Irish

That's because we as a town are extremely tolerant of mediocrity from the football program. We had Muss for 6 years and Rudy for 5. We complain about it, but no one seems to have the will to demand something different. Hopefully Chaves will have the stones Bubba seems to lack.

It's a big part of what I took from the game.

When this kind of crap happens occasionally, it's frustrating but part of football. When it gets to be a pattern it is unacceptable. Changes need to be made and Bubba has shown us time and time again he is not willing to make them - not just personnel changes but philosophy, schemes, preparation, recruiting, and in-game execution and adjustments. For all that is holy, play to win. We have spent over 10 years floundering about in this program and I am getting tired of it.

In my opinion, we need both Euros to step up their goal production. I think the key to the season will be off season development. I hope the team has a fire in their bellies.

Who on the roster takes the next big step in development?

Exactly this - I have no objection to the toss play - what defines Rudy seems to be the predictability.

I can just imagine the off season conversation - Bubba to Rudolph "You know I like a conservative offense and a good punting game as well as the next guy, but the fans are complaining about the ineffective Santiago up the middle for no gain calls. Can you do something about it?" Rudolph - "Sure, I'm nothing if not flexible" - then runs the ineffective pitch for little gain 10-15 times. Problem solved.

Because, quite frankly, this poll represents more our national reputation than play on the field this year so far. It shows the lack of respect for our body of work over the last decade.

Overall a pretty good job with some areas to improve. One of my big concerns is special teams. It has been mentioned multiple times but I haven't seen an in-depth discussion. Special teams have been an issue for quite a while. I am not referring to the kicker missing, but more about kick coverage lapses and getting our punts blocked. You would think this would have been taken care of by now. Punt protection and kickoff coverage are not rocket science. Why can't we figure this out? Well coached high school teams do a better job. This is an issue that certainly can come back to bite us this year and has going on for several years. Look at the Richmond playoff game (as painful as that is) - Mr. Triple Reverse gets a lot of well deserved criticism, but a running into the kicker penalty and a blocked punt killed us. If the guys (coaches and players) we are using can't get it done, lets make some changes. And while no one but the kicker can be held accountable for kick accuracy, why in the wild wild world of sports can't we find someone who can get a kickoff to the end zone? What gives?

Great win on the road. Still some scheme things to be tightened up, but that is for another day. Love the 4th quarter drive, the defense standing tall, and our overall physical play. Let's keep the roll going. Great Job.

They do, however, have a big impact on who is recruited to kick. No way our cupboard should be this bare. And don't even mention our execution on returns.

To some on this board Bubba is getting more criticism than his total record deserves. Possibly. Here's my two cents. Bubba seems insistent on running a 1980's scheme. When you do that, you need to be successful because watching this scheme fail is brutal. He seems strangely and frustratingly inflexible in his outlook - even when he doesn't have the personnel to match and has shown a real reluctance to make in-game adjustments. He has selected perhaps the only human being who is less introspective as his O coordinator. Bubba would make a great D coordinator, but it's frustrating to have a Head Coach who seems to use much of his game-time thinking on calculating how far back we could put the other team if we punted from where we have the ball. This is not to say he hasn't made positive strides with this program - especially the 2016 season (minus the playoff game). I think we played our butts off at Washington - I just wish Bubba wanted to play to win instead of playing it safe. That punt call summarizes Bubba in a nutshell - you could make argument that it was technically a correct call, but only if you don't factor in the game situation. We are playing a PAC - 10 team on the road and are driving and giving them a game of it. We are playing with house money - for the love of all that's holy, play to win. To me, it's his inflexibility more than his record. We need to take the next step real soon. Perhaps at Sam Houston. We all want him to succeed (and loosen up a bit).

- I'm not reading this as a reaction to losing to Washington. This is Bubba's fifth year and a legit question. What we have learned so far this year is that Bubba is Bubba and probably will not change a lot. So .... can we take the next step? Pro's - stopped the sideline dancing and has instilled a better work ethic, worked hard to improve the game day experience. Other than last year has generally improved the defense. Tied for a Big Sky conf. Championship - has recruited some talented players. Cons - Has given us perhaps the worst O coordinator I have seen in my 50 years as a fan and refuses to change. Immediately after winning the Big Sky, pisses away our first home playoff game in ages with perhaps the worst overall coaching job I have ever seen in the second half of the game. Failure to adequately recruit the QB position - Studs was a gamer for sure and one tough cookie but still - last year we had a 4th year starter who couldn't throw downfield, locked on to a receiver, and had trouble throwing a screen pass. We need a good QB recruit every year. Has not shown the ability to recruit and keep O linemen - In a Bubbaworld O linemen are the key to our team. Has not recruited talented receivers (we had better skills here during our D-2 days) - Has shown almost no ability to adjust in general, but especially during the game. Special teams are pathetic - our lack of coverage is frustrating and lack of kickers may be a season breaker. In summary - when we evaluate Bubba we need to take his assistants too as he has shown he will never make changes. He will always remain the guy who thinks "if we punt from here we can really put them back". In my mind it's playoffs or bust this year.

I fear Rudy is on the hot seat only on this board - Bubba seems to love him. We recruited much better kickers when we were DII - this is on the coaches.

I was overall pretty happy with our effort - even though some weaknesses in talent were exposed. In my opinion, everyone left it out on the field except Rudolph and Bubba. Come up with a philosophy and game plan that allows us to play to win. I am getting more frustrated with Bubba this year - Rudolf will always be a clown and I don't expect him to change.

Who had Santiago up the middle for our first play?

Talk them into a "jobswapping" day - trade O coordinators. Then put 8 in the box to stop their smallest running back from going up the middle.

I find it very sad that this is our tradition - other fans should too.

Totally agree -

Rudolph misses the flight and "chuck the pigskin" is signed up for a game.

This - To be brutally honest our program has been wandering in the wilderness for quite a long time while the knuckleheads to the south have had unprecedented success. We are desperately wanting to compete again. That's why a sloppy win isn't satisfying. We really want to see an assignment sharp, hard hitting, crisp football team with schemes to match our personnel. That's why fans have been so hard on the team. It's time (and I'm not saying that can't be the rest of this season) - starting with this week.

Could not agree more - besides the losing, one of the most frustrating aspects of last year was how we looked - at times difficult to watch. We need to come out and look like a team that is assignment sharp and ready to do some hitting. If we get beat by more talent then so be it, but let's earn some respect by giving them a real football game.

Great - lets continue to load up. Good to get a local kid with skills

I think they will get it together, but didn't yesterday - Our parking lot had changed as a Sioux Club member - they had about 5 guys milling about, 1 or 2 collecting $5, and absolutely no one directing anyone to the proper lane or showing them where the new parking was. With more traffic it could have been frustrating as we got in the lane for paid parking because of no help from staff.

A win is a win and it's nice to start with one. However, in order to keep attendance and interest high we must improve. How long has it been since we played a crisp, assignment sharp, hard hitting game? Seems like forever. Most fans left thinking this game was at best so-so. We need to pick it up or we are going to get our heads handed to us the next two weeks.