And so it begins...

Jim Cowan

Nov 13, 2008

I think it’s safe to say now that we were all a bit spoiled by a 4-1 start. But rather than point out the obvious flaws right now as well as the many disappointments we’ve had thus far, I figured my first post should remain positive. For some reason my optimism is unwavering even if every week the wind from the Fire Charlie/Bench Jimmy bandwagon passing by is strong enough to blow my hat off. While every Saturday after a tough loss, I may grab the hand of the last fan hanging on to that wagon as it passes by, I release last minute to realize, even after dropping 3 of the last 4, it still ain't that bad. I’ll yet again hope for victory, even if only to keep the Mark Mays of the world quiet for one more week.

While I read the message boards regularly, there are some who refuse to acknowledge, or maybe just don’t realize, or better yet blocked it from memory, where this team was only last year. Assuming they win 2 of 3, which most should agree they should, that would result in a 7-5 season, average I’d say. But a four win improvement over last year. On a team of mostly sophomores and juniors, is it safe to say they could show the same improvement next year? That remains to be seen of course, but that would put them at 11-1 if my dodgy math proves right. The one loss being to BC of course! I quickly dove into some quick stats, just to pull some numbers and decided the results warranted recognition.

2007 2008 +/-
Scoring offense 117 69 -48
Yards per game 120 50 -70
Pass ypg 110 21 -89
Rush ypg 116 95 -21
1st downs 115 43 -28
3rd down conv. 112 66 -46
4th down conv. 45 100 +55
Penalties 67 77 -10 (higher # better)

In all offensive categories with the exception of 4th down conversions the team has significantly improved. Yards per game; they were dead last in ’07, now 50th. Scoring, tied for second to last; now 69th. While there’s no doubting room for improvement, no one can deny the numbers. This is pretty much the same nucleus as 2007, most of who will be here in 2009. At this rate of improvement, they are on track to be a top 20 team in most categories if not better. Ironically, perhaps the best turnaround season was Coach Holtz’s ’99-’00 transition from 0-11 to 8-4, but even if the ’08 season ends up average, wouldn't it be a top five seed for turnaround seasons?