Last year when we lost to UConn, the team came back and fired on all cylinders. The focus and effort were at a season high, and we beat three ranked teams in a row afterwards (Navy, Temple, Florida State). That loss to UConn may have helped us more than it hurt us last season. This year we lose to Navy, and the wheels seemingly fall off the program. On both sides of the ball, the players have been playing very sloppy, and it doesn’t seem like the coaches have adapted to anything.
Rumors revolving around Herman leaving were even stronger last year, with media reporting that he had already negotiated a contract with another team. Why was this year’s loss so different?
First post here but I think you bring up a good question. There are a myriad of reasons for losing a game but I think we are missing strong leadership among the players. Last year’s senior class just had more mental toughness. That went beyond the captains. Their will and grit kept the team from a tailspin. We need that desperately from this years group.
I think it’s a bit of a perfect storm that’s sown seeds of uncertainty. This team hasn’t had a bye week. Injuries have exposed an alarming lack of depth. Incessant rumors about our coach and this week’s Big 12 fiasco. That’s enough for a lot of physical and mental fatigue.
I think we all thought better of this team. Definitely not the same group as last year, but this regression is disappointing.
Losing to UCONN kept us in the title race and we followed that up with a miracle finish vs ranked Memphis. The next week we blew the doors off Navy at home and on to hosting the title game. Highly talented, senior leadership may have something to do with it.
I agree about the leaders not being as strong, as well as the team buying into it’s own hype. They probably thought they could just roll the ball out there and dominate every AAC foe.
Graduation happened and we lost some players to the NFL that provided strong performance, strong leadership, and mental toughness to the team. We also just don’t have the depth we had last year.
Compare the offensive line from last year to this year. That’s the biggest reason we got it handed to us. Have you noticed how hard it is to establish an inside running game? We lost Ayers and don’t have a skill a skill guy to spread the defenses. Teams are basically stuffing the middle and playing their DE’s wide to stop Ward on the end around runs towards the sideline. Simple to defend when the line can’t block