The Tennessee Volunteers have a tough road ahead of them if they intend to get back into the National Championship picture. A more realistic goal, although still a mouthful, would be to win the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. It can still be done with a little help. Tennessee needs Florida to lose twice in order to break the tiebreaker and move ahead of the Gators.
If Tennessee wins the remainder of their games and Florida loses a game, the Gators would still be in first place because they beat the Vols head-to-head.
Florida has home games against Kentucky, LSU, Auburn and South Carolina. They have road games at Mississippi and at Vanderbilt. They play Georgia at a neutral site in Jacksonville.
Auburn has beaten the Gators in Gainesville in the last decade. Georgia will be trying to prove themselves as a worthy contender and have the talent to give the Gators all they want if they can get their quarterback situation worked out. LSU showed last year that they could win a big game when they defeated Tennessee in the SEC Championship. South Carolina will be a wildcard as long as they have Lou Holtz calling the shots.
Of course Tennessee must win the remainder of their SEC games and after seeing the bottom fall out against Florida Saturday that in itself is a longshot.
The Vols will play Arkansas next Saturday after a non-conference game against Rutgers. The Razorbacks are the team that nearly ended any hope of an undefeated season in 1998 and did end the Vols’ hopes with a late defensive stand in 1999. Tennessee must go on the road to Georgia the following week and play a talented Bulldog team that they haven’t beaten in their last two tries.
They will then host their oldest rival, Alabama, and try to get their eighth straight win against the Tide. The longer those kind of streaks last, the more likely they are to be broken.
Then, sandwiched around a homecoming game with the defending National Champion and top ranked Miami Hurricanes, are SEC contests at South Carolina and at Mississippi State. The same goes for Tennessee as it did for Florida when it comes to Holtz and the Gamecocks. It’s never a lot of fun going to Starksville, Mississippi, win or lose. Jackie Sherrill’s teams have always been predictably unpredictable.
A second trip to Nashville follows, as the Vols will play Vanderbilt in the Tennessee Titans Stadium, in what essentially is a home game for Tennessee. The Vols finish the regular season with a home game against the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky is currently 4-0 for the first time in several years and are playing with a ton of confidence. The Wildcats, like Arkansas, always play above their heads against the Vols and a win would put icing on the cake to a season that can’t end in a bowl game (due to NCAA sanctions).
Tennessee, a team that was picked to win the National Championship by at least two pre-season polls, could very easily lose four games this season if the ship is not righted in the next couple of weeks. That task could be Head Coach Phillip Fulmer’s biggest test in his 10-years at the helm.

… read the rest of the story by Subscribing now.

The Tennessee Volunteers have a tough road ahead of them if they intend to get back into the National Championship picture. A more realistic goal, although still a mouthful, would be to win the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. It can still be done with a little help. Tennessee needs Florida to lose twice in order to break the tiebreaker and move ahead of the Gators.
If Tennessee wins the remainder of their games and Florida loses a game, the Gators would still be in first place because they beat the Vols head-to-head.
Florida has home games against Kentucky, LSU, Auburn and South Carolina. They have road games at Mississippi and at Vanderbilt. They play Georgia at a neutral site in Jacksonville.
Auburn has beaten the Gators in Gainesville in the last decade. Georgia will be trying to prove themselves as a worthy contender and have the talent to give the Gators all they want if they can get their quarterback situation worked out. LSU showed last year that they could win a big game when they defeated Tennessee in the SEC Championship. South Carolina will be a wildcard as long as they have Lou Holtz calling the shots.
Of course Tennessee must win the remainder of their SEC games and after seeing the bottom fall out against Florida Saturday that in itself is a longshot.
The Vols will play Arkansas next Saturday after a non-conference game against Rutgers. The Razorbacks are the team that nearly ended any hope of an undefeated season in 1998 and did end the Vols’ hopes with a late defensive stand in 1999. Tennessee must go on the road to Georgia the following week and play a talented Bulldog team that they haven’t beaten in their last two tries.
They will then host their oldest rival, Alabama, and try to get their eighth straight win against the Tide. The longer those kind of streaks last, the more likely they are to be broken.
Then, sandwiched around a homecoming game with the defending National Champion and top ranked Miami Hurricanes, are SEC contests at South Carolina and at Mississippi State. The same goes for Tennessee as it did for Florida when it comes to Holtz and the Gamecocks. It’s never a lot of fun going to Starksville, Mississippi, win or lose. Jackie Sherrill’s teams have always been predictably unpredictable.
A second trip to Nashville follows, as the Vols will play Vanderbilt in the Tennessee Titans Stadium, in what essentially is a home game for Tennessee. The Vols finish the regular season with a home game against the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky is currently 4-0 for the first time in several years and are playing with a ton of confidence. The Wildcats, like Arkansas, always play above their heads against the Vols and a win would put icing on the cake to a season that can’t end in a bowl game (due to NCAA sanctions).
Tennessee, a team that was picked to win the National Championship by at least two pre-season polls, could very easily lose four games this season if the ship is not righted in the next couple of weeks. That task could be Head Coach Phillip Fulmer’s biggest test in his 10-years at the helm.

… read the rest of the story by Subscribing now.