Blackhat

So Kentucky is 15-2, ranked 8th in RPI, faced the 49th toughest schedule, has outscored opponents almost 3 to 1 and has the run differential to backup the record... but they're 12th of 14 and might not win a series? Because of one bad stat column? I guess I'm here and you're getting paid so objective achieved, but JFC could you at least try?

When someone is trolling or regularly bringing up a specific unrelated topic it’s a fine put down. Like a certain idiot who pretends to be for my team who keeps following another fan around to say he went to community college. That’s rent free. But a professional who is paid to write about college football writing about one of the most prominent teams in college football? If someone says “rent free” that’s just hilarious. And desperate. His employer literally pays for Alabama to have space in his brain.

Poor baby. You had to read speculation in a internet comment section? What is the world coming to?

Jack - thanks for the kind words. I count myself among the ranks of fantastic MSU engineers. But I've also got no problem with Geaux here. He was provoked by a monumental idiot.

Guy takes you from hating football to 10 wins and you're ragging on him. With a little bad luck you'll be trying to fire him next year. Which is exactly what happened to butch - fired the year after a 10 win season. Good luck finding a coach to put up with your chit after pulling that trick twice in a decade. Has it ever occurred to you that the chit show might be UT itself and the fans?

It was so weird to watch A&M throw their money at him even as FSU was ready to fire him. It was obvious to everyone watching that something was deeply broken, but they were so desperate they didn’t care.

Disaster is already at hand when you pay a coach 10 mil. Your boosters are so toxic that no established coach wants to deal with the hassle. And the boosters are so desperate that they won’t accept an up and comer. If one (like Harsin) gets hired they will immediately begin undermining him under the belief that once this mistake is cleared out their money and the programs traditions will easily draw the blue chip the administration was too stupid to land last time. Once you’re in that cycle it takes a miracle to get out of it. Tennessee has been doing it for 20 years, and I don’t expect it to end just because they have this one good year.

“It’s about learning… when to take points and avoid the tempting pull of analytics… Instead of kicking a 29-yard field goal, the offense tried to convert 4th-and-2 and failed. With that short field goal… Instead of throwing on 4th-and-16 from the Tide 20, the Rebels are attempting a 37-yard field goal to tie the game.” What a load of horse excrement. You guys never go back and write “the last second kick won the game because they scored a TD on 4th down in the first quarter.” It’s always a one way street. Pick apart the analytics based decisions that don’t work and pretend nothing ever happened when they work out. And since you’re playing the points in a vacuum game, perhaps you could point out that had they converted to take the touchdown they could have kneeled it out. With that offense, 4th and 2 is basically a coin flip to go on to score. A coin flip to beat Alabama. Most teams would take that coin flip in a heartbeat. And the grand alternative they missed out on is… overtime? Some prize. “It’s about learning how to win.” That’s what he was trying to do. You on the other hand wish he had played for a tie.

I didn't hear any mention of 3-7, but OK.

The one rule about Leach's State is that you never assume what they're gonna do. Even quarter to quarter is random. The fast starts and peaks show tremendous potential, to the point that they CAN beat anyone with a little luck. But the team is just so immature that they won't keep doing what gives them success.

And boy did it help.

Has there been a game when the run game was working that Leach didn't keep running? If the handoffs work he keeps doing it.

Tennessee was excited about the future when they had Lane.

I sure have. The only difference between them and Mississippi State is they played Kentucky at home and haven't played Bama.

Sorry about whatever head injury or illness made you lose the last week of memories. Might want to focus on recovering from that instead of posting about football.

Perhaps you could point us to where you called those fans out? Or do you only criticize in hindsight?

Yeah, but it’s like telling an epic story about that time you got a pair of twos. It’s just not that impressive, but you sure seem proud of it.

Given the way we play that’s a better bet than the points. Either they curb stomp us by 40 or it’s a very close game.

Seems like a hot take by someone paid to get views. Alabama is separated from being undefeated by 4 points spread over two incredibly hostile road environments. They are nitpicking 2 point conversions to say Saban got outcoached, but if one play goes differently they’re criticizing Kelly for costing his team the game. I hope Bama is falling off their blue blood game, but Saban seems like a man who’s driven enough to right the ship for at least a few more years.

It has less to do with winning and more to do with celebrating a bully’s downfall. The rest of the SEC joined them in spirit.

“The program is on the rise and ahead of schedule. Another 2-3 years of good recruiting could get us over the hump.“ Or when Hooker leaves TN struggles to 8-4. Then everyone starts wondering if Josh really contributed that much to begin with and the chatter leaves recruits doubting by the stability of the program. Heck, if he gets some bad luck with injuries maybe they go full Butch and fire him the year after double digit wins because “the program is headed in the wrong direction.”

They don’t look at early losses to mediocre teams huh? Guess they also ignore total losses? And getting blown out by them on your home field doesn’t count either I guess? Good luck with that.

So Georgia still hasn’t done anything worth noting. Got it.

The players seem to think success is something you achieve rather than maintain. They put in the work and focus when they have something to prove, but as soon as they prove they CAN do something they’re satisfied and sit back to take in the view. But actually doing that something over and over? Seems like too much work. Hopefully they grow out of it after this year. Plenty of teachable moments for Leach to bring up this off-season.

Guessing you didn’t watch many of those rushes by State. It’s ok, I do blame you for watching the good game instead. Those of us that did? At no point did we think “boy, they should keep doing that if they want to win.” It was the most incompetent run blocking I have ever witnessed, and the sea parting for Marks to walk in was the unlikeliest scenario I could have imagined for the last play.

That was rough. Gotta wonder what planet the Leach haters are living on though. State is not a school that can expect a coach to make miracles year after year with the barrel full of 3 stars he can convince to come to Starkville despite our utter failure to compete in the NIL game. Our history shows the best we can hope for is a flawed coach who could not get a top tier job and will stick around to build a program, consistent competitiveness year after year and the occasional flash in the pan great season. And when that coach has left (Jackie, Dan) we have immediately been reminded that mediocrity ain’t so bad (Sly, Jo). Leach is exactly in the sweet spot for the program, and our up and down play over the past two years illustrates it perfectly. We could lose by 40, or we could beat anyone with a little luck. At least it’s entertaining. The current problem seems to be related to player psychology. These players (on offense anyway) seem to put in the focus and effort when they have something to prove, but as soon as they get a little confidence they take their foot off the gas. Like greatness is not something they desire in its own right but is a chore to be achieved and then we can relax. Now certainly culture falls on the coach as much as the players, but he seems to have consistently preached the kind of process mentality Saban has had so much success with throughout his tenure. At a certain point a coach can’t change his players brain chemistry and can’t force them to get it if they don’t feel it deep in their souls. And this doesn’t seem like something you can evaluate in recruiting. Eventually he will get the right mix of players who won’t take their foot off the gas because they dominated some bottom tier SEC West fodder and won’t drop the ball to keep from getting touched by the big bad Bama player. Until then enjoy when the offense clicks and imagine what could happen if everyone bought in for 4 quarters.

That’s what I thought. He was engaged when the handoff happened, and Fromm was clearly trying to make the defense think he had he ball. Seems kinda absurd to freak out about the defense falling for a pass action fake.

How exactly is a blindside rusher supposed to see the QB doesn't have the ball? He was engaged with the tackle when the ball was handed off. If the QB doesn't want to get rocked maybe he shouldn't act like he has the ball when he doesn't. The entire point is to attract attention from the defense, and it's BS to demand a penalty when the defense falls for it to their disadvantage.

The forward progress issue was bad enough, but didn't catch the extra block. How is FP not reviewable anyway? How hard is it to objectively say "Runner was driven back by .5 yards or had not moved forward for 1 second when ball was stripped." Egregious sequence.

They're not "letting Kent State hang around." That's what happens when you outplay a worse team but the score stays close. They're getting beat. 264-226 total yards, 15-8 first downs, no turnover luck to be found. Might right the ship, and the margin isn't huge, but Ole Miss looks like they're the team hanging around.