Time to commit... [to Mario]

[Angry Ibis]

It still is an excuse in year 2 IMO probably half of the coaches you listed have worse records in year 1 and 2 than Mario. I believe Norvell, Sark, Leipold all had worse first 2 years. Napier is TBD but I assume the second half of their season things get wonky, Brohm in his first year who knows but he was a career 500 guy at purdue, Venables walked into a MUCH better program to sell, legit CFB team and he went under .500 and this year aside from Texas has beat no one. Year 3 is typically the make or break year where that excuse runs out IMO.

Do you believe the MariBros agree with your Year 3 comment?

Win Game 1 at UF against G5 Billy or fire up his seat warmer?? To high?

 

[Angry Ibis]

The desire for instant gratification is something that the millennials have clearly leaked into the rest of society. I've been watching **** football in Coral Gables for the last 20 years (and F that 2017 MIRAGE - it wasn't real). What's another 2 or 3 at this point, IF we have a realistic shot at returning to relevance. How does that happen? Stacking recruiting classes. Yes game day coaching is critical and Mario et al severely **** the bed the last couple weeks. That can be fixed with a little bit of humility. Stacking recruiting classes is significantly more difficult and I'm not sure anyone in the country is clearly better at it than Mario.

No one in the country better than stacking talent than Mario?

 

[Gsugradcanefan]

Fair enough, I’ll elaborate.

When highlighting schools like Kansas, it’s not the record you need to look at. It’s the improvement they’ve undergone comparable to the talent they have.

Take the GT kneel/fumble out of the equation for a split second. We were 20+ point favorites and were barely in a position to squeak our a win. Last week, UNC committed nearly 150 yards of penalties, and yet rag-dolled us around in the 2H in a game that honestly, they could have won by 20. They dominated us in the 2H.

When it comes to conference play (SO FAR), Mario has completely **** the bed and looks minimally better than some of our predecessors.

Leipold took Kansas from 2-10, to 6-7 (big jump), to now 5-2 and probably winning 7-8 games (another jump). Mario has brought in 40+ new players, Kansas assuredly has worse talent than us.

Sarkisian: 5-7, 8-5 (4 losses by 1 score), probably staring at a 10-2 or maybe 11-1 regular season.

DeBoer: Immediate success. 11-2, currently 6-0.

Heupel: 7-6, 11-2, currently 5-1.

Napier: 6-7, currently 5-2 (2H of the season TBD, but remember they’re the youngest team in college football…he’s parading the youth movement. We’re not).

Venebles: 5-7, currently 6-0.

GJ Kinne (Texas State): first year, 5-2. Texas State had gone 3-9, 2-10, 4-8, and 4-8 before he got there.

You can even throw Deion (gross) into this category…I’m sure I missed some others. Talent and culture are no longer an excuse in this day and age of NIL and transfer portal acquisitions. We signed a top 10 portal class, right? A top 10 recruiting class, right? New coaches, right?

Play like it.

Everything you said was on point. Not to mention Mario is in the top 15 of highest paid cfb coaches. When has a UM coach EVER been included in that list? Not only is he the highest paid coach in the history of Miami football, but he's being given access to facilities and resources that no other Miami coach has had. Despite all that he's been given, he's woefully underperformed (3-7ACC, 0-5 vs ACC at home, i can't stress that enough), yet folks on here are supposed to be ok with and be happy about small, incremental steps being made? FOH!

 

[razrcane]

Fair enough, I’ll elaborate.

When highlighting schools like Kansas, it’s not the record you need to look at. It’s the improvement they’ve undergone comparable to the talent they have.

Take the GT kneel/fumble out of the equation for a split second. We were 20+ point favorites and were barely in a position to squeak our a win. Last week, UNC committed nearly 150 yards of penalties, and yet rag-dolled us around in the 2H in a game that honestly, they could have won by 20. They dominated us in the 2H.

When it comes to conference play (SO FAR), Mario has completely **** the bed and looks minimally better than some of our predecessors.

Leipold took Kansas from 2-10, to 6-7 (big jump), to now 5-2 and probably winning 7-8 games (another jump). Mario has brought in 40+ new players, Kansas assuredly has worse talent than us.

Sarkisian: 5-7, 8-5 (4 losses by 1 score), probably staring at a 10-2 or maybe 11-1 regular season.

DeBoer: Immediate success. 11-2, currently 6-0.

Heupel: 7-6, 11-2, currently 5-1.

Napier: 6-7, currently 5-2 (2H of the season TBD, but remember they’re the youngest team in college football…he’s parading the youth movement. We’re not).

Venebles: 5-7, currently 6-0.

GJ Kinne (Texas State): first year, 5-2. Texas State had gone 3-9, 2-10, 4-8, and 4-8 before he got there.

You can even throw Deion (gross) into this category…I’m sure I missed some others. Talent and culture are no longer an excuse in this day and age of NIL and transfer portal acquisitions. We signed a top 10 portal class, right? A top 10 recruiting class, right? New coaches, right?

Play like it.

 

[Rellyrell]

I’m just watching this next class. I do see more a lot more good than bad. We get dog walked by unc in other regimes (still not an excuse) but when you have realistic expectations and understand it’s a rebuild you can sleep easy. I seen a lot more good. It reminds me when we beat the breaks off fsu I saw a lot of good from them schematically I remember the thread I think cribby was too. My memory is trash I’m old. I was like fsu roster was cheeks and behold they found a gun slinger. If we find that look out cause the scheme will get guys open. Doesn’t matter the stars in a qb as long as they find someone who sees it

You can still find an under rated qb because qbs are hard to evaluate and one can slip through. I don’t think anyone was beating down the door to get Travis.

My brotha, what I bolded is simply just not true.

Golden
2011 (We finished 6-6)
Score: Miami 30 UNC 24

2012 (We finished 7-5)
Score: UNC 18 Miami 14

2013 (We finished 9-4)
Score: Miami 27 UNC 23

2014 (We finished 6-7)
Score: Miami 47 UNC 20

2015 (We finished 8-5)
Score: UNC 59 Miami 21

Golden/Scott regime: 3-2 v. UNC (3 of 5 games were 6 points or less. We dog walked them once, they dogged walked us once)

Richt
2016 (We finished 9-4)
Score: UNC 20 Miami 13

2017 (We finished 10-3)
Score: Miami 24 UNC 19

2018 (We finished 7-5)
Score: Miami 47 UNC 10

Richt regime: 2-1 (2 of 3 games were 7 points or less) We dog walked them once

Diaz
2019 (We finished 6-7)
Score: UNC 28 Miami 25

2020 (We finished 8-3)
Score: UNC 62 Miami 26

2021 (We finished 7-5)
Score: UNC 45 Miami 43

Diaz Regime: 0-3 (2 of 3 games were 3 points or less). They dog walked us once

Cristobal
2022 (We finished 5-7)
Score: UNC 27 Miami 24

2023 (We’re 4-2)
Score: UNC 41 Miami 31

Since 2011, UNC has beat us by 2 scores or more only 3 times, 2 of which coming at the hands of 4 scores or more (2020 & 2015). Other than that, 5 of the 8 losses have been 7 points or fewer going all the way back to Golden. Fck that, go back to Coker & Shannon, & u’ll see whenever we lost to UNC we’ve never been dog walked.

Trying to rationalize tends to create false memories.

 

[423Hurricane]

My brotha, what I bolded is simply just not true.

Golden
2011 (We finished 6-6)
Score: Miami 30 UNC 24

2012 (We finished 7-5)
Score: UNC 18 Miami 14

2013 (We finished 9-4)
Score: Miami 27 UNC 23

2014 (We finished 6-7)
Score: Miami 47 UNC 20

2015 (We finished 8-5)
Score: UNC 59 Miami 21

Golden/Scott regime: 3-2 v. UNC (3 of 5 games were 6 points or less. We dog walked them once, they dogged walked us once)

Richt
2016 (We finished 9-4)
Score: UNC 20 Miami 13

2017 (We finished 10-3)
Score: Miami 24 UNC 19

2018 (We finished 7-5)
Score: Miami 47 UNC 10

Richt regime: 2-1 (2 of 3 games were 7 points or less) We dog walked them once

Diaz
2019 (We finished 6-7)
Score: UNC 28 Miami 25

2020 (We finished 8-3)
Score: UNC 62 Miami 26

2021 (We finished 7-5)
Score: UNC 45 Miami 43

Diaz Regime: 0-3 (2 of 3 games were 3 points or less). They dog walked us once

Cristobal
2022 (We finished 5-7)
Score: UNC 27 Miami 24

2023 (We’re 4-2)
Score: UNC 41 Miami 31

Since 2011, UNC has beat us by 2 scores or more only 3 times, 2 of which coming at the hands of 4 scores or more (2020 & 2015). Other than that, 5 of the 8 losses have been 7 points or fewer going all the way back to Golden. Fck that, go back to Coker & Shannon, & u’ll see whenever we lost to UNC we’ve never been dog walked.

Trying to rationalize tends to create false memories.

Many have memories about as long as my ******. The “what have you done for me lately” crowd cherry picks things to justify a particular agenda. Fact of the matter is we’ve been a mediocre at best program for **** near 2 decades. Similar to what we were pre-1983. What Howard did was miraculous considering our past and it took him 5 years to get #1.

Will/can Mario do it in 5 years or less? Lots of things in CFB have changed since the beginning of our unprecedented run and we haven’t kept up but are attempting to now. It’s a steep hill to climb ALL things considered.

The jury’s still out for me with Mario but a verdict should be forthcoming in the not too distant future.

 

[Rellyrell]

Many have memories about as long as my ******. The “what have you done for me lately” crowd cherry picks things to justify a particular agenda. Fact of the matter is we’ve been a mediocre at best program for **** near 2 decades. Similar to what we were pre-1983. What Howard did was miraculous considering our past and it took him 5 years to get #1.

Will/can Mario do it in 5 years or less? Lots of things in CFB have changed since the beginning of our unprecedented run and we haven’t kept up but are attempting to now. It’s a steep hill to climb ALL things considered.

The jury’s still out for me with Mario but a verdict should be forthcoming in the not too distant future.

Here’s the thing about Schnelly; he truly did take over a rebuild. From 1975-78, Miami went a paltry 14-29. Schnelly went 5-6 yr 1, then:

9-3 (yr 2)
9-2 (yr 3)
7-4 (yr 4)
Nat’l Champions (yr 5)

The record improved dramatically from yr 1 to yr 2. As stated, this program wasn’t a rebuild, this was supposed to be a remodel. If I’m going to be blunt & assertive, we’ve stated for yrs that coaching was the problem, b/c the talent acquisition was still in the very good range compared to our ACC peers. We consistently ranked top 3 in the ACC recruiting either directly behind FSU, Clemson, or both.

Duke, was a rebuild prior to Elko (3-9)
FSU was a rebuild prior to Norvell (6-7)
UofM was a rebuild prior to Harbaugh (5-7)
Bama was a rebuild prior to Saban (6-7 + sanctions)
Utah was a rebuild prior to Meyer (5-6)
USC was a rebuild prior to Lincoln (4-8)

These r examples of rebuilds, & all w/ the exception of Norvell turned their programs around immediately, while Norvell took 3 yrs. Mario is deemed as a very good coach, elite compared to the other guys here (no disrespect to Richt, but we got the geriatric version of him). We’ve said talent is not the issue it’s coaching when the other guys were here, but now it’s we need more talent w/ proper evaluation. Lol

I see us looking better in 2023 v. 2022, but now that competition has stiffened, I’m seeing some bad habits (coachable) rear its head again. So we’ll see.

 

[423Hurricane]

Here’s the thing about Schnelly; he truly did take over a rebuild. From 1975-78, Miami went a paltry 14-29. Schnelly went 5-6 yr 1, then:

9-3 (yr 2)
9-2 (yr 3)
7-4 (yr 4)
Nat’l Champions (yr 5)

The record improved dramatically from yr 1 to yr 2. As stated, this program wasn’t a rebuild, this was supposed to be a remodel. If I’m going to be blunt & assertive, we’ve stated for yrs that coaching was the problem, b/c the talent acquisition was still in the very good range compared to our ACC peers. We consistently ranked top 3 in the ACC recruiting either directly behind FSU, Clemson, or both.

Duke, was a rebuild prior to Elko (3-9)
FSU was a rebuild prior to Norvell (6-7)
UofM was a rebuild prior to Harbaugh (5-7)
Bama was a rebuild prior to Saban (6-7 + sanctions)
Utah was a rebuild prior to Meyer (5-6)
USC was a rebuild prior to Lincoln (4-8)

These r examples of rebuilds, & all w/ the exception of Norvell turned their programs around immediately, while Norvell took 3 yrs. Mario is deemed as a very good coach, elite compared to the other guys here (no disrespect to Richt, but we got the geriatric version of him). We’ve said talent is not the issue it’s coaching when the other guys were here, but now it’s we need more talent w/ proper evaluation. Lol

I see us looking better in 2023 v. 2022, but now that competition has stiffened, I’m seeing some bad habits (coachable) rear its head again. So we’ll see.

Saban didn’t leave the cupboard completely bare for Schnelly but he did bring things - namely offense - that CFB hadn’t seen and he recruited at a high level.

Having been around since ‘67, I have a different perspective than many. I try and see things in a more macro level. Age is also a factor. LOL.

 

[Dwinstitles]

My brotha, what I bolded is simply just not true.

Golden
2011 (We finished 6-6)
Score: Miami 30 UNC 24

2012 (We finished 7-5)
Score: UNC 18 Miami 14

2013 (We finished 9-4)
Score: Miami 27 UNC 23

2014 (We finished 6-7)
Score: Miami 47 UNC 20

2015 (We finished 8-5)
Score: UNC 59 Miami 21

Golden/Scott regime: 3-2 v. UNC (3 of 5 games were 6 points or less. We dog walked them once, they dogged walked us once)

Richt
2016 (We finished 9-4)
Score: UNC 20 Miami 13

2017 (We finished 10-3)
Score: Miami 24 UNC 19

2018 (We finished 7-5)
Score: Miami 47 UNC 10

Richt regime: 2-1 (2 of 3 games were 7 points or less) We dog walked them once

Diaz
2019 (We finished 6-7)
Score: UNC 28 Miami 25

2020 (We finished 8-3)
Score: UNC 62 Miami 26

2021 (We finished 7-5)
Score: UNC 45 Miami 43

Diaz Regime: 0-3 (2 of 3 games were 3 points or less). They dog walked us once

Cristobal
2022 (We finished 5-7)
Score: UNC 27 Miami 24

2023 (We’re 4-2)
Score: UNC 41 Miami 31

Since 2011, UNC has beat us by 2 scores or more only 3 times, 2 of which coming at the hands of 4 scores or more (2020 & 2015). Other than that, 5 of the 8 losses have been 7 points or fewer going all the way back to Golden. Fck that, go back to Coker & Shannon, & u’ll see whenever we lost to UNC we’ve never been dog walked.

Trying to rationalize tends to create false memories.

I do think this is uncs best team since the butch suspensions. But hey u dove deep here and I respect it. You bring up good points I can’t argue you got the receipts. I’ll hold the L but I’ll hold hope imo and in my eyes and what I see. I could be wrong but I been right about these bum coaches fast and I’m not ready to say that this staff is a staph. Not yet at least for me

 

[Rellyrell]

Saban didn’t leave the cupboard completely bare for Schnelly but he did bring things - namely offense - that CFB hadn’t seen and he recruited at a high level.

Having been around since ‘67, I have a different perspective than many. I try and see things in a more macro level. Age is also a factor. LOL.

Yeah, actually Saban inherited a worst program than Schnelly. He turned around Selmer’s squad to winning team by his 2nd yr. The roster was still a mess, in totality by Schnelly’s 1st yr.

Also, I’ve been meaning to ask this ? 4 a couple of yrs now, but seeing that Saban appeared to making progress by his 2nd yr, was he fired or did he leave on his own?

 

[Rellyrell]

I do think this is uncs best team since the butch suspensions. But hey u dove deep here and I respect it. You bring up good points I can’t argue you got the receipts. I’ll hold the L but I’ll hold hope imo and in my eyes and what I see. I could be wrong but I been right about these bum coaches fast and I’m not ready to say that this staff is a staph. Not yet at least for me

It’s all good; 62-26 is etched in our minds in infamy. That’s why u most likely felt all of the past regimes have been bodied by UNC; but nah, since we’ve joined the ACC in 2004, UNC have been one of our toughest defeats, coming in last minute, tight/close games fashion.

I think we’ve made improvements from yr 1 to yr 2. We look a bit faster at certain positions, for sure. I still see a lot of coaching vs. talent issues, however. That’s most concerning. The only team we’ve faced so far where we didn’t have a decided talent advantage on was Texas A&M. That’s another team if a good coach was there would probably run or be close to running the SEC.

Talent acquisition can only take u so far. Let me use Duke as an example; here’s a team that has bottom tier ACC talent, yet they are disciplined af. Now, the wheels may come off now that they’ve lost their QB1, but my point is b/c of how disciplined they are, they’ve made life tough against all opponents despite the talent gap.

We’ve done the exact opposite, & that includes under Mario. Our boneheaded mental lapse whether that’s not taking a knee, CBs misplaying the ball, untimely penalties, turnovers, tackling each other vs. ball carrier, it makes games we should be running away w/ closer than it need be. That’s how u wind up being 0 for in ACC play at home, & letting **** poor teams hang around.

 

[LoungeLord]

 

[Dwinstitles]

It’s all good; 62-26 is etched in our minds in infamy. That’s why u most likely felt all of the past regimes have been bodied by UNC; but nah, since we’ve joined the ACC in 2004, UNC have been one of our toughest defeats, coming in last minute, tight/close games fashion.

I think we’ve made improvements from yr 1 to yr 2. We look a bit faster at certain positions, for sure. I still see a lot of coaching vs. talent issues, however. That’s most concerning. The only team we’ve faced so far where we didn’t have a decided talent advantage on was Texas A&M. That’s another team if a good coach was there would probably run or be close to running the SEC.

Talent acquisition can only take u so far. Let me use Duke as an example; here’s a team that has bottom tier ACC talent, yet they are disciplined af. Now, the wheels may come off now that they’ve lost their QB1, but my point is b/c of how disciplined they are, they’ve made life tough against all opponents despite the talent gap.

We’ve done the exact opposite, & that includes under Mario. Our boneheaded mental lapse whether that’s not taking a knee, CBs misplaying the ball, untimely penalties, turnovers, tackling each other vs. ball carrier, it makes games we should be running away w/ closer than it need be. That’s how u wind up being 0 for in ACC play at home, & letting **** poor teams hang around.

I do like our schemes that’s the crazy sh. I don’t see what others see. I see a good scheme not being taken advantage of by a qb. I also see a scheme on defense capable of being great with different bodies up the middle. I don’t know how tf duke does it but they will be back to bottom feeders more than likely. If that’s next season who knows but their under rated evals are hitting. They do not recruit against the teams we go against so they got free dibs on low tier gems that work for them.

Yes and that’s coaching because you have to identify talent. Imo if we had Jordan Travis or a qb that goes through reads we are 6-0 cause GT wouldn’t be close. But we have what we have and I still believe man. Maybe you will be right and when I feel like you are right about our staff you know ill voice it. I haven’t gave up or seen super terrible play/schemes, but I have seen costly qb play and turnovers. That’s on the trigger man. I ain’t mad at the gun seller I’m mad at the person pulling the trigger.

 

[Rellyrell]

I do like our schemes that’s the crazy sh. I don’t see what others see. I see a good scheme not being taken advantage of by a qb. I also see a scheme on defense capable of being great with different bodies up the middle. I don’t know how tf duke does it but they will be back to bottom feeders more than likely. If that’s next season who knows but their under rated evals are hitting. They do not recruit against the teams we go against so they got free dibs on low tier gems that work for them.

Yes and that’s coaching because you have to identify talent. Imo if we had Jordan Travis or a qb that goes through reads we are 6-0 cause GT wouldn’t be close. But we have what we have and I still believe man. Maybe you will be right and when I feel like you are right about our staff you know ill voice it. I haven’t gave up or seen super terrible play/schemes, but I have seen costly qb play and turnovers. That’s on the trigger man. I ain’t mad at the gun seller I’m mad at the person pulling the trigger.

I don’t think any fan should give up this early. Lol. For me, I always start with this mindset:

New hire (I’m hopeful, & look for any & every reason to be optimistic)

Yr 1 (Count it as a mulligan, but take notice)

Yr 2 (More observant, but still not panicked)

Yr 3 (Highly alert, get worried)

Yr 4 (Watch everything like a hawk, it’s over)

This is yr 2, & so I’m a bit more engaged, but I’m not yet panicked. However, yr 2 will give me a bit more of an indicator for the following season. Right now, we’ve hit a tough 2 game patch, but that can change this Saturday, easily.

Lastly, Jordan Travis pre-Norvell & Travis post-Norvell r two totally different players. Norvell coached Travis to what we see, so not so sure having him here would be the same player. However, I do agree, schematically we look better. W/ that said, I noticed two major flaws in both schemes;

On O, the middle of the field is not being properly exploited w/ the TE. Dare say, Gattis’ offense better utilized the TE position, & just looking at FB in general, the TE is just as important as WRs. Also, our running game is very barbaric. There’s no stretch plays, counters, zone reads, etc. When we out talent the opposition in the trenches, we’ve had success doing this, but when the trenches have been equal, our run game has suffered.

On Def, the middle of our Def is soft af. Gaping holes are allowed (no pause). Also, our def is susceptible to wheel routes, & big plays b/c it’s predicated on blitz help, leaving our smallish CBs out the dry, or forcing DEs to run out to help on players coming out the back field.

 

[Dwinstitles]

I don’t think any fan should give up this early. Lol. For me, I always start with this mindset:

New hire (I’m hopeful, & look for any & every reason to be optimistic)

Yr 1 (Count it as a mulligan, but take notice)

Yr 2 (More observant, but still not panicked)

Yr 3 (Highly alert, get worried)

Yr 4 (Watch everything like a hawk, it’s over)

This is yr 2, & so I’m a bit more engaged, but I’m not yet panicked. However, yr 2 will give me a bit more of an indicator for the following season. Right now, we’ve hit a tough 2 game patch, but that can change this Saturday, easily.

Lastly, Jordan Travis pre-Norvell & Travis post-Norvell r two totally different players. Norvell coached Travis to what we see, so not so sure having him here would be the same player. However, I do agree, schematically we look better. W/ that said, I noticed two major flaws in both schemes;

On O, the middle of the field is not being properly exploited w/ the TE. Dare say, Gattis’ offense better utilized the TE position, & just looking at FB in general, the TE is just as important as WRs. Also, our running game is very barbaric. There’s no stretch plays, counters, zone reads, etc. When we out talent the opposition in the trenches, we’ve had success doing this, but when the trenches have been equal, our run game has suffered.

On Def, the middle of our Def is soft af. Gaping holes are allowed (no pause). Also, our def is susceptible to wheel routes, & big plays b/c it’s predicated on blitz help, leaving our smallish CBs out the dry, or forcing DEs to run out to help on players coming out the back field.

I agree with everything here and Norvell has made it a bit easier for JT. I actually think he could be a major steal in the draft no one is going to think he’s legit. Sh hope the giants pull the trigger. The rb designs are basic asf but I have hope in a way of these two coordinators when they get different pieces. It seems like they are open to change things if they have different tools.

Our DB room needs big guys who can turn and run. There is still dead weight on the roster I believed that going into this season and I see it. I view the years like you except for Manny. I knew day one he was a snake. Real recognize real

 

[casualcane]

We get back to work on Monday

 

[SWFLHurricane]

Saban didn’t leave the cupboard completely bare for Schnelly but he did bring things - namely offense - that CFB hadn’t seen and he recruited at a high level.

Having been around since ‘67, I have a different perspective than many. I try and see things in a more macro level. Age is also a factor. LOL.

Sabans last class helped Schnelly immensely....

 

[CaneFan79]

Awesome thread title...Whoops, I thought it said:

Time to vomit... [to Mario]​

 

[Calinative]

Rebuild General Plan:

Yr 1 - Lose Big.
Yr 2 - Lose Close
Yr 3 - Win Close
Yr 4 - Win Big.

This is how I've always viewed rebuilds - long before we hired Mario. Also the longer lasting you want the rebuild to be, the longer you can expect it to take. Quick Fixes aren't usually sustainable. And you don't analyze that plan by W/L record either. You look at actual on field performance and how the talent is being accumulated.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

7-8 wins this season and I'd be happy. 9+ next year and we're on the right track.

At the end of they day, all it taoverachiever. mobile qb who can hit some passes. Look at any team that overachieves.

8 wins would make me ecstatic! The thing is that we would have to go 4-2 the rest of the way which is going to be difficult but certainly not impossible. A win against Clemson this weekend would really put us on the right track but that is a big if especially with the way the team is playing right now. NC State, Louisville, Pitt and BC are all very winnable games that to be honest we should win if this team gets better as they go. The problem with the squad right now is that they are playing tentative football on offense and as a whole they seem to lack confidence.

Nobody wants to hear this but that disaster vs GT really got in their heads and I don't blame those kids one bit. Not one! That is squarely on Mario and that type of idiotic decision that cost us a win that was 100% guaranteed if the head coach does what he is supposed to do. Look, you can try to blow sunshine up my rear with things like " The players are totally behind Mario and are completely unified as a team." and so on and so on but those kids aren't robots. They are human beings and they are young. There has got to be some lingering resentment. Now I have no problem believing that the team is totally unified behind Mario and the staff but that second loss in the L column shouldn't be there and the kids know that. Psychologically that is a very difficult thing to accept much less to process. The next time they win is when it will be out of their system and Saturday vs Clemson would be the ideal game to do that. We are at home at night, playing a team that we haven't beaten at home since 1956. We are back at the scene of the Georgia Tech crime in the same time slot playing a Clemson team with considerably more talent than GT yet a Clemson team that we have the ability to beat. Will we see the Miami team who beat Texas ATM by 15 or will we see the Miami team who turned the ball over 9 times over the last two games?