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1-7 against bama and lsu
Add auburn or ole miss to that and the record still sucks.
Aren't we 4-4 vs Auburn and Ole Miss?
The way I see it is the last two years we've been average in the best conference in football. Before that we were pretty good in the best conference in football. We have a chance to be pretty good again this year.
If you want to compare our program to what Nick Saban (maybe the best coach of all time) does every year you're bound to be disappointed.
We had a bit of a miracle game against ole miss in 2012. 6 turnovers, but Johnny and Mike Evans bailed us out. Auburn literally had their worst year ever in 2012. They didn't win a single conference game for the first time in school history. I really wouldn't be throwing either odd those in the pot considering win/loss totals. The only teams we've actually dominated have been MSU and Arky. Wooooo freakin whoooo.
We haven't been average. We've been slightly below. Our SEC West record speaks to that. We've been lucky to have USCe and Vandy a couple of times. Or record would be even worse the last couple of years if we drew Tennessee or Georgia or Florida.
So we can cherry pick things now?
Ok, it took a lack of a horse collar call for Auburn to win in '13. That penalty gets called correctly, we have 1st and goal from about the 5 yard line. Significantly better odds than 4th and 10 from the 20 or so.
It took a lack of a penalty for offsides when LSU was at Kyle field in '14 as well. That penalty is called, the INT doesn't happen.
It took a lack of a penalty against Alabama in 2013 when they ran an INT back for a massive momentum swinging score. We still managed to stay in the game and only fell short by 7 points.
It took 3 turnovers from a freshman QB in 2012 for LSU to win, and they still had to come from behind to do so.
It took everything Florida had in 2012 to beat us, with a freshman QB. Play that game late in the season and it's a different story.
It took Hill throwing 3 interceptions against MSU in '14, and we still had some chances in that game.
With the exception of a couple of losses (Alabama in '14, LSU in '13 for example), we've really not been absolutely blown out of many games. And, even if I am not carrying the flag necessarily for Sumlin, the fact of the matter is that every one of his losses have come against ranked teams. Can't say the same for the previous few coaches we have had. And, frankly, not many coaches get to make such a claim - especially after 4 years at a major school in one of the premier conferences.
Don't mistake that for me thinking Sumlin doesn't need the pressure on him - he does. It's time for us to be more than 3rd place in the west. But the idea that simply because you want the guy gone you can go marginalize wins is kind of silly. We can marginalize losses just as easily.
