This is where we are and it effects top recruits from committing.....It's a 2 edged sword where you need wins to show improvement and then you need talent to win and show improvement. As good as the Auburn and KY (should never say KY is a good win) win were they were offset by the butt kicking's Mizzou and Vandy gave us. Pruitt needs to beat the likes of USC....Vandy...Mizzou...Miss State and get us to a bowl game where we have improvement to show....Pruitt has recruited good but not great and we need to land more difference makers and higher ranked classes to get us closer to competing against the Florida's and UGA's who we have to beat to win the East.
Agree. We are nowhere near the top (Uga and UA) and may not be up to even Florida standards (perhaps 2nd best in East), but we have got to start beating those "middling" teams to make any progress.
Mizzou depends on how well Bryant does, but preseason they are the toughest to me. Vandy without QB (Shurmer I think) and at Neyland should, and I emphasize
should, be very winnable. USC jr, it's time to turn the tide against them, we have had so many close ones, but again it's at Neyland, so maybe this is finally the year. MSU depends....they lost a ton from last year and I'm not sold on their new coach yet, he won last year with Mullen's team it will be much more on him this year, and again it's at home.
I don't think it too unreasonable to hope for a sweep of the four, but I'll say a 50-50 split while holding serve against Kentucky is the minimum acceptable to me. That and a sweep of the OOC get us to 7-5, which is widely expected of the Vols this year.