Game thread.
- Thread starter maverickfp
- Start date
See, this is alarming. I love the confidence and expectation to win, especially in guys who haven’t won much. But they are gonna fool around and dig a hole they can’t climb out of. You can’t keep rolling the dice. We need a complete game.
TU has a big decision to make, drop D1 football or move to a division they can afford and be somewhat competitive in. Too many losing seasons building up and a huge loss of revenue and attendance doesn't bode well for the future.
We’ve now won 6 of our last 7 conference games. That seems pretty competitive to me. Besides, dropping football would likely move the rest of our teams to the Summit league and I don’t think anyone wants that.
Don't we have a standing invite to the Big East, if we drop football.
Or do we have to put the entire school through RCIA to get that invite.
Its not that they are choosing to.... it is how you react when/if it happens...
“You are either coaching it or letting it happen” - Mike Leach
The inquiry won’t be limited to competitiveness on the field but off it as well.
As you may have seen in media reports a growing number of the FBS schools are calling for a scheduled meeting in the off season to discuss a possible future structure of the FBS level with consolidation upwards and a top tier of competition limited to 32 or 36 teams.
It will be focused not on wins or losses but on how your program is structured for sustainability and growth.
Tulsa will be exhibit A in why there needs to be consolidation and why Tulsa should not be part of the top tiers.
The least neighborly of your conference mates is the guy who doesn’t spend a dime, banks the checks or spends them elsewhere, then proceeds to whoop your butt in several sports.
The AAC has schools who have announced $200 million in construction and schools without competitive facilities now saying they won’t build anything for at least five years. Schools building lazy rivers for tailgaters, new stadiums for non-revenue sports and schools that spend almost nothing on recruiting and skimp on everything from locker room soap to printer paper to HVAC.
With teams losing tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, losing on the field to Tulsa is not an option. It’s not that we look good to them and a growing number of media, its that the opposing programs look bad. That’s one thing Bubba and the carnival barker gave us. They projected the mentality that Tulsa football belonged. They almost never backed it up, but they had people believing it nationally. The last group of geniuses, led by Clancy, intentionally thought the way to compete and be sustainable was spend nothing and take good natured losses. It’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the business rules of college sports. You are either growing or dying. This spring they are going to mercy kill those dying. Our wins could not come at a better time. Dickson being here could not come at a better time. But don’t be surprised if year two and three of his tenure is spent figuring out what to do when the current tv money is gone in a few years, OU is in a 32 team semi-pro league, Houston, OSU and maybe SMU are in a 64 team P5 plus select invitees second tier and Tulsa, Tulane, Temple, are left trying to decide if deficit spending is worth competing in a third tier which will essentially be FCS.
Would you rather they freak out? I agree they need to start the game with a different attitude especially on offense, and they don’t need to dig themselves a hole each game but at the same time we’ve played half the games expected by this point compared to some other teams.
Zach Smith is not an NFL caliber QB. Sure he has great accuracy, his decision making is poor, his pocket awareness is nonexistent and his feet are bricks. He needs another year at TU.
In rewatching the game, Collins ended up being shorted for 2 sacks. The 1st was when Williams lined up offside in one of the more bone headed penalties against us (which isn't saying much because we've had a ton). The 2nd was when Buechele just threw the ball away and got flagged for intentional grounding. Imagine his stat line from Saturday with those 2 added to his column?
While I don't think it(butt ugly starts) will continue, why not start Boomer for a couple series. Let Smith keep warming up on the sideline & reflect on his shaky starts. Heck, Boomer might lead us to a score or 2, he did well when in late last season. BTW, those throws across the field to a wide open Josh J. & others along the sideline were just unbelievable. Smith has a cannon for an arm when he needs to use it, 30-35 yards on a rope.
This is why he is a borderline NFL caliber QB. If you gave him an NFL QB coach along with some NFL caliber WRs, he could be a long term NFL player and serviceable backup QB. He's the type of QB who could show well at the NFL combine if he could manage an invite. NFL teams love his kind of size and arm strength. Can anyone imagine what Kragthorpe could have done with Smith?
OK. This assessment makes you qualified to be the GM of the NY Jets. 75% of Smith's issues have absolutely nothing to do with his ability. The 25% are things that can be corrected with proper QB coaching.
They ain’t paying millions to teach you anything. In theory, we are. And getting sporadic, but ultimately successful, results. The fact that the kid is still displaying fundamental errors in technique that casual amateurs can spot tells me that we got sold a bill of goods. Think where he’d be with Kragthorpe, Malzahn or BB talking to him.
I think he gets at least a shot for a camp in the NFL if he doesn't get picked in the 6th or 7th round. He has every bit the arm talent of Gus Frerotte. Some of the throws he made on Saturday, into the wind in the 3rd quarter were simply too good to ignore. Luginbill knew it and he also warned as to why Buechele probably wouldn't be going to the left boundary in the 4th quarter. The one thing that is an unknow with Smith is whether or not and how quickly he can get through his reads and progressions. Our offensive system isn't really predicated on that and is more a presnap read on who the open receiver should be.
BTW, I thought the 2 ESPN guys did a good job with our game. They knew our personnel, they knew SMU's personnel and they didn't act like calling an AAC game was below them.
It always concerns me when we project that we wont be relevant in a few years.
such a yo-yo for TU. Such a yo-yo for fans. It’s like we just keep looking for the body....
Whoa whoa, I take offense to the Jets talk. Though accurate, I still take offense. I do notice Smith going through reads throughout the game. I think the slow pace Monty always starts the game with hinders him. Hes not allowed to find his rythm.
Let me rephrase that, I meant to say Sure he has great power. He definitely does not have great accuracy. Poor accuracy, poor decision making and terrible pocket awareness. His only elite trait is arm strength. Hard to teach accuracy. He needs more time at TU.
His accuracy is good to me. Hes thrown into some very tight windows. Sitting at 61.5 right now. Could easily be high 60s if there weren't so many drops. I think you just focus on the passes he misses instead of the ones he completes. For what the wind conditions were like against SMU, some of his throws were very impressive
My only real criticisms of Smith are:
- He isn’t as mobile as you would like in this offense. The ability to take off puts another dimension to the defenses game planning. Not a knock on him just a fact.
- He is tough, great arm strength and willing to sit in the pocket but sometimes too long. A QB needs to feel the pressure and make a decision (throw ball away, run, etc...). I did think he was better at this a few times against SMU.
His strengths out weigh his weaknesses.
- He isn’t as mobile as you would like in this offense. The ability to take off puts another dimension to the defenses game planning. Not a knock on him just a fact.
- He is tough, great arm strength and willing to sit in the pocket but sometimes too long. A QB needs to feel the pressure and make a decision (throw ball away, run, etc...). I did think he was better at this a few times against SMU.
His strengths out weigh his weaknesses.
I've got to stop reading this without my reading glasses on. I read it as above w/out glasses.
If he did that it may buy him more time in the pocket while the stunned rushers look the other way.
What about the rumors that when the CFP / media agreement expires, there's a solid chance of expanding the playoff to 8 teams instead of 4? Might that not allow for the minnows to keep up with the bloated sharks?
The whole 4 team system is total BS. They should go to 16 and be done with NFL. It works in the NFL and those a-holes play 18 games. Let's get real. On a pretty big level, the NCAAs are just the minor leagues for the NBA without them having to pay for it. What a deal.
We've been over this before. I am happy for the kids they deserve it but this is not good football and know it isn't fun to watch.
And I’ve told you before, good teams find a way to win. I hope you didn’t leave early to beat the traffic.