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This game was hard to watch. Both offenses were bad. Play calling was even worse. Tennessee constantly put the game in the hands of an incapable QB who continued to prove he cant make the right decision. Shotgun pass over and over when lined up inside the 1 or the 5 yard line? The back didn't have a great game but he was getting some "hard yardage". I would trust him in the red zone and yet every time they got there they went right back to the pass. Whether its the INT at the goal line or the abysmal sequence that left them with a missed 40+ yd FG, just awful. If that isnt bad enough, how do you get beat deep as time expires? You know the ball is going toward the end zone what are you doing undercutting the route at the 20. That hot seat is turning up on Butch after that performance. Ironically, I'm not sure the seat got any more comfortable in Florida from the win. If its possible for both coaches to look overmatched in a game this was it.

Yeah, that was not real fun. Didn't watch all of it, but both teams are just awful on offense.

At the beginning of the season, I was worried about Ga losing to both of these teams......I'm not really worried about that anymore.

Tenn fans are going nuts on Facebook. EVERYONE wants Butch Jones's job, and thinks they could probably do it better.

OMG....I turned this one off and missed the Doug Flutiesque, no time on the clock, 63 yard Hail Mary into the end zone for Florida's win.

I wish I had turned it off ... I didn't want to watch "Them" win.

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Now, I know conference & team strength have a tendency to go in cycles.
[many of us are all too familiar with this directly]

But can you name two more traditionally touted Juggernaut programs that have dwindled into such miserable states as these two have ... and at the same time.

I understand when a team suffers from injuries, that you are prone to setbacks. That excuse works for a little while ... that is, until your team is back to full health, and you are still unable to perform [florida] ... and yes, this season, when you start out with a reduced roster, due to suspensions, you are at a decided disadvantage vs those teams who are considered "Top Competition". That excuse disappears when you are playing against programs who never had the depth at skill positions that you are use to; and you continue to lose games --- Let's not overlook that the suspensions happened because of the lack of institutional guidance by the coaching staff.

Tennessee, on-the-other-hand, has no excuses. Their roster was not suffering from injures or suspensions. Butch Jones was in his sixth year at Tennessee, and had plenty of time, along with the talent, to get things going for the Vols. They were 9-4 the last two seasons, and were supposed to be serious contenders, not just for the SEC title, but nationally championship, as well. They had everything going for them ... except team unity. With Dobbs as their quarterback, the Volunteers gelled. They played together, and were moving forward. With Dobbs now gone, this team ... well, they really aren't much of a team. They do not play together, and they acted undisciplined.

The reptiles are 3-7 on the year ... they are already bowl ineligible. And thing for them are just going to get worse. They may beat UAB, but with FSU waiting in the wings; the lizards are gonna be skinned & "Bar-B-Qued" in the swamp ... maybe Billybud can get himself a new gator hide belt after all is said & done.

Tennessee is 4-6 on the year; they have to win their final two games to become Bowl Eligible --- however, their final 2 games are against LSU & rival Vanderbilt ... normally you'd expect Vanderbilt to be a gimme game for the Vols ... this season, they have the same overall record, and same conference record, 0-6 ... I don't even think there is a case to be made of playing for pride --- irregardless, I do not believe the Vols stand 1/10th of a chance vs LSU [especially since Brady Hoke will be the interim head coach for this game]. So the likelihood of a Bowl game is all but declared irrelevant.

Coming into this season, Missouri was quite possibly the worst power 5 program in the country.

Over the last two weeks, Missouri beat the gators 45-16, and the Vols 50-17 --- A complete shellacking of both. Neither florida nor Tenn had a chance in their games against the Tigers. I suppose there could be a case made for the gators, that under an interim head coach the players weren't ready, and had to adjust to the new play style; all while shaking off the loss of McElwain, the guy who recruited them [they did play better against South Carolina this past weekend]. But Tennessee simply had no heart.

Mizzou basically put up the same numbers on Tennessee & florida, that they did on Idaho & UConn. Prior to the Idaho game, Missouri lost 5 straight by the same numbers they won their last 4 by ... and it wasn't until they beat the gators that Mizzou even had a win vs a Power 5 program.

Now for the absurd ... Tennessee is purported to be ready to offer Jon Gruden $10 Million to be their next head coach. --- Normally, I would have just rolled my eyes assuming this to be the same rumor mill nonsense that we heard about Texas willing to spend as much for Saban, a few years back. Here's why I'm not so skeptical over this one:

There were rumors that Miami would possibly turn to Jon Gruden with a $5 million a year contract ... there were some reports about negotiations, though nothing every really confirmed, but there was speculation that talks had stopped because of the money Gruden was asking for his supporting staff ... Jon Gruden did, however, address the matter, saying, "I have nothing but respect for Miami. And it would be a great place for any coach. But right now I am happy with where I am, and the job I have" [referring to his nfl commentary and football analysis mic job].

Now, in this go around ... there have yet to be any talks with Gruden ... but when asked, on live TV, if he would be interested in the Tennessee coaching job, Gruden went on record, "Never say never" --- Hey, I don't blame him ... $10 million is a lot of money by itself ... but as a per year salary? --- and now there is a Tennessee alumni Billionaire booster out of Pennsylvania in favor of this, too ..?

The timing of it all is not surprising, either.

With florida giving McElwain the boot, UT in all likelihood, is attempting to trump UF by throwing around an eight figure number to try and capture their Golden Unicorn, with an obscene amount, before florida can pull a gotcha move, similar to what they did to notre dame with Meyer, when ND clearly planned for Urban to be their next coach, and florida offer him $2 million a year ... which was $8oo Thousand move than what notre dame's offer was.

Ten Million Though

We all knew Money rules the day in sports ... Now it has become abrasively transparent.

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Cane from the Bend wrote:But can you name two more traditionally touted Juggernaut programs that have dwindled into such miserable states as these two have ... and at the same time.

It really is remarkable how far these two have fallen. There were some warning signs, Hurd leaving Tenn, but with recruiting, and name recognition one expected there would be enough depth and skill to keep them in race for division.

Cane from the Bend wrote:With Dobbs now gone, this team ... well, they really aren't much of a team. They do not play together, and they acted undisciplined.

Completely agree. They dont show trust in each other. Neither team has on field leadership. Lack of this has lead to them simply quitting. They quit on plays, quit on games and quit on the coach before the schools did.

Michigan and Penn State have been gone for quite a awhile and are just now starting to come back.

Oregon plummeted

Washington just came back under Petersen.

donovan wrote:Washington just came back under Petersen.

Yes they have. It was not that long ago the Apple Cup was a battle of 1 win teams, if they both even had a win. For the second year it should decide the division winner.
The ebbs and flows of sports, now if only Alabama would have that drop off...

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When Saban retires, they sure will.


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