A number of question marks linger after the conclusion of today’s Tennessee-Appalachian State game.- - - - Which definitive statement would you say comes closer to the actual truth:
(1) Tennessee is not nearly as good as their much ballyhooed preseason Top Five hype
(2) Appalachian State is WAY under rated and has been clandestinely flying under everyone’s radar
-or-
(3) The Arkansas Early Season Bugaboo migrated to Knoxville, - - - and VERY nearly claimed another high profile SEC program casualty
It proves Dudley was waaaaaaaay wrong. He said the officiating in Spain would make you long for SEC officiating. IMPOSSIBLE. No officiating can be that bad.
Only was able to see most of the 4th qtr. I wouldn’t judge too quickly off of one game. APS is a very solid program. Tennessee probably read too much of their preseason praise and didn’t take APS too seriously.
Dobbs has to be more consistent in order for the Vols to win the big games. The toughest thing for a team that hasn’t had a lot of success, is to handle the high expectations.
Bakedog, officiating is seemingly always suspect according to my accrued years of senior experience. I assume, by the tone of your commentary, that you watched this game. Do you positively feel that officiating favoritism played a crucial role in the outcome of the game? I’m not challenging your contention; I’m merely curious as to how strongly and/or deeply rooted your conviction is in this particular instance.
Richard, I appreciate your seasoned observation. First game quirks and jitters can alter and overload methodical preparation and rational scheme implementation in the excitement of the initial phase of a new season. I’ll never forget the utter disbelief and abject consternation engendered by The Citadel debacle years ago. Holy Toledo! I fervently hope that such excruciatingly painful episodes are now permanently in our rear view mirror.
I’ll say this, in both the TN and S.C. Games last night, there were a couple “either way” calls that seemed to help out the favored team and result in TN and SC surviving.
[size=150]I really want to see how we look tomorrow before I think about how UT looked against Ap State. UT did make a lot of execution errors, and Ap State came to play. They were working hard for another “Michigan” outcome. I also noticed Vandy played SC close all game. SC couldn’t gain leverage until 4Q. Not really sure what that means either, other than SC probably settled on a QB.[/size]
App State is a good team that is under rated, while Tennessee is a little over rated as well as believing the press clippings. UT needs to worry about their terrible run defense that was exposed last night. UT would not survive in the SEC WEST
Vandy is usually tough early and almost always gives a good game for 2 or 3 quarters. I think they have the problem that has plagued the Hogs in the past of not enough quality depth. I hope the hype is correct and the Hogs have remedied at least some of the depth issues.
I’ll go with 1 & 3. UT has a load of talent but are poorly coached. App St has a few good players at RB, LB & noseguard but can’t pass pro long enough for their receivers to get downfield & their place kicker cost them the game in regulation. Sounds familiar. App St is undermanned & has very little depth but were coached up & almost pulled it off…again.
I say Tennessee is in for some real hound dog training at Bristol at the hands of VaTech. VT by 7 points in front of supposedly the biggest crowd EVER! HOGS YA’LL.