You think Arkansas State misses Anderson?

Sl7vk · Post by **Sl7vk** » September 20th, 2021, 11:00 am

It seemed like Anderson was quazi pushed out of Jonesboro after his first losing season there.

Now they've got Butch Jones of all people and it seems like a Gary Andersen style decline is in the making. Still too soon to tell, but after a 52-3 loss to a very anemic Washington Huskies team.... it doesn't look good for the Red Wolves.

For us, we need to keep this guy. That probably means a new contract in short order after the kind of turn around he's managed to navigate.

FloridaAggie13 · Post by **FloridaAggie13** » September 20th, 2021, 11:04 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
September 20th, 2021, 11:00 am
It seemed like Anderson was quazi pushed out of Jonesboro after his first losing season there.

Now they've got Butch Jones of all people and it seems like a Gary Andersen style decline is in the making. Still too soon to tell, but after a 52-3 loss to a very anemic Washington Huskies team.... it doesn't look good for the Red Wolves.

For us, we need to keep this guy. That probably means a new contract in short order after the kind of turn around he's managed to navigate.

Anderson also was coming off tragic family events where he lost his wife to cancer a few years ago. Word is he wanted a fresh start somewhere else and Arkansas State even lowered his buyout to help facilitate his departure.

flying_scotsman2.0 · Post by **flying_scotsman2.0** » September 20th, 2021, 11:51 am

FloridaAggie13 wrote: ↑
September 20th, 2021, 11:04 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
September 20th, 2021, 11:00 am
It seemed like Anderson was quazi pushed out of Jonesboro after his first losing season there.

Now they've got Butch Jones of all people and it seems like a Gary Andersen style decline is in the making. Still too soon to tell, but after a 52-3 loss to a very anemic Washington Huskies team.... it doesn't look good for the Red Wolves.

For us, we need to keep this guy. That probably means a new contract in short order after the kind of turn around he's managed to navigate.
Anderson also was coming off tragic family events where he lost his wife to cancer a few years ago. Word is he wanted a fresh start somewhere else and Arkansas State even lowered his buyout to help facilitate his departure.

Yeah, I think they would have given Anderson a couple years more based on his historical record. It seemed like Anderson's decision to leave and ASU facilitated it. It was honestly probably as amicable as a coaching change could possibly be. I wish ASU nothing but the best as they are in a similar position in the college football landscape as us.

... · Post by **...** » September 20th, 2021, 12:19 pm

Many of their fans were excited to see him go. A group of them seemed to understand, that personally, he was ready to move on with a fresh start and respected that. Other fans looked at his record and say he had a few great wins followed by losing a load of games... they wanted him out. Some have really bad things to say.

The poor guy was going through a load personally and after some research I noticed he was fairly under-staffed in Jonesboro at the same time. Their budget was pretty soft with assistant coaches. Then covid hit their team hard. There is even stories of him winning a decent bowl game and visibly out of it. I have been that far removed from my job before and its an awful/terrible place to be.

I could easily see him getting the Matt Wells/Bryan Harsin treatment here if he stays here long enough. By that I mean fans expectations are too high.

God does not give a person anything they cant handle so it says a lot about him... because he has handled a lot.

ViAggie · Post by **ViAggie** » September 21st, 2021, 4:25 pm

Has anyone else noticed the similarities between Coach Anderson and Josh Homme from the Queens of the Stone Age?

BearLakeMonster · Post by **BearLakeMonster** » September 21st, 2021, 4:33 pm

I keep thinking I'll arrange a short pep band stinger out of the intro to this one...

QuackAttackAggie · Post by **QuackAttackAggie** » September 21st, 2021, 7:20 pm

They were saying last weekend that they're glad he's gone, he left them with the worst defense in program history, etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Post by **ProvoAggie** » September 21st, 2021, 7:51 pm

QuackAttackAggie wrote: ↑
September 21st, 2021, 7:20 pm
They were saying last weekend that they're glad he's gone, he left them with the worst defense in program history, etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I went and read some of their board. It's really weird seeing them talk about how he's only having success right now because he inherited someone else's players. That completely ignores the fact that we may have been the worst D1 team in the country last year.

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » September 21st, 2021, 8:01 pm

He was fairly successful at ASU. He went to the conference championship 2 times. Losing his wife obviously affected him and quite frankly probably impacted the last year he was there. The change has been really good for him it seems.

I don't know what there looking at, last year's Aggie team was one of the 5 worst in college football.

Post by **GeoAg** » September 22nd, 2021, 1:18 pm

It is weird they feel that way. He came in, changed a losing culture, has helped existing players excel, and brought in great Xfers. I am encouraged by the recruiting I've seen from this staff. I love the style of football being played. I couldn't have imagined a better choice to lead our program right now.

But I've been pinching myself all along that we are able to go get a guy with multiple conference championships who isn't a retread with failure elsewhere. I don't count last year for him. Too weird. I do count it for Gary...it got him fired after all.

Sl7vk · Post by **Sl7vk** » September 22nd, 2021, 1:24 pm

I followed their board pretty closely when this was announced last year, and there was a lot of optimism on their end that they could get a significant upgrade and that they were pretty happy he was gone.

Message boards are pretty small sample sizes, but still.

I'm tickled regarding the switch, and I would have to guess that Hartwell would be wise to put a new deal together for Anderson quickly. If he manages to pull off what I think he's going to pull off this year, there will be some programs that come knocking.

ViAggie · Post by **ViAggie** » September 22nd, 2021, 1:30 pm

Urban Mayer was able to parlay a MWC job into be one of the top coaches in the nation, if can happen…

JSHarvey · Post by **JSHarvey** » September 22nd, 2021, 1:33 pm

I think we are lucky to have him, and would even luckier to keep him for any significant length of time.

As has been pointed out elsewhere fan boards tend to over-react and not always in the rational direction.

FloridaAggie13 · Post by **FloridaAggie13** » September 22nd, 2021, 3:53 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑
September 22nd, 2021, 1:30 pm
Urban Mayer was able to parlay a MWC job into be one of the top coaches in the nation, if can happen…

So you're saying there's a chance...

TheAKAggie · Post by **TheAKAggie** » September 23rd, 2021, 8:52 pm

His staff had no idea he was looking for another job. Source? Someone on his previous staff.

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Sl7vk · Post by **Sl7vk** » October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am

Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1

newhouse9 · Post by **newhouse9** » October 5th, 2021, 10:17 am

Always blame the last guy. The difference I see here is that I don't know that BA spent much time blaming GA for much. I haven't heard him do that. He has spoken in generalities about the adversity the program experienced last year. And he has not only spoken about the culture he wanted to create, he has done it.

The players who were here previously have all said that they've never worked this hard. And their play on the field doesn't speak to entitlement to me.

apo · Post by **apo** » October 5th, 2021, 10:19 am

Seems like what someone could say about our fanbase after Matt Wells left…that is until GA 2.0 really got rolling.

splintorb · Post by **splintorb** » October 5th, 2021, 10:26 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am
Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1

Kinda sounds like our fans with the hate on Matt Wells. He went to 5 straight bowls if you count the last one that Frank was interim for and he mainly gets negative reviews from the fans.

2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » October 5th, 2021, 10:31 am

splintorb wrote:
Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am
Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1
Kinda sounds like our fans with the hate on Matt Wells. He went to 5 straight bowls if you count the last one that Frank was interim for and he mainly gets negative reviews from the fans.

Not really though because nobody blames Wells for the train wreck 2020 was.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

splintorb · Post by **splintorb** » October 5th, 2021, 10:33 am

2004AG wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:31 am

splintorb wrote:
Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am
Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1
Kinda sounds like our fans with the hate on Matt Wells. He went to 5 straight bowls if you count the last one that Frank was interim for and he mainly gets negative reviews from the fans.
Not really though because nobody blames Wells for the train wreck 2020 was.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would agree with that statement, but I'm just mainly discussing the hate that Wells gets, even with the positives that came from Wells. But, you're right, no one blamed him for our immediate train wreck after he left, but we hardly give him the credit he probably deserves.

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » October 5th, 2021, 10:43 am

splintorb wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:33 am

2004AG wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:31 am

splintorb wrote:
Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am
Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1
Kinda sounds like our fans with the hate on Matt Wells. He went to 5 straight bowls if you count the last one that Frank was interim for and he mainly gets negative reviews from the fans.
Not really though because nobody blames Wells for the train wreck 2020 was.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would agree with that statement, but I'm just mainly discussing the hate that Wells gets, even with the positives that came from Wells. But, you're right, no one blamed him for our immediate train wreck after he left, but we hardly give him the credit he probably deserves.

Blake was really successful his first 6 seasons at ASU. Overall he was 50-37 for his seven years including going to the championship game twice. 6 of the 7 were winning records with the 2020 year being his first losing record. From their perspective their might be some truth due to all of the personal issues he was dealing with from 2019 to 2020. Overall he did a really great job there. Unfortunately fan bases will always blame the prior staff for most of their current issues.

newhouse9 · Post by **newhouse9** » October 5th, 2021, 11:57 am

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:43 am

splintorb wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:33 am

2004AG wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:31 am

splintorb wrote:
Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am
Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1
His knowing it was time for a change might be his recognition that he wasn't able to give it his all with everything that was going on in his life. Tough times to get through.
Kinda sounds like our fans with the hate on Matt Wells. He went to 5 straight bowls if you count the last one that Frank was interim for and he mainly gets negative reviews from the fans.
Not really though because nobody blames Wells for the train wreck 2020 was.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would agree with that statement, but I'm just mainly discussing the hate that Wells gets, even with the positives that came from Wells. But, you're right, no one blamed him for our immediate train wreck after he left, but we hardly give him the credit he probably deserves.
Blake was really successful his first 6 seasons at ASU. Overall he was 50-37 for his seven years including going to the championship game twice. 6 of the 7 were winning records with the 2020 year being his first losing record. From their perspective their might be some truth due to all of the personal issues he was dealing with from 2019 to 2020. Overall he did a really great job there. Unfortunately fan bases will always blame the prior staff for most of their current issues.

3rdGenAggie · Post by **3rdGenAggie** » October 5th, 2021, 12:25 pm

ViAggie wrote: ↑
September 22nd, 2021, 1:30 pm
Urban Mayer was able to parlay a MWC job into be one of the top coaches in the nation, if can happen…

Gary Andersen 1.0 got a pretty premier coaching job from the WAC.

Aggie formerly in Hawaii · Post by **Aggie formerly in Hawaii** » October 5th, 2021, 12:31 pm

There is probably a share of blame on Anderson for Arkansas State's current struggles. It doesn't mean he wasn't a good coach there or that he won't be a good coach here. Also he has different coordinators at USU that were both on successful teams last year.

arkstfan · Post by **arkstfan** » October 6th, 2021, 4:54 pm

GeoAg wrote: ↑
September 22nd, 2021, 1:18 pm
It is weird they feel that way. He came in, changed a losing culture, has helped existing players excel, and brought in great Xfers. I am encouraged by the recruiting I've seen from this staff. I love the style of football being played. I couldn't have imagined a better choice to lead our program right now.

But I've been pinching myself all along that we are able to go get a guy with multiple conference championships who isn't a retread with failure elsewhere. I don't count last year for him. Too weird. I do count it for Gary...it got him fired after all.

No he did not change a losing culture. Hugh Freeze did that. Gus Malzahn did that. Bryan Harsin contributed as well.

Yes defense was left absolutely gutted. When Cauthen left as DC he no longer had a strong DC demanding that a set number of rides be left open for defensive recruiting and defense circled the toilet. Look at the defensive numbers his last two seasons and tell me looking from the other side of the country you know more about it than I do.

As I explained when he was up for the job, he needed to leave and get a reset. We lowered his buyout dramatically to make the deal happen and somehow some people here think AState is the bad guys in the story.

arkstfan · Post by **arkstfan** » October 6th, 2021, 5:05 pm

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am
Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1

You mean to say it was Butch Jones fault AState won four games last year?
Who was at the helm when AState was 115th in total defense in 2020?
Who was at the helm when AState was 124th in total defense in 2019?

Fan base IS demanding. 9 straight winning seasons and 9 straight bowl games, and three straight league titles before he arrived did set a significant bar.

Not knocking him but he hired the DC he had to fire early in the 2020 season, the same guy he trusted to serve as interim in 2019. Part of the gig, actually huge part is hiring the right guys as assistants.

He got his reset. We got ours.

arkstfan · Post by **arkstfan** » October 6th, 2021, 5:10 pm

flying_scotsman2.0 wrote: ↑
September 20th, 2021, 11:51 am

FloridaAggie13 wrote: ↑
September 20th, 2021, 11:04 am

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
September 20th, 2021, 11:00 am
It seemed like Anderson was quazi pushed out of Jonesboro after his first losing season there.

Now they've got Butch Jones of all people and it seems like a Gary Andersen style decline is in the making. Still too soon to tell, but after a 52-3 loss to a very anemic Washington Huskies team.... it doesn't look good for the Red Wolves.

For us, we need to keep this guy. That probably means a new contract in short order after the kind of turn around he's managed to navigate.
Anderson also was coming off tragic family events where he lost his wife to cancer a few years ago. Word is he wanted a fresh start somewhere else and Arkansas State even lowered his buyout to help facilitate his departure.
Yeah, I think they would have given Anderson a couple years more based on his historical record. It seemed like Anderson's decision to leave and ASU facilitated it. It was honestly probably as amicable as a coaching change could possibly be. I wish ASU nothing but the best as they are in a similar position in the college football landscape as us.

It was incredibly amicable. President told me Blake had said the worst part of the job last two years was leaving the office and going home and having to drive past the hospital and the hospice and their church and go home.

No one wants anyone to be miserable. Last year I could accurately predict the outcome of games simply by looking at the video of Blake as he walked from the locker rooms to the tunnel. Some days you could tell he was there and some days he wasn’t.

MaverickAggie · Post by **MaverickAggie** » October 6th, 2021, 5:14 pm

arkstfan wrote: ↑
October 6th, 2021, 4:54 pm

GeoAg wrote: ↑
September 22nd, 2021, 1:18 pm
It is weird they feel that way. He came in, changed a losing culture, has helped existing players excel, and brought in great Xfers. I am encouraged by the recruiting I've seen from this staff. I love the style of football being played. I couldn't have imagined a better choice to lead our program right now.

But I've been pinching myself all along that we are able to go get a guy with multiple conference championships who isn't a retread with failure elsewhere. I don't count last year for him. Too weird. I do count it for Gary...it got him fired after all.
No he did not change a losing culture. Hugh Freeze did that. Gus Malzahn did that. Bryan Harsin contributed as well.

Yes defense was left absolutely gutted. When Cauthen left as DC he no longer had a strong DC demanding that a set number of rides be left open for defensive recruiting and defense circled the toilet. Look at the defensive numbers his last two seasons and tell me looking from the other side of the country you know more about it than I do.

As I explained when he was up for the job, he needed to leave and get a reset. We lowered his buyout dramatically to make the deal happen and somehow some people here think AState is the bad guys in the story.

I believe that GeoAg was referencing the losing culture here at Utah State, not Ark. St. He came in here and changed our losing ways fairly quick. I think this was somewhat of a win for all parties. I do believe Utah State got a hell of coach in BA and excited for the future of Aggie Football.

Aggie19 · Post by **Aggie19** » October 6th, 2021, 5:17 pm

arkstfan wrote: ↑
October 6th, 2021, 5:05 pm

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am
Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1
You mean to say it was Butch Jones fault AState won four games last year?
Who was at the helm when AState was 115th in total defense in 2020?
Who was at the helm when AState was 124th in total defense in 2019?

Fan base IS demanding. 9 straight winning seasons and 9 straight bowl games, and three straight league titles before he arrived did set a significant bar.

Not knocking him but he hired the DC he had to fire early in the 2020 season, the same guy he trusted to serve as interim in 2019. Part of the gig, actually huge part is hiring the right guys as assistants.

He got his reset. We got ours.

I think this is absolutely fair. We are riding high on the BA fan train with the more than unexpected start, especially after the mess of last season. Part of our biased is the renewed energy he and his staff have given, as you say, "his reset" may have given him this. If you we to ask us to take a step back and really look objectively, I think you'd find most Aggies fans have some questions, see some of the defensive struggles and wonder, some of the play calling, etc. My opinion, the criticism is fair and I'm sure he struggled mightily with his personal life situation. I like our direction at this time and hope for the best for A-State, I've followed your team since Adam Kennedy.

Sl7vk · Post by **Sl7vk** » October 6th, 2021, 7:05 pm

arkstfan wrote: ↑
October 6th, 2021, 5:05 pm

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am
Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1
You mean to say it was Butch Jones fault AState won four games last year?
Who was at the helm when AState was 115th in total defense in 2020?
Who was at the helm when AState was 124th in total defense in 2019?

Fan base IS demanding. 9 straight winning seasons and 9 straight bowl games, and three straight league titles before he arrived did set a significant bar.

Not knocking him but he hired the DC he had to fire early in the 2020 season, the same guy he trusted to serve as interim in 2019. Part of the gig, actually huge part is hiring the right guys as assistants.

He got his reset. We got ours.

Ok, but weren't 6 of those 9 straight winning seasons under Anderson? You can't have your cake and eat it too by both saying he wasn't performing and then crediting his results.

Honestly the two programs are pretty similar. Both have been in the dumps and both have come back from the ashes.... and then gone back into the dumps.....

I hope your reset works. I think that Butch is not great personally, but I hope for your sake that I'm wrong there.

Blake took a bottom10 team in the country that is undersized and undermanned and beat WSU and AFA which is a huge. We'll see how the season plays out, but his recruits look like gold plated dynamite so far.

The earlier comparison with Matt Wells was a good one.

BA at ASU 51-37 (38-18 in conference) and 2 SunBelt Conference titles. 2-4 in bowl games.
MW at USU 44-34 (30-18 in conference) and no Conference championships. 2-2 in bowl games.

I'll take BA over MW any day of the week, but that is mostly because I got to see under the hood a bit and experienced all those infuriating 1 possession game losses. MW was just a terrible game manager and coach when the game got tight. BA so far has proven aggressive and we are now 2-0 in 1 possession games. I thing MW won 4 or 5 1 possession games total during his tenure.

Is it harder to win in Logan or Jonesboro? Time will tell I guess.

DeerCamp · Post by **DeerCamp** » October 6th, 2021, 7:44 pm

Saw someone link to this on our board, so figured I'd come over and say hey and address some of the comments.

Blake is a great guy, and the players love him. He ran a clean program and largely was successful at A-State.

But Arkansas State fans had a taste of double digit win success 2010-2012, and realistically after 7 years fans expected to get back to that point.

If you look at the record, especially in conference, it's a pretty consistent trend downwards over the 7 years. (8-0, 7-1, 6-2, 5-3,etc eventually leading to the 4-8 season. You guys surely haven't forgotten us getting trounced in 2016 in Logan.

One of the biggest knocks is that we didn't have a single player drafted in the 7 years he was here. That's not good no matter how you inspect it.

But it's true, the undoing really was tragedy. I don't know that I could have kept going and I admire the hell out of him for that, it's a testament to his character.

Its also true that he runs a different kind of program. IMO he was basically the perfect guy for Utah State as the kind of coach that could unite a team and bring the culture together. He's a great motivator.

We all wish him the best. If there is any mixed feelings from the fan base it's mostly directed at our AD for the program basically taking 2 years off. That's not harsh, it's just what happened. We were not clicking on all cylinders and I think Blake has acknowledged that.

It was a hell of a situation and it really was a fresh reset for everyone. I suspect that both programs are headed upwards and that makes me happy. Always enjoyed our games with you guys.

If there is a little generic animosity it's probably because the roster was not in great shape when he left, and then (as you know) he took some of our best players with him. Justin Rice is a straight up monster at LB. Butch had to bring in 51 new players this season to fill the holes.

Anyhow, wanted to clear the air. Did not come here to crap on Anderson. He's good people and he seems to be comfortable there. As a whole, we all want Blake to succeed and hopefully that means a lot of winning seasons for you guys too.

Tune in tomorrow night and bet the Over. Our defense probably didn't catch the plane back from Statesboro.

DeerCamp · Post by **DeerCamp** » October 6th, 2021, 7:58 pm

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 6th, 2021, 7:05 pm

arkstfan wrote: ↑
October 6th, 2021, 5:05 pm

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
October 5th, 2021, 10:06 am
Looking at the AState forums, they seem to feel the train wreck they have right now is all Anderson's fault.
It's pretty interesting, because I simply don't see it.
They seem to feel the work ethic, and culture was garbage during the Anderson period.
Didn't the guy go to 6 straight bowl games and win 2 sunbelt championships? It just doesn't line up.
Either am missing the boat with Anderson, or their fan base is incredibly more demanding than ours.

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 36/?page=1

https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 58/?page=1
You mean to say it was Butch Jones fault AState won four games last year?
Who was at the helm when AState was 115th in total defense in 2020?
Who was at the helm when AState was 124th in total defense in 2019?

Fan base IS demanding. 9 straight winning seasons and 9 straight bowl games, and three straight league titles before he arrived did set a significant bar.

Not knocking him but he hired the DC he had to fire early in the 2020 season, the same guy he trusted to serve as interim in 2019. Part of the gig, actually huge part is hiring the right guys as assistants.

He got his reset. We got ours.
Ok, but weren't 6 of those 9 straight winning seasons under Anderson? You can't have your cake and eat it too by both saying he wasn't performing and then crediting his results.

Honestly the two programs are pretty similar. Both have been in the dumps and both have come back from the ashes.... and then gone back into the dumps.....

I hope your reset works. I think that Butch is not great personally, but I hope for your sake that I'm wrong there.

Blake took a bottom10 team in the country that is undersized and undermanned and beat WSU and AFA which is a huge. We'll see how the season plays out, but his recruits look like gold plated dynamite so far.

The earlier comparison with Matt Wells was a good one.

BA at ASU 51-37 (38-18 in conference) and 2 SunBelt Conference titles. 2-4 in bowl games.
MW at USU 44-34 (30-18 in conference) and no Conference championships. 2-2 in bowl games.

I'll take BA over MW any day of the week, but that is mostly because I got to see under the hood a bit and experienced all those infuriating 1 possession game losses. MW was just a terrible game manager and coach when the game got tight. BA so far has proven aggressive and we are now 2-0 in 1 possession games. I thing MW won 4 or 5 1 possession games total during his tenure.

Is it harder to win in Logan or Jonesboro? Time will tell I guess.

Yeah he was 38-18 in conference overall. But 2017-2020 he went 11-13 in the last 24 conference games. All that at a time when App State, Coastal, Georgia Southern and Louisiana were all starting to make noise.

Again, this is not to take a shot at Blake. Just explaining that Arkansas State fans had legit reasons to be frustrated, and Blake had legit reasons for not being at his best.

I'm willing to bet he learned a lot during his time at A-State about running a program and will be a different story 2.0

Elkaggie · Post by **Elkaggie** » October 6th, 2021, 8:54 pm

@DeerCamp thanks for the great comments and feed back. I appreciate this and your perspective. Really good stuff. Also love the name.

ineptimusprime · Post by **ineptimusprime** » October 6th, 2021, 9:42 pm

I’m really happy with BA, but our defense so far this year isn’t really changing the narrative that his defenses suck.

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