This was a 6 win team

[kcsu]

ED was the key. With him and normal conditions at Wake we win 6. Pretty amazing considering the brutal schedule and injuries. All in all a strong start. If Eric returns we should win 6 next year in spite of another ridiculous schedule. Returning kids will all be bigger stronger and understand the system. Depth will be greatly improved.
Eric is the key lets hope hes back.

 

[cuse309]

ED was the key. With him and normal conditions at Wake we win 6. Pretty amazing considering the brutal schedule and injuries. All in all a strong start. If Eric returns we should win 6 next year in spite of another ridiculous schedule. Returning kids will all be bigger stronger and understand the system. Depth will be greatly improved.
Eric is the key lets hope hes back.

Agree 100%. People want to call them "excuses", when in fact, they're more like the "reasons" we did not get to 6 wins. My worry next year however, is twofold.
1- Does Dungey return?
2- With the loss of AET, will we have that "burner" who can take teams deep, and still have great hands? I love Ish., but he doesn't have that top end speed. I see him more as a chain mover.

 

[SUforme]

100% agreed!

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Disagree. It's a 4 win team, hate this IF stuff, do it every year. Injuries always play a role in the game

 

[RF2044]

ED was the key. With him and normal conditions at Wake we win 6. Pretty amazing considering the brutal schedule and injuries. All in all a strong start. If Eric returns we should win 6 next year in spite of another ridiculous schedule. Returning kids will all be bigger stronger and understand the system. Depth will be greatly improved.
Eric is the key lets hope hes back.

I'll disagree. They had a CHANCE to win 6, but that path required them to defeat WF and NCState. Both of those were winnable games, and we stubbed our toe.

That we could have won 6 despite all of the injuries, the non-optimized personnel, Dungey's injury, etc. is a testimony to how good of a job Babers has done in year one, IMO. And as you say, as we turn the roster over and replace it with Babers-level recruits, we'll see rapid progress.

Future is bright.

 

[qdawgg]

We are exactly what our record shows. WF isn't a guaranteed win, the offensive playcalling was horrendous and was just as much a reason we lost. We can't always have ideal conditions, it's football. If you can't run more than one running play (and still do that poorly) you don't deserve to win. And if we are going to say the WF game is a game we should have won, you could argue that VT overlooked us and in a normal situation would have beat us. I don't agree with that logic but I also don't agree with the WF logic either.

The fact is we aren't very good.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

The fact is we aren't very good.

Which is why they brought in a new coach, who then made it clear from day one that it was going to take a little time to turn this program around. Everyone who has a stake knows this team isn't very good, and it looks like Wildhack and team are doing everything they can to help make the team better.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

We are exactly what our record shows. WF isn't a guaranteed win, the offensive playcalling was horrendous and was just as much a reason we lost. We can't always have ideal conditions, it's football. If you can't run more than one running play (and still do that poorly) you don't deserve to win. And if we are going to say the WF game is a game we should have won, you could argue that VT overlooked us and in a normal situation would have beat us. I don't agree with that logic but I also don't agree with the WF logic either.

The fact is we aren't very good.

Agreed, the UConn game wasn't a lay up either, these predictions that we ARE a 6 wins are crazy. Fact is even with Dungey we are a 5 win team most likely at best ( if we win NC st) Wake Forest beat us on the freaking field. so crazy people still looking at the game, their RB destroyed us, their defense played well. I don't get it

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Which is why they brought in a new coach, who then made it clear from day one that it was going to take a little time to turn this program around. Everyone who has a stake knows this team isn't very good, and it looks like Wildhack and team are doing everything they can to help make the team better.

Agreed, but right now we aren't a 6 win team, and agree with QD, we aren't very good. Hopefully it gets better

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

Agreed, but right now we aren't a 6 win team, and agree with QD, we aren't very good. Hopefully it gets better

I mean, we're all in agreement. We're not very good.

I just don't buy into the doom and gloom that we're screwed for at least another year, and I also don't buy into the missed opportunities camp. It is what it is, and maybe next year is the year we've been wanting for at least a decade.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

I mean, we're all in agreement. We're not very good.

I just don't buy into the doom and gloom that we're screwed for at least another year, and I also don't buy into the missed opportunities camp. It is what it is, and maybe next year is the year we've been wanting for at least a decade.

I agree next year is a new year and I have no idea how good we will be or bad but I know other than the V Tech and BC game, we have been really a bad a football team all year. Consistently bad not good. No use sugar coating it, which you aren't.

 

[Nick44]

ED was the key. With him and normal conditions at Wake we win 6. Pretty amazing considering the brutal schedule and injuries. All in all a strong start. If Eric returns we should win 6 next year in spite of another ridiculous schedule. Returning kids will all be bigger stronger and understand the system. Depth will be greatly improved.
Eric is the key lets hope hes back.

I think this staff needs to be proactive this offseason especially with the QB position. For sake of argument, let's say it's 50/50 he's back. Instead of hoping that he is back, unturn every stone for any possible 5th year grad transfer. Same at the JC level. We have to have a contingency plan in place otherwise we start a freshman QB next year and finish 4-8.

Too often previous staffs "hoped" that things would break right for this program. As we've seen, that's hardly ever the case. Kind of like every August when we do the same song and dance with the NCAA clearinghouse involving our best recruits. Let's be proactive for a change.

 

[djorange1989]

I agree next year is a new year and I have no idea how good we will be or bad but I know other than the V Tech and BC game, we have been really a bad a football team all year. Consistently bad not good. No use sugar coating it, which you aren't.

Even against BC we had 9(?)false starts and about 15 penalties overall. I honestly think Tech was the one good performance. Lack of overall talent + way too many young kids having to play + completely different systems on both sides of the ball= bad team. 4 wins is good all things considered. This is a rebuild, no doubt about it. The program lost any momentum it had in the 2014 sh**show but we will get it going.

 

[Mr Peabody]

We've given up way too many points for me to agree that ED makes a two game swing. Giving up an average of 45 points in our 7 losses.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

To get to 6 wins next year, they will need a huge influx of JUCO/transfer players. Need OL, DL & DBs and a burner WR.

 

[Millhouse]

We are creeping back to the 100s in offensive yards per play.

We're 95th this year
102nd 2015
111th 2014
102nd 2013
36th 2012
86th 2011
84th 2010
90th 2009
99th 2008

Berbers deserves criticism for the running game. It's a negligible improvement from Gerg's last year. We're under 3 yards a carry. Most of this is due to a hopelessly awful offensive line and I think we would've been last in the country in offense if not for babers. BUT it's still terrible.

Jordan fredericks has 5 ypc this year and 5.5 for his career. Strickland has 3.5 ypc this year.

Strickland is not a running back.

 

[SU2NASA]

ED was the key. With him and normal conditions at Wake we win 6. Pretty amazing considering the brutal schedule and injuries. All in all a strong start. If Eric returns we should win 6 next year in spite of another ridiculous schedule. Returning kids will all be bigger stronger and understand the system. Depth will be greatly improved.
Eric is the key lets hope hes back.

Everyone always thinks their team is the only team besieged by injuries. Happens every year to everybody. And injuries to quarterbacks aren't as rare as we seem to think.

 

[OrangeAl]

We could have won six games if absolutely everything broke our way. But most teams can say that.
We got caught with too many eggs in one basket - like we did in 1978, when we could have been very good if Bill Hurley hadn't been made into a rib sandwich by Florida State.

 

[SUFan44]

Strickland stinks at RB. I don't care how long you put him there or how much improvement he could make. RB is a feel position. You need to make quick decisions and cuts based on instinct, especially in this type of an offense. He has consistently shown he cannot do this.

Sign me up for a true freshman or grad transfer or JUCO starter at RB.

 

[stlorange]

Biggest concern next year, even if ED plays, is that EAT is gone. Without him, we would have likely lost 1 or 2 more games this year.

 

[Millhouse]

Biggest concern next year, even if ED plays, is that EAT is gone. Without him, we would have likely lost 1 or 2 more games this year.

AET was great but ish might top his numbers (only because the offense will be better)

 

[UnknownOrange]

Nitpicking - but it can STILL be a 6 win team this year


*ducks*

 

[Millhouse]

Nitpicking - but it can STILL be a 6 win team this year


*ducks*

that's the spirit !

 

[TheCusian]

It's like this:

If our running game was good, our offense would be exponetionally better. Yards per play would be way, way up with just an average running game.
If our best RB played, our passing game would be worse and our offense would suffer (because JF can't do the things the system requires him to do well enough in the passing game).

I think Babers goal this season was to install his system, results be damned (and the growth that the players would gain in it, as well as showcasing things for recruiting purposes). And I think it was the right choice. He's playing the long game.

Basically: His system in year one with no running game > Not a full install of the system using a better RB

--

So next year a great deal depends on ED's health. If he can go and Rex is a capable backup, we get to RS Tommy D. (Best case scenario, IMO). I think one of the true freshman RB comes in (I like Markenzy Pierre) and wins the job as #1, Strickland moves to the slot or to S.

So to complete the circle: If our running game was good, our offense would be exponetionally better.

 

[Millhouse]

It's like this:

If our running game was good, our offense would be exponetionally better. Yards per play would be way, way up with just an average running game.
If our best RB played, our passing game would be worse and our offense would suffer (because JF can't do the things the system requires him to do well enough in the passing game).

I think Babers goal this season was to install his system, results be damned (and the growth that the players would gain in it, as well as showcasing things for recruiting purposes). And I think it was the right choice. He's playing the long game.

Basically: His system in year one with no running game > Not a full install of the system using a better RB

--

So next year a great deal depends on ED's health. If he can go and Rex is a capable backup, we get to RS Tommy D. (Best case scenario, IMO). I think one of the true freshman RB comes in (I like Markenzy Pierre) and wins the job as #1, Strickland moves to the slot or to S.

So to complete the circle: If our running game was good, our offense would be exponetionally better.

this gamble only works if moe neal gains a lot of weight without getting slow

it's a big bet on the S&C program