That is a ridiculous statement. 6-6 is 6-6. If you are honest with yourself, you will say that you will never be happy with the way the team got to 6-6.
The way they looked in amassing it is losing 6 games. You will never be happy with the way a team loses a game, and neither will I. To say otherwise is just looking for a reason to dislike a coach.
To all of those unhappy with "the way we lost," please provide an example of a loss where you were happy with everything that went on in the game. This is the worst line of reasoning I have heard, and a ton of people buy into it (much like the "identity" argument- what does it even mean?) because they are frustrated. Please use your heads.
The warning lights started going off for me in the Florida Atlantic game two years ago, at the very start of Brewster's tenure. That was the most idiotic Big Ten football game I've seen in my life--no game-ready coach could've coached that circus. I have nursed worries ever since that day.
All the same, Brewster has upgraded talent almost everywhere. The roster is stronger, from top to bottom, than it's been in a long time. He deserves next year.
Maturi needs two do two things, one public and one private: 1) He needs to come out strong for Brewster for next year. 2) He needs to command the attention of Brewster and his staff by letting them know--in brutally frank terms--that their professional careers are on the line.
You can disagree with the statement, but I don't think it's ridiculous. Sure, a win is a win, but the team didn't seem to play with the kind of consistency I hoped it would play with. That's my only gripe. It's not like I want Brewster's head.
My point is that 6-6 teams are precisely 6-6 because of inconsistency. If they were consistent, they would not have as many wins as losses. To say that THIS 6-6 team is any more inconsistent than any other 6-6 team is, in my mind, ridiculous and is a statement dripping of an agenda.
You literally can not get any less consistent than .500, so I am confused by people who predicted 6-6 then say they aren't happy not because of the record but because of the way the team got there. I would love for someone to explain how a team can be 6-6 yet still be consistent.
GopherHomer -- It's still not a road that Brewster should've gone down ... let me add this on the defense: Great yesterday, love Kirksey and Edwards, but how will they generate a pass rush next year? Love Cooper also, but can he hold up for 60-something snaps a game? His size, for me, makes him an ideal safety, so can he survive playing LB? Will the corners have leeway and be allowed to play near the line of scrimmage? As good as the defense was the last two games, they still allowed Big Ten opponents to convert approx. 48% of their 3rd downs ... that is still among the worst in the nation, and it went down 6% or so based on yesterday's nice performance.
I won't face that ... Mason left 5 win talent ... they won 1 game ... they lost 7-games in '07 by 7 points or less ... some of that is coaching.
That NDSU team that Mason barely beat was really good ... had approx. 10 guys land NFL tryouts/gigs on practice squads ... but many had graduated ... do recall a good RB ... but I can't accept the idea that they had more talent ... would Mason have lost that game?
Minny - The angst is not about the wins and losses. It's about the performance! We played maybe 2.5 solid games this year. I still hold out hope that next year we will improve and most importantly learn how to game plan and execute in big games. But PLEASE do not come on this board and tell me I stink because in September I predicted we would be 6-6 and now I am not happy! In fact, I am quite proud of myself for my opinion. I spent some time looking at our offensive stats, I paid attention to our use of time outs, I watched intently as we failed to gain 2 yards with three downs, I even stood up and yelled on third downs only to be happy with the results 35 % of the time.
It is perfectly fine to be upset with how the team played this year. Me, I still hold out hope that we will continue to improve and we will eventually get into the upper tier of the Big Ten. However, that hope is internal and not a product of what I saw this year.
Go Gophers!
yes I love the name calling, thank you for that. Honestly get a life. First year of an offense and your giving up. UConn is a great team as they beat mighty Notre Dame today. It's not like we are getting blown out in these games. You could mention Ohio St and Penn St but don't forget to mention the refs prevented us from making those games.
The point, noonan, is that if we were much better on 3rd downs, and better in the red zone and short yardage, we would not be 6-6. As for time outs, which game do you think our timeouts cost us? I'm curious because I can't think of any, although it was bad and they should have cost us.
Hard to go with this line of thinking, because what if the officials correctly ruled that Tow-Arnett fumbled vs. Mich. St., and the Spartans would've had the ball at MN's 40, down 35-34 ... or what if they didn't convert that 3rd-and-19 vs. AF when they were down 10-3?
Section2 -- An occasional Outback Bowl appearance would be thrilling ... a case can be made that this 3 year stretch in the Big Ten ('07-'09) is as weak as any 3 year stretch of the last 30 years ... there were opportunities to do something special, even with the dynamic Decker going down, especially this year with loads of experience on defense ... no one has ever denied that there were positive signs in Iowa City, although MN was either the first or just the second team to not have a lead at any point against Iowa at Kinnick ... but the blocking w/ Carufel back was good ... the defense was super ... but w/ the reg. season over, it's a good time to reflect ... and overall, they are last in the conf. in many statistical categories ... Bill Parcells has a saying: You are what your record says you are ... He is 6-18 in Big Ten play, has a 55-0 loss and a loss to NDSU ... are you suggesting that there isn't anything we can be critical of?
Huh? What if Decker doesn't get hurt. MN beats IL? MN scores against Iowa and then who knows? Breaks go both ways and even out over time. Brewster's record is what it is, I agree. It is very similar to that of other coaches at this point. I see good and bad. Mostly I see players, especially on the OL that are better than this group of walk-ons, transfers, and JC's. How can you even suggest MN has the talent of a MSU? Iowa? OSU? Can we at least wait what happens since, for the first time. MN has outrecruited Iowa and WI for two straight years. NEVER happened in Mase's 10 years. NEVER.
Huh? What if Decker doesn't get hurt. MN beats IL? MN scores against Iowa and then who knows? Breaks go both ways and even out over time. Brewster's record is what it is, I agree. It is very similar to that of other coaches at this point. I see good and bad. Mostly I see players, especially on the OL that are better than this group of walk-ons, transfers, and JC's. How can you even suggest MN has the talent of a MSU? Iowa? OSU? Can we at least wait what happens since, for the first time. MN has outrecruited Iowa and WI for two straight years. NEVER happened in Mase's 10 years. NEVER.
We were every bit as bad on Defense in the Mason years as we are on offense now. Let's not pretend that Mason had any better teams. Just different. Let's not also pretend that Mason wasn't a better coach. He should have been, he had been doing it before he got here. Let's also not pretend that Brewster is far and away the better recruiter and we haven't yet seen the fruits of that benefit. The difference is that Mason didn't have good enough talent to coach up. He wasn't ever going to put in the time to get that talent. He was never going to get there. Brewster on the other hand can get that talent. And he does have the chance to become a better coach.
With Mason we never had hope outside of luck. With Brewster, we at least have hope.