So once again, I don't understand how people could think that we would be in the running for anything other than mediocre. We were 3-7 last year. 2-6 in the conference. The previous year was the spring Covid season where we were 1-6.
We are sanctioned on recruiting due to Pelini too.. does anyone remember that gift that keeps on giving?
We are better than we were in the last 2 years and we have a new defensive coordinator that had to "install" his new defense. I get it that the coaching needs work, but we don't pay well and that's an AD thing. It may change with some wins.
We had a huge recruiting class that was at the top of the league last spring. We were hamstrung from Pelini NCAA violations and lost a recruiting season due to Covid bullsh** (which is a scam to assist in stealing an election). So we basically have had a coach with 2 real seasons to recruit.
The kids aren't ready, but they are better. One thing to take a look at is our 4th quarter performance in the last few games. We wear people down and we move the ball late in games. That in itself is a great sign. They keep playing every single play and tonight it paid off. That's an excellent lesson.
Now the coaching needs to be scrutinized too. But this type of play was acceptable when Tressel was here because the expectations were low. And then we all ended up trusting him when he began to win titles. But those games were never perfect and outside of 1993 and especially 1994 we played a lot of complimentary football. The best defensive was 1994. We haven't had one like that since. But we always found ways to win games, especially close games. That's what the kids are learning now. How many times did Tressel run the damn ball off tackle? We played zone defense as well. But it seemed (outside of 1993 and 1994) that we would do enough to eek out games in the 4th quarter. Phillips needs 2 more big classes and we will be much better. Better athletes take pressure off of needing perfect coaching.
The real question is if this formula still works with the better accuracy and higher level of competition.
