Once and for all before team 118 takes the field, did team 117 underachieve or no?

#1
KnoxRealtorVOL

KnoxRealtorVOL

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#1
5-7 for team 117 in the 2013 season. Did they underachieve or did they pretty much make par? Obviously the first instinct is to say yes they underachieved, 5-7 is a losing season and is well below expectations of a program that is a Top 10 all-time program. However, I'm going to say no, I think they did as well as expected. 5-7 was what the expectation should have been last year, and 5-7 is what they did. It's pathetic I know, but it is what it is.

Had we won all the games we were supposed to, and lost all the games we were supposed to, we would have ended up 5-7. We should have won Vandy and lost, but should have lost SC and won so they counter each other. Auburn was far better than anyone could have predicted, as was Mizzou. Those are 2 games many of us had chalked up as wins that turned into brutal losses. It's easy to say we should have beaten a 4-win Florida team, but we didn't get the same Florida team that Georgia Southern got. We got a 1-loss Florida team that hadn't given up yet, and still felt like they were playing for another 11-win season and the SECEast.

Couple the fact that at one point or another, UGA, SC, Bama, Oregon, Mizzou, and Auburn were all Top 10 (the majority were actually Top 5) with the fact that our starting QB went down 2 games into college football's most brutal gauntlet, and it's pretty obvious why we finished 5-7.

Ultimately we finished with a losing season, but upset a Top 10 team. This puts us right on the line of underachievement, but all things considered I think we stayed just below it. I think we made par and the wind helped us on one, but then we had a few broken clubs to play the rest of the course.

I'll end with this, it's sad to say that our expectations should sit around the same for this year. We are hoping for 6-6 at least. That means we have to win the ones we're supposed to, which is 5, then upset someone. It's fair to temper expectations to a realistic 5-7 or 6-6, but this is the last year Butch has that luxury IMO. 8 wins minimum in 2015.
 
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#4
#4
Beat a top 10 team, lost to a vandy team we should've beaten. Evens out and we did about exactly as everyone would've thought, record wise. If we pull out candy (looking at you replay officials) and UGA as we should have, I only fear how optimistic VN would be about 2015.
 
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#6
#6
Given the competition, I'd say the '13 squad pretty much met expectations. Especially given the QB change in the middle of the year.
 
#7
#7
Maybe underachieved by one game. Should have won UGA and Vandy, should have lost to USCjr. That said, it's really hard to critique a first year coach on the won/loss record when he inherited a dumpster fire of a team.
 
#8
#8
Tl;Dr

But! Judging by the title, I'll say this. Injuries plagued us last year. That's a part of football, but when you have no one competent to plug into the roles of injured players, and even less competent players to back up those incompetent players, well, you can only do so much.

Also, football is about matchups. We couldn't matchup with speed because we were so slow. That explains how we got drummed by Oregon and Auburn. We had a disaster of a first half against Florida, almost beat Georgia, did beat SC........

Anyway, Tl;Dr - no
 
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#9
#9
I'd say we met expectations partly because Auburn and Mizzou did so much better than anyone could have dreamed of. Those two games looked very winnable going into the season.
 
#10
#10
GahLee said:
I'm pretty sure the general consensus was 5-7 or 6-6.

In other words, we performed right where most thought we would.
Click to expand...

6-6 was pretty much the general prediction. That's why it's a question of whether 5 wins was an underachievement, given the circumstances.
 
#12
#12
They were the foundation. Tough to have so much coaching turnover and overachieve. They had different schemes and different philosophies almost every year of their careers. They were talented and probably could have won a few more games last year if they had any continuity from years past. This is a tough question. As much as I wanted them to succeed and exceed our expectations, I wouldn't say they underachieved. We had one of the hardest schedules in the country last year and that can't be overlooked.
 
#15
#15
I think they should have gone bowling, and I wish they would have, but that's okay, because CBJ got handed the key to a Toyota Camry that had faulty issues and had to be recalled.

I am sure he is driving a new vehicle now, and hopefully we see some drastic improvements. I am at least hoping for a bowl game this year, which is a reasonable expectation.

BTW, Don't throw in a freshmen at the swamp to start his first game. Oh wait, can't do that this year! Cool! GBO!

:rock:

Optimism flying high in Rocky Top!

Just win baby!
 
#16
#16
dooley2 said:
Tl;Dr

But! Judging by the title, I'll say this. Injuries plagued us last year. That's a part of football, but when you have no one competent to plug into the roles of injured players, and even less competent players to back up those incompetent players, well, you can only do so much.

Also, football is about matchups. We couldn't matchup with speed because we were so slow. That explains how we got drummed by Oregon and Auburn. We had a disaster of a first half against Florida, almost beat Georgia, did beat SC........

Anyway, Tl;Dr - no
Click to expand...

The OP was tl;dr but you wrote a two paragraph response and another follow up post?
 
#17
#17
Yes they did. They should have found a way to win both the UGA & Vandy games.
 
#22
#22
Exfix said:
The OP was tl;dr but you wrote a two paragraph response and another follow up post?
Click to expand...

Precisely why I ended my response with a "Tl;Dr" summary for anyone that thought my response was too long.

Also, my post was 97 words long, his was 391. Therefore, my post was 1/4 the size of his. If you think my two little paragraphs were too long, then you really hate words.
 
#24
#24
Senior-laden team, its starting line-up made up of a majority of 4 star recruits...won all of 4 FBS games. Yeah, I'd call that "under-achieving".
 
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