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Rellyrell’s 2023-4 Year End Season Review

Great assessment. We get us a really good QB and most if not all our problems disappear. Can’t believe this program doesn’t have an excellent QB.
 
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The truth is simple: We always get what we want.

We want to get back to smaller speed players and local recruiting classes? Randy Shannon

We need a deep ball? Kyle Wright steps in for Kirby Freeman

We need to Blitz? Bill Young

We need to get former players back on the Sideline? Al Golden

We just need a QB? Brad

We need the 4-3 again? CMR

We need to celebrate? Manny

We need to motion more on offense? Dan Enos

We need Mario? Mario

We need a recruiter? Mario

Maybe we should get a list of things together as a fan base and demand multiple attributes. We pretty much get our wish but rarely anything else.
 
Great write up and analysis as usual. Thanks for taking the time to provide all that information. So, a lot of the things we witnessed this season, the "eye test", if you want to call it that, are proved correct by these statistics.

Defense: Looked like major improvement almost everywhere backed up by these stats. Another big improvement for which there are not statistical date is tackling. I thought it was much improved compared to 2022. Sure, there were a few games with poor tackling, but I thought tackling was night and day difference than previous years.

Offense: Slight improvement to moderate improvement almost everywhere. Again, the stats back this up. We really improved in our sacks allowed. Watching the games, our qb's had all day to throw majority of pass plays. Very disappointing we could not take more advantage of this.

Special Teams: Regression almost everywhere in all special teams units. Again, the data backs this up. I thought our KO return team improved, which was basically due to B Smith. Our punt team was just awful, mainly punt protection and coverage. Probably cost us a couple games.

Penalties and Turnovers: No improvement from the previous year or previous regime. Most frustrating category for me. These stats are absolutely unbelievable and unacceptable. I put this on the coaching. Yes, while I acknowledge TVD was responsible for most of the turnovers, why is he still in there?

Like most posters on here, next year will be the breaking point for me if we don't keep improving in all areas and make major improvements in special teams, penalties, and turnovers.
 
Rellyrell said:
Well my fellow Canes’ Brethren it was, yet again, another year full of hype, optimism, hope, and in the end, let down. I’ve said it before, but the off season, the Green Tree Practice Reports are so much better than September - December when things ACTUALLY matter.

Nevertheless, there were some positives this season, things that if (and that’s a humongous word around these parts) we build upon will result in much more favorable outcomes moving forward.

Let’s review the positives, first:

1. A better defensively sound team compared to the 2022 version: Huge shout out to both Coach Guidry and Coach Taylor. The defense was light years better this season vs. last season.

2022 & 2023 Defensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Def: 2022 (64th) v. 2023 (25th)
3rd Down Def: 2022 (96th) v. 2023 (37th)
4th Down Def: 2022 (104th) v. 2023 (27th)
Passing Def: 2022 (79th) v. 2023 (54th)
Passing Efficiency Def: 2022 (102nd) v. 2023 (34th)
Rush Def: 2022 (54th) v. 2023 (13th)
Scoring Def: 2022 (66th) v. 2023 (41st)
TFLs: 2022 (22nd) v. 2023 (20th)

Overall we saw a massive improvement across the defense, & at times it was more fun watching them play than the offense itself. With that said that brings us to point 2

2. A better offense: Despite some flaws, the offense was still leaps & bounds better this season than last season.

2022 & 2023 Offensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Off: 2022 (85th) v. 2023 (30th)
4th Down Off: 2022 (104th) v. 2023 (65th)
Passing Off: 2022 (59th) v. 2023 (43rd)
Passing Efficiency Off: 2022 (84th) v. 2023 (52nd)
Rush Off: 2022 (95th) v. 2023 (45th)
Red Zone Off: 2022 (86th) v. 2023 (65th)
Sacks Allowed: 2022 (108th) v. 2023 (20th)
Scoring Off: 2022 (96th) v. 2023 (39th)
TFL Allowed: 2022 (70th) v. 2023 (34th)

So statistically, again much better this year offensively vs. last year, overall.

3. Rueben Bain, and Francis Mauigoa: Two OUTSTANDING true freshmen! Yes, they had some rough moments at times, but both were grown *** men that held their own against a slew of 21+ year old players. Outstanding recruits, and look fwd to their maturation come next yr & beyond.

4. Kiko Mauigoa and the LB Crew: What was once a weak spot became a very bright spot. Kiko, Wes, & the much maligned Corey Flagg Jr played w/ their hearts on their sleeves, often covering over missed alignments along the DL to clean up plays. Flagg will forever be good w/ me, despite me being vocally critical of his offer, with the play of the season (imo) making the proper read, & having the fluidity in hips to change direction & chase Klubnik, refusing him entry into the end zone. Will be interesting to see how the LB room/play look next season.

5. Mark Fletcher: Again, another solid true freshman season for us. Showed so much fight and determination as a runner at such a young age. Imagine; we might not have featured either Fletcher or Bain this yr had not been the injuries sustained by Parrish, Messidor, and Chaney going down for a moment. Those untimely injuries gave us a glimpse into some solid foundational pieces.

6. Xavier Restrepo: Have a season young man! Proud of X, & I recall how hyped I was for this non-blue chip WR from Deerfield Beach choosing us over UK. He was a straight dog, & he finally got an opportunity to showcase that he can be WR 1.

7. Jacolby George: Yes, I know, he’s been a fake tough guy lately causing dumb penalties, but he was by far our most explosive playmaker on O this season, & had a helluva season for us. Led our team in TDs, longest play, & avg. this season.

8. Margin of Defeat: This cannot be stated how much of a difference this was from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, our avg. margin of defeat was 21, this season 8. That means we were in every single game this year vs. last season in defeat.

9. 2 game improvement: Regardless of how minuscule it may seem, the fact is we did go from 5 to 7 wins.

So with all those positives, how did a team that started the season 6-2 with so much momentum finish the season 1-4 culminating with an embarrassing loss for the first time in school’s history to a mediocre Rutgers team?

What’s the old saying; “A Tiger doesn’t change its stripes?” Well, we were that Tiger. The 2023 season was nothing more than lipstick on a pig, if I’m going to be frank. ‘But Relly Rell, come on brotha, u just highlighted all those positives to show how much more improved we were than last season!” U would be right, but this was also to highlight how stats can be empty numbers without context. So what’s the context?

This team was woefully undisciplined! The **** numbers improved, but the stats that show how good a team really is declined. (i.e turnover margin, penalties, RZ efficiency, poor utilization of situational football, etc.)

Let’s take a look at some glaring stats:

While our defense did improve, there were some things left to be desired.

Sacks:
2022 (10th) vs. 2023 (20th)
Passes Intercepted:
2022 (22nd) vs. 2023 (33rd)
Fumbles Recovered:
2022 (49th) vs. 2023 (74th)

While we became more disciplined on defense, we took a step back in being opportunistic in creating turnovers and causing backfield havoc meeting at the QB. This was important to note b/c of our offense, unfortunately. Here’s why:

Turnover Margin:
2022 (90th) vs. 2023 (94th)

We were a turnover machine as a team, constantly shooting ourselves in the foot. To further complicate matters:

Penalty Yards:
2022 (79th) v. 2023 (102nd)

Mixed that in w/ **** poor special teams:
Kickoff Defense: 2022 (39th) v. 2023 (92nd)
Blocked Punts Allowed: 2022 (T-1st) v. 2023 (T-120th)
Blocked Kicks Allowed: 2022 (T-32nd) v. 2023 (T-101st)

Along with an inability to stop offenses when they entered the RZ:
Def RZ Def: 2022 (61st) v. 2023 (T-101st)

With the cherry on top of a HC who refused to kneel on the ball when the game was over (GT), and several times down by more than one score having poor clock management:
Ex. See FSU down 14 in the 4th w/ 11 mins to play & the most recent example of the Pinstripe Bowl against Rutgers.

So what we had this year was some good, sure, and that good can give all the fans of fans the glimmer of hope that next season will be different; but, for all the good we saw, we still saw a team that couldn’t get out of its own way either by dumb penalties, an inability to make a timely stop after seizing momentum, or poor coaching acumen. 2 of the 3 is what has me most concerned, simply b/c 2 of those 3 happened at another school prior to.

This season we saw Jordan Travis become the first FSU QB to win 3 straight against Miami. This season we saw the first time in history a University of Miami Football team lose to a Rutgers University Football team. This season marked, for the past 15 seasons, our record plummeting to 1-11 in bowl games (maybe that’s why some say these bowl games are meaningless).

As I look at the coaching class of new hires of 2022, I can’t help but wonder how or why are we here.

DeBoer took over a 4-8 UW team, yet he’s 24-2 after 2 yrs
Kelly took over a 6-7 LSU team, yet he’s 19-7 after 2 yrs
Riley took over a 4-8 USC team, yet he’s 19-8 after 2 yrs
Elko took over a 3-9 Duke team, yet he’s 16-9 after 2 yrs
Dykes took over a 5-7 TCU team, yet he’s 18-9 after 2 yrs
Summerall took over a 5-7 Troy team, yet he’s 23-4 after 2 yrs
Kill took over a 2-10 NMST team, yet he’s 17-11 after 2 yrs
McGuire took over a 7-6 TT team, yet he’s 15-11 after 2 yrs
Cristobal took over a 7-5 UM team, yet he’s 12-13 after 2 yrs

See the entire picture, and u’ll see why we’re off pace. It’s not just the players, or refs, or the ACC, or any other excuse used, it’s the infrastructure, & by yr 3, the infrastructure (namely, Mario Cristobal) is going to need to make some needed changes in how he approaches the game of football. What we saw to begin the season gave us hope, but how we ended the season w/ the same bad habits from 2022 is why we should all be cautiously optimistic for next year.

Here’s hoping we hit a grand slam on the QB position via portal, the entire staff is on the same page, & we see us go from 5, to 7, to 10 wins next season.
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I’m sticking by my theory, there’s a SERIOUS culture problem at the U. And it starts with too much living in the past. You can’t be brash, you have to earn it. You can’t just talk **** you need to back it up. You can’t talk accountability and leave guys in who continue to make mistakes and you need enough balls to stick to your guns.
I think Mario is bringing in some real talent, but if we don’t address the culture, he’s going to be much more mark Richt then butch davis when he’s gone. Both brought in good classes, we meh on game day, and at least butchs classes kept it together for a run, but MRs just fell flat on their faces.
Let alone we will more than likely be a revolving portal door if we don’t build the right culture around our improvement.
Just my opinion.
 
janneke99 said:
I will say that I am very impressed/surprised w the d line production; with this list of def lineman we had available

- Bain
- Harvey
- Chantz
- Taylor (missed last 2 (or 1.5) games w injury)
- JHH
- Deen (missed 2 games w injury)
- Moten
- Gore
- Lichetenstein
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Suprised because they played better than you thought? I'm on the opposite side for most of the guys you listed, and had our best DT in Taylor play out of position for most of the year. I say this a Joe supporter.
 
Anyway to see the numbers against Power 5 teams? That TVD/Dawson cold spell starting with GT was scary bad.

I believe Mario gets 5-6 years before there is any change in HC. Dawson and new QB will need to figure it out next or Dawson is gone and Mario gets 2 years with his last ditch effort at OC. With the amount of money he's made, this being his dream job, and if it all ends in failure, this is more than likely his last real HC gig
 
561Cane said:
Thanks @Rellyrell for putting the stats together. I knew we were bad in penalties and TO margin. Forgot how poor we were in RZ defense.

I expected vast improvements in all three areas this season and MC punched me in the gut with his poor leadership and gameday coaching. This team was a 9-10 win team all day long. Next season I'm afraid will be much of the same as counting on MC to make major adjustments to his weaknesses is Fools Gold.
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Bro, when we were 6-2, i promise u, u couldn’t tell me we wouldn’t hit at least 9 regular season wins to close out the season.

W/ that said, now we get to see what’s, what next season. I still have faith, but I’m more cautiously optimistic vs. putting my full faith in to next season. We have serious ? marks for the QB position, secondary as of right now. If we hit on the QB position, I will feel much more glass half full vs. slightly empty.
 
Ghandi said:
Miami won’t continue to invest in sports at this level if football fails.

If this dude fails, Miami will stay what it’s become, a G5 program with 5-7 and 7-5 seasons.
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Been hounding on this all year now… we should all be rooting for this coaching staff. We will never see the same level of investment again
 
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DC3 said:
Suprised because they played better than you thought? I'm on the opposite side for most of the guys you listed, and had our best DT in Taylor play out of position for most of the year. I say this a Joe supporter.
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Specifically, impressed with Guidry's overall performance of the defense, with the underwhelming resources he had available on the defensive line.
 
Rellyrell said:
8 games would be an absolute slap to the face of us fans in yr 3. Randy won 9 games in yr 3, Golden won 9 games in yr 3. Mario is supposed to be 10x the coach those two bums were, so if we only win 8 games next year, ****, even 9 games, I’m looking at him sideways.
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Next year’s schedule is set up more than others in the past to win 10 games.

If he doesn’t get 10, he should absolutely be on the hot seat. If he somehow manages 6-6, 7-5 he should be fired!!
 
As always...great stuff.

One thing...its pedantic, but turnovers forced is kind of a luck thing. Miami being slightly down in those areas is just normal deviations. They were good numbers.

The big ones you have pointed out...penalties, turnover margin...those are big losers for us every.single.year and is often the canary in the coal mine for when we're in for a long ******* season.

While everyone was sucking each others ****s after the Oxford Redhawks and aTm games, we threw a dog **** INT and had a rough fumble in those games and had 18 ******* penalties. OH ****. We all should have really known what was going to go down in the upcoming weeks and months.
 
Tonio said:
Anyway to see the numbers against Power 5 teams? That TVD/Dawson cold spell starting with GT was scary bad.

I believe Mario gets 5-6 years before there is any change in HC. Dawson and new QB will need to figure it out next or Dawson is gone and Mario gets 2 years with his last ditch effort at OC. With the amount of money he's made, this being his dream job, and if it all ends in failure, this is more than likely his last real HC gig
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I don’t have the rankings available, but I do have stats.

Monthly Stats (Passing):
Week 0/September
4 games: 86/114 (75.4%) 1,186 yrds (10.4 ypa) 11 TDs 1 int QBR 192.92 (296.5 ypg)

October
4 games: 99/148 (66.9%) 993 yrds (6.7 ypa) 6 TDs 8 ints QBR 125.82 (248.3 ypg)

November
4 games: 78/143 (54.5%) 994 yrds (7.0 ypa) 5 TDs 4 ints QBR 118.89 (248.5 ypg)

December
Bowl game - see J Brown’s stats

Passing (Ranked Opponents):
3 g: 51.4% for 704 yrds (6.6 ypa) 3 TDs 4 ints QBR 108.43 (234.7 ypg)

Passing (Unranked Opponents):
10 g: 69.3% for 2650 yrds (8.1 ypa) 20 TDs 10 ints QBR 150.9 (265 ypg)

Passing (Conference Opponents):
8 g: 60.8% for 1987 yrds (6.8 ypa) 11 TDs 12 ints QBR 122.4 (248.4 ypg)

Passing (Non Conference Opponents):
5 g: 73.1% for 1367 yrds (9.4 ypa) 12 TDs 2 ints QBR 176.85 (273.4 ypg)

Passing (P5 Opponents):
10 g: 61.9% for 2542 yrds (7.2 ypa) 17 TDs 13 ints QBR 131.14 (254.2 ypg)

Passing (Non P5 Opponents):
2 g: 74% for 463 yrds (9.3 ypa) 4 TDs 1 int QBR 174.18 (231.5 ypg)

Passing (FCS Opponent):
1 g: 82.4% for 349 (10.3 ypa) 2 TDs 0 int QBR 187.99 (349 ypg)


Monthly Stats (Rushing):
Week0/September
890 yrds 6.45 ypc / 10 TDs / 222 ypg

October
580 yrds 4.2 ypc / 5 TDs / 145 ypg

November
651 yrds 4.93 ypc / 7 TDs / 162.75 ypg

December/Bowl Game
130 yrds 4.06 ypc / 2 TDs / 130 ypg

Rushing (Ranked Opponents):
3 g: 409 yrds (4.45 ypc) / 3 TDs / 136.33 ypg

Rushing (Unranked Opponents):
10 g: 1842 yrds (5.29 ypc) / 21 TDs / 184.2 ypg

Rushing (Conference Opponents):
8 g: 1231 yrds (4.56 ypc) / 12 TDs / 153.88 ypg

Rushing (Non Conference Opponents):
5 g: 1070 yrds (6.0 ypc) / 12 TDs / 204 ypg

Rushing (P5 Opponents):
10 g: 1438 yrds (4.41 ypc) / 14 TDs / 143.88 ypg

Rushing (Non P5 Opponents):
2 g: 573 yrds (7.35 ypc) / 5 TDs / 286.5 ypg

Rushing (FCS Opponent):
1 g: 240 yrds (6.67 ypc) / 5 TDs / 240 ypg



Notice a trend?

Edit: Defense

The defense began to wear down as the season went on, each month the yards and avg. increases including TDs given up. I won’t blame them for this, & they had enormous pressure placed upon them as the season wore on.
 
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Rellyrell said:
Well my fellow Canes’ Brethren it was, yet again, another year full of hype, optimism, hope, and in the end, let down. I’ve said it before, but the off season, the Green Tree Practice Reports are so much better than September - December when things ACTUALLY matter.

Nevertheless, there were some positives this season, things that if (and that’s a humongous word around these parts) we build upon will result in much more favorable outcomes moving forward.

Let’s review the positives, first:

1. A better defensively sound team compared to the 2022 version: Huge shout out to both Coach Guidry and Coach Taylor. The defense was light years better this season vs. last season.

2022 & 2023 Defensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Def: 2022 (64th) v. 2023 (25th)
3rd Down Def: 2022 (96th) v. 2023 (37th)
4th Down Def: 2022 (104th) v. 2023 (27th)
Passing Def: 2022 (79th) v. 2023 (54th)
Passing Efficiency Def: 2022 (102nd) v. 2023 (34th)
Rush Def: 2022 (54th) v. 2023 (13th)
Scoring Def: 2022 (66th) v. 2023 (41st)
TFLs: 2022 (22nd) v. 2023 (20th)

Overall we saw a massive improvement across the defense, & at times it was more fun watching them play than the offense itself. With that said that brings us to point 2

2. A better offense: Despite some flaws, the offense was still leaps & bounds better this season than last season.

2022 & 2023 Offensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Off: 2022 (85th) v. 2023 (30th)
4th Down Off: 2022 (104th) v. 2023 (65th)
Passing Off: 2022 (59th) v. 2023 (43rd)
Passing Efficiency Off: 2022 (84th) v. 2023 (52nd)
Rush Off: 2022 (95th) v. 2023 (45th)
Red Zone Off: 2022 (86th) v. 2023 (65th)
Sacks Allowed: 2022 (108th) v. 2023 (20th)
Scoring Off: 2022 (96th) v. 2023 (39th)
TFL Allowed: 2022 (70th) v. 2023 (34th)

So statistically, again much better this year offensively vs. last year, overall.

3. Rueben Bain, and Francis Mauigoa: Two OUTSTANDING true freshmen! Yes, they had some rough moments at times, but both were grown *** men that held their own against a slew of 21+ year old players. Outstanding recruits, and look fwd to their maturation come next yr & beyond.

4. Kiko Mauigoa and the LB Crew: What was once a weak spot became a very bright spot. Kiko, Wes, & the much maligned Corey Flagg Jr played w/ their hearts on their sleeves, often covering over missed alignments along the DL to clean up plays. Flagg will forever be good w/ me, despite me being vocally critical of his offer, with the play of the season (imo) making the proper read, & having the fluidity in hips to change direction & chase Klubnik, refusing him entry into the end zone. Will be interesting to see how the LB room/play look next season.

5. Mark Fletcher: Again, another solid true freshman season for us. Showed so much fight and determination as a runner at such a young age. Imagine; we might not have featured either Fletcher or Bain this yr had not been the injuries sustained by Parrish, Messidor, and Chaney going down for a moment. Those untimely injuries gave us a glimpse into some solid foundational pieces.

6. Xavier Restrepo: Have a season young man! Proud of X, & I recall how hyped I was for this non-blue chip WR from Deerfield Beach choosing us over UK. He was a straight dog, & he finally got an opportunity to showcase that he can be WR 1.

7. Jacolby George: Yes, I know, he’s been a fake tough guy lately causing dumb penalties, but he was by far our most explosive playmaker on O this season, & had a helluva season for us. Led our team in TDs, longest play, & avg. this season.

8. Margin of Defeat: This cannot be stated how much of a difference this was from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, our avg. margin of defeat was 21, this season 8. That means we were in every single game this year vs. last season in defeat.

9. 2 game improvement: Regardless of how minuscule it may seem, the fact is we did go from 5 to 7 wins.

So with all those positives, how did a team that started the season 6-2 with so much momentum finish the season 1-4 culminating with an embarrassing loss for the first time in school’s history to a mediocre Rutgers team?

What’s the old saying; “A Tiger doesn’t change its stripes?” Well, we were that Tiger. The 2023 season was nothing more than lipstick on a pig, if I’m going to be frank. ‘But Relly Rell, come on brotha, u just highlighted all those positives to show how much more improved we were than last season!” U would be right, but this was also to highlight how stats can be empty numbers without context. So what’s the context?

This team was woefully undisciplined! The **** numbers improved, but the stats that show how good a team really is declined. (i.e turnover margin, penalties, RZ efficiency, poor utilization of situational football, etc.)

Let’s take a look at some glaring stats:

While our defense did improve, there were some things left to be desired.

Sacks:
2022 (10th) vs. 2023 (20th)
Passes Intercepted:
2022 (22nd) vs. 2023 (33rd)
Fumbles Recovered:
2022 (49th) vs. 2023 (74th)

While we became more disciplined on defense, we took a step back in being opportunistic in creating turnovers and causing backfield havoc meeting at the QB. This was important to note b/c of our offense, unfortunately. Here’s why:

Turnover Margin:
2022 (90th) vs. 2023 (94th)

We were a turnover machine as a team, constantly shooting ourselves in the foot. To further complicate matters:

Penalty Yards:
2022 (79th) v. 2023 (102nd)

Mixed that in w/ **** poor special teams:
Kickoff Defense: 2022 (39th) v. 2023 (92nd)
Blocked Punts Allowed: 2022 (T-1st) v. 2023 (T-120th)
Blocked Kicks Allowed: 2022 (T-32nd) v. 2023 (T-101st)

Along with an inability to stop offenses when they entered the RZ:
Def RZ Def: 2022 (61st) v. 2023 (T-101st)

With the cherry on top of a HC who refused to kneel on the ball when the game was over (GT), and several times down by more than one score having poor clock management:
Ex. See FSU down 14 in the 4th w/ 11 mins to play & the most recent example of the Pinstripe Bowl against Rutgers.

So what we had this year was some good, sure, and that good can give all the fans of fans the glimmer of hope that next season will be different; but, for all the good we saw, we still saw a team that couldn’t get out of its own way either by dumb penalties, an inability to make a timely stop after seizing momentum, or poor coaching acumen. 2 of the 3 is what has me most concerned, simply b/c 2 of those 3 happened at another school prior to.

This season we saw Jordan Travis become the first FSU QB to win 3 straight against Miami. This season we saw the first time in history a University of Miami Football team lose to a Rutgers University Football team. This season marked, for the past 15 seasons, our record plummeting to 1-11 in bowl games (maybe that’s why some say these bowl games are meaningless).

As I look at the coaching class of new hires of 2022, I can’t help but wonder how or why are we here.

DeBoer took over a 4-8 UW team, yet he’s 24-2 after 2 yrs
Kelly took over a 6-7 LSU team, yet he’s 19-7 after 2 yrs
Riley took over a 4-8 USC team, yet he’s 19-8 after 2 yrs
Elko took over a 3-9 Duke team, yet he’s 16-9 after 2 yrs
Dykes took over a 5-7 TCU team, yet he’s 18-9 after 2 yrs
Summerall took over a 5-7 Troy team, yet he’s 23-4 after 2 yrs
Kill took over a 2-10 NMST team, yet he’s 17-11 after 2 yrs
McGuire took over a 7-6 TT team, yet he’s 15-11 after 2 yrs
Cristobal took over a 7-5 UM team, yet he’s 12-13 after 2 yrs

See the entire picture, and u’ll see why we’re off pace. It’s not just the players, or refs, or the ACC, or any other excuse used, it’s the infrastructure, & by yr 3, the infrastructure (namely, Mario Cristobal) is going to need to make some needed changes in how he approaches the game of football. What we saw to begin the season gave us hope, but how we ended the season w/ the same bad habits from 2022 is why we should all be cautiously optimistic for next year.

Here’s hoping we hit a grand slam on the QB position via portal, the entire staff is on the same page, & we see us go from 5, to 7, to 10 wins next season.
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This is excellent recap, thank you.
The 64K question is…..is Meathead Mario, self reflecting? Taking inventory on what he is lacking HIMSELF as well as with the staff and players?????

THAT is what scares me. My
Guy tells me that Meathead Mario has no self awareness of how much of a Meathead he is. I believe he is grandiose in nature and does not account for his own shortcomings (game day management etc..)

Jury is out but this coming year is make or break
I’m Luke warm at best In terms of confidence in Meathead Mario
 
E1k said:
Great post but i wish we compared this year to 2021

That should be what we’re trying to improve from because im sure we could choose any season in the last two decades and it would be an improvement from 2022. Thats just how bad that year was

Appreciate your post as always tho
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*I’ll bold the areas we improved in from 2023 v. 2021*

2021 & 2023 Defensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Def: 2021 (75th) v. 2023 (25th)
3rd Down Def: 2021 (76th) v. 2023 (37th)
4th Down Def: 2021 (45th) v. 2023 (27th)
Passing Def: 2021 (102) v. 2023 (54th)
Passing Efficiency Def: 2021 (60th) v. 2023 (34th)
Def RZ Def: 2021 (129th) v. 2023 (T-101st)
Rush Def: 2021 (44th) v. 2023 (13th)
Scoring Def: 2021 (82nd) v. 2023 (41st)
TFLs: 2021 (8th) v. 2023 (20th)
Sacks: 2021 (35th) vs. 2023 (20th)
Passes Intercepted: 2021 (93rd) vs. 2023 (33rd)
Fumbles Recovered: 2021 (118th) vs. 2023 (74th)

So based upon the statistics on defense, the 2023 version of our defense was much more sound than our 2021 version.

2021 & 2023 Offensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Off: 2021 (19th) v. 2023 (30th)
1st Down Off: 2021 (39th) v. 2023 (35th)
3rd Down Off: 2021 (50th) v. 2023 (52nd)
4th Down Off: 2021 (8th) v. 2023 (65th)
Passing Off: 2021 (10th) v. 2023 (43rd)
Passing Efficiency Off: 2021 (28th) v. 2023 (52nd)
Rush Off: 2021 (97th) v. 2023 (45th)
Red Zone Off: 2021 (51st) v. 2023 (65th)
Sacks Allowed: 2022 (89th) v. 2023 (20th)
Scoring Off: 2021 (23rd) v. 2023 (39th)
TFL Allowed: 2021 (108th) v. 2023 (34th)

This is a weird one; our offensive line was light years better in 2023 vs. 2021, yet it did not yield better offensive results. In 2021, the defense put immense pressure on the offense to put up points (which they did), but in 2023 the offense put immense pressure on the defense to be **** near perfect. Just a weird dynamic that the trenches became much better ≠ better offensive production. Better than 2022, yes, but still far behind 2021.

Penalty Yards:
2022 (94th) v. 2023 (100th)

This was surprising; we were actually a little less disciplined here. However, being that we played one more game in 2023 v. 2021, I would consider this a wash. Regardless, being an inefficient offense while being undisciplined in 2023 is quite concerning under a coach who champions himself as an attention to detail oriented coach.

Turnover Margin:
2021 (T-108th) vs. 2023 (94th)

Special Teams:
Kickoff Defense: 2022 (125th) v. 2023 (92nd)
Blocked Punts Allowed: 2022 (T-64th) v. 2023 (T-120th)
Blocked Kicks Allowed: 2022 (T-66th) v. 2023 (T-101st)

Final takeaway - In a perfect world, if we could combine the defense of 2023 w/ the offense of 2021, we would be a ACCCG contender. There’s no doubt in my mind we would’ve been an easy 10+ win team.

Both teams were undisciplined, however the 2023 version was not only undisciplined, but our ST got us in hotter waters than needed to be. Can I say we improved from 2021 to 2023? In some ways, yes, but in many ways no. In essence we improved on defense w/o a doubt, and that’s pretty much it.
 
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