FOOTBALL ***Matt's Thoughts: Blue Raiders cap season off with a win on national stage***
- Thread starter Matt Dossett
- Start date
Well done article.
All in all, in a vacuum - not a bad season. A good one really. Bowl win, 8 wins, big win over Miami. I'm satisfied, not happy or overjoyed or particularly proud, but satisfied.
Yet again, still no trip to the mountain top. No one cares about bowls anymore (82 teams make bowls). The only real achievable and also reasonable goal of this program needs to be a CUSA championship. Yet, we were essentially eliminated by early October. Again.
I enjoyed last night. I can see the bones of a successful program, so, as much as I bash Stockstill, I don't think it's all rotten. Which makes it so much more frustrating - with a little more effort on the recruiting trail, a little more accountability from his position coaches (I'm looking at you O-line) - there's absolutely no reason that we can't win at the level we all want to and deserve to. And I feel like we just need a spark to start a fire - you want fuller stadiums, and fuller coffers and better facilities and all that stuff - we don't have to wait around for exit fees from teams leaving for greener pastures. We never did.
Games like last night make it feel so close. Just a tweak here, swap out some deadweight assistants, land a few better recruits than we normally do - it's right there. Just do it Stock!
Yet, Mike Polly will still be the OL coach next fall. We'll still be watching our new QB run for his life and be unable to run the ball. We'll still flop to open the season, be out of CUSA contention before the leaves turn. We'll still somehow win 6 games over the dregs, absorb beat downs by teams with far more ambition and effort, but still reach the admins goal of "BOWL ELIGIBILITY! (We're in the top 82!). RInse, lather, repeat.
All in all, in a vacuum - not a bad season. A good one really. Bowl win, 8 wins, big win over Miami. I'm satisfied, not happy or overjoyed or particularly proud, but satisfied.
Yet again, still no trip to the mountain top. No one cares about bowls anymore (82 teams make bowls). The only real achievable and also reasonable goal of this program needs to be a CUSA championship. Yet, we were essentially eliminated by early October. Again.
I enjoyed last night. I can see the bones of a successful program, so, as much as I bash Stockstill, I don't think it's all rotten. Which makes it so much more frustrating - with a little more effort on the recruiting trail, a little more accountability from his position coaches (I'm looking at you O-line) - there's absolutely no reason that we can't win at the level we all want to and deserve to. And I feel like we just need a spark to start a fire - you want fuller stadiums, and fuller coffers and better facilities and all that stuff - we don't have to wait around for exit fees from teams leaving for greener pastures. We never did.
Games like last night make it feel so close. Just a tweak here, swap out some deadweight assistants, land a few better recruits than we normally do - it's right there. Just do it Stock!
Yet, Mike Polly will still be the OL coach next fall. We'll still be watching our new QB run for his life and be unable to run the ball. We'll still flop to open the season, be out of CUSA contention before the leaves turn. We'll still somehow win 6 games over the dregs, absorb beat downs by teams with far more ambition and effort, but still reach the admins goal of "BOWL ELIGIBILITY! (We're in the top 82!). RInse, lather, repeat.
Didn't more offensive linemen transfer out than any other position? That makes me wonder about Polly's personality. Why did so many of his guys leave?
Probably because they realize they will never be coached up, or given the opportunity to make it to the next level
We have listened to Stock say too many times “We’ve got to find a way to run the football”. If last nights OL performance ( or lack there of) does not scream FIRE POLLY, I don’t know what will.
Someone has got to realize he is not very good at his job. If Stock wont do it…I’m looking at you Masarro
If he didn't change coaches when his own son was running for his life, he won't do anything now. Stockstill won 8 games, including a bowl game over a underperforming team with a terrible QB. And he got another extension as a result of the contract being silently negotiated before the season began. There's no incentive for him to change things up. McPhee and Massaro get their university paid holiday boondoggle. They have no incentive to change things up, even if the results had been far different last night.
This is me. I'm beyond happy. I've said before for this season to be successful in my mind we had to win the bowl and keep building. We are 15-11 past two years, since Covid. That is how I look at it. Positive momentum. I've always been a glass half full guy.
That being said of me being happy, I am not satisfied. As mentioned and as I called out on Twitter, our OL WAS AWFUL. There are things to build on and things to improve on. Sadly, I don't hold hope much will change due to past history, but hey, you never know. -66yds on a national stage shines a light some may not like. SDSU was also the only team with a winning record we beat this year. That won't fly. Hence why we keep losing to WKU.
The issue is we have never had this momentum so to speak. Never won two bowls in a row. Build Blue coming. There is light. Am I happy with Stock, of course not. But he is here so let's make the most of it. But, but....I still think a championship matters more in the new climate.
