Wait a minute fans, Coach June Jones is why we are back

[gostangs]

whether June does great or not, the writing has bee non the wall for awhile. I believe it will be his last year.

[couch 'em]

It is the only thing makes sense given the lack of recruiting.

Still making no sense is hiring Jason Phillips and not having him recruit or improve the offense

[Charleston Pony]

So as long as we get to 7 and 5 while getting beat badly by BCS teams it should be fine with all?

7-5 might be an accomplishment for this team. Let's see how they compete against A&M and TCU at Ford where at least 50% of the fans will be cheering for SMU. With the schedule we have in CUSA, 6-2 will not be easy. Of course, I'm assuming we will find a way to beat SFA

[soccermom]

I think that all of us were excited when Jones was hired and thrilled that we had a well known coach coming to the hilltop to work his magic...and we all appreciate that our program has turned around since he took over. My problem is that he has been here 5 years and I'm frustrated as all get out that we aren't good enough, yet, to beat baylor...or So. Miss last year??? Yes, the officiating stunk yesterday but you can't base your recruiting practices, teaching, coaching on hoping you get some good calls and maybe win the game. As I've said before, June Jones isn't here because he loves SMU, he is here to make money......and good money at that........and he's not cutting it anymore. While we all hope improvements are made and we improve this season, June Jones is so stubborn and set in his ways, I see us at a stalemate, which worries me.

[Oliver]

If you are not left scratching your head, or down right upset and ashamed after last night, then I don't think you have the right mind frame or set of expectations. It's Junes 5th year, it's his players, including a stud quarterback that was gifted to us. We've whined about recruiting results every year and now we see why. Even with a team good enough to win CUSA, go to another bowl, and have a winning season, we saw we are still not on the same playing field as unbanked Baylor. This team has a long way to go, we definitely are not "back". But June has at least made us somewhat relevant..

[redpony]

Still making no sense is hiring Jason Phillips and not having him recruit or improve the offense

Agree. I have to wonder if JP is that good of a coach. Seems like a lot of our problems were with the WR's and that is his responsibility. We kept reading about how 'exacting' and detailed he was. I sure didn't see much of that last night.

[GiddyUp]

if all the sunshiners take a minute, step back and think about it -- you can understand why we b i t c h about recruiting, this is why. Gabe Marks was starting for Wash State, we need an upgrade in all levels to compete with these programs. It's pretty easy to see, our WR's just aren't very good. But he doesn't recruit very well so you are stuck with this mediocre stuff.

[newshound]

Back? 7-7 in the 6-6 everyone goes to a bowl era? Back? Better than the 1-10 dregs, yes. But back? Not exactly.

TCU remains one or two full generations ahead of us.

Fact is, the $2 million coach has yet to recruit a Division I running back (both RB's are converted defensive players). You have to love Zach Line. But he's not anything resembling a game-breaker. In five years, nothing has been upgraded at that position.

Receivers? Now that the Phil Bennett NFL WR pipeline has dried up, where are we? The WR JJ called the best he's ever coached, dropped a TD pass and fumbled.

And kicker? We still have a last-minute JuCo transfer who is not a Division I kicker. Two years in a row, JJ has failed to land a legit kicker, knowing full well he desperately needed one. There are only 10-12 Division I kickers at Texas high schools each year.

And, fact is, his offense is tired and predictable, does not -- make the never -- dictate the pace of the game and takes forever between plays. The offense has no sense of urgency whatsoever.

Finally, JJ has no balls. Did he leave them in Hawaii? A field goal attempt on 4th-and-2 down 14-0? Trying to run out the clock before halftime when Baylor had timeouts? Baylor deftly turned that into three more points before the half.

And, don't even get me started on four defensive penalties on the first possession of the season and then two batted balls on GG's first two career attempts.

Not ready for prime time, fellas. I fear what is to come on our home field. We completely overscheduled perhaps thinking that in Year 5 JJ would have a deep competitive team. he doesn't.

[Rebel10]

This is probably why we need to play cupcakes in most of the OOC games so that we can treat them like preseason games. Next year our preseason OOC games are worst than this year and the conference games will be harder.

[MustangStealth]

This is probably why we need to play cupcakes in most of the OOC games so that we can treat them like preseason games.

All that strategy will accomplish is teaching us to play down to our competition. We are past the point of trying to compete with SFA and UNT. If we aren't ready to compete with Baylor and TCU, then it's time for a new coach.