Just to clarify what going 7-5 means now...
5-4 rest of reg season and in conference play
Same conf record as the first season without all the new added talent
Losing 4 or more conf games in all 3 seasons
Never winning more than 5 conf games in any season (in a conf with 5 ready-made wins for a competent program...ISU, KU, KSU, TTU, WVU).
18-19 (losing) overall record
Of course 7-5 and a nice bowl win to end up 8-5 would make a huge difference.
I'm not ready to bail on the season by any means. I was tempered in praising after ND (mostly because I was internally basking in the glory and didn't want to alter the feeling).
Since I was rather tame here after ND, I had no right to publicly unload after Cal.
However, 5-4 the rest of the way is not gonna cut it. I believe we will exceed that and get some things worked out in a softer Big 12.
I figured we'd be 2-1 now, just in a different way. I also believed we'd be 2-3 after OU and then go on a run. I still see that coming.
8-5 was always the mark needed to earn $5 mil paycheck going forward and continue to be paid like the other Top 10 money-makers who knock out 8+ wins each year.
Nothing has changed with that after a surprising win and a lackluster loss. Let's just keep going with the flow and let Strong decide his fate on the field.
If we don't adjust well, drop 4 more reg season games, and then lose the bowl game in his 3rd season...good riddance.
I'm still not predicting us to finish under 8-5, so until proven otherwise or something massively embarrassing occurs on the field...gonna stay course and see what happens.
Last edited: Sep 24, 2016