If we dont come back and destroy Ohio after the UF game then the mental state of this team will be in jeopardy for the rest of the year. A lackluster performance against Ohio even if it's a win will give us NO confidence heading into the rest of the SEC schedule.
That to me thinks they think Kiffin can pull off a great feat that Fulmer couldn't.. leaving me to believe that deep inside they know how much better Kiffin is..
Based on the wide open receivers and the sustained drives in the 4th quarter, I'd say that he called a decent game.
Now that he has seen Crompton's gameday exploits first hand, I'm convinced that his playcalling will adjust to fit his personnel.
That is a pretty good zing from someone that was more than patient with Fulmer.
If it was just bad QB play, it would be one thing, but when your OL is getting dominated too, anything you do as a playcaller is going to look bad. He didn't have any options that didn't suck.
I'd like to have seen him try something else too, but really, I can understand why Kiffin called it the way he did, given the culture he's trying to establish (pulling Brown for going out of bounds against WKU, etc.). If you can't get two yards on two carries -- at home against a Pac 10 team -- then you might as well not have gotten off the bus.
We can argue all day about the timing of his decision, but I think you are absolutely right. It is quite possible that Kiffin wanted to test his OL to see how nasty they could get. Personally, I was wondering the same thing. I'm on record saying he called the exact play that I wanted to see.
So the culture is don't step out of bounds, but it's OK to stare down receivers, make bad decisions, and throw interceptions.