. . .of why teams put cupcakes on their schedule early in the season. Most teams, even good teams, spend the first three weeks of the season trying to find their identity. This is why so many teams look like Jekyll (first half UK) and Hyde (second half UK) early in the year. The first two to three games are dominated by the ongoing process of separating pre-season assumptions from in-season realities. By game three, teams know who they are--for better or worse and that's when most teams get into the meat of the schedule.
Scheduling early season games against competent opponents is a dangerous gambit. Does anyone really think that by season's end South Alabama will be a better team than MSU? That Mullen is a "terrible coach" because his young squad got bested by a more experienced (if less talented) team? Of course not. Mullen has an inexperienced squad trying to find its footing and it showed when they didn't know what to do with a lead. Sound familiar?
UK made the most fatal of mistakes, at least when it comes to early season scheduling: they played an experienced, confident squad with a small conference, "us vs. the world" chip on its shoulder. USM returned a three year starter at QB, a starter at RB, starters in the secondary, starters the interior line, starters at LB, and starters at DL. UK, on the other hand, was breaking in a new MLB, a new pair of DE's. Most importantly, UK was handing the reigns to a new QB, one with little game experiences and no success handling adversity. This was a disaster waiting to happen.
The lesson here is that when you're transitioning en masse to new players at key positions, get Charlotte on the schedule. Hell, I'd rather play a young, talented P5 team than an experienced, small conference team--especially one use to winning.
I'm not making excuses for UK; they choked with both fists and they deserved to lose. But there is hope in the fact that this is a young team, one you might not even recognize by season's end.
Scheduling early season games against competent opponents is a dangerous gambit. Does anyone really think that by season's end South Alabama will be a better team than MSU? That Mullen is a "terrible coach" because his young squad got bested by a more experienced (if less talented) team? Of course not. Mullen has an inexperienced squad trying to find its footing and it showed when they didn't know what to do with a lead. Sound familiar?
UK made the most fatal of mistakes, at least when it comes to early season scheduling: they played an experienced, confident squad with a small conference, "us vs. the world" chip on its shoulder. USM returned a three year starter at QB, a starter at RB, starters in the secondary, starters the interior line, starters at LB, and starters at DL. UK, on the other hand, was breaking in a new MLB, a new pair of DE's. Most importantly, UK was handing the reigns to a new QB, one with little game experiences and no success handling adversity. This was a disaster waiting to happen.
The lesson here is that when you're transitioning en masse to new players at key positions, get Charlotte on the schedule. Hell, I'd rather play a young, talented P5 team than an experienced, small conference team--especially one use to winning.
I'm not making excuses for UK; they choked with both fists and they deserved to lose. But there is hope in the fact that this is a young team, one you might not even recognize by season's end.
