My only point was losing about 20 players that didnt or rarely seen the field should not be used as an excuse.
You're singing my favorite Hymn.
I also agree the offensive line may have take the biggest hit or possibly linebackers. Still we have two 5 stars on our offensive line which is more than at least 10 SEC teams combined.
I think the whole bad roster angle was a media narrative started by Hubbs, Price, and a few other ants. UT did lose a lot of guys. But in their hurry to declare the sky falling... they never really looked at what was left. ILB was supposed to be thin but in a base 4-2-5... it isn't all that thin. The two primary guys, Banks and Beasley are 3rd and 4th on the team in tackles. And on that point... UT's tackles are spread out more than I'm personally accustomed to seeing. It seems like a really good thing. They're rotating a lot of guys... and different guys are stepping up to make tackles.
The media even has a false narrative going that UT only has 71 scholarship players. That's not true. They have 81 with 80 arriving at UT on scholarship. This team has talent. It just needed a coach with a clue as to how to develop and use it.
No one is defending Pruitt. You are entitled to your opinion but FACTS do show that he beat Mizzou and S Car and lost to FL.
My point was that I do not believe Pruitt could have been trusted to beat either this year and especially with this roster.
Same as Heupel? Neither game was competitive after the first quarter this year. That's quite a bit different from any game I can remember Pruitt coaching against an FBS opponent.
Will Heupel beat KY? I think he will. I think he is a much better coach. But I do believe Pruitt would have beaten BG and Tenn Tech. You don't. Let's leave it there.
I didn't say he wouldn't. My point was that he was not reliable even in meeting fairly low expectations. I didn't and don't hate Pruitt. He's a coach unlike the used car salesman before him. He's just not equipped to be a HC.
It doesnt matter if you win by 10, 20, 30, or 40 pts a W is a W. Personally I dont care if we beat Ole Miss by 2 or by 20. I just want to win. You are impressed by margins of a victory. I only want the victory. To each his own I guess. GBO!!!
Yes. There is a difference between dominating an opponent and struggling with them... or worse yet playing down to the level of competition. There's a HUGE difference between Heupel's aggressive approach and Pruitt's conservative, play not to lose approach.
If you can put an opponent down in the 1st qtr then you do.... Heupel does that. I'll take a close win any day. But yeah... give me the scoreboard rolling over like a pinball machine if I can have my preference.
My point about Pruitt and MU is that he would have let them hang around. His style was to "manage" the game on O and let the D win it for you. It is supposedly low risk... but letting teams hang around always has risks. There was pretty much "no risk" in the MU game after the first quarter and a half. The lead was big and MU began to give up.