Just because we have better talent doesn't mean we will win the game nor mean that we should win the game.
If you have better talent and you have competent coaching then you should win the game. UT had chances early to put it away in the 1st half. How many deep balls did Milton miss? Would he have been pulled if he hadn't gotten hurt? I like Heupel. I like the staff. I completely understand the infatuation with Milton's physical talent and practice performance. But if he chokes under the bright lights then you replace him rather than letting the whole team suffer. I do not know how long that leash is but for Heupel's sake it better not be very long.
How many missed opportunities were there? How many penalties? Turnovers? These are all indications of execution and execution is a direct function of coaching.
I want this staff to be successful more than anything. But the team they fielded on Saturday was good enough not only to beat Pitt but to beat them by multiple scores. They MUST coach better.
How many years of us losing to teams with less talent before you understand? Another 15?
Understand just fine. One coach for one year in all that time performed up to the level of the talent on their roster. Kiffin. Dooley was probably second. His teams weren't talented/experienced. The bigger problem with him is that he didn't put the effort into recruiting necessary to build a winning program at UT.
Jones just wasn't a very good coach. He thought he was. He thought he was going to revolutionize football in the SEC with his "brilliance". He underperformed the roster in each of his 5 seasons.
Pruitt was a terrible leader. I actually think he knows the game and how to teach it. In military terms, he's a good trainer and tactician... but an incompetent strategist. There is a reason that sergeants do what they do and don't try to become generals. It is rare that someone can be great at both. Pruitt is "good" at one... and has no business trying to do the other.
If you have more talent then you SHOULD win. There are times the ball bounces the wrong way. Experience does matter. But the biggest portion of what makes that difference is coaching and leadership.
I am very pleased that this team didn't quit. They kept coming back over and over. They kept fighting even while making mistakes. Inexperience hurt them a few times. But the biggest factor was coaching and coaching decisions.
Again, I "like" Heupel and would be an advocate for giving him a chance even if I didn't. But this was not a good loss... it was not a loss that UT should have had.