. The red team should let Coach Lyle build them a new brick mailbox and take over the program.

LSU will score 21 in a quarter in this game...and I'm thinking Fromm throws 2 4th quarter TDs. Most importantly, Bama needs to let Coach Lyle takeover their obviously declining program. They are in need of a nice brick mailbox.

21-13 LSU leads at the half 42-30 LSU wins after letting off the gas late. Borrow throws for 300+ and 4 TDs and 1 INT. Fromm throws for 300 and 3 TDs. And BAMA whines that the deserve to jump UGA in rankings even though their best 2 wins are TENNESSEE and A&M. Hopefully, Saban decides to sit out the bowl game and Coach Lyle coaches them to a big Citrus Bowl win and the fan base demands Sgt Carter take over the red team's clearly declining program so he can build them a new brick mailbox!

AND UGA beat Tennessee and A&M. I would say these are their 4th and 5th best wins. So Bama's top 2 wins are the same as UGA's 4th and 5th best wins. Based on what they've accomplished this year, UGA is better than Bama. Since Bama didn't win their division, they don't get the chance to prove otherwise.

Who'd Bama beat though? Their BEST win is Tennessee!!! (or Texas A&M) UGA beat Florida, Notre Dame, and Auburn. Stop making me say good things about UGAly! If you want to argue that Tennessee, A&M, and Miss State are equitable wins then be my guest. LOL

I just don't think it sets a good precedent to assume intent in this particular incident. I see very well how we can assume some intent, but there are many factors at play. To be honest, I believe that JJ may have ripped the helmet off the Vandy kid, which I think looks worse than the step which grazed the kid. The step was the result of him aggressively getting up in a crowd while he is being pushed from behind. The Pickens situation is far worse and if JJ's actions deem 2 quarters are necessary, I would think Pickens deserves a game (yes, in addition to the garbage quarter and a half he missed in the Ga Tech blow out). There's no way these are equitable. I hope JJ has a big second half!

Yeah, I think Utah with a win is in over OU unless the Utah win appears to be on some sort of fluke and OU dominates (which they may). UGA won't drop much even with a 15-20 point loss they should still be ahead of Florida and AU. Unless the SEC game is within 3 points late (which it won't be) AND OSU dominates (which they will), LSU should jump to 1 based on quality wins.

SEC screwed up here. Pickens from UGA got a half game for throwing 3 punches and pulling a guy face first into the wall by his facemask. Admittedly, this wasn't Jennings finest moment, but the punishment should have been handled in house. The only thing which video evidence proves is there was some back and forth between the two when they are on the ground. The helmet does come off (you can't prove it was Jennings, but I'm guessing it is likely he was the reason it comes off). and his foot appears to graze the kids face while he is trying to get away. The Vandy player behind him is pushing him which causes him to have to plant his foot instead of raising it and stepping across. Then another Vandy player pushes him again trying to start something. I think the SEC should have asked the Tennessee staff to punish him in house and left it alone. How are the rest of you going to feel when the SEC reviews something after a game and punishes a player for something where the action is not clear whether or not it was intentional?

1a OSU 1b LSU (I beleive LSU will be #1 after they beat UGA) 3. Clemson 4. UGA (they'll drop to 6 assuming loss, and Utah and OU win) 5. Utah 6. OU 7. Florida 8. Baylor (they'll drop plenty after losing to OU again) 9. Oregon (they'll drop after losing to Utah) 10. Auburn 11. Wisconsin (they'll drop after losing to OSU by 20) 12. Bama 13. Penn State 14. ND So, after title games it'll be: 1.)LSU 2.)OSU 3.)Clemson 4.)Utah or OU 5.)OU or Utah 6.)UGA 7.) Florida 8.) Auburn 9.) Bama 10.)ND Sorry Bama, you are ranked pretty close to what your wins and losses dictate.. Unfortunately, A&M not winning 8-9 games killed your quality wins. Amazingly, Tennessee winning 6 of its last 7 helped you. Otherwise, you'd have had exactly one win vs a 7 win team. lol. The good news is Tennessee will have more wins next year (presumably 8), so if you can escape Knoxville with a win, you'll have a win over a top 25 team in 2020! ;)

He's actually 1-2: 2015 W; 2016 L; 2017 L. He was not on the 2018 team the week of the Vandy game. 37-10 Vols after leading 24-3 at the half.

Good for him. I know the University of Tennessee is better for not having him and his shadiness near the program.

Afan “Well, I can’t help but say, ‘11-5.’ ”

Light-hearted, funny read. And no, he is not a good coach, but more importantly, his rape cover-up involvement (or even the hint of being around it), would have run off too many fans and fragmented an already battered fan base. Fulmer coming in as AD was what put UT back on course. He may have lost his touch in recruiting toward the end of his tenure, but he loves the university and has passionately worked to put the department (mostly football) back on solid footing. Pruitt has proven he can recruit AND more importantly he can actually coach football. We had a brick mailbox salesman, now we have a coach. He's going to make some managerial mistakes due to lack of experience, but I'm willing to take those lumps knowing he's coaching up the kids.

Other than JJ breaking 32 tackles on a catch every game, the Vols struggle on YAC. The other guys on this list benefit from some unreal YAC - i.e. Tua 4 yard slant turns into a 76 yard 'bomb'.

Percent of All Passes Gaining 25+ Yards 1. Tua Tagovailoa: 12.7% 2. Joe Burrow: 10.9 3. Jarrett Guarantano: 8.9 4. Bo Nix: 8.1 5. Kelly Bryant: 6.8 6. Kyle Trask: 6.6 7. Jake Fromm: 6.5 8. Nick Starkel: 6.5 9. Riley Neal: 5.8 10. Matt Corral: 5.4 11. Kellen Mond: 5.2 12. Ryan Hilinski: 2.9

and Vol receivers are near the bottom of YAC, so...

He is in the top 3 in the SEC in passes over 25 yards, so...

Ole Miss (+1.5); this will be a 20 point victory for the rebels/bears/sharks UGA (-30.5) GaTech will make UGA look like they know how to call plays...UGA by 38 Kentucky (-3.5) Kentucky runs for 500 and wins by 12 Clemson (-24.5) Clemson wins by 40, at least I wouldn't touch the other lines. I think AU beats Bama, but wouldn't put money on it. Florida will win, but either by 10 or 50 and I'm not confident in picking which. I have a sneaky feeling LSU cools a bit, but still wins easily enough. Tennessee would have to win 20-0 to push this, but I actually think that might be the score in this one.

lol

very good question I honestly think they would.

Don't have anything against him. MS State doesn't seem to be trending in the right direction. Moorhead seems like a decent guy, but he just doesn't seem to be the right fit. Maybe I'm wrong. I wouldn't be surprised to see him gone. I honestly think Vandy will let Mason go if they aren't competitive in Knoxville in 10 days, but I'd guess Moorhead will be one of the first two coaches to be out from this list.

Gus = stay; take it from a Vol fan...yes you could replace with a home run, but what if you hit the fence and stumble rounding first and then head out west for a dream job and then hire a ball boy from LaTech and then hire a juice bar enthusiast...be careful Moorhead = show him the door and find a better fit Odom = stay; but insist he hire an OC who's actually called plays before Luke = stay; let the Plumlee kid do his thing and then see what Luke can do after that, but have a short leash Muschamp = stay, who you gonna hire? down year, but seriously, who are you gonna hire instead of him--while you are paying a massive buyout? Mason = stay, it pains me to say it, but I'd judge him solely on his record against the Vols...and that says you should keep him. Hopefully, his record against the Vols begins to worsen in 10 days.