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.





 

Outback Bowl-South Carolina vs. Michigan

Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla. – Tuesday, January 1, 2013)
South Carolina vs. Michigan – 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)



Michigan will play two quarterbacks on offense in Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner. Robinson will be used more of a runner in his final college game, thanks to an elbow injury he suffered last month. Gardner started the season at receiver, but he moved to quarterback after Robinson’s injury. Gardner has thrown for 1,005 yards and eight touchdowns, and Robinson threw for 1,319 yards and nine touchdowns. Combined, these two quarterbacks have thrown for 17 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Neither player has taken care of the football. Jeremy Gallon and Roy Roundtree are the top two receivers on the team, as Gallon leads all receivers with 40 catches for 684 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Devin Funchess has caught a team-high five touchdowns. Michigan currently has a -8 turnover margin and has turned it over 25 times this season. The biggest problem has been the quarterbacks throwing picks in horrible situations.

The 10-2 Gamecocks could play in any of the BCS bowls because they’re that good, and they’ll suit up a defense that is as physically big and gifted as Notre Dame, who happened to beat Michigan earlier in the year 13-6. The running game consists of Kenny Miles and Mike Davis in Marcus Lattimore’s absence. Miles has toted the rock 99 times for 358 yards and two touchdowns, while Davis only has 52 carries for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Neither are game breakers like Lattimore, but both are serviceable backs who can add punch to the running game and a balance to the offense. But South Carolina makes their money with a filthy defense. The Gamecocks haven’t missed a beat under new defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward. In fact, the defense is more explosive than last season. USC leads the SEC with 40 sacks. Jadeveon Clowney alone has registered 13 sacks alone with 21.5 tackles for loss. Those are stupid numbers. The Gamecocks are fourth in the SEC and 13th overall in scoring defense, allowing opponents a little over 17.4 points per game. It’s a stingy and stout group that loves to play physical and get after the quarterback.

South Carolina’s front four on defense gives the Gamecocks the edge against Michigan. The Wolverines have played five close games in which the outcome was ultimately decided by a touchdown or less, so they’re comfortable playing close games. And Michigan has done a particularly good job protecting the quarterback, as they have only surrendered 15 sacks all season. South Carolina will look to exert their will on whichever quarterback lines up in the backfield, but I’m just having a hard time seeing Michigan consistently putting drives together against the Gamecocks’ defense.

Saturday Down South Original Article by Jon Cooper

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