Volume 1, Issue 1: Tennessee Fans Aren't Sure What To Think
How should Vol fans feel about the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers right now?
Happy Tuesday, folks. Welcome to the ‘Sports Renaissance Man’ daily Tennessee Vols newsletter. Every day you’ll find in this jam-packed newsletter my Tennessee Volunteers thought of the day, what’s new with ‘The Chase Thomas Podcast’ and ‘TPL Tennessee’, interesting Vol media nuggets, how to keep up with everything I’m doing each day covering the Vols and much more.
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Tennessee Thought of the Day
What if No. 11 Tennessee wins ugly again against No. 8 Alabama on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville?
I’ve been thinking about Vol fan reactions to the victory over Florida on Saturday night. For the first time since 1990 and 1992, the Tennessee Volunteers beat the Gators in back-to-back home opportunities.
I get it.
Tennessee was shut out in the first half for the second time in the last two weeks. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the offensive line and the wide receivers all struggled to get on the same page again. Star junior tailback Dylan Sampson had to carry the offense on his back once again.
I get it.
However, the Vols won. The Vols are 5-1 and welcome a very vulnerable Alabama team to Neyland Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It’s going to be another Orange Out for the ball game. The Crimson Tide lost to Vanderbilt this season. The Vols lost to Arkansas this season. Both were surprising, depressing losses for both fanbases.
Alabama fans have been frustrated with the Crimson Tide’s defense since the start of the second half against Georgia. Tennessee fans have been frustrated with the Volunteer’s offense since the first half against Oklahoma.
And yet, Tennessee is 5-1. Some analytical models have the Vols going 10-2. If that’s the case, which is still very possible, Tennessee is in the College Football Playoff this season.
Outside of Texas fans, which fanbase in the SEC is overjoyed with where their team is right now? Probably Vanderbilt fans, right? Every week the Commodores are must-see TV whether they win or lose with that electric offense led by star transfer QB Diego Pavia.
I get the frustrations with the offense. I do. I wonder, though, if Vol fans will react the same on Saturday night if the Vols take down the Tide in familiar fashion — a dominant defensive showing and Sampson carrying the load on offense once again.
Everybody would like to win pretty, but when it comes to beating Florida and Alabama in back-to-back weeks, shouldn’t we all just enjoy simply…winning?
TODAY ON ‘THE CHASE THOMAS PODCAST’
Chase Thomas is the Sports Renaissance Man, Atlanta Sports Guy & VFL. On today's program, Chase is joined by fellow University of North Georgia alumni Matt Green to preview recap Week 7 of the college football season, how Tennessee beat Florida in overtime, Georgia's pass defense struggling in win over Mississippi State, Oregon and Ohio State showing both are true contenders, Ole Miss and USC overreactions on Lane Kiffin and Lincoln Riley and much more.
Host: Chase Thomas
Guests: Matt Green
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Today Over At TPL Tennessee
On Mondays, I write my ‘48 Hours’ after column on the game Tennessee played over the weekend and what I’m still thinking about a couple of days later.
Read a brief excerpt from the column below:
"However, No. 7 Alabama comes to Knoxville this Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Tide opened as 2.5-point road favorites. There is no question that Kalen DeBoer and his offense will be the toughest challenge the Vols’ defense has faced to date. While all eyes will be on how Tennessee’s elite defense handles Alabama’s up-and-down offense, how the game ultimately unfolds may come down to the other matchup with Tennessee’s struggling offense vs. Alabama’s struggling defense.”
You can read the whole piece here: https://theplayerslounge.io/tennessee/content/articles/tennessee-florida-victory-iamaleava-heupel-alabama-milroe
Make sure you’re also subscribed to the TPL Tennessee YouTube channel and hear from some of your favorite Tennessee Vol athletes each week.
Check out our latest episode featuring Jake Merklinger, Gaston Moore and Peyton Lewis below:
Tennessee Vols Media Spotlight
Matt Dixon wrote today on Tony Basilio’s blog, “Middle 8: Tennessee and Florida were scoreless. The Vols are outscoring their opponents 41-0 on the season.”
The Vols have been elite in those key eight minutes this season right before the first half and to start the second half.
Dixon always has fantastic insight over there with Basilio at TonyBasilio.com.
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The TPL Tennessee Daily Column Schedule
Each day, I write a different column over at TPL Tennessee on the Tennessee Vols all year long.
MONDAY- 48 Hours After Tennessee Vols Recap
TUESDAY- Terrific Tennessee Spotlight
WEDNESDAY- Tennessee Vols Wednesday Wonder
THURSDAY- Know The Foe Vols Game Preview
FRIDAY- 3 Thoughts & 1 Prediction For The Tennessee Vols
SATURDAY- Instant Reaction To Latest Tennessee Vols Game
SUNDAY- Stock Report For The Tennessee Vols
The Chase Thomas Podcast Weekly Lineup
There are a lot of different ways to stay locked in on all the Tennessee Vols podcasting coverage I’m putting out every day.
Below is my weekly podcast lineup, so you always know what’s coming down the pike each day on the program. (Note: There are always surprise special Tennessee Vols guests that pop in throughout the week as well.)
MONDAY - A Pod Divided w/ Matt Green
TUESDAY - Tennessee Vols Sports Guys w/ Rocky Top Insider’s Ryan Schumpert, Saturday Down South’s Ethan Stone and Omaha Production’s Jack Foster
WEDNESDAY - More Important Issues w/ Landon Raby & Caleb Mitchell
THURSDAY - A Pod Divided w/ Matt Green
FRIDAY - TBA (STAY TUNED)
(Final Note: All of this and more information on Knoxville’s No. 1 independent Tennessee Vols podcast is available over at the official website which you can find here.)
Make it a great Tuesday, everyone.
Best,
Chase