Last year's recruiting class clearly didn't stack up well on a comparitive basis. They ranked 8th in the MAC and one of the bottom feeders on the National Level. You can't win football games without good athletes ---- it doesn't matter who the coach is. The defensive crew this year was, on a collective basis, pathetically slow and some appeared not to be all that ultra coordinated. This is the main reason they couldn't stop the run. They were always chasing/trailing. Speed kills; most of the other teams had more of it --- and that was the difference. I would review play calling at BG as a second area where major improvement is needed. Other things being equal, too many games were lost because of just plain assine play calling.
The second attempt to block a UT punt (a defensive play) would be a case in point. That turned the whole ball game around. And those miserable bombs on 3rd down probable were the worst. Coaches with offensive experience should be calling the plays, not line coaches.
