The Official “Regular Posters of the Basketball Forum” Thread

#22,301
#22,301
Ohio State is what 22 million in NIL buys you. They lost two games on boneheaded coaching by Day but have the most talent in CFB.

Playoff expansion is fine. The scenario where we should have been hosting a 10 seed that got smoked today vs on the road at the #2 odds team to win it all is the issue. All because two teams ranked behind us jumped into byes.
 
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#22,302
#22,302
omghulkhands said:
I’ve felt pretty strongly that we massively overachieved with this roster. But that’s not an opinion that is well received in other forums, so I’ve mostly kept it to myself.

We looked like we moved in slow motion compared to Ohio State. Their team speed was WAY higher than ours.

We also looked outcoached. Offense and defense.

Offense has been pretty embarrassing all year. For a JH offense to be this bad, it HAS to be a QB issue IMO. I think Nico just doesn’t “get it” as badly as many people wanna make themself believe he is the future.

All those drop backs tonight where he didn’t throw can’t have all been on the WRs not getting separation, right?

He has a long way to go IMO.
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Can't disagree with any of that.

At no point tonight, like many points throughout the season, does our OL block long enough, Nico process fast enough, and our WRs get open enough simultaneously on the same play.

Nico is a great 7v7 QB, but with live bullets coming at him, the game just hasn't slowed down for him. He's not helped out hardly ever by his WRs. When they get open, they drop the ball. Other times, Nico overthrows them, underthrows them, doesn't see them, etc.

The team speed, or lack of, has never been more evident than it was tonight.

Maybe we overachieved, but we really only beat one team that was any good. I exclude Florida because they hadn't figured things out when we played. We beat Bama and lost a game to UGA that wasn't really all that close despite what the scoreboard said. Coming into this game, tonight, it felt like it was going to play out like the UGA game. Talent was going to take over, which it did. This OSU team is even better than that UGA team.
 
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#22,303
#22,303
VolArmy74 said:
Ohio State is what 22 million in NIL buys you. They lost two games on boneheaded coaching by Day but have the most talent in CFB.

Playoff expansion is fine. The scenario where we should have been hosting a 10 seed that got smoked today vs on the road at the #2 odds team to win it all is the issue. All because two teams ranked behind us jumped into byes.
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I'm talking about even further expansion to 16 teams in this format. Hopefully they get the seeding issue fixed next year, which will help the current format.
 
#22,304
#22,304
cncchris33 said:
Can't disagree with any of that.

At no point tonight, like many points throughout the season, does our OL block long enough, Nico process fast enough, and our WRs get open enough simultaneously on the same play.

Nico is a great 7v7 QB, but with live bullets coming at him, the game just hasn't slowed down for him. He's not helped out hardly ever by his WRs. When they get open, they drop the ball. Other times, Nico overthrows them, underthrows them, doesn't see them, etc.

The team speed, or lack of, has never been more evident than it was tonight.

Maybe we overachieved, but we really only beat one team that was any good. I exclude Florida because they hadn't figured things out when we played. We beat Bama and lost a game to UGA that wasn't really all that close despite what the scoreboard said. Coming into this game, tonight, it felt like it was going to play out like the UGA game. Talent was going to take over, which it did. This OSU team is even better than that UGA team.
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Tbh, even the Alabama game had a lot to do with Milroe being unable to get out of his own way in a road environment
 
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#22,307
#22,307
cncchris33 said:
What a joke. We didn't even put up a fight. These two teams are not even in the same league.

These first round games have hardly been a solid argument for playoff expansion.
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I’m a believer in not using revisionist history when trying to justify teams getting in based on their terrible playoff performance. But Bama and Ole Miss were better options than Indiana and SMU.

As much as we like home playoff games, it’s still a big advantage. More football is better though because I don’t trust committees.
 
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#22,308
#22,308
cncchris33 said:
Yeah, my point was about wanting to already expand further to 16 teams under this same format. They need to fix the seeding issue and see if that creates more competitive 1st rd matchups before considering further expansion.
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Oh I definitely agree. I think they already need to address the seeding but especially if they go to 16. I don't have a problem with conference champions getting automatic bids but they don't need to get the top seeds automatically.
 
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#22,309
#22,309
Our D lost it's swagger the last few games of the year coming of the first 7 games where we knocked out 6 starting QB's which is crazy in today's game where you have to handle the quarterback with "kid gloves". Losing Pili obviously hurt but our LB's stepped up to a large degree. D-line is what let us down imo - we know how good they are and we really needed them to show out against UGA and OSU but that didn't happen. CB play was better than any of us hoped for imo.

Our O never played up to expectations...love Nico and he improved throughout the year (he put us on his back several times - 2nd half AL was awesome) but he seems to have some of the same issues with pre-snap reads and processing the play as Milton (hopefully he continues to get better at this). I think our starting WR's are good enough to compete but not once they were banged up and we apparently lack depth so we obviously need to hit the portal. Like the WR's, O-line was good but not great - need to continue improving this aspect of our team. Future looks good at RB.
 
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#22,310
#22,310
I think the truth is our record was a bit of a mirage because our schedule ended up being rather weak. Yes still SEC but weaker. NC State sucked, OU was down, and I’m not counting beating Florida as a good win. We beat Alabama who also wasn’t exactly the Alabama we’ve been used to.
Vandy was better but I wouldn’t call them a good team. They did beat Alabama and gave Texas a good but they also still lost to a terrible Georgia St. team.
 
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#22,311
#22,311
I have to say, I’m pretty disgusted by the performance last night. I didn’t expect a win, I hoped for one and I thought we had a good chance. However, I wasn’t going to be disappointed if we played well and just lost to the better team.

We got dominated in primetime and embarrassed on national TV. It’s a truly sour note to end the season on right before Christmas. I want to be able to celebrate the accomplishments of this team because going 10-2 and making the playoff was always the goal, and they did just that. But that performance is the type that makes it hard to reflect fondly on the team right now.

Truth is this team has a lot of problems that I’m not sure get fixed this off-season. I respect the job Heupel has done to turn this thing around, but we clearly have some glaring weaknesses on the coaching staff that need to be exorcised but he doesn’t have the guts to do it because they are his friends.

2 years in a row our WRs have been putrid. 2 years in a row the OL can’t protect a QB. 2 years in a row we have a QB that can’t process his decisions fast enough, although to be fair I’m actually of the belief that our offense may have faired better last night with Joe under center.

Our recruiting is fine, but fine doesn’t win championships. 10th in the country and 7th in the SEC every year isn’t going to elevate this program where it needs to be. We have teams like Auburn and Florida recruiting better than us and they had horrible seasons. You’d think with our top flight NIL and recent success we’d be one of the most attractive places to play right now, but we’re not. And until that gets fixed, this program likely has a hard ceiling and we just saw it.
 
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#22,315
#22,315
VolsSportsFan said:
I think the truth is our record was a bit of a mirage because our schedule ended up being rather weak. Yes still SEC but weaker. NC State sucked, OU was down, and I’m not counting beating Florida as a good win. We beat Alabama who also wasn’t exactly the Alabama we’ve been used to.
Vandy was better but I wouldn’t call them a good team. They did beat Alabama and gave Texas a good but they also still lost to a terrible Georgia St. team.
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Texas’ schedule was worse or similar to ours. Michigan and NC State were about equal. We played Bama- they played A&M. They got the home game because we lost to Arkansas. We got a terrible draw.

But Indiana and SMU beat nobody. Worse than our schedule. Penn State really didn’t either.
 
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#22,316
#22,316
VolGee4 said:
Texas’ schedule was worse or similar to ours. Michigan and NC State were about equal. We played Bama- they played A&M. They got the home game because we lost to Arkansas. We got a terrible draw.

But Indiana and SMU beat nobody. Worse than our schedule. Penn State really didn’t either.
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Not sure I’d say Michigan and nc state are about equal. Michigan probably would be a double digit favorite on a neutral site vs nc state. And Penn state didn’t have an Arkansas type loss like we did
 
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#22,317
#22,317
TheMookieMonster said:
I have to say, I’m pretty disgusted by the performance last night. I didn’t expect a win, I hoped for one and I thought we had a good chance. However, I wasn’t going to be disappointed if we played well and just lost to the better team.

We got dominated in primetime and embarrassed on national TV. It’s a truly sour note to end the season on right before Christmas. I want to be able to celebrate the accomplishments of this team because going 10-2 and making the playoff was always the goal, and they did just that. But that performance is the type that makes it hard to reflect fondly on the team right now.

Truth is this team has a lot of problems that I’m not sure get fixed this off-season. I respect the job Heupel has done to turn this thing around, but we clearly have some glaring weaknesses on the coaching staff that need to be exorcised but he doesn’t have the guts to do it because they are his friends.

2 years in a row our WRs have been putrid. 2 years in a row the OL can’t protect a QB. 2 years in a row we have a QB that can’t process his decisions fast enough, although to be fair I’m actually of the belief that our offense may have faired better last night with Joe under center.

Our recruiting is fine, but fine doesn’t win championships. 10th in the country and 7th in the SEC every year isn’t going to elevate this program where it needs to be. We have teams like Auburn and Florida recruiting better than us and they had horrible seasons. You’d think with our top flight NIL and recent success we’d be one of the most attractive places to play right now, but we’re not. And until that gets fixed, this program likely has a hard ceiling and we just saw it.
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If we stack classes like this year, we will be fine. The difference between 5th ranked class and 10th is minimal. But we haven’t stacked top 10 classes like other programs. I believe we will have a top 12 blue chip ratio next year. Auburn and Florida are selling hope and playing time. In this age, compete for a playoff spot, hope to get home field, and give yourself a chance. I agree that we need to upgrade some positions.
 
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#22,318
#22,318
The seeding was so badly skewed by the auto byes that it really screwed Oregon the most,. Their path to the title is now tougher than the lower seeds who got byes. The committee also overvalued conference title game losses. No way should Ohio State have been seeded lower than PSU, with both having two losses and PSU having lost on its homefield to PSU.

It's the equivalent of putting a 1 seed level resume in the same bracket as the top 1 seed so the Mid-American champion can get a 1 seed.
 
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#22,319
#22,319
Vol49er said:
Not sure I’d say Michigan and nc state are about equal. Michigan probably would be a double digit favorite on a neutral site vs nc state. And Penn state didn’t have an Arkansas type loss like we did
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Let’s just say Michigan is not overwhelmingly better than NC State. NC State lost McCall, although he was struggling a bit. Until they beat OSU (which was OSU being bad), they weren’t good.

I wasn’t talking about Penn State not deserving a playoff spot- they just didn’t play a tough schedule. The Big Ten manipulated great unbalanced schedules to get 4 teams in. The SEC though UGA and Bama could handle tougher schedules.
 
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#22,320
#22,320
VolGee4 said:
Let’s just say Michigan is not overwhelmingly better than NC State. NC State lost McCall, although he was struggling a bit. Until they beat OSU (which was OSU being bad), they weren’t good.

I wasn’t talking about Penn State not deserving a playoff spot- they just didn’t play a tough schedule. The Big Ten manipulated great unbalanced schedules to get 4 teams in. The SEC though UGA and Bama could handle tougher schedules.
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I mean if you're going to start qualifying wins, I would say Alabama being bad is maybe why we won more than we beat them. And that was our signature win. I won't say overwelmingly but Michigan is definitely better than NC St.
 
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#22,321
#22,321
to be honest, I think we are probably 4th or 5th at this point. May get better during the season
depending on progress of Philips and Felix.

I wouldn't be surprised if Auburn, Iowa State, Florida are at least on par or slightly better right now.
 
#22,323
#22,323
TheMookieMonster said:
I have to say, I’m pretty disgusted by the performance last night. I didn’t expect a win, I hoped for one and I thought we had a good chance. However, I wasn’t going to be disappointed if we played well and just lost to the better team.

We got dominated in primetime and embarrassed on national TV. It’s a truly sour note to end the season on right before Christmas. I want to be able to celebrate the accomplishments of this team because going 10-2 and making the playoff was always the goal, and they did just that. But that performance is the type that makes it hard to reflect fondly on the team right now.

Truth is this team has a lot of problems that I’m not sure get fixed this off-season. I respect the job Heupel has done to turn this thing around, but we clearly have some glaring weaknesses on the coaching staff that need to be exorcised but he doesn’t have the guts to do it because they are his friends.

2 years in a row our WRs have been putrid. 2 years in a row the OL can’t protect a QB. 2 years in a row we have a QB that can’t process his decisions fast enough, although to be fair I’m actually of the belief that our offense may have faired better last night with Joe under center.

Our recruiting is fine, but fine doesn’t win championships. 10th in the country and 7th in the SEC every year isn’t going to elevate this program where it needs to be. We have teams like Auburn and Florida recruiting better than us and they had horrible seasons. You’d think with our top flight NIL and recent success we’d be one of the most attractive places to play right now, but we’re not. And until that gets fixed, this program likely has a hard ceiling and we just saw it.
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Heup has bought himself a lot of goodwill considering the preceding 2 decades of awful football we had.

But one thing was glaring last night was the talent and coaching gap between elite top shelf program and us. If he wants to take next step instead of being consistently good program and being a great program he's got to take steps this offseason. Namely Oline and WR coaching is awful and those position groups have gotten worse since 2022. The fact the Oline was littered with Pruitt recruits is bad.
 
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#22,324
#22,324
VolsSportsFan said:
I mean if you're going to start qualifying wins, I would say Alabama being bad is maybe why we won more than we beat them. And that was our signature win. I won't say overwelmingly but Michigan is definitely better than NC St.
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Sorry but some of the Big Ten schedules sucked. In hindsight, the Bama game was a play-in game. If they beat us, they are in.
 
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#22,325
#22,325
Chaz-Vol said:
Heup has bought himself a lot of goodwill considering the preceding 2 decades of awful football we had.

But one thing was glaring last night was the talent and coaching gap between elite top shelf program and us. If he wants to take next step instead of being consistently good program and being a great program he's got to take steps this offseason. Namely Oline and WR coaching is awful and those position groups have gotten worse since 2022. The fact the Oline was littered with Pruitt recruits is bad.
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Yep, those two assistants need to be put on notice, but I'll be shocked if they ever are.
 
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