I think we are closer to a turnaround then a lot of us think.
- Thread starter billhilf
- Start date
I would venture to guess that Purdue, in Piscataway, is not only a "W" but our first one on HC since Schiano.
I'm not sure what would make you think PSU is still sliding backwards. The floor was last year. PSU will return 18 starters off the team that played well last night including the entire skill position group and basically redshirted most of a top 20 recruiting class that included multiple 5-stars to throw into the depth chart. They will be significantly improved along OL/DL as the sanction classes of 12 and 13 phase out. I understand the hate and not wanting to deal with reality of a PSU resurgence but this is still a very young and somewhat flawed team whose roster will be much improved over next few years. I could still see multiple losses down stretch here but PSU will be very good next year.
I prefer to call it tempering the enthusiasm. And, why we need it is because our fans want to fire first time head coaches after 3 losses because they think we are better than we are.
The problem is that we get people with woefully unrealistic expectations, who then become miserable during the season when the team and staff is somehow a "failure" for meeting their ridiculous predictions.
And Maryland got killed by Minnesota and Maryland beat up MSU. So we should beat MSU by 80. Oh yea, it doesn't work that way.
first of all I dont understand your first line thats mixed up....it was fantasyland Flood worshippers ignoring poor recruiting and poor development that were insufferable here because they were being overly optimistic with their rosy scenerios, same thing happening here. Difference is Ash is a real coach and leader unlike Flood and he is going to move things in the right direction but slow down, the same people saying we are going 6-6 or better were the same people thinking we could be .500 this year, the same people splitting their wrists because of the Washington loss.
The reality is RU has zero conference wins this year. You can be cute and put Nebby into the tossup pile but that doesnt mean they are going to win it. RU will be underdogs in every game from here on out and if they cant knock off Indiana IMO they are headed toward a winless conference season. How can anyone pencil a win in over Illinois when they just beat us at home this year . Purdue will be our best shot at a conference win and I think they do win that one but remember Purdue knocked off Illinois. Newsflash I know no one wants to admit here but based on results Rutgers is the WORST team in the Big 10...thats based on results. Thats fact and not opinion.
I saw major progress on Saturday. However the sample size is small. Progress needs to be shown the rest of the way out and IMO its a little too early to project bowl expectations on a program that is winless in league this year.
and Purdue beat Illinois who RU was anemic against and lost. So thats not an argument to say we are better than Purdue
Yup. I'd bet that the majority who picked us to win 6-8 games this year, almost to a man and woman, were convinced that Flood's recruiting classes were highly underrated and that Ash took over a roster full of talent. They want to be able to say "ha ha ha" when Ash doesn't win, HOWEVER, will keep the lofty expectations up at the same time.
unfortunately I am worried about overenthusiasm on the hoops side as well...its going to be a really long slog up the standings there as well. Pikiell is going to work to change the awful losing culture but he isnt a miracle worker either and the talent is still less than the rest of the league. Both coaches cannot expect to deliver post season until they start recruiting top guys who fit their systems.
I actually think most of the miserable people on here had no expectations. They just are simply miserable people.
there really is no guarantee that he would have won those games, each game is different. Minnesota had virtually nothing to go on when it came to prepping for Gio in the offense. Thats an advantage of surprise RU had. I like what Gio brings to the table, no I love because the offense now functions and becomes watchable but he isnt a savior either that you can pencil wins in with him as QB
The issue for next year starts in the lines. Our OLine and DLine haven't been dominant this year... and we lose a ton from both going into next season. Expectation is that both take a step back (no one on the DLine is going to step in at the level Hamilton and JPO are playing).
A step back at OLine is going to make it much more difficult for any play makers at the skill positions to shine. A step back at DLine (along with a rebuilt LB corps) is going to put much more pressure on the offense to score points.
I expect next year to be much like this year - with maybe subtle improvement as the team more fully embraces the philosophy and concepts that Ash brought in.
2018 gives us an opening to make some noise - and will be the litmus test for how well Ash is doing.
For what it's worth, I actually thought his projection was perfectly reasonable and not particularly pessimistic. One, good IMO, reason to challenge overly optimistic viewpoints about the team is that if people took a more realistic viewpoint, there might be a bit less of the constant negative commentary about the players, the coaches, etc., when we are not playing well.
well you kept insisting we were going to a bowl this year....I asked you after the Michigan annihilation and you said yes....still feel that way and what were you basing your opinions on? You were a big fan of Flood werent you?
Nope, I predicted 6 wins. I expected to beat Iowa and Minnesota(felt both were overrated and they are)Came pretty close too.
Assumed we would beat Illinois. That would be five.
Only needed one of Indiana, Maryland, and PSU.
Really not that unrealistic.
You've said it yourself, Laviano left 21 points on the board against Iowa. You can never assume 5 TO's or dreadful special teams. I'm not even talking coverage. You should be able to kick a ball to a spot in hopes of a fair catch.
Just over 1/2 way through this season and people are already arguing over how many wins we get next year. Some of you guys are freaking amazing. Any predictions for when we win our 1st B1G or National Championship?
because people keep saying Maryland was a lock last year and this year and keep shitting on them yet they find themselves 5-2 and likely to go bowling and yes I know their schedule was atrocious but they took advantage of a down Michigan State under a first year coach and may go bowling, remember they were also a train wreck last year.
Its a toss up game IMO like it always is. when you look a things you hope to split toss up games, unfortunately our fans seem to always think RU will win every toss up. I bet some fans believe Penn State is a tossup game this year and next
No. I stopped supporting Flood as soon as the academic scandal broke. And yes, a bowl wasn't unrealistic. Even with certain aspects being worse than I expected a bowl was still reasonable. I just responded to nuts with a breakdown. I expressed to beat both Iowa and Minnesota(knew both were overrated). Expected to beat Illinois. Would only have needed one of the three winnable games left. Hell, I'll piss you off a little bit more. We could still go bowling. Win 3 of 4 and we could get a bowl with 5 wins. There isn't a team left significantly better than Minnesota on our schedule.
I do not know how you expect to beat Iowa a team coming off of an outstanding year even with their losses. Thats not a game where its wise to EXPECT a victory..ditto for Minnesota, were you not paying attention to our team last year, I see you seem to fall in love with 2 stars from Flood and project a bowl season..thats a head scratcher
And yes you were being unrealistic despite your breakdown.
Penn State just beat Ohio State, I know you want to cry over that and yes they are better than Minnesota with playmakers....and yes I know they played Minnesota close so what, RU played Michigan State close last year
I expected it because I actually watch football. I knew Iowa was a product of their schedule last year. I also knew their Offense would suck. I knew Minnesota wouldn't be as good because they were mostly a product of Kill's genius. Watch them plummet real quick real soon. Let's be honest, what did you predict the score of those two games to be? Who was closer to being right?
I am sure that someone will predict 2019 and not be joking either....shhh Im pissing in their victory parade by posting that
Again you overrated what RU has on this team. Who cares what the scores were. Its who wins the game...and your sure shot win over Illinois basically blows up your whole "we could have made a bowl" argument...no the team wasnt good enough to make a bowl..they lost to bottom feeder Illinois, RU is the bottom feeder now.
Exactly right. I think some fans have tunnel vision when they think about this stuff. Their logic being, if we just do this, that and the other thing, we should beat team A, team B, and team C no problem. But that logic completely ignores the fact that teams A, B, and C are also trying their best to improve and might even improve faster than us.
Yeah in and year out, most of the teams we play in the Big Ten are going to make for competitive games. Just a fact of our life in our new conference.
With the graduation of starters on the offensive and defensive lines its quite conceivable that the team next year might have a comparable won /loss record to this season.The absence of B1G level talent extends to most positions and really is shown with he lack of quality depth when players get hurt.
good post. Virtually every game not involving Michigan and Ohio State has the potential to be competitive. Some more than others. Wisky, Nebby, and PSU seem a tier below the top this year overall but can compete with the top 2 dogs...yet those same 3 schools can be challenged by lesser schools in the league on a bad day for them and a good day for the other schools. The other 9 schools seem to be a mixed bag of inconsistency from week to week but it seems like this year at least RU, Illinois, Purdue and we have to throw Michigan State in there this year are the ones struggling the most at gaining traction this year although they still may play close games....those schools are at the bottom for one reason and thats they dont know how to win.
Geez, splitting hairs much. Pretty sure you predicted 5 wins preseason right? If he was unrealistic, what the hell were you, Unrealistic - 1?
Also, please use make sure to use flood in your answer.
I think you're probably right. But I also think people use the word "expectation" in different ways.
Some fans are simply optimistic and maintain their optimism as a way of life. That's fine because they don't turn miserable when things don't go as planned. They name their expectations based on their hearts, not their heads.
Other people form expectations based on pure logic and data. So while they may not be happy with poor results, if they had low expectations, they don't lose their equanimity or their hope. Thus they don't turn miserable (mostly). But their logic can be irritating to the first bunch. I think I fall into this group most days, sorry group A. :)
The last category of fans actually weaponizes expectations so they can kill everyone with them. Those are the kind of fans who only post in the in-game threads when things are going poorly. They also often disappear entirely from the board when the team is doing well.
That last bunch totally sucks and I hope they get run over by a busload of nuns. Twice.
You make me laugh. Because you don't agree that makes it unrealistic? No crap the final is what matters but that doesn't change the point. What did you think the scores were. What did you predict in your own threads? Let's see who was more realistic. As for PSU. Yes they beat OSU and it was a great win. It was also an outlier just like us and MSU last year. They needed OT to beat Minnesota at home, they got crushed by Michigan, struggles against a mediocre Temple team(lost to army), lost to an untested Pitt team. Track record says they are much closer to Minnesota than you want to accept. Ilinoist doesn't blow up anything. We turned the ball over 5 times. Do that against anyone and you lose. Irvine it laughable that two of the three teams I said we would beat bested us by a combined 9 points and I'm unrealistic.
I did predict 5-7 but after seeing the first 3 games I changed to 4-8 and after Michigan 3-9, I felt 5-7 was too optimistic based on those results....the poster in question literally stuck to his guns of 6-6 after the Michigan game. He must have felt that RU was going to close by winning 4 of 6, thats his choice to stick by his prediction in the face of overwhelming evidence against.
are you kidding me...turnovers are part of the game..they were vs Illinois, they were yesterday. RU lost those games. RU's record of 2-6 is what it is. Turnovers are part of that. There is no woulda coulda shoulda in football. The team is not good enough and consistent enough to produce wins in games. How can you not understand that. Close losses mean nothing when you are proclaiming a bowl season. Just admit you were wrong on RU getting to a bowl this year and move on. Its not even that you had them going to a bowl...its that after the Michigan debacle you still were proclaiming it, thats what got you into trouble here
and excuse me RU didnt beat Michigan State last year, comparing a Penn State win is mixing apples and oranges.
BAAARRRRMP!!!
We're sorry, we can't accept this answer since it did not include flood. Good luck next time!
any relevance to nuns in particular? I mean you could have gone with anything..busload of hookers on blow...anything
listen I put enough blame on Flood already and will do so as we progress through the last 4 games so check back then
Of course I stuck to my guns and feel free to use my name. I stuck to them because I expected to get killed my Michigan. By 70? No, but upper 50's.....in the words of your next President " what difference does it make at that point". My prediction didn't change because nothing about the team changed. The only thing I was wrong on pre season was I thought Laviano would be better suited to run this O. I was woefully incorrect. Since you like changing your predictions game to game. What do you predict out record over the next 4 and why?
DL is the biggest concern.
Every other position group should either get better or maintain.
