Oh the Humanity

 

There's not much to say about the EMU game, except this: there was absolutely nothing redeeming about it.  Every part of it was awful.

These are not just my opinions.  Here is Coach Loeffler, quoted in The Blade.

“We’re not going to let last year’s play creep back in, but it was the first time this season that I’m disappointed.  We took steps backward, and it felt like last year. Come hell or high water, that’s not occurring, and it did, and that’s my responsibility. Our program is moving in the right direction, but it sure as hell didn’t move today, and that’s the facts.”

Here's Matt McDonald:

“The game is hard enough as it is, and when we’re shooting ourselves in the foot, we just don’t give ourselves a chance.  This was the first time where I felt like we had no fight in us and we kind of gave up, so that was disappointing because we really haven’t done that the rest of this season.”

Somewhere else Loeffler said it was like 2020 all over again, and it totally was.  That's 100% accurate. It was just like the worst season in program history. 

He went on to give all the "it's on me" talk.  Which is kind of obligatory and in the coach playbook.  

It has to be more than lip service, because it is on him.

We have been asked to be patient with the process.  And while there was progress--even baby steps--I was willing to continue that patience.  

But we can't regress. And yesterday was a 100% regression.

I understand that our undersized lineman will get blown up.  I understand our players may not make the plays they need.  I understand we lack depth.

But regardless of skill, the team makes too many pre-snap penalties. Too many missed passes.  Too many mistakes, some of them game-changing.  Those things shouldn't be happening anymore, on a team that is making progress.  And they are.  Coach says that is on him and he's right.  And if he's the coach we think (or hope) he is, he's going to need to get it fixed.

The defense was at one point a relative strength.  They started out well yesterday, but then Creighton said that they figured things out and it was off to the races.  They are a good offense and they showed it.  Meanwhile, BG's offense is as anemic now as it was earlier.  Part of that is not going to get fixed this year, but they made it harder on themselves with mistakes and when plays are there they are too often not getting made.

I never thought we would win much this year.  And we haven't and we won't.  But you wanted to see movement in the right direction.  The last four games will be the test for that--@UB, UT, @Miami, OU.  We have played the better teams in our division tough.  When we don't beat ourselves, we are at least competitive.  That's all I am asking for in the last four games. 

And it truly is on Coach Loeffler's shoulders to at least get that much happening. This can be a turning point--a look back to where we finally turned the corner--or it can be proof that the doubters were right.