Undefeated and ranked 22 was always just random noise

1to392831weretaken

The problem with 21 point comebacks is that your team got down by 21. Whittingham was stupid. Shaw? Not as stupid. A week of comeback dooging, but the team's problems were there for anyone to see last Saturday. Overall, I don't see this skwaad as any better than last year's. COVID has shortened the season and given randomness an even bigger opportunity to impact records and perception. A lot of the losses last season were close, but a long enough season averaged everything out. In this shortened season, two of those close games were wins. A lot of that is just being better than the opponent, but some of it is just random. I don't think any team in this conference is that much better than any other that they can win without game-planning successfully.

This team is 8-5, with losses to inferior (on paper) opponents, there's just not enough games to prove it.

And I hate to say it, but it's as much the players as the scheme. We all (myself included) clamored for an extra big body in the box to stop Stanford from running at will, but when they did in the fourth quarter, it didn't stop Mills from hitting every third down pass he threw. Alabama could line up in a base dime and stop Stanford from running all over them. Washington needs 13 defensive tackles. This just isn't a top-10 team.

In my drunken rage last night, I wanted to start a thread for every player on the team that's dead weight at best, make a .gif of every play in which they wasted air, and post them all here to emphasize this point. Now, I'm too hung over and really don't care anymore. I've said this every year since 2016: Everyone clamoring for a NY6 bowl this year, do you really want to see THIS team against a real opponent, getting its shit pushed in? So with what's left to look forward to being a choice between the COVID equivalent of another 4-5 or getting assblasted in a big bowl, it's just not worth it to shit all over a bunch of players who are trying their hardest and just aren't good enough.

I will say this about Morris because many here continue to schlurp him, even after watching last night's shitshow: There is more to playing quarterback than having a good attitude and being likeable and not giving up on plays--even making a spectacular one from time to time. Morris definitely does all of that, so it's easy to like that guy. That being said, I watched him pull up to the line in a bunch formation, nine defenders in the box, and check into an off-tackle run to McGruber that got predictably stuffed. While down multiple scores and with time on the clock being precious. These things don't show up on the stat sheet or highlight reel, but that's part of playing quarterback, and I hope people are taking the MANY times we've seen him check into awful run calls into account when defending his play. I hate to single him out, and, yes, the defense was a WAY bigger problem in this game, but plays like that are examples of how easy it is to get poor play confused with poor scheme.