Question: Will the Tennessee / Alabama game become relevant again?

bamamoss2

All-SEC
Sep 10, 2000
1,931
304
207
73
Cullman, Alabama
So does football. Teams like Nebraska and Tennessee used to be Top jobs that you could win a national championship at, but now they aren't better jobs than Arkansas and Missouri because of the lack of instate recruiting. For Tennessee to succeed they desperately need to recruit nationally, and not many coaches can bag a lot of top out of state talent, and sell them into coming to a landlocked state with a rich football history. Sure they can win one here and there, but here and there might as well be 10 to 15 years between here and there.
81, football does change and , my reference is to the fact that over the years (particularly prior to Saban) TN and Bama have each had streaks. I hope our streak over TN never ends , but I am tempered with the history of the rivalry.
 

deliveryman35

Hall of Fame
Jul 26, 2003
12,998
1,194
287
55
Gadsden, AL
It has been a streaky series, at least during my 51 year lifetime. Fortunately for us, I see that continuing to be the case for the foreseeable future.
 

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
35,306
31,375
187
South Alabama
81, football does change and , my reference is to the fact that over the years (particularly prior to Saban) TN and Bama have each had streaks. I hope our streak over TN never ends , but I am tempered with the history of the rivalry.
Yes, but how relevant has Tennessee been in that 12 years compared to all the other streaks? Tennessee as a program isnt the same Tennessee as in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. There have twice as much losing seasons since 1998 than 10 win seasons. That isnt a streak of bad luck, that is a mediocre at best program that modern football has killed, and wont ever be the same program ever again.

1999Phillip Fulmer9–36–2L Fiesta99
2000Phillip Fulmer8–45–3L Cotton25
2001Phillip Fulmer11–27–1W Florida Citrus44
2002Phillip Fulmer8–55–3L Peach
2003Phillip Fulmer10–36–2L Peach1615
2004Phillip Fulmer10–37–1W Cotton1513
2005Phillip Fulmer5–63–5
2006Phillip Fulmer9–45–3L Outback2325
2007Phillip Fulmer10–46–2W Outback1212
2008Phillip Fulmer5–73–5
2009Lane Kiffin7–64–4L Chick-fil-A
2010Derek Dooley6–73–5L Music City
2011Derek Dooley5–71–7
2012Derek Dooley5–71–7
2013Butch Jones5–72–6
2014Butch Jones7–63–5W TaxSlayer
2015Butch Jones9–45–3W Outback2322
2016Butch Jones9–44–4W Music City2422
2017Butch Jones4–80–8
2018Jeremy Pruitt5–72–6
Compare it to Bama from 1993 to 2006, and you clearly see that if Tennessee didn't have a serious instate recruiting problem that puts them in a serious disadvantage.

Tennessee and Nebraska are C level jobs, and will either get C level coaches or coaches that want to leapfrog to a bigger job. These streaks in the rivalry happened because everyone played the same type of football, and it didn't require near as much overall talent on rosters to win championships as it is now. When Miami and Oklahoma reinvented the strategy of football in the 80's, Tennessee was basically on borrowed time until Georgia and Florida caught up. When Spurrier came to Florida, Tennessee was done until they recruited Manning and had one of those lucky seasons under Martin. Since then their success has been based on Bama being put on probation, and Georgia and Florida hiring the wrong coach. When Tennessee is actually competing for state supremacy every year with Vanderbilt then you know the days of continuous relevance are over. The top Tennessee recruit is probably equivalent to the #30 Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, and California recruit. A team in a recruiting hotbed of a conference, that must recruit nationally to stay relevant is not a team built for success.

So again TSIO will never be a decade of relevance ever again, and the small window of time it is will be based on how far down Alabama is at a given time and how abnormally up Tennessee is at a given time. Otherwise its going to be a game on par with Alabama and Mississippi St.
 
Last edited:

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
20,931
15,930
282
Boone, NC
I think Lane Kiffin leaving them really took the wind out of their sails. Despite what we know, he's probably been the best coach they've had since Fulmer until now with Pruitt.
 

jashleyren2

1st Team
Aug 27, 2018
755
568
117
They could surge again. They had periods of success before the Fulmer era. They could get back to that again, but they will have to do it when Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Florida are not as dominant. I mention those four programs, because those 4 programs are the main players in the currently largest stockpiled recruiting lands in all of America. That's where the ball players are. And, just because Tennessee isn't a great football state, doesn't mean there isn't talent there too, which usually ends up at one of those 4 programs.

Alabama/UGA/LSU/UF will have to have bad recruiting years again before UT becomes a power.
 

CoolBreeze

Hall of Fame
Sep 18, 2002
8,596
7,749
287
57
Hoover
I think Lane Kiffin leaving them really took the wind out of their sails. Despite what we know, he's probably been the best coach they've had since Fulmer until now with Pruitt.
Nice post. We were a Mt. Cody away from getting taken down at home by Lane. Think that is the closest game we've had with them since we took over the series.
 

teamplayer

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2001
7,571
2,329
282
cullman, al, usa
The UT game is still special to me each and every year, but I do not care if it ever regains national relevance because I hope we continue to kick their teeth in for years to come. In my lifetime, it has always been a streaky series, so I dread the day when I have to dread the annual UT loss like it was during the mid-to-late 90s. Every October I could count on Bama losing to UT and the Braves blowing another chance to win the World Series. Dang, it was frustrating. I like UT right where they are now- a 5 to 8 win team each year. They are good enough to give their fans hope but not good enough to be a huge threat. Perfect!
 

trenda

Hall of Fame
May 17, 2000
6,496
213
187
55
Hendersonville, TN USA
Bama = The Beatles
UT = The Dave Clark Five

Both had hits. Only one’s will last forever
There's probably several on here that have no idea what you're referencing. LOL.

UT can't lose enough for me. I like JP and hope he makes it out of Knoxville with his reputation and career in tact; but he chose that path.

Being a life-long Tennessean, this game will always be relevant to me. I just hope the beatings continue.
 

TideEngineer08

TideFans Legend
Jun 9, 2009
36,284
30,893
187
Beautiful Cullman, AL
I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't have the same relevance with me anymore. And it has nothing to do with our winning streak. I really wouldn't care if realignment occurred in the conference, such as Auburn and Missouri swapping places, and us never playing Tennessee on a regular basis anymore.

After everything they pulled, and after all their fans with their smug self-righteousness, I really could not care less. Sorry Jeremy, but I really wish you'd never gone up there.
 

B1GTide

TideFans Legend
Apr 13, 2012
45,499
46,842
187
I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't have the same relevance with me anymore. And it has nothing to do with our winning streak. I really wouldn't care if realignment occurred in the conference, such as Auburn and Missouri swapping places, and us never playing Tennessee on a regular basis anymore.

After everything they pulled, and after all their fans with their smug self-righteousness, I really could not care less. Sorry Jeremy, but I really wish you'd never gone up there.
I still want Alabama to win this game as much as I ever have, but I have totally lost respect for the TN program. This used to be a rivalry between two great programs. Now I don't think that I will ever view TN as anything other than a whiny group of rats. Their rehire of Fulmer cemented that for me.
 

selmaborntidefan

TideFans Legend
Mar 31, 2000
36,432
29,735
287
54
To me this game has always been big...even when both programs had down years. Will this game ever be as meaningful as it was in years past?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
College football is changing - and while we stand to benefit, it's actually changing for the worse.

CFB is well on its way to becoming the English Premiere League in soccer. And since this country has a thing called the NFL, it is not going to be for the long-term good of CFB. Allow me to share personal experience here.


I lived in England 1975-78. It was a sort of "golden age" of soccer in some ways. Back then they used the promotion/relegation system where the bottom 3 teams dropped and the top 3 of the next division moved up (they've modified it some). So a team like Nottingham Forest could win Division Two one year and then be so drastically improved as to win Division One. There were multiple competitions, and while Liverpool was dominant at the time - the crown jewel if you will - you had things like Second Division teams winning the FA Cup and doing well in the different competitions.

Let me also note that other than the FA Cup, NONE......NONE......of the soccer matches were shown live on English TV in 1978. You had to watch the edited version of two games at 1030pm on "Match of the Day."

Money changed it all. They saw they could make a fortune with TV contracts in 1992, so they seceded from the Football League. The league got substantially better and......it also got "top heavy."

The same four teams won virtually everything for two decades. In the first 19 years, the league champion for 18 of those years was one of 3 teams: Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea. In recent years, Manchester City has won it a few times, but there's a fact: in the 27 years of the EPL, four teams have combined to win 25 of the league titles. Those same clubs have won 22 of the 27 FA Cup Finals in those same years.


Unless you're a fan of one of those four teams, the game is literally nothing but going through the motions. And you need to remember that Alabama can ONLY be Alabama if they actually have someone to play.



We're heading that way in CFB, but it's going to be worse for the sport because in terms of actual ability, CFB is minor league compared to the NFL.


What happened when we went to the four-team playoff? The same teams are there pretty much every year. There have been 20 team selections for the playoff, and 14 of those 20 selections were taken by four teams. This is great if you're a fan of one of those four teams, but how long do you think fans are going to tune in to see the same game over and over?

The Alabama-Clemson game last January drew the lowest rating of the five CFB title games, despite the fact Alabama is the biggest draw in CFB.

The selection of Ohio St over TCU in 2014 - while justifiable - reinforced the notion that this is merely a tournament for big names. Let's be honest: if TCU had been named Oklahoma with a narrow loss, guess who goes to the playoff? This reality does not help the reputation of the playoff.


My suspicion is that in an effort to prevent what I'm saying here, the PTB are going to switch to an eight-team playoff that guarantees conference champions a playoff berth. The only chance a team like, say, Iowa St has is to get into the title game against a big name and pull the upset that guarantees entry into the playoff. The sport will continue to become top heavy with the same powers playing the post-season games.


Now.....how does this affect Tennessee??

The way I see it, the new setup will only allow certain teams to build for the long haul. Alabama, Florida, LSU and - to a lesser extent - Texas A/M. The other schools will become little more than obligatory games to play to get to the tourney. That does not mean that an Auburn or a Tennessee CANNOT win and make the playoff, it just means you're not going to see Auburn win 3 SEC titles in a row as they did 1987-89, or even come particularly close to that. Auburn put some good teams on the field in 2013 and 2017, and the latter still lost four games while the former needed two of the most insane miracles in history just to get to the SEC title game.

Tennessee is limited by location, and the fact Kirby has UGA cranked right now. Look at Tennessee back in easier times. In 1976, they were 6-5 and hired Johnny Majors after he won the national title at Pitt. He didn't have an 8-win season until 1981 (year 5), didn't win the SEC until 1985 (year 9), had a losing season in 1988 (year 12), had some very good teams (1989-91) and then was gone. Fulmer comes in and thanks in large part to our 1995 probation, playing in 1/2 of an Eastern division, and UGA not knowing how to hire a coach, Fulmer put together a solid decade of competitive teams and won an SEC title. (It should be noted that per Archie Manning, the ONLY reason Peyton was at Tennessee was because his brother, Cooper, had been diagnosed with spinal stenosis at Ole Miss. IF that doesn't happen, Peyton does not go to Tennessee, and who knows what happens?).

Fulmer's career was done once Nick Saban showed up at LSU and beat him in 2000 and then beat him for the SEC title in 2001....and when UGA hired Mark Richt, who beat Fulmer in 2001 and four of the first five.

My point regarding Tennessee is that their entire "good years" are due PRIMARILY to bad coaching hires (Georgia), probation (Alabama), and playing in what was then 1/2 of an actual division. It is doubtful they will ever be in that position ever again.


As far as how this affects TSIO - that died the day Fulmer and Kramer decided to wreak havoc on the Capstone. It was a thing of beauty, but it's gone forever. How many blowouts of Tennessee will ever satisfy those of us who lived through playing the Vols crippled in large part by them inflicting the crippling on us?

The only correct answer is "not enough." They, in large part, were behind the Lost Decade. We're at 12 now, so we've more than made up for it, but I'm not much for forgiving folks who won't admit they did stuff.
 

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
35,306
31,375
187
South Alabama
I still want Alabama to win this game as much as I ever have, but I have totally lost respect for the TN program. This used to be a rivalry between two great programs. Now I don't think that I will ever view TN as anything other than a whiny group of rats. Their rehire of Fulmer cemented that for me.
The fact that Peyton Manning, clausen, and Fulmer always seems to find a way to be on the ticket stub when we play them up there just shows that THE STREAK can’t get high enough.

The barn is more of an annoying little brother that starts crap around thanksgiving. Tennessee is that neighbor that calls the cops on you, dumps trash in your yard, and tries make your life hell. One you can live with by showing superiority more times than them, the other absolutely needs to be whooped into moving while you smoke a big fat cigar.
 

rolltide7854

All-American
Aug 20, 2007
2,032
1,050
187
Birmingham, Ala
It will always be relevant to me. It is my yearly reminder(not that I really need it) that they tried to destroy Alabama football forever. I'm one of those that when other teams in the SEC plays out of conference teams I want them to win. I feel like that helps us get into the playoffs some years. Before that I didn't give a crap if they won or lost and most times were probably pulling against them. However UCheat and Aubarn are the two conference teams I will never ever want win against anybody which is quite confusing when they play each other. Is there anyway they both could lose when they do?????
 

theballguy

Hall of Fame
Nov 5, 2012
6,268
1,083
187
Roll Tide Roll, Colorado USA
To me this game has always been big...even when both programs had down years. Will this game ever be as meaningful as it was in years past?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes. This year it will be. I believe Tennessee will win 9-10 games. I believe this year it will be a much more tightly contested game than in years past. But when I say tight, I'm meaning more like two scores.
 

uafanataum

All-American
Oct 18, 2014
2,917
1,366
182
Yes. This year it will be. I believe Tennessee will win 9-10 games. I believe this year it will be a much more tightly contested game than in years past. But when I say tight, I'm meaning more like two scores.
Why do you believe Tennessee will be better now than they have been in over a decade?
 

Latest threads

TideFans.shop : 2024 Madness!

TideFans.shop - Get YOUR Bama Gear HERE!”></a>
<br />

<!--/ END TideFans.shop & item link \-->
<p style= Purchases made through our TideFans.shop and Amazon.com links may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.