Gameday Thread: Baylor Takes on LSU Tigers in Texas Bowl

FLBear5630 said:

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Daveisabovereproach said:

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IowaBear said:

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We were favored because of the sheer amount of opt outs they had. The game was never really in doubt from the opening kick. And that was against an LSu team playing backups at several positions. The talent gap between a team like LSU and Bu is gigantic. This illustrates why I wanted no part of LSU. That was a lose lose situation. That said Dave is still in year 5 one of the worst in game coaches in CFB. And the narrative that he's some sort of defensive guru needs to end. The guy flat out sucks coaching a defense

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To say that we had no chance to beat them is untrue and a coping mechanism. That's all I'm saying. In football, teams with inferior talent and good coaching sometimes beat teams with superior talent and worse coaching. It is not a rare occurrence. Also, again, Vegas had us favored for a reason. People were putting money on Baylor such that the line was -3.5

But as I said, we are talking about a coach that lost to Texas State and Air Force and has lost multiple games on last second Hail Mary blown coverages. If you gave a guy like Matt Campbell our current squad, I like our chances yesterday a whole lot better

And I agree that Dave's best bet moving forward is to hire someone that is a better defensive mind than him (he is lower-mid tier at best) and adopt more of a CEO role with the team which I actually think is more his skill set

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That is the challenge. I agree on hiring a good DC, not because I don't think Aranda can do it, but because CFB has gotten past where anyone can do two jobs well.

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I think we need to do that as well. The human brain can only focus on one thing at a time. It may help with some of the head scratching moments we've seen with game management if he's not also having to double as DC.

I know Sark calls his own plays. I can't think of many other high level coaches that do. Maybe I'm forgetting some.

FLBear5630 said:

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Daveisabovereproach said:

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IowaBear said:

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We were favored because of the sheer amount of opt outs they had. The game was never really in doubt from the opening kick. And that was against an LSu team playing backups at several positions. The talent gap between a team like LSU and Bu is gigantic. This illustrates why I wanted no part of LSU. That was a lose lose situation. That said Dave is still in year 5 one of the worst in game coaches in CFB. And the narrative that he's some sort of defensive guru needs to end. The guy flat out sucks coaching a defense

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To say that we had no chance to beat them is untrue and a coping mechanism. That's all I'm saying. In football, teams with inferior talent and good coaching sometimes beat teams with superior talent and worse coaching. It is not a rare occurrence. Also, again, Vegas had us favored for a reason. People were putting money on Baylor such that the line was -3.5

But as I said, we are talking about a coach that lost to Texas State and Air Force and has lost multiple games on last second Hail Mary blown coverages. If you gave a guy like Matt Campbell our current squad, I like our chances yesterday a whole lot better

And I agree that Dave's best bet moving forward is to hire someone that is a better defensive mind than him (he is lower-mid tier at best) and adopt more of a CEO role with the team which I actually think is more his skill set

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The opt out is overplayed at schools like LSU, Bama, UGA, OSU because those kids on the field are just as good NFL talents as those that opted out. It just isn't their time yet, now it is. That is how it is at top talent schools, reload and there is no real degradation of talent. In a Bowl game it is equally tough on the opposing team as there is no film.

Opting out at a BSU, BU, or that level is devastating for the simple reason that we do not have the dynamic mass to compete.

That is the challenge. I agree on hiring a good DC, not because I don't think Aranda can do it, but because CFB has gotten past where anyone can do two jobs well.

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Fair enough. It seems like you're walking back your statement that we had no chance of winning which is what I disagree with. I agree that LSU still had a lot of talent on the field, and it would've been a tough win even with significantly better coaching from Dave and his position coaches on the defensive side of the ball

AND we open up 2025 with an SEC team. Back to back emasculations.

Daveisabovereproach said:

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FLBear5630 said:

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Daveisabovereproach said:

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IowaBear said:

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We were favored because of the sheer amount of opt outs they had. The game was never really in doubt from the opening kick. And that was against an LSu team playing backups at several positions. The talent gap between a team like LSU and Bu is gigantic. This illustrates why I wanted no part of LSU. That was a lose lose situation. That said Dave is still in year 5 one of the worst in game coaches in CFB. And the narrative that he's some sort of defensive guru needs to end. The guy flat out sucks coaching a defense

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To say that we had no chance to beat them is untrue and a coping mechanism. That's all I'm saying. In football, teams with inferior talent and good coaching sometimes beat teams with superior talent and worse coaching. It is not a rare occurrence. Also, again, Vegas had us favored for a reason. People were putting money on Baylor such that the line was -3.5

But as I said, we are talking about a coach that lost to Texas State and Air Force and has lost multiple games on last second Hail Mary blown coverages. If you gave a guy like Matt Campbell our current squad, I like our chances yesterday a whole lot better

And I agree that Dave's best bet moving forward is to hire someone that is a better defensive mind than him (he is lower-mid tier at best) and adopt more of a CEO role with the team which I actually think is more his skill set

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The opt out is overplayed at schools like LSU, Bama, UGA, OSU because those kids on the field are just as good NFL talents as those that opted out. It just isn't their time yet, now it is. That is how it is at top talent schools, reload and there is no real degradation of talent. In a Bowl game it is equally tough on the opposing team as there is no film.

Opting out at a BSU, BU, or that level is devastating for the simple reason that we do not have the dynamic mass to compete.

That is the challenge. I agree on hiring a good DC, not because I don't think Aranda can do it, but because CFB has gotten past where anyone can do two jobs well.

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Fair enough. It seems like you're walking back your statement that we had no chance of winning which is what I disagree with. I agree that LSU still had a lot of talent on the field, and it would've been a tough win even with significantly better coaching from Dave and his position coaches on the defensive side of the ball

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I saw it alot like the Utah game, in the 1st quarter I felt we were hopelessly outclassed. By the end of the game, it seemed once the players understood the level of "effort" (not in a bad way, just not used to the quality of player on the other side), they picked it up and were able to play with them. Does that make sense? Like Utah my feel was that when the light bulb went on, we had already spotted them 2 TDs.

I do not blame it on Coaching. That the SEC has to play at that level EVERY game is the differences in Conferences to me. We are just not used to having to come out the gate like the SEC does, that doesn't mean we can't. We also need upgrades at CB and DL to compete for the highest prizes. I don't see the coaching as the determining factor and Dave is fine in that regard.

FLBear5630 said:

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Daveisabovereproach said:

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BBWCBear said:

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Reverend said:

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So Aranda bluntly said "the moment was too big" for his team? That's rich.

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Shrugging shoulders… Aranda is like Biden. Everyone sees it, understands it, but the Media (Administration/AD) keep saying "he's fine, productive and capable of the job".

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The fact is, we have more than enough of a sample size with Dave to know what we have with him: an average-at-best coach that can win against mid-tier opponents when every phase of the game is clicking, and his running backs are controlling the clock. Most coaches win in those situations. Opponents with superior talent or better coaching come out of the gate with a better game plan and fewer mental mistakes and put us in a hole early. His teams are also good for at least one last second loss via Hail Mary blown coverage every year.

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Come on, you really think that BU has the talent to beat LSU yesterday? The playoffs and Bowl Games versus top/bluebloods let us know where we need to improve talent-wise. This was a successful season, made improvements on Offense and Defense, we do not have the talent to compete with the bluebloods of the SEC yet. Why does everything have to be a firing or some huge failure? We got beat by what are going to be NFL receivers, Hilton was out most of this season. He is a going to play on Sundays and the TE will be a high pick.

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This! Having sat low end zone vs Georgia in 2019 and vs LSU yesterday and seeing it up close, I cannot emphasize enough the difference in speed and agility between these SEC freaks and average schools like us. It really is men vs. boys. Glad to see us trying to address some of these deficiencies via the portal. But if we really are going all in on mercenary football: 1. MUST hire the best strength and conditioning coach possible. This has been a huge gap since Kaz left and is a big part of our player non-development. 2. Need to re look at the majors/curriculum and dial it down to keep our roster intact. Yes, that sounds disgraceful, but the toothpaste is already out of the tube. Like that Ohio State QB said a few years ago "We didn't come here to play school!"

PaperBear89 said:

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FLBear5630 said:

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Daveisabovereproach said:

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BBWCBear said:

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Reverend said:

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So Aranda bluntly said "the moment was too big" for his team? That's rich.

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Shrugging shoulders… Aranda is like Biden. Everyone sees it, understands it, but the Media (Administration/AD) keep saying "he's fine, productive and capable of the job".

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The fact is, we have more than enough of a sample size with Dave to know what we have with him: an average-at-best coach that can win against mid-tier opponents when every phase of the game is clicking, and his running backs are controlling the clock. Most coaches win in those situations. Opponents with superior talent or better coaching come out of the gate with a better game plan and fewer mental mistakes and put us in a hole early. His teams are also good for at least one last second loss via Hail Mary blown coverage every year.

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Come on, you really think that BU has the talent to beat LSU yesterday? The playoffs and Bowl Games versus top/bluebloods let us know where we need to improve talent-wise. This was a successful season, made improvements on Offense and Defense, we do not have the talent to compete with the bluebloods of the SEC yet. Why does everything have to be a firing or some huge failure? We got beat by what are going to be NFL receivers, Hilton was out most of this season. He is a going to play on Sundays and the TE will be a high pick.

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This! Having sat low end zone vs Georgia in 2019 and vs LSU yesterday and seeing it up close, I cannot emphasize enough the difference in speed and agility between these SEC freaks and average schools like us. It really is men vs. boys. Glad to see us trying to address some of these deficiencies via the portal. But if we really are going all in on mercenary football: 1. MUST hire the best strength and conditioning coach possible. This has been a huge gap since Kaz left and is a big part of our player non-development. 2. Need to re look at the majors/curriculum and dial it down to keep our roster intact. Yes, that sounds disgraceful, but the toothpaste is already out of the tube. Like that Ohio State QB said a few years ago "We didn't come here to play school!"

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That is the question. Will BU go mercenary? We must to compete. Last thing time left a bad taste, maybe someone like Aranda is the right person to sell it to the BOR? But the investment must increase.

I hate to say it but the school that I have the most faith to step up and pay is SMU. This is right in their wheelhouse.

Seeing the progress over the last 2 seasons with the younger guys who will be hopefully returning, I'm optimistic we can swing at the conference championship.
Nothing to be too disappointed about in losing to LSU. They're a very good team. And we gave them a fight. Barring some early jitters it's probably a 1 score affair.
Sic'em

Killing Floor said:

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Seeing the progress over the last 2 seasons with the younger guys who will be hopefully returning, I'm optimistic we can swing at the conference championship.
Nothing to be too disappointed about in losing to LSU. They're a very good team. And we gave them a fight. Barring some early jitters it's probably a 1 score affair.
Sic'em

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I agree. I was pretty depressed in the early going Tuesday, but my depression turned more to frustration as the game went on.

Other than in our secondary, that wasn't a talent mismatch. We matched up with them pretty well on both lines and gave them as much trouble on the perimeter as they gave us. We just played way too sloppy a game to win.

This Baylor team/program has talent. We've just got to fix our secondary problem to take the next step from a good, solid team to a potential championship one. A couple of reliable edge rushers would help a lot with that too. Linton had his moments, but he was often unavailable and wasn't particularly consistent when he played, and Randolph's entire career was marked by inconsistency.

We have new recruits who might be very helpful.

bear2be2 said:

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Killing Floor said:

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Seeing the progress over the last 2 seasons with the younger guys who will be hopefully returning, I'm optimistic we can swing at the conference championship.
Nothing to be too disappointed about in losing to LSU. They're a very good team. And we gave them a fight. Barring some early jitters it's probably a 1 score affair.
Sic'em

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This Baylor team/program has talent. We've just got to fix our secondary problem to take the next step from a good, solid team to a potential championship one.

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Powledge has GOT to go. Zero development in our secondary. He is useless and must have pictures of Dave doing something bad. How he was not dismissed at end of regular season is beyond belief.

PaperBear89 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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Killing Floor said:

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Seeing the progress over the last 2 seasons with the younger guys who will be hopefully returning, I'm optimistic we can swing at the conference championship.
Nothing to be too disappointed about in losing to LSU. They're a very good team. And we gave them a fight. Barring some early jitters it's probably a 1 score affair.
Sic'em

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This Baylor team/program has talent. We've just got to fix our secondary problem to take the next step from a good, solid team to a potential championship one.

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Powledge has GOT to go. Zero development in our secondary. He is useless and must have pictures of Dave doing something bad. How he was not dismissed at end of regular season is beyond belief.

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You'll get no argument from me there. Unless he's an integral part of our recruiting apparatus, I fail to see what value he brings to the program at this point.

True Grit said:

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Reverend said:

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So Aranda bluntly said "the moment was too big" for his team? That's rich.

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In Year 5!

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I'm not a big fan of Aranda and wanted him gone before the win streak. And if tomfoolery starts again, I'll again want him gone. But I don't really find fault with him saying this.