If I had confidence that our coaching staff would put us in the best position to win each week, I'd say we would finish 6-6. I don't have that confidence, though, as we have been out-coached, sometimes badly, in two of our three losses thus far. If that continues, I'd say we'll have very little chance of beating any of the four teams remaining on our schedule to which we'll likely be underdogs and *could* easily lose any of the three games in which we'll probably be favored.
Kentucky was a step in the right direction because we committed to running the football. But there's a lot more work to do.
We have to give Hilinski time to throw downfield to keep defenses honest (he was hurried 5 times and sacked 3 despite most of his passes being short... he had someone in his face on many/most of his true drops, although he compounded the problem by holding onto the ball too long at times). We have to prove that we're capable of defending a legitimate passing attack (UK's backup wasn't a world-beater to begin with and was limited by injury, so my excitement about the defensive performance is tempered). Our dreadfully predictable RPO game can't be the staple of our offense.
I still worry fundamentally whether our coordinators have the experience to be successful in the SEC, especially on the offensive side of the ball. For the first three years of Muschamp's tenure, I thought we achieved equivalently to our talent or in some cases overachieved. In year four, it feels like we're underachieving. Still a long way to go and maybe that worm turns, but I'm in wait-and-see mode right now.
Kentucky was a step in the right direction because we committed to running the football. But there's a lot more work to do.
We have to give Hilinski time to throw downfield to keep defenses honest (he was hurried 5 times and sacked 3 despite most of his passes being short... he had someone in his face on many/most of his true drops, although he compounded the problem by holding onto the ball too long at times). We have to prove that we're capable of defending a legitimate passing attack (UK's backup wasn't a world-beater to begin with and was limited by injury, so my excitement about the defensive performance is tempered). Our dreadfully predictable RPO game can't be the staple of our offense.
I still worry fundamentally whether our coordinators have the experience to be successful in the SEC, especially on the offensive side of the ball. For the first three years of Muschamp's tenure, I thought we achieved equivalently to our talent or in some cases overachieved. In year four, it feels like we're underachieving. Still a long way to go and maybe that worm turns, but I'm in wait-and-see mode right now.
