I lived through the Bill Curry years. The misery of the first two was worth it to get to the last few. Two of my all time favorite games were ND and Alabama, both during those years.
I don't see any emotion with this team. It just seems to be going through the motions. Coaching staff too. Just my opinion.
I have season tix and I'll watch the game. The SA's have put a lot more into this and they deserve as many fans rooting for them as possible.
I think I have come to a conclusion though. CPJ is an OC, not a HC. OK, he's had some stints as HC, but what he LOVES is his offense and his play-calling. I like him and am proud to have him as coach. But we need more.
I think what we need is a CEO-style head coach that can put it all together, set expectations, and hold folks accountable. I think CPJ has become stale in his approach and that's not good. You play with the team you have, not the team you hope to have.
The other thing is the offense. I don't see us truly committing to the TO to the level we need to be and make it successful. I mean, building a program around. I spoke with a number of folks offline and some from other programs like UT and Alabama that I know. They all said the same thing ... great offense when it works. But, you can't recruit it, so it becomes a vicious cycle of ever smaller players.
One alum put it this way ... "Every player who loves the game will try to be the best. And that means NFL. And he may never play in the NFL. But at least he is exposed to how the pro game is played and players developed." He went on to add that giving the finger to the NFL and sticking to the TO is not a good way to endear players.
Todd has he work cut out for him. My opinion is use the next 4 years or so of CPJ's tenure and start the transition process ... so it's planned and not reactionary.