What am I missing?

[HamSammich]

Our QB is currently 3rd in the nation in yards. Let that sink in for a minute. 3rd in the entire country. We’ve NEVER had that at this school.

Yes, our record isn’t great. Yes you can argue that we realistically should be 4-0.

My point is, we are so close. Like, one or two plays TOTAL to being 4-0.

Will we beat Bama, absolutely not. But, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see us 7-5 by the end of the year.

 

[dorndawg]

Our QB is currently 3rd in the nation in yards. Let that sink in for a minute. 3rd in the entire country. We’ve NEVER had that at this school.

Yes, our record isn’t great. Yes you can argue that we realistically should be 4-0.

My point is, we are so close. Like, one or two plays TOTAL to being 4-0.

Will we beat Bama, absolutely not. But, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see us 7-5 by the end of the year.

We are much closer to 1-3 than 4-0.

 

[Ralph Cramden]

6 points is all we need to be 4 and 0. One less score allowed in either game and we win. Or if we had scored one more time

 

[Ralph Cramden]

Honestly we should have won both games. We gave them away. Neither team beat us. We beat ourselves

 

[patdog]

Much, much, much closer to 1-3. Losing teams are always "just a few plays" away from a better record. Funny how no one ever seems to want to play that game in the other direction though. The fact is, the LSU game went exactly the way Orgeron planned it. Yes, we outgained them significantly and scored 2 late TDs to make the game appear closer than it really was. But we played right into his hands, including running the clock out for them even while we were scoring the 2 garbage TDs. They only had to run 6 plays after they took the 28-10 lead with 11:32 to go in the game and 3 of those were kneel-downs at the end.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Every thread, every opinion on this team comes down to a simple question - "Did you like Mike Leach 2 years ago or not?" There is plenty of material to make any case that aligns with anyone's preset opinion of him.

 

[philduckworth]

Every thread, every opinion on this team comes down to a simple question - "Did you like Mike Leach 2 years ago or not?" There is plenty of material to make any case that aligns with anyone's preset opinion of him.

completely false statement.

 

[NOATLDAWG]

what game were you watching that thought we should have beaten LSU? The game I saw was 21-3 and us never having the ball within one score... No point in arguing but you don't get to just count the ways it could work FOR us... NC state doesn't turn the ball over 3 times and miss chip shot FGs and that game is far from an easy win.. I would say that LaTech (for 3 quarters), NCState (1st half but with no points) and LSU (1st 3 quarters) all outplayed us... memphis was a back and forth and I have seen NOTHING that makes me think Memphis is a good team...

I think some of you on here are really finding the sunshine and I would say that we haven't even played a good team yet... aTm, Alabama, UK, Ark and Ole Miss are easily 3-4 TDs better than any team we have played so far... We go to Auburn which means we prob won't have a chance. We will be the best 4-8 team in the history of mankind, I guess...

 

[57stratdawg]

The offensive concepts aren’t the problem. But, we do have some room for growth. Both of those things can be true.

We’re just a young team that’s making mistakes. If we can stop shooting ourselves in the foot, we can win plenty of games. We’re not that far away.

 

[philduckworth]

6 points is all we need to be 4 and 0. One less score allowed in either game and we win. Or if we had scored one more time

The LSU game was really never in doubt. The bs punt return against Memphis, we were already losing the game. And then we pulled the biggest comeback in school history to beat a hapless La Tech team. Thank goodness for Tulu Griffin as we would probably be 0-4 without his 2 kick off returns.

 

[Cooterpoot]

We blow up the stat sheet while we're behind a couple scores plus. We look like trash til then.
Looking at yardage when we've thrown it more than anyone in the country at a much smaller clip per attempt is silliness.

 

[dorndawg]

what game were you watching that thought we should have beaten LSU? The game I saw was 21-3 and us never having the ball within one score... No point in arguing but you don't get to just count the ways it could work FOR us... NC state doesn't turn the ball over 3 times and miss chip shot FGs and that game is far from an easy win.. I would say that LaTech (for 3 quarters), NCState (1st half but with no points) and LSU (1st 3 quarters) all outplayed us... memphis was a back and forth and I have seen NOTHING that makes me think Memphis is a good team...

I think some of you on here are really finding the sunshine and I would say that we haven't even played a good team yet... aTm, Alabama, UK, Ark and Ole Miss are easily 3-4 TDs better than any team we have played so far... We go to Auburn which means we prob won't have a chance. We will be the best 4-8 team in the history of mankind, I guess...

And then when leach gets us to 6-6 in 2023, you'll be blind if you don't see all the improvement.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

completely false statement.

It may not technically be 100% true, but it's close. The same people who hated Leach for years (he was discussed pretty often) hate him now and are looking at the negatives. The same people who have liked Leach for years are looking at the positives. There's nothing inherently wrong with being in either group, but its very obvious that preconceived notions are driving current opinion.

 

[NOATLDAWG]

Reminds me way too much of the Croom years... Game is over in the 1st quarter and the other team takes the foot off of the gas or rests players. Game ends at 27-10 but it was 27-0 at one point and we had 7 yards of total offense at halftime...

 

[NOATLDAWG]

passing stats in losses just don't thrill me... sorry... Reminds me of Tim Couch at UK... oh wait... what's that familiarity about!?!?

 

[paindonthurt_]

This is true but it’s also true we are abt 4 or 5 plays or less from being 4 and 0.

And it’s moronic to be talking abt how BAD Will Rodgers is.

He’s not a top 3 QB in the nation but he’s not a bottom 50% QB either. SEC included most likely.

 

[patdog]

That's just not even remotely close to being true. You're falling into the trap that the 4th quarter would have played out like it did if LSU didn't have an 18-point lead by the 11:32 mark. It most surely wouldn't have. We might have won and we might have lost if we'd kept it closer earlier. But there's just no way of knowing.

 

[Dawg1976]

7-5? Lol. Good one.....

 

[Cooterpoot]

This is true but it’s also true we are abt 4 or 5 plays or less from being 4 and 0.

And it’s moronic to be talking abt how BAD Will Rodgers is.

He’s not a top 3 QB in the nation but he’s not a bottom 50% QB either. SEC included most likely.

He's 93rd in yards per attempt. So yeah, he's getting close. The defense wants him to throw those short passes.

 

[kired]

Every thread, every opinion on this team comes down to a simple question - "Did you like Mike Leach 2 years ago or not?" There is plenty of material to make any case that aligns with anyone's preset opinion of him.

Guess I'm an outlier. I wasn't a fan of the hire. Always laughed at other SEC schools when his name would come up. He'll need to have a 9 or 10 win season for me to ever admit hiring him was the right thing. My thought was that it'll take a big change in personnel to successfully run his offense, and when he retires in a few years we'll have to find someone else who can run it just as good or we're faced with another major overhaul.

But I'm not ready to fire the guy. Once Cohen made this decision I think we might as well go all in and commit to it, see what happens. I'm fine supporting him for 3 years even though I'm disappointed we hired him to begin with. Living through Croom, Rick Ray, and Moorhead - I realize we could have done worse than Leach.

 

[047Dog]

How many more times does it need to be said? Rogers has at least a game to a game and a half pace ahead of his peers in throws. It’s like claiming to be the MLB hits leader and having 400 more at bats than everybody else.

Rogers has:

37 comp 71 att and 254 more yards than Bazelak
82 comp 90 att and 310 yards more than Max Johnson
81 comp 103 att and 330 more yards than Bryce Young

 

[NOATLDAWG]

I mean... who exactly does he think we are going to beat out of aTm, Alabama, Auburn, Ark, UK and Ole miss? Because to win 7, we would have to win 3 of those...

 

[HamSammich]

You’re of the same mindset then that Dan Marino was a crap QB I bet

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

It’s been a weird season for sure. Looking at box scores, specifically 1st downs and total yards, I would guess we are 3-1 with the only loss being NC State.

Beating Texas A&M would not surprise me at all. We just have to play a clean game. We’ve only done that once and beat what looks like a good NC State team. If we commit penalties and turn the ball over, we could also get blown out.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Even worse he's 123rd in yards per completion. I would only be impressed he was a switch passer and threw 40% of his passes left handed.

Passing efficiency is the best metric. QB rating. It accounts for everything. Rogers is 54th in the country. I will be happy if he ends up in the top 80 after the next 8 games.

Lots of guys could throw the ball 65 times a game... Unfortunately for them, their coaches are more interested in winning.

 

[The Peeper]

And his team is 75th in the country in scoring (out of 100), which is the only stat that counts and we haven't done much of that

 

[MSUDC11]

We have a two touchdown win against a Top 25 team and our other three games were decided by a field goal or less. You can literally spin this first month of the season in any almost any direction you want and there would be at least some validity to it.

The best way I can put it is we are clearly a work in progress, and we will just have to see how much more progress can be made within this season. Hopefully it's enough to go to a bowl game. Either way, you will have the same coaching staff and largely the same personnel coming back for 2022, which seems like a very important year in the long term for the direction of our program.

 

[oxfordrebel22]

I also think you guys are closer than most are giving credit for. I cringe every time I hear an Ole Miss talking head reference MSU not being good or a concern. Because in my lifetime, we get our *** kicked by MSU almost every single season that becomes an early talking point.

With that said, you were down 34-14 to La Tech and 28-10 to a marginal LSU team, both in the 4th quarter. So, I think it’s disingenuous to say you’re a play or two from being 4-0. But it’s also disingenuous to say that MSU sucks and won’t win another game outside of Tennessee State and Vandy. You’ll get to 6-6. You’ve shown me enough for me to truly believe that.

In fact, I’d even be willing to make a friendly wager with a naysayer as to whether or not MSU gets to 6 wins. You’re close to being much better, but there are some very valid concerns, big picture wise.

 

[57stratdawg]

So? Teams drop 8 against up constantly. He has to facilitate the running game through short passes. That pulls his average down, but boosts his yardage through additional completions. Who cares? We all know it’s going to end up skewed.

He’s on pace for 70%+, 4,500+ yards, 33 TDs and 6 to 8 interceptions. Plus, he’s not taking very many sacks at all. That’s a huge improvement from 2020. If that’s not exceeding your expectations, the expectations are probably the problem.

 

[PBRME]

View attachment 22068

 

[dog12]

Our QB is currently 3rd in the nation in yards. Let that sink in for a minute. 3rd in the entire country. We’ve NEVER had that at this school.

Yes, our record isn’t great. Yes you can argue that we realistically should be 4-0.

My point is, we are so close. Like, one or two plays TOTAL to being 4-0.

Will we beat Bama, absolutely not. But, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see us 7-5 by the end of the year.

Okay, I'll play along.

Let's assume that our football team is 7-5 after our next 8 games.

In your opinion, which of our next 8 opponents will we beat to get to 5 more wins?

 

[pmack3641]

If by the end of our 2023 season we’re only 6-6 then this hire was a failure! All everyone brings up is his winning record after 2 years, that ain’t happening this year. If he’s not at worst 6-6 by end of next season where in trouble.

 

[djt159]

Every thread on here complaining is the same. We're a young team in year 1.5 of a completely different scheme with a QB who doesn't have the talent to run the offense we are installing. We're making boneheaded young mistakes and we're getting no benefit of the doubt from Refs. Slowly but surely we are seeing a shift. OL improved against the best DL talent they played.

If people would relax and give **** time to grow they'll see by year 4 given we have someone with a better arm than me at QB, we're clear cut top 2 in this division and a top 10 team in the nation. **** wasn't gonna change overnight, but damn it's changing faster than I thought it would and if you changed our jerseys to be that of LSU or Alabama then we'd be on a 6-game winning streak.

As a matter of fact, the last time I wasn't seeing progress was 10/31/2020 when we got shellacked by Bama. Now we've cut bait on KJ and let Will grow. He either gets stronger and more zip or we find the guy who beats him out and we're cooking. I'm frustrated that we aren't playing our best football and to our potential. Which is super common for a young team. I'm not frustrated that what we're doing looks dumb and our team is confused. I felt that way watching Moorhead.

We'll be fine. A&M is a potential win this week. I think we take them and I think there's still a case to be made for 9-3 with how "bad" everyone else is. The bar is lower. Alabama is the only sure loss. Everyone else is beatable. And before you go saying **** about this team or that team. Imagine we only beat an FCS team by 5? Imagine we only beat a team as bad as colorado by 3? Imagine we only beat Georgia State because Mr. Marc deemed it so? Imagine thinking the Egg Bowl isn't a tossup every year? Imagine struggling with a CUSA team week 1 only to be bailed out by our 21 point fourth quarter?
Imagine we lost to an FCS school? Imagine we were an FCS school?

Guess what this board would say in all these separate scenarios. And then realize I just spoke about 7 of our remaining 8 games. The Egg Bowl and Arkansas are probably the toughest. But these are just facts. A **** load of you would melt down at any of these things happening. Every team on our schedule is beatable this year. Even Bama. College teams just ain't as good. Watch a game other than ours and tell me who's really out there playing better and doing it against good comp. Bama is the only "sure-loss" I have and I don't think anything is sure with Mike Leach at the helm.

Nut up and realize we're closer to the top than you think and this will be the worst talented / experienced team that Leach coaches here. Enjoy the ascent. Rome wasn't built in one day.

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

Okay, I'll play along.

Let's assume that our football team is 7-5 after our next 8 games.

In your opinion, which of our next 8 opponents will we beat to get to 5 more wins?

The eye test shows we can beat any team on our schedule, besides Bama and Ole Miss. And I wouldn't rule out beating Ole Miss.

The eye test also shows we are really inconsistent and lack the intensity of an every down team. Therefore, we can get beat by any team on our schedule, including directional Tennessee and Vandy.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

The whole problem with "facilitating" the running game through short passes is if you do it 6 times on a drive, 1 will end up incomplete, tipped, or intercepted. That kills a drive.
I haven't looked up Will's stat on it, but I am guessing he is completing 100% of his handoffs vs 75% of his passes.

It's not just Rogers fault his yards per completion are so low, that's on Leach as well. But when we have posters starting threads about how he is 3rd in the country in yardage, it's fair to point out how hollow that number is. Maybe a better QB makes better passes further downfield, but I am not sure. But it's not good to have the vast number of pass attempts we do and the low yardages and points. That's not a winning formula.

 

[Smoked Toag]

I also think you guys are closer than most are giving credit for. I cringe every time I hear an Ole Miss talking head reference MSU not being good or a concern. Because in my lifetime, we get our *** kicked by MSU almost every single season that becomes an early talking point.

With that said, you were down 34-14 to La Tech and 28-10 to a marginal LSU team, both in the 4th quarter. So, I think it’s disingenuous to say you’re a play or two from being 4-0. But it’s also disingenuous to say that MSU sucks and won’t win another game outside of Tennessee State and Vandy. You’ll get to 6-6. You’ve shown me enough for me to truly believe that.

In fact, I’d even be willing to make a friendly wager with a naysayer as to whether or not MSU gets to 6 wins. You’re close to being much better, but there are some very valid concerns, big picture wise.

I've seen some damn good Ole Miss teams get their teeth kicked in by a 'young' Mississippi State teams. 2009 comes to mind. ONE year after the 2008 thrashing. These things are so cyclical and momentum shifts so fast. Same with State, I think about that 2012 dismantling in Oxford - no way we should lose that game. Then it shifts in 2013, Ole Miss has the momentum, and we somehow win with a 3rd string QB. Then 2016, Ole Miss has all momentum and that season melts away, culminated with 55-20. Then the leg break game the next year, how did Ole Miss win that game? Still blows my mind.

So no, I'm not writing off the Egg Bowl, unless you guys beat Bama and are 10-1 or 11-0 headed into it. Because that'll mean you're truly legit.

 

[MSU Fan.sixpack]

Like, one or two plays TOTAL to being 4-0.

I'm super curious what ONE play could affect the outcome of TWO games?

Seriously though, what play from the LSU game could change the outcome of that game? Because people keep saying this but I can't think of one. The missed chip shot FG? Maybe but PatDog is right things would play out completely differently if it's not a 3-score game late. Or the penalty on the punt that gave them a first down and then they scored the last touchdown? C'mon, we were down 21-10 at that point.

 

[Go Budaw]

Much, much, much closer to 1-3. Losing teams are always "just a few plays" away from a better record. Funny how no one ever seems to want to play that game in the other direction though. The fact is, the LSU game went exactly the way Orgeron planned it. Yes, we outgained them significantly and scored 2 late TDs to make the game appear closer than it really was. But we played right into his hands, including running the clock out for them even while we were scoring the 2 garbage TDs. They only had to run 6 plays after they took the 28-10 lead with 11:32 to go in the game and 3 of those were kneel-downs at the end.

Oregeron planning for us to jump the punt shield, miss a chip shot FG, not get PI called on his DB at the goal line, us fumbling on the opening drive, and Will not seeing a wide open WR in the end zone so we can throw a pick. That’s some next level ****. Kudos to him on that plan.

 

[boatsandhoes]

Football is so much about execution/discipline in all three phases. You can rack up yards when not executing at a high level. The results show up in little things.

I’d say we’re doing fair in the big phases, and poor to horrible at the small things that help you win. The result is tight losses.

For us to win in the SEC, to teams more talented than us, we have to execute at a near flawless level. We’re not close to that at the moment.

 

[Dawgtini]

Every thread on here complaining is the same. We're a young team in year 1.5 of a completely different scheme with a QB who doesn't have the talent to run the offense we are installing. We're making boneheaded young mistakes and we're getting no benefit of the doubt from Refs. Slowly but surely we are seeing a shift. OL improved against the best DL talent they played.

If people would relax and give **** time to grow they'll see by year 4 given we have someone with a better arm than me at QB, we're clear cut top 2 in this division and a top 10 team in the nation. **** wasn't gonna change overnight, but damn it's changing faster than I thought it would and if you changed our jerseys to be that of LSU or Alabama then we'd be on a 6-game winning streak.

As a matter of fact, the last time I wasn't seeing progress was 10/31/2020 when we got shellacked by Bama. Now we've cut bait on KJ and let Will grow. He either gets stronger and more zip or we find the guy who beats him out and we're cooking. I'm frustrated that we aren't playing our best football and to our potential. Which is super common for a young team. I'm not frustrated that what we're doing looks dumb and our team is confused. I felt that way watching Moorhead.

We'll be fine. A&M is a potential win this week. I think we take them and I think there's still a case to be made for 9-3 with how "bad" everyone else is. The bar is lower. Alabama is the only sure loss. Everyone else is beatable. And before you go saying **** about this team or that team. Imagine we only beat an FCS team by 5? Imagine we only beat a team as bad as colorado by 3? Imagine we only beat Georgia State because Mr. Marc deemed it so? Imagine thinking the Egg Bowl isn't a tossup every year? Imagine struggling with a CUSA team week 1 only to be bailed out by our 21 point fourth quarter?
Imagine we lost to an FCS school? Imagine we were an FCS school?

Guess what this board would say in all these separate scenarios. And then realize I just spoke about 7 of our remaining 8 games. The Egg Bowl and Arkansas are probably the toughest. But these are just facts. A **** load of you would melt down at any of these things happening. Every team on our schedule is beatable this year. Even Bama. College teams just ain't as good. Watch a game other than ours and tell me who's really out there playing better and doing it against good comp. Bama is the only "sure-loss" I have and I don't think anything is sure with Mike Leach at the helm.

Nut up and realize we're closer to the top than you think and this will be the worst talented / experienced team that Leach coaches here. Enjoy the ascent. Rome wasn't built in one day.

Insert slow clap gif - well said. Bravo!!