Football fandom is a funny thing

[TeKEraider]

It really ebbs and flows. First we want Buster fired. Now it's the D coaches. And of course it's always time to fire Stock. We have certainly become that program that wants to fire someone every time we lose. I guess that's not entirely bad. Passion is good thing although I often wonder if people are just looking for an excuse to go support another team. Certainly the folks that quit after back to back 8-4 seasons were. I wonder if Jones starting to turn things around at UT adds to folks calling our best 4 year stretch in D1 as sub par.

Looking back at this year makes you realize it can really come down to just a few seconds. We were a missed FG and a back up safety making just 1 play in two opportunities away from 9-4 with 2 P5 wins. Probably calling this our best season ever. We were also a missed FG away from 6-7 and an even bigger meltdown. Game of inches...

 

[RaiderDoug]

The problem is, there's always something. It's always just a missed opportunity here. It's always a "if we had just done this or that". It's always "we're so close".

But we never seen to actually get there. Other teams get there. We don't.

2 things have really turned me from a guy who was mainly positive to someone who's pretty down.

1. WKU's success.

I'm sorry, but that program has nothing on us. Facilities? Nope. Recruiting territory? Nope. Committment to football? Nope. They're a basketball school in a basketball state. Yet here they are. They outrecruit us, out develop us, and outcoach us. This basketball school has more bowl wins in the last 2 years than we have in our existence. In 5 years of FBS, the have a conference title. We don't have one in 16 years. I don't even remember us really playing for one in 16 years.

Western Kentucky just won the CUSA title before we've even been in the CUSA title game. Let that sink in.

And it's not just WKU. Western Michigan was 2-10 like 3 years ago. Now, they are celebrating a historic season and their first bowl win. Southern Miss was 2 years removed from 0-11, won 4 games last year, and all of a sudden wins a conference division and 9 games.

If you have the right people in place, it simply doesn't take that long to win.

This isn't a team that's rebuilding. We're a decade in to this staff. This isn't like waiting for sanctions to end, or trying to get a few full recruiting classes in.

We're still floundering in the doldrums. 7-6 - woohoo! Awesome season!!!!

Imagine this scenario - Pick any one of your favorite teams in any sport:

If I told you that your team would spend the next decade at barely over .500, never once win or play for a title of any kind, and after 10 years you're still getting blown out by your main rivals - would you be satisfied?


2. The Bowl game.

I didn't know the first thing about Western Michigan. Never watched 'em, had no idea how good they were. Yet, I was so sure that this staff would have this team so ill prepared and so poorly motivated for the bowl that I was able to predict the final score within just a few points several days before the game. I said 44-27 4 days before the game, it ended up 45-31.

It has become the program's defining characteristic.

This simply isn't a team or staff that shows up in big games, or even in games of any significance whatsoever. It's as sure as the Sun coming up tomorrow.

All games are either 1 win or 1 loss, but all the wins in the world against the FIU's or the UTSA's or the other anonymous dregs of the conference, won in mid November when no one is paying attention - are simply not the equivalent of beating Vandy at home or WKU when the conference is on the line, or any # of games we've lost when there has been a real reason to hope for victory or any hype in the game.

This program needs to win something of significance. It's simply not getting the job done. It's not really even coming close.

 

[TeKEraider]

The problem is, there's always something. It's always just a missed opportunity here. It's always a "if we had just done this or that". It's always "we're so close".

But we never seen to actually get there. Other teams get there. We don't.

2 things have really turned me from a guy who was mainly positive to someone who's pretty down.

1. WKU's success.

I'm sorry, but that program has nothing on us. Facilities? Nope. Recruiting territory? Nope. Committment to football? Nope. They're a basketball school in a basketball state. Yet here they are. They outrecruit us, out develop us, and outcoach us. This basketball school has more bowl wins in the last 2 years than we have in our existence. In 5 years of FBS, the have a conference title. We don't have one in 16 years. I don't even remember us really playing for one in 16 years.

Western Kentucky just won the CUSA title before we've even been in the CUSA title game. Let that sink in.

And it's not just WKU. Western Michigan was 2-10 like 3 years ago. Now, they are celebrating a historic season and their first bowl win. Southern Miss was 2 years removed from 0-11, won 4 games last year, and all of a sudden wins a conference division and 9 games.

If you have the right people in place, it simply doesn't take that long to win.

This isn't a team that's rebuilding. We're a decade in to this staff. This isn't like waiting for sanctions to end, or trying to get a few full recruiting classes in.

We're still floundering in the doldrums. 7-6 - woohoo! Awesome season!!!!

Imagine this scenario - Pick any one of your favorite teams in any sport:

If I told you that your team would spend the next decade at barely over .500, never once win or play for a title of any kind, and after 10 years you're still getting blown out by your main rivals - would you be satisfied?


2. The Bowl game.

I didn't know the first thing about Western Michigan. Never watched 'em, had no idea how good they were. Yet, I was so sure that this staff would have this team so ill prepared and so poorly motivated for the bowl that I was able to predict the final score within just a few points several days before the game. I said 44-27 4 days before the game, it ended up 45-31.

It has become the program's defining characteristic.

This simply isn't a team or staff that shows up in big games, or even in games of any significance whatsoever. It's as sure as the Sun coming up tomorrow.

All games are either 1 win or 1 loss, but all the wins in the world against the FIU's or the UTSA's or the other anonymous dregs of the conference, won in mid November when no one is paying attention - are simply not the equivalent of beating Vandy at home or WKU when the conference is on the line, or any # of games we've lost when there has been a real reason to hope for victory or any hype in the game.

This program needs to win something of significance. It's simply not getting the job done. It's not really even coming close.

I have learned there is no digging people out once they are in the spiral and I agree we need to win more but a couple of things. 1. We have a 2 championships and played for a third. 2. I think you are overstating wku. I believe they hit a perfect storm of replacing a great recruiter that was an average X and o guy with an average recruiter who is really good x-o. Taggarts tallent with Brohm coaching was amazing. Add in they were able to infuse their weak spot which was their front 7 with players from a program that shut down that just happened to be the HCs previous school. That is pretty incredible luck. I think they will still be good but I expect us to be better. If they beat us next year I might get in the boat with you but right now we are 2-1 against them the last four years. We are also 2-1 against Marshall. 2-0 against USM. The only team that has a winning record against this staff is La tech and they have only played us once.

 

[Raiderclyde]

I'm in more agreement with Doug. We have two co-championships, 2001 and 2006. Zero outright since 1-A. The 2001 year was hoping North Texas would mess up on the road at Idaho or NMSU, and nearly did with their 22-20 win. 2006 was incredibly bad luck at home with Troy, converting 4th and 17 with about 55 seconds left and scoring with under a half minute left. 2012 was our complete 45-0 dismantling at Jonesboro with ASU and ASU won the title while we sat home at 8-4. That's our championship story line. It's been since 1995 when we announced the move to 1-A, twenty years. Gave away and gift wrapped our last OVC title hopes against Eastern Illinois, Boots last home game as coach in 1998...35-32, led by 11 with 1:25 left and 1 TO for EIU. Get on knee with ball and Boots would have had another crown. We didn't and lost to EIU. Too many seem to be too happy with bowl eligible status, instead of making a C-USA title game. I'm hungry for success, not about going 6-6 or 7-6. Remember 7-6 counts a FCS opponent this year; we closed at 6-6 if we look at FBS competition. Next year we definitely need to deliver: zero tolerance for anything less than 9-3 or championship game. 8-4 against weaker competition doesn't quite get it for my liking.

 

[C-Bow]

One thing is for sure, this offseason shall be interesting when it comes to the coaching carousel and Middle Tennessee.

While I wouldn't expect any changes at the top - Buster and Nix are safe IMO - it'll be interesting to see how these secondary coordinator positions are handled, if at all.

 

[RaiderDoug]

I have learned there is no digging people out once they are in the spiral and I agree we need to win more but a couple of things. 1. We have a 2 championships and played for a third. 2. I think you are overstating wku. I believe they hit a perfect storm of replacing a great recruiter that was an average X and o guy with an average recruiter who is really good x-o. Taggarts tallent with Brohm coaching was amazing. Add in they were able to infuse their weak spot which was their front 7 with players from a program that shut down that just happened to be the HCs previous school. That is pretty incredible luck. I think they will still be good but I expect us to be better. If they beat us next year I might get in the boat with you but right now we are 2-1 against them the last four years. We are also 2-1 against Marshall. 2-0 against USM. The only team that has a winning record against this staff is La tech and they have only played us once.

I'm down now.

But recruiting will be coming around the bend and that'll be exciting, then spring football, and then over the summer if you can't get excited, you're dead inside.

We desperately need something more than the same old, same old, one-win-above .500 season for this program.

 

[SpaceRaider]

Things this program needs to do and soon.

Beat the most important teams on the schedule, locally. Vanderbilt and wku. This needs to done and done convincingly,every season they are on the schedule. Fans have every right to be pissed when the coach loses to either team. Lose to both and some direct heat needs to be applied to the collective backside of the coaching staff. Do it two years in a row and heads need roll. No excuses. And when memphis (btw, war damn eagle, LOL) rolls back around on the schedule in the future, they are included in this.

Win the next bowl game, and the next, and the next.

Win a Conference Championship (no F'n Co- attached to it) and then another just to prove it was no fluke the previous year.

 

[Raiderclyde]

Things this program needs to do and soon.

Beat the most important teams on the schedule, locally. Vanderbilt and wku. This needs to done and done convincingly,every season they are on the schedule. Fans have every right to be pissed when the coach loses to either team. Lose to both and some direct heat needs to be applied to the collective backside of the coaching staff. Do it two years in a row and heads need roll. No excuses. And when memphis (btw, war damn eagle, LOL) rolls back around on the schedule in the future, they are included in this.

Win the next bowl game, and the next, and the next.

Win a Conference Championship (no F'n Co- attached to it) and then another just to prove it was no fluke the previous year.

AMEN, Brother Space!! This is the post of the month, in my book. If we can't defeat Vanderbilt in their down year and a hundred year plus rival in WKU in the same year, we are not a very quality football team for 2015. Mediocre at best, poor at worst. Add to that Louisiana Tech and the patience and margin for error gets mighty thin. Had high hopes for the bowl and had we won, would have had a different outlook on 2015. As it is, it was a tale of two seasons, as I described in a post a few days earlier. I'd much rather see lesser statistics and individual accolades from Brent and Co. and we got the bowl trophy, than the 7-6 (it's really a 6-6 record) that we have now. Next year will positively tell the story whether MT football is on the rise or if our program is on a plateau that will eventually lose its way with another severely disappointing 2011 like season. Hope it's the former, because our attendance cannot stand losing seasons. We need 9-3 at a minimum next year, or somehow find a way to the C-USA East Title. At 6-6 FBS, our relevance is on the fringes and it's imperative that we need to do better. No excuses!

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

I don't know "how" we will go 9-3 next year with the holes we have on Defense. I really don't.

I said 7-5 for this year, and my early prediction for 2016 is, wait for it...7-5 ( I want to say 8-4). We play BG, Vandy, Mizzou and Marshall on the road. The only way to go better than 7 wins is to win at least 1, maybe 2 of these games. It will be difficult.