EdmondPoke
Deputy
Apologies- Long post ahead
Obviously, yesterday was not great. In many respects, we gave the game away. We had a good plan defensively, were getting stops, but we just couldn't get our offense to operate. So where do we go from here?
First, I want to quote myself. I thought this comment was 100% true then, and likely to still be true today:
Another concerning note on the QB front is that by all accounts from those who watched offseason practice, Gundy is yet again missing the mark on playing the right QB. Zane Flores looked like QB2 all offseason. He was more accurate, quicker with reads, and after redshirting last season, had experience in the offense. It's disheartening to see Rangel trot out there in place of Bowman and fall apart. It would be one thing if we were trying to protect Flores redshirt, but that's over and done with. Look- I'm not sitting here trying to say that I know more than Gundy and the coaching staff. I don't. I am not in practice. I just read the reports. I do, however, try to look at things logically. If Rangel were the future at the position, you play him last year instead of playing the QB roulette like we did through the first 3 games. He played pretty equally to Bowman and Gundy. He's not, however, which is why they went with Bowman. I get wanting to be loyal, but you have a talented RS Freshman on your bench that you can hardly afford to lose. You couldn't play him last year, so why not see what you have in him? Lord knows, it couldn't be worse than what we saw in the first half of the game yesterday.
Last point on offense: We will never win a Big 12 Championship with Dunn at OC or Dickey at O-line. These guys are both in year 5 of their roles, and we've seen zero progression. Dunn's gameplans often look lost out there. I struggle with how much of our problems were with Bowman and how much were with Dunn, but to be honest, Dunn has been around longer and it's a problem that I feel like we've had for quite some time.
The defense. First off, Gundy made a pretty solid point in his post game presser yesterday. The defense looked like a bunch of leaders out there. They weren't perfect, and they were outmuscled/outleveraged a few times in the beginning, but no one let their heads down. They just kept getting up and getting us stops. I thought they did really well and hats off to them and Coach Nardo. Nardo had a great game plan and showed that he knows how to best utilize the talent we have, which really is quite stacked. We also have to remember that we're playing without two key components on that side of the ball- Oliver and Justin Wright. We have those two and this defense looks even more impressive.
Nardo dialed up some pressure early on and it worked beautifully. This defense was always going to be high risk, high reward, so it wasn't perfect. It was working yesterday, though. The guys were also just absolute units out there. That was some hard hitting football and they kept us in the game for as long as they could. At one point, after the first INT early on, I actually felt pretty confident that we were going to win the game. I didn't think Bowman and Dunn would crap down their legs for as long as they did and if we get one score- going up 10-0 early, I thought that would've been enough. Instead we go 3 and out.
To be honest, this board is kind of exhausting to read sometimes. There is a very vocal group that love to hate on Nardo and the 3-3-5, and it's clear that they've never stepped foot onto a football field. Nardo and the defense coached/played a game worthy of a Big 12 Championship yesterday. Hats off to them. Was it perfect? Of course not. Was it enough to win? Absolutely. Our 17th year QB and OC dropped the ball.
Last thought. Gundy. He's done so much for this program that honestly, he doesn't get even close to the recognition he deserves nationally. I've had problems with him and his agent, yes. I also have problems with him and sticking to clearly ineffective ideas/philosophies. That said, he took an all-time sub .500 program and turned it into a perennial 8-10 win program with an above .500 winning percentage and a bowl game record over the past 20 years that not many schools out there can match. This is in no way calling for his job, because he's the reason we're here. He's also the reason we'll never achieve what he's set us up to achieve. The fact that he's won one single Big 12 championship with the success he's had is mind blowing. It's on par with the Packers winning one Super Bowl with Rodgers, one of the all time greats. It's sad, but it's also the truth. We're here thanks to him. We're also going to be limited because of him. Personally, I'm just adjusting my expectations accordingly. I'm not going to buy into offseason hype anymore. I'm just going to expect an 8-10 win season, where every once in a while we have a positive outlier and I'll be pleasantly surprised and then even less often, a 2022-type negative outlier.
Obviously, yesterday was not great. In many respects, we gave the game away. We had a good plan defensively, were getting stops, but we just couldn't get our offense to operate. So where do we go from here?
First, I want to quote myself. I thought this comment was 100% true then, and likely to still be true today:
We're going to win a lot of games this season. Bowman is also going to cost us games, particularly the big ones. He played a part in our inability to do anything offensively yesterday. What's more concerning is that he has lost his deep ball accuracy. People were calling out Stribling for that first deep pass miss, saying he has to get off the jam quicker, but he actually did an alright job. That pass was never going to be complete without heroics from the WR. Bowman still has issues mechanically, as a result is inconsistent with delivery showing a tendency to miss high, and still has moments where his brain just seems to turn off. On the whole, however, he's not going to play badly enough to permanently lose his spot and he is going to be a part of the reason why this team wins 9+ games.
Another concerning note on the QB front is that by all accounts from those who watched offseason practice, Gundy is yet again missing the mark on playing the right QB. Zane Flores looked like QB2 all offseason. He was more accurate, quicker with reads, and after redshirting last season, had experience in the offense. It's disheartening to see Rangel trot out there in place of Bowman and fall apart. It would be one thing if we were trying to protect Flores redshirt, but that's over and done with. Look- I'm not sitting here trying to say that I know more than Gundy and the coaching staff. I don't. I am not in practice. I just read the reports. I do, however, try to look at things logically. If Rangel were the future at the position, you play him last year instead of playing the QB roulette like we did through the first 3 games. He played pretty equally to Bowman and Gundy. He's not, however, which is why they went with Bowman. I get wanting to be loyal, but you have a talented RS Freshman on your bench that you can hardly afford to lose. You couldn't play him last year, so why not see what you have in him? Lord knows, it couldn't be worse than what we saw in the first half of the game yesterday.
Last point on offense: We will never win a Big 12 Championship with Dunn at OC or Dickey at O-line. These guys are both in year 5 of their roles, and we've seen zero progression. Dunn's gameplans often look lost out there. I struggle with how much of our problems were with Bowman and how much were with Dunn, but to be honest, Dunn has been around longer and it's a problem that I feel like we've had for quite some time.
- 2023: 55th scoring offense
- 2022: 50th scoring offense
- 2021: 45th scoring offense
- 2020: 52nd scoring offense
- 2019: 36th scoring offense
- 2018 (Gleeson): 13th scoring offense
- 2017 (Yurcich): 4th scoring offense
The defense. First off, Gundy made a pretty solid point in his post game presser yesterday. The defense looked like a bunch of leaders out there. They weren't perfect, and they were outmuscled/outleveraged a few times in the beginning, but no one let their heads down. They just kept getting up and getting us stops. I thought they did really well and hats off to them and Coach Nardo. Nardo had a great game plan and showed that he knows how to best utilize the talent we have, which really is quite stacked. We also have to remember that we're playing without two key components on that side of the ball- Oliver and Justin Wright. We have those two and this defense looks even more impressive.
Nardo dialed up some pressure early on and it worked beautifully. This defense was always going to be high risk, high reward, so it wasn't perfect. It was working yesterday, though. The guys were also just absolute units out there. That was some hard hitting football and they kept us in the game for as long as they could. At one point, after the first INT early on, I actually felt pretty confident that we were going to win the game. I didn't think Bowman and Dunn would crap down their legs for as long as they did and if we get one score- going up 10-0 early, I thought that would've been enough. Instead we go 3 and out.
To be honest, this board is kind of exhausting to read sometimes. There is a very vocal group that love to hate on Nardo and the 3-3-5, and it's clear that they've never stepped foot onto a football field. Nardo and the defense coached/played a game worthy of a Big 12 Championship yesterday. Hats off to them. Was it perfect? Of course not. Was it enough to win? Absolutely. Our 17th year QB and OC dropped the ball.
Last thought. Gundy. He's done so much for this program that honestly, he doesn't get even close to the recognition he deserves nationally. I've had problems with him and his agent, yes. I also have problems with him and sticking to clearly ineffective ideas/philosophies. That said, he took an all-time sub .500 program and turned it into a perennial 8-10 win program with an above .500 winning percentage and a bowl game record over the past 20 years that not many schools out there can match. This is in no way calling for his job, because he's the reason we're here. He's also the reason we'll never achieve what he's set us up to achieve. The fact that he's won one single Big 12 championship with the success he's had is mind blowing. It's on par with the Packers winning one Super Bowl with Rodgers, one of the all time greats. It's sad, but it's also the truth. We're here thanks to him. We're also going to be limited because of him. Personally, I'm just adjusting my expectations accordingly. I'm not going to buy into offseason hype anymore. I'm just going to expect an 8-10 win season, where every once in a while we have a positive outlier and I'll be pleasantly surprised and then even less often, a 2022-type negative outlier.
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