So if Sonny was here, what would have happened?

[DawgGoneMad]

Who would have been the QB?
Would the offense have been able to handle the attack without Colby, General, etc? Even with Sonny as coach?
Are the tools there to have these high expectations everyone is having just because we had one amazing season?

Last year's team was one of the greatest in Tech history -- the player's were amazing young men on and off the field - they were capable of handling the run and gun. But the key elements are almost all gone. And there was no backup.

So really, why are you all expecting last season to be the norm?

No excuse for losing to Tulane but guys, this is a HUGE rebuilding year. Sonny left us with a run game. Realize that.

[Saint Greg]

He left us with running backs. A run game would include an offensive line.

[B.Y.O.C.B.]

We should take at least 7-8 shots of over 10 yards per game. Make the corners back up a step or two and the safety actually look for a pass rather than watching the run. It would also be nice if our quarterback would look at someone besides the RB between the hashes on pass plays. When a team can blitz 7-8 players per down and be effective, it isn't necessarily the offensive line's fault. What happened last night was we didn't scare Tulane's defense. They knew they were in control. Sonny would never have a defensive coordinator feeling like they had the advantage, regardless of the players/experience on the field.

[SicemDawgz]

I would hope that he would have had someone teach the O-line how to block. Nobody was expecting 60-70 points a game. I surely wasn't. I was expecting a offense that remotely looking like a FBS team. I would think going from the # 1 offense in the land to what looks to be the worst in the land is a little much for any reasonably minded person to accept.

[Dawg06]

Who would have been the QB?
Would the offense have been able to handle the attack without Colby, General, etc? Even with Sonny as coach?
Are the tools there to have these high expectations everyone is having just because we had one amazing season?

Last year's team was one of the greatest in Tech history -- the player's were amazing young men on and off the field - they were capable of handling the run and gun. But the key elements are almost all gone. And there was no backup.

So really, why are you all expecting last season to be the norm?

No excuse for losing to Tulane but guys, this is a HUGE rebuilding year. Sonny left us with a run game. Realize that.

Expecting to beat Tulane (arguably the second worst team in the FBS) in Ruston is not a high expectation.

If Sonny was still here, I guarantee you that our offense would not have looked as hopeless as it did on Thursday night.

What we endured on Thursday was not Sonny's fault.

[SWarner63]

Expecting to beat Tulane (arguably the second worst team in the FBS) in Ruston is not a high expectation.

If Sonny was still here, I guarantee you that our offense would not have looked as hopeless as it did on Thursday night.

What we endured on Thursday was not Sonny's fault.

What happened Thursday is almost 100% Dykes fault. He recruited for year 3 of his system, won the WAC Championship with Dooley recruits, and did just enough last year to stay on the hot coaching lists. Dykes did absolutely 0 recruiting last year during the year, and knew that the juco kids he brought in would almost all be done with their eligibility by his third year here. He left our recruiting and talent base in a VERY bad spot

[champion110]

Sonny may not have recruited for this year, but I am not going to lay the blame on him for that game. We have plenty of talent to beat Tulane! We laid an egg and that is all there is to it.

[Dawg06]

What happened Thursday is almost 100% Dykes fault. He recruited for year 3 of his system, won the WAC Championship with Dooley recruits, and did just enough last year to stay on the hot coaching lists. Dykes did absolutely 0 recruiting last year during the year, and knew that the juco kids he brought in would almost all be done with their eligibility by his third year here. He left our recruiting and talent base in a VERY bad spot

That home loss to a pitiful Tulane squad was almost 100% the fault of Coach Dykes because of his recruiting? Really? Come on.

[dawg80]

Seems to me that both statements are true: 1) Dykes left an empty cupboard, and 2) Holtz is not demonstrating he can coach the talent that he DOES have.

[RougeDawg]

Seems to me that both statements are true: 1) Dykes left an empty cupboard, and 2) Holtz is not demonstrating he can coach the talent that he DOES have.

Accurate and succinct!

Dkykes knew he needed to get out while he could because he knew what was coming. He pumped the well dry for last year and didn't even bother checking for a new spot to dig. That being said, I'm still scratching my head on a few things about Holtz. Why not try Hunter Lee at running back is one of them? I know Dykes would have done that because he had to two years ago!

[diamonddawg31]

Are the tools there to have these high expectations everyone is having just because we had one amazing season?

So really, why are you all expecting last season to be the norm?
.

To be honest I don't know...partly because I have no real football experience other than as a spectator. My expectations were a .500 season, which only seems high now. But I had never seen Young throw a football, had only heard hype about us having a 4 star recruit. I also wasn't expecting our Oline to be this bad. Our qb spends too much time on his fanny and there are far too many downs when our talented rbs have no chance because they are greeted by a tackler in the backfield just as they receive the ball. Again I plead ignorance here...as I obviously don't have a clue about the difficulty of getting these guys up to speed.

I'm not expecting last season to be the norm.

I have enjoyed watching the play of our defensive line and Cobb this season. I guess I just didn't see the complete 180 degree turn on offense.

[LouisianaSelect]

That home loss to a pitiful Tulane squad was almost 100% the fault of Coach Dykes because of his recruiting? Really? Come on.

Disagree.....as a coach, you coach whats in front of ya, the hand that was given to you.....move on.

[T1]

Franklin's offense was pretty bad in 2010 and half of 2011, and that staff was terrrible evaluators of the QB position. Our offense would have been a disaster this year under Franklin as well.

I do think Franklin would probably put Hunter Lee or Sterling Griffin in a wildcat formation. It's time for this staff to use some imagination.

[RhythmDawg]

I think if there was no change in coaches our offense would be only slightly better. Our defense would have allowed more points.

[DogsWin]

Nope. If Franklin and Dykes were here freshman Chase Schultz would be our starting QB for the first 6 games (all losses). Then after about 5 TDs and 18 INTs he would put in Scotty Young in the 7th game and we would start magically winning games. But next year both Young and Schultz would lose the starting job to current high school QB Price Wilson.