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Johnny Utah wrote:Tulane went undefeated in 1998 running the Run-N-Shoot with:

Sean King at QB (Tampa Bay Bucs)
JaJuan Dawson at WR (Cleveland Browns0
Tony Converse at RB (Prison I think)

None of these guys were on Bama's radar. Tommy Bowden was coach, but he had a good staff in Rich Rodriguez and others who were able to spot players that get missed by the BCS teams.

Tulane went undefeated in 1998 running the spread option which is a run heavy spread attack.

So running the "Spread" against Baylor and A&M would have yielded a different result? Unlikely. Scheme is 5% of this teams problem. I'm sure if Alabama had traded players on Saturday, SMU could have ran a single-wing and blown out A&M.

Johnny Utah wrote:Tulane went undefeated in 1998 running the Run-N-Shoot with:

Sean King at QB (Tampa Bay Bucs)
JaJuan Dawson at WR (Cleveland Browns0
Tony Converse at RB (Prison I think)

None of these guys were on Bama's radar. Tommy Bowden was coach, but he had a good staff in Rich Rodriguez and others who were able to spot players that get missed by the BCS teams.

While they didn't play many "powerhouses" that year, they did play a stronger schedule than June did in the 12-1 season at Hawaii:
Date Opponent Rank# Result Attendance
September 5 at Cincinnati W 52-34 20,721
September 12 at SMU W 31-21 12,316
September 26 Navy* W 42-24 19,371
October 3 Southern Miss #25 W 21-7 32,527
October 17 Louisville #24 W 28-22 26,217
October 24 at Rutgers #23 W 52-24 20,714
October 31 SW Louisiana* W 72-20 25,177
November 7 at Memphis W 41-31 18,192
November 14 at Army #14 W 49-35 39,083
November 21 Houston #13 W 48-20 26,978
November 26 Louisiana Tech* W 63-30 37,391
December 31 vs. BYU* #10 W 41-27 52,197

As a side note, they did not play a single ranked team all season and the only team from a BCS conference that year was Rugers. The next two teams in CUSA that year were Southern Miss and Louisville who each finished the season 7-5.

Johnny Utah wrote:So running the "Spread" against Baylor and A&M would have yielded a different result? Unlikely. Scheme is 5% of this teams problem. I'm sure if Alabama had traded players on Saturday, SMU could have ran a single-wing and blown out A&M.

Players 50 % Coaching 50 %

I have a hard time believing a guy running a more modern offense would have this much trouble getting our offense going.

Johnny Utah wrote:Tulane went undefeated in 1998 running the Run-N-Shoot with:

Sean King at QB (Tampa Bay Bucs)
JaJuan Dawson at WR (Cleveland Browns0
Tony Converse at RB (Prison I think)

None of these guys were on Bama's radar. Tommy Bowden was coach, but he had a good staff in Rich Rodriguez and others who were able to spot players that get missed by the BCS teams.

I met Shaun King Saturday. He was one of the broadcasters doing the game on TV, and I bumped in to him before the game. Let's just say he doesn't look like a quarterback anymore. He clearly has enjoyed the banquet circuit, so to speak, but he was very complimentary of June, saying "he's a great coach -- you guys are lucky to have him." Really nice guy.

Too many people that really know football are complementary of June's coaching ability for me to write him off as a coach. I agree with Johnny and the today's DMN article that lack of talent is the major difference between us and Baylor and TAM. The reason I have suggested June retire or be fired is his inability to recruit better players. He has not helped himself with his hires as Assistants. I think we would have seen a different offense if June had been able to keep Klemn and the 5 stars he took to UCLA.

As to the comment that some have made that they would flood Turner's inbox if they could email him, I would suggest using snail mail. It only costs 44 cents and he does get mail. In fact I have had him respond by letter to mail I have sent him. Rick Hart and June Jones have responded to email I have sent them. So I urge everyone who is concerned about the state of our football program to communicate their feelings and constructive suggestions to President Turner, AD Hart, and Coach Jones.

San Antonio Mustang wrote:Too many people that really know football are complementary of June's coaching ability for me to write him off as a coach. I agree with Johnny and the today's DMN article that lack of talent is the major difference between us and Baylor and TAM. The reason I have suggested June retire or be fired is his inability to recruit better players. He has not helped himself with his hires as Assistants. I think we would have seen a different offense if June had been able to keep Klemn and the 5 stars he took to UCLA.

Yeah, I think this is the bigger problem. It would be nice to see him evolve more with the scheme or show some semblance of situational awareness and clock management. The Jimmies and Joes (and the guys "recruiting" them) are still the bigger issue. It's particularly frustrating because we had a lot of momentum until the ASU debacle.

And does anybody really feel/believe that JJ has totally re-committed himself to the SMU fball program?

Good question redpony. But in my opinion, it's a mute point. Commited or not, he's maxed out in terms of fb knowledge, ability, energy, creativity, effort, and problem solving/adjustments.

San Antonio Mustang wrote:Too many people that really know football are complementary of June's coaching ability for me to write him off as a coach. I agree with Johnny and the today's DMN article that lack of talent is the major difference between us and Baylor and TAM. The reason I have suggested June retire or be fired is his inability to recruit better players. He has not helped himself with his hires as Assistants. I think we would have seen a different offense if June had been able to keep Klemn and the 5 stars he took to UCLA.

As to the comment that some have made that they would flood Turner's inbox if they could email him, I would suggest using snail mail. It only costs 44 cents and he does get mail. In fact I have had him respond by letter to mail I have sent him. Rick Hart and June Jones have responded to email I have sent them. So I urge everyone who is concerned about the state of our football program to communicate their feelings and constructive suggestions to President Turner, AD Hart, and Coach Jones.

You're right, it would be a different offense. If Klemm had stayed, Gilbert would be in intensive care by now. What Palcic has done with this patchwork offensive line has been almost shocking. I still think that before it's all said and done, he and Jason Phillips will prove to have been significant improvements to the staff.

the o line has exceeded my expectations. however, the wr's are a disappointment. Not impressed with JP so far.

Don't worry UCLA doesn't want Palcic back

Jack Del Rio

You're right, it would be a different offense. If Klemm had stayed, Gilbert would be in intensive care by now. What Palcic has done with this patchwork offensive line has been almost shocking. I still think that before it's all said and done, he and Jason Phillips will prove to have been significant improvements to the staff.

Funny you mention intensive care because that's where several UCLA QBs ended up during Palcic's tenure.

I can count on one hand how many times a coach or broadcaster has trashed a coach and said he sucks...zero. It's a fraternity, you just don't do it. "He's a great coach, you're so lucky to have him" is the most canned statement in sports.