Titles 'R Us wrote:Do you happen to know our record in televised openers, A10? Just curious.
That data would be useful, wouldn't it? I could be completely off base but it would seem our past history for opening weekends televised or not are miserable. I've just come to expect either a complete implosion or a another nail biter from us.
I'm being honest, I don't know where we are. Bo didn't practice in the spring, I don't know how well the shoulder has healed or what kind of results to expect and I don't have any confidence at back up QB because of the Spring. I mean, if Bo goes down what kind of season do we have?
The defense certainly will be great but they can't play the whole game.
We have a tough schedule, the West is loaded and I don't expect Auburn or Arkansas to be t'd up for us like last season either. Nor do we carry the element of surprise for this season.
Again I'll submit, it'll be interesting to see how they come out for this first game.
I don't think the Vandy game is do or die. I know some folks will say it is the end of the season, but just like all teams some get better as the season goes along, and some teams get worse. Nutt's last season I said the Vandy game was it and basically called it the end of the season. I however do not feel a Hugh Freeze team will do that after the 1st game. They could have packed it up after the Texas game or the A&M game last year but they responded so it is still early enough in Freezes tenure that I think he will get them to respond no matter if we beat Vandy this year. Now 5-6 years from now that could be totally different, but I don't expect a Freeze team to pack it up like a Nutt/Orgeron team.
Now I will say A-10 is correct. This was no minor surgery that our starting QB went through. He is just now throwing in drills and the surgery was 6 months ago. I don't want to alarm folks because he may come back better, but everyone should temper their expectations around the fact that there might be some ghost pressure that Wallace will feel and whether he can get that out of his head or not will determine the season most likely.
I think that the Vandy game is in some ways the most important game this year. To prove that we are for real (which I believe we are) and to prove that Coach Freeze is a top level SEC coach (which I believe he is) the Rebels have to finally beat a Vandy program that does not have more talent than us and certainly does not have a recruiting edge on us and Coach Freeze has to beat Franklin to move one more rung up that ladder of SEC coaching. I believe that if we start off playing and coaching like we did in the Egg Bowl and Compass Bowl Vandy goes down!!
Rebchuck18 wrote:I think that the Vandy game is in some ways the most important game this year. To prove that we are for real (which I believe we are) and to prove that Coach Freeze is a top level SEC coach (which I believe he is) the Rebels have to finally beat a Vandy program that does not have more talent than us and certainly does not have a recruiting edge on us and Coach Freeze has to beat Franklin to move one more rung up that ladder of SEC coaching. I believe that if we start off playing and coaching like we did in the Egg Bowl and Compass Bowl Vandy goes down!!
Here's something to consider. The record shows Vandy has won six of the last eight games in the series. (There is some question about the bad spot on fourth down last fall which allowed Vandy to keep the ball for the winning series.) But the last eight years, look who was coaching: Orgeron (three years); Nutt (four years); and Freeze (one year). I think the recent results have been more the result of our coaching hire mistakes than Vandy doing anything that can't be overcome.
Freeze is a real head coach, and I don't expect this Vandy streak to continue.
so which team will feel the pressure the most? its pretty much a must win game for both teams. I don't think freeze feels pressure and if he does he thrives off it. I can't say the same for franklin.
