ShotgunDawg
10-08-2015, 06:49 PM
Over the past week, it's easy to see the MSU fan base is disappointed. Not suicidal, not ready to jump ship, not in crisis mode, but disappointed. Disappointed that we were so close to winning the SEC West last year & now, with the best QB & WRs in school history on the team, we sit at 3-2 with two SEC losses & are almost assuredly out of the SEC West picture before our young players could grow up & could get into the groove of the season.
While this feeling is understandable, it's also a sign of how the expectations of this program have grown exponentially over the past 5 years. We've gone from a program that was ecstatic to play in the Gator Bowl to a program that after only 5 games already has numerous posts on it's message boards breaking down next year's roster. This is progress!
With that said, there is still much to accomplish this year & there is hope that this team has a chance to be very very good in the month of November.
Reasons for hope:
- Mullen's hand is being forced. As MSU fans we often complain about how Mullen prefers to play upper class-men over more talented young guys, but with Rufus Warren being injured, Gabe Myles being injured, Kendrick Market being injured, & Shumpert being ineffective, over the next 3 home games, Mullen has no choice but to give Jenkins, Peters, McLaurin, Dear, Williams, & Lee numerous reps. Mullen's hand is being forced & he will have to play these guys no matter how uncomfortable it makes him. In turn, when some of the injured guys begin to get healthy late in the season, the young guys will be that much better & this team has a chance to take off.
- This team in close. One thing that's so disappointing about this season is that we all see flashes. We all see our team run right down the field on LSU, Auburn, & A&M & score with ease when we execute. We all see us practically shut teams out on defense in the second halves of games, only then to see us somehow only end up with 17 points on the score board when it seemed like we had WRs open all night. Things will begin to click. This team is going to figure things out & be dangerous down home stretch.
- LSU's 2007 National Championship team went 12-2. MSU lost 3 regular season games in 1998 and won the West. Is this likely to happen this year? NO, but you absolutely never know.
- Lastly, this team has so much more to accomplish because above all it further establishes MSU as a sustainable winner. If MSU can win 9 or possibly even 8 games this year, it allows the coaching staff to continue to sell recruits on the possibility that they are the one more player that MSU needs to win it all. Winning championships takes some luck along with being good, & MSU has failed to find much luck this year thus far, but if our program continues to put itself in position to win 9 games a year, you are few lucky bounces from being in Atlanta. The more times we win 8 or 9 games, the more likely we will continue to win at that level.
I realize that everyone is disappointed, but this season is still young & there is much to play for. I fully believe that this team has a chance to be very very good in November & that we will be having some fun times in Davis Wade over the next few months. The young players are about to grow before our eyes & become difference makers on the field that take this team to a new level.
We are about to start building towards going on a run to close out this season.
While this feeling is understandable, it's also a sign of how the expectations of this program have grown exponentially over the past 5 years. We've gone from a program that was ecstatic to play in the Gator Bowl to a program that after only 5 games already has numerous posts on it's message boards breaking down next year's roster. This is progress!
With that said, there is still much to accomplish this year & there is hope that this team has a chance to be very very good in the month of November.
Reasons for hope:
- Mullen's hand is being forced. As MSU fans we often complain about how Mullen prefers to play upper class-men over more talented young guys, but with Rufus Warren being injured, Gabe Myles being injured, Kendrick Market being injured, & Shumpert being ineffective, over the next 3 home games, Mullen has no choice but to give Jenkins, Peters, McLaurin, Dear, Williams, & Lee numerous reps. Mullen's hand is being forced & he will have to play these guys no matter how uncomfortable it makes him. In turn, when some of the injured guys begin to get healthy late in the season, the young guys will be that much better & this team has a chance to take off.
- This team in close. One thing that's so disappointing about this season is that we all see flashes. We all see our team run right down the field on LSU, Auburn, & A&M & score with ease when we execute. We all see us practically shut teams out on defense in the second halves of games, only then to see us somehow only end up with 17 points on the score board when it seemed like we had WRs open all night. Things will begin to click. This team is going to figure things out & be dangerous down home stretch.
- LSU's 2007 National Championship team went 12-2. MSU lost 3 regular season games in 1998 and won the West. Is this likely to happen this year? NO, but you absolutely never know.
- Lastly, this team has so much more to accomplish because above all it further establishes MSU as a sustainable winner. If MSU can win 9 or possibly even 8 games this year, it allows the coaching staff to continue to sell recruits on the possibility that they are the one more player that MSU needs to win it all. Winning championships takes some luck along with being good, & MSU has failed to find much luck this year thus far, but if our program continues to put itself in position to win 9 games a year, you are few lucky bounces from being in Atlanta. The more times we win 8 or 9 games, the more likely we will continue to win at that level.
I realize that everyone is disappointed, but this season is still young & there is much to play for. I fully believe that this team has a chance to be very very good in November & that we will be having some fun times in Davis Wade over the next few months. The young players are about to grow before our eyes & become difference makers on the field that take this team to a new level.
We are about to start building towards going on a run to close out this season.