We didn’t improve this year-game to game, week to week. That’s my biggest Stoops grievance. Overall record looks good compared to previous years, however, let’s be real and understand it came by way of an easy schedule. We don’t have that benefit next year and the coaching changes around the SEC will assure other programs improve significantly from this year.
I don't believe that's accurate at all. The oline, running game, WR's and special teams all grew from the start of the year to the end of the year. Maybe it wasn't a linear progression, but it never is, not in any program. Whether the SEC is down or not does not change the fact that the athletes you play against are still some of the strongest, fastest and most talented players in the country. That's not easy to do every week.
What I saw this year was a team that overcame injuries, a very limited passing game, and figured out a way to win games or almost win games despite adversity. Sure they probably underachieved, I'm fine with that label. I thought we had a shot at 9 or 10 wins this year. And we did. But we are also a team that has some real weaknesses. We are not an explosive offense. Without a real passing QB, you aren't going to run away with games. Our defensive backs underachieved big time. Which allowed teams to make big plays.
I thought this game was one of Stoops best coaching jobs to date. Which is a very good sign. He and the staff had the team ready to play. Good calls and made the necessary halftime adjustments to get by without much of a running game. Last year's Stoops probably gets blown-out today. He would have exploded on a few of those calls and lost all focus. Hell he might have gotten thrown out over that Snell ejection.
I just don't understand some of our fans who have been trying for two years now to get rid of Stoops or whining for him to be replaced. The stuff last year before the SC game was despicable. I hope those who were in on that are no longer among us. And we saw some more of that crap this year too.
No one who is defending Stoops and wanting to let him grow the program is 'content' with 7-5 records or 'just making a bowl game'. That kind of rhetoric is extremely divisive and not reality. The program is improving and it is being done without shortcuts or some cutesy scheme. Those types of programs rarely have staying power once that particular coach leaves(or the rest of the conference figures them out). I want Stoops to build a program that is successful and has staying power. I want that next coach to be able to come in and win, and the next, and the next.
If this is done right, we can have staying power. Wanting to blow things up because we aren't winning 9 games yet or winning pretty is foolish. We saw a perfect example tonight of how fine that line is between a win and a loss. Sometimes you're on the right side of that line(despite horrendous playcalling by Patterson) and sometimes you're on the wrong side. The stronger this program gets the more we'll find ourselves on the right side of that line and those 7 win seasons will begin to turn into 8 and 9 win seasons. Just gotta keep the faith.
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