and now they're in the National Championship. Just goes to show, the right recruits paired with the right coach can make major strides with a little time. Not saying we have the right coach, not sayin we don't. Just realize...the right coaching paired with talented recruits will get it done anywhere. Don't tell me it can't be done at UK. We may have a steeper hill to climb, but if Clemson can rebuild and make it to the title game, we can compete for the East!
We should all realize..We beat Clemson in a bowl 9 years ago...
- Thread starter How Blue Can You Get?
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Great points. Only real difference is conferences. We can get to a much higher level but we have to get breaks along the way. I'm not sure what the ceiling for this program ultimately is but it's going to be fun watching.
Go Cats
Go Cats
we def have to overcome more in SEC, just don't wanna hear people make excuses and say it can't be done here.
The SECE is awful. Has been for several years and should remain that way for several more.
With the facility upgrades and continued recruiting we can make a move up. I look at it like a ladder, step by step. Have to have continued success which means bowl games and winning. These things will happen, it's just really a combination of coaching and recruiting. Every year I find reasons to believe, some years more than others. I'm in baby
We gotta get way better coaches and way better recruiting classes each year to be like Clemson though.
Yeah, it can. To be fair though Clemson's only competition is FSU (Miami will rise again perhaps) while we have to battle a ton of teams. Clemson also racks up top 5-10 classes each recruiting season. I agree with you though it can be done with the right combo of coaching/recruiting though.
Yep, UK beat Clemson in 2006.
* UK beat LSU in 2007. (Edit)
UK beat FSU in 2007.
UK lost a close one to Clemson in 2009.
* LSU was National Champs in 2007 & Runner Up in 2011. (Edit)
FSU was the 2014 National Champs
Clemson was the 2016 National Runner Ups
Amazing how things can change so much in just a few years.
* UK beat LSU in 2007. (Edit)
UK beat FSU in 2007.
UK lost a close one to Clemson in 2009.
* LSU was National Champs in 2007 & Runner Up in 2011. (Edit)
FSU was the 2014 National Champs
Clemson was the 2016 National Runner Ups
Amazing how things can change so much in just a few years.
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It can be done...there are more examples than Clemson...but comparing Clemson football and UK football in any way is like apples to oranges. Clemson has football history, a rabid football fan base, a stronger recruiting base, etc. While I'm saying it can't be done here at UK...it's much easier for Clemson to rise to the top of college football than it will be for us.
And what does that say when an awful SECE team like South Carolina beat UNC who was second in the ACC and hang with Clemson? Awful Georgia beating Georgia tech? Awful UT beating the crap out of Northwestern and beating Oklahoma, Bama for most the game.
Just downright putrid the whole east!!
and we lost to a mid pack ACC team that also beat an SEC West team. You can play head up match ups all the time, but one game doesn't tell the whole story. USCjr also lost to the Citadel and that doesn't make their conference better than the SEC east. UT is probably the only team in the SEC East that might win another conference right now. Florida and Georgia would of been mid pack in most of them and UK, Vandy, and USCjr would be in the bottom half of the rest of the P5 conferences.
If one thing was proven last night it was that if you are going to compete with teams with substantially more stars, then you have a better chance by spreading the field. Michigan State has a below average offense and gets pounded and Clemson likes to put points on the board and makes a game of it.
Great QB play helps but both teams are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. The special teams play for Bama was incredible. Talk about execution.
We've mastered the "win a big game once in a while" model. We need consistency in finding wins against decent teams (MSU, UL, etc) to build a winning program, and we can't get there without improved coaching (an improved CMS & staff or otherwise).
The fact of the matter is Nick Saban had very few answers for Clemson's offense last night (500+ yards & 40 points) and yet he won. How? Superior coaching and a complete team across all phases (Strong on O, D, and ST). Swinney is a fine young coach and his team was ready to play, but Skywalker (Swinney) ran into Yoda (Saban) last night.
I saw a stat last night about Swinney that is impressive....at the same point in their coaching careers...Saban did not have a 10 win season and was still 3 years away from a title appearance. Swinney now has 5 10 win seasons and a title appearance. Not saying he'll be Saban, but Swinney will get a title and have his teams in the forefront for years to come.
LOL. 9-2 in bowl games, a national championship, and average margin of victory 21 points. Go away.
~No doubt, until we get quality QB play we are stuck in neutral. It doesn't have to be great but it has to be productive and steady. We have been really bad the past 5 years and have had really poor QB play - of course the pieces surrounding them aren't great either.
he said the East is awful and while awful may not be the right word...its definitely an average division when you really look at it. Vandy, UK, USC, and Missouri were are all were not very good football teams this year, like not at all. Florida had a great defense and a horrible offense...really average team and their performances against FSU and Michigan showed as much - outscored 72-9. UGA beat exactly 1 team in the regular season with a winning record.....wait for it....wait for it.....Georgia Southern at home 23-17 in OT. That leaves the bellcow of the group...UT. They were a very talented team but struggled with inconsistency all year. They will be mature next year and should make a huge leap, however, they are two years I believe. You could say they got better as the year went on, but they struggles hard against USC and Mizzou and had blowouts against us and Vandy.
My thing is that the SEC East is wide open for the taking and has been the last few years. its nowhere near as good as the West and when you look back on it, we easily could've won 4-5 games in the division this past season and we didn't. It wont change too much next year so I hope we can take a step up. East isn't terrible, but its definitely not as challenging as it should be.
Probably 11-1 this year or maybe undefeated in the East and then it depended on who they played in the West and where.
Watson was probably about 80 percent of the offense for Clemson last night. He threw for over 400 yards and ran for 73. Without him their offense probably struggles greatly in that game. He did an amazing job escaping a lot of pressure and was still able to get the ball down the field. He's special, but it still makes me believe that the dual threat quarterback is the way to go. Just so much harder to stop an offense when you've got a quarterback that can easily escape pressure and can effectively run a read option running game as well.
UK failed to parlay wins over LSU, Clemson and FSU into success on the recruiting trail. It was a lethal mistake.