TigerTennis80

I was in the stadium that day & remember it vividly. I remember how the the "murmur" went through the quiet crowd as we realized that both our guy & the Ole Miss player weren't moving & at 1st we thought both were hurt. I remember when the Ole Miss guy could finally get up & ran off the field, & then we knew it was just our guy. Somehow word got around that it was Zac. I remember when they got him on the stretcher & were wheeling him off the field & the crowd started chanting, "Zac! Zac! Zac!" And I remember when he was able to give a thumbs up in response, & it felt like the whole stadium exhaled. He's been special to us ever since, & it's special to have him back on the Plains!

Universities are not trying to force vaccines. Some are saying you can't come onto our campus without being vaccinated, but that's a far cry from forcing people to be vaccinated. Nor was I comparing not being vaccinated to drunk driving. I was comparing not being vaccinated & then not doing things to protect oneself & others (like isolating, wearing masks, & perhaps not being on a football team) to drunk driving.

I don't know anyone who has said vaccines should be forced or that people don't have a right to choose. But what no one has a right to choose is to endanger someone else. A person can choose to smoke cigarettes & endanger her or his own lungs, but that person can't choose to smoke in an indoor public space & endanger others' lungs. A person can choose to drink alcohol, but he or she can't choose to drink & drive because they don't get to choose to endanger other people. The same thing applies to vaccines. A person can choose not to be vaccinated, but she or he can't choose to endanger other people. So, they should stay home, wear a mask when out & socially distance. As far as I'm concerned, someone also doesn't have the right to choose to endanger the hard work a team puts into their season (see NC State at the CWS). That's putting "I" before team, & nearly every coach I've ever heard preaches against such an attitude. But I'm not sure about our coach. Troubles me.

The baseball team got off to a good start yesterday. The gymnastics team had a big win last night. The softball team had a big win this morning. Brooks has committed. And Memphis is above freezing for the 1st time in 10 days! Already a good weekend. So maybe there's another softball win & an upset in Baton Rouge on the way given the positive mojo! War Eagle my fellow Aubies!

E, as I understand it, UT has self-reported violations, & apparently some serious ones. Their chancellor was quoted in the paper here (in Memphis) as finding, through their internal investigation, that Pruitt is guilty of recruiting violations & creating a culture of non-compliance. It was a brutal "take down" of Pruitt. So, the NCAA may not have charged UT yet, but they've admitted guilt. I'm wondering if you know how that circumstance impacts their players who want to leave?

Thanks for being back this year, Coach, & offering your insights. I appreciate your perspective & am glad to be able to read it. War Eagle!

I understood Gus to say he was surprised we didn't handle the noise better, not that he was surprised by the noise itself. FWIW. I, too, feared there would be a game where Bo looked like a freshman. Some of us are old enough to remember Pat Sullivan's first SEC road game in Knoxville. Here's hoping Bo responds as well as Pat did who never had another game like that.

Glad you're back with your analysis, Coach. I always enjoy your posts, & I always learn something. I appreciate you taking the time to write out your thoughts. War Eagle!

I'll add my thanks as well for your columns every week. As others have said, I appreciate your insightful analysis and your attention to the positives. The negatives are out there to be sure, but I don't see what is gained by dwelling on them. I've pretty much abandoned reading the football threads except for yours. So, thanks. War Eagle! And please do the write up again next season!

Always appreciate your honest responses, even when it's not what we want to hear. ☺

Coach, I always appreciate your insights, even in a rough season. In case you check in again, I hope you might answer a couple questions from your perspective as a coach. 1st, it seems to me that some of the kinds of mistakes we've made the past 2 games (Jarrett's overthrow & Boobee's fumble last week; Jarrett's interception after a blocked field goal followed by a botched coverage leading to a UT touchdown, a scoop & score, Darius' drop, etc.) are particularly deflating. In addition to the points we don't get, we hand momentum to the other side & totally deflate ourselves. On top of this, the very guys we need to count on to pull us out a downward spiral, are the ones making these mistakes. That's how it seems to me, & my question is whether or not you'd agree, or if you have a different take on the intangibles which happened in these games? 2nd, your comments about the continuing failures of the O line are depressing. Coach Grimes has the reputation of being a great teacher of linemen, & his lines in the past were strong. So, my question is, are some guys just not teach-able? Or maybe I should ask if you had experience as a coach when things that always worked before don't work with some players? If so, did you have a sense that there was anything you could do to change that situation? 3rd (ok, more than a couple), I think it's fair to say that all of Gus' teams in the past improved during the season. But not this one. As a coach who's "been there," are you able to speculate on what might be different with this team? Now that's I've written this out, I realize that all my questions are about the "intangibles" with this team--morale, confidence, leadership, teach-ability, etc. Right now all of those things seem to be working against us. Fundamentally I'm wondering if or how coaches can affect such things.

Wonder if it irritates you like it does me that tv announcers often call him "Brandon" rather than "Braden." They did that the whole game on Saturday. Ugh!!!

As I said after the Arkansas game, I appreciate so much your "column" after each game. This week is no exception . I enjoy your knowledgeable observations. So, thanks again! 1 thing surprised me about your observations this week. I thought you'd have something to say about the 96 yard drive after the D held at the 4 yard line. Obviously a PI call (a clear call, unlike the later one on Carlton) gave us our 1st first down, but after getting that 1st down we moved steadily, even forcefully, down the field, keeping the ball for nearly 8 mins, mostly running the ball, & scoring a TD to pretty much seal the win. I thought at the time that a drive like that is potentially important not only for yesterday's game but also going forward, a confidence builder for the offense. Am I being too optimistic?

Coach, count me among those who look for your "column" each week & really appreciate it. Today I especially appreciate you mentioning the officiating. I, too, could not figure out the no-call on the 1st Arky punt where Roberts appeared clearly to be interfered with. I, too, thought KJ clearly made a 1st down on the 1st run & that there certainly wasn't "indisputable video evidence" to overturn the call. I wasn't even worried about it until they actually overturned it. Until reading your thoughts, I figured I must be the crazy one. If you have time at some point, I'd love to know your thoughts about differences between the 1st half & 2nd half. It appeared to me (& I don't have nearly the ability to see things like you do, which is why I'm asking) that the O line performed much better in the 2nd half. Do you agree? If so, do you have thoughts as to why that would be? Just curious.

I think many of us noticed the D not being as sharp as in past weeks. I note that Ok lost yesterday to a huge underdog while neither Bama nor Clemson won as big as expected. Meanwhile we were playing a huge underdog who got humiliated the week before. And it's midseason with the biggest games ahead. I can't help but think it was something of a let down day for a lot of teams & players, including our D. I think Gus was concerned about that. Under those circumstances, we should perhaps praise the offense more loudly for their play in the 1st half which put the game away. Or at least I hope that's what why the D was off a bit. I expect watching film will light a fire for them for Saturday, as watching film of the 2nd half should prevent any complacency on the part of the offense.

Love your analysis Stat. I particularly appreciate you pointing out that Bama's depth is still greater than ours. I'm hopeful that we're improving to the point where our primary rotation of players is right there with them. So, we have to stay healthy & keep getting better each week. May that be the case this week on the bayou! War Eagle!

I'm wondering if the negative naysayers in this thread were also among the naysayers last year when Kevin Steele was hired as DC. Well, that group was certainly right about what a disappointing hire that was! Oh wait...