Thoughts from Dick Gabriel

[Girthang]

It is hard to overstate just how stupid this made-up conspiracy theory really is.

Good lord.... that one wears a hot brown hat

As the old saying says, "you are what your record says you are." So, regardless of expectations, Stoops has performed about the same. So, if you are disappointed over the last 3 yrs specifically.....it's on you, not Stoops. He's performed about the same over the last 8 yrs. We've seen similar mistakes, similar playstyle, similar, similar.


As far as the rest of your post. I agree. If he wants to push past where he has gotten to, then he has to change. Agreed. But it doesn't look like he's trending downward as much as he's hit a plateau.

Yep. Plateaus are part of the sports world. He WILL have to change to work through it and continue upward.

 

[Girthang]

Very well said.

Thank you, sir

 

[grevey35]

I suppose you think the old “Indian Burial Ground” theory is too?

Hey, all I’m sayin’ is that the stadium construction took place before federal regulations required historical and archeological studies.

I would give that considerably more credibility.

 

[trueblujr2]

Gabriel is right. The reason why people bring up our past is because is INSANELY relevant. And looking at the history of college football, the programs who have been able to overcome their pasts have done so with longevity. Stoops has, no doubt, trended the program in the right direction......but there's no magic target date to determine that UK has done enough to change it's past. The only thing you can say is that the longer you win the less likely you are to go back to where you were.

So, the safest play is to continue to ride Stoops.....and it's BY FAR the most likely pathway to changing our horrid history. And if you're going to make a change, you better get it right. You had better have a guy ready to go.....and ideally they will be of the mindset to stay.

The last thing we want to become is a stepping stone program. We used to be a coaching graveyard. Loyalty and longevity from Stoops has helped shed that somewhat. I agree, if a change is made, it better damn well be a good one. We can't have somebody thinking UK will be their ticket to something else. It's why I've hoped Stoops would do well enough and take us as a program to the point we are competing, consistently in the top 25 and that he would eventually retire here with 20+ years under his belt and top coaches would want to make UK their final destination. That's the ideal world, the one where unicorns poop ice cream for all the children.

 

[trueblujr2]

Actually, it was members of the coaching staff and media folks who claim to have inside knowledge of the team that was blowing up Leary, Key, Brown, Kattus, Walker, Wallace and others claiming this was going to be our year.

Naturally that raised the expectation level of most fans who want UK to take that next step.

Instead, we got an underprepared, unmotivated, undisciplined, disjointed team in way too many games against teams we actually had more talent.

Don't blame this mess on the fans.

CMS has got a lot of work to do to regain the trust of players, fans, and even his own staff and AD.

I am sure he knows that. I hope this fiasco helps CMS to refocus and make needed changes to keep UK from falling back to the bottom of the SEC.

if you looked at last year's performance from the receivers, and looked at Leary's success at NC State, alot of the pre-season hype was warranted. We SHOULD have had higher expectations for Leary, He had thrown for 62 TD's in his career and nearly 7000 yards coming in. It wasn't a stretch to think he'd be a great addition and the receivers would perform well.

 

[Deeeefense]

The people that have been saying repeatedly, year after year, on this message board, from the time Stoops first arrived, that Stoops can't take us to the next level, and the next, and the next that he HAS taken us to, DO expect us to surpass Georgia and Alabama, because "pushing for the East title" which we have done, is not good enough.

they won't because they are cowards. They will just keep saying "this" is not good enough, and our coach "can't do it" until the next time that he proves them wrong, and then they'll disappear like they always have.

So they're not actually saying it, they're just thinking it and you know this somehow? Ok

Maybe you're one of them, and that's why you can't look at it objectively at all.

NO I'm not "one of them", whoever "they" are. We have had an opportunity to face off against Georgia a couple of times in the last few years as 10-12 point dogs, and if we could have upset them we would have had a shot at winning the East. Tall order but possible. But here is the point I think you are missing. Beating Georgia once to win the East in one season doesn't mean we have passed Georgia as a program by any stretch of the imagination. Missouri was in a similar position as we have been in this year and they did play Georgia very close. They were down 6 with a few minutes left on the clock driving for the go ahead score and turned it back over. But if they had beaten Georgia and won out to win the East I doubt anyone even in their own fan base except the totally delusional would think they had "passed Georgia" as a program.
A program is judged on their entire body of work not on one or a few games.

 

[grevey35]

You have just went 10 steps further in your perception of what I said and it has become a pattern with you.

Where did I say he “hates Kentucky fans”??? Or “roots against and tries to sabotage UK FB??!!!!

Heck, he WORKS for the UK Network!!

I NEVER DID!!!

What I did say Is that he tries to put LIMITS on fans expectations, which is EXACTLY what he did in that article.

You blow EVERYTHING I say out of proportions!!!

Yes. obviously I was mocking you with my extreme response. To quote "actually resents UK sports fans". As far as "putting limits on expectations", simply backing your team and not losing your mind and demanding heads when things do not live up to your dreams is what this is about. I'm appreciative that we are finally on solid ground and those who are so sure someone else has a better chance than Stoops of taking the next step get annoying. We have won 10 games 4 times in 73 years and Stoops has 2 of them in the last 6 years. Those wanting rid of him need some perspective on their expectations. You do understand no one puts a cap on how many they want to win.

 

[KyCatFan]

As the old saying says, "you are what your record says you are." So, regardless of expectations, Stoops has performed about the same. So, if you are disappointed over the last 3 yrs specifically.....it's on you, not Stoops. He's performed about the same over the last 8 yrs. We've seen similar mistakes, similar playstyle, similar, similar.


As far as the rest of your post. I agree. If he wants to push past where he has gotten to, then he has to change. Agreed. But it doesn't look like he's trending downward as much as he's hit a plateau.

So no matter how we perform, as long as it is about normal regardless of the talent we have, it will never be Stoops' fault. That makes no sense and is a cop out for him. Our play the last 2 years has been disappointing and especially bad this year. This should have been a 9-3 at minimum type of season.

The undisciplined play has been worse than any other year I remember under Stoops (minus maybe the first couple of years). So many drives were killed by stupid penalties. We might have only lost 2 or 3 games had we not went all in on this slow as possible play while trying to use Leary in a totally different way than he was used to.

Blowing a 21 point lead and giving up 38 straight against Missouri was ridiculous. Choking at home against a mediocre Tennessee like we keep doing. Then losing to a bad South Carolina team for the second year in a row was probably the worst of the 3. To make it worse, not having a pulse at all against Georgia and Alabama was pathetic. Starting both games down 21 was very disappointing.

Those performances combined with the record show more than "about the same." I clearly see a decline in play. Going to need major changes next year or we might not even see "about the same" with our upcoming schedule. Things are not going to get any easier for Stoops going forward. I think we've seen the best he has to offer and there's no where to go but down.

 

[cathouse]

if you looked at last year's performance from the receivers, and looked at Leary's success at NC State, alot of the pre-season hype was warranted. We SHOULD have had higher expectations for Leary, He had thrown for 62 TD's in his career and nearly 7000 yards coming in. It wasn't a stretch to think he'd be a great addition and the receivers would perform well.

Totally agree. And the practice reports coming from coaches and media were over the top about his accuracy and ability to read defense, AND throw to any receiver at any time due to his ability to extend plays.

 

[Cat06]

...With the way Stoops likes to play, we rarely get big enough leads to even get the backups into the games. The times they get in it's just to hand it off. Can't develop players that way. Won't surprise me to see them transfer out if we keep taking portal QB's.

The most logical comment I have read of how being last in the country in plays per game is damaging to the program. How many plays could the back ups have played if he coached to score on every posession? He has got to let loose of the Offense.

 

[vhcat70]

We are always much closer to the bottom than Bama, Georgia, Texas, LSU, and Florida because of talent base alone.

A few slip ups. A few guys that don't pan out. A few guys that don't want to work hard and earn their reps and instead just transfer. That's all that separated us from bowl eligibility for decades. That's all that separates us now from 9 and 10 win seasons.

Georgia and Alabama have top 5 recruiting classes stacked 5 classes deep. We have done incredibly well by Kentucky standards. Remember when 4 star recruits were REALLY RARE and we might have 1 every 4th recruiting class on average? I do. It's a HUGE LEAP from THERE to multiple 4 stars in each recruiting class for 6 or 7 classes straight. We've also added an occasional 5 star about like we once added 4 stars.

What will it take to land more of them, or instead PRODUCE them as this staff did with Josh Allen?

It will take massive NIL funding for 3 successive classes and then execution into success. There's no magic coaching button you can push to get a 20th ranked class to be as talented as a 5th ranked class. It doesn't exist. There's no magic button that brings multiple 5 stars into your program without other 5 stars and proven success. You have to find the players that can become the next Josh Allen, get them to stay, work hard, and have the heart and fire of a champion, ALONG WITH players that might be close to Deone Walker's level.

We had a coach that could do that in OL coach and former Wildcat JSchlarman. We now know just how RARE and INCREDIBLY SPECIAL that man was, and how impossible it might be to replace him. We need 10 Schlarmans, 1 for each coaching position, to get us to where we want to go. And we have to do that in this transient sports culture....

We also need fans that will be supportive of the program regardless of setbacks, rather than ready to fire the coach and sht on the players at the first bad outing. We need boosters with money to burn on NIL. We need better support from the administration to really make FB recruiting look like it's a top priority for UK.

Good post.

But...., supporting the program doesn't mean supporting the coach always. The coach isn't the program. Stoops' flirtation with AM earned him the right to be questioned & criticized repeatedly. That isn't wanting him fired though.

 

[BlueRaider22]

So no matter how we perform, as long as it is about normal regardless of the talent we have, it will never be Stoops' fault. That makes no sense and is a cop out for him. Our play the last 2 years has been disappointing and especially bad this year. This should have been a 9-3 at minimum type of season.

The undisciplined play has been worse than any other year I remember under Stoops (minus maybe the first couple of years). So many drives were killed by stupid penalties. We might have only lost 2 or 3 games had we not went all in on this slow as possible play while trying to use Leary in a totally different way than he was used to.

Blowing a 21 point lead and giving up 38 straight against Missouri was ridiculous. Choking at home against a mediocre Tennessee like we keep doing. Then losing to a bad South Carolina team for the second year in a row was probably the worst of the 3. To make it worse, not having a pulse at all against Georgia and Alabama was pathetic. Starting both games down 21 was very disappointing.

Those performances combined with the record show more than "about the same." I clearly see a decline in play. Going to need major changes next year or we might not even see "about the same" with our upcoming schedule. Things are not going to get any easier for Stoops going forward. I think we've seen the best he has to offer and there's no where to go but down.

Nobody ever said that it wasn't Stoops' fault. The point is that we have had discipline issues. We've had poor clock management. We've had a rotating door at QC and problems utilizing the roster. But we've had this for a decade. I think it might appear worse now because we're getting more and more anxious about the future.....but it's not really worse.

And there's more ways that he can go. He could go up? It's not looking great, but it's possible. It's possible that he could go down? But what he has shown over the last decade is going sideways.......which is likely the most likely scenario.

 

[Girthang]

So they're not actually saying it, they're just thinking it and you know this somehow? Ok

Once again, you completely miss any logical conclusion. Congratulations. Does your mom still feed you?

They aren't going to say it here.
In reply to your soft "request."
Though they've already said it with their posted expectations.
Over and over again.

NO I'm not "one of them", whoever "they" are. We have had an opportunity to face off against Georgia a couple of times in the last few years as 10-12 point dogs, and if we could have upset them we would have had a shot at winning the East. Tall order but possible. But here is the point I think you are missing. Beating Georgia once to win the East in one season doesn't mean we have passed Georgia as a program by any stretch of the imagination.

Moving the bar one post at a time. Another milestone achieved for you. I was never talking about us "passing Georgia." I agreed with part of your post and added to it ffs. YOU added the "passing UGA" part.

I'm not missing any points, because you're not making any valid ones, and repeatedly whiff on any premises and conclusions from them. I will type it one more time. Please read it slowly...

Every time so far that we have reached a new level of success, it has proven the negs wrong. They didn't think we could have regular success. Didn't think we'd get to and then win better bowl games, against quality opponents.
8-4 was a pipe dream when he was hired.
9 Wins was impossible, because he's reached his peak.
10 wins isn't going to happen.
That 10 win season is a fluke.
Won't be repeated.
SEC was down.

The negs her believe that we have to have huge expectations for the staff and players, without supporting the same, and while talking about finding a new HC every year, even while they repeatedly underestimate our W-L total each year. They say we have to spend money on THE COACH (though they have no idea who that is, not how to get them to come here, and be successful in Lexington).


If you defend it, you are one of them. If you don't grasp it, you might as well be. You never used to be, but you have certainly turned a different direction of late. It happens easily to UK fans, so I don't expect much.

Missouri was in a similar position as we have been in this year and they did play Georgia very close. They were down 6 with a few minutes left on the clock driving for the go ahead score and turned it back over. But if they had beaten Georgia and won out to win the East I doubt anyone even in their own fan base except the totally delusional would think they had "passed Georgia" as a program.
A program is judged on their entire body of work not on one or a few games.

Lol. Great defense of something no one was arguing about. I got some more obviousmess to go with what you posted.....

When we have multiple 5 star classes rated higher than theirs for 5 years, WE STILL WILL NOT have passed Georgia or Bama. We've got a ton of SEC Titles and national championships to win before we ever do that. That's why NO ONE HERE EVER has said anything about UK "passing Georgia" except in the standings a year or two. But extrapolating the expectations so far of the negs, they will not be happy until, if even when, that happens.

 

[satcheluk]

You make a good point and I won't attempt to argue it, other than by stating that it does appear that Stoops is trending down and if we believe the reports, doesn't seem like he even wants to be here. So I'd say there's also risk involved in keeping him as well. But you are an expert in evaluating risks so I'll defer to your opinion on which risk is greater. I appreciate your response.

There's a reason we fans don't make the hiring decisions because, among other reasons, we don't have all the info. Who said Stoops doesn't want to be here? I've never heard him or anyone close to him say that and IMO interviewing for another more prestigious and potentially more lucrative position doesn't mean that he doesn't want to be here. I have never turned down an interview. I will interview even if I believe I have no interest in moving. Knowledge is power. You can learn things in an interview that can help you in your current role. As for Stoops trending down, I'm not sure I would agree with that, at this point. I've attached a chart of the SP500 that is reflective of Stoops tenure here. I used to have conversations with investment clients who saw 1-2 bad years and wanted to sell out and go to cash. It's a terrible decision, as it almost ensures your losses, but we can use the analogy here. You can find a few 1 or 2 year "trends", but look at the consistent 10 year trend. Nothing in life is linear, so imagine if Mitch fired Stoops 2016, 2019, 2020 or 2022 (on this chart). It would have been a bad move as despite the dips, the overall trend was positive.

 

[The-Hack]

I've attached a chart of the SP500 that is reflective of Stoops tenure here.

Hmmmm.

That chart of the S and P looks freakishly similar to Stoops’ tenure, if you equate the two peaks with the ‘19 and ‘22 Citrus Bowl wins.

Looks like it’s time to buy me some Stoops, as a trend has developed encompassing both highs and lows!!

 

[yoshukai]

I don't know about the resenting fans aspect, but he definitely seems to be trying to manage expectations with those comments and is seemingly all for maintaining the status quo; i.e. fans don't need to rock the boat; just keep buying tickets. He works for the university, so it's not a shocker to me.

Yeah , he used to preach about how we could do no better than Tubby too . Right up until the end . He’s an ass kissing homer .

 

[catben]

Yes. obviously I was mocking you with my extreme response. To quote "actually resents UK sports fans". As far as "putting limits on expectations", simply backing your team and not losing your mind and demanding heads when things do not live up to your dreams is what this is about. I'm appreciative that we are finally on solid ground and those who are so sure someone else has a better chance than Stoops of taking the next step get annoying. We have won 10 games 4 times in 73 years and Stoops has 2 of them in the last 6 years. Those wanting rid of him need some perspective on their expectations. You do understand no one puts a cap on how many they want to win.

So you are ACTUALLY doing to my posts what you ACCUSE me of doing. You ADMIT to being "EXTREME", which is what you have been on EVERY post you've replied to by me.

Nothing more HYPOCRITICAL and RIDICULOUS than your LOUSY takes!!!

ACCOUNTABILITY does NOT == wanting the coach gone. The coach TRYING to leave is something that SHOULD concern ALL UK fans. I just want Coach Stoops to WANT to be here and FIX the problems that have kept HIS program from reaching the highest level.

I GUARANTEE you the ENTIRE coaching staff wants to FIX things as was reported when Stoops decided to stay. Hope this HELPS keep this program going UP!!!


YOU just want to present FALSE narratives and BASH a figment of YOUR imagination about me and some others that just want MORE.

 

[jauk11]

Folks like you just fail to acknowledge everybody gets SEC TV money. Same share. UK doesn't get more TV cash than Mizzou or South Carolina or Miss St. No amount of money spent by UK over 11 yrs brought us past anybody not named Vandy. Everyone has been spending and investing for 11 yrs. Stop acting like UK football suddenly in 2013 was flooded with cash while the rest of the SEC (and Louisville) just stood still & watched.

Sorry, 2013 was about the year that UK losing about 15,000 season ticket holders and their contributions to protest the FACT that NOTHING extra was done to football's facilities for our AD's first DECADE on the job caused the two TWO win seasons disaster, along with losing millions of dollars that we should have been making from the MONEY COW. The other teams that did support football saved our bacon, by making the SEC distribution available.

And the FIVE years in a row with no bowl games did nothing for UK football.

 

[ncaaky]

not to mention a couple of times flirted with the SEC East title

I quit reading after this BS statement. The closest he has come from a SEC East title is 3 game difference in an 8 game SEC schedule.

 

[satcheluk]

Hmmmm.

That chart of the S and P looks freakishly similar to Stoops’ tenure, if you equate the two peaks with the ‘19 and ‘22 Citrus Bowl wins.

Looks like it’s time to buy me some Stoops, as a trend has developed encompassing both highs and lows!!

Uncanny, right? lol

 

[entropy13]

So you are ACTUALLY doing to my posts what you ACCUSE me of doing. You ADMIT to being "EXTREME", which is what you have been on EVERY post you've replied to by me.

Nothing more HYPOCRITICAL and RIDICULOUS than your LOUSY takes!!!

ACCOUNTABILITY does NOT == wanting the coach gone. The coach TRYING to leave is something that SHOULD concern ALL UK fans. I just want Coach Stoops to WANT to be here and FIX the problems that have kept HIS program from reaching the highest level.

I GUARANTEE you the ENTIRE coaching staff wants to FIX things as was reported when Stoops decided to stay. Hope this HELPS keep this program going UP!!!


YOU just want to present FALSE narratives and BASH a figment of YOUR imagination about me and some others that just want MORE.

Bruh, have an edible.

 

[bigbluedon]

Kind of like two kids growing up. I comes from a family that values education and he studies from a young age, goes to a great college and now has a great job making lot sof money. Other kid doesn't care about school. Graduates from HS, but gets a job making ok money, but going nowhere, then wakes up one day and says what was I thinking? Now he returns to school at 35 years old gets great grades and gets a much better job than he had, but he's not making anywhere near what the other kid was making and he is 15 years behind in climbing the ladder. Yeah the future looks brighter for the second kid, but to say the past doesn't matter in relation to the first kid seems ignorant. Without some black swan type of good luck the second kid is not catching the first.

The second kid changed his life for the better. You don’t live your life trying to keep up with someone else or copy what they do. You do what you think is best for you at the time. Really doesn’t apply to our football program. I don’t expect to beat Ga or Ala on a regular basis, but we should win every once in a while and when we lose, we should not look like a high school team. We should be competitive always and teams like UT and Missouri should never be blowing us out. I am one that thinks if Stoops leaves we will take a step forward. He just can’t get out of his own way. There are plenty of coaches out there that can do what he is doing and I think most would do better.

 

[sluggercatfan]

The second kid changed his life for the better. You don’t live your life trying to keep up with someone else or copy what they do. You do what you think is best for you at the time. Really doesn’t apply to our football program. I don’t expect to beat Ga or Ala on a regular basis, but we should win every once in a while and when we lose, we should not look like a high school team. We should be competitive always and teams like UT and Missouri should never be blowing us out. I am one that thinks if Stoops leaves we will take a step forward. He just can’t get out of his own way. There are plenty of coaches out there that can do what he is doing and I think most would do better.

Yes Don...hope today is a better day!

 

[truebluewildcat]

I think the overall and long-term view of Dick and others in that camp though not necessarily wrong it just isn't the view or time frame most people are operating in, or can afford to operate in.

It fails to address the short term here and now.

Same goes for stock markets, geo-politics, and world history/civilization overall.

Yeah, we get it Stoops overall is doing great. The SP500 overall is up and a good long-term investment, and overall, the world is as good as it's ever been across all measurements.

But right now, there are some things that need to be addressed, in all of the above. So, to insure everything is overall good and 5,10,20 years from now we can see a zoomed-out graph of a general uptrend...lets address, correct, shift, reinvest, etc in the short term accordingly.

Specifically, in football, losses to Vandy, Ole Miss, SC, even Iowa last year and SC again plus Missouri this season, are concerning "dips"...they've got to be corrected. Even the blow out to UGA is concerning because the past 3 seasons we've played them a lot tougher, and the games were not basketball scores and track meets.

So, there are two indicators right there screaming recession in my opinion. Teams we have been beating we've lost to and teams that were not blowing us out are blowing us out.

When the market dips even temporarily...people raise holy hell, and everyone starts taking corrective actions.

That's what all the fluff and gruff with CMS is. Hey great, overall, you've been a good investment, right now you need to fix some shit so as not to keep on the down trend of losing to SC, Missouri, and getting blown out by Iowa in a bowl game and UGA.

 

[The-Hack]

I quit reading after this BS statement. The closest he has come from a SEC East title is 3 game difference in an 8 game SEC schedule.

We played Georgia at home on November 3rd, 2018, winner take all. We each were 5-1, and were each playing our seventh game. Had we beaten UGA, and lost our last game at UT, we each would have finished 6-2, and we would have had the tie-breaker, head-to-head.

We lost 34-17.

I think being three scores from the East title in one game constitutes “flirting with the East title.”

 

[ncaaky]

We played Georgia at home on November 3rd, 2018, winner take all. We each were 5-1, and were each playing our seventh game. Had we beaten UGA, and lost our last game at UT, we each would have finished 6-2, and we would have had the tie-breaker, head-to-head.

We lost 34-17.

I think being three scores from the East title in one game constitutes “flirting with the East title.”

Too bad we ended up needing a three game swing to get it!

 

[cathouse]

Too bad we ended up needing a three game swing to get it!

There is no way in he** that 2018 team should have lost to that putrid UT team.

One of the worst losses in CMS tenure IMO.

I was there so I know how unprepared we were to play the game.

Opened the game conservative and scared against an inferior team. Played not to lose and the game was over before it got started good.

That is the biggest hump CMS has to figure out how to climb. That is all on him.

That loss cost us a NY6 bowl and a lot of credibility as a program to reckon with.

 

[sluggercatfan]

We played Georgia at home on November 3rd, 2018, winner take all. We each were 5-1, and were each playing our seventh game. Had we beaten UGA, and lost our last game at UT, we each would have finished 6-2, and we would have had the tie-breaker, head-to-head.

We lost 34-17.

I think being three scores from the East title in one game constitutes “flirting with the East title.”

There's that nasty old #30 again!

 

[sluggercatfan]

There is no way in he** that 2018 team should have lost to that putrid UT team.

One of the worst losses in CMS tenure IMO.

I was there so I know how unprepared we were to play the game.

Opened the game conservative and scared against an inferior team. Played not to lose and the game was over before it got started good.

That is the biggest hump CMS has to figure out how to climb. That is all on him.

That loss cost us a NY6 bowl and a lot of credibility as a program to reckon with.

Was there as well and one word says it about the preparation and game plan for that day...pathetic!

 

[cathouse]

Was there as well and one word says it about the preparation and game plan for that day...pathetic!

That same Vol team lost to MO the next Saturday by a score of 50-17 and lost the following Saturday to Vandy by double digits to finish 5-7.......yet, we weren't prepared to beat those clowns....Ugh!!

 

[KyCatFan]

That same Vol team lost to MO the next Saturday by a score of 50-17 and lost the following Saturday to Vandy by double digits to finish 5-7.......yet, we weren't prepared to beat those clowns....Ugh!!

Every single year there's a loss like that. He just can't make it through the season without one really bad stinker of a game. Has kept us from any shot at the next level.

 

[Rush2112 UK]

Remember that time Gabriel criticized UK coach... uh...

Well, never mind.

 

[The-Hack]

Too bad we ended up needing a three game swing to get it!

We needed no “three game swing,” whatever that is.

We needed 18 more points in a single game and would have won the East.

Again, the subject is if we came close to an East Title.

We did.

 

[sluggercatfan]

We needed no “three game swing,” whatever that is.

We needed 18 more points in a single game and would have won the East.

Again, the subject is if we came close to an East Title.

We did.

With all due respect...losing a game by 3tds isn't close.

 

[The-Hack]

With all due respect...losing a game by 3tds isn't close.

With all due respect, coming within one win of the East Title, comfirms the statement made by Gabriel.

 

[grevey35]

There is no way in he** that 2018 team should have lost to that putrid UT team.

One of the worst losses in CMS tenure IMO.

I was there so I know how unprepared we were to play the game.

Opened the game conservative and scared against an inferior team. Played not to lose and the game was over before it got started good.

That is the biggest hump CMS has to figure out how to climb. That is all on him.

That loss cost us a NY6 bowl and a lot of credibility as a program to reckon with.

As Hack already pointed out it had no bearing on winning the East if we had won the Georgia game.

 

[grevey35]

With all due respect...losing a game by 3tds isn't close.

17 pts is more than a FG short of three Td's unless you pretend XP's do not deserve consideration. Point was you had yourself in a game with a chance to wrap up the East.

 

[cathouse]

As Hack already pointed out it had no bearing on winning the East if we had won the Georgia game.

But it had a huge bearing on where we stand in the pecking order of the SEC East.

All games matter, right????

There is no way that even YOU can defend losing to that sorry UT team.

And until CMS can find a way to stop $hitting down both legs when we play them, and actually start playing to win against them instead of playing not to lose like a little coward, we will never be viewed as a contender in the East by anyone other than our own fans.

 

[sluggercatfan]

17 pts is more than a FG short of three Td's unless you pretend XP's do not deserve consideration. Point was you had yourself in a game with a chance to wrap up the East.

Point is we lost by 3 tds and despite your belief...epts are not automatic or given.

 

[grevey35]

But it had a huge bearing on where we stand in the pecking order of the SEC East.

All games matter, right????

There is no way that even YOU can defend losing to that sorry UT team.

And until CMS can find a way to stop $hitting down both legs when we play them, and actually start playing to win against them instead of playing not to lose like a little coward, we will never be viewed as a contender in the East by anyone other than our own fans.

That was not the subject. It was whether we had legitimately been close to winning the east. You are just pretending I am justifying the UT game. I did no such thing.