Last year, we almost beat LSU down there and who was our QB?

[BanditVol]

Just sayin'.   

If only their QB was struggling as much as that knucklehead they had last year. 

[BigOrange Maniac]

UT fans are trying to justify why we can keep this game close. I've heard several others say the same thing. Folks were giving Mike Griffith heck yesterday for saying LSU would win by 17. (I think LSU by 17 would be a very safe bet.)

I wish I felt it. I'm usually the optimistic one, but I don't see any way UT keeps this game close. We had a much better running game down there last year than what we have right now. And LSU is playing much, much better football right now than they were at this time last year.

[BanditVol]

I hear you on all of that and I mostly agree.

I am "just sayin".   

Hey, no matter what, Les Miles is still their coach.  I am not one of those that think he is hopelessly incompetant, but let's face it dice roll whenever he takes the field.  He seems to get more than his share of boxcars.  Maybe, just maybe, he comes up snake eyes this time.

[BigOrange Maniac]

Well, unless Miles has sold his soul to the devil, he's got about 10 years of bad luck pent up.

And unless Derek Dooley has been sold out to the devil, he's got about 10 years of good luck pent up.

Maybe this will be the week where all of it comes pouring out. 

[VinnieVOL]

We also had Janzen, who had a big day that day.  There's just no way we stay within three scores.  Actually I don't see us scoring at all the next two weeks.

[droner]

I'll be happy and consider it a success if Simms doesn't get tackled from behind and fumbles.

[BanditVol]

Wow, such pessimism.  I definitely don't expect us to win, but man, it ain't gonna be near as bad as some of you think.  Ponder this:

2010 uga 41-14, uf 31-17
2011 uga 20-12, uf 33-23

I see some progress there, mostly in the uga game, but progress nonetheless. 

So I say this is a better UT team than the one we took down to Baton Rouge last year, top to bottom.  And the point is, I know Bray has been a big part of that but we did not have him last year either!

LSU has improved tremendously on offense, but since when do they get a victory for just showing up? 

They still have to play the game don't they?  Isn't that how it works?

So come on up here you cajun pieces of shizzle.  This is Tennessee.   Give it your best shot.   Let's let it get decided on the field, shall we?

[Black Diamond Vol]

Wow, such pessimism.  I definitely don't expect us to win, but man, it ain't gonna be near as bad as some of you think.  Ponder this:

2010 uga 41-14, uf 31-17
2011 uga 20-12, uf 33-23

I see some progress there, mostly in the uga game, but progress nonetheless. 

So I say this is a better UT team than the one we took down to Baton Rouge last year, top to bottom.  And the point is, I know Bray has been a big part of that but we did not have him last year either!

LSU has improved tremendously on offense, but since when do they get a victory for just showing up? 

They still have to play the game don't they?  Isn't that how it works?

So come on up here you cajun pieces of shizzle.  This is Tennessee.   Give it your best shot.   Let's let it get decided on the field, shall we?

Last year's UGA score is deceptive, because we fumbled about a thousand punts.  I'm not saying we would've won otherwise, but those two teams weren't really 27 points apart.  And we were actually more competitive with UF last year, despite the score.  Remember, we were tied with them late in the 3rd quarter.  We never really got within shouting distance of them this year.

[Inspector Vol]

lsu by 3+ scores. It could be 40-0. Last year we could run the ball a little bit.

We will be lucky if Simms makes it through the next two games.

[BanditVol]

lsu by 3+ scores. It could be 40-0. Last year we could run the ball a little bit.

We will be lucky if Simms makes it through the next two games.

Strongly disagree.  I guess we'll find out.

Oh and let me add...we did NOT "run the ball a little bit" last year.   

If you are drinking anything, please put it down.  Last year we ran for ony 89 vs. LSU and that was in the middle of our games from last year.  We were 101st overall at the end of last year.  FWIW.

[Inspector Vol]

Strongly disagree.  I guess we'll find out.

Oh and let me add...we did NOT "run the ball a little bit" last year.   

If you are drinking anything, please put it down.  Last year we ran for ony 89 vs. LSU and that was in the middle of our games from last year.  We were 101st overall at the end of last year.  FWIW.

Not trying to argue but 89 is a damn sight better than what we have done against SEC teams this year not named LSU or Bama. We cannot run the ball even a little bit this year, or haven't so far, and that is going to cause us severe issues in the next 3 games.

I will gladly eat my words if I am wrong and 40-0 may be over the top but I just don't see any way to keep it close unless they screw up like they did last year.

[VoLynteer]

3rd and Chavis baybee WWFDT

[BigOrange Maniac]

Is anyone confident that we can run for 89 yards on LSU this year? I'm not. Not by a long shot.

And that number is a little deceiving. We finished with 96 total yards, including sacks. Poole rushed for 109 yards. There's no way we have a back on our team that is going to rush for 100+ against LSU come Saturday.

Another difference is that last year we had a couple of very good receivers in Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore, along with an emerging freshman in Justin Hunter. (Jones had five catches, Moore had two and Hunter had one, but it was a big one - 37 yards.) Now our top three guys (excluding Rivera, who I would put slightly ahead of where Stocker was at this time last year) are D. Rogers, Arnett and Z. Rogers. I dare say these guys will have a more difficult time getting open than our guys did last year. (Not that we lit up LSU's D; Simms finished 12 of 21 for 120 or so.)

[BigOrange Maniac]

Also, the most glaring difference of all: Last year we won the turnover battle. LSU had three INTs and a fumble, while Tennessee did not turn the ball over. Take away the +4 turnover margin and LSU wins easily. Considering our D has created one — count 'em, ONE — turnover so far this year, I think we can safely assume that we won't dominate the turnover margin like that this year. (Plus, our O is putting the ball on the ground far too often.)

[Volznut]

Turnovers are why we were in that game. LSU committed 4. The great equalizer is turnovers and special teams play.

[BanditVol]

Is anyone confident that we can run for 89 yards on LSU this year? I'm not. Not by a long shot.

And that number is a little deceiving. We finished with 96 total yards, including sacks. Poole rushed for 109 yards. There's no way we have a back on our team that is going to rush for 100+ against LSU come Saturday.

Another difference is that last year we had a couple of very good receivers in Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore, along with an emerging freshman in Justin Hunter. (Jones had five catches, Moore had two and Hunter had one, but it was a big one - 37 yards.) Now our top three guys (excluding Rivera, who I would put slightly ahead of where Stocker was at this time last year) are D. Rogers, Arnett and Z. Rogers. I dare say these guys will have a more difficult time getting open than our guys did last year. (Not that we lit up LSU's D; Simms finished 12 of 21 for 120 or so.)

Wow, are we really down to talking about whether we can even run for 89 vs. LSU?  That's pretty pathetic.  Here is one thing you might not have thought of.  We only attempted 14 rushes by running backs in the entire game vs. uga, and in the first half at least, both Lane and Neal averaged about 4 yards per carry.  We had a couple run plays get blown up in the second half, but for all attempts and purposes had abandoned the run by that point.

If we carry 20-25 times Saturday and average 3-4 yards per carry, that will be a big improvement over the uga game at least, and should result iin 80-100 yards.  So I guess we are talking about barely being able to break 100.  Sad, but it is what it is.

[BanditVol]

Good point about the TO ratio last year.  Maybe lightning will strike twice.