I'm thinking in hindsight after this train wreck has played out - that last year's team wasn't as good as everyone thought. They won in OT vs USC, beat BG by a TD and Minn by 1 point, then got the easiest draw in the playoff to win a few games (although they should have won that ND game). Then they lose Warren who the entire O ran through and Carter on D who was the third overall pick in the draft. They just ended up not being as loaded as we all thought and hoped this year.
Still they lost in double OT to Ore (who were aided by a controversial overturned fumble call at a critical moment), ran into the worst possible trap of a very athletic running QB at UCLA 5 days after their only really athletic LB goes out for the season with an ACL tear (losing Rojas has just come back to haunt this team so many times with QBs running wild) and had the ball at the 9 yard line to tie the game with 37 sec left, throw a pic in the end zone against NW on the first drive + fumble a punt inside their own 10 yard line late in the 3rd quarter to lose by 1 pt., etc. etc.
Obviously great teams would never be that close with these UCLA or NW teams, but they might have ended up a decent team with a few different bounces. There are many issues, but I think ultimately lack of LB depth/talent and terrible TE blocking have been the death knells. It's all moot now as - like my golf game - will require a complete reboot to move forward.
