CougEd said:

95....when have they been able to block?

We act like Leach was a juggernaut. Remember when Leach was going to light it up against another MWC in BYU on 2012? Remember 30-6 ? Their defensive minded head coach rushed 3, dropped 8. Care to guess who BYU's head coach was in 2012? (hint...we saw him on Saturday Night) They set the blue print for how to defend this offense. Justin Wilcox and Jimmy Lake, not brain surgeon's, had no problem stopping the air raid.

The adjustment that should have been made was playing 2 TE's in second half. But we have always struggled running the ball.

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BSpike76 said:

Why do they still insist the good players need to go to college? It saves money on farm clubs for NFL, but with complete free agency at the colleges, it seems the players should be able to get the most secure contract possible.

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CougSinceBirth said:

I wish there was a way to basically offer, "you get a scholarship or you take NIL, but you cannot have both."

The idea of a scholarship/academics is officially gone by the wayside. I recognize athletes should be able to make money on image and likeness, and that's fair, but it's too far gone into the wild, wild west.

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95coug said:

Record against UW should not be a determining factor. And no, WSU is not going to fire a head coach after a 10-win season (or even after an 8-win season).

The bar for coordinator positions should be much lower. We’ve got an offensethat has seriously underperformed for 2 seasons, built around an OL that can’t block. And a defense that is now among the worst in the country, can’t generate QB pressure, can’t tackle, and can’t cover the pass. Those all seem like serious problems.

And, yes…the HC shares responsibility for hiring them in the first place. But coordinators are always the first to go. And go they should.

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dgibbons said:

What's to be embarrassed about? College football already kicked WSU and OSU to the curb. I say **** them all, and let's take some of their precious money they're generating by kicking us to the curb.

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95coug said:

I'd be OK with that if we were actually getting in the backfield, causing negative plays and turnovers. But UNM's QB was never touched, we had zero TFLs, and no takeaways. We couldn't read their offense or anticipate a play. We couldn't tackle, we couldn't get off blocks, and somehow we couldn't get a 198 pound QB on the ground. How many times did he get hit after 1-2 yards, and then push the pile for a gain of 7?

Pathetic.

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Coug90 said:

That’s sort of been the game plan since Grinch. Be aggressive, get in the backfield, cause negative plays and turnovers and live with the occasional 80 yard house call. In general I think it’s a good plan when you’re outmanned and can’t line up in a base defense and win.

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altolug said:

Guess I am built differently. I would rather go to Bowl game and be competitive win or lose. Then to be a laughing stock or meme for years to come from a blowout. We each have different reasons not knocking anyone’s opinion.

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Flatlandcoug said:

I agree that he is likely not going to be here....but I'll hold off on definitive statements until he enters the portal. I think WSU coaches knew that he was likely to bail when they chose to sit Eckhaus in the blowout win over Hawaii. That kept Eckhaus' redshirt alive.

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CougPatrol said:

The UCLA game is what I was referring to. Doba made the adjustment after 1 week and it worked. We know our defense is weak, and we know the New Mexico is run heavy. Why in the world did we stay in the 4-3 with the linebackers 5 yards off the LOS?

I hope you're not comparing Bill Doba to our current defensive coaches.

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dgibbons said:

I'm not. Who ****ing cares if we "deserve" it or not? Making the CFP would have been huge for a program that was sent to purgatory. Even if we lose 105-0, 120 other schools get to watch from home.

Obviously there is a significant contingent of our fans that hate success. Why they do so may only be known to their mental health professional.

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altolug said:

WSU is not and never was a CFP team. There was a loss coming somewhere, just did not know where. The last couple games where it is better to be lucky than good. Well the luck ran out against New Mexico. NM found a soft spot and abused it, like any team should. Glad we can put this CFP story to rest.

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M-I-Coug said:

I started this thread. Page 1, Post # 1 says:

"QB Devon Dampier, dual threat....has some great numbers.
Coach Bronco is 100% going to turn this program around.
Lobos are trending."

Go COUGS.

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Coug90 said:

That’s sort of been the game plan since Grinch. Be aggressive, get in the backfield, cause negative plays and turnovers and live with the occasional 80 yard house call. In general I think it’s a good plan when you’re outmanned and can’t line up in a base defense and win.

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CougPatrol said:

The UCLA game is what I was referring to. Doba made the adjustment after 1 week and it worked. We know our defense is weak, and we know the New Mexico is run heavy. Why in the world did we stay in the 4-3 with the linebackers 5 yards off the LOS?

I hope you're not comparing Bill Doba to our current defensive coaches.

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dgibbons said:

I don't know what Dickert wants this defense to look like, other than that he wants to generate turnovers. That sounds like bend but don't break to me, with turnovers to mask the deficiencies. Given where WSU is, the expansion back to 105 scholarship players, and a $0.00 NIL budget, this at least in a broad sense is what we're going to see. It does not take any genius level intellect to see that speed, size, strength and athletic ability have been declining since Leach left. Durant's replacement, if there actually is someone better will be the same guy or marginally better. Just like Lockett's replacement was the same guy or marginally better.

With that said, we should be able to line up and if necessary call an audible ten games into the season. The defense has been glacially slow in that regard. Whatever system they are using to communicate needs to fixed like 9 games ago, or jettisoned in the offseason. I get that we're sticking new guys in all over the line up and will continue as long as there is a portal, but **** me it's pathetic to watch blown assignments game after game.

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CougPatrol said:

I thought the scheme was atrocious yesterday. We sat in the same ineffective 4-3 defense the entire 2nd half. Bill Doba would have never allowed them to keep gutting us with the same 3 plays. He would have changed to a 5-man front and said FU, run something else.

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CougPatrol said:

The UCLA game is what I was referring to. Doba made the adjustment after 1 week and it worked. We know our defense is weak, and we know the New Mexico is run heavy. Why in the world did we stay in the 4-3 with the linebackers 5 yards off the LOS?

I hope you're not comparing Bill Doba to our current defensive coaches.

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CougPatrol said:

Mateer is gone.

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CougEd said:

Are you serious . Oregon in 2001 had two backs over 200 yards for a total of 446. He made no adjustments and because the wind was so strong Harrington couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

It was one week later we played UCLA and the leading rusher in the country in Foster. He finally made an adjustment where he went to 5 down lineman .

So I know people look way better over time, but they all seem slow to adjust.

And before you claim it is New Mexico, they run such an unconventional offense i would think people would understand it is a horrible match up on top of the DE not holding an edge.

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dgibbons said:

Road games have been flat. Home games have been generally fine. SJSU appears be one of the better teams in the MWC.

It is worth remembering that we have a sophomore QB in his first season as starter. Parker is a true freshman. Pulalasi is a RS freshman. Schlenbaker is a RS sophomore. Consistency can be elusive. Keeping Mateer, the OL and RB units as intact is the key to next season, IMO. Pole is the only senior on the OL.

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ttowncoug said:

Maybe not, but the fact is:
1. Team was up and defense played great vs. UW.
2. Team has been flat the post Apple Cup and to me it's consistency and discipline.

The Mike Leach reference was he'd be on his kids weekly to treat every game like a championship game. Same mentality that went into the Apple Cup win, goes into the New Mexico second half.

As for the offensive strategy, it wasn't until late in the 4th until they started to take what the defense was giving them. It was the quick hitters and taking "chunk yards." If we do that earlier in the 3rd, we are up by 7 points to win the game.

That said, our defense just isn't getting it done. Jake is a defensive coach. Same players that beat UW. What is different? Lines up with mentality, discipline and coaching style.

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Coug90 said:

Jakes a defensive coach but he has a defensive coordinator on his staff to coordinate and call the defense. I would expect after that game he will make a change in the offseason. This is not Dickerts defense and I’m sure he’s more disgusted with the plan and execution than anyone here is.

Ultimately it falls on him so it will be up to him to find the right coaches to get back on track. There’s clearly a talent issue as well. Durant is a perfect example. How many times has he been caught flat footed and had receivers blow by him. You can scheme all you want, if your players look like that they shouldn’t be playing.

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CougEd said:

Bronco Mendenhall is considered a very very good coach. New Mexico winning under him does not surprise me. Football is a game of matchups....

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