I seriously have to wonder if Leach ever has them practice tackling in their bowl prep.
It looks very similar to 2019
It looks very similar to 2019
This Tackling Looks all Too Familiar
- Thread starter spongeandshoot
- Start date
Gawd...no wonder Wells got fired.
My post didn't age all that well. They started tackling much better...but Tech still has 175 yds rushing in the first half. But then they started passing every down. Coaches are dumb sometimes...especially those who hire Snortin' Nick Holt
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Speaking of running or not…Tech in the second half has 19 drop backs and 1 run. And zero points on the board. Leach was great but games like this drove me crazy. They were running it well early too.
More iconic duo than Leach and bowl game losses?
I know one.
Leach and Apple Cup losses
I know one.
Leach and Apple Cup losses
His bowl prep needs to be turned into a manual of what not to do.
His be the most excited to play saying...well Tech has been way more excited to play today.
And their offense is much more creative. I bet there are people on the MSU boards pulling their hair out.
His be the most excited to play saying...well Tech has been way more excited to play today.
And their offense is much more creative. I bet there are people on the MSU boards pulling their hair out.
Mike Leach once again having his team fully ready for a bowl game. I thank him for all he did for WSU football but I don't miss the uninspired post season play.
Glad Cougar
Glad Cougar
post season began a week before AC and season didn't begin until an awful non conference game.
I get the every week do your job thing but bowl games and rivalry games are different. As mechanical as Leach is, just don’t think he has a good pulse on his teams or has an inability to adjust even things are different.
The CML version of the Air Raid just looks old and tired. He isn't fooling anyone, especially Texas Tech. It literally depends on near perfect QB play, and if your QB is perfect you don't need the Air Raid. Plus the play calling seems desperate. Going for 4 and 13 deep on your side of the field in the 3rd quarter when you haven't moved the ball all day? On the sideline he just looks lost and befuddled.
As myself and many others have posted, MSU did NOT hire him to win 6 or 7 games a year and go to a mid-tier bowl game. They have been doing this every year without CML. He probably gets a third year like his predecessor, but as bad as they looked tonight, who knows...
As myself and many others have posted, MSU did NOT hire him to win 6 or 7 games a year and go to a mid-tier bowl game. They have been doing this every year without CML. He probably gets a third year like his predecessor, but as bad as they looked tonight, who knows...
Leach going to blame those fat little girlfriends still sorry can’t help myself that’s going to live forever along with sanctimonious troll.
I think the extra prep time is a real killer for the style of Air Raid you get with Leach. By the time you have 2+ weeks to prepare, practice, things start getting predictable. It looked like Tech knew the plays they were going to run, and had well coordinated stunts on the line to get home with 4 guys the entire game.
A lot of hate for easily at least the 2nd best coach WSU has had since WWII. Sure he left a lot to be desired, but so does every coach not named Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney right now. Tough crowd, Dickert better start bringing in championships pretty quick.
No hate here, but watching MSU look so hapless & uninspired tonight just brings back some unpleasant memories of AC & post season futility under Leach. He won a lot of games for the Cougars, but more often than not, didn't have the team ready to play in arguably the two most important games each year– Apple Cup & bowl game. Mississippi State is getting the same treatment.
By the way, it seems Leach spent a lot of time this week talking about how he got screwed by Texas Tech. Maybe his focus was on something other than his team's bowl game.
Glad Cougar
Not hate. Closer to fascination. He did great things for WSU, especially with the program he took over. But his inflexibility was a little maddening, especially when you saw the same patterns over and over again. His teams were strangely flat and unprepared in season openers, almost apathetic in the Apple Cup, and then really struggled in Bowls. In between, it was magic, but for the average fan, the 3 games that mean the most are the first game, the Apple Cup, and the Bowl game. Now at MSU the same pattern is playing out again, but with less and less magic in between. Its just interesting....
I heard an analogy years ago….
KISS on stage in the 80’s was prob pretty awesome. Now it’s old guys in make up playing the same tired songs. Not nearly as awesome.
That’s Leach’s version of the air raid.
KISS on stage in the 80’s was prob pretty awesome. Now it’s old guys in make up playing the same tired songs. Not nearly as awesome.
That’s Leach’s version of the air raid.
Yes, wsudefense, but the "sanctimonious troll" comment was well deserved. I added a couple thou to my athletic department contribution specifically because he called Blanchette out on that, and made a point of it in a note that I sent with the check. I smile whenever I hear the phrase.
Yep. It was so plain to see yesterday with the contrast of Techs offense which was much more creative.
I got chastised by those who got triggered for wanting to run the ball more here...but it's true
His offense leads to way too many 2nd and 10's
His stubbornness will lead to his career finishing like Hal Mumme’s.
The sad thing is that he could win big games if he just committed to the inside run.
Many of these bowl games have been reduced to scrimmages. How many guys was Mississippi State missing last night? 35?
Zero hate at all, think we have all been pretty clear we were lucky to have Leach coach at WSU. It’s also fair to make an observation about a pattern and question why that is. If you were to take Leachs bowl games, rivalry games, and season openers over the course of his career and ignore everything in between it’s not pretty. This is a discussion board and we’re discussing, and if it doesn’t lead to an off the rails Covid debate we should all be happy.
Naw. He wins enough with mediocre programs there will always be the downtrodden program that will love him as the hire. Problem is he has these weird anomalies with bowls, rivalries, season openers along with the games that are lost with bizarre clock management, that he’ll never get over the hump and win a significant championship. But the Texas game sure was fun for the Red Raiders fans and the Gameday win vs Oregon sure was fun for us. Wouldn’t trade it.
I think they missed some starters on defense and 2 on the oline. As far as I know, all of their skill position players were there. They just came out flat just like we have seen in the past.
Texas Tech was clearly more excited to play. It was actually kind of fun to see how much it meant to them and their alumni interim coach.
Change is painful, and if you have had a good level of success with the "tried and true", then it can be very hard to move your thinking enough to adapt. If CML can change, the SEC will force him to do so. I think the area we are likely to see that first will be in his game prep for the first game. I will be honestly surprised if MSU sleepwalks into their opening game next fall. As for the rest? The inside run would require a real change in logistics, since CML trains his QB's to always pass first, then leaves the decision to audible into a run to them. That has obvious implications when it comes to weakening the run game, and until there are some actual called runs (not requiring an audible) to force DC's to be honest, Mike Leach's teams will have one hand tied behind their backs. As it stands it is way too easy for a DC to show more guys in the box but drop them into coverage. And as you have pointed out a million times, Biggs, if there is no inside run threat then there is no reason for a 4 man front or a true MLB. If all you have on the field as a defense is one tackle, two ends and a mix of safeties and CB's, then all you need is one or two goofs by the offense and they are stopped. They have to be perfect against a rush 3/drop 8 D if they are going to go anywhere, and it is relatively easy to predict the half dozen things that the offense might do based solely on formation and the first second or so of the play execution. I don't think CML will ever learn to deal with that, other than maybe nibble around the edges a bit. Where I could see CML doing some tinkering is with Mike Bush type outside receivers, that are 6'4" plus, and the taller, the better. He could probably consistently recruit those guys as an SEC team. Those guys would have such a height advantage, they would draw double coverage if the other team thought there was a good chance of an up in the air pass. If he had that kind of outside WR on both sides of the field, that would open up some room for the inside WR's and RB, even against a drop 8 pass D. As for the chances of a TE being an inside WR, I'd be shocked. Mike's mind simply doesn't seem to compute that, due to the lack of speed that a TE would bring to the party. The only other change I can see as likely is the Egg bowl. It has to grate on Leach to consistently lose to Lane Kiffin. After he starts taking opening games seriously, the second change I could realistically see is maybe viewing the Ole Miss game as being a touch more important than the others...if for no other reason than losing to Lane HAS to be really annoying, and Mike's ego is quite large.
CML will either make the opening game and egg bowl changes, and probably go with taller outside receivers, or he will be gone after 4 seasons. On the flip side, if the old dog does manage to learn some new tricks, he could retire in Starkville. The jury is out.
Who is hiring older coaches with a cracked scheme???? When they could hire younger coaches with a better scheme???
Hard to take the opener seriously when you leave town after the spring game for Key West and don’t return until August first.
He has checked out. He is no longer willing to give the effort or put in the hours to win games at a high level. He is retired and working part time.
Hard to believe watching that game, but Leach's bowl record now is 8-9. To take some other examples I got that weren't too cherry-picked, here are some others.
Chris Petersen: 7-7
Bob Stoops: 9-10
LaVell Edwards: 7-14-1
Kyle Whittingham: 11-3
Mike Riley: 7-3
June Jones: 7-3
This counts a CFP appearance as a bowl game, which only was relevant in a couple of cases for one game each.
The takeaways, or lack thereof, should be pretty clear.
All that said, Leach was 2-4 for WSU in bowl games and now is 1-1 at Mississippi State, and his bowl win last year was in the context of a lousy season overall. I don't think he's checked out, nor will wind up like Hal Mumme, but I won't push back on any observations about the flat appearances in bowl games, season openers, or the Apple Cup. Those trends are pretty clear.
Just presenting this here since I took a look at some of the records.
Chris Petersen: 7-7
Bob Stoops: 9-10
LaVell Edwards: 7-14-1
Kyle Whittingham: 11-3
Mike Riley: 7-3
June Jones: 7-3
This counts a CFP appearance as a bowl game, which only was relevant in a couple of cases for one game each.
The takeaways, or lack thereof, should be pretty clear.
All that said, Leach was 2-4 for WSU in bowl games and now is 1-1 at Mississippi State, and his bowl win last year was in the context of a lousy season overall. I don't think he's checked out, nor will wind up like Hal Mumme, but I won't push back on any observations about the flat appearances in bowl games, season openers, or the Apple Cup. Those trends are pretty clear.
Just presenting this here since I took a look at some of the records.
Lots of programs. Even if you wouldn’t do it doesn’t mean there’s not a suitor…there’s plenty of P5 programs that would hire Leach in a heartbeat even if he has another mediocre year or two at MSU.
Who? Which programs? At what price? How many is “plenty?”
You aren’t considering that there are other options, much younger than 60 and much cheaper than $5,000,000.
Are you serious? You think if Mike Leach coaches out his contract or even if MSU let’s him go and he doesn’t top say 7 wins, with the coaching carousel we saw this year, that not 1 of 65 programs would want him?
Power 5? For me it’s a maybe at best. Who in the Pac 12 would hire him? Who in the SEC would hire him? If it’s “no” from each league, that’s 26 of the 60ish P5 programs that passed. So yes, I am serious.
Group of 5? I could see that happening.
Again, how many is “plenty?” Again, who? Specifically who are you suggesting would be interested????
They were without 16 players on their 2-deeps including 6 starters. These bowl games have become a bit of a joke, honestly.
There is little value for a lot of these games. They’re games for the sake of games.
If you wanna see the best players playing it’s prob gonna take a 32 team play off.
Plenty is 2 or more because that’s who many it takes for a bidding war. I think two teams would be for sure. Who? Who knows, that changes every year. At the beginning of this year Jimmy Lake was supposed to be having his team prepping for the playoffs…yeah…I’ll say this, UW would have had plenty of interest if Leach was on the market this year if you consider who they hired.
This raises an interesting consideration regarding playoff expansion. In addition to all the other things cutting in favor of expanding it -- albeit maybe not to 32 teams, but 16 might work -- getting more teams in a playoff, as opposed to a "meaningless" game, would lead to fewer opt-outs. It also would lead to further devaluation of the non-playoff bowl games, but that's already pretty severe, even among games that used to be viewed as pretty significant, like the 2nd- and 3rd-best tie-ins for P5s (e.g., the Alamo Bowl or Las Vegas Bowl).
Power 5 conference teams are 2-7 so far. The SEC is 0-4. With the opt outs, COVID, and the fact that nothing is on the line, there's a serious who gives a $hit mentality.
A 32-team playoff would be great, but the NCAA won't start with that. First there will be an 8-team playoff, and they'll continue limping along with these lame duck bowls. It's pretty silly.
I'm at the point where I'd be fine with an 8, 12, or 16 team playoff. Rather than traditional bowl games, maybe they should have a play in weekend? Give automatic playoff slots to the P5 and G5 champs. Give a few more automatic bids to the P5 runner ups and a couple of at large G5 teams. Then select 16 additional teams and have them play games vs. each other for the other 8 spots. If you're a P5 school, you have to finish in the top-4 of your conference to be considered for the play-in.
We've taken these bowl games as far as we can. The opt outs and declining TV ratings will seal their fate.
Another thing a playoff could do is incentivize (if not, mandate) P5 schools to play at least one legitimate non-league game every year. Wanna save the bowl games? Designate some of the bowl games as early season cross conference games. The traditional bowls become playoff games. Get creative.
