If we lost every game the same way we lost to Cal for the rest of the season, I wouldn't like it, but at least is know we can compete.
Hey Buffs. For what it's worth (and from an outsider's perspective) I think some of you are being a bit tough on your team. Was this a defensive tour de force?...... uh, no. But the flip side is that there were really flashes here of something special. Even on the defensive side I can say from having watched a lot of college football, Cal's receivers are world class (maybe the best we've ever fielded) and your corner backs did a really great job shutting them down. Goff had a pretty off day (for him) but even so there were a ton of passes our receivers would routinely drag down and your corners were in there all game breaking them up. And don't even get me started on Spruce on the offensive side of the ball.... a complete stud. Anyway, keep the faith. This looks to me like a much better CU team than the one that beat Cal last year (despite the opposite outcome).
Thanks for the perspective, I don't know if our situation is quite as rosy as you paint it but you make some good points.
Interested to find out your perspective on your program. My opinion from the outside is that Dykes has severely under performed the level of talent you guys have. Last year it looked like he flat out lost the team. This year you guys are 3-1 but were one play away from losing at home to us after blowing a huge lead in the fourth quarter the week before.
Do you think that Dykes will last in Berkeley. I see you guys with a roster that with a better coach could do some damage in the conference.
I always wondered what it was that Bill Marolt saw in the 1984 1-10 season that led to his keeping the 3rd year coach around. I'm both afraid and excited that I'm going find out this year.
Afraid because we may not win another game. Excited that I might finally understand what Marolt saw 30 years ago because I'm seeing it for myself...
You'd find as many opinions on the Dykes question as there are holistic healing centers in Berkeley. Candidly the perspective of the fan base seems to wildly shift depending on what happened in the prior week's game (with the negabears or the Carebears gaining temporary ascendence with each win or loss). Bottom line is its hard to imagine from the outside what a profound mess he's had to clean up and I think people are willing to give him this year and next to see what he can do. Personally I'm pulling for him. His games certainly aren't dull.
For what it's worth, I really do think your CBs are legit. I've seen some good secondaries play against our receivers and your CBs did one of the best (if not the best) jobs I've seen. Stanford et al last year shut them down by smothering Goff before he even had a chance to think about making a throw, but in our game the ball was right there for them to make a play and the CBs broke up the pass. Must have been a dozen of those (or at least it seemed that way to those of us on the sideline). Good luck the rest of the way Buffs. Future is brighter IMHO.
I think with the talent we have we could win some of these games even some of the big ones but not with some of the coaches they we have at this time. Too many odd calls. Not enough adjustments and wrong personnel. I think HCMM was handed a very wounded team, he did well last season to attempt to gel what was left of the team. He hired many of his friends from SJSU Although I completely understand the comfort of knowing the staff , It was not the best talent.
As I posted in another thread During my conversation with a player and his father after the Hawaii game (we both were sitting in the bar area of a local restaurant waiting for a table) it was an eye opener to the inside of the program from a player and parent perspective. They had many nice things to say but several things had them frustrated. The player doesn't think that all the talent is being utilized correctly, his words were "obvious favoritism" especially on OL and LB. I have heard this from another source close to the program. I am sure some of those feeling are on every team but this athlete is playing so it isn't sour grapes. The dad mentioned that the recruiting rep Adam was irritating, cocky and didn't return calls, that is a large concern. We need to be able to recruit at the highest possible level. We don't want to be pissing off the parents.
He said his son is enjoying college life in Boulder and gave the school an A+ Overall.
My hope is that AD RG and HCMM keep this program moving in the right direction and at a fast pace. I hope some staff evaluations happen and that HCMM demands high performance out of his staff. We can not operate at the SJSU level we need to compete like a P5 school.
well, if a win is a win (UMass) a loss is a loss. This game was to see who stayed out of the P12 cellar. Cal won. I have been a fan since 1988 and I have been waiting for a team that was good, watching, buying tickets and gear since 2006, and have been disappointed every year. It's wearing on me and I don't really care that they did better. Time to win came and went a long time ago for me.
I think with the talent we have we could win some of these games even some of the big ones but not with some of the coaches they we have at this time. Too many odd calls. Not enough adjustments and wrong personnel. I think HCMM was handed a very wounded team, he did well last season to attempt to gel what was left of the team. He hired many of his friends from SJSU Although I completely understand the comfort of knowing the staff , It was not the best talent.
As I posted in another thread During my conversation with a player and his father after the Hawaii game (we both were sitting in the bar area of a local restaurant waiting for a table) it was an eye opener to the inside of the program from a player and parent perspective. They had many nice things to say but several things had them frustrated. The player doesn't think that all the talent is being utilized correctly, his words were "obvious favoritism" especially on OL and LB. I have heard this from another source close to the program. I am sure some of those feeling are on every team but this athlete is playing so it isn't sour grapes. The dad mentioned that the recruiting rep Adam was irritating, cocky and didn't return calls, that is a large concern. We need to be able to recruit at the highest possible level. We don't want to be pissing off the parents.
He said his son is enjoying college life in Boulder and gave the school an A+ Overall.
My hope is that AD RG and HCMM keep this program moving in the right direction and at a fast pace. I hope some staff evaluations happen and that HCMM demands high performance out of his staff. We can not operate at the SJSU level we need to compete like a P5 school.
Adam has always been a great rep. What bone is saying may be true, but parents aren't exactly the best informed or unbiased.First I've heard negative things said about Adam Toyama (Director of Recruiting). I'm not an insider, though, so tifwiw. Might very well be true and I have little reason to doubt that this was the experience that player & his parents had with him. Troubling.
Parents are who Adam needs to communicate with.Adam has always been a great rep. What bone is saying may be true, but parents aren't exactly the best informed or unbiased.
That wasn't the impression I got. The way he told me was as if it was common knowledge among the players. I didn't pry for more information. Hate to be that dude that won't shut up.Obviously, his friends weren't playing. Common comment from any team member/parent and the kind that usually stops when you graduate HS. At college level coaches can't usually afford "favorites" (Hawk and WB excepted), and especially on two units which are struggling or lacking in numbers; really doesn't even make sense, except as a whiney gripe.
This is just one family's opinion, but is the second time I've heard about favoritism on the OL (unless it's the same source from 2 different people). The team seems to be coming together, this family gave us an A+, so I don't think any of this is a big enough deal to affect the team. But, if true, these are the smaller type things that turn into big problems down the road if not addressed directly.I think with the talent we have we could win some of these games even some of the big ones but not with some of the coaches they we have at this time. Too many odd calls. Not enough adjustments and wrong personnel. I think HCMM was handed a very wounded team, he did well last season to attempt to gel what was left of the team. He hired many of his friends from SJSU Although I completely understand the comfort of knowing the staff , It was not the best talent.
As I posted in another thread During my conversation with a player and his father after the Hawaii game (we both were sitting in the bar area of a local restaurant waiting for a table) it was an eye opener to the inside of the program from a player and parent perspective. They had many nice things to say but several things had them frustrated. The player doesn't think that all the talent is being utilized correctly, his words were "obvious favoritism" especially on OL and LB. I have heard this from another source close to the program. I am sure some of those feeling are on every team but this athlete is playing so it isn't sour grapes. The dad mentioned that the recruiting rep Adam was irritating, cocky and didn't return calls, that is a large concern. We need to be able to recruit at the highest possible level. We don't want to be pissing off the parents.
He said his son is enjoying college life in Boulder and gave the school an A+ Overall.
My hope is that AD RG and HCMM keep this program moving in the right direction and at a fast pace. I hope some staff evaluations happen and that HCMM demands high performance out of his staff. We can not operate at the SJSU level we need to compete like a P5 school.
Parents are who Adam needs to communicate with.
Buh-bye, Bandwagon Jumper!
Beat your fandom by 20+ years and watched Drake whup us twice, watched OU hang 82 on us, watched the Fuskers get a break on a last second FG call in Folsom, watched an Okruch "D" give up two 4th and 25+ plays to UWisc; watched that undefeated '88 team get jobbed by the zebras vs. ND, watched Uzelac take the ball out of Slash's hands and the hands of the best receiving corp ever assembled in Boulder and piss away a MNC to kNU, watched Fresno steal a shot at a MNC, watched GB's 100-3 debacle......
Yet, I'm still here fifty years later, exhorting the Buffs to win Saturday and will continue to be here to goad you JCL whippersnappers!
That's good to know, It would be interesting to hear from more player parents. Especially the parents of players that had high level interest at P5 schools. It is very important that we have a great recruiting staff that can speak to parents as well as the athlete. The high level athletes we want are being bombarded by other schools and we must compete at that level or we will never get the high level 4* talent needed. BTW The dad I talked to had great things to say about HCMM. Our AD RG should sit down with parents and athletes to get the feedback. I can assume that would be valuable information.For what it's worth, we have always been contacted by either Adam, another staff member, or even Coach Mac personally on occasion, when a question arises.
I always wondered what it was that Bill Marolt saw in the 1984 1-10 season that led to his keeping the 3rd year coach around. I'm both afraid and excited that I'm going find out this year.
Afraid because we may not win another game. Excited that I might finally understand what Marolt saw 30 years ago because I'm seeing it for myself...
Uh ok? How'd you get that from my post?Parents are who Adam needs to communicate with.
I'm sorry...but I can't take anyone seriously who says they don't see a lot of improvement. My goodness...was that Fresno State debacle that long ago? Look at the yardage stats for crying out loud...look at the fact we aren't laughingstocks after games. What short memories some people have. We were a SUN BELT team two years ago. We had teams taking their foot off the gas because beating us by 75 points would make THEM look like poor sports. Wow. Pity those saying they see no real improvement didn't save a few of those games from two years ago for comparison purposes.
Go look at the game scores. Go look at the stats.
Better question: What do you think happens if today's Buffs play the team that beat WSU at the last minute for our "big" win over a Pac-12 opponent a couple of years back? WE CRUSH THAT TEAM. That's called improvement.
Pity that's not our opponent every week of course...but wins will come. Regardless...the improvement is major. I can't understand those who claim to not see it because they insist the only way to see improvement is by wins. If so, we could have just played an easier Kansas State-like schedule and magically "improved".
Yea superfan. You get the internet gold star today, well done. Btw, the undefeated team was '89, I was at the O-Bowl for that one too...
Buffedup - the big picture always counts (wins). However, when you were as bad as we were, you can have wild improvement without tallying more W's. In this case, do not let the forest distract you from the trees.