I'm 100% the sunshine pumper. I'm also skeptical. Hoping for the best expecting the worst. So, I see some major overall improvement in this team all around but still feel like we can be beat by anyone.

Top 10. We don't pass the sniff test. But if by week 10 we grow and Kellen stays consistent (mmmmmmm), our upside is finally more tangible.

Kellen can continue being Kellen. If our oline play stays solid and Spiller keeps getting 150+ yard games, the defense just has to be average and we will make a solid run this season. We've already played our 2 toughest opponents. I agree that we could lose any game left on the schedule but there's no game we can't win either.

That's an oxymoron

Based on how all teams are playing today.

Arky - win at home. Kellen is usually good Kellen at home.
USC - close win. I think our run game will run clock.
UT - win. Their QB situation is horrid.
Ole Miss - win. Good Kellen reappears against a horrid defense.
LSU - close win. Their defense isn't good either.
Auburn - close win. Nix is baaaad.

You start a lot of threads for being a sock.

I am starting to see the impact of Jimbo's recruiting. When we get starters hurt or they are out for whatever reason and you don't even notice .... that's a good thing.

Top ten because we held serve against Vandy, beat them #4 Florida in a close contest, then went to Davis Wade and held the Pirate to one score and ran all over a top five running D. Only loss was to a top 2 seed playoff team if the season were over today that looks more solid than the media narratives about them have been.

The hand wringing over Mond is at least partly due to supposed fans getting their knickers in a wad over his summer pastime. He is definitely better this year than the last three but still isn't in the "great" category.

Everything else is BAS which is self-loathing. The Sherman and Sumlin eras promoted that behavior in part because the coaching wasn't apparently attentive to running a balanced offense to manage time. Against the Pirate the TOP was only one minute different but we shortened the game with how we got our scores. Both teams stayed near 50 plays which means without breakout plays and with good defense the scores will be moderated. They're were more moderated than ours though Jimbo noted we left points in the field.

I think the question is can we handle business against teams that are still SEC teams and therefore better than any Go5 team or FCS team. Can we handle an up-and-coming Arkansas? Will LSU or Auburn actually get back on track? And will we stay on track and get better?

I'm satisfied with how this is going. If it turns into a flail-fest in November I'll be surprised. I'll note he has need of more depth in a year we play ten 10 SEC games and we have had injuries and opt outs so the bench is getting short. That has positives in the sense that next up leads to sharing more game snaps and more practice snaps, but it inevitably exposes some fall off in talent and experience.

So far, so good, though! I'll note that I do not consider myself a sunshine pumper. But I also don't look for misery to wallow in. I was completely unimpressed by the Fran, Sherman (though it was a solid economic hire in a financial crisis that was a result of chintzy alumni support for the program that has been addressed but keeps showing up as excuses to abandon the program), and to a great extent Sumlin (though he elevated our expectations with his first season.)

Jimbo coaches real men's football. Let him do his job.

Keep turning Spiller loose and winning games and you've got a Heisman candidate.

MuckRaker96 said:

---

Keep turning Spiller loose and winning games and you've got a Heisman candidate.

---

Spiller was injured in part because lots of utilization including in a game leads to fatigue just as a matter of how anaerobic activity works. That fatigue slows the runner down and leaves them in the way of hits they would otherwise elude. He needs to be spelled more. He definitely is a bruiser, too, which adds to the wear and tear.

Anyone know what the deal is with Spiller. Is it an acute injury or just generally banged up ?

We aren't in the super mega elite tier by any means, but so far we have done what we needed to do.

Moving forward we are about to play an Arky team who barely managed a win against Ole Miss despite 6 INTs, with a bye week to get rested and ready I'm not going to bet against Jimbo at home.

We play solid defense and have what looks like an upper-echelon running game. Of the rest of our schedule, I am not seeing any "complete" teams compared to us. Not trying to pump, just stating the evidence we have seen.

I still don't think we pass the sniff test. Mond and the D are too inconsistent. I think we're gonna see soon that Florida is an overrated team. Handle your business against Arky, and play well against SC on the road and then we can start having confidence in running the table.

One thing is shaking out in our favor. The SEC level of play (with the exception of Bama and Georgia) seem to fallen badly this year.

I can't speak for what the OP's been sniffing, but here's my unscientific take.

I've been watching college football for 40 years now, and even though it's become more business-like than past years, it's still full of young kids riding lots of emotion. The emotional temperament of a college team has a bigger effect on performance than the pros. And occasionally a team can change noticeably for the better or the worse based more on emotions than X's and O's.

You could see this after A&M beat TCU in 1984 that carried all the way through 85. Besides, just a confidence; a belief, that they could really beat the best teams out there, it caused a rise in the overall energy level and concentration of the team. The defense got better, not just because they wanted to play better defense, but because they didn't want to ruin a good performance by their own offense. The offense knew they could score if needed; if the defense could get the ball back, and they were not going to let the defense down given that one chance. Special teams would even make plays that turn games. It was all over the field.

IMO, this 2020 team has made a similar turn after beating Florida.

greg.w.h said:

---

Top ten because we held serve against Vandy, beat them #4 Florida in a close contest, then went to Davis Wade and held the Pirate to one score and ran all over a top five running D. Only loss was to a top 2 seed playoff team if the season were over today that looks more solid than the media narratives about them have been.

The hand wringing over Mond is at least partly due to supposed fans getting their knickers in a wad over his summer pastime. He is definitely better this year than the last three but still isn't in the "great" category.

Everything else is BAS which is self-loathing. The Sherman and Sumlin eras promoted that behavior in part because the coaching wasn't apparently attentive to running a balanced offense to manage time. Against the Pirate the TOP was only one minute different but we shortened the game with how we got our scores. Both teams stayed near 50 plays which means without breakout plays and with good defense the scores will be moderated. They're were more moderated than ours though Jimbo noted we left points in the field.

I think the question is can we handle business against teams that are still SEC teams and therefore better than any Go5 team or FCS team. Can we handle an up-and-coming Arkansas? Will LSU or Auburn actually get back on track? And will we stay on track and get better?

I'm satisfied with how this is going. If it turns into a flail-fest in November I'll be surprised. I'll note he has need of more depth in a year we play ten 10 SEC games and we have had injuries and opt outs so the bench is getting short. That has positives in the sense that next up leads to sharing more game snaps and more practice snaps, but it inevitably exposes some fall off in talent and experience.

So far, so good, though! I'll note that I do not consider myself a sunshine pumper. But I also don't look for misery to wallow in. I was completely unimpressed by the Fran, Sherman (though it was a solid economic hire in a financial crisis that was a result of chintzy alumni support for the program that has been addressed but keeps showing up as excuses to abandon the program), and to a great extent Sumlin (though he elevated our expectations with his first season.)

Jimbo coaches real men's football. Let him do his job.

---

I agree. I like the trajectory of our program, and I'm thankful we have Jimbo as head coach.

Consistency across the board is improving (with one exception). I like where we are headed, but we have a long way to go.

Randomly, here are some weird stats:

TEXAS A&M
#5 rushing Defense
#22 scoring Defense
#32 passing offense
#37 rushing offense
#51 scoring offense


PS - t.u. is #1 in scoring offense. Shows you how much stat rankings mean.

Geriatric Punk said:

---

Consistency across the board is improving (with one exception). I like where we are headed, but we have a long way to go.

Randomly, here are some weird stats:

TEXAS A&M
#5 rushing Defense
#22 scoring Defense
#32 passing offense
#37 rushing offense
#51 scoring offense


PS - t.u. is #1 in scoring offense. Shows you how much stat rankings mean.

---

Not bad, considering Bama and Florida are legitimate offenses.

What is the standard of the sniff test?

Is this a very solid team? Yes
Is this a legit threat to win it all? No, even IF we make the playoffs, unlikely we beat Bama and Clemson