'Off the top this week I want to say a big thanks to all of you who read and support this blog. I also want to thank all of you for your support and loyalty to me and my efforts. You all never cease to amaze me! It has been an absolute pleasure writing for all of you here at Tony's site for the last 7 years. Today starts a new chapter for me here at TonyBasilio.com.


While I will still touch on our beloved Volunteers every now and then, I can no longer sit down and write about the football program, week in and week out, as long as our current coach is employed by The University of Tennessee. This is a decision I've made 100% on my own. I'm pretty sure we all know how I feel about the direction of our football program. Though I have a hard time following this golden rule, I do believe if you have nothing good to say, sometimes it's best to just say nothing at all, and quite frankly, I'm to that point. I will always support the kids who don the orange and white and give their all for Tennessee.....


Every week from here until the end of the season, I'm going to write about the college football landscape from coast to coast. I'll also be keeping a keen eye on the SEC. Each week I'll give you my Top 5 and we'll look at who's hot and who's not and we'll spotlight some of the big marquee match-ups every week during the season. So without further ado, let’s get down to it!


The biggest game in the SEC this week sees Mississippi State traveling to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs.


Mississippi State is coming off that huge 37-7 win over LSU in Starkville. This was a tight game throughout much of the 1st half. With 7 seconds left in the 2nd quarter and State on top 10-7, it was decision time for Dan Mullen and his Bulldogs. State was at the 3 yard line and while 90% of the coaches in this country would have been happy taking the FG before the half, Mullen decided to go for pay dirt and rode the wheels of QB Nick Fitzpatrick into the end zone for a TD to put State on top 17-7 at the half and the rest was history as Mississippi State poured it on in the 2nd half to get to 3-0 on the young season. That was only the 2nd victory for State over LSU in their last 18 games in the series.


Georgia comes into this game coming off a 42-14 win over Samford. Nick Chubb ran the ball 16 times for 131 yds and 2 TD's and Georgia only put the ball into the air 15 times in this game. While Jacob Eason has returned to practice this week he's not 100%, so I fully expect Freshman Jake Fromm to get the start once again. He was very efficient last week connecting on 11 of those 15 attempts for 3 TD's.


We all know the struggles the East has had against the West over the last 8 or 9 years, but I think Georgia gets it done at home this week. I think Georgia is the class of the East this season, and I think their defense is much improved. It certainly wouldn't be a shocker if Mississippi State were to get the victory, but I just don't see it. It is so hard to get back up after such a huge emotional victory like State had over LSU and that is one of the main reasons I'm picking Georgia to get it done at home this week.


Other big games of note in the SEC this week see Alabama going to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt, Florida travels to Kentucky and Arkansas goes to Texas A&M in the Hot-Seat Bowl. I wouldn't want to be the losing coach in that game!


The big marquee match-up in the Big 12 this week has 3-0 TCU going into Stillwater to take on the 3-0 Oklahoma State Cowboys. As good as Gary Patterson has been at TCU, his teams have struggled big time against Mike Gundy's Cowboys. Okie State has won 4 of 5 in this series and most of these games haven't been close. I see this trend continuing this week as I fully expect Oklahoma State to get it done at home. I think this is the best team Gundy has ever had out there. Their D looks improved and I think they have the most potent offense in the country. State has scored 162 points in their 1st 3 games. The Cowboys get Oklahoma at home this year and the winner of that one could be in the driver's seat for a playoff berth.


The big game out in the Pac 12 this week sees the USC Trojans going into Berkeley to take on Coach Justin Wilcox and his Cal Bears. The Trojans come into this game having barely survived last week's double-overtime game against Tom Herman and the Texas Longhorns. USC sophomore QB Sam Darnold comes into this game on fire, having already thrown for over 1,000 yards in his 1st 3 games this season. There's no wonder why this kid has the NFL scouts drooling. Cal is off to a surprising 3-0 start having already bagged a couple of really nice wins. They opened the season by going into Chapel Hill and beating the UNC Tarheels, and last week they took down the Ole Miss Rebels at home 27-16. Cal has found a pretty good sophomore QB themselves in Ross Bower. Bower can spread the ball around and his main weapon is someone Vols fans are very familiar with in Vic Wharton III. Wharton is the go to guy out there and he leads the Golden Bears in every statistical receiving category. We're talking TD's, total receiving yards, yards per catch and total catches. I expect a high scoring affair and while I think USC ultimately gets out there with the W, this could be one heck of a ball game.


The biggie in the Big Ten this week has Penn State going to Iowa. Though both teams enter this game at 3-0, I think Penn State is clearly the better team here and should have no problems taking care of business. Taking care of business is something James Franklin knows how to do. Franklin not only beats teams, but he usually beats 'em pretty good. Penn State has covered the spread in 12 of its last 16 games and 2 of the games they didn't cover, they pushed. This tells me Franklin has Penn St playing at a very high level. That's not messing around! We'll also see if Michigan State is back this year after an abysmal 2016 as Notre Dame travels into East Lansing. That could be a good one, but I think the Golden Domers get it done.


There's not a lot shaking in the ACC this week as far as huge games, but N.C. State going to Tallahassee to take on FSU could be an intriguing match-up. Last year in Raleigh, FSU escaped with a 24-20 win over the Wolfpack. It's a shame that FSU lost its starting QB Deondre Francois to a season ending knee injury because he was truly one of the top playmakers in the country. Frosh James Blackman will get the nod at QB and while the FSU coaches are saying all of the right things about this kid, I believe there's a huge drop off in talent between him and Francois. This could be another close game this year, but you have to think FSU gets it done at home behind a good running game and a solid defense. One other game of note in the ACC will see Duke going to North Carolina. That's a game that could go either way.


VC's Top 5 1. Clemson 2. Alabama 3. Oklahoma 4. Penn State 5. Oklahoma State


3 Hots: Clemson D-Line Memphis QB Riley Ferguson Oklahoma St. Offense


3 Nots: Butch Jones Baylor LSU

That's all for this week and I hope you enjoy it!

Have a Great Day and Go Big Orange!

Your Vol Colonel'

'Coach Speak

Offensive coordinator Larry Scott on using two running back formations: “I like to try to get all of our players the ball as much as we can when needed, when appropriate, and when it fits the structure of what we feel like we can go attack the defense with. The more you can keep those guys involved, the better off you’re going to be with the development of young players.”


I’ve thought Tennessee’s best formations the last three years have been with two running backs in the backfield. We don’t use them as often as I’d like, but maybe that’s why they seem to always lead to big plays.


Scott on the offensive line through three games: “We’ve done a really good job with all the moving pieces we’ve had to move around and shake up from week to week, all the way through camp, and a lot times right up until we’re getting ready to go out on the field. These guys have done a really good job. I think it’s just going to be a continuing scroll with that group as we continue to move forward and put the right pieces together because there’s going to be movement. I think it’s going to be a position that we’re going to see, we’re going to have to be able to play some guys at different places at different times.”


Against Georgia Tech and Florida, the offensive line seemed to get better as the games went along. Despite Quinten Dormady not being much of a running threat, John Kelly leads the SEC with 349 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has Kelly as the highest graded running back in the SEC through three games. The offensive line also hasn’t allowed a sack yet this season.


Scott on the goal line turnover: “First-and-goal at the one, sometimes you may run against an uneven box in that situation. Going back, you learn from all of those things and you say, you know what, hand the ball off there on first and goal. But (Dormady) understood and the coaching part of it led him to his check. There's no wrong in that because if you hit it, you say the quarterback had his tool belt, used what he needed to use and we executed. The point is we didn't execute.”


I don’t know what to think about this. Dormady, in his first true road start, is allowed to check at the line when he’s got inexperienced wide receivers on the field. What’s crazy is that until Mike DeBord became offensive coordinator, the Vols didn’t even have a check system, meaning Justin Worley or Josh Dobbs couldn’t have changed plays at the line if they wanted to.


Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop on the final play at Florida: “Our strategy on the last play was watching them come out of the huddle, and if they come out of the huddle in a Hail Mary-type formation, call timeout and reset the defense. They did not do that. We took away the play that they ran, which is the irony of the whole thing really.”


Second year in a row Shoop’s defense gives up a touchdown in the last seconds of a big game. How the defense let a receiver get behind them is mind-boggling to me. Butch Jones talked about nickels and dimes after the game and on Monday, but regardless of how many defensive backs are on the field, they can’t let anyone behind them. Before the play, my biggest concern was Florida picking up enough yards to be able to attempt a game-winning field goal, so I understand why Tennessee didn’t drop four or five defenders to the goal line. Because of this, I also understand not having a “leaper” standing in the end zone to knock a pass down. Last year, Jauan Jennings was this guy and actually got an interception on a hail mary at the end of the first half against Kentucky. Still, giving up a 63-yard touchdown pass on the final play of any game is inexcusable, much less against Florida.



Shoop on the team’s resiliency: “I give Justin Martin all the credit in the world, that was just a tremendous, tremendous, play. Rashaan Gaulden was all over the field, blitzing, and had an interception, and gave the offense the ball in field position to score at the end. So there is some really, really good individual efforts out there that are spoiled by obviously the finish of that game.”


Martin played another bad game until his forced fumble. And he was the Vols’ No. 1 corner heading into the season. I can’t imagine what a team with a good passing game is going to do against this defense.


Shoop on the defensive struggles: “The same things are showing up. We’re playing to our style of play but not consistent enough to beat really good teams. I take responsibility. It’s my responsibility to finish those things and it is what it is. It’s hard, but you have to move on.”


Get it fixed Bob. That’s your responsibility.


Shoop on giving up big plays: “Offensively, you can have 55 bad snaps and three good ones and score 21 points. Defensively, you can play 55 great snaps and three bad snaps and you stink. That’s been our Achilles heel for the year-and-a-half that I’ve been here. We don’t just give up big plays, we give up catastrophic-type plays. It’s not a 15-20 yard run, it’s a long play. We’ve got to work hard, and we are working hard, to minimize those things.”

Again, get it fixed Bob.


Individual Speak

Freshman right guard Trey Smith on his play through three games: “I think I’ve played okay. There’s a lot of stuff I need to improve on, a lot of stuff Coach Wells and I keep talking on. Obviously just being an offensive lineman, you’re never really going to have perfection, there are a lot of people that play in the NFL for like 16 years and there’s still always something to work on.”


Smith should be a three-year starter here, then a first-round NFL Draft pick.


Smith on running back John Kelly: ”I love watching his film. There are times when I just look at John and I’m like ‘wow.’ He was running over people, he’s a full-contact back, and that’s what I really love about him. JK gets me hyped in games just by the way he plays, the violence with which he plays, it really motivates me. If a guy’s going to run that hard, what is blocking for a couple seconds so I can help spring him free.”


John Kelly on his running style: “When you’re a running back you don’t want to get tackled, so I’m doing everything I can not to get tackled. Just trying to impose my will on people when I’m running the ball when I get opportunities to do so and that’s really just where it comes from.”


I mentioned during my offensive preview for the season that Kelly reminded me of Travis Henry. He simply doesn’t go down on first contact and it almost always takes at least two defenders to tackle him. He’s also been a weapon out of the backfield. If only he played in a scheme that called for him to get the ball inside the five-yard line.


2018 Schedule

Tennessee also announced their 2018 schedule on Tuesday:

vs. West Virginia in Charlotte (Sept. 1)
vs. ETSU (Sept. 8)
vs. UTEP (Sept. 15)
vs. Florida (Sept. 22)
at Georgia (Sept. 29)
at Auburn (Oct. 13)
vs. Alabama (Oct. 20)
at South Carolina (Oct. 27)
vs. Charlotte (Nov. 3)
vs. Kentucky (Nov. 10)
vs. Missouri (Nov. 17)
at Vanderbilt (Nov. 24)

A lot will change over the next year, but this looks like a 7-to-9 win schedule. Alabama seems like a sure loss, and winning on the road at Georgia and Auburn in back-to-back weeks will be tough. Florida, West Virginia and South Carolina appear to be the most difficult remaining games on the schedule.


Another tough season-opener at a neutral site, this time against a Big 12 foe in Charlotte. I’ve said it before, but neutral site games replacing home-and-home series has become my biggest complaint with college football. How many Tennessee fans would love to take a trip to Morgantown for a game? I know I would.


Reporting From Rocky Top

Matt Dixon'

Tony,

I was asked by a loyal Basilio Radio Family member to do an edition of the IX discussing candidates to replace Butch Jones. Nothing should be inferred from the order in which these coaches are listed.

1. Mike Norvell: Head Coach/Memphis. Norvell has maintained the momentum built in Bluff City by Justin Fuente. He will have a Power 5 job sooner than later.

2. David Cutcliffe: Head Coach/Duke. The longtime Vol assistant has done wonders in reviving a moribund Duke program. My gut, however, says this ship has sailed.

3. Josh McDaniels: Offensive Coordinator/New England. I have no idea if he would have any interest in the college game. His Patriots cache would be gold on the recruiting trail for a power program.

4. Tee Martin: Offensive Coordinator/USC. Some Vol fans seem to fancy the idea of bringing back the quarterback of the '98 national champions. My guess is that this would be a leap of faith John Currie would be unwilling to take.

5. Frank Wilson: Head Coach/Texas-San Antonio. The former Vol assistant is one of the hot names in coaching right now. He still probably doesn't have the resume to be a serious player for the Tennessee job.

6. Jeff Brohm: Head Coach/Purdue. The best up and coming coach in America, in my humble opinion. The question is whether or not he would leave West Lafayette after just one season.

7. Steve Sarkisian: Offensive Coordinator/Atlanta. Someone will give this talented coach another shot at running a program. It, however, is highly unlikely to be Tennessee.

8. Dan Mullen: Head Coach/Mississippi State. It is hard to argue that Mullen has not achieved everything that could ever be reasonably expected at Mississippi State. His unwillingness to leave yet is an interesting X factor.

9. Butch Davis: Head Coach/Florida International. A blast from UT coaching searches past. His age and NCAA issues at North Carolina make him a nonstarter here.

Clancy's is Knoxville's authentic Irish Pub. Stop in for a true taste of the Emerald Isle downtown.

The signature cocktail menu at Sapphire is as creative as you will find anywhere. It's big city cool without the hipster pretense.

The Blankenship Field renovation project is moving steadily ahead. Go to blankenshiplegacy.org to donate.

Happy Birthday, Hana.

Keith

'Tony:

I just finished reading Tyler Wyatts' comments and analysis concerning the tenure of Butch at UT. As a student at UT I took some statistics classes and learned one thing when it comes to numbers, they can be skewed to fit an argument. Tyler's conclusions say Butch is average at best or below average in several categories.


However I am going to keep this simple because Tyler's analysis is flawed in respect to circumstances and experience level when comparing Butch to Saban or other SEC coaches at this moment in time. Nick Saban has been coaching at three Power 5 schools for 21 years. Dan Mullen has been at Miss. St for 9 years. Butch is in his 5th year at Tennessee. So to compare Butch with more experienced coaches is not fair in my opinion.


My point is you can't compare the success or failure of any coach using micro numbers when you don't consider their experience and other circumstances like state of the programs they took over.


So let's compare Butch to Nick Saban, Dan Mullen, and Frank Beamer using the metric of experience and the state of the programs they took over. All the programs listed below were down when Saban, Mullen, Beamer, and Butch took over. Nick Saban's first job at a Power 5/Division 1 school was at Michigan State.


Here are the records of these coaches.

Nick Saban-1995-6-5-.542%, 1996-6-6-.500%, 1997-7-5-.583%,1998-6-6-.500%, and 1999-9-2-.818%. Michigan State like Tennessee was a down program. But success only came in Nick's 5th year. Average winning % .589


Dan Mullen-Miss State-2009-5-7-.417%, 2010-9-4-.692%, 2011-7-6-.538%, 2012-8-5-.615%, 2013-7-6-.538%. Average winning %-.560 %


Frank Beamer-Va. Tech-1987-2-9-.182%, 1988-3-8-.273%, 1989-6-4-.591%, 1990-6-5-.545%, 1991-5-6-.455%. Average winning %-.409 %


Butch Jones-Tennessee-2013-5-7-.417%, 2014-7-6-.538%, 2015-9-4-.692%, 2016-9-4-.692%. Average winning % for four years-.584%


As you can see from above only Saban is higher by a fraction. I am not defending Butch. I am as upset by these losses in winnable games during Butch's tenure as any Vols fan. However, my analysis which is based on experience at a Power 5 school proves that maybe Butch isn't so average after all. Now, to be fair for arguments sake Butch is at a school that has more resources and storied history than those other schools listed above. Therefore, he should be where he is or even better. I also can see that.


In conclusion when Butch was announced as the coach and I saw his first press conference I knew it was going to be a slow process given his experience etc. Did Tennessee deserve a more experienced hire ? You can say yes but it is what it is given the powers to be at UT and Dave Hart's bungling search. In fact you can also argue that maybe Tennessee lucked up. This season will answer more questions. I just wanted to present a different perspective using numbers that count. Winning %. Thanks Tony for all you do for the common fan.


Jim in Nashville'

Three opportunities for you to drop your tickets by to me for our Amachi Knoxville event. Today: Copper Cellar Cumberland Ave Thursday: Stover's, 4505 Asheville Highway Friday: Calhoun's On The River

FAQ's Asked Of Tony Per Our Relaunch Announcement:

Q: Tony, you didn't say anything about your daily show yesterday. Will you continue to do this?

A: Absolutely. I'm looking forward to year #24 with you.


Q: Tony, you used the word 'subscribe'. What Am I subscribing too?

A: Great question. 'Subscribe' is a misnomer. What you actually are doing if you choose to help us monthly (and we need this for budgeting reasons) is actually acting as a patron. The goal is to keep the content (ALL CONTENT, from postgame offerings to various podcasts) free for all.


Q: So, if I'm not subscribing and I'm already reading this, why give?

A: Because you value the content and our contribution to the market and you want to help us keep this stuff free for everybody.


Q: Are you going to beat us up for money all the time here?

A: Absolutely not. I will bring this up a few times heading into the football season as we attempt to meet our financial goals and create new programming. I'll also mention it in the post-game format as well as the regional programming. I will not however wear you out with this. Either you feel the need to help us or you don't. This is why I'm taking today to field some question I received after day one.


Q: What happens if this doesn't generate the revenue you're seeking?

A: We will scale back our online offerings accordingly. The blog itself could even disappear. I really don't want this to happen but will be forced to spend my time in the most profitable way necessary. That's why we're having the conversation. All my cards are on the table here.


Q: When will we be able to hear these new podcasts, like that X-Cast?

A: It's all coming soon. We premiered a new Gate Twenty Won yesterday after the Basilio Show live on the app and will debut one today from the 1980 Georgia game. As for the 'X'-Cast....I'm going to upload these in real time with minimal production. Therefore I'm hoping to get one of these up in the next 10 days. It all depends on 'X's schedule.


Q: When will Southeastern Sunday debut?

A: We're shooting for the Sunday after the first full weekend of the football season.