Danimal

I went with win by 8-14. Going by history we either cover with points to spare or lose. Just hope that we're playing well enough that our O isn't in a situation where it needs to come-through in the clutch.

I don't think Chin was a good DC when he came here but that was due to lack of experience. He'd only been a position coach a couple seasons at Oregon when he became DC at UCF, and neither place prepped him for being a DC in the BIG. He's learned and adapted to where we're a much better-coached defense now. He also has a good crew of assistants, Ruud was green as hell when he got here(and our ILB's showed it) but he's improved too. As far as him leaving we'll see. Prospective suitors will know we returned a talented group of veterans this year, if we're lucky they'll see this season as somewhat of an aberration. A nice raise could buy us some time here, would be making about the same as a G5 HC.

Agree, it's nice that we're going toe-to-toe with quality teams but if at the end of the season we're under .500 with a loss to a bad Illinois team and not having beaten anyone that's above mediocre that's not saying much for being four years in.

That's him in a nutshell and I don't see the issue going away this season. Maybe if he opts to play another year and we have somebody else guiding him he starts improving with the game on the line. As far as next qb goes I think Smothers can hold it down. Don't think he has the biggest arm but he's an athletic coach's kid that will have been in the system three years. I think he can competently run the offense, kind of like a speedy Joe Ganz. If Smothers can keep it together in the clutch I don't see a real drop-off in overall play.

I'm not that doom and gloom, enjoyed the 4th quarter and hoped like hell that this was where we finally turn the corner. But undeniable history shaped my expectation of what would happen. Our O has failed time and again in these crunch-time situations, and the rare time they did score on a last drive it was Vedral at qb. Haven't been much better at even grinding out the clock when we need to. Hopefully we're playing good enough ball to avoid being in a similar situation against Minn. Win there and we're back at .500, still on a reasonable track to make a bowl

Same old AM, great kid but holy **** he folds in the clutch.

Hopefully we're not playing this Saturday night. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vyj1C8ogtE

I think it's a close game and we're due to win a close one but against lesser teams than Mich we've repeatedly failed to come through in the clutch. Hopefully if it goes down to the wire it's our defense on the field, our O has been at its worst when the game is on the line.

Neither of us does, yet aren't you assuming it was handled the only way possible? To me it feels like a situation that could have been handled better and being that Frost has shown a stubborn streak and is far from infallible I'm not inclined to give him benefit of the doubt here. Yant is a true frosh(not an older guy that keeps coming to camp fat) and he doesn't seem to have a bad attitude, have trouble buying that we couldn't get through to him and lay down the law any other way and had to resort to pulling him when he may have helped us. You disagree, that's cool, think we've went back-and-forth on this one enough. Peace.

To be fair I did note later in this thread that diet is the most important factor in fat-loss. Was just trying to make the point that substantial extra work would help conditioning matters while also addressing the discipline/consequences issue.

Do I buy that this was the only possible way to handle the situation? No I don't. Could I be wrong? Yes, it's in the realm of possibility that the only possible that could work here was pulling Yant, but chances are this was just yet another thing that this regime could have handled better.

Neither of us knows exactly what was done here or how much proper diet came into play(most important thing when it comes to losing fat). Point remains as long as you're making the kid damn sorry he came in overweight the message is sent.

Ya having him do stadium steps, sprints, and extra drills till he gets the bad weight off wouldn't help in that regard at all. You are so right. What was I thinking?

It's their call and like I keep saying there were other options in terms of consequences/discipline that fit the crime well.

Please please please tell me where in my post I advocated he be let off the hook and not be pushed into getting the bad weight off. I'll be waiting with bells on. Hell i even included punishments that fit his crime very aptly and would further him getting the bad weight off. The point was that discipline and positive change could have been brought here without potentially damaging the season.

This was stupid IMO. Yes rules need to be enforced but he came in overweight, not like he did anything thuggish. Could have sent him and the team a clear message by busting his balls and making him do stadium steps and extra sprints/drills/study-hall. If he could have helped us in games he should have been in there.

Lame that in year 4 I'm relieved to see us just managing to Santino Panico it, but does beat the living hell out of being afraid of catching the ball and watching it roll on by. Ya I liked that Martin went up and made a tougher(but not recklessly tougher) catch. Maybe we beat MSU if we'd managed to that last week.

Was saying tonight how much I missed this. The Neb game being a highlight of the week rather than a source of frustration, just kicking-back stress-free and enjoying the 'skers thumping the competition is nice

It's pathetic that in year-4 we not only still don't have a return game but are committing field-position suicide watching line-drives roll on by. We evidently can't even coach-up somebody enough to Santino Panico it consistently.

My "if Frost stays" preference: Hire a good ST's coordinator. Question is can he coach a position as well or just does ST's? That certainly affects other moves you make. Move Mario to analyst. Replace him with a good qb-coach/co-OC to work with Lubick. Frost backs-off into a GM type. Frost could be qb-coach if you replace Mario with ST's coach Replace Austin, no excuse for just how bad his group, poor coordination and you have guys regressing from last season. They typically start slow but this line will have to improve just to get to where previous lines started the year. Held is not a must-fire but I do think we can improve here. His group has played decently overall this season and has held onto the ball. Would like to know who is in charge of our weird rotation at rb. As has already been said would be good with Ron Brown here. If you don't replace Mario with ST's coach then a LB-coach needs to be gone or become an analyst. I'd say Dawson is still a little better but with the way Ruud keeps improving each season it's close. Chin has LB coaching experience, he could take over ILB or OLB for the most part.

The pooch-punt is a highly underrated play. Given our ST's situation and that AM has shown the ability to do it I don't get why we aren't using it more.

Hate to say it because he's such a great kid and does plenty of good things on the field but dude is undeniably at his worst when the game is on the line. One more reason I think Mario should have been replaced, maybe another coach helps AM through that.

My favorite drive last year was the final one against Rutgers when we got the ball with half the 4th quarter left and the lead, we ground-out 1st-down after 1st-down til the game was over. Our offense went out there with the chance to finish the game and got the job done. Those instances have been few and far between. It doesn't get talked about much but a big reason Frost leads the nation in 1-score losses and our record is what it is during his time is that our O has been at its worst in the clutch.

Dude got rid of football and the best Div2 wrestling program in the country, he will step on toes to do what he deems necessary and I'd bet the powers that hired him are good with that. I won't begin to presume what he thinks is necessary but IF he doesn't think Frost is the answer I do see the axe coming-down.

Hard to say. Who will be using 2020 not counting to stay another season? Will Frost be around? If he is I'd assume staff changes had to be made, are they good enough to fix our problems? If we have a new HC who did we get? What staff did he hire? Who did he keep from this staff? Our defense has gotten better each season, could see Chin and multiple assistants staying, would make for an easier transition. Make quality moves this offseason and get some key guys to stick around(Boosters may sweeten the deal vis NIL) I think we make a bowl in 2022, but right now there is way too much that is unknown.