Things do look hopeful for our defense with our new DC and the players he has brought in. And I will admit that I have been telling people that the Georgia State Potato Bowl being as much of a debacle as it ended up being was worth it if that was what it took for Joe Cauthen to be replaced with Nate Dreiling.

The question came up in chat during the bowl, but the reason I was just cheering for us to win that game was cause of how Blake was doubling down on bringing back Cauthen another year. But now that we know that the game being as much of a debacle as it did WAS enough for the change to be made, I will say that if I was before the game given the option of a win to finish strong but another year of defense looking like it did last year OR the change being made but it taking the game being a loss every bad as it was, and arguably not even as close as the final score would indicate I would have probably chosen what did end up happening.

Kind of like in basketball how it WAS horrible that we bottomed out losing to bad Air Force and San Jose State teams, but just avoiding those two bad losses probably would have been enough for Duryea to save his job and we don't know if the timing of Craig Smith being ready to leave South Dakota would have lined with us having an opening, and who our coaches would have ended up being would have varied.

Or with football where we would be if the kid missed a 58 yard field goal giving Brent Guy another season. We probably would have had some good seasons and bad seasons after that, just the timing of good years and bad years and who our head coaches are would have varied.

That is a good point. I hated the bowl game debacle/performance so if that is what tipped the scales to cleaning house on the defensive side than i am ok with it. To me it was the performance against Boise and NM but am excited to see how the changes are. I don't expect a top 20 defense but if Dreiling can get the defense to even be in the ~80th ranked range next year i will be happy with that improvement.

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑

February 22nd, 2024, 4:59 pm

That is a good point. I hated the bowl game debacle/performance so if that is what tipped the scales to cleaning house on the defensive side than i am ok with it. To me it was the performance against Boise and NM but am excited to see how the changes are. I don't expect a top 20 defense but if Dreiling can get the defense to even be in the ~80th ranked range next year i will be happy with that improvement.

It wasn't even just a 3-off thing with the bowl, Boise and NM, it happened all season long, the competition just wasn't always as tough. I have also been telling people that while scoring only 10 points against Boise and 14 points in meaningful time against Georgia State was bad, that was more of a 2-off thing than how the defense played.

Almost anything was worth it if it meant letting Cauthen go. LOL

For those in the know, was this bowl really the last straw to let Cauthen go? Meaning, if we were just “normal bad” that game, instead of absolutely pathetic and an embarrassment, Cauthen would still be here?

If that’s the case, glad it happened that way then lol.

SwaggieAggie wrote: ↑

February 24th, 2024, 11:46 am

For those in the know, was this bowl really the last straw to let Cauthen go? Meaning, if we were just “normal bad” that game, instead of absolutely pathetic and an embarrassment, Cauthen would still be here?

If that’s the case, glad it happened that way then lol.

We all have evidence of how Blake kept defending Cauthen and doubling down on bringing him back which points towards him being forced to make the change.

Something else that would tell you how bad our defense was last year was that even in the game where we WEREN'T melting down over how bad they looked and somewhat OK with their performance, Iowa, they gave up 3 third and long conversions. And Iowa the rest of the season only had 5 successful conversions on 3rd and 10 or more to go, 2 each against Minnesota and Rutgers, and 1 against Purdue but when they were playing a prevent defense cause of it being the final minute of the half. And of course, the giving up third and longs happened all season long.

We do appear to have upgraded on talent on defense, but if we had as much of a talent problem as some people thought we did, we wouldn't have been able to get opponents into 3rd and long situations in the first place.

GameFAQSAggie wrote: ↑

February 24th, 2024, 12:00 pm

SwaggieAggie wrote: ↑

February 24th, 2024, 11:46 am

For those in the know, was this bowl really the last straw to let Cauthen go? Meaning, if we were just “normal bad” that game, instead of absolutely pathetic and an embarrassment, Cauthen would still be here?

If that’s the case, glad it happened that way then lol.

We all have evidence of how Blake kept defending Cauthen and doubling down on bringing him back which points towards him being forced to make the change.

I think he was absolutely gone with or without the bowl game. Coaches do coach speak all of the time. Blake, like most coaches, defend their staff, especially during the season. If you throw him under the bus during the season, it is very easy for the players to quit on him which is worse for everyone involved. Blake has access to the same data you have pulled together which shows how atrocious our defense was.

gomretat wrote: ↑

February 26th, 2024, 11:24 am

GameFAQSAggie wrote: ↑

February 24th, 2024, 12:00 pm

SwaggieAggie wrote: ↑

February 24th, 2024, 11:46 am

For those in the know, was this bowl really the last straw to let Cauthen go? Meaning, if we were just “normal bad” that game, instead of absolutely pathetic and an embarrassment, Cauthen would still be here?

If that’s the case, glad it happened that way then lol.

We all have evidence of how Blake kept defending Cauthen and doubling down on bringing him back which points towards him being forced to make the change.

I think he was absolutely gone with or without the bowl game. Coaches do coach speak all of the time. Blake, like most coaches, defend their staff, especially during the season. If you throw him under the bus during the season, it is very easy for the players to quit on him which is worse for everyone involved. Blake has access to the same data you have pulled together which shows how atrocious our defense was.

A counter point is that while a head coach needs to defend their staff during the season, one thing they are NOT obligated to do is commit to bringing them back.

Wait...who will teach us man stuff?

Yes and no. We needed to make a change, but my family went to the game and it sucked. Spending money for tickets hotel and gas made that result sting a bit

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

March 5th, 2024, 9:22 pm

Yes and no. We needed to make a change, but my family went to the game and it sucked. Spending money for tickets hotel and gas made that result sting a bit

Same thoughts here. The 4 hr. drive that seems like 20. Freezing our butts off…and then to leave that on the field against a severely depleted team was a major disappointment.

NEAggie wrote: ↑

March 5th, 2024, 10:04 pm

Aggie formerly in Hawaii wrote: ↑

March 5th, 2024, 9:22 pm

Yes and no. We needed to make a change, but my family went to the game and it sucked. Spending money for tickets hotel and gas made that result sting a bit

Same thoughts here. The 4 hr. drive that seems like 20. Freezing our butts off…and then to leave that on the field against a severely depleted team was a major disappointment.

But what about the money people next year will spend on tickets hotel gas to Laramie, Fort Collins, Pullman, Boise, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and fans from out of state to Logan for home games.

It was also a major disappointment that the 2017-18 basketball team lost to horrible Air Force and San Jose State teams. BUT, that combined with a team like we had in 18-19 beat the alternative of another whole year of sucking in basketball.