Big 12 could turn out to be "good coaches that Baylor passed up, and Baylor" conference.

bear2be2 said:

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Guitarbiscuit said:

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boognish_bear said:

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Time to start "Fire Linda" chants at games? I know it helped play a part in the Mavs organization finally stepping away from dumbass Nico.

Although… I guess it's hard to get much momentum with a chant with no fans in the stands.

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The best thing we could do is to each go out and buy a megaphone. I hear they now have recordings on them with a continous loop. We could make whatever recording we want and place it on a continuous loop. It would take security probably a half hour to shut all of us up. We may get kicked out of the stadium for good, but hey that's the price you pay.

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The best things fans can do is stop showing up to games at all.

Money is the only language these people speak, and boycott power is the only actual power fans have.

People need to stop paying for products they don't like and aren't satisfied with. Continued purchase of any product is a seal of approval/vote of confidence, no matter how loud you complain about it between purchases.

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This is correct of course. But you'll get name called here for speaking truth. According to the sunshine crowd, real BU fans must support the paid players, umh I mean student athletes, by holding on to their season tickets.

Doing less with more...

A follow-up to further illustrate the frustration. Baylor wins vs. preseason O/U since 2011:

Briles: 5-0 (bet the over!)
Rhule: 2-1 (bet the over!)
Aranda: 2-4 (bet the under!)

He's dramatically underperforming the football standard at Baylor. https://t.co/bennffREUB pic.twitter.com/LqkgV5WQRT

— Scotty Swingler (@PleaseBearW_Me) November 25, 2025

My assumption is that Linda has a tight circle inclusive of the BOR and this person isn’t in it. It’s a big decision and I’d limit the noise if I were Linda. https://t.co/6iwS8ZG0Rf

— Terrance Ganaway (@TerranceGanaway) November 25, 2025

Texas Tech didn't just fill a couple gaps. That defense is led by portal guys like Rodriguez and Bailey. Tech is blowing up the Big12 because they have a top of the SEC caliber DL they built/bought in the portal.

Aside from the QB position of Morton and the 4* frosh who got injured that team is portal heavy.

boykin_spaniel said:

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Texas Tech didn't just fill a couple gaps. That defense is led by portal guys like Rodriguez and Bailey. Tech is blowing up the Big12 because they have a top of the SEC caliber DL they built/bought in the portal.

Aside from the QB position of Morton and the 4* frosh who got injured that team is portal heavy.

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That is the difference in this era, who has the NIL and who doesn't. We don't get it, we are going to AAC.

I don't think our NIL is bad compared to conference peers, Tech aside, but that is an educated guess. I'd love to see Eric Morris come in next year but if there's one thing I have to give Aranda credit for it is keeping the roster intact after last year. Sawyer, Washington, Cameron, Trigg, Marshall, Aigbedion, Thomas, etc all returned. This makes me think the NIL train has to be on par with conference mates… that lack oil money.

Several "Fire Dave" comments in the comments section...maybe it will keep growing like "fire Nico".

I hate Nico. I don't hate Dave...but it's time for us to move in a different direction.

The best helmet in the game just got better.#SicEm pic.twitter.com/iSMW3u1H9W

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) November 25, 2025

boykin_spaniel said:

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I don't think our NIL is bad compared to conference peers, Tech aside, but that is an educated guess. I'd love to see Eric Morris come in next year but if there's one thing I have to give Aranda credit for it is keeping the roster intact after last year. Sawyer, Washington, Cameron, Trigg, Marshall, Aigbedion, Thomas, etc all returned. This makes me think the NIL train has to be on par with conference mates… that lack oil money.

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It's not. That's a crutch/excuse ... and one that is almost exclusively used by those who either were or still are apologists for Dave Aranda.

We don't have the NIL apparatus to compete with Tech, but our resources are as good or better than a number of the teams we're staring up at in the Big 12 standings.

That is not at all a valid excuse for the current state of our program because no one is demanding that we compete for national championships. Most of us just want a program that can consistently compete in the top third of our conference.

not bad don't know if it needed the change just feel the same. love it either way tho

boognish_bear said:

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The best helmet in the game just got better.#SicEm pic.twitter.com/iSMW3u1H9W

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) November 25, 2025

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So chrome domes vs Houston......wonder what jersey they're pairing it with, i'd like to see green.

as i've written to others facing coaching "situations," the last thing b12 schools need is to jump on the coaching carousel. change is fun for awhile but expensive up front. and the pool of talent is meager given all the openings. for example, ucla may be left with hiring a fired raiders o'coordinator and former coach who finished .500 at westwood, chip kelly. aranda is not bad enough to be canned given the present "situation," imho.

bear2be2 said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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I don't think our NIL is bad compared to conference peers, Tech aside, but that is an educated guess. I'd love to see Eric Morris come in next year but if there's one thing I have to give Aranda credit for it is keeping the roster intact after last year. Sawyer, Washington, Cameron, Trigg, Marshall, Aigbedion, Thomas, etc all returned. This makes me think the NIL train has to be on par with conference mates… that lack oil money.

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It's not. That's a crutch/excuse ... and one that is almost exclusively used by those who either were or still are apologists for Dave Aranda.

We don't have the NIL apparatus to compete with Tech, but our resources are as good or better than a number of the teams we're staring up at in the Big 12 standings.

That is not at all a valid excuse for the current state of our program because no one is demanding that we compete for national championships. Most of us just want a program that can consistently compete in the top third of our conference.

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Better be careful about the bolded above, some will say you are settling for mediocrity.

I agree with you. The realities are what they are concerning NIL My hope is that sometime soon this whole tower of Babel will collapse and we can get back to college sports being what they were meant to be, but I understand that is wishful thinking.

There are people rich enough that throwing away (if their team bombs that year) $20Million+ a year or whatever it takes in the future is just such a small % of their net worth it is worth it to feed their ego to trash talk their peers who support another team.

Money has destroyed the whole thing, but fans have had their part....forgetting that the purpose of the whole thing was to educate young people and provide a little weekend entertainment and fun, not for fans to push their own egos while forgetting these players are first, students, not professional teams who do nothing during the week but practice.

tmcats said:

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as i've written to others facing coaching "situations," the last thing b12 schools need is to jump on the coaching carousel. change is fun for awhile but expensive up front. and the pool of talent is meager given all the openings. for example, ucla may be left with hiring a fired raiders o'coordinator and former coach who finished .500 at westwood, chip kelly. aranda is not bad enough to be canned given the present "situation," imho.

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Dave is absolutely bad enough to be canned. And there are no fewer than three or four G5 programs in our own state with better head coaches than ours.

It would be hard not to upgrade our head coaching situation if we decided to make a change. And keeping Aranda is just to delay the inevitable.

We could go get Jeff Traylor from UTSA tomorrow and be in a better situation than we currently are ... and would be competing with almost no one for him.

Remember this moment. It's going to be hilarious watching OSU crush us for the next decade. Livingstone needs to retire and go bake cookies or something.

Sucks for UNT they won't be able to hang on to him with how much he's revitalized that program

Eric Morris not wearing any NT gear in his press conference for the first time that I can remember😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/S7CBG9k8DY

— #21 Mean Green 2010 (10-1) (@MeanGreen2010) November 25, 2025

Welp....good choice Pokes

Deal is signed b/w Oklahoma State & Eric Morris, source told @On3sports. Morris will remain w/Mean Green thru end of season, including playoffs https://t.co/ctLiiT1oos

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 25, 2025

aNAHIDHFBFBDHD

boognish_bear said:

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Welp....good choice Pokes

Deal is signed b/w Oklahoma State & Eric Morris, source told @On3sports. Morris will remain w/Mean Green thru end of season, including playoffs https://t.co/ctLiiT1oos

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 25, 2025

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*ENDLESS SCREAMING*

Bearknuckle said:

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boognish_bear said:

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Welp....good choice Pokes

Deal is signed b/w Oklahoma State & Eric Morris, source told @On3sports. Morris will remain w/Mean Green thru end of season, including playoffs https://t.co/ctLiiT1oos

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 25, 2025

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*ENDLESS SCREAMING*

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We know. A semi load of Hall's cough drops en route to you as I write.

boognish_bear said:

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Of course I would rather it be us to land Eric Morris... but the Ok St fan base has been through the shtter the last two years. They are due for some optimism.

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Well, Baylor has literally been at the very bottom of the Porta-Potty for much longer with little to no hope in sight. At least multiple threads and posts lean that way. What will it take for a positive to appear?

BBWCBear said:

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boognish_bear said:

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Of course I would rather it be us to land Eric Morris... but the Ok St fan base has been through the shtter the last two years. They are due for some optimism.

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Well, Baylor has literally been at the very bottom of the Porta-Potty for much longer with little to no hope in sight. At least multiple threads and posts lean that way. What will it take for a positive to appear?

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A home run AD hire would be a great start

boognish_bear said:

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My assumption is that Linda has a tight circle inclusive of the BOR and this person isn’t in it. It’s a big decision and I’d limit the noise if I were Linda. https://t.co/6iwS8ZG0Rf

— Terrance Ganaway (@TerranceGanaway) November 25, 2025

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Linda needs to go. She's leaving a giant stain on this university...

Delmar 2.0 said:

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boognish_bear said:

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The best helmet in the game just got better.#SicEm pic.twitter.com/iSMW3u1H9W

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) November 25, 2025

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So chrome domes vs Houston......wonder what jersey they're pairing it with, i'd like to see green.

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Fashion... we are EXCELLENT at Fashion. BU lives for it. It's the bright spot for the first three minutes of the first quarter.

boognish_bear said:

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They kind of look the same

pic.twitter.com/DPSUdMIzfN

— Baylor No Context (@SicEmNoContext) November 23, 2025

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Oh I see…you think all autistic middle age bald men who fail at their jobs look the same?

Wow man…that kind of bigotry is not welcome at inclusive 2025 Baylor

Dave Campbell's Texas football article...

Baylor kept Aranda, not because the results demand it, but because the circumstances boxed them in. New AD search, big buyout, and a costly roster era.

Fans are furious and it’s hard to blame them.

On the cost of keeping Aranda. #SicEmhttps://t.co/nxfMuj4THb

— Mike Craven (@CravenMike) November 25, 2025

Some of this is painful to read...but accurate. Feels like once again we are staring at a real inflection point for the program.

https://www.texasfootball.com/article/2025/11/25/stuck-in-neutral-the-real-cost-of-baylor-keeping-dave-aranda?ref=home_feature_article


Stuck in Neutral: The Real Cost of Baylor Keeping Dave Aranda

In April 2024, the biggest storyline for Baylor Athletics was if Scott Drew would leave the Bears to become the head basketball coach at Kentucky.

I was in town for the yearly summer magazine stop to talk to Dave Aranda, who was retained after a disappointing 2023 campaign, when he walked into athletic director Mack Rhoades' office and convinced the Baylor brass that he could right the ship if he took over defensive play calling duties, hired an offensive coordinator with a modern scheme and head coaching experience, and leaned into the transfer portal and NIL.

Before my interview with Aranda and a couple of players in the Baylor facility, I stopped at Dubl-R Old Fashioned Hamburgers and ordered a Dubl-Dubl with bacon and jalapenos. As it was being made, a cook in the back was holding a loud conversation with a regular about Drew's pending decision.

"Coach Drew should stay at Baylor," he shouted over the noisy kitchen. "Kentucky will fire you for not winning a national championship. We don't even fire head football coaches for only winning three games."

We all laughed but it turns out that the cook was a prophet. There was truth in the joke. Aranda dodged another bullet last week when Baylor University president Linda Livingstone stated in an email that the Bears would retain him for the 2026 season despite another season careening toward a losing season, which would be the third in the last four seasons and the fourth in six years under Aranda.

This decision wasn't made in a silo, obviously. The circumstances surrounding the Aranda decision can't be overstated. If Rhoades didn't resign as AD after a fall filled with personal controversy, including a run-in with star tight end Michael Trigg, Aranda is no longer the head coach at Baylor. The administration decided that searching for a new head football coach while simultaneously searching for a new athletic director was too daunting. Add in a large buyout and the new reality of needing money for a roster and the Aranda decision makes more sense.

But even if the decision makes sense on paper, the backlash from it by the Baylor fan base is more than understandable. Joy in college football is measured against your peers. When they're doing better than you, you're miserable as a fan. When you're better than your rivals, life is great. The Bears have been passed up by their peers in the Lone Star State and that makes keeping Aranda even more painful.

TCU went to a national championship game in 2022 and the Frogs are 5-1 against Baylor in the Aranda era. Joey McGuire was the other finalist for the Baylor job when Aranda was hired ahead of the 2020 season and he's currently leading a Top 10-ranked Texas Tech program that has splashed enough cash to move them to the front of the line in the Big 12. Even an SMU team that the Bears beat this year on the road is two more wins away from reaching the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row. New Big 12 members Houston has won eight games in Year 2 under Willie Fritz.

When Aranda was hired, Baylor was no worse than fourth in the Texas college football pecking order behind Texas, Texas A&M, and maybe TCU. Now? They're no better than sixth with Texas Tech and SMU jumping them in terms of perception and success, and Houston has an argument to be made that would place Baylor at seventh in Texas out of seven Power Four programs.

The decision makers in Waco have a decision to make: Do they want Baylor to matter in the modern landscape of college football or should they throw all those resources to Drew's basketball team and return to national prominence on the hardwood? Winning in college football in the revenue-sharing era takes a competent, aggressive coaching staff and a $20 million roster. Maybe the pockets aren't deep enough to compete head-to-head with Cody Campbell at Texas Tech or Bill Armstrong at SMU, but do the mega donors have the stomach to even try?

So far, the answer is a resounding no. Houston and TCU's advantage is proximity to talent. Texas and Texas A&M's are tradition. SMU and Texas Tech's are money. Baylor made up the ground for years with quality coaching under Art Briles and Matt Rhule. They helped the Bears outkick their coverage for a decade and made Baylor a true contender in the Big 12 that would've reached the 12-team playoff multiple times from 2011-2019 if it existed then.

Aranda's lone high came in 2021 when the Bears won the Big 12 and a program record 12 games. Since then, eight wins is the high-water mark and three of the four seasons have ended under .500. He's 36-36 as the head coach in Waco and has a losing record against the Big 12.

Maybe it works. Virginia kept Tony Elliott after a disappointing 2024 season, used the money that saved from avoiding the buyout on the roster, and now the program is on the doorstep of an ACC Championship game and a trip to the College Football Playoff. Florida State, Wisconsin, and Maryland made similar decisions as Baylor to keep an embattled head coach to avoid the huge price tag of change. Aranda has proven he can win big with the right roster. The only issue is that he didn't put together that specific roster - Rhule & Co. did.

The next athletic director has a big job in front of him or her. McLane Stadium won't be full in 2026 and most of the fan base is revolting online. The non-conference schedule includes Auburn on the road and SMU at home. Lose both of those games and Aranda might not make it to October. The Bears must decide if they want to sit at the big-boy table and contend for a spot in Tier 1 of the Big 12 in football.

boognish_bear said:

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Welp....good choice Pokes

Deal is signed b/w Oklahoma State & Eric Morris, source told @On3sports. Morris will remain w/Mean Green thru end of season, including playoffs https://t.co/ctLiiT1oos

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 25, 2025

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Was Bu or Ok st and Bu loves David. We'll see how it works out for them.

stein should be next choice

Bearsalwayswin said:

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stein should be next choice

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I don't want another coordinator, no matter how promising.

All of Baylor's best football coaches in my lifetime have been head coaches from lower levels. All of the worst in my lifetime -- and before (Beall) -- have been first-time head coaches/career assistants.

We can't afford to get this next hire wrong. And a good way to do that would be hiring someone who has never held the job for which we're hiring.

Lol wut? Aranda had "the right roster" THIS season. This past season removed all doubt that he just isn't a HC. If he screwed up this badly with a good roster, just imagine how bad it'll be during next season's rebuilding year.

If we can make it to three wins next season, it'll be an epic upset.

CaliBear00 said:

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Lol wut? Aranda had "the right roster" THIS season. This past season removed all doubt that he just isn't a HC. If he screwed up this badly with a good roster, just imagine how bad it'll be during next season's rebuilding year.

If we can make it to three wins next season, it'll be an epic upset.

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The good roster was only on offense. Theoretically, the defensive roster was going to be really improved via the portal and I think that was the source of the higher expectations, but because of injuries we never got to see it. But even there it did not match the "perceived" talent on the offensive side. The sad thing is that in the last several losses, the offense has given the opponents more points than the defense.

blackie said:

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CaliBear00 said:

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Lol wut? Aranda had "the right roster" THIS season. This past season removed all doubt that he just isn't a HC. If he screwed up this badly with a good roster, just imagine how bad it'll be during next season's rebuilding year.

If we can make it to three wins next season, it'll be an epic upset.

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The good roster was only on offense. Theoretically, the defensive roster was going to be really improved via the portal and I think that was the source of the higher expectations, but because of injuries we never got to see it. But even there it did not match the "perceived" talent on the offensive side. The sad thing is that in the last several losses, the offense has given the opponents more points than the defense.

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If that is true and Dave has a good year next, oh ***** That will set off a **** storm...

FLBear5630 said:

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blackie said:

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CaliBear00 said:

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Lol wut? Aranda had "the right roster" THIS season. This past season removed all doubt that he just isn't a HC. If he screwed up this badly with a good roster, just imagine how bad it'll be during next season's rebuilding year.

If we can make it to three wins next season, it'll be an epic upset.

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The good roster was only on offense. Theoretically, the defensive roster was going to be really improved via the portal and I think that was the source of the higher expectations, but because of injuries we never got to see it. But even there it did not match the "perceived" talent on the offensive side. The sad thing is that in the last several losses, the offense has given the opponents more points than the defense.

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If that is true and Dave has a good year next, oh ***** That will set off a **** storm...

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Yeah, I won't be losing sleep over that.

blackie said:

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CaliBear00 said:

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Lol wut? Aranda had "the right roster" THIS season. This past season removed all doubt that he just isn't a HC. If he screwed up this badly with a good roster, just imagine how bad it'll be during next season's rebuilding year.

If we can make it to three wins next season, it'll be an epic upset.

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The good roster was only on offense. Theoretically, the defensive roster was going to be really improved via the portal and I think that was the source of the higher expectations, but because of injuries we never got to see it. But even there it did not match the "perceived" talent on the offensive side. The sad thing is that in the last several losses, the offense has given the opponents more points than the defense.

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So in year six, Aranda heavily relying on the portal to improve the defense only underscores one of the most glaring deficiencies in his ability as a coach, developing talent.

CaliBear00 said:

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blackie said:

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CaliBear00 said:

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Lol wut? Aranda had "the right roster" THIS season. This past season removed all doubt that he just isn't a HC. If he screwed up this badly with a good roster, just imagine how bad it'll be during next season's rebuilding year.

If we can make it to three wins next season, it'll be an epic upset.

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The good roster was only on offense. Theoretically, the defensive roster was going to be really improved via the portal and I think that was the source of the higher expectations, but because of injuries we never got to see it. But even there it did not match the "perceived" talent on the offensive side. The sad thing is that in the last several losses, the offense has given the opponents more points than the defense.

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So in year six, Aranda heavily relying on the portal to improve the defense only underscores one of the most glaring deficiencies in his ability as a coach, developing talent.

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I don't know the Portal and NIL changed everything. A lot of schools are relying on the Portal to keep up.