J. Jennings like 💪

If you are so inclined the Checkerboard Chatter is on YouTube right now. Only their 2nd episode.

All these scenarios of who to take for the playoff, where Tennessee will land…time to pump the brakes a bit. Rub it a little slower.

The Bama win is huge. Possibly program redefining, but six games remain and one of those against the top ranked team in the country. Tennessee might be the flavor-of-the-month for the jockbros and sports media, but this same lot will turn after the first loss. If UT is still here after week nine or ten, then it’ll seem real.

I dont really wanna speak it into existence though.

Bring him back. Enough of this treatment

Is Tennessee poised to join the elite college football league of recruiting programs with this win/start and NIL combination? — Eric Q.

While Tennessee and Alabama were playing Saturday, I was covering the TCU-Oklahoma State game. I sat in the press box with my computer open streaming that game, feeling some of the worst FOMO I’ve ever experienced. That game, that crowd, the stakes, all of it. I cannot imagine a better full package when it comes to college football. That’s what Tennessee can sell to recruits.

Everyone in the country was watching that game. Most people wished they were there. And when Tennessee won, the subsequent celebration was exactly what you’d expect from a fan base starving to return to national relevance.

CBS's Alabama-Tennessee game rated as the most-watched Bama-Tennessee game on record (since 1987) and the most-watched CFB game of the season on any network, averaging 11.6 million viewers. The game peaked nearly 17 million viewers.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) October 18, 2022

Click to expand...

Tennessee did just that.

I’ve said many times before that recruits don’t often look at a single game and make their college decisions based on the result.That still is probably the case here. But if there ever were going to be an outlier to that point of view, this game was it. Why? Because this game wasn’t just a W in the win column. This was a program-legitimizing win, not just when it comes to what Josh Heupel is building, but what it has to offer. That stadium, those fans, that win? That’s literally playing college football at the highest level.

The NIL stuff is hard to really predict right now. There is no question that Tennessee was at the forefront of the movement and has some really nice pieces coming in as part of its 2023 class — yes, five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava is coming to Knoxville — but I’ve always been cautious about crowning a program due to an aggressive collective because everyone is going to catch up. The market will set and Tennessee’s competitors will be more equipped with competing offers than they were out of the gate. That’s why NIL alone was never something I thought could build a program on its own.


But this win combined with NIL? Wow.

Tennessee was cool when I was growing up in Arizona. People wore Vols stuff in Scottsdale. Kids at my school rooted for them. They were the “it” team then.

I have to ask: Has Tennessee been this cool since it won the national title in 1998? I’d venture to say no.

That was the complete package. I cannot imagine how loud it was in that building that day. And it wasn’t just a one-off win — Tennessee is undefeated and firmly in the national championship discussion.

There is no question that how Tennessee fills out the remainder of its class is one of the storylines for the 2023 cycle. The Volunteers currently rank No. 10 nationally and have 21 commitments — six from top-150 national prospects. They can still build on that.

Going from a solid program to one of the “it” programs is one of the more difficult things a coach can do in college football. I can’t imagine how a team could take a bigger step forward on a single Saturday than Tennessee just did.

From @Noah-Taylor in Birmingham:

Watched nick press conference to see what he had to say about the game on Monday. He was crying about the hits Bryce was getting and the pass inference calls. Said they turned some plays into sec office. You watch from now on they will get every call out there the way he is complaining.

Jmo he ate Mike Farrell

He said "a 1 loss Michigan who doesn't win their division will get in the playoffs ahead of a 1 loss regular season UT (even if that loss is to UGA) bc they are prettier"

"Same offensive power as UT but different bc they ran the ball vs Penn St for 400 but the key is their D is so much better and that will be the reason

I don't even have to look up our points per game avg vs Michigan's to know UT prob outscores them by 15+ a game this season

He refused to even bring up that UTs schedule is far more difficult than Michigan's or that PSU is much much worse than Bama and worse than 2-3 other teams UT will face this year. Goodness sake Penn St has been horrible the last couple years and that's his go to big win for Michigan

Smh......he's on the list as pure ignoramus. They SEC only had been the best conference by far for 99% of the last 30 years and he puked this crap up today.

Ya I'm triggered with this stupid type of thinking.

Jmo IF UT shows up and plays well the rest of the year it will beat KY and UGA too. They can't score 45+. Not sure wr win the SECT but I do think our offense can win games that only a couple other programs can compete with and they have top qbs......OSU and Bama (who UT beat and handed them 7 points late and they still couldn't get it done)

As for UTs D.......I've seen big games incl national title games by elite Ds like Clemson and Bama etc the lady 5-10 years give up 40+ points. I know our D isn't great but D does win titles most of the time anymore. As a DC you're just hoping your D can get a big turnover and a couple stops. In today's game offense is most everything. UGAs D was unique last year......that is far from the norm the lady 10 years by the very best programs. It's all about can you score 40 or more vs the top teams

Hey, all. Episode 2 of VolReport's Checkerboard Chatter show with host Tyler Ivens airs TONIGHT at 7:05 p.m. ET on our YouTube channel and Twitter page.

Tyler and I will reflect on Tennessee's win over Alabama and what it means for the Vols' program moving forward. Be sure to tune in for the fun.

LINK TO WATCH LIVE:

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Tennessee men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes. as well as Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi, will meet with the media at SEC Tipoff on Wednesday in Birmingham.

Barnes will take the podium at 12:55 p.m. ET. Players are slated to speak at 1:15 p.m.

Keep up with notes and updates in this thread and on Twitter @TennesseeRivals.

4 tix - Sec PP row27 for sale
$300 or best offer
text 602 478 5075

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel will speak on the SEC Coaches Teleconference at 11:50 a.m. ET. Follow along in this thread for notes and quotes.

From @Noah-Taylor:

Tennessee men’s basketball has been picked to finish No. 3 in the SEC Preseason Media Poll.

Santiago Vescovi is on the Preseason All-SEC First Team, while Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Zeigler are on the Second Team.

Full poll:
1. Kentucky
2. Arkansas
3. Tennessee
4. Auburn
5. Alabama
6. Texas A&M
7. Florida
8. LSU
9. Ole Miss
10. Mississippi State
11. Missouri
12. Vanderbilt
13. Georgia
14. South Carolina

From @Noah-Taylor:

From @Noah-Taylor:

From @Jake Nichols:

Domed stadium. Nashville is going to host the Super Bowl and very likely the NCAA basketball championships.

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