From A to Z Sports Nashville
Losing sucks.
Especially when winning is so close to within reach, and everything just falls apart. Saturday night felt like a quintessential Tennessee loss. Winning was within reach, but questionable officiating, bad clock management, and otherwise unfortunate luck intervened. You would think by now that most Tennessee fans would be used to it. But no one is. It still hurts just as bad as the last time Tennessee lost a game it should have won.
We all have our coping methods after a game like that. Some of us drink the sauce. Others like to just go off the grid and go hiking or fishing. Me personally, I like to just think about how things could be worse. And trust me, things could be a lot worse. Here’s a few things that Tennessee fans have to be happy about following Saturday’s loss to South Carolina.
South Carolina Still Hasn’t Lost To An Unranked Team, Yet
Whether we care to admit it or not, Tennessee is still very much playing like an unranked team. Considering a new head coach was preceded by years under a coach with a loser mentality, it’s almost understandable. Tennessee players still haven’t learned how to win consistently against teams they’re in a position to beat. Saturday is a testament to that.
But, consider that South Carolina isn’t exactly the worst team Tennessee plays this year, and it’s little more understandable that they found a way to blow it. The only teams South Carolina has lost to are Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas A&M, all of which are currently ranked in the AP Top-25 going in to week 10. South Carolina isn’t a great team, but it isn’t exactly a bad team, either.
The Rest Of The Schedule Is Still Winnable
In spite of everything negative above, Tennessee is still more than capable of winning out with its remaining schedule. They’ve paid to beat up on Charlotte, Missouri isn’t very consistent, and they match up well with Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Obviously, they’ll have to get out of their own way, eventually, but still, the possibility is there to make a bowl game. Throw in that the only road game of the above four matchups is in Nashville at Neyland West, and it’s Tennessee’s opportunity to blow.
Tennessee hasn’t beaten any of the above SEC teams since 2016, though, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Butch Jones/Greg Schiano Could Be Head Coach Right Now
Shewww buddy, this is a big one. Does anyone in Vol Nation actually want Greg Schiano or Butch Jones over Jeremy Pruitt right now? Granted, Pruitt hasn’t been perfect by any means. Apparently, he didn’t know he could challenge a play that South Carolina scored on on Saturday.
To those that said being a first-time coach is no big deal, Jeremy Pruitt apparently doesn't know that he can challenge crucial plays. Learning curve all around in Knoxville it would seem https://t.co/osJOPzKd4g
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) October 29, 2018
But, even with the learning curve, I think most Tennessee fans are okay with having Pruitt over most of the alternatives. As we learned after the Alabama game a few weeks ago, Jones doesn’t exactly give a damn about Tennessee, only himself. And Schiano is a whole different can of worms.
So, say what you will about Pruitt and how he has coached so far this season, but consider a couple of the alternatives, and understand it could be much, much worse.
Basketball Season Is About To Start
Tennessee’s basketball season tips off this Wednesday in an exhibition game against Tusculum. There hasn’t been this much hype going into a season since, what, the 2013-14 season? Maybe the 2010-11 season? Both of those seasons ended with the head coach either being fired or leaving, but surely that won’t happen this season, right? RIGHT?
In all seriousness, this should be a good season for the BasketVols. Coming off of a promising, yet ultimately disappointing season last year, the hype train is going full speed ahead. And if I know Tennessee sports at all, there will probably be plenty of heartbreak and disappointment. But that’s a post for another day…
The Big Bang Theory Is Almost Over
The Big Bang Theory is scheduled to finish airing in May 2019. Much to my surprise, I recently learned that there are still people out there that apparently still like this show? If you have never watched an episode, I can sum it up for you in one sentence:
“Cringy, uninteresting nerds have unrealistic conversations over a laugh track stuck on loop.”
That’s it. I just summed up over a decade of content for you in one sentence. Frankly, I’m impressed the writers have found a way to stretch out any of the story lines this long. I didn’t even know it was still going on, but this show really can’t end too soon.
If you think it’s a good show, I personally won’t hold it against you and I forgive you. But your taste in TV shows sucks and you should be ashamed of yourself. Take a long, introverted look at how you live your life and think about how you can change it for the better.
But if you’re a Vol fan, like me, you’ve probably already done that more than once. And it probably didn’t work.
