CLARK LEA OPENING
Big week for them
Exciting to have something at stake
They’re enjoying having back to back wins and seeing the fruits of their labor
Early stages of this but it’s good to see staying faithful to the process pays off and finding belief and the formula to a positive outcome
They’ll be excited for the task
Tennessee has exciting offense and good defense
He hurts for Hendon Hooker who had a season-ending injury
When a guy like that goes down you hurt for someone who has a season cut short
Milton has proven capable in the past and you could see flashes of that at season’s end
They have a good OL and good design
It’ll take an effort over all three phases
They need to control drives and finish them
ST have to create plays and long fields
Fun to have a meaningful game

Regarding Swann, can he go?
He’s working his way back
They expect him to be available and full-go at practice tomorrow
He hasn’t played football in a while
They know his skills
He’s had enough reps to be ready
If he’s healthy the decision tips to who has the best chance to win
When Mike plays they run well and have also had success in the passing game
They’re fighting to extend their season

The magnitude of this game, do they need to message their players to stay grounded or do the team leaders do that?
They have to be intentional about not adding emotion
They have to be disciplined and pull from the learning of previous weeks
The team is committed to the process they use to prepare during the week so nothing’s different except for schemes they prepare for that are unique to Tennessee
In the end it’s about them playing to their identity
There are aspects of their past two games they need to grow from
Turnovers, times when structures break down
Otherwise it’s the normal spirit and enthusiasm
Great celebration coming Thursday

Do you prepare differently for Milton than Hooker?
There are some nuances but it’s a system offense
They’re still skilled on the perimeter
Milton has all the tools to get the ball out there
The way they stretch you helps that vertical puncture
Milton can run also, he has the tools

How do they structure their secondary right now?
They’re used Taylor as field overhang in past, they’ll move him around in third down
That gives them variation and that’s an advantage on third down
Mahoney can cover but has played deep most of the year
With Wright, he’s settled in as the boundary safety, he’s lined up on TE in 12 personnel
They’re got rhythm with those guys, they won’t deviate from that

TN offense forces you to alter leverage on perimeter
They’ll try to create variation
Playing deep is a new role for Mahoney
Worship has been steady
Older players holding younger guys accountable is a powerful formula
That’s a challenge vs. a tempo team

What did the KY game do for the team?
You’d like to believe you’re able to sell vision and message no matter what and they’re shown they’re willing to accept the message every week without the result

It’s a huge deal to recognize the control they have throughout the game
They’ve fallen victim to offloading power to their opponent
When you avoid self-inflicted wounds you can play football and put pressure on an opponent
Once you recognize the rhythm of that, those learning experience you package away
Go back to halftime at the Ole Miss game, they had momentum and rhythm and at half they fell victim to unnecessary emotions and assumptions about the outcome
The opponents don’t just step away and say the game is yours
When they get a setback they have to fight through it
The team has taken that message to heart the last two weeks
The last two games haven’t been perfect but it’s been good enough to win
Earlier in the year when bad things snowballed the next unit steps in to right the ship (presuming he meant non-conference portion)

Special teams have been great connective tissue between offense and defense, especially two punts inside the 10 last week, that was a huge point of execution
Learning all those things and how they stack up and matter and they have to stay that course and play to their potential

Officiating explanation on the last two plays
Laughs, said he hasn’t had one yet
Had the situation tipped the other way, getting feedback would have been more urgent
In that moment you’re adamant it’s being seen one way and then soon thereafter the ball is being snapped
If you’re not focused in that moment then you can give up a TD but the way they defended that snap took away those options

What does this game mean to him given he played here?
Obviously it means a lot
This is a game he grew up interested in and was very interested in when he played here
As a coach he’s interested in but as a coach his focus is on building the program
Rather than defaulting to the emotions he feels around the game, it’s about the fight to extend the season for his staff and players and they’ve done a great job getting them there
Nothing’s guaranteed and they have to earn it
That put shine on what they’re doing
There are personal emotions there but he’s got to be disciplined

Senior Day, does he have a good count of who may be playing their last game?
Good count would be misleading
They’re have conversations after the game
No great answer right now
Those are conversations they’ve entered into in the bye weeks
Dead period early next week

How does this help recruiting?
Obviously there’s visible evidence
That goes in lockstep with the vision they’re seeing as a program
Everyone’s excited about that
They have to use these opportutnies to go further in recruiting efforts
They have to stay focused on the profile of a Vandy FB player: Toughness, part of something bigger than yourself, build a legacy in turning a program around
The last 2 games have shown people they’re at the beginning of something special
For most of the people they talk to that’s a point of excitement
By being committed to who they are they have a chance to build something special

Injuries: Castillo, Wesley
Both out
So is Ben Cox and Devin Boddie
Those are longer-term
Daevion Davis played a little last week
Swann working back, they expect to have him available

Anchor Collective
That’s a chance for them to level up to the resources available to student athletes
They don’t want kids to have compromises in choosing Vanderbilt
You can invest in your education here, to play in a building program in the best league in college football
“There’s the NFC, the AFC and the SEC,” David Culley told him
They want to structure people to their market value
It’ll never be the lead for them

Looks like us video game enthusiasts are going to have to wait another year. Hopefully it’ll be worth it!!

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Here's what I've got, with some games pending tonight. I do not swear I've nailed this but I have put some time into it for sure.

Teams with at least six wins: 75

Teams with five wins: 14, but see the two situations at the bottom
Georgia Tech (at 11-0 Georgia next week)
Miami-Florida (hosts 7-4 Pitt)
Michigan St. (at 9-2 Penn State)
UTEP (at 9-2 UTSA next week)
FAU (hosts 7-5 Western Kentucky)
Rice (at 6-5 North Texas)
UAB (5-6, at 3-8 Louisiana Tech)
Utah St.(at 8-3 Boise St.)
Louisiana (at 4-7 Texas St.)
Georgia Southern (hosts 6-5 Appalachian St.)
Southern Miss (at 4-7 Louisiana-Monroe)
Auburn (at 9-2 Alabama)
Vanderbilt (hosts 9-2 Tennessee)
Missouri (hosts 6-5 Arkansas)

"Elimination/clinching games"
Ball St. (5-6) at Miami-Ohio (5-6)

Special situations
Buffalo is 5-5 after having its game with Akron (1-9) postponed due to snow, the Bulls also have a game scheduled on Nov. 26 vs. Kent St. (4-7)
Army is 4-6, but has games left at UMass (1-10) and against Navy (4-7)

There are slots for 82 teams.

In a moment, I'll update this with who each team has next week.

Was wondering if there was a chance they might be back given the portal won't open until Dec. 5 but found out definitively that's not going to happen.

Chang must have done a decent job given what he was working with. They are 3-9 with wins over FCS Duquesne, Nevada and next years opponent UNLV.

Also lost close games with San Diego St, Col St & Utah State.

We should be as well but likely see an improved UH team next year

Tell me whether or not you think I should pull the trigger.

Enjoying a week off so dad and I decided to rewatch the UK win this morning. I was physically there so didn't pick up on a key nuance that maybe all of you noticed: we picked on No. 14 Valentine, the CB, all day. It was like our whole offense was focused around making him tackle or cover, and it was smart because he bad.

Several key plays involved smoking him, including the big TD to Shep to win the game. Moments earlier in the winning drive on a run play, Shep blocked him to the ground well out of bounds. It was like he was getting into his head to set up the TD coming soon.

It was a terrific design for the game plan and makes me appreciate the staff that much more. You may have all discussed this previously and if so apologies. Hope we have ID'd something similar to exploit vs. UTjr.

👀

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In the post game presser CCL was asked about getting fans to the game he responded by saying it's not his job.
Half of this is true, VU needs a big push this week to get butts (VU butts) in the seats. But he could have made a push for alumni to fly in, people in Nashville, etc to show up. I know he isn't CJF but the man needs all the help he can get next week.

Limit 8

I've been watching this for two days, tickets are getting cheaper by the day.

Anybody got an extra for Saturday?.

The new south end zone facility will be 114,000 sf with new game day locker room, fan enhancement spaces, new dining facility and revamped stadium concourse. Estimated construction cost for south end zone is $60 million.

The north end zone had an early structure package filed for permit that is dated on 8/24/22. I can’t find a full set but have found a single civil site plan sheet for the north end zone. This facility has an estimated cost of $65 million.


I have also found the drawings for the second phase of the stadium press box renovation. I will link those later.

I will link the permit application information later as well.

1. Is Banks starting and/or playing for UT?
2. Everyone seems to know that he got into some sort of fight with Hooker over NIL money as the reason he didn't play last week. But has anyone confirmed that in writing? Haven't seen an official story just "out for unknown reasons."

Him not playing again would be massive for our chances.

I could be completely wrong with this, but I think our defense can at least hold the UT offense to 35 with Joe Milton at QB, as the offense with him at QB looks a bit more like UF's offense than UT's offense led by a Heisman candidate. While the recipe the last two games had been giving it to Ray against a couple of suspect run defenses, UT has a very stout run defense which gives our offense a bad matchup. I think this game rests in the hands of Joey Lynch and Mike Wright. If you told me we could add Andy Ludwig and Kyle Shurmur to our team for this game, I would almost guarantee a win for us. But UT's defense is good at stopping what Mike does well, whereas they are extremely suspect against what Mike is not the best at. Joey Lynch is gonna have to find a way to establish some sort of running game against UT, because we can't abandon the run, but we're gonna have to pass more than we have and Lynch has got to get Mike some throws he knows he can make. The holes are gonna be there in UT's pass D, and our receivers, backs, and tight ends are definitely good enough to make plays with what they're given. But, it's gonna be up to Mike to be able to consistently make throws in a way he hasn't really had to do. The 100-something pass-yard games he's had in the last 2 wins won't be good enough here.

For a future note, if Mike does pass well and we win the game, you would almost have to think there's no chance he transfers. If he leads us to 3 SEC wins and bowl, I would think he would come back again to compete for the starting job. He could still do that even if this game doesn't go well, but if it does there's almost assuredly gonna be a contingent of players and fans that would want to see him get a chance to start next year.