No summer tour more than likely

Dec 6, 2022
85
218
33
-get folks excited
-make a dumb plan
-have dumb plan fall through
-disappoint fans

The Pope special
THIS ^.....Pope stumbles and bumbles his way to another failure...Just another typical Pope screw up. Previously Pope was quoted as saying, “It’s so good for teams. It’s an unbelievable experience for these young people,” he said. “It helps bind your team together, so we’re excited about it.”
 

smoothmoves

Redshirt
May 15, 2023
6
19
3
Why can't they just take a trip to Toronto or something? Playing these games is too much of an advantage to just punt on it.

I remember Rob Dillingham really underperforming in those Globl Jam games and him using that as a wake-up call / early measuring stick to kick it into high gear to go up a level by the time the season came. Seeing where we're at with a team of mostly new pieces and allowing them to work through mistakes in live competition situations that don't count on the record is invaluable
 

UKWildcats1987

Heisman
Sep 9, 2021
19,954
35,140
113
Serious quesiton. When's the last time Pope did anything that made the fans happy?

Seriously. Was there a win, a recruiting victory, a strategic plan that made BBN happy and added some seriouslly positive momentum into the program?

I can't think of the last time.

The guy is horrific at this.

For me probably the Duke win early n season 1.

Yeah, he's owned UT (except for the most important one of course) but that Duke game was impressive. Of course it followed most all his other big wins. Get down big and miraculously come back to win.
 

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,448
99,810
113
For me probably the Duke win early n season 1.

Yeah, he's owned UT (except for the most important one of course) but that Duke game was impressive. Of course it followed most all his other big wins. Get down big and miraculously come back to win.
What's weird was that even in the Duke game, I never felt like we were the better team. It felt lucky. Duke missed a ton of good looks down the stretch. The same can be said for most of Pope's comebacks. They all feel super lucky. We never feel like the truly superior team in any of these games.
 

Cats4321

All-Conference
Nov 18, 2025
930
2,689
93
What's weird was that even in the Duke game, I never felt like we were the better team. It felt lucky. Duke missed a ton of good looks down the stretch. The same can be said for most of Pope's comebacks. They all feel super lucky. We never feel like the truly superior team in any of these games.
I agree. My most optimistic thoughts at the time of that Duke game were "we aren't any good but I love the fight". That was just me trying to be positive. Even some of our wins the last two years leave you wondering "how did that happen?"
 

UKWildcats1987

Heisman
Sep 9, 2021
19,954
35,140
113
I agree. My most optimistic thoughts at the time of that Duke game were "we aren't any good but I love the fight". That was just me trying to be positive. Even some of our wins the last two years leave you wondering "how did that happen?"

Pope must a voodoo curse on Barnes at UT. Only way I can figure we won all 4 of those games.
 
Aug 23, 2024
2,438
5,413
113
For me probably the Duke win early n season 1.

Yeah, he's owned UT (except for the most important one of course) but that Duke game was impressive. Of course it followed most all his other big wins. Get down big and miraculously come back to win.
So the Gonzaga win, the Louisville win, the Florida win, etc. didn't even make you happy? We would really be better off without this type of fan.
 

JustBlue

Senior
Mar 29, 2009
243
431
63
Serious quesiton. When's the last time Pope did anything that made the fans happy?

Seriously. Was there a win, a recruiting victory, a strategic plan that made BBN happy and added some seriouslly positive momentum into the program?

I can't think of the last time.

The guy is horrific at this.

Probably the win at Arkansas last year. Hard place to play (I think we were their only home loss) and a bit of a revenge factor after they handled us last year. Played solid almost start to finish and didn't rely on a rally from down double digits.

JB
 

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
39,149
61,477
113
For me probably the Duke win early n season 1.

Yeah, he's owned UT (except for the most important one of course) but that Duke game was impressive. Of course it followed most all his other big wins. Get down big and miraculously come back to win.

I dont know what to make of that game anymore. They did lose Flagg and their big man to bad cramping issues and Flagg basically had a giant rookie mistake to seal the game. We did make the comeback in the 2nd, but it also seems to have greatly helped that their guys werent conditioned yet.

I hate Duke, but I have to be honest with myself. If a so-so Duke team came back to beat Wall and Cousins because both guys cramped, and we made a costly mistake.. my immediate reaction (and I bet most everyone here) is "we lost that game, they didnt win".
 

Phil_The_Music2

Heisman
Nov 29, 2010
3,280
13,140
113
Lineskicat, I like you, you're a good poster. But this is a ridiculous take. Conditioning is part of the game, just like many other aspects. We were the better conditioned team and used our depth to wear them down. That's a common strategy in sports. My goodness folks, Pope has his problems for sure. But our fans can't even give the man credit for what he has done well. We really don't need rivals with a fan base like ours. We hate ourselves enough apparently.
 

DudahUK

Heisman
Jul 23, 2020
7,271
11,511
113
-get folks excited
-make a dumb plan
-have dumb plan fall through
-disappoint fans

The Pope special
He has to be trying at this point to get fired. Nobody with their jobs on the line, do what Pope does. Or doesn’t in this case. So embarrassing. I wonder if Mitch realizes how bad of a hire this was or if he’s protected by a circle of yes men/women.