I really don't get the attitude of a lot of State fans right now.

[Johnson85]

Going into the season, we thought/knew we had
(1) a QB that is still growing in the passing game,
(2) a big time question mark at RT and somewhat of a question at LG,
(3) a very weak receiving corp made of mostly good #3 or serviceable #2 receivers,
(4) question marks in the secondary,
(5) a defense that was going to take time to gel because it consisted of new comers and people coached by Peter 17ing Sirmon for the past year.
(6) a team that was probably going to win 6-8 games, and that would be ready to challenge everybody but the elite in 2018, and maybe even could challenge the elite in 2018 if the right things fell into place as far as OL development and WR signees.

So basically, we killed LSU, and many people (including me, thought we might be elite), and then we played UGA, and figured out we aren't elite, but that we might be pretty good, and then we played Auburn, and found out we are exactly what we though before a season. The only thing that is different from the beginning of the season is that we have confirmed we are just an ok team that is one year away, and we now know that SECW is as terrible as it's been since A&M got here, and we could legitimately win 9 games with a mediocre team (although realistically we'll probably slip up at least one if not two along the way).

The reality is that the die was cast for this year a few years ago with Mullen's recruiting. Mullen let things get away from him, and it appears that he has his ass in gear after either bad luck or losing a little bit of his fire resulted in a 2015 without a O-line for the first half or a RB for the entire season and a cluster 17 of a 2016 season.

But we were not one year from a fix last year, and things are going pretty well considering how bad Mullen had let the talent get. We were bailed out by a JUCO signing class that filled in some holes other than OL and WR. This is basically the best case realistic scenario from where we were after the USA game in 2016. It sucks that we are not competitive against good teams, but why did anyone think we would be after the shit year we had last year. The only outstanding gripe I see is that we still have the O-line coach that has left us paper thin on the OL and one offensive lineman short of a starting 17ing lineup, but we have improved OL recruiting some, even if we are still not signing enough to give us a chance to have a full starting lineup and an adequate number of backups, and maybe the Looney hiring is putting Hev on notice. All in all, we are doing ok considering how bad it got last year.

The TLDR version is this is way better than I expected a year ago, and I'm not going to let LSU suckering us into thinking we are better than average stop me from enjoying a season where we are going to win ~8 games the year before what should be our peak season.

[TStationDawg]

You are dropping a logic bomb so prepare for the fall out but I couldn't agree more.

[TrapGame]

Can't disagree with any of that. 8-4 is a very real possibility. I think some people are just really upset LSU has turned out to be such a dumpster fire.

[Political Hack]

I think we're looking at a 9 win season, including the bowl. I'd be pretty happy with that.

[shoeless joe]

Yeah...lot of dumb goin on rite now. The LSU game made folks think we have playoff level talent. They were dumb.

[Commercecomet24]

Well said, Johnson! Agree completely! We gonna win 8-9 games get a good bowl and build for the future!

[Kyper]

Because many didn't see things the way you just described them. Most people around here expected Fitz to be the SEC's top QB, Gray to be a top 10 WR, our OL to be vastly improved, and our D to be top 5 in the SEC. One poster even guaranteed that we would beat Bama this year, while others swore Georgia and Auburn would be average at best.

[Jack Lambert]

I think we're looking at a 9 win season, including the bowl. I'd be pretty happy with that.

I totally agree and if it happens this two week stretch playing two of the best teams in the country on the road will be forgotten.

[Liverpooldawg]

It's two things. The ones that are the loudest right now have been this way since even before 2014. Those like most of us who were thinking as you laid it out got fooled by what we did to LSU. Me included. Who knew they were THIS bad? Again, we need to tone down the whining and stay on board. Let the season play out, it could still be a nice one. We are one game better than I thought we would be right now. I said 6-6 going in.

[JoseBrown]

I figured 8 wins plus a bowl win for 9, but what I didn’t figure on was getting blown out 3 times. I thought we’d get blown out once, but damn UGA looked much better than I thought they would. I was scared of Fromm though, so was planning on Eason not being hurt and us competing with them. I hope the players can get past the two ass whippings, and continue on with the season they can have with only 1-2 more losses.

[msstate7]

Because many didn't see things the way you just described them. Most people around here expected Fitz to be the SEC's top QB, Gray to be a top 10 WR, our OL to be vastly improved, and our D to be top 5 in the SEC. One poster even guaranteed that we would beat Bama this year, while others swore Georgia and Auburn would be average at best.

Alter

[RiverCityDawg]

Excellent post. Couldn't agree more.

[BrunswickDawg]

Where I think this 2 game stretch will pay dividends is Rankin getting gimpy and having to play Eiland and in Reese playing so poorly. That is going to force either some changes in personnel or make our young guys (Eiland & Reese) grow up in a hurry. Hopefully getting schooled lights a fire under Eiland and Reese and they come out with something to prove the rest of the season. If you will recall, Rankin looked like crap until he got embarrassed - maybe in the UMASS game - when he missed the snap count and the guy blew by him for a sack. It woke him up and he has been boarder-line elite since then.

[sleepy dawg]

Well I believe it is okay to still be upset with our performances in the last 2 games even knowing the things above. Just b/c I knew we didn't have dominant receivers doesn't mean I find it acceptable to drop 6 balls a game. There's some things that just aren't acceptable, like 6+ false starts in a game, kicking around 50% and missing extra points. If you made it to a D1 SEC school, there is a minimum expectation of not being shitty. You should be able to make most of your field goals and catch most of the balls that hit you in the hands. Me knowing you suck doesn't make it any easier or make many any happier to watch you suck shit all night long.

[sonofozarka]

If we go 10-3 most will forget/forgive the 3 losses, but just like before the season, the A&M, Arkansas, Kentucky, & OM games will define this season. Go 4-0 in those and it's a huge success, with 3-1 still being good.

Just shows the gap or dropoff in the SEC though between the 3rd best team and everyone else... 4-9 in the SEC isn't close to the top 3, so that let's you know how far State is from being a top 15 type team. The 4th best team in the SEC is really probably only a fringe top 25 team

[CadaverDawg]

Let's be real, if UGA was 28-10 instead of 31-3, and AU was 35-21 instead of 49-10, this is a whole different board right now. We shouldn't be getting our teeth kicked in like that 2 consecutive weeks, & it has folks pissed. It should. It would be unhealthy for our program if our fans were like Vandy's and just shrugged our shoulders and said "it's okay boys, better luck next time". We are starting to raise expectations, and that's ok. In fact, that's what we all wanted. Now let's just hope the players & coaches are doing what it takes to improve so the last two weeks doesn't happen again anytime soon.

Road games are tough in this league. Especially night games on the road. Especially when you're playing good teams that aren't overlooking you.

The other part, is that It's Mullen's job to figure out how to get his offense going when teams can stop our run. I think he sees that and is bringing in some WR's...but he dropped the ball the last few years in WR recruiting (his staff did too, but that falls on him). At least he's trying to address it, we just have to get through this year & realize we were faked out early....we're a team that is a 7-9 win team for the next few years, which is good. But we have some QB's coming in that have more raw talent, WR's with height, speed, skills...RB's like we haven't had in years (Hill)...& more defensive talent committed. We need some DB's that can run & cover, & more talent & depth at OL. And Heath & Guidry must become yearly type additions in our recruiting classes. Otherwise, we need to just be happy with 6-8 wins...bc if we want to win 9+ & compete for the West, we must be a complete team & have playmakers on O that can change the outcome of a game.

[TrapGame]

I heard some stat this morning that we had five dropped passes deep in Auburn territory. Make those five and who knows what would have happened.

[bostondawg]

If I may play the clarifying devil's advocate here, OP:

Absolutely no one is upset with the outlook at our record. We still are looking at somewhere between 7 and 9 wins. That's fine. Again, you're making a strawman here--no one is upset about that.

Some posters (including myself) are upset about the fact that our team is much worse (read: coached) than we expected this season. That isn't the same thing as a problem with the record. Essentially, what we've learned is that while our record should still be fine, the SEC is much worse than anyone anticipated. This conference is absolutely awful. Remove the top 3 teams and this conference is the worst in power football, probably. LSU lost to Troy. These posters aren't patting themselves on the back for beating a team that lost to Troy (nor should they). We've learned that this conference is not very good, and that pushes the quality of our wins down too. So, cool, we went 1-2 down in a stretch we were hoping to go 1-2 in. No one is upset about that. We're upset about being embarrassed two weeks in a row and then finding out that the one win we thought was good couldn't even beat Troy at home in front of 95k fans.

The consequence of this, more importantly, is that the SEC is as bad as it's been in years; meanwhile, MSU with a 9th year head coach should be looking pretty good--coaching stability, recruiting is marginally better, TSUN is in the toilet. This is our chance to make waves in the SEC, when everyone else is down and we're theoretically looking up. However, these past three weeks have taught us that we aren't even close to making moves. Due to poor coaching and recruiting, we're not taking advantage of the best opportunity our program has had in maybe decades.

[IMissJack]

Not showing up whatsoever is what has people pissed. 7 illegal motion penalties on the OL have people pissed. It's not getting beat, it is giving up 7 plays over 30 yds, 5 being TDs that has people pissed. That is the kind of stuff we saw under Felker and Croom.
.

[FISHDAWG]

You are dropping a logic bomb so prepare for the fall out but I couldn't agree more.

I concur with everything except 9 wins