FWIW, from a major rival:
- I don't want to get too far over my skis - The Swamp is a tough place to play, and UF has some talent. I was pulling for UF because I think they have about 4-5 more losses in their future whereas I felt you were more of a problem for us ... I wanted you to have at least 2 SEC losses before we come into Knoxville - say UF and Bama, with maybe one more out of ATM, Ky, USCjr, or Mizzou. So a UF win was in my team's best interest IMO. I like our chances, but I don't have the confidence I have had in the past 2 years and think we may drop an SEC game at some point this year. I think we need to win in Atlanta with 1 or 0 losses to get into the final 4 team field.
- I think that Kirby showed everyone how to defend Heupel's offense. It's not a sophisticated offense ... basically, go long and let a good QB hit some big plays. Throw in a decent to good run game, and then speed everything up. Well, you don't have the WRs and QBs you had last year, so teams can stop the run. And like all offenses that run on a gimmick - going fast - DC's figure out how to handle that. And, winning football has to be complimentary - if you speed up the O, the D gets tired quickly. And it's a D players don't want to play in. There is a reason that OU could never field a D worth a shit, nor can USC, and in fact, the entire B12 has that problem.
- That said, you may have such a QB on the bench, but he is young. If he is really good, then perhaps he should be who you are playing. There is a reason that Milton keeps losing the job - he's just not very good.
- If I were a UTjr fan, my question would be do I think that Heupel can (1) recruit well enough to fill in on the OL, build a D. I think he can get enough QBs, and WRs should be available in the portal (although why not this year?), and (2) can his offense evolve. You aren't going to get elite with the offense he runs, IMO. Before you disagree with me here, look at his digression at UCF:
You lost to UGA late last year, then USCjr, and have not looked good this year.
I never presume to know more about teams than the people who follow their team closely, so I could be way off and am open to that. Just thoughts from one opposing team fan.