Jesus - I'm glad I slept through this. Thank God for NyQuil.
Did the defense just lay down and give up?
"The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe." ~Dr. Leonard H. McCoy
Will Hill open up QB competition or is it Baker again next year? Seems crazy he’s just been handed the job and not one other kid took a meaningful snap in two years. .500 and nobody gets a legit shot. #comedy
I mean you obviously have made up your mind about Baker, but he wasn’t handed anything. He won the starting job and has this far kept it. Give the kid some credit.
@siu_2011 tough kid that fights every play. Two straight years falling off at the end. It’s college football. Find out if another QB can spark the team.
Listening to the post game show the possession on the 3 yard line that started with 70 seconds to go 1st down was an RPO and Baker tried to pass in this situation why run an RPO just run the ball and play for overtime coaches should have called a run play and not give the QB an option play calling should have been better no way we don't make it to OT
Will Hill open up QB competition or is it Baker again next year? Seems crazy he’s just been handed the job and not one other kid took a meaningful snap in two years. .500 and nobody gets a legit shot.
Baker wasn't the problem this season. Baker put them in position to win way more games this year than they won. This team lacked a bit of explosiveness with their WR's and RB's (although I was impressed by D'Ante Cox). Landon Lenoir was a huge loss this offseason and Hartrup missing the whole year was a killer.
@siu_2011 tough kid that fights every play. Two straight years falling off at the end. It’s college football. Find out if another QB can spark the team.
I think if Hill thought a different QB gave them a better shot to win, he’d have them in. Norton has been a flop. Jury is still out on Lindauer due to injuries. If I’m being honest, despite the game today, I think Baker has had a really good year. He would be really far down the list of reasons we lost games this year, he was offensive player of the week 3 times!
No doubt the offense struggled at times, but we’ve had no run game most of the year (O-line has really struggled to run block) and that has put an awful lot of pressure on Baker and our receiving corp.
Haven’t even started on the defense yet, but I’ll leave that for another day.
After a 5-6 season there is plenty of blame to go around coaches and players alike.
Stupid penalties were as much to blame for this failed season as anything.
@siu_2011 agree. More than 1 player or coach took part in the late season and early season losses. Baker is a good QB. Just not sure he’s at a level that no others are getting opportunities I think we have 6 total QBs and not 1 took a meaningful snap in a game. We are a .500 level FCS school. That’s confusing to me.
Not trying to stir the pot, but I don’t know how somebody could watch this team and think Baker is even in the top three of issues.
#1 issue was discipline. Terrible penalties in key situations THROUGHOUT the season. That’s a culture issue to be honest.
#2 offensive line struggled mightily in many games
#3 Nick Hill’s game management. Woof
Those were the big ones to me.
Bow Em
Several games we just had no offense 2nd half and lost. Today we had no O in the 4th qtr. Several games stupid penalties cost us the game - SEMO stands out.
Baker has a big arm, and I thought he ran the ball better this year. Still we were often anemic in the 2nd half. Is he a dynamic leader inspiring his teammates to play their asses off? Don't know.
One thing I liked about Joel Sambursky was his attitude. He was cocky and loaded with confidence. I think that's a great quality for a QB and it wears off. Sambursky ran his team like Mario Andretti drove his car!
Our problem certainly wasn't receivers as someone suggested. The Cox twins and Bryce Miller are about as good a trio of receivers as you're going to find at this level.
Does Nick Hill somehow wear his team out in practice?
Hill will do a lot of soul searching and analyzing our downfall, as he said in his interview with Mike. I'd start with a lack of a running game. Falling in love with the pass is like falling in love with the 3pt shot in basketball. Won't win you championships (unless you have Steph Curry and Clay Thompson on your team.)
Our problem certainly wasn't receivers as someone suggested. The Cox twins and Bryce Miller are about as good a trio of receivers as you're going to find at this level.
I thought D'Ante Cox was pretty impressive at times. Avante wasn't as good without Lenoir next to him (maybe injuries played a role). Bryce Miller seems like a decent slot guy but not a game-changer. This team desperately needs more playmakers at the running back and WR positions to compete with the top teams.
