GT was actually one of the hottest teams out there going into the Peach Bowl. Remember that the ACC sends its second-ranked team to face, what?, the 6th or 7th ranked SEC team? And, yes, the SEC usually wins... But it was a signature win and a great beat down. I also expect one of those against Penn State.
Sorry just don't see that as a signature win. Destroying the 2nd best team in the ACC shouldn't be a notch on the bedpost.
Maybe, maybe not. But I'm just saying that they were hot, hot, hot, and everyone predicted that triple option to kill us. The reverse became true. Plus, GT won the ACC this year, so it looks good that we beat the crap outta them.
my friend called me out and said that Auburn was ranked 10 in 08, so i guess that would be the last top 10 team we have beaten.
Not everything was bad this season. I just think overall things are trending down. Being the cardiac kids against Ole Miss and Arkansas is one thing, but stumbling by the likes of LaTech is something else entirely. Under Saban, we usually had a dominant defense and every other year we had an effective offense. Defense has significantly dipped and offense has taken a nose dive as of late. There have been underlying problems - to me the attitude of the team under Miles is not as disciplined as it was under Saban. I don't see significant improvement from our players over their careers, with some exceptions now that the Chief is around. Our lines on both sides of the ball have dropped off. I appreciate that we haven't had many off the field issues and that Miles seemingly recruits well. I'm not sure I can agree that we always play hard and while we've been in every game, so have our opponents. I really don't think you can just look at the W/L record when comparing Miles to Saban, but we can agree to disagree here. Expecting me to give you names of coaches who would do better is a little ridiculous. Hiring a coach is an inexact science, even when paying search committees big money. I've given you signs of erosion, you just disagree with me. I complained about both of those things. BTW, what caliber recruit was Randall? After losing Mauck in 02 things spiralled down. But given the situation that was forgivable. Most of us weren't calling for Saban to be fired, though I and many were disappointed. Losing to Texas the way we did made it seem like although we had taken a step forward we weren't at that top tier yet. That changed in 2003. 2004 was disappointing and it was obvious that a lot of folks didn't have their heads in the right place. Saban's abbrasive attitude I think had a detrimental affect on the lockerroom. But it was a year removed from the NC and a rebuilding season was palatable. Similar to the way I felt after Miles won the NC. I defended him quite a bit following his NC in 2007 after he proved me wrong. But I had my fill early this season. I give Miles credit for dominating Georgia Tech. It was nationally relevant. In the same breath, demolishing Penn St would be nice, but it wouldn't alleviate my concerns with Miles at the helm because he followed a bad season with a pasting of the Yellowjackets, and followed that with a season of unenthusiastic play.
The thing with the signs you point out though are that those same issues existed under Saban as well. It isn't like Miles is the only coach that goes thru these cycles, and I would say that Miles has actually faired better than most coaches, considering the issues that have arrisen. Having to get rid of Perilloux caused a ripple effect with the offensive issues, and as for the defense Miles made a mistake with the co DC thing, he knows it, he admitted it, and he fixed it. It takes more than one season for a unit to learn a new system, I would say that we need to see how the D progresses this coming season before we can really judge one way or the other. As for the offense, next season we will have a QB that has the experience necessary to be an efficient QB in the SEC, and we now have what should be some strong upgrades in the offensive coaching. Again, Miles has addressed the issues, and has made necessary adjustments. So, I still really don't see how this program is eroding. A 2 yr did isn't a trend to showing decline, it is a cycle that many programs go thru. Saban, and his oh so disciplined teams only went 9-4, losing on a last second play, after his Nat Champ season, Miles went 11-2 with that same team. I'd say Miles was more disciplined than Saban, with Saban's players. Saban's teams were so disciplined that they got blown out by much lessor teams, Miles doesn't have this problem. You can say that Saban is a better coach than back then, but is he really. He lost to ULM and to Utah, wouldn't say he is better.
I have to agree with you. My feeling is if Perilloux was still our QB we would be in the Championship game, not Bama. They are breaking Sheperd in as they did Perilloux. A few plays in most games. Sheperd is learning a few more positions, as he has that much talent. I believe we are in good hands.
