...is a really interesting thought. I've been mostly reading all sorts of takes over the last 36 hours, some knee-jerk, some reasoned, some thoughtful, then knee-jerk, some "did I just post that?"...bottom line is, how to "reach the top"?
First, we need to define the "top"...comparing us to the top 10 teams? The teams with "integrity"(without "$henanigan$")? What is truly "elite"? I assume most of us agree that we're not willing to sell our soul to the Devil to make this happen...so what do we do?
We need a Beilein for the football program - someone who gets it done at a consistently high level with integrity. Do we have that in Harbaugh? The trend seems to be a positive one, and he has made moves to continue to make the team better. Most of the venom that gets spilled here about him (and Don Brown) responds to a loss to a truly "elite" team - our losses this year are to #3 and #6, who have a combined 23-1 record. Other than that we're perfect this year.
About the defense - it's #1 - out of 130 teams. So I'd say we're elite. Got outschemed with Jimmys and Joes, but 6 disappointing quarters out of 48 seems to be not too bad - just frustrating that 4 of them (maybe even 3) were to our arch-rival. Geez, even Clemson's vaunted top 5 defense did worse - 35 points and 600 yards of offense by a 6-5 middle of the pack SEC team. It happens...but Clemson's offense had enough to counter...
About the offense - Harbaugh is obviously stubborn. We wouldn't have it any other way...it's how he got where he is. He has brought the program to a much higher level than we were with the preceding two coaches. I would argue that he's getting his athletes - now he needs to adapt enough to win the 45-42 games as well as the 17-14 games. It seems that a creative OC might be able to accomplish this, assuming our coaching staff otherwise remains intact...
I really think the offense was the reason for our demise on Saturday. In this very emotional game, we had the ball with a chance to take the lead in Q1, Q2, and Q3...and did not each time, often in very disappointing fashion. When you're on the road in such a hostile environment, you simply CAN'T put yourself in a position to come from behind. This was where we needed to make plays...whether it was coaching/playbook or CATCH THE DAMN BALL!! (...um...sorry), you don't make plays, you don't get it done.
I'll stop with this last thought. Someone mentioned this earlier, but perhaps we have too many arch-rivals to expend energy on both/all three. Harbaugh stirred up the ND one again, and that's on him. But even this board is conflicted on whether MSU or OSU is a bigger rival right now. Perhaps we're taking care of them one at a time. I would argue that MSU is back in their place - except for a 1-in-a-million fluke play, an injured QB, and a monsoon, we'd be 4-0 in Harbaugh's tenure. So take care of Little Brother first...check! Now turn full attention to OSU at home next fall...it's what we got....
In the meantime, we're probably a NYD 6 game away from 11 wins or another 2-game losing streak, so whether it's in the Peach Bowl against UCF or Rose against WSU, losing is simply not an option...
First, we need to define the "top"...comparing us to the top 10 teams? The teams with "integrity"(without "$henanigan$")? What is truly "elite"? I assume most of us agree that we're not willing to sell our soul to the Devil to make this happen...so what do we do?
We need a Beilein for the football program - someone who gets it done at a consistently high level with integrity. Do we have that in Harbaugh? The trend seems to be a positive one, and he has made moves to continue to make the team better. Most of the venom that gets spilled here about him (and Don Brown) responds to a loss to a truly "elite" team - our losses this year are to #3 and #6, who have a combined 23-1 record. Other than that we're perfect this year.
About the defense - it's #1 - out of 130 teams. So I'd say we're elite. Got outschemed with Jimmys and Joes, but 6 disappointing quarters out of 48 seems to be not too bad - just frustrating that 4 of them (maybe even 3) were to our arch-rival. Geez, even Clemson's vaunted top 5 defense did worse - 35 points and 600 yards of offense by a 6-5 middle of the pack SEC team. It happens...but Clemson's offense had enough to counter...
About the offense - Harbaugh is obviously stubborn. We wouldn't have it any other way...it's how he got where he is. He has brought the program to a much higher level than we were with the preceding two coaches. I would argue that he's getting his athletes - now he needs to adapt enough to win the 45-42 games as well as the 17-14 games. It seems that a creative OC might be able to accomplish this, assuming our coaching staff otherwise remains intact...
I really think the offense was the reason for our demise on Saturday. In this very emotional game, we had the ball with a chance to take the lead in Q1, Q2, and Q3...and did not each time, often in very disappointing fashion. When you're on the road in such a hostile environment, you simply CAN'T put yourself in a position to come from behind. This was where we needed to make plays...whether it was coaching/playbook or CATCH THE DAMN BALL!! (...um...sorry), you don't make plays, you don't get it done.
I'll stop with this last thought. Someone mentioned this earlier, but perhaps we have too many arch-rivals to expend energy on both/all three. Harbaugh stirred up the ND one again, and that's on him. But even this board is conflicted on whether MSU or OSU is a bigger rival right now. Perhaps we're taking care of them one at a time. I would argue that MSU is back in their place - except for a 1-in-a-million fluke play, an injured QB, and a monsoon, we'd be 4-0 in Harbaugh's tenure. So take care of Little Brother first...check! Now turn full attention to OSU at home next fall...it's what we got....
In the meantime, we're probably a NYD 6 game away from 11 wins or another 2-game losing streak, so whether it's in the Peach Bowl against UCF or Rose against WSU, losing is simply not an option...
