He also got punked in the 4th quarter against Oklahoma and Florida as well.
I really hope he learns his lesson.
But I fear he's too hardheaded.
I think the way CBJ coaches with a lead is playing a significant factor in the reversal of his recruiting fortune. There is very little evidence that his conservative, play-not-to-lose philosophy that relies on a horizontal passing attack with the lead against good teams and/or dominate defenses will ever change. We've seen nothing to suggest it has (despite his flock of sheep that will point to Vandy and Northwestern, which does not convince me, although perhaps those games are a reason for cautious optimism).
CBJ goes into conservative mode (to the extreme) every time he builds a lead beyond one score against quality competition. He simply tries to get the game over with instead of continuing the game plan that built the lead. There is zero passion on offense once a two score lead is established against our toughest foes.
Even after the catastrophic collapses against OU and UF, which were widely criticized across the sports world, he still showed that same tendency against four other opponents.
Here's the total quarter-by-quarter scoring of UT last year in the four losses (OU, UF, Ark, Bama) and two conservative SEC wins (USCe, Mizzu):
First 58-21 +276%
Second 33-16 +206%
Third 16-38 -238%
Fourth 17-45 -265%
First Half 91-37 +246%
Second half 33-83 -252%
All six games were the same song, different verse in terms of offensive production following a built up lead. The only difference is how the defense performed with the lead in those games.
A lot of fans have chosen to forget how close we came to giving up a victory against USCe (saved by a fumble in the redzone with 32 seconds left and a mere 3-point lead against an interim coached inferior team). After scoring on the first two possessions with ease, our conservative offense could only score one more touchdown the rest of the game against one of the worst defenses in the SEC. CBJ's conservative approach allowed USCe to tie it up 24-24 despite building a 17-0 lead.
The Mizzu game showed a similar conservative offensive mindset from Butch, but the Tiger's offense was so inept it couldn't take advantage.
Elite HS players see this when they watch our games and it probably turns some of them off. I know it would me (it takes away my enthusiasm of CBJ as a fan), especially if I was destined to play offense. It's hard to be enthusiastic about a coach who plays not-to-lose against his best opponents.
Basically, "Butch Stones" has no balls, which is why I grimace every time one of these CBJ ballsniffers on VN makes some kind of lewd comment or innuendo about his machismo -- not to mention how pathetic it is for men to make such comments about another man. It's quite the irony when one considers how he coaches.