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1. The Lay of the Land
Year in, year out, UT plays a brutal schedule. Everyone knows that. But everyone also knows that schedule usually gets a whole lot easier come November. No such luck last year when their first two games in November were against the two teams that would play for the SEC Championship just one month later. Coming off a road game against Alabama? That’s brutal. What’s worse? No one could have ever predicted it at the beginning of the season as both Auburn and Missouri were way better than expected. And let’s not forget about Vanderbilt. Because the Commodores, at least relatively speaking, were historically good last year.
This year, however, it’s the exact opposite. Because South Carolina and Missouri are nowhere near as good as many thought at the beginning of the season. And Vanderbilt? Well, they’re historically BAD this year. Throw in the fact that UT has already absorbed both contests against the West this year, and you get the picture. The sledding’s a whole lot easier this time around. And rightfully so. UT’s strength of schedule has been a cruel joke played on a program that’s in rebuild mode.
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