MB doesn't do JUCO, plus I'm not sure there's even a guy out there worth going after. Cam Newtons don't grow on trees. With similar QB play, I see us losing to OU, Oklahoma St., Kansas St., and probably 2 out of 3 among WVU, Texas Tech, and TCU. All of those are road games except for one. That would give us 5 losses again with a possible best-case scenario of 8-4. Unfortunately, I think this is the reality unless we hit a homerun with one of the incoming QB's and at least one of the incoming WR's. It doesn't matter how great Gray and Brown are when there are 9 guys within 5 yards of the ball. Would another 7-5 campaign in 2012 be enough to pressure MB into leaving?
We opened the season with GG as top dog as QB. He got the important reps in spring and fall. He propably got most ot the attention to running the new system. After three game we pitched two freshmen into the fire. I think McCoy had flashes here and there but the pressure to produce and lack of experience hurt a lot. Especially with the top three rb down. At the very least we should at least consider the possibility that they will improve a lot by next fall. Brewer will be here in a few weeks and that should be a positive. I espect to be contending for the conference crown.
"This Staff" had nothing to do with what QB's are on this team. Lets get past blaming Mack and this staff for QB inefficiency. Yeah Mack gives final approval, but the QB thing is squarely on GD shoulders and no one else. And in fairness to him, most programs in the country thought Gilbert was a future star. The mistake was no backup plan (yes this part is shared by Mack, thus a second QB recruit this year). If people think having our top three RB's & #1 receiver on the sidelines for KSU & Mizz didn't cost us two wins, then arguing the point is a waste of time. But if we are currently 9-3, this discussion is completely different. We are looking ahead to a special season next year. I think if the team stays reasonably healthy 9-3 or 10-2 is easily possible for next year with just moderate improvement at QB, which I personally think will be improved a little more than moderate. If we get hit with a rash of key injuries again though, results could be the same as this year. How people change that uncontrollable situation into poor coaching or team management is beyond me. I guess entitlement to indefinite success, no matter the circumstances, will always be embraced by the selfish.
I expect Case to be much improved next year. Priority one will be to bulk up in Wiley's care over the summer. Remember the "skinny" Colt? The kid's a gamer. Arm strength can be developed. If Ash hasn't been mind-****** ala GG he will also improve and be a solid backup if not the starter. We finally have two quarterbacks with meaningful game reps. Brewer should be red shirted. We should not pin our hopes on a true freshman. They are rarely the answer. Defense will again be very good to outstanding. Manny is The Man. If he happens to take a head job elsewhere, Mack will pick the next d-genius off of the vine and we'll continue on. Our O-line is much improved from last year and with little attrition I expect next years bunch to be much better than this years. I'm not as optimistic about our receivers. We always seem to get good recruits but they seldom pan out. Signs are pointing to attrition in this group (see numbers of commits/targets) so I'm hoping for the best here. We're set at RB for the next couple of years. Nothing more to say here. I expect 9-3, maybe 10-2. Maybe not back but closing in on the prize. Let me put down my orange shades and get another Blue Moon (with orange slice of course).
Not sure yet. I'll have to see some practice and see where the players are at. I called 7-5 before this season and was a lot closer on last season than anyone on here.
If someone would have told me before the season that we would end up with a better record that aggy, I would have laughed. If you would then told me on top of that our top 3 RB's and top WR would have been out, I would have told you to seek counseling. The only Big 12 South win I was counting this year was tech at home. The fact that we won at aggy proves we are getting better. Yes, we should have beaten Mizzu and K State. Yes, we need better decision making from the QB position. But I like where this team is heading. We should be at least an 8-9 win team next year. 10 wins if we can really step up our offensive consistency. The D should still be solid.
Ask again after the frosh, jucos, and any gradtrans are in the fold. If all goes as seems likely, I expect 9-3 minimum... barring catastrophic injuries. Anyone who wants to blame the end of season collapse on anything other than this year's injuries coupled with the lack of overall talent ... well, I'll be as respectful as I can, and simply say that such persons are, uh, ******* idiots, variable mileage notwithstanding.
We are doing fine. We collapsed last year with as much off field issues as on field issues. The off field issues have been fixed, the on field issues are being fixed. Anyone that doesn't thing that takes a couple of years is not in reality. Brick by Brick. 8 to 9 wins next year is still moving forward with a relatively young team. OU looks to be strong with Bell at QB. Bottom line is we gambled it all on GG and it didn't work. DKR went through the same thing after winning a NC, then came back and won 2 more. Similar pattern playing out here. I do expect Mack to retire before breaking DKRs all time win number, unless DKR is still alive and tells him to break it.
Expectations for 2012: OU, Baylor, and OSU will all take a step backwards due to attrition. aTm is gone, placed by TCU, which is probably a wash in terms of our W/L record. KSU returns Klein and could be a dark horse for the conference title, but we should be in that mix as well. The defense will get even better. Losing Acho, Robinson and Randal hurts, but our defense was very young this year, and the talent behind those guys is excellent. Most Big 12 teams are losing far more than that on defense. Expect to repeat as best defense in the league, and Top 10 nationally. Our pass rush will be a terror for opposing QB's, and Byndom, Vacarro and Diggs will have a field day picking off hastily throw passes. On offense, we should continue to be the dominant running team were were in mid-season. Bergeron and Brown will be back (and hopefully healthy) and joined by Grey, not only the best RB in the nation, but a great compiment to the other two backs. The WR corps should get much beter. If Shipley can stay healthy, expect big improvement. The OL starts 3 frosh (including a true frosh LT) and a soph -- that is ridiculous. What was a strength for most of the season this year will be the best OL in the conference next year. We really don't lose anyone important on offense. With another year of senioruty, another year in the system, and the infusion of new talent, what was a net minus should be a big plus next year. That leaves the Big question: the QB position. Positives: Another year in Harsin's offense. When the RB's were healthy and the running game was clicking, the QB's did a good job managing the game. SEC teams win with that same recipe -- great defense and strong running games (Neither LSU nor Bama have had a "plus" QB in the past 7 years but both continue to win MNCs). Both of our QB's have different talents and have shown flashes of potential. But for our RB injuries, either one probably leads us to 10 wins this year. Negatives: Case has mediocre arm strength and simply can't make the "tough" throws that are required at times (see e.g. any 12 yard out). He has shown some moxie and the ability to click in the short passing game, but he may just not have the tools to be a "plus" QB. Ash has all of the tools, but his accuracy is mediocre and his confidence was clearly shot by the end of the year, when he couldn't even complete the easy/routine crossing routes Harson gave him early in the KSU game to try to get him going. And passing these two over to go with another true frosh has its obvious pitfalls as well (I can't recall a true frosh QB competing for a MNC in the modern era). Bottom Line on QB's: IF Case can improve his arm strength and decision making, he has the moxie, accuracy on shorter routes and leadership skills to ride a strong run game to a very productive offense. Upside comparision: Major Applewhite with a better defense. IF Ash can take advantage of his attributes, improve his recognition and accuracy, and regain the confidence he had when the team was clicking, he has the chance to rebound and become a very good QB. Upside comparison: poor man's Tim Tebow, which is far better than anything in Baton Rouge or Tuscaloosa right now. So, with all of that said, expectations for 2012: If we stay healthy at the skill positions this year and get better QB play (which we should), we should compete for the conference title and win 10+ games. Conversely, if we continue to have bad luck on the injury front and our QB pay regresses, we could be looking at 8-4, and Mack's seat gets hotter. If I had to call it now: 10-2 with a BCS at large bid.
This thread has turned decidely more optimistic. I think we will see marked improvement in the OL, will continue to have inconsistent/bad play at QB, but will largely overcome that with a powerful running game and timely passing. I'm going 9-3 or 10-2.
Looks like a lot of teams in the Conference are losing some key guys next year. The front runners come down to us and KSU, can't speak for TCU and WV, they could be very good or very bad. Hard to tell.
Reasons for optimism: 1. The coaches spent last spring getting to know the players and teaching the basics of their philosophies. Those philosophies are radically different from those of their predecessors, so the kids were on a steep learning curve. This year, they start with the basics in place and can focus on techniques and the next level of intricacies. 2. Most positions (QB's, WR's, and TE's being exceptions) demonstrated better techniques from the start and performed better than last year. With another spring and August with Davis, Searles, Giles, and Wylie along with Harsin, Diaz, and the holdover coaches should result significant additional improvement. 3. Our talent level will improve. We lose some talent, but we have a lot coming in and several will contribute next year. Every position group should be stronger next year than this year either because better players will move in or the returning incumbents will have another year. In many cases, we have 1-year starters coming back and I think the old coaches' truism about the greatest improvement coming between game 1 and game 2 also applying to season 1 and season 2. The most critical position, QB, should be better. Most of this year, we had McCoy and Ash. Next year we have the two of them back with a year of on-field experience and exposure to Harsin's system. If Brewer is good enough to displace them without that level of experience, then we're even better off. 4. Possible infusion of JUCO talent is additive to the above. Given all of this, I'm optimistic. How good will we be? We could be very good if several players, particularly at WR and safety, really step up. At worst, I think we win 9 regular season games. 11 wouldn't shock me. If all I'm expecting doesn't happen, then I'll be disappointed, but then, this is only college football and it's not really all that important. I'll move on and my life will still be complete.
