If this was a normal year

[BKCBully]

Would you have felt better about being 7-5 or 6-6 than you feel right now?

 

[engie]

In a normal year guys get on the same page and the offense starts to click a lot sooner than it actually did. Rogers is gonna beat some of these teams going forward and would have by the end of the season. I guess I wouldn’t feel any different because I can see past the record and understand how we got there and see the sparks of drastic improvement.

 

[messageboardsuperhero]

Not really. I had us at 4-6 coming into the season, and that was assuming Costello and Hill were the driving forces of the offense. Anyone that can use context will put this season into perspective.

If we played it over again now, we probably go 5-5 or so while being led by a bunch of freshmen. We probably would beat Arkansas and UK by 10+ if we played again, and I’d love another shot at OM.

 

[Ranchdawg]

No, although I didn't realize how bad the player discipline was from Moorhead coming into this season. Considering the number of freshmen we played and installing an unconventional offense 3-7 ain't too bad. Just glad we got a bowl.

 

[johnson86-1]

In a normal year guys get on the same page and the offense starts to click a lot sooner than it actually did. Rogers is gonna beat some of these teams going forward and would have by the end of the season. I guess I wouldn’t feel any different because I can see past the record and understand how we got there and see the sparks of drastic improvement.

In a normal year Costello might be good enough to not get benched while still holding us back, and we might have missed the opportunity for Rogers to get experience. It sucked watching our offense look like a croom or Moorhead offense for most of the year, but it will probably pay dividends for us next year.

 

[Dawgzilla]

Would you have felt better about being 7-5 or 6-6 than you feel right now?

Yes. If we had played our regular 12 game schedule and managed to win 2 or 3 SEC games, I would have been perfectly satisfied with Leach's first season. I'm assuming at least 3 non conference wins, but New Mexico and Tulane were no guarantees with as bad as our offense was against zone Ds.

I predicted 3 wins when the schedule was announced, but LSU and MIZZOU were not the wins I saw. My real prediction was we wouldn't play all 10 games, and I'm happy to be wrong about that.

I'm still not a fan of Leach or his offense, but I'm along for the ride. A .500 season and continuing our bowl streak would have been a fine start.

 

[MSUDC11]

It really is kind of amazing how the lack of nonconference cupcakes skews perception. Not just with our fans, but nationally.

We are a topic of debate right now for getting a bowl invite with only 3 wins in an all SEC schedule. Yet nobody had a problem with us going to a bowl game last year with 3 SEC wins. I guess those wins against ULL, USM, and Abilene Christian are what made us worthy***

 

[8dog]

I think most people are down not because of record but because we scored 31 total offensive points against TAMU, KY, ARK, Bama and Auburn combined. And 24 points against worst defense in the conference.

I think we would have won 5 games in a normal
year. LSU, Mizzou and 3 ooc. We wouldnt have played Vandy

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

I think if we flipped the LSU and Auburn games we would feel better...but to be honest Missouri had called it a season during the Georgia game.

 

[Go Budaw]

7-5, yes, that would be equivalent to 3-5 in the SEC which is better than 3-7. 6-6, no different...that’s pretty much where we finished in SEC play as it stands now. As good as our defense was, I don’t think we would have lost any nonconference games even with the early offense struggles.

I also think if we rolled with Rogers from the get-go (and if he didn’t get COVID) we would have beaten Ark and UK this year, and A&M would have been more competitive. We might have still beaten LSU (remember KJ turned the ball over 3 times in that game), but I doubt it. In any case I think we hit 4-6 at worst with Will starting all 10 games.

 

[Go Budaw]

I think most people are down not because of record but because we scored 31 total offensive points against TAMU, KY, ARK, Bama and Auburn combined. And 24 points against worst defense in the conference.

I think we would have won 5 games in a normal
year. LSU, Mizzou and 3 ooc. We wouldnt have played Vandy

3 of those 4 games were before Rogers took over as the starter.

Who in the OOC was going to beat us?

 

[8dog]

NC State and maybe Tulane

 

[Go Budaw]

It really is kind of amazing how the lack of nonconference cupcakes skews perception. Not just with our fans, but nationally.

We are a topic of debate right now for getting a bowl invite with only 3 wins in an all SEC schedule. Yet nobody had a problem with us going to a bowl game last year with 3 SEC wins. I guess those wins against ULL, USM, and Abilene Christian are what made us worthy***

Exactly. Its the same as people arguing against the 10 game all-SEC / Power 5 schedule on an annual basis because “we’d only win 4-5 games per year!11!!1”. Newsflash, so would everyone else who isn’t a Top 15 team. A lot of people seem to prefer the cognitive dissonance offered by plastic wins over overmatched G5 and FCS teams, for some reason.

 

[Go Budaw]

NC State and maybe Tulane

Ahhhh totally forgot about NC State. They might have beaten us if KJ was still under center. Hard to know how that one plays out with no COVID. I think we easily beat Tulane though.

 

[patdog]

On the road, early in the season, not much question we lose to NC State in a regular season. We probably do beat Tulane though, but that's not a gimme. I think we'd be sitting at 5-7 and hoping our academics were good enough to get a bowl game.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

So impossible to tell. A whole offseason to practice, with the bad seeds weeded off the team earlier, who knows what happens. Maybe Costello plays up to his potential, maybe Hill goes off. Who knows if Shavers gets booted. I know we talk a lot about the scheme vs. a zone, but we won that LSU game on talent in my mind, and it showed what we were capable of. More time to practice perhaps has us more prepared for that, and to watch our up and down performances all year, lends credence to that theory.

Before COVID I thought this would be a 7-5/8-4 bridge year, then 2021 would be the rebuild year, then 2022 and 2023 would be peak years. Obviously the train derailed and 2021 will probably be better due to 2020 being a rebuild year. But I still think next season will be another shaky one, because regardless of our sheep, QB position still isn't decided, and the defense will most likely take a step back.

But bright days do seem to be ahead.

 

[patdog]

I think everyone understands that. We just don't want to get our heads bashed in by a top 5 schedule every year. And we'd gradually get less and less competitive against those teams over time as fan interest and contributions dry up with a string of losing seasons.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

I think everyone understands that. We just don't want to get our heads bashed in by a top 5 schedule every year. And we'd gradually get less and less competitive against those teams over time as fan interest and contributions dry up with a string of losing seasons.

Exactly. Unfortunately, perception absolutely matters to many.

I mean look, you still have people saying Cincinnati deserves to be in a 4 team playoff. Those same people say we don't deserve a bowl. Whether or not either of those things are true, they are only being said because of the records. They aren't taking into account the strength of schedule. They give it lip service, but at the end of the day it's about the record. Simplistic thinking, but it's the unfortunate reality, so we must plan accordingly.

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

We still should have beaten Auburn. this year.