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Ex-Vols QB LEAKS Brutal TRUTH About Tennessee’s New Starting QB · SEC Football Addiction

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up, volunteer fans? Thank you for joining us here
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: on SEC Football Addiction. We are presented by PrizePix, where
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  Speaker 1: all new users get $ 150 in lineups if they win
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  Speaker 1: their first $ 5 lineup using code HMA. There is pretty
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: massive anticipation surrounding the Volunteers football program right now as
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  Speaker 1: high expectations, always in Knoxville, collide with a very challenging reality.
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  Speaker 1: On one side of the ball, the coaching staff is
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  Speaker 1: building a blueprint that's designed to protect talent, and simplify execution.
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  Speaker 1: On the other side, sudden roster challenges and major schematic
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  Speaker 1: questions have created real uncertainty. When you look at where
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  Speaker 1: a lot of projection models are placing the volunteers versus
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  Speaker 1: what maybe the fan base believes, the divide shows up.
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  Speaker 1: Navigating this upcoming slate is going to require finding answers
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  Speaker 1: to questions that nobody expected to be asking. The margins
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  Speaker 1: is thin in this conference and the true identity of
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  Speaker 1: this program will be tested right away.
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  Speaker 2: I have a lot that I want to talk about,
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  Speaker 2: so let's jump into it.
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  Speaker 1: Jarrett Garantano knows exactly what it feels like to be
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  Speaker 1: a young quarterback in Knoxville with the entire state watching
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  Speaker 1: every single throw. So when he joined Josh and Swain
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  Speaker 1: on the 91.1, the sports animal, he was not just guessing.
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  Speaker 1: He was handing Josh Heupel and Joey Halsley a practical
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  Speaker 1: blueprint for Faison Brandon, who is set to become the
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  Speaker 1: first true freshman to start a season opener for the
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  Speaker 1: Vols since 2004. The game that day will be No.
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  Speaker 1: 20 Tennessee hosting Furman on September 5th. Thank God that's
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  Speaker 1: coming just this week. I'm tired of not being able
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  Speaker 1: to talk about actual football. Now, the plan does not
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  Speaker 1: start with the quarterback at all. It starts entirely with
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  Speaker 1: the ground game. As Garantano put it, you have to
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  Speaker 1: establish the run, and luckily we're returning some really good
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  Speaker 1: offensive linemen and probably one of, if not the best,
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  Speaker 1: running backs in the SEC that will be heavily relied on.
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  Speaker 1: From there, his core message was pretty simple. Shorten the
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  Speaker 1: game up for him. Lean into quick throws, run screens,
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  Speaker 1: and keep the pocket moving. He said the priority is
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  Speaker 1: establishing rhythm rather than forcing complex reads. Garantano specifically warned
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  Speaker 1: against asking Brandon to work top-down progressions or full field
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  Speaker 1: progression reads as a young guy that's trying to see everything.
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  Speaker 1: I think that's the classic trap for a young passer.
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  Speaker 1: That is how young quarterbacks start holding on to the football.
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  Speaker 1: They start guessing on coverages and eventually they start taking
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  Speaker 1: too many hits. His solution centers on heavy RPO usage,
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  Speaker 1: which keeps Brandon on the move and effectively cuts the
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  Speaker 1: field in half. He also brought up design touches for
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  Speaker 1: Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley. Getting the ball into their
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  Speaker 1: hands early, he emphasized, would be tremendous for Faison throughout
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  Speaker 1: the games. I think the advice that he gives carries
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  Speaker 1: pretty immense weight because Garantano lived through the painful alternative.
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  Speaker 1: He possessed a talented arm, but simply there was too
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  Speaker 1: much placed on him too soon. Fortunately, the Tennessee coaching
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  Speaker 1: staff appears to already be thinking along those exact same lines.
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  Speaker 1: Hypel explained that Brandon did not win the starting job
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  Speaker 1: through a single flashy trait, pointing instead to his control
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  Speaker 1: command of what we're doing offensively in the run game,
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  Speaker 1: the RPO attack, and the dropback play action. Halsley outlined
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  Speaker 1: the staff's philosophy even more plainly, stating that they refuse
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  Speaker 1: to shove a square peg.
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  Speaker 2: Into a round hole.
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  Speaker 1: Instead, they want to ask, what does he do best
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  Speaker 1: before building practice scripts and game plans around the answer?
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  Speaker 1: Hypo also shared a telling detail about Brandon that explains
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  Speaker 1: why the staff places so much trust in him. When
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  Speaker 1: the team broke for vacation back in May, Brandon remained
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  Speaker 1: in the building. He worked in the weight room, he
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  Speaker 1: studied in the video room, and he walked through footwork
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  Speaker 1: by himself inside of the indoor facility. Even so, Hypo
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  Speaker 1: left the door cracked open by noting that every position
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  Speaker 1: is consistently evaluated, meaning that Redshirt freshman George McIntyre is
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  Speaker 1: just one rough stretch away from re-entering the conversation. On paper,
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  Speaker 1: Tennessee clearly has a plan to protect its freshmen. They
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  Speaker 1: want to run the football, shorten the passing concepts, and
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  Speaker 1: keep them on the move. However, if you look closely
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  Speaker 1: at that blueprint, you'll notice a massive underlying assumption. Before
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  Speaker 1: I get to that, I want to give some love
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  Speaker 1: to our friends over at Alumni Hall. Guys, it is
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: game week. Hopefully you've already done this, but if you
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: haven't ordered yet... It's time to get on it. You
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: can go to alumni hall.com or you can go in store,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: use our code CFA 15.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: You'll say 15% on your order. We've told you about
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  Speaker 2: it all off season.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: Hopefully you've taken advantage of that CFA 15 over alumni hall.com.
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  Speaker 1: We appreciate them for what they do for you guys
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  Speaker 1: with that code. Now, every single element of that offensive
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: strategy assumes that Tennessee's defense will generate short fields, they'll
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  Speaker 1: keep scores manageable, and prevent Brandon from ever having to
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  Speaker 1: throw 40 times a game to dig the.
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  Speaker 2: Vols out of a hole.
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  Speaker 1: The catch is that the man hired to build that
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  Speaker 1: defense just admitted publicly that he doesn't know if his
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  Speaker 1: most critical weapon even exists. Jim Knowles did not attempt
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  Speaker 1: to spin reality. It's one of the things I appreciate
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  Speaker 1: about Jim Knowles. You're going to find out from this
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  Speaker 1: guy what he actually thinks. When asked about Tennessee's pass rush,
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  Speaker 1: the new defensive coordinator admitted, it is a question mark
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  Speaker 1: and time will tell how that goes. It's a pretty
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  Speaker 1: stunning admission from a coach with his defensive resume. And
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  Speaker 1: the root of the problem traces back to June 26th.
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  Speaker 1: That was the day that Penn State transfer Chaz Coleman,
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  Speaker 1: the top-ranked edge rusher in the portal, and the exact
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  Speaker 1: weapon Knowles brought to Knoxville to serve as his designated closer,
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  Speaker 1: was medically disqualified and removed from the roster. He said,
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  Speaker 1: I'm real sorry not having Chaz. I hope for the
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  Speaker 1: best for him as a young man. Knowles also detailed
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  Speaker 1: his original vision, noting that back at Penn State, he said,
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  Speaker 1: we just set up opportunities for him in the game
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  Speaker 1: to just be creative in pass rush. That creative pass
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  Speaker 1: rush spark must now come from somewhere else on this
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  Speaker 1: depth chart. Tulane transfer Jordan Norman, who recorded six sacks
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  Speaker 1: for a college football playoff team last.
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  Speaker 2: Year, is the projected starter.
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  Speaker 1: Alongside Norman sits a rotation featuring freshman Christian Gass, sophomore
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  Speaker 1: Marion Dye, Tyree Weathersby.
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  Speaker 2: And an influx of true freshmen.
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  Speaker 1: While there is undeniable raw talent in that room, there
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  Speaker 1: is virtually no shared SEC game experience across the group.
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  Speaker 1: Could the lack of seasoning matter in Knoxville, where Tennessee's
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: defensive identity has leaned heavily on elite edge rushers, closers
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  Speaker 1: like that for years, from Young to Pierce to Josephs?
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  Speaker 1: When you take away that premier closer from the equation,
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  Speaker 1: the entire defensive structure changes. And the stakes could not
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  Speaker 1: be higher for this program. Now, in response, Knowles is
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  Speaker 1: leaning heavily into his deepest position room, the linebackers. He
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  Speaker 1: confirmed that two, three, four linebackers are now part of
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  Speaker 1: the plan, while Aaron Carter has already hinted at lining
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  Speaker 1: up off the edge to generate some pressure himself. That
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  Speaker 1: linebacker room is exceptionally deep and talented. Carter paced the
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  Speaker 1: entire SEC with 7.6 tackles per game in 2025. Spillman
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  Speaker 1: had 81 tackles. Jeremiah T. Lander had 80 tackles. Both
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  Speaker 1: returned with proven starting production. Penn State transfer Amari Campbell
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  Speaker 1: arrives with valuable experience and an even rarer asset. He
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  Speaker 1: already speaks Knowles' defensive language fluently. Knowles noted that roughly
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  Speaker 1: 70% of his system was successfully installed before camp even started.
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  Speaker 1: Beyond that, he's not hedging on his ultimate expectations for
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  Speaker 1: the unit. He said, I expect this defense to be elite.
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  Speaker 1: He said, we need to have other tools in the
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  Speaker 1: toolbox to create pass rush if need be, and we'll
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  Speaker 1: have that. Now that brings the entire conversation to the
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  Speaker 1: ultimate question that will settle Tennessee's season. If the offense
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  Speaker 1: is being simplified while the defense opens the year missing
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  Speaker 1: both its premier closer and its best linebacker and elite safety,
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  Speaker 1: what does that ultimately add up to in the win column?
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  Speaker 2: I'll tell you right now, I won't even bury the
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  Speaker 2: lead on this.
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  Speaker 1: I think Tennessee has the tools to go to a
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  Speaker 1: 9-3 record, but not a lot across the national media
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  Speaker 1: consensus agree with that forecast. My bold best-case scenario kind
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  Speaker 1: of envisions Tennessee losing a competitive battle to Texas, beating
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  Speaker 1: Alabama on the third Saturday in October, and then dropping
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  Speaker 1: a tough game on the road at Texas A &
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  Speaker 1: M and then ultimately falling when Lane Kiffin comes to town.
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  Speaker 1: You contrast my prediction with ESPN's FPI, which slots Tennessee
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  Speaker 1: 16th nationally with a projected 7.3 regular season wins. They
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  Speaker 1: favor the Vols in only eight of their 12 games
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  Speaker 1: and give them just a 3.3% shot at an SEC title.
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  Speaker 1: They've got a 20.5% chance at the college football playoff.
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  Speaker 1: Here's where the analytical breakdown becomes pretty compelling. The FPI's
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  Speaker 1: individual game probabilities almost make the Alabama upset look completely realistic.
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  Speaker 1: They give them a 40.9% win probability against the Crimson
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  Speaker 1: Tide at Neyland Stadium. and a 42.1% chance against LSU,
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  Speaker 1: putting both matchups squarely in coin flip territory.
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  Speaker 2: The bigger statistical gaps appear elsewhere.
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  Speaker 1: Tennessee holds just a 24.5% chance against Texas and a 28.0%
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  Speaker 1: probability when they travel to Kyle Field. Texas enters the
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  Speaker 1: year as the number two preseason FPI team and the
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  Speaker 1: SEC title favorite with Arch Manning returning for his second
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  Speaker 1: season in a full season under center. Sports nots game
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  Speaker 1: by game pre highlights the high stakes matchup in knoxville
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  Speaker 1: calling it a very fun day for a full sports
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  Speaker 1: not did a game by game preview highlighting the high
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  Speaker 1: stakes matchup in knoxville and they called it a very
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  Speaker 1: rough day full of learning experiences for brandon That same
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  Speaker 1: outlet projects Tennessee to drop a close contest to Alabama
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  Speaker 1: while highlighting an important truth about last season. The final
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  Speaker 1: score in Tuscaloosa was misleading because of late game swings.
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  Speaker 1: The crane and cone panel is even more skeptical landing
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  Speaker 1: at seven and five or eight and four for a
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  Speaker 1: finish in Tennessee forecasting South Carolina and Lenore sellers to
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  Speaker 1: win in Columbia, a matchup. The FPI rates is a
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  Speaker 1: virtual toss up at 50.6%. Then there is the, dangerous
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  Speaker 1: landmine on the schedule that very few analysts are circling.
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  Speaker 1: So much talk has been made about when Lane Kiffin
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  Speaker 1: returns to Oxford, and deservedly.
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  Speaker 2: So, but he also has to come back to Neyland
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  Speaker 2: this year.
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  Speaker 1: November 21st in Neyland Stadium, and he brings a LSU
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: roster that's powered by a pretty potent transfer portal class.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: Navigating this schedule to reach a 9-3 mark leaves very
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  Speaker 1: little room for error, but in my opinion, it is
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  Speaker 1: not impossible for Tennessee. To achieve a 9-3 record, Tennessee
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  Speaker 1: essentially needs to win all of those coin flip games
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  Speaker 1: and then maybe steal one more victory when they're an underdog.
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  Speaker 1: The manageable middle stretch of the schedule is what makes
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  Speaker 1: that path possible. They have games against Furman, Kennesaw State,
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: a road matchup against Georgia Tech, first-year coaches in Auburn
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  Speaker 1: and Kentucky that I expect to be wins. You don't
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: know who's going to be coaching when you travel to
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: South Carolina either.
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  Speaker 2: What does that team look like?
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  Speaker 1: To me, the season doesn't hinge, though, on any one
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  Speaker 1: of those four matchups that I just talked about. It
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: hinges on whether a streamlined offensive attack and an unconventional
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: linebacker-driven pass rush can survive long enough to reach those
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  Speaker 1: coin flip games with a true freshman quarterback standing tall.
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  Speaker 1: The first real answer that we'll get will arrive on
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  Speaker 1: September 5th against Furman when Brandon takes the opening snap
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  Speaker 1: and everyone finally sees which version of this plan is real.
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  Speaker 1: I cannot wait for football to be back. Drop your
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: comments down below. Let me know what Tennessee's record is
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  Speaker 1: going to be this season. I'm riding with nine and three.
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  Speaker 1: I've got faith in the talent on offense and your
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  Speaker 1: true freshman quarterback to get us there.
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  Speaker 2: Let me know down in the comments what you think.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: Appreciate prize picks for their support.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: All new users get $ 150 instantly when they win their
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: first lineup using code HMA. That's a $ 5 lineup. We
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: appreciate you guys for tuning in. We'll see you next
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: time here on SEC Football Addiction.