Wow, so much negativity

[BanditVol]

Seems there are a lot of unhappy Vol fans.  Well, I am not happy with the loss, and the game was very winnable, so yes, that sucks.

That said,  a few weeks ago I didn't have much confidence that we were capable of winning this game.

Now I'm convinced we should have.  And yes, that's progress. 

I think going forward we can win any remaining game, and yes that includes Kentucky. 

I guess we will see.

[Tnphil]

Not winning any remaining SEC games with that defense we had yesterday. Just not going to happen unless a miracle strikes our defense.

[BanditVol]

Not winning any remaining SEC games with that defense we had yesterday. Just not going to happen unless a miracle strikes our defense.

Defense played well most of first half.  Charlotte won't give any answers, I guess the next "answer game" is Kentucky on the 10th. 

How do you explain the discrepancy between first and second half?

[PirateVOL]

Defense played well most of first half.  Charlotte won't give any answers, I guess the next "answer game" is Kentucky on the 10th. 

How do you explain the discrepancy between first and second half?

what Charlotte will provide is a testing ground to determine the OL going forward
I was
Very surprised we stuck with the same lineup the entire game against SC

[Creek Walker]

Let me posit a question: Did your change of heart re: this game's winnability have more to do with what Tennessee has shown or what South Carolina has shown?

I said during the summer that Tennessee has a more talented team than South Carolina. Then I was guilty of buying into the hype surrounding South Carolina -- which was mostly based on the fact that they were coming off a 9-win season with the supposition that Bentley would have an NFL-caliber season. As we went through September and into October, it became apparent that this is the same ol' South Carolina . . . and the same ol' Will Muschamp. Bentley is having an average season, at best. I think people are frustrated because those are the games that you have to win to turn the corner . . . you can't beat the Alabamas, the Georgias, the West Virginias in year one, but you can certainly beat teams like South Carolina. And in Pruitt's first test in one of those games, he failed. That's not an indictment on Pruitt; it happens to great coaches. As so many people have pointed out already, Saban lost to Louisiana-Lafayette in his first season at Alabama. So it happens. But that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

I think the part that has me so negative is our in-game coaching. For maybe just the second time this season, I felt like our staff was completely and thoroughly out-coached. They had a good gameplan going in, but in-game coaching left a lot to be desired. And when you know your team's coach has gotten out-coached (again) by Will friggin' Muschamp . . . well . . .

[Tnphil]

USC used 3 TEs a lot the 2nd half and ran it down our throats.....Good coaching by them.

[BanditVol]

I think people are frustrated because those are the games that you have to win to turn the corner . . . you can't beat the Alabamas, the Georgias, the West Virginias in year one, but you can certainly beat teams like South Carolina. And in Pruitt's first test in one of those games, he failed. That's not an indictment on Pruitt; it happens to great coaches. As so many people have pointed out already, Saban lost to Louisiana-Lafayette in his first season at Alabama. So it happens. But that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

I think the part that has me so negative is our in-game coaching. For maybe just the second time this season, I felt like our staff was completely and thoroughly out-coached. They had a good gameplan going in, but in-game coaching left a lot to be desired. And when you know your team's coach has gotten out-coached (again) by Will friggin' Muschamp . . . well . . .

I think you nailed it on the first part.  This was a significant game in terms of turning the corner.  Such a great difference if we had won.  However, we do have a chance to redeem ouselves at home vs. Mizzou.  And for the rest of it yes junior is its usual shizzlety muschamp self.  But to be honest, I was worried even about beating a team that bad just 3-4 weeks ago, and now I almost expected us to win.  That is progress!  Yes it's frustrating that we didn't quite get there, but at least we came away mad that we didn't win.

I'm less sure about the out-coached part.  Maybe.  But I am going to judge Pruitt and staff on the entire season, not just one game, and I don't think anyone can argue that we have not made progress.  Particularly most people think Helton called a great game, and I know you have been critical of him particularly.  This was only Pruitt's eigth game.  I can be a bit more patient.

[Coupe De VOL]

We should not have lost a single fizzleing game to that scumbag Will Muskrat.  Instead we have lost every fizzleing game to Will fizzleing Muskrat.  That really fizzleing pisses me off.

[BanditVol]

We should not have lost a single fizzleing game to that scumbag Will Muskrat.  Instead we have lost every fizzleing game to Will fizzleing Muskrat.  That really fizzleing pisses me off.

Yep

I think it will finally end next year 

[Creek Walker]

I think you nailed it on the first part.  This was a significant game in terms of turning the corner.  Such a great difference if we had won.  However, we do have a chance to redeem ouselves at home vs. Mizzou.  And for the rest of it yes junior is its usual shizzlety muschamp self.  But to be honest, I was worried even about beating a team that bad just 3-4 weeks ago, and now I almost expected us to win.  That is progress!  Yes it's frustrating that we didn't quite get there, but at least we came away mad that we didn't win.

I'm less sure about the out-coached part.  Maybe.  But I am going to judge Pruitt and staff on the entire season, not just one game, and I don't think anyone can argue that we have not made progress.  Particularly most people think Helton called a great game, and I know you have been critical of him particularly.  This was only Pruitt's eigth game.  I can be a bit more patient.

I thought Helton called a really nice game through two and a half quarters. The problem was as Muschamp adjusted his defense, Helton didn't adjust...in fact, his one change was the wrong change (abandoning the run game too early).

[BanditVol]

I thought Helton called a really nice game through two and a half quarters. The problem was as Muschamp adjusted his defense, Helton didn't adjust...in fact, his one change was the wrong change (abandoning the run game too early).

Hm.  Maybe so.   But whatever the case,  I think the odds of this HC and staff learning from any mistakes they make and improving are much better than under the  previous regime. 

[volsboy]

I'm just disappointed in the outcome. I thought we would win this game when up 21-9. Then they made better adjustments. I guess this is what you get when you have a talent starved team and a newbie head coach. I still see signs that he will figure it out and be a good coach. I think when he gets "his" recruits in, he will put them in the position to win. I never got that feeling from the last regime.

[BanditVol]

I'm just disappointed in the outcome. I thought we would win this game when up 21-9. Then they made better adjustments. I guess this is what you get when you have a talent starved team and a newbie head coach. I still see signs that he will figure it out and be a good coach. I think when he gets "his" recruits in, he will put them in the position to win. I never got that feeling from the last regime.

I actually agree with this.  I never thought the future was particularly bright under Jones and/or that he had too low a ceiling.  I was happy with the progress his first 2-3 years, but season 4 even though successful in many ways was a disaster and then of course the wheels came off completely in 2017.

It may take Pruitt 5-6 years to "get there" given some trends going against him (like losing the entire starting DL next year).  But I feel much more confident he will get there than I did with Butch.

[volsboy]

I think a lot of fans see what other coaches do at other schools and feel like"why can't we do that'?  Look at Mullen at UF. He has them playing pretty well. They were 4-8 like us last year. Look at Stoops at UK. He has done a good job. It is hard to imagine he can recruit good enough players for them to be more competitive than UT. But, he has. But I also despise UK fans. Now they are holding up signs that say "UK is a football school" . Really. Lets see them do it for a sustained number of seasons?

[BanditVol]

I think a lot of fans see what other coaches do at other schools and feel like"why can't we do that'?  Look at Mullen at UF. He has them playing pretty well. They were 4-8 like us last year. Look at Stoops at UK. He has done a good job. It is hard to imagine he can recruit good enough players for them to be more competitive than UT. But, he has. But I also despise UK fans. Now they are holding up signs that say "UK is a football school" . Really. Lets see them do it for a sustained number of seasons?

I think Mullen got lucky in a few games, including ours (6 turnovers!).   Stoops has done it but it has taken a very long time.  He is the second longest tenured SEC coach after satan.

I have given Stoops credit for years for what he has done at Kentucky, unlike most fans who just dismiss it as 'it's still Kentucky". 

And to this day, people still aren't giving Kentucky enough credit on defense.  They have one of the better defenses in the country, which includes OLB Josh Allen, who will be the first or second OLB taken in the 2019 NFL draft.  I think uga may struggle against them tomorrow, as uga OL is not living up to its preseason billing, Fromme has struggled at times, and their RBs, while talented, simply are not the two they had last year that are tearing it up in the NFL.