I donāt come here much anymore. But I like to check in. Today is a great day for reflection.
Biff is a loudmouth guy, who has yet to back up his words. Since Lambert was our coach, I think we all looked at the year after Victor Tucker and Chris Reynolds graduating as a year that was likely to be a struggle, though Covid changed that timeline a bit.
I thought this was one of the more talented football teams weāve put on the field. Our average starter this year was a better football player than at any time in our programs history. I recognize that sounds crazy after a 3 win season. That said, injuries plagued us. At times last night we were playing walk on offensive lineman on the defensive line. Along with that, the receiver room was incredibly young, and we were Quarterbacked by two walk ons that, while extremely nice, good people, should not be quarterbacking our football team. The offensive dysfunction and defensive injuries were just too much to overcome.
In 2024, Iām looking for us to make a massive improvement in the quarterback room. Iām not sure what staff changes I would make, as itās really hard to call offensive plays with no QB. I think we need to continue to upgrade in the portal. If biff hadnāt run his mouth the way he did and our ridiculous standards and expectations on our kids, it would be hard not to call this season āgrowthā.
Next year, with what we have, I think to call it a success we have to bowl. 6 wins. I think that is doable, albeit with a very difficult OOC schedule. 5 wins would have me not irate. 4 or less and biff is on the hot seat.
Make a prediction. Put your thoughts down, and we can bump this thread in 365 days and argue on the internet some more.
TLDR: not a great year. Showed progress. Coach talks too much. QB room must be improved. Bowl should be the expectation next season.
3/4 wins this year should have always been the pragmatic expectation while obviously hoping for more. Biffs bluster and mouth are a part of why peoples are upset , but his game planning and management is just bad. Absolutely needs more situational awareness than what we saw this year and he needs to build a better culture where some of the player discipline issues donāt happen.
Next year making the next step 6 wins should be the bar while also correcting the mistakes that we have seen being repeated this season.
I think this year we were a serviceable QB and less injuries away from bowling. The RB room is rock solid as long as we retain the youngsters. We need QB help/depth, WR depth, and O-line Depth. We have some good pieces on defense, but need to back fill in areas. Coach interestingly called out the safety position, but we were starting a freshman there also. I think we also need a FG kicker. We went back and forth between two guys. That means neither are good enough.
Coaching needs an upgrade. I think the defense would have been so much better had we seen more sustained drives and better field position from the offense. I am not sold that Miller is the guy. You have to be saying the same about the position coaches on that side of the ball as well. I am going to believe that Poggi made some of those aggressive/bonehead calls on special teams and 4th down because of the lack of ball movement on offense. I wouldnāt be disappointed with wholesale changes on offense.
A bowl is what I would consider to be a successful season. Our problems on offense though are deep, I donāt see us getting there. I know what we said is going to be our identity, but it felt like we were trying to re-invent ourselves on that side of the ball from week to week.
I hope Iām wrong but donāt see us getting there next year, I will happily eat crow with a smile on my face if we do.
The big question is can most of our issues be solved with influx of more talent or were an issues related to how this staff is coaching and leading. Personally I think it was both. If we are going to find 6 wins next year we have to get talent and the staff has to grow up.
It looks like we will be dogs in all 3 of our out of conference FBS games next year. Someone that may understand the AAC scheduling cycle may be able to speak to who we get next year vs this year and if it may be tougher/easier?
I really want 6 wins and to win our 1st bowl game. I think 5 wins with progress throughout the season would keep me positiveā¦anything less will absolutely be difficult to stomach, esp with knowing App State is coming to BOA the following year.
Iād like to see us not run the ball up the middle on first down 9 of 10 possessions and win six or more games. This may be asking a bit much but beating UNC Cheat and ECU would be nice as well. I do think we were better than the 2022 team but that got lost in the abysmal way we ended the season.
Iād like to see us successfully run it up the middle on first down if thatās what Biff insists on doing!
5-7 would be disappointing but understandable. I personally think getting to a bowl game is in reach if we can channel our talent into productive football.
All of this is predicated on the need for a FBS level QB and an OL that can keep him in the pocket for 5 seconds.
Maybe. I am personally going to be real skeptical until the wins actually come even with a great recruiting class. I personally donāt want to hear a lot from Biff this offseason, just get to work. When it became clear Healy didnāt know what to do I stop listening and at times this year it felt that way with Biff.
