Stoops has been there 9 years. We smacked him around when he first got there as did most teams. It took some time but he's built them up into a solid program and we still hung with them in year 1 of new coaches in year 1 of a rebuild. Stoops has had 9 years to get them to this point and we had a real chance where we could have won. How is that not progress?
If your a Kentucky fan that is looking to be unhappy why wouldn't you be on the Kentucky site trashing the staff that this game shouldn't have even been close playing a South Carolina team coming off of back to back 3 - 9 season and a 2 - 8 season and a whole new coaching staff with new terminology, plays and essentially a freshman QB making his first start of the year, coming off of an injury and after missing most of fall camp? How and why would that game even be close? That shouldn't happen, right? This is the same South Carolina team that you put up 41 points on last year.
As a South Carolina fan should we be upset we didn't win or should we be hopeful that we had a chance to win against a seasoned HC at a program that he has been at for 9 years and established into a very good, very respectable program despite the fact that we have a first year staff and freshman QB? Yes, we can nit pick this play and that play and this call and that call but isn't that kind of what happens in the first year of new staffs in most programs? Don't we always talk about players playing in a system for a few years and how much better things get when they have played in the same system and know the system and plays. That allows them to play fast and instinctively. Coaches that need time to bring in players that fit their system and time for those players to mature and learn the system. That is talked about all the time in football, why are we exempt? Because Arkansas is doing well in year two of their HC does that negate everything we have come to learn or expect? Or maybe that is something that can happen to us next year or even later this season? Who knows.
What was our record in Lou Holtz's first year? How many wins? 0. Or to translate, that is ZERO. National championship winning head coach Lou Holtz. Can't get 1 damn win in his first year. What the heck? How did we go from sucking so bad his first year to playing so well his 2nd? Lou Holtz's last year he won 6 games. Spurrier came in the next year and won 1 more game. Started the season with 2 - 3 through his first 5 games. Only beating UCF and Troy. Should we be in a panic winning 2 games after 4 games this year with a new staff? Should we have been in a panic in 2005? Should we have been panicking in 2007 in winning just 6 games after winning 8 the previous year?
We play Troy, Tennessee and Vandy over the next 3 games. With home games against Troy and Vandy. All three are games we can win. Which would leave us with a 5 - 2 record. Meaning we lost to potentially the National Champion Georgia and a ranked Kentucky team (I am sure they will be ranked Monday and finish with a very good record) Most experts predicted us to win 4 games for the season.
Should we be mad that we didn't win yesterday or proud that we were in it against a strong team with a 9 year HC that will be ranked at the end of the season? Should we be mad that our offense doesn't look like a finished product after 4 games? Starting a redshirt freshman QB and the first start for Doty after missing all of fall camp and coming off of an injury? We have 3 games that we can have a really good chance to dial some things in and find a bit more of an identity. We have 3 games we can win. Sure we let this one get away from us when we had a chance. Spurrier himself had a lot of those type games over his time here. We were overmatched against GA and really against Kentucky but we hung with Kentucky and had a chance. That should be thought of as progress. We got hammered last year against the Cats. We made it very close this year. Isn't that progress?
So for those standing on the edge of the cliff. Stop looking down. Look up. Take a breath. We don't know how things are going to look or evolve. Connor Shaw was rough his first year. If Doty starts getting better and healthy and the game slows down for him the offense will improve and we will end up finishing looking a lot stronger than what we do now. We are all frustrated over the last 5 years maybe even 7 years and desperate for the return to championship level football but you don't get there by undermining your first year coaching staff. Let the season play out and see how things go before jumping off the cliff. I am sure that just like Spurrier and every coach before him Beamer will also have to make some changes. Hopefully not. Changing OC's every year won't do anything to get this team better. We need talent and consistency, positivity, support, good attitudes and patience. It's 4 games folks. Back away from the edge.
If your a Kentucky fan that is looking to be unhappy why wouldn't you be on the Kentucky site trashing the staff that this game shouldn't have even been close playing a South Carolina team coming off of back to back 3 - 9 season and a 2 - 8 season and a whole new coaching staff with new terminology, plays and essentially a freshman QB making his first start of the year, coming off of an injury and after missing most of fall camp? How and why would that game even be close? That shouldn't happen, right? This is the same South Carolina team that you put up 41 points on last year.
As a South Carolina fan should we be upset we didn't win or should we be hopeful that we had a chance to win against a seasoned HC at a program that he has been at for 9 years and established into a very good, very respectable program despite the fact that we have a first year staff and freshman QB? Yes, we can nit pick this play and that play and this call and that call but isn't that kind of what happens in the first year of new staffs in most programs? Don't we always talk about players playing in a system for a few years and how much better things get when they have played in the same system and know the system and plays. That allows them to play fast and instinctively. Coaches that need time to bring in players that fit their system and time for those players to mature and learn the system. That is talked about all the time in football, why are we exempt? Because Arkansas is doing well in year two of their HC does that negate everything we have come to learn or expect? Or maybe that is something that can happen to us next year or even later this season? Who knows.
What was our record in Lou Holtz's first year? How many wins? 0. Or to translate, that is ZERO. National championship winning head coach Lou Holtz. Can't get 1 damn win in his first year. What the heck? How did we go from sucking so bad his first year to playing so well his 2nd? Lou Holtz's last year he won 6 games. Spurrier came in the next year and won 1 more game. Started the season with 2 - 3 through his first 5 games. Only beating UCF and Troy. Should we be in a panic winning 2 games after 4 games this year with a new staff? Should we have been in a panic in 2005? Should we have been panicking in 2007 in winning just 6 games after winning 8 the previous year?
We play Troy, Tennessee and Vandy over the next 3 games. With home games against Troy and Vandy. All three are games we can win. Which would leave us with a 5 - 2 record. Meaning we lost to potentially the National Champion Georgia and a ranked Kentucky team (I am sure they will be ranked Monday and finish with a very good record) Most experts predicted us to win 4 games for the season.
Should we be mad that we didn't win yesterday or proud that we were in it against a strong team with a 9 year HC that will be ranked at the end of the season? Should we be mad that our offense doesn't look like a finished product after 4 games? Starting a redshirt freshman QB and the first start for Doty after missing all of fall camp and coming off of an injury? We have 3 games that we can have a really good chance to dial some things in and find a bit more of an identity. We have 3 games we can win. Sure we let this one get away from us when we had a chance. Spurrier himself had a lot of those type games over his time here. We were overmatched against GA and really against Kentucky but we hung with Kentucky and had a chance. That should be thought of as progress. We got hammered last year against the Cats. We made it very close this year. Isn't that progress?
So for those standing on the edge of the cliff. Stop looking down. Look up. Take a breath. We don't know how things are going to look or evolve. Connor Shaw was rough his first year. If Doty starts getting better and healthy and the game slows down for him the offense will improve and we will end up finishing looking a lot stronger than what we do now. We are all frustrated over the last 5 years maybe even 7 years and desperate for the return to championship level football but you don't get there by undermining your first year coaching staff. Let the season play out and see how things go before jumping off the cliff. I am sure that just like Spurrier and every coach before him Beamer will also have to make some changes. Hopefully not. Changing OC's every year won't do anything to get this team better. We need talent and consistency, positivity, support, good attitudes and patience. It's 4 games folks. Back away from the edge.
