This is it for Beamer....

[VidaliaGamecock]

One hopes that these hires will succeed. I suspect no one is more aware than Beamer himself. These are likely the last hires he'll make if this doesn't work.
I worry about the OL coach. Not a lot of history there, and not a great trajectory for what is. I am a believer that line play covers up alot of sins. No coach we've had has really taken that to heart. Hopefully these guys work out. Count me as skeptical.

 

[Tidalcock]

One hopes that these hires will succeed. I suspect no one is more aware than Beamer himself. These are likely the last hires he'll make if this doesn't work.
I worry about the OL coach. Not a lot of history there, and not a great trajectory for what is. I am a believer that line play covers up alot of sins. No coach we've had has really taken that to heart. Hopefully these guys work out. Count me as skeptical.

I fall somewhere between wait and see and cautiously optimistic.

 

[Piscis]

I think we are going to find out Shula wasn't the problem.

 

[bayrooster]

I fall somewhere between wait and see and cautiously optimistic.

For me that sweet spot is the time between the end of the football season and the beginning of the next one.

 

[Lurker123]

I think we are going to find out Shula wasn't the problem.

I certainly hope not. But it seemed the minute he walked out the door the OL went from unable to start a play on time to at least able to get a snap off.

 

[Piscis]

I certainly hope not. But it seemed the minute he walked out the door the OL went from unable to start a play on time to at least able to get a snap off.

Teasley was probably the bigger issue there.

 

[18IsTheMan]

The good news is, there's nowhere to go but up. Our offense scored in the teens and we had one of the worst OL in all of college football. With fear of jinxing us, the news guys can't be worse and almost can't help but be better.

 

[Lurker123]

Teasley was probably the bigger issue there.

My bad. I was thinking Teasely, but you had said Shula.

 

[Piscis]

The good news is, there's nowhere to go but up. Our offense scored in the teens and we had one of the worst OL in all of college football. With fear of jinxing us, the news guys can't be worse and almost can't help but be better.

Yeah, the "blind hog and nut" theory has to be at work here now.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Yeah, the "blind hog and nut" theory has to be at work here now.

If Briles can cobble together a middle-of-the-pack offense, that would be a monumental improvement. He's never had a bad offense anywhere. Next year could very well be his first, but good coaches get good results. IU was 2-10, 4-8 and 3-9 in the 3 years before Cignetti arrived and they are now 24-2 in his first 2 seasons. It doesn't HAVE to take years to turn things around with the right coaches.

 

[bayrooster]

Yeah, the "blind hog and nut" theory has to be at work here now.

 

[Piscis]

If Briles can cobble together a middle-of-the-pack offense, that would be a monumental improvement. He's never had a bad offense anywhere. Next year could very well be his first, but good coaches get good results. IU was 2-10, 4-8 and 3-9 in the 3 years before Cignetti arrived and they are now 24-2 in his first 2 seasons. It doesn't HAVE to take years to turn things around with the right coaches.

Don't overlook the fact Cignetti has a real Heisman level QB. A generational player can make a coach look really good. Look at Mayfield, Burrows, Manziel and Pavia and what they did. It will be interesting to see what happens at IU and Vandy after their superstar QBs leave.

A middle of the pack offense will probably at least get 6 or 7 wins and that will satisfy the majority of fans for another year.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Don't overlook the fact Cignetti has a real Heisman level QB. A generational player can make a coach look really good. Look at Mayfield, Burrows, Manziel and Pavia and what they did. It will be interesting to see what happens at IU and Vandy after their superstar QBs leave.

A middle of the pack offense will probably at least get 6 or 7 wins and that will satisfy the majority of fans for another year.

A middle of the pack offense, with our defense, would have had us at least 8 wins this year.

Cignetti has a Heisman candidate at QB this year, but he didn't last year. Their real calling card has been defense. In 2023, IU was 105th nationally in scoring defense. Cignetti's first year they were 7th. They cut their points allowed in half from 32 to 16 and they're even better this year. And IU is doing it w/o any 5* players and very few 4*. Good coaches can get results quickly.

I don't expect Briles to score 35 ppg next year, but there's no reason to believe based on his track record that we should not see substantial improvement.

Clements produced the Big 12 OL of the year four years in a row.

Neither of these guys may be the absolute best at their respective positions, but there's no question they are substantial upgrades. The proof is in the pudding, of course, so we'll all wait to see what the results are. But folks saying it's impossible to fix things in a year isn't supported. The right coaches can get it done.

 

[VidaliaGamecock]

If Briles can cobble together a middle-of-the-pack offense, that would be a monumental improvement. He's never had a bad offense anywhere. Next year could very well be his first, but good coaches get good results. IU was 2-10, 4-8 and 3-9 in the 3 years before Cignetti arrived and they are now 24-2 in his first 2 seasons. It doesn't HAVE to take years to turn things around with the right coaches.

Well in defense, Cignetti has access to Mark Cuban's money too.

 

[gamecock stock]

A middle of the pack offense, with our defense, would have had us at least 8 wins this year.

I will wait to see the impact this new offense has on our defense before making any proclamation. The Briles image is "pass happy". If we can't run the ball effectively, our defense will wear out. His and Clement's offense were 93rd in rushing.

 

[bayrooster]

Don't overlook the fact Cignetti has a real Heisman level QB. A generational player can make a coach look really good. Look at Mayfield, Burrows, Manziel and Pavia and what they did. It will be interesting to see what happens at IU and Vandy after their superstar QBs leave.

A middle of the pack offense will probably at least get 6 or 7 wins and that will satisfy the majority of fans for another year.

Just like Shaw made Spurrier look good.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I will wait to see the impact this new offense has on our defense before making any proclamation. The Briles image is "pass happy". If we can't run the ball effectively, our defense will wear out. His and Clement's offense were 93rd in rushing.

Is he pass happy? When he was at Arkansas, they were top 10 nationally his last 2 seasons in rushing attempts/game (and 40th his first year). Conversely, there were 92nd, 115th and 109th in pass attempts per game.

His year at FSU they ran 37 times/game and passed 33 times/game.

Maybe he's been pass-happy at TCU b/c he's had to be.

 

[SouthernBelly]

Don't overlook the fact Cignetti has a real Heisman level QB. A generational player can make a coach look really good. Look at Mayfield, Burrows, Manziel and Pavia and what they did. It will be interesting to see what happens at IU and Vandy after their superstar QBs leave.

A middle of the pack offense will probably at least get 6 or 7 wins and that will satisfy the majority of fans for another year.

I don’t recall the QB being a high-level player last season, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t. But with Cignetti he’s done this everywhere he’s gone, except James Madison. He takes losers and turns them around quickly and with JM they didn’t drop off. Lots remains to be seen at IU but so far his coaching has scaled.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I don’t recall the QB being a high-level player last season, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t. But with Cignetti he’s done this everywhere he’s gone, except James Madison. He takes losers and turns them around quickly and with JM they didn’t drop off. Lots remains to be seen at IU but so far his coaching has scaled.

Last year's QB was not a Heisman type. The main thing was their defense improved from 32 ppg to 16 ppg.

 

[gamecock stock]

Is he pass happy? When he was at Arkansas, they were top 10 nationally his last 2 seasons in rushing attempts/game (and 40th his first year). Conversely, there were 92nd, 115th and 109th in pass attempts per game.

His year at FSU they ran 37 times/game and passed 33 times/game.

Maybe he's been pass-happy at TCU b/c he's had to be.

Substitute Forrest Gump for USC: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get".

 

[18IsTheMan]

Substitute Forrest Gump for USC: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get".

Without knowing the inner workings of each program, it seems he either: runs the type of offense the HC wants (SEC coaches want run-heavy offenses, Big 12 is known for passing) OR he tailors his offense to the players he has.

You can't put him in the "pass happy" box, though. The Arkansas number destroy that narrative. They were almost pass averse.

 

[Piscis]

A middle of the pack offense, with our defense, would have had us at least 8 wins this year.

Cignetti has a Heisman candidate at QB this year, but he didn't last year. Their real calling card has been defense. In 2023, IU was 105th nationally in scoring defense. Cignetti's first year they were 7th. They cut their points allowed in half from 32 to 16 and they're even better this year. And IU is doing it w/o any 5* players and very few 4*. Good coaches can get results quickly.

I don't expect Briles to score 35 ppg next year, but there's no reason to believe based on his track record that we should not see substantial improvement.

Clements produced the Big 12 OL of the year four years in a row.

Neither of these guys may be the absolute best at their respective positions, but there's no question they are substantial upgrades. The proof is in the pudding, of course, so we'll all wait to see what the results are. But folks saying it's impossible to fix things in a year isn't supported. The right coaches can get it done.

In 2024, IU had a laughably easy schedule. This season, they have a generational talent at QB. Cignetti has done a great job but a lot of stars have aligned for him the last two seasons. Mendoza is 22, I have to assume he is gone after this season. If Cignetti keeps things rolling next year, I'll be more of a believer. Sonny Dykes was the golden child of college football at TCU. In his first season TCU made it to the CFP championship game in 2022 in similar fashion and got stomped by UGA. Since then, nothing.

If the new coaches can find some real talent at QB, RB, WR, OL and DL, they can turn things around quickly.

 

[18IsTheMan]

In 2024, IU had a laughably easy schedule.

I don't care about the schedule when you go from allowing 32 ppg one season to 16 ppg the next. This season it's 11 ppg.

I know you're playing the "we suck and will always suck card", and I get it. There's been a lot to be down about this year. "But you have to be objective. These are objectively good hire. At this point there's no reason to believe they will be failures. Maybe they will be, but it can't be assumed.

 

[Piscis]

Is he pass happy? When he was at Arkansas, they were top 10 nationally his last 2 seasons in rushing attempts/game (and 40th his first year). Conversely, there were 92nd, 115th and 109th in pass attempts per game.

His year at FSU they ran 37 times/game and passed 33 times/game.

Maybe he's been pass-happy at TCU b/c he's had to be.

I think Arkansas had horrible talent at QB and WR so they had to run the ball a lot. I recall them being almost like Iowa. I think TCU is like all Big 12 teams, pass happy.

It appears he tailors the offense to the strengths he has, which is a good thing.

 

[Piscis]

Last year's QB was not a Heisman type. The main thing was their defense improved from 32 ppg to 16 ppg.

Cignetti brought his DC from JMU to IU. Haines was really good at JMU too.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Cignetti brought his DC from JMU to IU. Haines was really good at JMU too.

Yes. And there was no drastic roster overhaul. Good coaches can affect quick change.

 

[kidrobinski]

If the new coaches can find some real talent at QB, RB, WR, OL and DL, they can turn things around quickly.

Bingo.

 

[Lurker123]

It appears he tailors the offense to the strengths he has, which is a good thing.

So, barring massive upheaval in the portal, what offense would you run with our talent?

 

[Piscis]

So, barring massive upheaval in the portal, what offense would you run with our talent?

That is the real problem. We don't have a lot of talent anywhere on the offense. Sellers is the best running option and deep throws to Harbor if he can get behind the defense were about the only weapons we had this season.

 

[Creek Snake]

You know I think there is a possibility unless you’re looking at another 4-8 or 5-7 that Donati is looking at a 2 yr plan here.I just can’t believe he didn’t give these guys sometimes type of assurance or understanding that he is looking for improvement in 2026 and contention in 2027.I know that doesn’t make sense or even placate the fan base but I can’t believe he is getting coaches at this level without some assurances given.I may be 100% wrong here but I’m trying to make sense of these hires.

 

[18IsTheMan]

You know I think there is a possibility unless you’re looking at another 4-8 or 5-7 that Donati is looking at a 2 yr plan here.I just can’t believe he didn’t give these guys sometimes type of assurance or understanding that he is looking for improvement in 2026 and contention in 2027.I know that doesn’t make sense or even placate the fan base but I can’t believe he is getting coaches at this level without some assurances given.I may be 100% wrong here but I’m trying to make sense of these hires.

That was another implication of the OP. It certainly seems likely to me that Donati had to tell these guys, we are not looking for a one-year transformation project.

 

[gamecock stock]

Without knowing the inner workings of each program, it seems he either: runs the type of offense the HC wants (SEC coaches want run-heavy offenses, Big 12 is known for passing) OR he tailors his offense to the players he has.

You can't put him in the "pass happy" box, though. The Arkansas number destroy that narrative. They were almost pass averse.

Fair enough. I will put him in the "high scoring" box. How about that?

 

[Lurker123]

That was another implication of the OP. It certainly seems likely to me that Donati had to tell these guys, we are not looking for a one-year transformation project.

Or, he forked over 2 million a year on a 3 year contract for an OC for him to take that chance.

 

[Builderman]

It all comes down to execution, talent, coaching, and team unity.

 

[HoleStaff]

It all comes down to execution, talent, coaching, and team unity.

you left out having more points than your opponent when the clock hits 0:00

 

[Go Gamecocks]

A generational player can make a coach look really good.

And upstate: Lawrence & Watson. They had 6 seasons of elite QBs.

 

[SouthernBelly]

you left out having more points than your opponent when the clock hits 0:00

Saw that 4 whole times this season.

 

[Piscis]

And upstate: Lawrence & Watson. They had 6 seasons of elite QBs.

They also had a receiver corps that was all world. Those guys caught anything thrown remotely close to them.

 

[Jonesz2]

I think we are going to find out Shula wasn't the problem.

Definitely got to get more talent

 

[Jonesz2]

Just like Shaw made Spurrier look good.

Don’t forget D Thompson. His Sr year he threw for 700 more yds than Shaw with the same passing TD’s. Yes he had 10 or 11 int but I think spurrier made them both better. No one saw those 2 doing that their Senior year when they were Juniors.