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A Look at the Second Year Coaches Currently in the AP Top 25

Nick Saban (Alabama):

Prev. Season – 6-6

1st year – 7-6 (Bowl Win)

Conf: 4-4

Wins – Vandy, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Tennessee

Arkansas and Vandy on the road are solid wins. They clobbered Tennessee 41-17 at home which is a huge win. Ole Miss was in the last year of the Ed Orgeron show so nothing major there.

Losses – UGA, LSU, Miss. St., and Auburn

UGA was a three point loss in OT at home and the others are within 7 points. Not bad losses in my book. No embarrassing conference losses.

Non-Conf: 3-2 (Bowl Win)

Wins – Western Carolina and UH in regular season and Colorado in their bowl game.

Opened up the Saban Era with a blowout 52-6 win over Western Carolina and held off UH by 6 at home. Beat CU by 6 in Shreveport.

Losses – Fla. St. on the road and ULa-Monroe at home.

The ULaMo loss is pretty suspect but both losses were both at 7 points.

Overall Thought – Not a stellar record but every loss was within 7 points and beat some decent teams in Tennessee and Arkansas in conference. Due to the closeness of the losses you can definitely point to something brewing. We all know how 2008 is going so no need to comment.

Butch Davis (North Carolina):

Prev. Season – 3-9

1st year – 4-8 (No Bowl)

Conf: 3-5

Wins – Miami, Maryland, and Duke

Miami and Maryland are nice wins but they did have to take Duke to overtime.

Losses – UVA, Va. Tech, Wake Forest, NC State, and Ga. Tech

All of their losses were within 7 points with the exception of a 27 point loss on the road to Wake Forest. UVA and Ga. Tech were within 2 points.

Non-Conf: 1-3

Wins – James Madison

23 point win at home to open the Butch Davis era.

Losses – East Carolina, South Florida, and South Carolina

East Carolina and South Carolina were within 6 points and they got blown out by 27 in Tampa.

Overall Thought – Not a stellar record but only had 2 blowouts by more than 7 and both were on the road to pretty good teams in Wake Forest and South Florida. Record is not good but they were competitive in all but 2 games. In 2008 their only loss is a 3 point loss to Va. Tech with nice wins over Miami and Rutgers on the road and UConn and Notre Dame at home. They’re sitting at 5-1 and will likely go better than 8-4 and possibly 10-2.

Mike Dantonio (Mich. State):

Prev. Season – 4-8

1st year – 7-6 (Bowl Loss)

Conf: 3-5

Wins – Indiana, Purdue, and Penn St.

Blew out Indiana by 25 at home, thumped Purdue by 17 on the road, and beat Penn St. at home by 4.

Losses – Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State, Iowa, and Michigan

All of their losses were within 7 points including a 24-17 loss in Columbus to Ohio State. Loss to Wisconsin by 3 in Madison. All loses were on the road except a 7 point overtime loss to Northwestern at home.

Non-Conf: 4-1 (Bowl loss)

Wins – UAB, Bowling Green, Pitt, and Notre Dame

37 point win at home to open the Mike Dantonio era. Beat Bowling Green at home by 11 and Pitt at home by 4. Went on the road to beat Notre Dame by 17. Opened up the season by going 4-0.

Losses – Boston College

Lost by 3 to ACC runner up Boston College who had a 1st round draft pick under center.

Overall Thought – Opened up 4-0 in non-conference including wins over name programs in Pitt and ND. Blew out their first opponent at home. Conference record is a bit suspect but they had some tough road games even if it is the Big 10 but they were competitive in all of them losing by less than 7. In 2008, they’re 5-1 with a loss at Cal by 7 points to open the season. We’ll find out a lot about them this week with a home game against Ohio St. and then closing out the season at Penn St. A lot of games left to play but they control their own destiny to win the Big 10 as they’ve already matched their conference win totals from last season in the first 3 conference games.

Okie State Game Thoughts

I was able to watch the OkSU game through the magic of the Interweb and surprisingly got a much better feel for what took place than listening to the soothing sounds of Dave and Dave. We’re going to call this game the watered down Sex Panther game. It’s like Shem and Co. took the Miami game and only made it work every time 30% to 40% of the time. There were definitely some positives from the game but there’s even more negatives in my mind.

I’m going to call this game a 7-14 point win by OkSU. We definitely gifted them some points but they didn’t play as good as the score suggested and we didn’t play as bad. They did beat us fair and square by 7-14 points though. No way a few breaks here and there let us win that game. We got beat plain and simple.

OkSU is a pretty formidable team but they’re definitely not on the level of OU, tu, or Missouri. They might be just slightly below Kansas and Tech as I don’t think Tech has really played anyone to test them yet. Based on what I saw I do think we can go 6-6 if we can ever get that Sex Panther up to 80% of the game.

Let’s get to the specifics of the game:

Special Teams:

  • Starting off with these guys because they were HOR-EN-DUS outside of a couple of things.
  • I’d said it before and I’m going to say it again that if Jordan Pugh really is our best punt returner then we’re hosed. I don’t know if he’s being coached to stay away from the ball but he’s definitely not willing to go into traffic and call for a fair catch. Maybe he just doesn’t know how to position himself but whatever it is it’s removing any threat of a return we might have..
  • Coverage and tackling is still really bad so I don’t know what’s going on there. I think Kirk Doll needs to channel his inner Frank Beamer and get this thing going.
  • The two great things I saw were that we got to the punter a couple of times and did it in a great manner. We tested their splits and blocking on the first punt and got fairly close. On the second punt we pulled off and then on the third punt we had a flat out jail break. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to the ball but wound up getting to the punter. Surprisingly, we didn’t maul the guy and only got a 5 yard penalty. Sadly, all they needed was 4 ½ for the first down so they did get that. I was actually really pissed listening to the radio as I thought it was just lack of discipline but when you’re going for the ball in that manner incidental contact happens sometimes so I’m okay with that. I’m just glad we took the chance considering how we were down. Honestly, if we get that it could have swung the game. They still win but it would have been much more competitive.

Offense:

  • Guess what goes here? That’s right – Michael Goodson = STUD. Remember when he outran the Miami defense? Well, he blew the damn doors off the OkSU defense. He didn’t really get a chance to establish himself outside of that as we pretty much abandoned a consistent running game but he looked good a few times. I still believe he’s the most explosive player in the Big XII and I mean that. Maclin is pretty special but Goodson is truly Reggie Bush like. In that Mizzou offense he’d be leading the Heisman talk.
  • I believe Whitney Houston said it best when she sang, “I believe that Jerrod Johnson is our future. Teach him well and let him lead the way.” He definitely had more bad moments than good but he’s the only shot we have at six wins this season. He does something we haven’t seen in a long time and that’s make teams pay for blitzing. He stands tall in the pocket and delivers the ball before getting hit. OkSU actually pulled off blitzing a lot of time which actually hurts JJ. He does much better when teams are loading up as he sees its, reads it, and knows where single coverage is. He simply delivers the ball right before contact. His throws aren’t always on the mark but the kid is fearless through the air. He’s still got a long ways to go but when he has those moments where he moves the ball you just smile because he actually got the better of the defense. Keep on keeping on, JJ. We need you out there getting some serious OJT.
  • Fuller needs to work on securing the ball but the kid is a stud. He and JJ pitching and catching are the future of this program offensively.
  • Tannehill made a few great catches. He, Fuller, and JJ are going to be pretty formidable for a couple of years.
  • The offensive line actually did a pretty decent job of blocking. They still got burned and vapor locked a few times but they were picking up blitzes and knew their assignments. They did get shuffled in the second half as it looked like Matthews and Vince Williams were running guard with Brian Thomas snapping the ball. Not sure if that was due to injuries or what. Either way, they looked decent but the OkSU defense is not that solid. Still, maybe this group can hold their own against KSU, ISU, CU, and Baylor.
  • I love Jamie McCoy but the kid still has problems blocking. I can relate to him because I played TE in high school and often went up against DEs that were 30-40 pounds more than me. My coach told me I was never going to dominate them so just engage them as long as I could. McCoy still has issues engaging people at times but he’s giving it all he has. He actually did decent a few times but there were also a few times he just missed his guy. He’s such a great receiver that you take the negative and hope he just gets better at engaging people. He’s definitely working at it but he has problems.
  • Good to see the Train worked into various packages. I don’t know if the FB experiment is over but he played tailback and did what the Train does. I’m actually hoping he gets his TD record this weekend and it energizes him for the rest of the season. He actually did decent on blitz pick up a few times as well as catching the ball out of the backfield. It’ll be interesting to see how he gets used going forward.

Defense:

  • Once again, Joe Kines pitched to contact in the first half. He knew OkSU’s reads and positioned our guys perfectly for the most part. OkSU does that crap where the coach reads the defense and then signals in the play. Kines had his defense adjusting after the call and usually had the play sniffed. Gundy adjusted in the second half and we didn’t do nearly as well. Still, for a half Joe Kines did all he could.
  • The goal line stand was a thing of beauty. BIG credit to the defense on that one.
  • We suffer big time from cut backs and the zone read. We’re so hell bent on attacking the ball that we lose contain really easily when someone cuts back. We’re also so bent for the ball that our outside guys go after the play action leaving the outside wide open for the QB most of the time on a zone read. Sure that’s what the zone read is built to do but you need to confuse the QB just a tad and we’re not doing it at all.
  • We still need help on tackling head up. We like to tackle from the side and from behind just like I like shooting dove. Doves are pretty safe coming straight at me just like offensive ball carriers against the Aggie defense. They’ll get better but they’re just lacking it right now. Me, I’m still not getting better about dove coming at me.
  • Jordan Pugh and Arkeith Brown need to be our starting corners. I’m not going to completely bash a player but someone got burned pretty bad on simple routes by Dez Bryant. Sure, you’re a little on edge covering someone like Dez but this person just whiffed a couple of times and doesn’t bring anything else from a run support standpoint. Arkeith is going to vapor lock sometimes but I think he has more raw talent than the person I won’t name from both a coverage and run support standpoint.
  • Trent Hunter can flat out stick. I don’t know how well he can cover but he’s easily the best tackler on our team and tackler we’ve probably seen in 5-6 years. He’s going to have an outstanding four year career I believe.
  • The tackles still aren’t getting a great push up front. I don’t really expect it out of Patterson because he’s so sound technique wise but the other guys aren’t disrupting much. It looks like Tony Jerod-Eddie has pretty much displaced Kellen Heard as the other starter. It’s disappointing as Heard has so much talent but he’s just not delivering consistently.
  • The defensive ends did fine except for not realizing when the QB was keeping the ball but that was mainly due to the fact the QB reads the DE and we were hell bent on crashing on the RB so the QB kept knowing the DE wouldn’t be out there.
  • Our LBs are still a major work in progress. Anthony Lewis actually saw a lot of time so I don’t know what lead to that but the kid does hold lots of promise. Von Miller is still learning to play in space. Garrick Williams looked okay but definitely nothing special. Hopefully these guys get better and have solid years next season.

I posted it already but I really think at worst Sherm has to win one of KSU or CU at home and then one of ISU or Baylor on the road. Ideally Baylor as Briles beating Sherm could really hurt recruiting wise. I think best case is that we beat KSU, ISU, CU, and Baylor. There’s not a chance in Hades we’re beating Tech, OU, or the sips. Just not going to happen. 6-6 is the best hope we have right now.

I’m excited for Saturday as I do think we can pull it off and get to six wins. Will we? I don’t know but we’re going to find out a lot on Saturday.

Good Weekend of College Football Watching

Two weeks ago I had a great weekend of college football watching that I’m looking to replicate this weekend.

That weekend my wife and I left Cold Fort Worth Beer around 8:00 a.m. and headed to the A&M/Army game.  Afterwards we busted out of Aggieland and were back in Fort Worth around 5:45.  Headed to a bar near the TCU campus to watch OU/TCU coupled with UGA/BAMA and Va. Tech/Neb.

This weekend holds even more promise as I’m headed out of Cold Fort Worth Beer around 8:00 to get to a tailgate and watch the first half of the sips and Sooners.  Then it’s off to Kyle to catch the Ags battle KSU.  Afterwards I’m busting out again to get back to CFWB by 7:00 to catch UF/LSU and OSU/Mizzou at the previously referenced TCU area bar.

There’s nothing like college football and cold beer.  Good thing it’s actually seasonal or I might be dead of liver failure already.

Thoughts on Sherman

We’re in Year 1 of the Mike Sherman experiment.  I use the term experiment because no one knows how it’s going to turn out.  Not even the two people most in tune with the situation which happens to be Coach Sherman and Bill Byrne.  I have always questioned the hire but I’m willing to give Sherman at minimum two years and in reality 3-4.

If he goes 2-10 we might as well admit to a mistake and move on as I just don’t see him ever recovering. He’ll likely struggle in recruiting unless we start paying players again due to the wins and losses.  Without getting the top recruits he’s going to have a tough time beating the Stoops and Browns of the world.

I do think Sherman needs to win at least one of KSU or CU at Kyle and at least one of ISU or Baylor on the road to be at minimum 4-8.  Ideally, he’d win all four and go 6-6.  If he does that after the hole he dug with Arky State then I’ll feel much better.  Worse than 4-8 and you better keep me away from a B/CS area phone book.  That’s an inside joke I’ll have to explain in person as I’m not sure the statute of limitations has expired.

First Post – Name Explanation

The name comes from my trip to Clemson back in 2005.  We took on the mighty Clemson Tigers with a team that should have been on the rise after coming off a Cotton Bowl berth.  I’ve drank a lot of beers since then so I don’t remember the exact details but late in the game Coach Fran went for an extra point when he clearly should have gone for 2.  His defense was getting gashed and it wasn’t certain we’d get the ball back.

I believe we lost that game by one point which is why he should have gone for 2.  The point of the name is that after the final second ticked off and we lost, I turned around behind me and there was this older Aggie that looked at me and said, “Young man, RC would have gone for 2.”  He said nothing else and walked on.  No other exchange other than, “Young man, RC would have gone for 2” and that was it.  I could clearly tell he wasn’t on the FranWagon like me.

I was a very vocal opponent to RC for oh, about 7 years so I thought the old man was crazy because he couldn’t see what Fran was building like I could.  It was a one point loss on the road to open up the season agaisnt a decent Clemson team.  I joked to people that night that I was going to get the url http://www.rcwouldhavegonefor2.com to show those idiotic RC supporters what fools they were as Fran brought us to national prominence.  Well, the joke wound up being on me because he was right.  Fran wasn’t the answer and here we stand.