I just saw a comment saying that Tennessee will be competing with Vanderbilt and Kentucky for last place in the East. That is probably the dumbest thing I've ever read. Then there is Gators93 who brings up Lane Kiffin in every single post slandering him. Truly pathetic.
Last years defense ranked #3 in yards allowed despite being on the field all because the offense ranked #107 I believe it was. A little lesson here... they ranked #107 because it was their first year in the spread. How'd the spread work out for Rich Rodriguez in Michigan his first season? It didn't because it takes more than a year to learn it and he didn't have the right players in place. When you have the right players in place and they know the system, you can win four bowl games in a row including beating teams such as Georgia and Oklahoma. That's a team in a 'bad' conference and struggle to get top recruits because they're not a big time. When you're big time programs like Florida and Ohio State you go to championships. Unfortunately for Tennessee their wide receivers said they didn't know what routes to run. The offensive lineman said they didn't know who to block. Crompton isn't a mobile quarterback. Tennessee had one of the top offenses in the country the year before and the only starter they lost was Ainge. You can believe it was all Crompton's fault but you don't know football if you believe that. It was obviously the spread and the spread is gone.
Tennessee's 2007 class ranked #3 which would make those players red shirt sophomores and juniors this upcoming season. Half the coaching staff are former assistants from the NFL that left on their on terms. Sure Lane Kiffin was fired but nobody was winning with the Raiders. Lane was successful at the college level as was his coaching staff. The biggest question mark is the quarterback coach who is only on staff because he is a good recruiter and Lane's brother in law. It's not a big deal though seeing as Lane was Matt Leinart's OC and Chaney was Drew Bree's OC. Jim Chaney was one of the best OC's in the country while at Purdue so expect the offense to fire on all cylinders. Nothing needs to be said about the defense. We already know it will be one of the best in the country. They may allow more yards but they are going to force more turnovers. That's how the Tennessee 2 formerly known as Tampa 2 works. Calling it the Tennessee 2 was a joke so don't get your panties in a bunch.
Tennessee won't win the SEC this year but they could finish as high as second or third. I don't expect that to happen but it's not impossible. A few years ago they went 5-6 and bounced back the following season to go 9-4. I wouldn't be surprised if they went undefeated at home. W. Kentucky(2-10), Ohio(4-8), UCLA(4-8), Auburn(5-7), Memphis(6-7), Vanderbilt(7-6), South Carolina(7-6) and Georgia(10-3). I don't think Georgia will be a problem this season with the loss of Stafford and Moreno. They only beat Tennessee by 12 last season. South Carolina will be the biggest threat at home. They get Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss and Kentucky on the road. They haven't lost to Kentucky in 24 years so if they take care of business at home and win all 8 games, a win over Kentucky would give them a record of 9-3 during the regular season. Don't underestimate how bad the spread was. With it gone Tennessee is going to win at least 7 games and have a good shot at 9. Again, look at Rich Rodriguez in his first year implementing the spread at Michigan. We know the spread works.... Florida, Ohio State, West Virginia, Appalachian State.... It just doesn't work in the first year when the kids are still learning it and they don't have the right players in place. Oh yeah, please don't point out Tennessee having lost to Wyoming last year. We all saw Michigan lose to Appalachian State in their first game of the season and beat Florida in their final game of the season. It's a whole season and more importantly a whole new offense.
