You’re exactly right. What I see on this board is too many people who can’t control their emotions and deal with any sort of disappointment. Rest assured if we lose against Clemson there will be fans on here who will say “fire them all”. Those type of people are small picture thinkers and probably always have been. It’s basically an adult hissy fit.
Recruiting reality
- Thread starter BlueBomb
- Start date
I’ve had this discussion with some friends and I believe the fans that are ready to “fire them all” are betting on the come. Nobody knows if the next coach after Stoops will succeed, but nobody knows that he won’t either. Those that are fearful of the ladder are basing it off of our program’s history. But I also believe there is some Stockholm syndrome within many of our fans.
This staff absolutely botched the shit out of the bowl game last season. They started Destin Wade 100% to keep him happy and thus his brother happy so they wouldn’t transfer. They stuck with Destin after back-to-back pic 6’s. It was an embarrassment of mass proportions on national television.
Would Sheron have been any better against that Iowa defense? Who knows. But the staff wasn’t interested in finding out. Instead they demonstrated that they could be handcuffed by a player or players. The Wade twins just a year later left anyway, and I believe the damage done to the program after suck a shit-show in that bowl is far worse than the damage that would have been done if the Wade twins left a year sooner.
I say all of this because I can sympathize with the fans that believe the next guy can be better. I fully expect to be unprepared against Clemson on Friday. But why? Our team is essentially fully in tact at the key positions, why the pessimism? The staff. It’s the staff. I don’t trust them to have us ready, and that’s a problem.
But with all this time? Surely they’ll be ready, right? Well, just look at our performance coming out of bye weeks. The proof is in the pudding.
Stoops and Marrow have elevated the program no doubt. Could the next guy go even further? If the definition of “further” is actually having us ready to play after a bye week, then the answer is a resounding yes.
Last years bowl game was a shit show. The goose was cooked when the opt outs started happening and it felt like the staff conceded. But outside of that game, how about the bowl games before it? You know that was the same staff right? It seems like you’re melancholy over last years bowl game and expect the same result in this years but in truth, nothing leading up to the game is the same as it was last year. This is the same staff that won 10 games 2 years ago and did it again 2 years before that. Have they forgotten how to coach?
Nah, its not coaching…. Just luck…:
Coach K's five national championshipsare the second most in NCAA history,
Which is impressive. But if you consider how long he coached at a top 3 destination, it puts it more in perspective.
This is fair, and hopefully you’re right. I think last season overall (regular season loss to Vandy at home and then the bowl game) left a bad taste in my mouth as a fan. And I’ve been a fan all my life.
I would be more prone to give this staff that benefit of a doubt that you allude to based on prior success if last season’s failures weren’t so incredibly EPIC. I was livid in my living room as we laid down in that bowl game. Watching Destin trot back on the field over and over and over and over again was infuriating. I still can’t conceive why. Back-to-back pick 6’s weren’t enough evidence to go to the back-up? Were they really that beholden to the Wade twins? Was Keaton so valuable that we had to embarrass ourselves to that extent?
Im not sure the casual fan understands how bad that was last season. The fans pour heart/soul and cash into the program and that’s the effort we get from the staff. At no point did we try to win that game.
You’re right, the staff has won big bowl games and put together two 10-win seasons. But my most recent memory is last season as well as the failures of this season. A big win against Clemson would go a looooong way in my eyes. And it would help the program tremendously. Which is why I’m not optimistic. We don’t have to win Friday, but we damn sure need put up a fight.
I’m not saying it’s autopilot. It takes work and processes and all of that. But it’s clearly not an upsell skill for a coach if Vandy can finish 38th. It’s an expected part of the deal in the SEC. Is there any evidence otherwise under the current system? Not the one that existed 20, 10, or even 5 years ago?
Stoops recruits at a level higher than UK is as a national program. KY is not a top 25 program, more like top 35 or 40.
Because of the difference in finances and a plethora of societal and athletics systems differences from 15 years ago, local talent base matters as little as it ever has. I’m not saying it doesnt matter at all but it matters much less. Tennessee has 4-5x the number of d1 players in the state and UT signs about 5 or 6 in-state kids. And portal guys clearly go all over from wherever they leave. It’s a new world. I read on here every day it’s a new world but then I read where we are assessing our success vs the challenges we had as a program from years ago that simply aren’t the same now. Do we have challenges? Yeah. But it isn’t the same stuff from 20 years ago. I mean we keep having backup transfer qb’s still choosing to go to UK even though our offense consistently is down toward the bottom of the NCAA. That’s because the ecosystem is totally different now.
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I was disappointed last bowl game too. It’s unacceptable but it’s also not unique. Teams routinely mail it in during bowl season for different reasons. It’s no excuse, I hate it. But it’s not totally unforgivable and teams bounce back from it. It just can’t be habit forming. If we held on to every past failure we would literally never be happy. Life’s too short and it’s just ball.
I am excited for the game and I do expect we will fight hard
Yep, and K had quite a bit of luck for that too happen as well.
For example, 2015 being screwed by the refs against Wisconsin to help him avoid facing a superior team on the way to his last title win.
Again. K had a title every 8.4 years at a top 3 program. That’s not all that great. Cal has 3 seasons to win amother one to remain on that track. If he hadn’t blown 2015 he’d be way ahead of that track.
Oh I agree with what you said initially. I'm not criticizing Cal. Just pointing out the luck factor of the tournament.
As for titles per year average, who is better than K? I mean Wooden obviously, but who else? Williams is worse counting both UNC/KU. Calhoun, Knight, Rupp, Self all worse. Only 16 coaches have ever won more than 1.
That would depend on who the coach is. Saban would absolutely be at the same level. I believe Kirby would too.
There is no way Saban and Smart would be recruiting to Kennesaw State as well as Georgia/Bama. Would they exceed expectations there? Absolutely.
But they're not reeling in the classes you guys are seeing coaching at Kennesaw State.
Especially now in NIL world.
Good points and well said. Saying that, of half your class is kickers, you ain't going to be ranked in the top 10 😂
Stoops is a hell of a recruiter and has had some great wins while at the helm no way am I advocating we replace him but I do hope he realizes we cant play Iowa style football and win in the sec we have to put points on the board to survive play not to lose and grind it out will not get it done
I get your point. I’m just not sure we can “win” in the SEC regardless of coach or style if we are defining win as competing for division title 50 percent of the time or better.
Who is defining "win" like that? Not our coaches. Stoops is trying as hard as he can to win every game. Vandagriff and Trayanum are game changers.
comparing anything from today from anything of the past is just lazy
joker didnt recruit in an era with NIL, SEC being head and shoulders the best conference to play football, insta transfers, transfer portal...
..theres zero excuse for Kentucky to not be challenging the 12 team playoff at least once every five or so years. none.
I ask this to understand your position better?
Is UK in a better position to challenge for a playoff tha IU? Miss St?
I’m just to clarify your position in my mind.
-ok, that would've been the case in 18 and 21...so what's the next gripe.
-Joker was awful.
We finished with like the #6 ranked portal class which was I believe #2 in SEC and had the highest star ranking in the country, so that pushes the combined portal/HS class to about #20. That's still bottom third of SEC, but there is much less of a gap in talent that we need to overcome. We really need to go all in on getting the Big Blue Wall back to Schlarman's level which will solidify the offense's ability to be balanced.
Well for one it wasn’t a gripe. I know you’re incapable of having discussions and back and forth but not everything has to twist your panties in a wad. Relax.
And we didn't finish reg season in top 12 in 18 or 21. Could and should have.
There’s zero excuse. Any team in the sec should have a floor of 7. We have every advantage in todays world. We floored out this year with a decade of experience. It’s fine to be so scared of the past that you’re okay with this.
Joker was awful. But his era was completely different than today.
Honestly it’s all about the quarterback. If Leary would have been who we all hoped he was then we would have been 2 games better imo. He didn’t and we lost two games that we should have won. Defense had to stay on the field all day and gave up more than they would have. It’s all a game of what ifs. But 9-3 with a bowl win makes you 10-3. Looks a lot better.
-they didn't finish in the top 12...but at points they were in the top 8 (iirc) in '18 and were in the mid teens(15??) in 21... so they were "challenging" the 12 team playoff.
^meaning they've done *exactly* what you're saying they've not done twice in the last 6 years.
-my panties are "untwisted", I'm a happy man. I don't do the back/forth very often...because it's a waste of time.
^meaning they've done *exactly* what you're saying they've not done twice in the last 6 years.
-my panties are "untwisted", I'm a happy man. I don't do the back/forth very often...because it's a waste of time.
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