I've seen a lot of posts questioning where we are ranked by national publications, why we are being overlooked after how we ended 2014, or why are they not expecting us to be much improved?
I think these are some of the questions that national pundits, radio people, and even just casual fans outside of this message board are asking themselves. This isn't a kool-aid binge but I think it's a good counterargument to some of the more positive posts, and if for nothing else its some discussion to be had until football actually gets here.
1. Can Yurcich get this offense into the top 25 of total offense?
In 2014 we were 85th, in 2013 we were 35th. We could have won the Big 12 in 2013 with 37th but we relied heavily on our defense. The defense looks strong again this year, but if we could get into just the top 25 our chances of winning the conference would go up drastically.
2. Can Spencer get us back to the level of the 2013 defense?
Last year with a combination of injuries and a terrible offense that kept putting the defense back on the field, we struggled mightily. We didn't have depth at many positions last year and a lot of guys were forced into roles too early. Looking back to 2013 we were very deep at the CB position with Gilbert, Patmon, Peterson and Lampkin. This allowed Spencer to really dial in on passing teams, and he put together one of the best defensive schemes I've ever seen against Baylor. With our CB depth will we be able to withstand the offenses in the Big 12?
3. Can we do better in Turnover Margin?
This is something that both sides need to get better on. Rudolph came in young and played admirably but if there was one area where he could probably use improvement it's got to be in reducing interceptions. Our defense was amazingly ineffective at creating turnovers last year. In 2013 we ranked 4th in T/O Margin. Last year we ranked 111th. Both sides need to do better this year.
4. Can we catch a break from injuries?
The past two years have been brutal when it comes to injuries, Walsh has been injured both years, Daxx, Lampkin, Devin Davis, Brandon Garrett, Averette, Palelei, I'm sure there are more. This year we've already had Leveni go down. There's not a lot we can do here for improvement other than just be fortunate.
5. Can we get All-Conference performances out of some of our players?
Last year we only had one player on the First Team All Big 12 (Ogbah). In 2013 we had four, one on Offense (Parker Graham), three on defense (Gilbert, Lewis, Barnett). In contrast in 2011 we had 7 (8 if you count Sharp twice, since he won both PK and P) 3 on offense, 3 on defense, 1 from ST. We need some of our players to step up as individuals if we want to win this league.
6. Can our trenches hold up?
It's pretty typical to hear that it all starts up front in football. Both of our lines have talent, but very very little depth. When people outside of our fanbase look at our team this is the glaring weakness. OL was a big weakness last year and we are hoping that a transfer from a sunbelt team, and an emphasis on Cowboy Backs will help minimize this. On DL we had two guys who were experienced and athletic, this year we have the athleticism but not the experience. Depth is also a big concern here as I mentioned under injuries.
7. Can our staff mesh and flourish on gameday?
I think it's pretty obvious that Wickline was not a fan of Yurcich, I also think its pretty obvious that Connelly wasn't much of a tactician or coach. Hopefully Adkins is on board with Yurcich, and shows that he can get the players coached up on gameday. Coach Hammer is now coaching a new position, on the other side of the ball, hopefully he gets comfortable quickly. Coach McEndoo is coming from a smaller program, hopefully he is ready for the big leagues. Coach Arroyo was calling plays for an NFL team last year, hopefully he meshes well and is comfortable just focusing on our RB's.
What else is key to next year? What could be a potential speedbump?
I think these are some of the questions that national pundits, radio people, and even just casual fans outside of this message board are asking themselves. This isn't a kool-aid binge but I think it's a good counterargument to some of the more positive posts, and if for nothing else its some discussion to be had until football actually gets here.
1. Can Yurcich get this offense into the top 25 of total offense?
In 2014 we were 85th, in 2013 we were 35th. We could have won the Big 12 in 2013 with 37th but we relied heavily on our defense. The defense looks strong again this year, but if we could get into just the top 25 our chances of winning the conference would go up drastically.
2. Can Spencer get us back to the level of the 2013 defense?
Last year with a combination of injuries and a terrible offense that kept putting the defense back on the field, we struggled mightily. We didn't have depth at many positions last year and a lot of guys were forced into roles too early. Looking back to 2013 we were very deep at the CB position with Gilbert, Patmon, Peterson and Lampkin. This allowed Spencer to really dial in on passing teams, and he put together one of the best defensive schemes I've ever seen against Baylor. With our CB depth will we be able to withstand the offenses in the Big 12?
3. Can we do better in Turnover Margin?
This is something that both sides need to get better on. Rudolph came in young and played admirably but if there was one area where he could probably use improvement it's got to be in reducing interceptions. Our defense was amazingly ineffective at creating turnovers last year. In 2013 we ranked 4th in T/O Margin. Last year we ranked 111th. Both sides need to do better this year.
4. Can we catch a break from injuries?
The past two years have been brutal when it comes to injuries, Walsh has been injured both years, Daxx, Lampkin, Devin Davis, Brandon Garrett, Averette, Palelei, I'm sure there are more. This year we've already had Leveni go down. There's not a lot we can do here for improvement other than just be fortunate.
5. Can we get All-Conference performances out of some of our players?
Last year we only had one player on the First Team All Big 12 (Ogbah). In 2013 we had four, one on Offense (Parker Graham), three on defense (Gilbert, Lewis, Barnett). In contrast in 2011 we had 7 (8 if you count Sharp twice, since he won both PK and P) 3 on offense, 3 on defense, 1 from ST. We need some of our players to step up as individuals if we want to win this league.
6. Can our trenches hold up?
It's pretty typical to hear that it all starts up front in football. Both of our lines have talent, but very very little depth. When people outside of our fanbase look at our team this is the glaring weakness. OL was a big weakness last year and we are hoping that a transfer from a sunbelt team, and an emphasis on Cowboy Backs will help minimize this. On DL we had two guys who were experienced and athletic, this year we have the athleticism but not the experience. Depth is also a big concern here as I mentioned under injuries.
7. Can our staff mesh and flourish on gameday?
I think it's pretty obvious that Wickline was not a fan of Yurcich, I also think its pretty obvious that Connelly wasn't much of a tactician or coach. Hopefully Adkins is on board with Yurcich, and shows that he can get the players coached up on gameday. Coach Hammer is now coaching a new position, on the other side of the ball, hopefully he gets comfortable quickly. Coach McEndoo is coming from a smaller program, hopefully he is ready for the big leagues. Coach Arroyo was calling plays for an NFL team last year, hopefully he meshes well and is comfortable just focusing on our RB's.
What else is key to next year? What could be a potential speedbump?
