FREE THOUGHT FRIDAY

IS BOWL SUCCESS A HARBINGER? With Tennessee's thrashing of Northwestern fresh on the minds of Vol fans it's only natural to think of the late season success with hopes it will provide a springboard into an ultra-successful 2016 campaign. With no intention of being a kill-joy since my hopes and desires match yours I will mildly caution the Big Orange Nation that around here bowl results rarely are an accurate harbinger of the season to come. With that in mind lets look at what in my opinion are the most inspiring Tennessee bowl wins and what effect they had on the seasons to follow. I will start in 1983 which I consider to be the year that Johnny Majors got the program back on the right track.

INSPIRING BOWL WINS:

1983 CITRUS: TENN 30 MARYLAND 23: (Final Record 9-3) Though the falloff wasn't drastic the 84 Vols finished a disappointing 7-4-1 and lost to Maryland in the Sun Bowl 28-27

1986 SUGAR BOWL TENN 35 MIAMI 7: (Final Record 9-1-2) With the exception of the Fiesta Bowl National Championship Game this is widely viewed as the greatest bowl win in program history. Though there were huge personnel losses from that team the 7-5 season that followed in 86 was still disheartening

1990 COTTON BOWL TENN 31 ARKANSAS 27 (Final Record 11-1) The bar was set so high that even an SEC Championship (9-2-2) in 1990 and a victory over Virginia in the Sugar Bowl didn't seem as sweet at the time. Chuck Webb's injury however quite possibly cost the Vols a legitimate chance at a National Championship run.

1996 CITRUS BOWL TENN 20 OHIO STATE 14: (Final Record 11-1)The victory over the Buckeyes and Heisman Winner Eddie George with Peyton Manning entering his junior season had Vol fans thinking SEC Championship and more for the 1996 season. A loss to the hated Florida Gators wrecked SEC hopes and an inexplicable gaffe against Memphis made that year's 10-2 seem tarnished

1999 FIESTA BOWL TENN 23 FLORIDA ST 16 (Final Record 13-0) The Vols National Championship was impossible to follow but most of us had high hopes they would after grabbing the big ring in a year that appeared to be a rebuild. With almost an entire cast returning the two losses in 1999 with yet another stinging loss to the Gators was humbling and a second Nebrass-kickin in a three year period in Bowl play was humiliating.

2002 CITRUS BOWL TENN 45 MICHIGAN 17 (Final Record 11-2) Though a great bowl performance this didn't engender the type optimism as many of the above because of the stunning upset at the hands of Nick Saban led LSU in the SECCG that exiled the Vols to Orlando in the first place. The Vols followed that up with an 8-5 campaign culminating with one of the worst bowl performances in program history (30-3 loss to Maryland in the Peach) starting a slide that the program has never fully recovered from.

2005 COTTON BOWL TENN 35 TEXAS A&M 21 (Final Record 10-3) Leaving Cotton Bowl stadium that day I was certain that Tennessee and Phillip Fulmer had regained their mojo seemingly lost two seasons before. The Vols accomplished more than most thought possible with a relatively young team and the future looked extremely bright. Then came the QB controversy that rocked the Orange Universe and quickly turned “bright” into “blight” leading to a 5-6 debacle that sickens most Vol fans to this day

In summary on very few occasions have our dreams of great days ahead based on bowl results been realized in the campaigns that followed. Here's hoping that next year's the exception to that trend.

BIG STONES FOR JONES: Though it had been rumored for weeks I was still surprised when word came down that Butch Jones had parted ways with long-time DC John Jancek. While the inability to get off the field defensively late in the Oklahoma and Florida games turned a great season into a good one you certainly could also point to the fact that Butch Jones offense's -yes I know Mike DeBord is the OC but c'mon- inability -or unwillingness- to keep the foot on the gas was just as culpable. While I thought any staff including Jancek and Willie Martinez being referred to as the “best staff in America” was laughable Jancek's defenses performed far better than I expected from a guy fired from his last SEC post. His defenses obviously were a stark improvement from his predecessor Sal Sunseiri but how could they be otherwise in comparison with one of the worst coordinators in this league's -or any others for that matter- history. A major move like this at a critical point in Jones' tenure is a risky venture for a man not exactly renowned as a risk taker. That makes me feel very strongly that this had more to do with things occurring off the field than anything that happened on AND that Jones has a replacement in mind that he knows will accept his offer. I have no problem with the CEO of Tennessee Football making a move he believes is in the best interest of the program, that's exactly what he is supposed to do. I simply wish him far better luck than the disastrous results that Phillip Fulmer and Derek Dooley wrought on themselves and the program with the hiring of Dave Clawson and the aforementioned inspiration for the three digit scoreboard Sal Sunseiri.

FROM INFURIATING TO INSPIRING: While both are probably oversimplifications if Saturday's game versus Auburn was all about impatience and poor shot selection resulting in abysmal marksmanship Wednesday's Florida contest was about wanting it worse than your opponent. Not only did the Vols come up with virtually every loose ball they also led the much taller Gators in rebounding (49-40) and points in the paint (32-24). Other hustle stats in the Vols favor included points off turnovers (22-18) and a complete mismatch in fast break points (11-2). Give Rick Barnes and the staff credit for quickly conveying the message that the performance at Auburn was unacceptable and the players for taking the criticism to heart.

THE A&M STANDS FOR ALL MEN: Last season I had the privilege of viewing the Tennessee-Texas A&M basketball game from the folding chairs court side at TBA courtesy of my friend The Paison and his son “Donnie Knoxville”. From this vantage point it was painfully obvious what a physical mismatch the contest truly was. Billy Kennedy had a collection of grown men going up against Donnie Tyndall's hastily thrown together roster of mostly neophytes and newcomers. Though Rick Barnes inherited a more seasoned squad than Tyndall was afforded -and Admiral Schofield brings a level of toughness- the brawn factor will still favor the Aggies. Daniel House and Jalen Jones are both 6'7” 212 and 220 lbs respectively with House logging 29 minutes/game to Jones' 27. Tyler Davis (6'10”, 265), Tonny Trocha-Morelos (6'10” 229) and D.J. Hogg (6”8” 216) also play around 20 minutes each giving A&M size on the floor at all times. Jones (15.8 ppg), House (15.2) and Davis (11.1) all average double-figure ppg while guards Alex Caruso (69 assists) and Anthony Collins (65) run the show. The Vols may well be facing the SEC's best squad this Saturday.

NFL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS: These should come with some type of warning but here goes:

Kansas City over Houston: The Texans played well enough to win one of the worst divisions in NFL history but the Chiefs have been on a true tear since a very shaky start.

Pittsburgh over Cincinnati: Not sure who will play RB for the Steelers but I'm not sure what it matters; we're talking about the Bengals in the playoffs.

Minnesota over Seattle: This is very risky but I'm going with the romanticism of Bud Grant and the Purple People Eaters winning at home in the playoffs in frigid conditions as are forecasted for Sunday in Minneapolis. Seattle looked great last week but the Cardinals had mailed it in prior to their arrival.

Washington over Green Bay: Going with a quinella of upsets in the NFC. The Redskins came out of the only division that rivals the AFC South for ineptitude but seem to have some momentum and the Packers haven't looked like a playoff team for weeks.

FINAL FRIDAY FUSILLADE: Even after the resounding victory over Florida I'm still sick about the missed opportunity versus Bruce Pearl's Auburn Tigers. Like Al Green I wish we could click on link.

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