Ok, it's Monday, we have some separation from the game on Saturday, and I was hoping we could have a nice discussion as to where we are respective to our Big 12 brethren. I argue that we're not in a terrible position. Here's why.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have said since back in the summer that this team, record wise, would be worse than last year's team. The loss of DeAndre, Jakeem, and LeRaven has been too big to overcome, as predicted. Also, as predicted, the offense has sputtered at times without them as we build depth on the offensive line and at RB. So we as a team are about as expected.
Also as expected, back when we hired Kliff, some of us took the view that it would not be pretty for a while. If we were to hire him, we would have to ride the waves with him a bit as he gained experience as a head coach, and that true success couldn't be counted on in the first 3-5 years. We would need to commit to him to give him the support he needs so he can grow as a head coach, and so that growth could happen with us. It seems as though the athletic department is committed to that approach, and for that I'm glad.
So we look at things this year. As it stands now, you have four distinct tiers in the Big 12:
Tier 1: Oklahoma
Tier 2: WVU and OSU
Tier 3: TCU, Baylor, Tech, UT, Kansas State
Tier 4: KU and ISU
We lost by a touchdown to the top tier team. We got blown out of the game against one of the second tier teams. We were within a touchdown and a two point conversion against the three tier 3 teams we've played, with one of those being a win. We blew out the 4th tier opponent we faced.
I know that the general consensus is that the Big 12 is a bad conference. But really, it is probably the most competitive. There are close games week in and week out. The past three years, many of our Big 12 losses have been of the blowout variety. I take it as a positive that all but one of our conference games, including those on the road, have come down to the wire. As a team, we've gone from one who completely gets down on itself when falling behind, to a team that will scrap to stay in a game to the final whistle. The next step is to become a team that learns to close games after scrapping to stay in a game late. I feel like we are so close to becoming that team. We've seen flashes of it from both the offense and the defense throughout the season. Unfortunately, those times haven't lined up yet, but I believe they will. Soon.
The only difference in our record from this year and last year is from the players mentioned above. Put DeAndre, Jakeem, and LeRaven back on this team, and we likely beat OU, Kansas State and UT. So now the task is to develop the next iteration of those players over the next year. We return a ton of players on the offensive line, which will be huge going forward. We will continue to develop Ward and Felton, and we have the big JUCO kid coming in to help in the run game. We return a lot of talent on defense, a group that is really starting to get it, I think, with a couple of highly regarded prospects at LB added to the mix.
So it's not the end of the world. Things don't progress in a perfectly linear fashion. But I have seen improvement. And I see things getting better in the overall big picture.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have said since back in the summer that this team, record wise, would be worse than last year's team. The loss of DeAndre, Jakeem, and LeRaven has been too big to overcome, as predicted. Also, as predicted, the offense has sputtered at times without them as we build depth on the offensive line and at RB. So we as a team are about as expected.
Also as expected, back when we hired Kliff, some of us took the view that it would not be pretty for a while. If we were to hire him, we would have to ride the waves with him a bit as he gained experience as a head coach, and that true success couldn't be counted on in the first 3-5 years. We would need to commit to him to give him the support he needs so he can grow as a head coach, and so that growth could happen with us. It seems as though the athletic department is committed to that approach, and for that I'm glad.
So we look at things this year. As it stands now, you have four distinct tiers in the Big 12:
Tier 1: Oklahoma
Tier 2: WVU and OSU
Tier 3: TCU, Baylor, Tech, UT, Kansas State
Tier 4: KU and ISU
We lost by a touchdown to the top tier team. We got blown out of the game against one of the second tier teams. We were within a touchdown and a two point conversion against the three tier 3 teams we've played, with one of those being a win. We blew out the 4th tier opponent we faced.
I know that the general consensus is that the Big 12 is a bad conference. But really, it is probably the most competitive. There are close games week in and week out. The past three years, many of our Big 12 losses have been of the blowout variety. I take it as a positive that all but one of our conference games, including those on the road, have come down to the wire. As a team, we've gone from one who completely gets down on itself when falling behind, to a team that will scrap to stay in a game to the final whistle. The next step is to become a team that learns to close games after scrapping to stay in a game late. I feel like we are so close to becoming that team. We've seen flashes of it from both the offense and the defense throughout the season. Unfortunately, those times haven't lined up yet, but I believe they will. Soon.
The only difference in our record from this year and last year is from the players mentioned above. Put DeAndre, Jakeem, and LeRaven back on this team, and we likely beat OU, Kansas State and UT. So now the task is to develop the next iteration of those players over the next year. We return a ton of players on the offensive line, which will be huge going forward. We will continue to develop Ward and Felton, and we have the big JUCO kid coming in to help in the run game. We return a lot of talent on defense, a group that is really starting to get it, I think, with a couple of highly regarded prospects at LB added to the mix.
So it's not the end of the world. Things don't progress in a perfectly linear fashion. But I have seen improvement. And I see things getting better in the overall big picture.
