Is this game bigger for Moorhead or Pruitt?

[CadaverDawg]

Both coaches feeling heat. Both coaches badly needing a W. Both trying not to lose (or further lose) the fans. Both trying to avoid losing their team.

Who needs this one worse?

[BeastMan]

Moorehead because he inherited stability. Don’t get me wrong, UT won’t tolerate this losing long but JP did inherit a dumpster fire. I think JP has next year to get back bowling. JoMo could totally lose his fanbase Saturday

[ShotgunDawg]

Moorehead because he inherited stability. Don’t get me wrong, UT won’t tolerate this losing long but JP did inherit a dumpster fire. I think JP has next year to get back bowling. JoMo could totally lose his fanbase Saturday

I echo this.

The MSU job was more desirable at the time because of stability and the team inherited. Big game for Moorhead

[TaleofTwoDogs]

Moorhead is #33 on the latest HOT SEAT poll. Pruitt is #1. You do the math. But depending on how the game is played will determine which coach is harmed the most. It's a wash if it's a 3-2 game but a 2 TD win will cool the seat a little for the winner.

[Liverpooldawg]

It's a huge game for both. The loser probably won't survive beyond next year. The winner isn't a sure thing to.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Pruitt 100%. Things continue going bad for Pruitt he may not survive this year. We all know Moorhead isn't getting canned in year 2.

[Tbonewannabe]

Pruitt 100%. Things continue going bad for Pruitt he may not survive this year. We all know Moorhead isn't getting canned in year 2.

I would say the likelihood is extremely low but if something crazy happened and we lost out in ugly ways then it very well could happen.

Even saying that, Pruitt has to get his team to be at least competitive. If he goes 3-9 or 4-8 with a lot of ass kickings then I could see them firing him if they have someone lined up. I will say that I don't know if UT is together enough to make a good hire with the fire of their Athletic Department still in full blaze.

[TrapGame]

Pruitt. He's got worse off the field BS than we do. Couple that with two really bad loses. KSU was bad for us but at least we didn't drop the ULL game too.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Moorhead. I don't think any win outside of Bama saves Pruitt at this point, but a loss for Moorhead might signal the end being near for Joe.

[vv83]

Pruitt. Without a doubt, not sure how you can make a case for Moorhead. Pruitt loses there’s a decent chance he’s fired Sunday.

[TrapGame]

Moorhead. I don't think any win outside of Bama saves Pruitt at this point, but a loss for Moorhead might signal the end being near for Joe.

The leash is shorter for Pruitt though. It would take Joe losing every game except Abilene to even enter the slightest possibility of firing him. He's still getting next season.

[Ari Gold]

Moorehead because he inherited stability. Don’t get me wrong, UT won’t tolerate this losing long but JP did inherit a dumpster fire. I think JP has next year to get back bowling. JoMo could totally lose his fanbase Saturday

And yet Dan was Heading that way to take over that dumpster fire instead of finishing the year and coming back to what some say was our best team ever ( which was inncorrect)
Nothing more needs to be said about that guy...

[Johnson85]

It's a bigger game for Moorhead. Pruitt is getting fired. Maybe not at the end of this year, but at some point during next year. All this game does is influence the timeline unless there is some sort of miracle where his team suddenly looks well coaches enough to get him to next year and then him win at least 8 games next year along with putting together a stellar recruiting class.

Moorhead is not necessarily getting fired. If he gets to 7 wins this year, his seat won't even be warm next year. Even if he disapoints next year, he probably gets a fourth year if he goes say 8, 7, and then 5 wins. If Moorhead loses to UT, he's probably not going bowling and he's likely getting fired at the end of next year.

[Ari Gold]

I agree it’s huge for Joe. We need some juice going into the 2nd half of our schedule . Not only for the players and coaches but for our ridiculous fan base...

Pruitt is dead coach coaching. I don’t see anyway that guy is back even with a win for UT on sat.

[CovertDawg]

Pruitt....Moorhead may have inherited a stable program but it is still very much a cyclical program and we are in a down year...and throwing in the probation only cements that. How I view it....If Joe wins 4 conference games this year and recruits well then we are in very good shape going forward with an excellent young QB....wins 3 and that is forgivable...and 2 or less and we have a problem.

2009 Mississippi State 5–7 3–5 T–4th (Western)
2010 Mississippi State 9–4 4–4 5th (Western) W Gator 17 15
2011 Mississippi State 7–6 2–6 5th (Western) W Music City
2012 Mississippi State 8–5 4–4 4th (Western) L Gator
2013 Mississippi State 7–6 3–5 T–5th (Western) W Liberty
2014 Mississippi State 10–3 6–2 2nd (Western) L Orange† 12 11
2015 Mississippi State 9–4 4–4 T–5th (Western) W Belk
2016 Mississippi State 6–7 3–5 T–5th (Western) W St. Petersburg
2017 Mississippi State 8–4 4–4 T–4th (Western) TaxSlayer* 23 24

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

Pruitt starts around 3 seniors on offense and defense while we start around 6 on each side, yet we're making the dumb mistakes a young team like Tennessee should be making. Of those 12 seniors, how many are difference makers?

[Prediction? Pain.]

Big for both, but I think it's absolutely essential for Pruitt. Their season has been horrific so far -- they're 1 - 4, have zero wins against FBS schools (and their FCS win was over a 2-3 team), and have losses to Georgia State (a 3-2 Sunbelt team) and BYU (2-3, with the most recent loss coming to Toledo). Think about it like this -- if you want to transpose Tennessee's performance onto us with our schedule so far, we'd be 0-5. Moorhead would be as good as canned if that's where we were right now.

With that in mind, take a look at what each team faces the rest of the season. If Tennessee loses to us to drop to 1-5, the door on a bowl game would be essentially shut. They're losing to Bama next week, which would be the sixth loss. To go bowling they'd have to sweep the rest of the season, which includes road games at Kentucky and at Missouri and home games against SC, UAB, and Vandy. At a minimum, the road game at Mizzou is a sure loss. They'll likely be underdogs to SC at home and at KY is at best a toss up. (And hell, UAB is 4-1 right now, so who knows about them.)

On the other hand, a loss for State -- which would be horrible and as personally offensive to me (as an east TN resident) as any loss in the past decade -- doesn't foreclose the possibility of a bowl game quite as much because we'd have Arkansas, U. Miss., and Abeline Christian to close out the season to get to six. Sure, neither Ark. nor U. Miss. would be gimmes after a TN loss, but winning those games wouldn't be as tall a task as TN sweeping its final five games, including a win at Missouri. (MO vs. UMiss this weekend should be interesting. MO is 10th nationally in scoring D, 3rd nationally in total D, 10th nationally in 3rd down D, 4th nationally in redzone D, etc.)

And then there's my casual observation among my coworkers and friends that they've already given up on Pruitt. They're as shell shocked as I've ever seen them. A win would rekindle a little hope because the possibility of a bowl game and a baby step forward would still be alive. But losing to State and sealing his team's fate for the postseason likely spells the end for Pruitt this year.

Moorhead's seat would definitely (and deservedly) get warm with a loss to UT (especially if it's ugly), but barring a total meltdown the rest of the season thereafter, I'm guessing that he's coming back for another year regardless.

[Dawgbite]

Moorhead has more to lose in a loss but Pruitt has more to gain in a win.

[Cooterpoot]

Pruitt knows he’s done already. Moorhead will know he is if he loses because we won’t win more than one more game if we lose this one. And the fans will be completely done.

[sandwolf]

...our ridiculous fan base...

Haha, you are delusional if you think our fan base is ridiculous. We are one of the most patient, forgiving fan bases in the conference. We gave Sylvester ****ing Croom 5 years.

[Dawg61]

Haha, you are delusional if you think our fan base is ridiculous. We are one of the most patient, forgiving fan bases in the conference. We gave Sylvester ****ing Croom 5 years.

This isn't true at all. The Hump is still only filling 40% eight years after Stansbury got fired. We have per capita just as many babies as every other SEC fanbase. To answer the OP's question though this game is huge for both but it's death bed critical for Germy Poot.

[Tbonewannabe]

Haha, you are delusional if you think our fan base is ridiculous. We are one of the most patient, forgiving fan bases in the conference. We gave Sylvester ****ing Croom 5 years.

I think he is referring to the amount of people that would fire a coach that won 8 games his first year as a P5 coach while changing the offense and having a QB that doesn't fit that system. 9 years of making bowl games and people are pissed that Joe didn't have one of the best seasons in school history. Before you say anything, I think he underachieved his first year. I personally felt like 8 wins was the floor with 9 or 10 being more what I expected. However, anytime you have a coaching change you don't know how the players on the team will fit with the new coaching style combined with one team (UK) having their best team in 50 years. Sometimes it is a good fit. Mullen won 10 games at UF which is not much above where they have typically been but they only won 4 games the previous year. If Mullen had somehow shit the bed and only won 6 games in 2017 then everyone feels a lot better about Moorhead. In 2017, we were down at halftime to UMass and beat Ark by 1 TD after being tied at halftime.

[Tbonewannabe]

This isn't true at all. The Hump is still only filling 40% eight years after Stansbury got fired. We have per capita just as many babies as every other SEC fanbase. To answer the OP's question though this game is huge for both but it's death bed critical for Germy Poot.

But almost every game left in the season is like that for him. Moorhead has to win at UT or the fanbase is going to be negative even if we turn around and beat A&M. It is more important to win UT than A&M because people expect to lost to A&M but not UT. Mullen kind of lived off of this situation. He almost always beat the teams that he should and now we have gotten used to it.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Both coaches feeling heat. Both coaches badly needing a W. Both trying not to lose (or further lose) the fans. Both trying to avoid losing their team.

Who needs this one worse?

Pruitt. Because he could be fired at anytime...Moorhead will get pass after pass because we are too lenient on coaches.

[Dawg61]

But almost every game left in the season is like that for him.

True but we're on their schedule before those other games making this game his most important right now to save his job. He losses to us he might not see the other games.

[Tbonewannabe]

True but we're on their schedule before those other games making this game his most important right now to save his job. He losses to us he might not see the other games.

Not sure if he can save his job without beating Bama but I guess I can see your point. Moorhead loses and he might lose the fanbase, Pruitt loses and he might not see Monday.

[TrapGame]

But almost every game left in the season is like that for him. Moorhead has to win at UT or the fanbase is going to be negative even if we turn around and beat A&M. It is more important to win UT than A&M because people expect to lost to A&M but not UT. Mullen kind of lived off of this situation. He almost always beat the teams that he should and now we have gotten used to it.

If Pruitt beats Joe a lot of Bobs from Bogue Chitto will be grunting about how we shoulda hired Jeer-mee.

[Tbonewannabe]

If Pruitt beats Joe a lot of Bobs from Bogue Chitto will be grunting about how we shoulda hired Jeer-mee.

I wonder if A&M thought they should have hired Joe instead of Jimbo?****

[TrapGame]

I wonder if A&M thought they should have hired Joe instead of Jimbo?****

After we beat them this year.**

[fishwater99]

Pruitt and it's not even close. We are stuck with Joe for years...

[TUSK]

Pruitt.

/thread

[RocketDawg]

Not sure if he can save his job without beating Bama but I guess I can see your point. Moorhead loses and he might lose the fanbase, Pruitt loses and he might not see Monday.

There have been several coaches fired after losing to us.

[fishwater99]

There have been several coaches fired after losing to us.

Croomed...

[R2Dawg]

Both coaches feeling heat. Both coaches badly needing a W. Both trying not to lose (or further lose) the fans. Both trying to avoid losing their team.

Who needs this one worse?

Moorhead due to expectations and where both programs have been for 10 years. UT has already lost to GaState; losing to us wouldn't be a bad loss. MSU losing to UT right now would be a really bad loss after our AU showing. We'll also be full roster so no excuses.

[Maroonthirteen]

A Reporter from the Knoxville paper was on Finbaum last week. He said everyone around Knoxville feels like Tennessee turns the season around this week vs Miss State and with many winnable games left on their schedule.

If they lose to us and can’t get to 6 wins with the schedule remaining, Pruitt won’t survive.

[TrapGame]

A Reporter from the Knoxville paper was on Finbaum last week. He said everyone around Knoxville feels like Tennessee turns the season around this week vs Miss State and with many winnable games left on their schedule.

If they lose to us and can’t get to 6 wins with the schedule remaining, Pruitt won’t survive.

I bet that same reporter thought they were going to beat Georgia St. and BYU too.

[Dawg61]

A Reporter from the Knoxville paper was on Finbaum last week. He said everyone around Knoxville feels like Tennessee turns the season around this week vs Miss State and with many winnable games left on their schedule.

If they lose to us and can’t get to 6 wins with the schedule remaining, Pruitt won’t survive.

Where are those winnable games?? Even Vandy has skull17ed Tennessee the last couple of years.

[TUSK]

Where are those winnable games?? Even Vandy has skull17ed Tennessee the last couple of years.

Good point. I guess he is counting MSU, UAB, Vanderbilt & Bammer, to get em to 4-5...

So, they would have to go 2-1 vs SC, @UK, @Mizzou....

Possible if they turn it around, I reckon...

[Maroonthirteen]

We are looking at UT objectively. Fans in Knoxville are not.

The reporter said every game after UGA, except Alabama, was winnable for UT. He was answering Finbaums question about would Pruitt survive if they didn’t make a bowl.

[viverlibre]

The game is bigger for Moorhead as he inherited a 2018 Loaded Toyota Tundra Crewmax and has turned it into a 2005 Extended Cab Silverado if he loses this game it will be down to a 1999 Dodge Ram. Pruitt inherited a 1978 Ford Pinto but has held serve so far.

[Goldendawg]

The game is bigger for Moorhead as he inherited a 2018 Loaded Toyota Tundra Crewmax and has turned it into a 2005 Extended Cab Silverado if he loses this game it will be down to a 1999 Dodge Ram. Pruitt inherited a 1978 Ford Pinto but has held serve so far.

99 Dodge V8 running on about 5 cylinders thus far.

[TUSK]

We are looking at UT objectively. Fans in Knoxville are not.

The reporter said every game after UGA, except Alabama, was winnable for UT. He was answering Finbaums question about would Pruitt survive if they didn?t make a bowl.

Right. Independently, each game (save Bammer), is winnable..... it?s tough to see them going 6-6, based on season to date....

[was21]

Moorhead as far as State is concerned. OTOH not concerned about Pruitt

[timotheus]

It looks like possibly a rainy fall type game experience so there is no telling how this games turns out.

[RocketDawg]

It looks like possibly a rainy fall type game experience so there is no telling how this games turns out.

Maybe. There was a lot of rain coming our way with the front but it petered out before it got here. The front should go through Knoxville I'd think around game time tomorrow, maybe a little earlier, so unless the rain builds back up it could easily be dry there. Wind might be an issue though.

[Coach34]

Neither coach can lose this game. The Loser won’t be the guy in 2021

[RougeDawg]

Neither coach can lose this game. The Loser won?t be the guy in 2021

SloMo loses this one and there will be change.

[gravedigger]

Both coaches feeling heat. Both coaches badly needing a W. Both trying not to lose (or further lose) the fans. Both trying to avoid losing their team.

Who needs this one worse?

Pruitt.