When you look at the sudden lack of faith here lately and much of the negativity I certainly don't think that everyone just suddenly turned into a bunch of mopes. No, this reactionary attitude seen all throughout the fan base this week is rooted in the past. It isn't that we were beat by #1 Clemson that has many in a state of post traumatic stress disorder. It is a combination of things that have brought the demons out of the Pandora's box of our collective fan subconscious.
Getting beat by Clemson wasn't the thing, it was the nature of the loss that has awakened the latent fears of many here. It was the penalties plus the inability to get anything going offensively vs a team that although very talented, had a couple spots that could have been better exploited through better preparation and game planning. It was the shocking seeming lack of preparation, not knowing the opponent well enough and the inability to adjust to anything. Put all those things together with a fan base who has been desperately trying to convince themselves(me included) that we had turned a corner and were now just basically waiting for our 2021 and 2022 recruiting classes to show up and give us the depth in addition to increasing our talent level.
The beat down we took Saturday basically unraveled that illusion and made us come to grips with the reality that maybe adding a good OC isn't going to cover all our warts. It made us have to face the possibility that maybe we aren't as talented as many of us had led each other to believe. Ultimately it made everyone really take a closer look at the entire staff and contemplate the possibility that we need to continue to upgrade the staff. I'm mainly referring to the defense here as I don't think most are so unreasonable not to give Lashlee the benefit of the doubt after getting ramroded by #1.
It also calls into question of just how much control Diaz has over this team when you look at all the penalties. It brings up some doubts as to whether Diaz is up to the task. The penalties suggest an alarming lack of discipline and focus and that falls squarely on the head coach. More than anything however a loss like that has many expecting a collapse because that is what this teams pattern has been over the last 4 years. We are anxious because if this team is like those of recent history, we will go into the tank for another 2-3 games. We are also anxious because Clemson basically showed the entire nation what to do to expose and beat us and if recent history is any indication, this staff will not adjust until the goals of this season are already out of reach. We get our answer tomorrow at noon.
Win big and the board will be back to pre Clemson form as that game will be chalked up to losing to a clearly superior team on the road as it should. Win a close game and it's a win but there will be many who are not satisfied. There will be countless posts about coaching deficiencies and playing below our collective talent level. Fair concerns. Lose and what we saw this week will pale in comparison to the complete and total meltdown we will witness on these boards. Personally I prefer option #1. We'll find out by late afternoon Saturday! Yours truly will be back then with the appropriate commentary and a bit of analysis. Canes!
it's been 17 years of mediocrity that's not some years..that's a whole generation. We are what we are until we prove we want more. I'm convinced. A win today will not change my mind.
