The Sky is not falling

Based on BK's ability to win big games and prepare, when do you suspect he'll win a natty? I think with the 12 game playoff, it just became more difficult for a coach who can't win big games.

Don't you dare tell me that!
A piece hit me in the head this AM while walking my dog lol

That's good enough for 8th or 9th place in the sec the last 5 years

50/50? Kelly isn’t winning a NC here or anywhere else for numerous reasons.

Not figuratively at least

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Based on BK's ability to win big games and prepare, when do you suspect he'll win a natty?

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I think people tend to forget the situation.

Based on going .500 and the program hemorrhaging talent in 2020 and 2021, why are you expecting a national title contender a couple years later? What, exactly, were you pinning your hopes on?

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why are you expecting a national title contender a couple years later? What, exactly, were you pinning your hopes on?

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“Judge me on year 3.”
-Brian Kelly

The AM and BAMA games were extremely concerning....and everybody knows that. We are not OK. Major changes need to happen and quick.

Kelly will never sniff a natty.

So, I got a couple replies to this question

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Based on going .500 and the program hemorrhaging talent in 2020 and 2021, why are you expecting a national title contender a couple years later? What, exactly, were you pinning your hopes on?

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And both are giving me the Kelly "judge me on year 3" speech... coach-speak, in other words.

I ask again, what did you see coming into this season, that you thought we'd contend for a title? Not what a coach says, what you saw.

Here's what I saw- on offense we lost the Heisman winner at QB, who also happened to account for most of the running game. We lost 2 first round WRs. We returned a line that couldn't establish a consistent push for RBs last year, we lost the best RB we had and didn't return anyone who made an impact. We returned a TE that had made a couple plays (mostly by catching passes he was targeted on, it's not like he was Brock Bowers at Georgia).
We replaced that Heisman QB with a guy with a strong arm, that was unproven. We replaced the WRs with guys who are competent but not elite. The line is what it is, it can pass-block well, can't blow anyone off the line. And Bama's DL pushed them around. Durham has been a pleasant surprise at RB, Jackson has been a big disappointment.

Defense- we were coming off a completely awful defensive season, and appeared to return one (1) NFL prospect- Perkins, a guy who was coming off a disappointing year. And he got hurt.
We completely rebuilt the defensive coaching staff, changed the scheme, and don't have star talent to plug in. Other than being gashed by mobile QBs, I've been pleasantly surprised by the defense... because I was concerned they would suck at all levels again. But Swinson and Jones have looked good, Weeks has had moments, and our secondary ... well they play zone ok. But we ain't DBU right now. Or LBU.

Going into the year, I was worried about USC, because I thought the defense would need time to gel, and the offense needed time to get comfortable too. I expected a loss to Bama because we can't match talent yet, was very hesitant about A&M because they play well at home.
I thought we'd beat Ole Miss here at home, I figured we'd be 10-2 or 9-3, based on the opener. We're exactly where I thought we'd be, no matter what a coach says in the preseason.
I was hopeful about the recruits coming in, "my" timeline would be maybe 2026 when they're sophomores. Maybe Durham carries us next year, with Nuss returning (because he isn't more than a draft project at this point).

We need corners and safeties, and some good fast linebackers. Until then, we're just not going to be elite. It's a damn sight better than 6-6, but we need studs to compete with Bama, UGA, Texas right now, etc.