'Tony Bee's State of Tennessee:

Random musings as we approach a most interesting game tomorrow at Neyland Stadium:

WE DON'T DIFFER WITH TONY very often but we still don't see the value in dismissing Butch Jones prior to tomorrow's game and next week's bloodletting at Alabama. Let tomorrow and next week play out, unless there is some massive problem. For the record, we don't think whiny, soft quarterbacks bitching is enough to fire a coach mid-week. Also remember that our candidates to succeed Jones are all watching everything the UTAD does right now.


THE CROWD WILL BE DOWN but shouldn't be a total embarrassment. South Carolina doesn't travel well and returned unsold tickets to the UTAD. Perhaps the prospect of beating Tennessee isn't that big of a deal at this moment. The athletics department will paper the house a bit and a nice weather day might influence some locals to come on out and see redshirt freshman QB Jarrett Guarantano.


SPEAKING OF GUARANTANO, we applaud the decision to try the dual-threat QB from New Jersey. We also aren't going to side with the whiny Quinten Dormady, who threatened to quit the middle of the week. The truth is Dormady should have been pulled earlier in the Georgia game. He's a bad fit for the inflexible Butch Jones system. This doesn't mean Guarantano will be very good tomorrow. He might even be bad, but if he is, Dormady can flip the situation and be the backup the fans are clamoring for if tomorrow's game is going badly. College football is crazy. Quittin' Quinten might just lead the Vols to victory tomorrow.


WHILE WE'LL BE FIXATED on the Tennessee offense tomorrow, this will be an interesting test for Bob Shoop's defense. The Vol defense is dead last in run defense (123rd nationally) in the league but tops in pass defense (3rd nationally). Cynics would say that's because UT's opponents haven't had to pass and they've faced a slate of poor passing teams, both of which are probably true to some extent.


WILL MUSCHAMP'S Gamecock program is on an upswing in its second year. Carolina's offense is led by sophomore QB Jake Bentley, who is ably coached by former Vol grad assistant Kurt Roper. Roper, from the David Cutcliffe offense coaching tree, has Bentley throwing to a variety of receivers and the Gamecocks run just enough to keep you honest. This will certainly pose the toughest test so far this season for the Vols' questionable secondary.


AS TONY HAS REPORTEDearlier this week, we believe the leadership on UT's team wanted DE Darrell Taylor kicked off the team. Jones agreed to suspend him indefinitely but is leaving the door open for a return. We think Taylor might return by the Kentucky game, if that game still means anything by then.


FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY (10-19 Overall, 0-5 Last Week ATS): There are two ways to look at the miserable season we're having picking games against the spread. One, the most sensible one, is to decide your correspondent is having a terrible year and will continue to do so and picking against is a sure-fire way to cash tickets. The other, far riskier, is to arrive at the conclusion that we "are due" and go with us from here on out. We would humbly suggest the latter would be akin to saying the UT offense is due and will lead the nation the second half of the season.


AUBURN -6.5 at LSU (44.5): Don't be deceived by LSU's big upset at Florida. Tennessee's terribly flawed team should have beaten the Gators too. The "Gus Bus" is getting a lot of passengers at Auburn and we expect the Plainsmen to get a big win and cover in Baton Rouge.


TEXAS A&M +3 At Florida (52.5): The Aggies showed some character in coming back from a big deficit and competing against Alabama last week. We like the Aggies but won't bite on them and will instead take the Under, although we wouldn't be surprised to see A&M win straight up.


Arkansas (55) at ALABAMA -30: This is a big spread but Nick Saban is pissed his team didn't bludgeon the Aggies when they got a 24-3 lead. Arkansas looked awful against a middle of the road South Carolina team. Thirty points is a lot in an SEC game, but we'll lay it.


South Carolina (48) at TENNESSEE -3: Vegas obviously thinks Tennessee will come out of its offensive funk enough to win by a field goal. We would be surprised to see a Guarantano-led offense march up and down the field and ring up a lot of points. We also think the UT defense could have a good showing and it better. South Carolina has field goal kicking problems just like Tennessee. We'll take the Under. Not a bet but if you make us pick a final score, we're going to say Vols win 23-20.



Orange Throat
IGYJG International Geophysical Year of Jarrett Guarantano'

'South Carolina: 3 Defense TDs last WK Hayden Hurst at TE Backs R ok NC St outgained them 500 yds to 250


Vols have more talent
Vols playing for coachʻs job


John Kelly has a big game
QB may keep ball on option


Ky ran for 186 yards on SC


Put game in hands of O Line and Vols should be fine.


Hurst & Bentley could hurt Vols deep though he's a TE.


SC has overcome loss off top WR better than Vols.'

2017 South Carolina Scouting Report

GAMECOCK OFFENSE

Gamecock Passing Game – South Carolina's growth stage as a passing unit has taken a big hit with the early injury of wide receiver #1 Deebo Samuel. Up to that point, the Gamecocks had promise as a passing unit with the return of sophomore quarterback #19 Jake Bentley leading the way. Bentley, however, has struggled to consistently to find a passing rythm with the continued absence of Samuel. Bentley has a mediocre passing percentage at just around 60% and a quarterback rating of only 57. Often he looks erratic and out of sync throwing from the pocket. Bentley also has been sacked several times through six contests. Through six games he has been sacked sixteen times.


Offensive coordinator Kurt Roper will look to set up the pass with the running game. Most of the snaps from the Gamecocks' offense will feature 12 personnel - 1 back and 2 tight ends. The South Carolina passing game will show the versatile tight end #81 Hayden Hurst. Hurst will play the 'H' back in South Carolina's offense and align in several positions on the field. This is a particulary nice strategy vs opponents' 4-3, non- nickel, defenses. In 12 personnel, Hurst will align in the slot to get favorable matchups against linebackers. Hurst will also line up in the backfield and when they use play action and bootlegs type plays to leak him into the secondary. The successes of Hurst in the passing game are directly tied to the successes of the Gamecocks' running game.


Hurst with his excellent speed and run after the catch skills can present matchup problems for Tennessee's strong side linebacker, Daniel Bituli. I like Bituli as run defender but defending the pass against a future NFL tight end is a skill we have not yet seen from Bituli. In the middle, Tennessee safeties NIgel Warrior and Micah Abernathy have been solid in the passing game over the year but they will be challenged by Hurst. The other element of this matchup is pass protection minus the absence of Darrell Taylor. Where does Tennessee get its pressure on the passer from? Look for Tennessee's defensive coordinator to continue to effectively manfacture pressure against Bentley with defensive line twists & stunts plus linebackers blitzes by Colton Jumper. This is something that's proven effective for the Tennessee defense since the Florida game.


South Carolina WR #6 Terry Googer is their best remaining receiver, but based on film I don't see any active Gamecock receiver who poses a problem for the Tennessee secondary. Tennessee's cornerback #8 Justin Martin had his best game individually vs Georgia and has grown immensely since early in the season especially with his situational awareness. The development of Martin plus the steadiness of opposite cornerback Emanuel Mosely and the ever consistent Rashaun Galden gives me confidence this is an area of advantage for Tennessee although Taylor will not be on the field for the Vols. (ADVANTAGE - TENNESSEE)


Gamecock Running Game – One of the ways I believe Tennessee can come away with a win is to make South Carolina get away from the run and away from being balanced thus becoming a one dimensional 11 personnel (1 back, 1 tight end) offensive unit. I am not going to hold Tennessee's defense accountable for the 2nd half onslaught in the Georgia game due to things out of their control.


My eyes tells me their run defense has taken strides vs Florida and Georgia (1st half). Also the matchups for Tennessee's defense has benefited the Vols based on the personnels that were predominately used by both Florida & Georgia. Tennesee's interior play has been solid particularly with the increased level of play from Khalil McKenzie. As mentioned in the Georgia scouting report, the Vols best defense against the run is when they have the combination of Colton Jumper, Daniel Bituli and Dante Sapp in the game. Coach Shoop has approached run defense with an aggresive, attacking manner. He has implemented blitz schemes for Jumper to purposely disrupt the opponents' running game.


Georgia in my opinion did a nice job of scouting Tennessee and switched up which offensive personnel grouping they ran the ball from. Prior to the Tennessee contest Georgia played with 21 personnel predominately (2 runningbacks and 1 tight end) offensively. My belief is that they understood if you play Tennessee in 11 personnel they will change to Nickel defense and take their best linebacker off the field, Daniel Bituli. This was a significant in game coaching adjustment by the Georgia offense to get their offense going on the ground.


Does Tennessee counter adjust and replace Dante Sapp in nickel personnel with Daniel Bituli so that Jumper and Bituli remain on the field at all times?
Tennessee's defense staff can longer afford to do this in order to be an effective run stopping defensive unit. This is an area I will keep my eye upon that absolutely must change. It's the competent thing to do to get Tennessee's two best linebackers on the field with so many teams playing 11 personnel in college football.


For Tennessee, they will benefit from the fact they will not be playing against three NFL backs with a solid complimentary passing game to match. Personnel competency at linebacker is a major area of concern going foward but overall the Vols has too much talent and should over come this burden over the course of this game. (ADVANTAGE - TENNESSEE)



GAMECOCK DEFENSE

Gamecock Pass Defense - South Carolina's passing defense ranks near the bottom third of collegiate teams. I think this due to the fact that they are without a significant pass rush generally speaking.


Gamecock defensive ends #95 Dante Sawyer and #92 Dennis Wonnum haven't been able to bring much pressure on the quarterback over the course of the season.


This is a game where Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Gaurantano will have time in the pocket to throw if Coach Will Muschamp doesn't send linebacker pressure.


When South Carolina has been able to pressure the quarterback it's been similar to how Georgia was able to get pressure on Dormady with the usage of linebacker blitzes. This is signifcant for Tennessee because historically Tennessee hasn't dealt well with pass protection in Butch Jones' offense when it comes to addressing a single player who's capable of disrupting the flow of his offense such as Roquan Smith recently, Eric Striker of Oklahoma, the combination of Michael Sam & Kony Ealy etc. Coaches Jones and Larry Smith have to show progress in this area of negating the strengths of single players who are capable to causing this type of disruption.


The Gamecocks will at times use LB #10 Skai Moore much like Georgia uses LB Roquan Smith when they need to disrupt the run game and pressure the quarterback. He's shown to be an effective blitzer when they need him to. The talented Moore also has shown nice pass coverage skills with multiple interceptions he has accounted for.


My coaching intuition tells me Coach Muschamp will throw the kitchen sink at Gaurantano to see if he can manage pass protections at the line of scrimmage.
Tennessee's wide receiving corps does have matchups advantages across the board against the secondary of South Carolina, but this area of the contest is a place of concern given the magnitude of the outcome for both teams. I cannot see a seasoned, veteran defensive coordinator allowing the newly inserted Gaurantano to go untested by him. Overall the Gamecocks have trouble matching up to Tennessee in this area, but you have to throw everything out the window and assume Muschamp will aggressively apply pressure on regular basis. (NO ADVANTAGE)


Gamecock Run Defense – Again the South Carolina defense just doesn't have the overall talent depth of a Tennessee. However, I think their head coach and defensive coordinator have put this team in positions of success based on what they have this season.


As mentioned before they have found a player in LB #10 Skai Moore who gives them much versatility on this "bend but don't break defense". They will certainly blitz him on early downs to disrput the run game and get offenses behind on down and distance. Moore has shown he is an effective blitzer as well.


In the middle defensive tackles #93 Ulric Jones and #90 Tyler Stallworth are what I would call space eaters. Both interior players are 300lb linemen with the ability to plug up the middle. I would categorize them as players whose sole purporse is to the plug middle to allow Moore and LB #6 TJ Brunson to play downhill, which they are very good at.


I was impressed with Moore and Brunson to play physically from Offensive tackle to Offensive tackle and how they fit in their run lanes and run gap responsibility. For South Carolina to make Tennessee get off the field and punt, I look for them once again to throw everything at Butch Jones' slower developing runs out of shotgun unless Tennessee is able to hit them with a big play and counter it.


Coach Jones will need to do his best in game adjusting for Coach Larry Scott once the first couple of series is played. Both he and Coach Scott will have to be effective"in game"strategist in pass protections as well as in the run game against a pressuring system from Will Muschamp. (ADVANTAGE - SOUTH CAROLINA)


My gut feeling is that we will play well defensively, but it will be a test of the minds for Coach Jones and Larry Scott to competently put this offensive football team in a position to win the game with a brand new quarterback.

Thanks,
Jerry Colquitt
VFL 1990-1994

JONES' LAST STAND? WEEK 7 STRAIGHT AHEAD
FREE THOUGHT FRIDAY

WHAT WE WILL SEE IN WEEK 7:

ANY FIGHT LEFT IN THE JONES ERA?

AMBUSH IN MANHATTAN:

WEST’S TOP TIGER:

WHO DRAWS FIRST BLOOD IN THE RED RIVER:

GATORS OFER THE WEST?

WHAT VOL FANS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA:

OFFENSE
Soph QB Jake Bentley is hitting on 60.6 percent of his passes this season....

DEFENSE
The Gamecocks set a school record with 3 defensive TDs in the win over Arkansas....

SPECIAL TEAMS

ODDS & ENDS

MLB TIDBITS

FINAL FRIDAY THOUGHT:...[more]

'BLADE RUNNER 2049 and
VICTORIA AND ABDUL
4 STAR MOVIES THAT WILL LIKELY DISAPPOINT AT THE BOX OFFICE

Both Blade Runner 2049 and Victoria and Abdul are high quality films from a technical standpoint, but will probably not meet their own expectations in the final box office totals. I enjoyed Victoria and Abdul more because it’s based on true events. That movie had 2 likeable characters that you could root for or relate to. Blade Runner 2049 was just too dark of a story and I found myself not liking any of the characters.

Victoria and Abdul (PG-13) tells the story of Queen Victoria of England and her late 1800’s friendship with Abdul Karim, a visitor from India. Victoria sat on the throne in England for over 60 years. Abdul and a fellow countryman from India are dispatched to England to present Queen Victoria with a gift from their country, which was still under British rule.

Victoria requests the likeable Abdul to stay on and slowly develops a strong bond and friendship with her guest. Eventually, Abdul begins to teach the Queen his language and shares the Quran with the British monarch.

Everyone on the Queen’s staff, the British Prime Minister, and the Queen’s own son are totally against her friendship and meetings with Abdul, a fact that seems to make Victoria even more determined to learn the customs of India. As Queen Victoria begins to elevate the status of Abdul, her staff and family go to extreme measures to send both of the guests from India back to their home country.

The disturbing part of Victoria and Abdul is seeing the same prejudices and bigotry in the late 1800’s that still unfortunately exist in many areas today. After Victoria’s death in 1901, the monarch’s family and staff forced Abdul and his family out of England and proceeded to destroy any trace of Victoria’s friendship with Abdul. We know about the story today thanks only to the detailed journals kept by Abdul during and after his stay in England.

Judi Dench is terrific, as always, in her role as Queen Victoria.

Ali Fazal also turns in an incredible and likeable performance as Abdul Karim. Dench and Fazal have great chemistry on the screen.

Personally, I did not like Blade Runner 2049 very well, but I do recognize the quality of the film and the outstanding special effects. The dark, bleak, futuristic society portrayed in the movie just did not appeal to me. And Blade Runner 2049 (R) is a long film, with a running time of 2 hours and 43 minutes.

Ryan Gosling is the closest thing to a likeable character in the movie, portraying new blade runner Officer K. Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, and Jared Leto all give quality performances, although with much less screen time than the lead actor (Gosling).

Blade Runner 2049 was the number one movie in America last weekend, but took in a disappointing $32 million at the box office. The film cost $150 million plus to make and might have a tough time reaching the break-even point.


See you at the movies

Jack Tate'

A New Direction At TonyBasilio.com: Here at Tonybasilio.com we’re creating a series of programming with little to mostly zero commercial sponsorship. In other words, you will be digesting the following programs in coming days with almost no interruption. This is unprecedented in the history of my business. Nobody has ever done this. Here are the offerings coming your way.

Our Family Of Offerings:

‘X-Cast: A Recruiting Podcast’: Featuring Tony Basilio & ‘X’ where we discuss the latest moves, behind the scenes machinations and all the intrigue from the world of recruiting. This will hopefully be offered twice monthly with lengths varying. If this takes off perhaps we can even do some live offerings of this show. THIS IS BEING OFFERED COMMERCIAL FREE!!!


Fifth Quarter Fan Reaction: Back for season 4. Sponsored by Marcos Garza. This year with NO OTHER SPONSORS. This will be pure content for you. I’m taking a chance here but I know you will reward me for not bombarding you with messages Vol Network style. This program will run for at least 3 hours following Tennessee Football Games. We will have new visual presentation of this feature as well that we’re investing in. Thanks to Jayson Swain for helping me with the technical side of our visual presentation.


Southeastern Sunday Night: 7p to 9p on Sunday Nights airing on Periscope/Facebook Live and other platforms including your Tony Basilio Show App. This will be a regional program that aims to keep it real. We will tell the truth on us, them and all with you. This could be a lot of fun if you help me spread the word across the region. This hopefully will turn into a free for all that is free for all. ZERO SPONSORS. COMMERCIAL FREE OFFERING.


Vol-Scars: A podcast featuring Vol Historian Tom Mattingly and Eric S where we go back in time and commemorate the painful losses in UT football history that left a mark. These shows are extremely time intensive to put together. I’ve worked all summer on these offerings and am really proud of what we’ve compiled thus far. I think you’ll really enjoy this. COMMERCIAL FREE.


Gate Twenty Won: A podcast Featuring Vol Historian Tom Mattingly where we celebrate the greatest wins in UT history in time capsule form. These are a breath of fresh air and the type of programming I’m aiming to bring to you . COMMERCIAL FREE


Chill Cast: Tell Me A Story: A podcast where I grab folks from the sports world and our community and allow them to share their stories with us. This will be done in the spirit of the recent re-launch programs that I did. We’ll aim to go deeper here. Stay tuned. COMMERCIAL FREE.


Tennessee Basketball Overtime: Back for year 5! Immediately following Tennessee Basketball Games. A Tennessee Basketball Call-In show featuring ONLY ONE SPONSOR…GARZA LAW FIRM. Therefore we keep the conversation going without bombarding you Vol Network style. What a concept!!!!


Garza On The Law: A Podcast dealing with the legal issues that invade the sports world featuring the great Marcos Garza. We will go deeper here. I promise that you will find this interesting. Presented by Garza Law Firm.

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.