Well hell, why not just give the F*** up and join the MWC, better yet just go join the RMAC and go D2. We are so sure that things are going to suck and suck forever, why not just give up football and basketball all together and go watch the marching band.
What a bunch of pathetic losers, is this what Hawkins has done to you all?
No argument that this years team sucks, we lack size, we lack speed, we lack talent, and we have a bunch of guys who have accepted and embraced losing. To top it off our AD put this whole mess against one of, if not the, toughest schedule of any team in the country.
I am not predicting a bowl next season, I would in fact be shocked if we won six games next year. You don't take a program that is as down as ours is and turn it around in one year or even two or three years.
What I am predicting is that we will be a better football team next year than we are this year. Yes we lose some key players, Speedy is one of the few guys on the team that has a combination of talent and heart. The guys who will be jrs and srs. next year are probably not as talented as the guys who we have as jrs. and srs. this year, and considering the pathetic bunch we have that is a sad statement.
At the same time we have young players coming in who are a step up in talent from who they are replacing. More importantly we are replacing guys who have accepted losing with a group of guys who are Embrees guys and despite his mistakes Embree has not embraced losing like Hawkins did. As the season has gone on this year we have seen guys play harder and with more emotion, not always to successful ends but they at least look like they care.
Next season we will see a further step in the change in attitude, next season we will see more young players who are equiped to compete athletically with the guys they are lining up across from, next season we will see fewer guys who are mediocre, and accept mediocricy and more options to replace them when they do.
Combine this with a weaker OOC schedule and we should see some progress in the win column. I still expect us to get blown out in some games. We don't and won't have the talent to compete with the USCs, the Oregons, even the Washingtons and Arizona States or the world. At the same time we will be more competitive with other teams near the bottom of the conference and with some confidence built in a second off-season with the coaching staff and some winnable OOC games we will see less of the game is over before it starts mentality. It will also help if we don't have complete decimation of certain positions by injury like we saw in the defensive backfield this season.
Anyone who took a realistic look at this roster before the season and expected much different than we got was fooling themselves, especially considering the injury situation. I would have liked to see them win one or two more games, the Washington State game as an example. At the same time 2-3 years ago Washington State was were we are now and this year they won that game, we didn't. Let's use that game as an example not a complaining point.
As a true Buff fan I have confidence that at some time in the near future we will see a team that is competitive and building for better than competitive status. It won't be instant but it will happen. If you can't believe that then I don't understand why you would remain a fan unless you just want to be one of those people who hang around to complain about things.
I will be behind the program. I will yell in support of what I see as good and I will yell against what I see as failure to improve or do what is needed but I will be behind the program and in my heart I know that in time I will be rewarded. I did the same when Mac's teams were getting beaten like a cheap drum in a nursery school and took my grief for that as well. I will vent, I will wince at seeing my Buffs lose, I will get frustrated. For all that I will not lose faith because if I do I might as well go find something else to do with my time and emotional energy.