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I think it will only help in recruiting. Besides the exposure and notoriety, Fickell cannow look at these 4-5* guys and say "We're right there, man. YOU are the guy who's going to get us over that hump."

And other than a handful of other schools, he can also now say "have you ever seen _______ in the CFP???"

(01-03-2022 08:56 AM)Loco Bearcat Wrote:  

(01-02-2022 05:37 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  

(01-02-2022 12:50 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(01-02-2022 12:21 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote:  So we were out-talented coming into it. And then we got out-coached.


Hopefully Fickell learned from the experience.

Fickell is an elite coach but it's the one area of he and his staff that can be disappointing. I think the do what you do and do it great attitude mostly works but you can't be afraid to throw wrinkles and counter the other team(this is particularly true against more talented teams and especially true when that team has so much time to prepare). Saban being so malleable even against lesser talent is one of the most impressive things about him. He showed uc a ton of respect in his gameplan and even had an early defensive counter when we came out with quick passes. It's a good way to get your team to take the opponent seriously.

We lost this game due to the guys with headsets. I still can’t believe that with a month to prep, we lined up and ran what we ran all year. I can’t believe we stayed in a 3 man front largely kept our big slow LB’s back in middle coverage and let them run for over 300 yards at 6 and a half yards an attempt. The fact that Alabama came out in running formations and ran it down our throats 11 straight times to start the game yet we didn’t adjust a bit says all one needs to know.

Also, I kept thinking we were holding back some of the playbook this season. Nope, that was it apparently. We ran the same handful of plays and formations that we ran all year that Albama watched over and over on 13 weeks of film. No wrinkles. Nothing new to catch Alabama off guard. Not sure what we spent the month doing. It was pretty clear how Alabama game planned for UC.

We game planed for a CFP game like this was just another AAC opponent. Little frustrating but not entirely unexpected.

We lost the due to the guys with the headsets, are you kidding me! Alabama is a much better team and no one can beat them when they are on, they beat Georgia by pretty the same margin as UC!

I don't believe that. Our O-line had a lot of trouble sustaining blocks. Our Wr's receivers had no time to run longer routes as the QB was running for his life to avoid sacks. Kind of the same issues we had last year in the second half against GA. I don't believe that's a headset issue, we just need bigger/stronger guys in the trenches.

(01-03-2022 10:16 AM)Lurkercat Wrote:  

(01-03-2022 09:51 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(01-03-2022 09:29 AM)Lurkercat Wrote:  It was awesome getting there but now that we have I would just like to win a NY6 and get the big game monkey off our back

As long as you're limiting the big game monkey to NY6 I agree but I think it needs to be limited to that. Any big game monkey that isn't limited to that died in South Bend when we controlled the most prestigious brand in college football at their home where they hadn't lost in 4 years on national TV and validated the quality of their team when they finished with 11 wins. That game was dramatically bigger than the Peach Bowl where Pitts first round QB and MSUs heisman candidate opted out because they didn't think the game was important enough to risk future earnings. That ND game was bigger to me than if the UGA FG at the end missed last year.

You're right, ND was huge and I'm not giving the team enough credit. That 0-4 BCS/NY6 record just looks ugly lol. But now that you mention it I agree that the big game demons were exercised with that ND win

Yep, and strangely enough, I think that ND win earned UC more respect in our hometown than most any other victory could have. For some reason, many people in this area still seem to buy in to the magic the Irish program conjures. It's truly a historic blue blood brand but it's hard to argue that ND is competitive on the field these days when matched up in the CFP with SEC blue bloods. And many B10 fans believe that ND would never thrive playing weekly there, though I'm less inclined to believe that.

So I looked at the advanced stats for all the playoff games that have occurred so far. As far as the EPA margin goes (Expected Points Added - Opponent EPA) we were about middle of the pack for teams that lost in the playoff. Ironically, OSU got boat raced worse than anyone in 2016 (31-0 to Clemson).



Our defense was actually relatively average. Offense wasn't near good enough.

We are not an elite program [yet]. There is no reloading of talent [plug-n-play] to what we lose after this year. It took several years of building that talent up based on experience [seniors and super seniors] and player development. To take the next step requires higher quality and quantity of recruits to lessen the transition years between a high level of success. Criticizing game planning especially on offense in the CFP semis? My hand is raised. However, realistically the dudes on the other side of the ball were elite across the board compared to our guys. The coaching staff knew it especially along the front lines. Same result if we had played Georgia in the semis IMO. Michigan was probably a winnable game compared to the other two.

The real kick in the groin is that, like you said, if Bama loses to Georgia then we very well may have gotten a winnable 2-3 matchup with Michigan. If we lose 24-7 in the NC against Bama then who cares. Bummer.

(01-07-2022 12:33 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  The real kick in the groin is that, like you said, if Bama loses to Georgia then we very well may have gotten a winnable 2-3 matchup with Michigan. If we lose 24-7 in the NC against Bama then who cares. Bummer.

The CFP was never going to have an Alabama/Georgia rematch in the semi-finals (the next game after the SECCG). We would have been paired up with Georgia instead.

(01-07-2022 12:08 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  We are not an elite program [yet]. There is no reloading of talent [plug-n-play] to what we lose after this year. It took several years of building that talent up based on experience [seniors and super seniors] and player development. To take the next step requires higher quality and quantity of recruits to lessen the transition years between a high level of success. Criticizing game planning especially on offense in the CFP semis? My hand is raised. However, realistically the dudes on the other side of the ball were elite across the board compared to our guys. The coaching staff knew it especially along the front lines. Same result if we had played Georgia in the semis IMO. Michigan was probably a winnable game compared to the other two.

Agree with all this. On a brighter note though, talking with a friend whose son is a senior on this current team, he tells his dad that we clearly lose some excellent players with tons of experience. But in the next breath he says the underclassmen, while less experienced, are by and large superior in terms of athleticism to the guys we're losing.

So the scales may tip more toward reloading than the rebuilding we would ordinarily expect. If so, it's certainly more evidence that Fickell is program building right here in river city.

(01-07-2022 02:22 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 12:08 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  We are not an elite program [yet]. There is no reloading of talent [plug-n-play] to what we lose after this year. It took several years of building that talent up based on experience [seniors and super seniors] and player development. To take the next step requires higher quality and quantity of recruits to lessen the transition years between a high level of success. Criticizing game planning especially on offense in the CFP semis? My hand is raised. However, realistically the dudes on the other side of the ball were elite across the board compared to our guys. The coaching staff knew it especially along the front lines. Same result if we had played Georgia in the semis IMO. Michigan was probably a winnable game compared to the other two.

Agree with all this. On a brighter note though, talking with a friend whose son is a senior on this current team, he tells his dad that we clearly lose some excellent players with tons of experience. But in the next breath he says the underclassmen, while less experienced, are by and large superior in terms of athleticism to the guys we're losing.

So the scales may tip more toward reloading than the rebuilding we would ordinarily expect. If so, it's certainly more evidence that Fickell is program building right here in river city.

I think you are right especially on D, but the glaring holes will be QB, RB, CB IMO

(01-07-2022 02:04 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 12:33 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  The real kick in the groin is that, like you said, if Bama loses to Georgia then we very well may have gotten a winnable 2-3 matchup with Michigan. If we lose 24-7 in the NC against Bama then who cares. Bummer.

The CFP was never going to have an Alabama/Georgia rematch in the semi-finals (the next game after the SECCG). We would have been paired up with Georgia instead.

I don't think 2 loss Bama makes it in so #4 would've ND

(01-07-2022 03:14 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 02:04 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 12:33 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  The real kick in the groin is that, like you said, if Bama loses to Georgia then we very well may have gotten a winnable 2-3 matchup with Michigan. If we lose 24-7 in the NC against Bama then who cares. Bummer.

The CFP was never going to have an Alabama/Georgia rematch in the semi-finals (the next game after the SECCG). We would have been paired up with Georgia instead.

I don't think 2 loss Bama makes it in so #4 would've ND

Agree, we would have got Michigan...GA 1, MI 2, UC 3, ND 4

(01-07-2022 03:14 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 02:04 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 12:33 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  The real kick in the groin is that, like you said, if Bama loses to Georgia then we very well may have gotten a winnable 2-3 matchup with Michigan. If we lose 24-7 in the NC against Bama then who cares. Bummer.

The CFP was never going to have an Alabama/Georgia rematch in the semi-finals (the next game after the SECCG). We would have been paired up with Georgia instead.

I don't think 2 loss Bama makes it in so #4 would've ND

Except you had Alabama in your original example. But...whatever.

(01-07-2022 06:06 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 03:14 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 02:04 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 12:33 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  The real kick in the groin is that, like you said, if Bama loses to Georgia then we very well may have gotten a winnable 2-3 matchup with Michigan. If we lose 24-7 in the NC against Bama then who cares. Bummer.

The CFP was never going to have an Alabama/Georgia rematch in the semi-finals (the next game after the SECCG). We would have been paired up with Georgia instead.

I don't think 2 loss Bama makes it in so #4 would've ND

Except you had Alabama in your original example. But...whatever.

Oh hah good point. Idk I guess that would be Georgia then in that scenario or even Notre Dame...Freeman vs Fickell lol