As a preface, I want to quote from today's broadcast:

CC supposedly said we could go 12 - 0 or 0 - 12. That is 'coach speak.' That to me translates to a 6 - 6 record. It basically means we aren't great, we aren't terrible, but we are probably middlen.

We'll win some we should win (e.g., Coastal, CCSU, etc.), some we were not sure about (IL and WMU), lost some we expected (KY), and some which were toss up type games... Some were games which could have gone either way, e.g., IL, CCSU, BSU, TOL, etc.

I think many posters here expected us to go 5 - 7, 6 - 6 or 7 - 5. A few got giddy (maybe 10 - 2) and some went full Prozac (we won't win another game this season).

I don't know if I made a prediction (or predictions, as we sometimes make more than one), but I assume most knew that we had very heavy losses across both lines after a very solid 2018 season.

I'm sure ETough will agree - the OL is the hardest to re-tool. Comparing the learning curve of a WR and an OL is apple and oranges. WRs usually have the strength, etc. to play early if they have the skill. An OL needs a lot of S&C work and learn to play a position which requires coordination among the total UNIT. It is hard to blend in new OL recruits, be they h.s. or JUCOs.

More thoughts later.

BTW, I passed up the Nationals' World Series parade to watch the EMU game.

To me, his quote is an attempt to manage expectations, and is an interesting way of admitting that he doesn’t have much agency with his team. That is very unusual; most coaches (erroneously) believe that they can control everything.

Where is the improvement going to come from next year? Seemingly he has plateaued.

(11-02-2019 02:35 PM)holybovine Wrote:  To me, his quote is an attempt to manage expectations, and is an interesting way of admitting that he doesn’t have much agency with his team. That is very unusual; most coaches (erroneously) believe that they can control everything.

Where is the improvement going to come from next year? Seemingly he has plateaued.

We'll probably be similar; we don't lose a lot of impact players, some but not like this year.

We still will have Hutch, a stable of RBs, a good unit of WR and TEs. Once again it is the OL will will determine how the offense goes. Hutch needs a good OL more than Glass. I've noticed that Hutch struggles against strong pass rushes and has decent but not great mobility

The entire defense will need to be reworked next year as our best players, DBs, will graduate.

My take: It is easier to recruit and integrate newcomers into the defense. DT, though, is the toughest position to recruit and rarely does a true frosh show well as one.

(11-02-2019 02:45 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(11-02-2019 02:35 PM)holybovine Wrote:  To me, his quote is an attempt to manage expectations, and is an interesting way of admitting that he doesn’t have much agency with his team. That is very unusual; most coaches (erroneously) believe that they can control everything.

Where is the improvement going to come from next year? Seemingly he has plateaued.

We'll probably be similar; we don't lose a lot of impact players, some but not like this year.

We still will have Hutch, a stable of RBs, a good unit of WR and TEs. Once again it is the OL will will determine how the offense goes. Hutch needs a good OL more than Glass. I've noticed that Hutch struggles against strong pass rushes and has decent but not great mobility

The entire defense will need to be reworked next year as our best players, DBs, will graduate.

My take: It is easier to recruit and integrate newcomers into the defense. DT, though, is the toughest position to recruit and rarely does a true frosh show well as one.

offense doesnt have an empty cabinet going into next year. at wr you have drummond, beydoun, williams. te cannon and oakes. rb mackey and parker. you can do a LOT worse.

(11-02-2019 03:50 PM)dansplaining Wrote:  

(11-02-2019 02:45 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(11-02-2019 02:35 PM)holybovine Wrote:  To me, his quote is an attempt to manage expectations, and is an interesting way of admitting that he doesn’t have much agency with his team. That is very unusual; most coaches (erroneously) believe that they can control everything.

Where is the improvement going to come from next year? Seemingly he has plateaued.

We'll probably be similar; we don't lose a lot of impact players, some but not like this year.

We still will have Hutch, a stable of RBs, a good unit of WR and TEs. Once again it is the OL will will determine how the offense goes. Hutch needs a good OL more than Glass. I've noticed that Hutch struggles against strong pass rushes and has decent but not great mobility

The entire defense will need to be reworked next year as our best players, DBs, will graduate.

My take: It is easier to recruit and integrate newcomers into the defense. DT, though, is the toughest position to recruit and rarely does a true frosh show well as one.

offense doesnt have an empty cabinet going into next year. at wr you have drummond, beydoun, williams. te cannon and oakes. rb mackey and parker. you can do a LOT worse.

Agree. If the OL improves we'll be fine on offense.

Our skill positions are pretty solid.

A poster compared our season to CMU and how they went from the 'outhouse' to well not the penthouse, but very respective G5 team...

"EMU Steve, with respect to you, because your love of EMU sports is unmatched, but we've gone from the worst to mid pack at best, and this is year 6...…..Keen is over his head, and isn't A D1 caliber coach! C Mich was 1-11, and has been playing with their backup QB a lot of the season, and there record is a little deceiving, because their OOC schedule was brutal, but McElwain in 9 months has taken the same team, and made them winners!!!!!!!! Creighton will never do that period! He plays to keep the games close, never goes for kill! Buffalo today never thought about kicking FG's on all those 4th and 2! They kicked are butts, and it was over...….Who on paper thinks C Mich has more talent then us? Coaching and game plan management separate winning from losing!"

I'm going to borrow a page from EMU79's playbook on recruiting.

I'm posting the 247sports recruiting rankings which he (and others) use to assess recruiting success.

Compare CMU and EMU for say 2015, 2016, and 2017. These are years which most effect the current team.

https://247sports.com/Season/2015-Footba...erence=MAC

https://247sports.com/Season/2016-Footba...erence=MAC

https://247sports.com/Season/2017-Footba...erence=MAC

What what does this mean?

CMU out recruited us year in and year out.

Why didn't they win last year but are this year? It is NOT talent, in my opinion, but coaching. CMU went out a got a high profile coach.

I am NOT willing to blame the coaching staff for game day coaching if the problem is talent.

BTW, this is McElwain's Wikipedia page. He has won at Colorado State, FL and now CMU.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_McElwain

I'm a member of the 'why did CMU hire Bonamego?" club.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bonamego

(11-02-2019 04:34 PM)emu steve Wrote:  A poster compared our season to CMU and how they went from the 'outhouse' to well not the penthouse, but very respective G5 team...

"EMU Steve, with respect to you, because your love of EMU sports is unmatched, but we've gone from the worst to mid pack at best, and this is year 6...…..Keen is over his head, and isn't A D1 caliber coach! C Mich was 1-11, and has been playing with their backup QB a lot of the season, and there record is a little deceiving, because their OOC schedule was brutal, but McElwain in 9 months has taken the same team, and made them winners!!!!!!!! Creighton will never do that period! He plays to keep the games close, never goes for kill! Buffalo today never thought about kicking FG's on all those 4th and 2! They kicked are butts, and it was over...….Who on paper thinks C Mich has more talent then us? Coaching and game plan management separate winning from losing!"

I'm going to borrow a page from EMU79's playbook on recruiting.

I'm posting the 247sports recruiting rankings which he (and others) use to assess recruiting success.

Compare CMU and EMU for say 2015, 2016, and 2017. These are years which most effect the current team.

https://247sports.com/Season/2015-Footba...erence=MAC

https://247sports.com/Season/2016-Footba...erence=MAC

https://247sports.com/Season/2017-Footba...erence=MAC

What what does this mean?

CMU out recruited us year in and year out.

Why didn't they win last year but are this year? It is NOT talent, in my opinion, but coaching. CMU went out a got a high profile coach.

I am NOT willing to blame the coaching staff for game day coaching if the problem is talent.

BTW, this is McElwain's Wikipedia page. He has won at Colorado State, FL and now CMU.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_McElwain

I'm a member of the 'why did CMU hire Bonamego?" club.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bonamego

You just answered my question perfectly! Coaching, preperation, and game management skills, which CC is awful at period! If CC was coaching this exact same C Mich team would they be 4-2 in the MAC?

(11-02-2019 04:55 PM)EMUGLORYDAYSthe90s Wrote:  

(11-02-2019 04:34 PM)emu steve Wrote:  A poster compared our season to CMU and how they went from the 'outhouse' to well not the penthouse, but very respective G5 team...

"EMU Steve, with respect to you, because your love of EMU sports is unmatched, but we've gone from the worst to mid pack at best, and this is year 6...…..Keen is over his head, and isn't A D1 caliber coach! C Mich was 1-11, and has been playing with their backup QB a lot of the season, and there record is a little deceiving, because their OOC schedule was brutal, but McElwain in 9 months has taken the same team, and made them winners!!!!!!!! Creighton will never do that period! He plays to keep the games close, never goes for kill! Buffalo today never thought about kicking FG's on all those 4th and 2! They kicked are butts, and it was over...….Who on paper thinks C Mich has more talent then us? Coaching and game plan management separate winning from losing!"

I'm going to borrow a page from EMU79's playbook on recruiting.

I'm posting the 247sports recruiting rankings which he (and others) use to assess recruiting success.

Compare CMU and EMU for say 2015, 2016, and 2017. These are years which most effect the current team.

https://247sports.com/Season/2015-Footba...erence=MAC

https://247sports.com/Season/2016-Footba...erence=MAC

https://247sports.com/Season/2017-Footba...erence=MAC

What what does this mean?

CMU out recruited us year in and year out.

Why didn't they win last year but are this year? It is NOT talent, in my opinion, but coaching. CMU went out a got a high profile coach.

I am NOT willing to blame the coaching staff for game day coaching if the problem is talent.

BTW, this is McElwain's Wikipedia page. He has won at Colorado State, FL and now CMU.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_McElwain

I'm a member of the 'why did CMU hire Bonamego?" club.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bonamego

You just answered my question perfectly! Coaching, preperation, and game management skills, which CC is awful at period! If CC was coaching this exact same C Mich team would they be 4-2 in the MAC?

What?

I assume the recruiting data suggests that CMU underachieved under Bonamego and now is achieving under McElwain but EMU does better on the field than its recruiting suggests.

(11-02-2019 05:27 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(11-02-2019 04:55 PM)EMUGLORYDAYSthe90s Wrote:  

(11-02-2019 04:34 PM)emu steve Wrote:  A poster compared our season to CMU and how they went from the 'outhouse' to well not the penthouse, but very respective G5 team...

"EMU Steve, with respect to you, because your love of EMU sports is unmatched, but we've gone from the worst to mid pack at best, and this is year 6...…..Keen is over his head, and isn't A D1 caliber coach! C Mich was 1-11, and has been playing with their backup QB a lot of the season, and there record is a little deceiving, because their OOC schedule was brutal, but McElwain in 9 months has taken the same team, and made them winners!!!!!!!! Creighton will never do that period! He plays to keep the games close, never goes for kill! Buffalo today never thought about kicking FG's on all those 4th and 2! They kicked are butts, and it was over...….Who on paper thinks C Mich has more talent then us? Coaching and game plan management separate winning from losing!"

I'm going to borrow a page from EMU79's playbook on recruiting.

I'm posting the 247sports recruiting rankings which he (and others) use to assess recruiting success.

Compare CMU and EMU for say 2015, 2016, and 2017. These are years which most effect the current team.

https://247sports.com/Season/2015-Footba...erence=MAC

https://247sports.com/Season/2016-Footba...erence=MAC

https://247sports.com/Season/2017-Footba...erence=MAC

What what does this mean?

CMU out recruited us year in and year out.

Why didn't they win last year but are this year? It is NOT talent, in my opinion, but coaching. CMU went out a got a high profile coach.

I am NOT willing to blame the coaching staff for game day coaching if the problem is talent.

BTW, this is McElwain's Wikipedia page. He has won at Colorado State, FL and now CMU.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_McElwain

I'm a member of the 'why did CMU hire Bonamego?" club.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bonamego

You just answered my question perfectly! Coaching, preperation, and game management skills, which CC is awful at period! If CC was coaching this exact same C Mich team would they be 4-2 in the MAC?

What?

I assume the recruiting data suggests that CMU underachieved under Bonamego and now is achieving under McElwain but EMU does better on the field than its recruiting suggests.

Lets win our next 3 games, and finish 7-5! N Illinois, and Kent St love to run the football...….Have a nice evening! Go EMU

Coming into the 2019 season, the last time EMU entered the fourth quarter of any previous game with no reasonable chance of winning was against Miami October 29, 2016, two and half seasons ago. 0-7 in overtime games, bad bounces and last minute losses would indicate to many, including me that minor tweaks were all the program needed.

We have not, however, had any kind of running game in the Creighton era. We have depended on two terrific QB's, Roback and Glass and one above average one, Wiegers to put points on the board although we did not protect them well. Other than Andrew Wylie in 2016, we have not had a very effective offensive lineman. Our QB's have been covering up serious deficiencies with respect to line play.

Our defense during this time has been stellar until this year. Unfortunately the eligibility of POC, Maxx, Harris, Rachwal and Pickett expired and we have what we have now, a sieve so to speak. When POC graduated, Maxx more than filled the void and perhaps Creighton figured that would happen again. IT DID NOT! As Sam astutely pointed out, our secondary including Magill really sucks as well. Schematics aside nobody on this team tackles effectively.

I'm a fan of Creighton. He, however, has been blown out THREE times this year and won a couple of miracle games (WMU,CCSU) as well. This is his wake up call to change. As Tough said football is won in the trenches and we need to recruit better. Nickle noticed that our strength and quickness is lacking and I heartily agree. Creighton knows the need right now, he just needs to fix it on the recruiting trail and in TJ's garage.

I realize that Dantonio at MSU made the recruiting of lower quality athletes and coaching them up the "vogue" thing to do. His period of success, however, concurred with the scandals at OSU and PSU and the lost football decade at U-M. Once those programs got back on their feet, the MSU strategy appears wanting. Time for Chris to get out on the trail and get some athletes on both lines.