Like the Longhorns, the Volunteers and Hurricanes are programs with national championship pedigrees that have been lost in the wilderness of college football for about two decades, in search of past glory and relevance
The two are showing signs of the start of the season as dark horse contenders in their conferences and face enemies on Saturday who are where they aspire to be.
Volunteers ranked 14th are at No 3 Georgia and no 7 visits Miami No 1 Clemson
The Flights faithful are as optimistic as they have been in years Tennessee has won eight straight games, the longest active streak in the Southeastern Conference This streak includes zero wins against ranked teams, but this is a program that is on its fourth coach since his last double-digit winning season (2007)
Jeremy Pruitt’s progress has been good enough to score 15 wins and a two-game contract extension after his third season The Volunteers look like a very different team under Pruitt than ever for his predecessor Butch Jones was 13-. 14 in his first 27 games with the Volunteers and headed for the first of two straight nine-game seasons Pruitt is now 15-12
The annual games against Alabama and Georgia have been a stark reminder of the path the Volunteers must travel back to the contention days of the national championship of the late 1990s. The Bulldogs have won the last three games 122- 26
« We have continued to improve over the past three years, » said Pruitt « We are far from where we want to be »
Miami’s last national championship dates back to 2001 Since then it has only won one Atlantic Coast Conference division title, in 2017 This surprising race to contention in the playoffs and not 2 in the country was marred by a three-game slide to end the season which included a 38-3 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship game
Unlike Tennessee, Miami doesn’t have to face realizing its aspirations every season. Before that conference title game, Miami last played at Clemson in 2015 and lost 58- 0 Worst loss in program history ended Al Golden era in Coral Gables, Fla.
Clemson has since won two domestic titles and lost two more in the title match
« It’s not a big game at Clemson, » said Miami coach Manny Diaz « That’s exactly what they’re doing. We’ve got to make our program work the same way »
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« The Rods are 9-5 against Non 1 ranked teams over the past 40 years, with the last victory in 2000 against Florida State and last loss to Clemson three years ago CLEMSON 38-21
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has a first chance against ex-boss Nick Saban since being offensive coordinator for The Tide Saban improved to 20-0 against his former assistants on the week last ALABAMA 52-32
Vols’ last victory against a top 5 team dates back to 2005 against No 4 LSU GEORGIA 31-14
The Aggies are 3-8 against teams ranked in two seasons and more under coach Jimbo Fisher, including 1-8 against top 10 opponents FLORIDA 30-27
The Hokies have won the last four games, including a six-overtime thriller last year NORTH CAROLINA 31-24
Nothing has improved Auburn’s offense like the Razorbacks in recent years; The Tigers have won the last four meetings averaging 483 AUBURN 35-17 points
Cougars QB Zach Wilson threw 11 incomplete passes and accounted for 11 BYU 42-14 touchdowns
The match was supposed to be played at LSU but Hurricane Delta forced a move to Colombia LSU 31-14
The last time the Longhorns and Sooners lost the week before the 2014 Red River shootout TEXAS 35-34
Meet Chanticleers quarterback Grayson McCall, fourth in the country in passing yards (116) with nine TD assists and just one INT LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 31-23
Cougars can finally open the season (fingers crossed) after COVID-19 issues forced three opponents to call HOUSTON 27-24 games
QB Skylar Thompson Wildcats (throwing arm) status is uncertain; Freshman replacement Will Howard relieved in victory over Texas Tech last week TCU 28-21
College Football, American Football, Clemson Tigers Football, Miami Hurricanes Football, NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Tennessee Volunteer Football, Alabama Crimson Tide Football, Georgia Bulldogs Football, A&M Aggies Football of Texas
World News – United States – College Football Pick: Tennessee, Miami Make Big Changes
