Tennessee Volunteers 2013 Game by Game Predictions

Football season is almost here! (thank you lord), and the Vols have a new coach, a new defense, and a new excitement in the fanbase. Now is as good a time as any to look at the new season and to preview the 2013 schedule.

TENNESSEE 2013 SCHEDULE
Aug. 31 - Austin Peay
Sept. 7 - Western Kentucky
Sept. 14 - at Oregon
Sept. 21 - at Florida
Sept. 28 - South Alabama
Oct. 5 - Georgia
Oct. 19 - South Carolina
Oct. 26 - at Alabama
Nov. 2 - at Missouri
Nov. 9 - Auburn
Nov 23 - Vanderbilt
Nov. 30 - at Kentucky

Tennessee has hired former Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones. Former coach Derek Dooley left him a cupboard that was far from bare,and Jones has proven he can win big games. Coach Jones has brought new life to the fanbase and recruits alike. The Vols now boast the #1 recruiting class for the 2014 season.

Tennessee will switch back to a 4-3 defense after one year of the 3-4. Last years defense was quite possibly the worst defense the Vols have ever put on the field. The 4-3 should improve the overall defense as just about anything would be better than last years disaster.

There will be a new quarterback heading the offense this year. Justin Worley has had some in game experience, but mobility isn't one of his strong suits. Nathan Peterman is a mobile quarterback that could very well fit into Jones's fast paced offense a little better than a strait pocket QB.

Aug. 31 - Austin Peay
August 31st starts the season against Austin Peay, this should be no more than a glorified practice and should give everyone an idea of what type of offensive plays and defensive schemes we can look forward to the rest of the season.

Sept. 7 - Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky is a very interesting game. I thought that Tennessee should have given Petrino more interest during the coaching search than they did. He is a proven winner and has done more with less talent. WKU has a SEC caliber running back and will be ready to fight it out. The talent level difference is why I think UT will get this one, I do believe it will turn out to be a whole lot closer than most fans want to believe.

Sept. 14 - at Oregon
It 's a little unfortunate for the Vols that this game showed up on the schedule this season. In a rebuilding stage with a new coach isn't the best position to be in going up against Oregon in Eugene. I do think that UT can and should keep this game within a respectable range, and most fans will be OK with a 7-10 point loss. What they can't do is get blown out, to get deflated so early in the season going into SEC play could be devastating. I'm not conceding anything and I believe miracles happen, but it would take one for the Vols to pull a win here.

Sept. 21 - at Florida
I'm still not sold on Muschamp being the coach the Gators keep for the long haul. They got embarrassed by Louisville and looked like they could fall apart at any moment last year, but they didn't, and 11 wins in the SEC can't be ignored.Tennessee hasn't beat the Gators in almost a decade, sadly, the streak will more than likely continue in 2013.

Sept. 28 - South Alabama
South Alabama will be a good game to get all of the frustrations out after the Florida game.

Oct. 5 - Georgia
Tennessee vs. UGA is a great tradition game, and UT could have won this game last year if they had anything resembling a defense on the field. I like to think of this as something of a "question mark" game. UGA has better talent and more success recently, but if Tennessee gets some calls and a couple of turnovers, this game could go either way.

Oct. 19 - South Carolina
I'm in the minority thinking Tennessee will win this game outright, but I do. I really think this is a must win game for Coach Jones. Coming into this game with a probable record of 3-3 with no wins in the SEC, a win here could be the turning point in the season. What "The Ole' Ball Coach" has done for the Gamecocks is amazing, and they will have another great team this season. South Carolina is the best chance for Jones to pull an upset in the SEC, something Dooley could never do. This game will be the deciding factor for a successful season or a disappointing one.

Oct. 26 - at Alabama
Nothing to see here, maybe in a couple of years.

Nov. 2 - at Missouri
Tennessee lost in OT last year to the Tigers after dominating the first half. Many people, myself included, think the game was lost due mostly to coaching incompetence. That won't be the case this year.  Mizzou is in over its head playing in the SEC, and Tennessee should be angry and vengeful after playing Bama the week before.

Nov. 9 - Auburn
If there was any team as disappointing as UT last year, it was Auburn. The Tigers have a new coach with a lot of intensity and ties to the school as an Offensive Coordinator. This is another "question mark" game, I think this game could go either way depending on the seasons each have had up to this point.

Nov. 23 - Vanderbilt
I don't understand the national attention Vanderbilt has been getting. I realize every dog has his day, and Vandy won a bowl game last year, but they didn't beat anybody that was any good. They did blow UT out, but it was the worst Tennessee team that ever took the field. I'm not afraid of Franklin and Vandy, and I don't think Coach Jones and the Tennessee team is either. UT wins this one big and proves a point.

Nov. 30 - at Kentucky
Stoops has been selling air to recruits and doing it well. I think that he could be the Wildcats savior, just not this year. Tennessee will win this game, but the Wildcats will be good in the near future if Stoops hangs around. 

The Vols should make a bowl this season, and the fans will be happy if they do. 6-6 and a bowl win would give so much hope to the Vol fans, and it isn't a reachable goal, it is a minimum standard. Anything less than 6 wins would be underachieving considering we have 3 easy OOC games and the last half of the season has 4 very winnable conference games.





 

Tennessee Recruiting So Far

With less than a month left before National Signing Day, Tennessee is clamoring to improve their #28 recruiting class rank. So far UT has 17 commits with 3 4*s and 1 in the ESPN top 300.

Riley Ferguson  #15 QB-PP  ESPN Top 300
Corey Vereen #21 OLB
Austin Sanders  #26 OT

Tennessee has several offers out with 5* and 4* players who are yet to declare. While having a top 25 recruiting class is respectable, playing in the SEC makes it a bit tougher than most conferences. UT needs to secure at least a top 15 class and actually needs a top 10 class within the next 2 years to compete with the rest of the SEC competition.

A few of the undeclared prospects Tennessee needs to secure are:

Derrick Green #5 RB
Vonn Bell  #5 S

Both of these players have been highly recruited and have Tennessee high on their list. Green took an official visit to UT on  09/14/2012, the first one he took and one of only three he has taken so far. Green's list is very long, so to have him on campus is a big plus. It is unfortunate that Tennessee has went through a coaching change this season, but the good news is Jay Graham was retained and was Green's recruiter for his visit. Vonn Bell grew up close to Tennessee Football and has an official visit scheduled for 01/25/2013. He has been recruited and will visit Ohio State and Alabama in January also.

Marquez North and Shelton Gibson have taken or will visit in January and have been offered by the Vols, although they are still uncommitted. Landing any of the undeclared recruits listed will push UT's class significantly higher, which doesn't necessarily equal success, but could definitely make a huge difference next season. Tennessee has also offered Robert Nkemdiche, the #1 recruit in the nation. There probably isn't a realistic chance of landing him, but at least UT and Butch Jones are going all out on the recruiting trail so far.

UT's 2013 class really comes down to this month, good visits, and a whole lot of luck. Realistically it will take UT at least two years, two winning years, to get a great recruiting class.  With all that came out about Derek Dooley's recruiting practices, it should be safe to say UT can only get better on the recruiting trail.

As of today the top 5 recruiting classes look like this:

1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	23
3	Alabama Crimson Tide	21
2	Florida Gators	25
4	Ohio State Buckeyes	21
5	USC Trojans	15

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Allstate Sugar Bowl-Florida vs. Louisville

Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, La. – Wednesday, January 2, 2013)
Florida vs. Louisville – 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)


The Gators were one of the nation’s biggest surprises this season.

They followed up a 7-6 mark in coach Will Muschamp’s debut season with an 11-1 record in 2012, highlighted by victories over Texas A&M, South Carolina, LSU and Florida State. And if USC had upset Notre Dame, Florida could possibly be playing for the national title.Florida’s turnaround was led by a smothering defense, which isn’t surprising considering Muschamp’s background. The Gators rank in the top six nationally in total defense, rush defense and scoring defense and have allowed opponents to throw just five touchdown passes. Safeties Matt Elam and Josh Evans, defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd and linebacker Jon Bostic have had career years. The Gators have one of the most productive rushing attacks in the country, led by Mike Gillislee. The senior running back has 1,104 yards on the ground and 10 touchdowns, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Louisville linebackers will have to stop the screen passes from QB Jeff Driskel to Gillislee, as Gillislee has the speed to break short passes for a huge gains. Florida prides its self as a defensive team, and one of the major factors its secondary will face will be the difficult task of containing Bridgewater. Junior Matt Elam is a quick, hard-hitting safety that will try to stop Louisville's big plays. Elam was named to the Walter Camp Second-Team All-American Defense after he recorded 65 tackles, four interceptions and one sack this season. Florida will be without outside linebacker Jelani Jenkins, who went through surgery on his right foot after breaking a bone during the last game against Florida State.


There is one player on the Cardinals that would put fear in any team—Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater has thrown for 3,452 yards with 25 touchdown passes. He is ranked sixth in the country in passing percentage at 69 percent. The 6'3" sophomore quarterback has had several Heisman-like performances this season. Whether playing hurt or under pressure, there isn't a quarterback in the country that has the poise like Bridgewater. Although he will have a broken wrist on his non-throwing arm, the Gators will do everything they can to contain the young quarterback. Louisville went into its regular-season finale at Rutgers without many people giving the Cards much of a shot to win. Rutgers jumped out to a 14-3 lead. But Bridgewater refused to be denied. Playing through his injuries, he led Louisville to a 20-17 comeback win to clinch the BCS spot. Bridgewater ended up throwing for 3,452 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season and was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the entire nation. He may have been an unknown outside the Big East before the season began; that is no longer the case. Bridgewater allowed his team to survive the loss of leading rusher Senorise Perry, who tore his ACL against Syracuse and is out for the season. He allowed his team to win games it struggled in for a large chunk of time. And he allowed his team to survive some pretty shaky play on defense. It’s safe to say that many expected Louisville to be better than it was defensively this season, particularly up front. But for a majority of the season, the Cardinals had a hard time consistently stopping the run or consistently getting a pass rush going.

I have a hard time thinking the Cardinals can pull this off, the Gators have survived the SEC and exceeded expectations this year. It could be a long night for Charlie Strong and his Cardinals.

My Favorite NFL Moment of 2012 
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