In the first of our 117 part series (MAYBE), H2DN authors are going to take a look at the upcoming season and offer OUR predictions for our respective conference teams. To start out will be the team that makes me drink every Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers.
The question is, how is our season going to be? Tennessee football is like being drunk at the bar: Everything looks good and proper and you’re feeling up the girl in the 1st picture, but by the time last call comes around, you’re hobbling out of the Citrus Bowl with the woman on the bottom.
Team: The University of Tennessee Volunteers
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Stadium: Neyland Stadium (Shields-Watkins Field) - Capacity 102,544
Coach: Phillip “Fulmer Cup” Fulmer
2006 Record/Finish: #25 - 9-4, 2nd in SEC East; Last game: 20-10 Loss: Penn State @ Outback Bowl
2007 H2DN Prediction: 10-2, First in SEC East
Top returner: QB Erik Ainge, Senior
Biggest loss: WRs Jayson Swain/Robert Meachem
ESPN Incessant Talking Point: The loss of the aforementioned WRs. The top receiving duo in the nation, Swain and Meachem combined for 1,986 yards and 17 TDs. Meachem is living fat (literally) in the NFL while Swain is doing… something
Key offseason event: The top 5 recruiting class. Juco transfer Kenny O’Neal should contribute quickly at WR, while CB Eric Berry was the #1 prospect at his position in the nation. Add top 10 prospects FB Kevin Cooper, RB Lennon Creer, OLB Chris Donald (#3 in the nation) CB Gerald Jones, DE Ben Martin, and DT Rolando Melancon and this team, while young, has some talent waiting in the wings.
Additional notes: Tennessee has a favorable schedule (Georgia, South Carolina and Arkansas at home) including opponents Southern Miss, Arkansas St., Mississippi St., Louisiana-Lafayette, Vanderbilt and Kentucky (all at home except UK and Miss. St) that combined in 2006 for a record of 36-39 (.480). The games that will make the season are @Florida, @Cal and Arkansas. Tennessee should be able to take on a less talented Florida team that only beat the Vols by 1 point in their championship season last year. California will not be caught off guard like last year, and even though Marshawn Lynch is gone, the Bears will put up a hell of a fight in Berkeley. And UT better come up with an answer for Hogs RB Darren McFadden because he ran all over UT last year at home. However, what tops this schedule off all together is the absence of SEC West powerhouses LSU and Auburn. Expect to see one of the two come December in Atlanta.
Tennessee has good tools to make an SEC title run for the first time since 1998, including Erik Ainge who was on the Heisman watch list last year until his ankle injury took him out before the Arkansas game. The running back-by-committee includes an impressive stable of players Arian Foster, LaMarcus Coker, Montario Hardesty and spring game star Ray Olasimbo. Holes left in the receiving corps, as well as both sides of the line will take a lot of effort to fill, but the Vols should be able to manage. Finish? 10-2 and in the SEC Championship
Fun Fact: Fan favorite QB Jim Bob Cooter (born James Robert Cooter) will be returning as a graduate assistant in 2007 to replace last year’s assistant Rick “My brothers are better than me” Clausen.
August 18, 2007 at 8:48 am
“Fan favorite QB Jim Bob Cooter (born James Robert Cooter) will be returning as a graduate assistant in 2007 to replace last year’s assistant Rick “My brothers are better than me” Clausen.”
YAY, COOTER! You gotta love Jim Bob!