How the Tennessee Volunteers' future opponents fared this weekend

The Vols didn't play this past weekend, so our feelings about them didn't change. Thus, this post is all about what everybody else did.

@Mississippi State Bulldogs

• Week 1: Clobbered Jackson State, 56-9.
• Week 2: Beat Auburn, 28-10.
• Week 3: Beat the Trojan Troys Trojans, 30-24.
• Week 4: Beat South Alabama, 30-10.
• Week 5: Bye
• Week 6: Beat Kentucky, 27-14. For Whom the Cowbell Tolls says that the Bulldogs keep winning games without looking very good.

• Joel feels __________ about this game this week: SAME BETTER AS LAST WEEK.

Alabama Crimson Tide

• Week 1: Sheesh, I hate these guys. Embarrassed Michigan, 41-14 in front of a ginormous mirror and a national television audience.
• Week 2: Beat Western Kentucky, 35-0.
• Week 3: Beat a headless Arkansas Razorbacks team, 52-0.
• Week 4: Beat Florida Atlantic, 40-7.
• Week 5: Beat Ole Miss, 33-14. Roll Tide Roll wonders about the offense: "Offensively, the 33 points largely obfuscates the on-field struggles."
• Week 6: Bye.
• Joel feels __________ about this game this week: SAME AS LAST WEEK, WHICH WAS A DIFFERENT KIND OF BAD, as in a NOT SO BAD BAD.

@South Carolina Gamecocks

• Week 1: Squeaked (squoke? It is a chicken.) by Vandy, 17-13.
• Week 2: Beat East Carolina, 48-10.
• Week 3: Beat the UAB Blazers, 49-6.
• Week 4: Beat Missouri, 31-10.
• Week 5: Beat Kentucky, 38-17.
• Week 6: Hammered Georgia, 35-7. Garnet and Black Attack embraces the cocky and asks whether South Carolina is the Alabama of the East. My first impulse is to laugh, but it may just be true.

• Joel feels __________ about this game this week: MUCH, MUCH WORSE. Remember, just a week ago, I was feeling A LITTLE BETTER BUT STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH DARNIT because SC sleep walked through a first half against Kentucky. But it looks like the Gamecocks are fully capable of doing that score-31-unanswered thing once they get their shot of Five-Hour Energy. So yeah. Not feeling good at all about this one. Fortunately, we already thought this was a loss, so it's a change in degree only.

Troy Trojans

• Week 1: Beat UAB, 39-29.
• Week 2: Lost to the Ragin' Cajuns, 37-24.
• Week 3: Lost to Mississippi State, 30-24.
• Week 4: Beat North Texas, 14-7.
• Week 5: Beat South Alabama, 31-10.
• Week 6: Bye.
• Joel feels __________ about this game this week: SAME STILL BETTER, meaning we got this unless they can somehow become 2012's version of 2008's Wyoming.

Missouri Tigers

• Week 1: Beat SE Louisiana Lions, whoever they are, 62-10.
• Week 2: Lost to Georgia, 41-20.
• Week 3: Beat Arizona State, 24-20.
• Week 4: Lost to South Carolina, 31-10.
• Week 5: Beat UCF, 21-16.
• Week 6: Lost to Vanderbilt, 19-15. That's right. They lost to Vanderbilt and remained unwinned in the SEC. Rock M Nation is getting the stink out into the air.

• Video of a touchdown by Missouri yay.
• Joel feels __________ about this game this week: EVEN MORE BETTER. 21-16 over Central Florida last week? Loss to Vandy this week? Okay.

@Vanderbilt Commodores

• Week1: Lost in the aforementioned squeaker to South Carolina, 17-13.
• Week 2: Lost to Northwestern, 23-13.
• Week 3: Beat the Presbyterian Blue Hose, 58-0.
• Week 4: Lost to Georgia, 48-3.
• Week 5: Bye.
• Week 6: Beat Missouri, 19-15. Oh, right. Missouri's QB was knocked out of the game in the first quarter.
• Joel feels __________ about this game this week: THE SAME WAY HE FELT PRESEASON.

Kentucky Wildcats

• Week 1: Lost to Louisville, 32-14.
• Week 2: Beat Kent State, 47-14.
• Week 3: Lost to Western Kentucky in OT, 32-31.
• Week 4: Lost to Florida, 38-0.
• Week 5: Lost to South Carolina, 38-17.
• Week 6: Lost to Mississippi State, 27-14. A Sea of Blue wants Jane to stop this crazy thing.
• Joel feels __________ about this game this week: THE SAME WAY HE FELT PRESEASON.

Conclusion after Week Six

I'm feeling the same about Mississippi State, Alabama, Troy, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky. And I'm feeling worse about South Carolina and better about Missouri. None of which changes any predictions. Mississippi State is the one I'm wavering the most on, but they haven't played anyone but Kentucky, and Kentucky is a steaming heap of compost right now.

No change to the season predictions, which includes at least two weeks of wailing and teeth-gnashing before it gets better. Things change dramatically, though, if the team doesn'st take care of business against Mississippi State, which we should remind ourselves is ranked higher than we are.