Reader Questions Part 3
Welcome back, something huge has happened since the last post. In case any of you missed it, NASA landed another rover on the planet Mars late last night. And yes, the wife and I watched it.
How about some college football. We are oh so close to college football kicking off. So, let's get into some of your questions going into the season.
Now, since most of my readers and followers out there are in the SEC country and the Tennessee area, I am going to take a closer look at the VOLS. I have received a few questions about Dooley and the Vols.
Tennessee enters the season with many questions. How much has Tyler Bray improved? Is the defense going to be better? Is the running game going to be a factor? And maybe the million dollar question: "How many games does Dooley have to win to keep his job?" And for some UT fans, "Do we want Derrick Dooley to keep his job?"
After a 5-7 season, Derrick Dooley hopes to turn that record into a 8-5 record or maybe even a 9-4 record. He has some good weapons to help him get there. Tyler Bray looks to be like he can be a solid SEC QB. However, for Bray, he needs help in order to take his game to the next level. The running game was in terrible shape last season. They ranked 116th in rushing. When defenses don't have to respect your run game, it will make it that much harder to pass. The positive you can take from last season......if there was one.... it is that Bray was forced to pass in every game. And we learned that Bray can make plays with his arm. UT just needs to take a little of the pressure off Bray. If Dooley can get the run going, then the Vols will have a much easier time on offense. That has to be the biggest goal for the offense.
On the other side of the ball, the defense looks like it could make some good strides and be a pretty good SEC defense. Last season UT ranked 36th in the nation in scoring defense. While that is not a great defense, it is NOT a terrible defense. The offense ranked 106th in points scored. Now that is a terrible number. The defense should continue to improve and have a very similiar season to last year. With that said, it is clearly on the offense this season. The defense can't just lay down and die, don't get me wrong....but the defense is closer to being where they need to be to get back to being competitive in the SEC East.
I hate to bring up memories from last season, but if you are a Tennessee fan, there is no way you could forget a 5-7 record. Let's take a little closer look at that record. The five wins UT had last year were against Montana, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Middle Tennessee, and an overtime win over Vanderbilt. No wins against any ranked teams. No signature wins over a rival or other big SEC school. (sorry Vandy, I still don't consider you a solid SEC team, but congrats for going to a bowl last season)
For Dooley to keep his job, he has to aim for 1 of 2 scenarios to play out this season. One, finishing 8-5 but with one or two signature wins. A win over rival University of Florida (which is a home game this season for the Vols) would be nice. Maybe a competitive game with Georgia and South Carolina couldn't hurt either, but there has to be a signature win in that 8-5 record. The other scenario is finishing 9-4. That one extra win may not seem like much but with the schedule being played, it very well could be a very difficult task for a team that has the possible flaws that UT has.
UT's schedule looks like this:
NC State
Georgia State
Florida
Akron
@ Georgia
@ Mississippi State
Alabama
@ South Carolina
Troy
Missouri
@Vanderbilt
Kentucky
At just a quick glance, I only see 4 games that you could easily put a 'W' next to. And I don't say that because it is the SEC schedule. NC State is not a sure win game. However, for Derrick Dooley, it is a must win game. Vanderbilt will make some noise in the SEC this season. And watch out for Kentucky. A tough season is ahead of Derrick Dooley and the Vols, but if they can get some bounces in their favor they may keep Dooley around for another season.
Take a break if you like, but there is more. And it is a question about the North Carolina Tar Heels.
This question comes from Chris Ward in Tennessee,
"How are my Tar Heels looking this season?"
Well Chris, it is tough to say. The NCAA violations and all the negative things surrounding the program right now make it difficult to predict how this team will play. But let's play it out as if the football team was focused and new head coach Larry Fedora has been able to get them moving in the right direction. UNC has a pretty good QB in Bryn Renner. (yes it is Bryn) He threw for over 3000 yards and 26 TDs last season. The offense should be as good as last season, maybe even a little better. They still have to adjust to a little different system, but they should be okay with the transition.
I see the Tar Heels finishing with a very similiar season to last year.....7-6. However, UNC's losses last year were by narrow margins. It is very possible that Fedora and the Heels could start 5-0 and have some great momentum going to the Virginia Tech game. Starting with V-Tech, though, is the start of the toughest stretch of the season. V-Tech, @ Miami, @ Duke (don't sleep on Duke this year), then back home for NC State and Georgia Tech. So, for first year head coach Larry Fedora, it is very important to get off to a fast start.
I have a couple of other questions to get to, but I will get to those in next week's Reader Questions Segment. Thanks for reading and you can always send in your questions to jeremy.cf2d@yahoo.com
Check back this week for my breakdown of my #1 team in my Preseason Top 10 Countdown. The LSU Tigers.
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