We interrupt this vacation to bring you . . . huh?

by Joel Hollingsworth on Jun 7, 2007 10:56 AM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Football

Okay, so I'm just kicking back on vacation, leafing through this year's Athlon. They have Tennessee ranked 20th.

Okay. LSU is 3rd, Florida is 6th, and Georgia is 16th.

All right. Hawaii is 19th.

Well, then. Somebody at Athlon doesn't think Tennessee will be very good this year.

Or do they? On their SEC page, they rank each team's units as follows:

	QB	RB	WR/TE	OL	DL	LB	DB
Alabama	7	11	3	2	7	7	3
Arkansas	10	1	7	6	5	6	10
Auburn	8	8	10	10	2	9	4
Florida	4	9	1	1	6	10	7
Georgia	3	4	9	9	4	8	2
Kentucky	1	7	2	8	12	5	9
LSU	6	6	4	3	1	2	1
Mississippi State	11	12	11	12	9	11	11
Ole Miss	12	3	12	11	10	12	12
South Carolina	9	5	8	7	8	1	6
Tennessee	2	2	6	5	3	3	5
Vanderbilt	5	10	5	4	11	4	8

The Vols' worst unit is 6th out of 12 in the SEC. Florida has two units ranked first, but they have four units ranked 6th or worse. Georgia has one unit ranked 2nd and three units ranked 8th or worse. So let's reorder this puppy by average unit ranking, which Athlon doesn't do:

	QB	RB	WR/TE	OL	DL	LB	DB	Average
LSU	6	6	4	3	1	2	1	3.285714
Tennessee	2	2	6	5	3	3	5	3.714286
Florida	4	9	1	1	6	10	7	5.428571
Georgia	3	4	9	9	4	8	2	5.571429
Alabama	7	11	3	2	7	7	3	5.714286
Kentucky	1	7	2	8	12	5	9	6.285714
South Carolina	9	5	8	7	8	1	6	6.285714
Arkansas	10	1	7	6	5	6	10	6.428571
Vanderbilt	5	10	5	4	11	4	8	6.714286
Auburn	8	8	10	10	2	9	4	7.285714
Ole Miss	12	3	12	11	10	12	12	10.28571
Mississippi State	11	12	11	12	9	11	11	11

Tennessee is suddenly first in the East and closer to first-place LSU than to second-place Florida.

So what gives?

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Comments

Maybe it's because they didn't rank the coaches

Maybe Athlon thinks the players are good at all their positions but they have no faith in the coaching staff or in the various units to pull together as a team.

by twwilliams on Jun 7, 2007 11:54 AM EDT reply actions

Hmmm.

Good point. But how does LSU end up on top in the West then?

Go Vols!

by Joel Hollingsworth on Jun 7, 2007 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions

Maybe...

Maybe they put more weight on certain units, like WR, OL, or DB, which Tennessee is lower in.

Maybe they think that playing at Florida and Alabama outweighs the ranking advantage Tennessee has over them.

Maybe they didn't put enough thought into it and were trying to get their magazine published.

by CornFromAJar on Jun 7, 2007 12:19 PM EDT reply actions

Yep.

Yeah, and maybe the publication deadline is too early. Georgia's Paul Oliver is still part of the equation in the mag.

Go Vols!

by Joel Hollingsworth on Jun 7, 2007 1:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe

they are guys just like us who sit around and talk football and really have no idea what they are talking about. I have never looked at an Athlon--but Georgia ranked ahead of UT? Please.

Beat Cal! (And I really don't like Mike Conley, Jr.)

by gramsey712 on Jun 7, 2007 1:03 PM EDT reply actions

They're definitely smoking something...

...around the Athlon offices if they have Alabama's O-Line ranked #2. The only way the #2 O-Line ranking is accurate is if they're using it in the sense of "I gotta go #2."

Roll Tide!

by Nico @ Rocky Top Talk on Jun 7, 2007 5:45 PM EDT reply actions