I'm trying to figure this out...

[Dawg4Life]

Today I've been hit with strange emotions. I'm pretty bummed that this season is over. I've NEVER enjoyed a sport the way I enjoyed the Dawgs this year. I will never forget LSU, Gameday, the polls, Sports Illustrated, Heisman talk, and the CFP rankings. About 13 months ago we had barely survived Kentucky at home and frankly, I didn't know if this team was going to be saved. Give the coaches and players a lot of credit for not dropping a game in 362 days. Slow clap...

In spite of the good, I am still trying to figure this team out. Give Ole Miss credit for yesterday, they were the better team. They were emotional, prepared, and have some really good players. But do any of you feel like this team lost something after the Auburn game? I can't put my finger on it, but I felt like we were surviving instead of thriving. The schedule was golden. Playing LSU early, Auburn and A&M at home, then getting Vandy out of the East. We were fortunate and took advantage.

Where did JRob go in the last month? Where has the defense gone from the LSU, A&M, and Auburn games...you know, the one that had a nasty front 7? Are we the same team now as we were on September 20th? Is the SEC down and we were just better on a bad year? After the last month and especially yesterday, I don't know who we are really. I miss JRob and Dak mauling people. I miss the front 7 stuffing the run. I miss the emotion that was completely non-existent yesterday.

It was a fun ride though and I'm sad it is over.

[DownwardDawg]

We were playing much better during the times you speak of. I don't know what happened but a blind man could see we were not playing as well these last several weeks. I think we were a pretty good team this year in a year where a few west teams were searching and trying to find their identities. We took advantage. Same with ole miss. Next year will be interesting.

[HoopsDawg]

We had 2 really good wins: @LSU and AU
We had 2 pretty good wins: A&M and Arky at home
We had 6 wins against terrible competition: 4 dogshit non-conference opponents + UK and Vandy
We lost 2 road games to really good teams: Bama and Ole Missus

On offense, We have the best QB in school history and a really good collection of skill players. We have a slightly above average, but very experienced O-line. We have not recruited well at that position. Our scheme and Dak can only hide it so much.

Defensively, we have a talent issue at the 2 safety spots. Some people wanted to ignore it or explain it away after the UAB game. But it continued to linger all year and definitely caught up to us in the Egg Bowl. We have physical defensive tackles, but we have to find a way to be more disruptive with our Front 4.

Our special teams were inconsistent and not great, but ultimately they didn't cost us any games like some predicted.

Hopefully, everyone can come together for the bowl game and we can end the season on a good note and really cap off a memorable season.

[HancockCountyDog]

We had 2 really good wins: @LSU and AU
We had 2 pretty good wins: A&M and Arky at home
We had 6 wins against terrible competition: 4 dogshit non-conference opponents + UK and Vandy
We lost 2 road games to really good teams: Bama and Ole Missus

On offense, We have the best QB in school history and a really good collection of skill players. We have a slightly above average, but very experienced O-line. We have not recruited well at that position. Our scheme and Dak can only hide it so much.

Defensively, we have a talent issue at the 2 safety spots. Some people wanted to ignore it or explain it away after the UAB game. But it continued to linger all year and definitely caught up to us in the Egg Bowl. We have physical defensive tackles, but we have to find a way to be more disruptive with our Front 4.

Our special teams were inconsistent and not great, but ultimately they didn't cost us any games like some predicted.

Hopefully, everyone can come together for the bowl game and we can end the season on a good note and really cap off a memorable season.

Great analysis.

I think the Arkansas win was more impressive than our early win against LSU. Arkansas was playing way better at the end of the year than LSU was in the beginning of the year.

My biggest concern right now is that we are losing three stalwarts on a good OL. Not a great OL, but anyone that doesn't think we are going to need some progress from guys that weren't highly recruited has their head in the sand. We struggled to run the ball consistently against Bama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss, the three teams with the best defenses we played all year. Hopefully the RS freshman players like Flowers and several others will step up an make it happen, I think it will work out.

At WR, we are as deep and talented as any time in the last 20 years. Now, we need a playmaker at TE to emerge, not sure who it will be, but we need someone there.

To me the biggest question is how do we replace so many impact players in the front seven. Smith, Eulls, Jones, McKinney and Wells were just great players. They set the tone for us defensively. Now, I like the defense with Jones and the Browns as the leaders, but it will be a step back. Probably not a big one, but definitely a step back.

As everyone knows, we need monster help in the secondary at the safety position. They were the weak link of the entire team, and eventually they got exposed. Looking at the roster, Im not entirely sure who the replacement will be. I can easily see Peters being in the two deep, and potentially starting by the end of the season.

[State82]

We had 2 really good wins: @LSU and AU
We had 2 pretty good wins: A&M and Arky at home
We had 6 wins against terrible competition: 4 dogshit non-conference opponents + UK and Vandy
We lost 2 road games to really good teams: Bama and Ole Missus

On offense, We have the best QB in school history and a really good collection of skill players. We have a slightly above average, but very experienced O-line. We have not recruited well at that position. Our scheme and Dak can only hide it so much.

Defensively, we have a talent issue at the 2 safety spots. Some people wanted to ignore it or explain it away after the UAB game. But it continued to linger all year and definitely caught up to us in the Egg Bowl. We have physical defensive tackles, but we have to find a way to be more disruptive with our Front 4.

Our special teams were inconsistent and not great, but ultimately they didn't cost us any games like some predicted.

Hopefully, everyone can come together for the bowl game and we can end the season on a good note and really cap off a memorable season.

About as concise as you can put it right there.

[Dawg4Life]

We had 2 really good wins: @LSU and AU
We had 2 pretty good wins: A&M and Arky at home
We had 6 wins against terrible competition: 4 dogshit non-conference opponents + UK and Vandy
We lost 2 road games to really good teams: Bama and Ole Missus

On offense, We have the best QB in school history and a really good collection of skill players. We have a slightly above average, but very experienced O-line. We have not recruited well at that position. Our scheme and Dak can only hide it so much.

Defensively, we have a talent issue at the 2 safety spots. Some people wanted to ignore it or explain it away after the UAB game. But it continued to linger all year and definitely caught up to us in the Egg Bowl. We have physical defensive tackles, but we have to find a way to be more disruptive with our Front 4.
.

I agree with all of this. If I'm honest with myself, I think the early wins were indicative of a team playing with a lot of emotion, playing crisp, and playing teams with problems. Look, in 1998 we were fortunate that LSU, Bama, and Auburn were all very down and won the SEC West.

Arkansas, Bama, and OM were three really nice defenses this year and we really struggled to run the ball. This is very concerning and goes to your point about recruiting.

Beyond the x's and o's, this team appeared to run out of juice at the midway point. For this reason, I was VERY worried going into the game yesterday. The only thing they had left to play for was ruining our season. OM played with intensity and looked like we did early in the year. These are young kids and it's understandable. They're human.

[I seen it dawg]

I agree with all of this. If I'm honest with myself, I think the early wins were indicative of a team playing with a lot of emotion, playing crisp, and playing teams with problems. Look, in 1998 we were fortunate that LSU, Bama, and Auburn were all very down and won the SEC West.

Arkansas, Bama, and OM were three really nice defenses this year and we really struggled to run the ball. This is very concerning and goes to your point about recruiting.

Beyond the x's and o's, this team appeared to run out of juice at the midway point. For this reason, I was VERY worried going into the game yesterday. The only thing they had left to play for was ruining our season. OM played with intensity and looked like we did early in the year. These are young kids and it's understandable. They're human.

And where in the hell did it go? I can't fathom the change from then and now. Show how much talent we really have.

Hoops..spot on

[Todd4State]

I think what happened is we got in the spotlight and we had never been there before and we didn't know how to handle it. From the coaching staff on down to the players. I think it caused us to be tight and the coaches to be overly conservative.

We just need to let loose next year.

[SDDawg]

Great post and I completely agree. We got tight and it caused us to fall behind and to freeze when things didn't go our way. Happened after the Auburn game. The other thing is that we didn't game plan and adjust as well as we could have for different teams. The bouncing to the outside and extending plays that you can do with Kentucky will not work with Bama. You have to beat them with the play call itself and then execute it perfectly. We just couldn't figure that out in the first half. If you like Ole Miss, you may want to ignore this next part. :)

As for Ole Miss, I'll simply say this: I give them ZERO credit. NONE. They're not very good. If we had adjusted and stuck with 1A players on Engram they would have had nothing outside of the first big play. Their offense was shit, Bo barely broke 40% completions in the game and he was gimpy. That 98 yard run was nothing but a broken play that we screwed up, should have been a 3 yard loss. Awful. They're NOT a good team, and I know that doesn't speak well of us losing to them but they're simply not very good and we shouldn't sugarcoat it. They're fast and athletic on defense, that's the only thing they have going for them. I'm convinced that Freeze fed them a line of bullshit about us threatening the Grove or their fans or some nonsense to get them all fired up. Whatever lies he told them, it worked. They're poor sports (17 YOU, CJ JOHNSON), dirty players (the hit on Dak should have someone suspended for the season) and I can't wait to get revenge on their sorry asses.

[thf24]

You're definitely onto something. This wasn't "THE" year as everyone has been calling it, because we were missing one very important thing: experience on the big stage as a real contender. No coaches in their current roles except arguably Hevesy and Gonzales (Mullen as an OC but not a head coach) and not a single player on the team had ever been in this position before. We played free and loose when the outside expectations were still relatively low, but when we hit #1, we didn't know how to handle it and tightened up from the top to the bottom. That was the end of the season right there in my mind. It sucked having to ride what turned out to be a downward spiral over the past month and a half after the incredible and unprecedented start, but we've got that experience now, and maybe we can put it to better use next year. We're still going to be pretty good, maybe even better, next year, and maybe we'll handle the pressure better now that we've gotten a taste of it.

[Smitty]

You don't HAVE TO go through a series of lessons in order to win a championship. How many ****ing big stages do you need, you play in the SEC! This ain't year 1! Jimbo and Jameis didn't need it! ****ing Cheesedick and Cam didn't need it! Blake Sims didn't!

Quit making excuses for yesterday there are none! This was THE YEAR! ****, it was our shot and we blew it. To those assholes.... We blew it.

[GTHOM]

I think the emotion this team had was gone after auburn. slap gone. and it has everything to do with the coaching staff. i have been on tear of this coaching staff since yesterday but i mean it dammit. yesterday was inexcusable. we will be as talented and as good as ever next year, but to take 10-2 possibly 11-2 to undefeated or a playoff spot is going to take a better performance from our coaches in big games.

[thf24]

You don't HAVE TO go through a series of lessons in order to win a championship. How many ****ing big stages do you need, you play in the SEC! This ain't year 1! Jimbo and Jameis didn't need it! ****ing Cheesedick and Cam didn't need it! Blake Sims didn't!

Quit making excuses for yesterday there are none! This was THE YEAR! ****, it was our shot and we blew it. To those assholes.... We blew it.

You're right. This was THHHHEEEEEEEE year, we blew it, and it'll never come again. No reason to even ****ing watch next year. In fact, let's just blow up our football program just like UAB since this was TTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE year and we might as well not even try ever again since we didn't make it this time. Geez. Please accept my sincerest apologies for trying to pull some optimism out of the past month's disappointment and having some hope for the future.

[GTHOM]

You're definitely onto something. This wasn't "THE" year as everyone has been calling it, because we were missing one very important thing: experience on the big stage as a real contender. No coaches in their current roles except arguably Hevesy and Gonzales (Mullen as an OC but not a head coach) and not a single player on the team had ever been in this position before. We played free and loose when the outside expectations were still relatively low, but when we hit #1, we didn't know how to handle it and tightened up from the top to the bottom. That was the end of the season right there in my mind. It sucked having to ride what turned out to be a downward spiral over the past month and a half after the incredible and unprecedented start, but we've got that experience now, and maybe we can put it to better use next year. We're still going to be pretty good, maybe even better, next year, and maybe we'll handle the pressure better now that we've gotten a taste of it.

I never thought much of the whole were number 1 thing, i remember some fans behind me chanting it as the time ran of the clock of the auburn game. put way too much into it. i agree i think it did affect us but i dont think the season ended. Our coaches had a lot to do with what happened against alabama, and everything to do with what happened yesterday. I agree we will have a damn good team next year with the experience of being number 1. It should pay off. Before that though we have bowl practice and a big bowl game to win. We will feel a lot better if we come out with the emotion we had earlier this year and win. Good post

[Todd4State]

You don't HAVE TO go through a series of lessons in order to win a championship. How many ****ing big stages do you need, you play in the SEC! This ain't year 1! Jimbo and Jameis didn't need it! ****ing Cheesedick and Cam didn't need it! Blake Sims didn't!

Quit making excuses for yesterday there are none! This was THE YEAR! ****, it was our shot and we blew it. To those assholes.... We blew it.

You don't HAVE TO go through a series of lessons, but sometimes you do. You mentioned Sims and Bama- Saban lost to Florida and Utah the first time he ran the table during the regular season.

How many times did Florida State miss a field goal to Miami before breaking through?

Those programs you mentioned expect and believe that they will win and they have all been number one before. We have not. The last time we played for a championship was 1998.

Learning is a phenomenon that happens at all levels of football- including the NFL.

[LC Dawg]

You don't HAVE TO go through a series of lessons, but sometimes you do. You mentioned Sims and Bama- Saban lost to Florida and Utah the first time he ran the table during the regular season.

How many times did Florida State miss a field goal to Miami before breaking through?

Those programs you mentioned expect and believe that they will win and they have all been number one before. We have not. The last time we played for a championship was 1998.

Learning is a phenomenon that happens at all levels of football- including the NFL.

I think what has a lot of State fans worried is that we have never had the sustained success of the programs you mentioned. We played for a championship in 98, had arguably a better team in 99, and then our program went in the shitter for quite a few years. This was our best shot at a championship in the history of our program and our chance ended decisively at the hands of our rival, who also has a program seemingly on the rise. I think it's going to take a couple of years of continued success to make this pain totally go away.

[GTHOM]

I think what has a lot of State fans worried is that we have never had the sustained success of the programs you mentioned. We played for a championship in 98, had arguably a better team in 99, and then our program went in the shitter for quite a few years. This was our best shot at a championship in the history of our program and our chance ended decisively at the hands of our rival, who also has a program seemingly on the rise. I think it's going to take a couple of years of continued success to make this pain totally go away.

Winning the bowl game would help a lot....and winning the egg bowl at home next year will erase it. We will have a damn good team next year too

[LC Dawg]

Winning the bowl game would help a lot....and winning the egg bowl at home next year will erase it. We will have a damn good team next year too

Agree

[Todd4State]

I think what has a lot of State fans worried is that we have never had the sustained success of the programs you mentioned. We played for a championship in 98, had arguably a better team in 99, and then our program went in the shitter for quite a few years. This was our best shot at a championship in the history of our program and our chance ended decisively at the hands of our rival, who also has a program seemingly on the rise. I think it's going to take a couple of years of continued success to make this pain totally go away.

I think that's a very good point. But the reason we went into the shitter was because we were relying very heavily on JUCO's- and that's just not sustainable. Plus, a lot of our wins in 1999 were very close and could have gone either way. We could have very easily gone 5-6 with losses to Auburn, LSU, Kentucky, and Ole Miss.

The way we are recruiting now, we are a lot more sustainable and our administration isn't cutting corners like we did in the late 90's.

And even if we do fall going forward, our administration will act a LOT more quickly than LT did.

[1bigdawg]

As for Ole Miss, I'll simply say this: I give them ZERO credit. NONE. They're not very good.

You make a good case about their offense, but their defense was very well coached. Frankly, I believe they played above their talent level.

[I seen it dawg]

I think what has a lot of State fans worried is that we have never had the sustained success of the programs you mentioned. We played for a championship in 98, had arguably a better team in 99, and then our program went in the shitter for quite a few years. This was our best shot at a championship in the history of our program and our chance ended decisively at the hands of our rival, who also has a program seemingly on the rise. I think it's going to take a couple of years of continued success to make this pain totally go away.

Got to start somewhere