Please explain

[Macky44]

Part of the problem was that many thought, after the LSU game, that we were better than we really are. Expectations were a bit unrealistic after that game. Therefore, after losing to USF and VA, there is a huge swing the opposite way and now many believe we are far worse than we really are. Truth be told, we are what most of us thought we would be before the season started. I'm actually in the camp who believes we are a little better than what originally expected. I also believe that we can still pull out six wins.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the season, I'm very excited about the future. We have the pieces in place to continue to get better along with some great additions coming in the next couple of years. I'm all in!

Exactly. When we went to and WON the texas bowl i said to my friend that it is going to inflate expectations too soon, and that it could end up being a problem for how people view Shafer. Turns out I was correct. The recruiting is trending up, the players love playing for these coaches( they hated playing for Marrone), The staff fits for the community...etc. We have to stick with this crew for 2 more years to see what happens.

 

[HeaterCuse22]

Shafer tenure to date.

Year 1 - Has to switch to New (REAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE) Had to scramble to put a class recruiting together. Takes Team to Bowl
Year 2 - Decimated by injury (Also has to demote/get rid of OC)
Year 3 -New OC, again QB injury changes the game planning stages and resets expectations.

Just not sure who or what kind of coach gets to deal with that and also be judged on the same. Just my opinion. Not to mention, by some accounts recruiting is improving, no one is getting arrested and also we are experiencing the highest academic success ever. I just really wonder how different this all goes down if we never moved from BE. Certainly recruiting changes, but I would bet so do results.

 

[dollarbill44]

Outsiders would probably conclude that we are worse than Maryland, Rutgers, UCONN BC, Pitt, ville, NC STATE and many others to which we would normally feel equal or superior.
It is going to be easy for detractors to say we are in Grob 2.0. Fair or not that will be out there all off season.

Coyle may feel he has nothing to lose by making a change. Just human nature.
We need to beat somebody.

Most outsiders probably don't even think we've been any good since McNabb, particularly casual college fans (i.e. co-workers and neighbors who only look at the top 25).

 

[dollarbill44]

Outsiders would probably conclude that we are worse than Maryland, Rutgers, UCONN BC, Pitt, ville, NC STATE and many others to which we would normally feel equal or superior.
It is going to be easy for detractors to say we are in Grob 2.0. Fair or not that will be out there all off season.

Coyle may feel he has nothing to lose by making a change. Just human nature.
We need to beat somebody.

I hope, and have a feeling, that he is more savvy than to make a rash decision. Now, it could be that he has a vision for SU football and a guy like Shafer doesn't fit the profile he is looking for and he would want to make a change anyway. If that's the case, I don't think he waits to the end of the year to make a decision. But, I am a proponent of continuity unless it is absolutely clear that the current plan isn't going to work. Outside of the top football programs, firing a staff is a major upheaval that can take several years to work out.

 

[cuseguy]

UVA should be better than their record but then again they do some stupid things to themselves that have made them lose for the past 3 years. But they have good talent. I'm not sold at all on USF. Yes they've won 3 games but Maryland killed them and they barely beat UConn this week who isn't very good at all. I still think we can turn it around this year. But we need to stop doing the stupid stuff that has killed us the last 2 years. We have potential but until we stop doing the things that cause losing, that all it will ever be.

UConn is better than many thought. Their defense is much better than SU's defense.

 

[TheCusian]

UConn is better than many thought. Their defense is much better than SU's defense.

This year. They were bad everywhere last year.

 

[DPCuse]

I believe the program is headed in the right direction. We may have the most young kids playing that anybody and as a result, we are seeing some mistakes which is natural. However, that is speeding up the learning. Talent and recruiting is trending up but so is the competition we are facing in the ACC so the progress isn't as evident as it would have been in the Big East. We aren't exactly getting waxed by opponents. We have been right there in every loss. Switching from a senior to a true freshman QB is also a setback. Do we need positional coaching changes...maybe. But that could negatively impact recruiting. I think we need to ride this out at least one more season.

 

[Crusty]

It is encouraging to see so many supportive rational fans. Hopefully that continues and Coyle does not feel pressure to change.

 

[cuseguy]

This year. They were bad everywhere last year.

Well, I didn't think we were talking about last year.

 

[TheCusian]

Well, I didn't think we were talking about last year.

Sorry - not your fault - just seeing a lot of "even UCONN" posts all of a sudden.

 

[Scooch]

It is encouraging to see so many supportive rational fans. Hopefully that continues and Coyle does not feel pressure to change.

Coyle shouldn't react to "pressure" and I can't imagine he will. But if Coyle decides it's time to make a change then he should.

 

[reedny]

You need to pump your brakes. USF is now 3-3 and ESPN has them going to a bowl. UVA, while only being 2-4 , has lost by a single TD to both ND and 5-1 Pitt. A lot of you guys are pretty quick to judge on mid season records. Lets see how it all shakes out. We haven't lost to anyone we were absolutely supposed to beat.

I can agree with your point that, with the exception of LSU, the teams we've been losing to are not terrible (despite loosing records). But that's not saying much. Since our defense has been porous against 'not terrible' teams, how are we going to be able to compete the rest of the year against good, or very good, teams?

L - Conner is going to run all over the field, and Pitt will complete passes against us at will. (3-4)
L - Cook could run up a career day, but -St is so good, they might not even need him late (3-5)
L - We can't stop LV (peete or jackson) on the ground or in the air (3-6)
L - Gallman will run all over the field, and Watson will embarrass us in the air (3-7).
L - NC State doesn't have a marquise RB, and this game could be close. But I'm not optimistic. (3-8)
L - BC scored 17 against Clemson. Their D is excellent. It doesn't look good (3-9).

 

[cuse309]

I just read the season prediction thread. The consensus there seemed to be 5-7 or 6-6. that being with no injuries and a 5th year senior QB. A deeper Dive also shows many people predicted a L or close games to both USF and UVA. Call them 50/50 games.

So we sit here 6 games in. Having played 4 QB's and a young team on D which I think everyone knew would be one of the struggle points of the team this year. Needing 2/3 wins to achieve the same goals as many predicted (the average) prior to the season. I am not trying to be entirely sunshine and rainbows here, but I just don't see where the team as it sits today being that far off from the "realistic" expectations prior to the season.

I mean step back from the ledge. Look at it again.

Some of you obviously are way to deep in your feelings to be objective or so it seems. The reactions are so beyond bi-polar. There is groups that lie in wait for a win and groups that lie in wait for a loss. there are goups that have no clue what the hell they are talking about. Its not worth a lot of time to weed through anymore.

That being said. As a fan here is what I see

A. A young team with good talent emerging.
B. Recruiting continuing to uptick, keeping pace with increased difficulty of conference.
C. A team that continues to fight to the end.

I don't want to be just an apologist. If we finish 4-8 or 5-7 (even 3-9), Shafer should get next year. Then I am open to evaluations of ability to coach, etc. If Coyle pulls the trigger this year I am not certain as a fan, I will sit and wait for another "rebuild" and a 3 year wait to see if Coach X should get fired and the people on this board claiming revisionist history, clinging to yesteryear or pretending like they know more than these coaches or athletic departments.

It should be noted that nearly all of the "picks of the board" to replace GRob were colossal failures in coaching.

In closing, like Rocco, I have to step away from here for a bit. There are a group of you that seem to get what's going on but it seems the increasing amount of people are not. Its sad what has happened in this board environment over the years.

Well said. I posted in a thread yesterday with the exact same observation. Our fools gold 3-1 start got everyone including myself ahead of ourselves. Yes those losses sting, but all in all we're better off than we thought we'd be at this time. Not record wise, but the fact that we have a really good freshman Qb with 3 years left, and other young players emerging. This season may only produce 3-5 wins, but it may also produce 3 bowl games in the future.

 

[MSOrange]

I can agree with your point that, with the exception of LSU, the teams we've been losing to are not terrible (despite loosing records). But that's not saying much. Since our defense has been porous against 'not terrible' teams, how are we going to be able to compete the rest of the year against good, or very good, teams? L - Conner is going to run all over the field, and Pitt will complete passes against us at will. (3-4) L - Cook could run up a career day, but -St is so good, they might not even need him late (3-5) L - We can't stop LV (peete or jackson) on the ground or in the air (3-6) L - Gallman will run all over the field, and Watson will embarrass us in the air (3-7). L - NC State doesn't have a marquise RB, and this game could be close. But I'm not optimistic. (3-8) L - BC scored 17 against Clemson. Their D is excellent. It doesn't look good (3-9).

Conner is out for the year for Pitt with a knee injury