Week 8 Thread

[DrownInEtown]

3 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

I think often about the fact that in 2023, Fritz was at Tulane, Sumrall was at Troy, and Cignetti was at JMU. All three left for jobs that at the team would have been considered lesser jobs than State. And State hired an unproven OC to be its head coach.

People were saying Fritz was too old, he probably has 5-6 more years left in him. I would consider 8 years a pretty long stint in the SEC. Should’ve thrown at the bank at him
 

Cignetti wouldn’t have the gonads to be in the SEC. 11-2 in your 1st year will never happen at a low-tier SEC job, and he knows it

 

Sumrall would’ve been a great pickup. Psycho defensive guy from the South would fit perfectly in Starkville

 

Jamey Chadwell randomly went 4-8 last year, but has the ball rolling again this year at 6-1, he’s another big what-if

[Bulldogs4]

You can play the What If scenario until you are blue in the face. People have microwave expectations today and Lebby has and will continue to face criticism. That is the nature of coaching. Win and all is good. Lose and the pendulum swings the opposite way. 
Just looking at State objectively. He has measurably improved the team from the beginning of 2024. Our first 22 are good. Depth is still an issue and in the SEC is a must because of injuries. Regarding the QB position, I was under the impression that we had a transfer from Florida State (did he leave unexpectedly or did I miss something there?). 
If any of those other guys were our coach and had suffered the same injuries, then I suspect our record would be the same as it is right now (or possibly worse). 
 

So let’s see how this season finishes out before we starting cutting off our nose to spite our own face. Obviously recruiting and getting the right pieces in transfer portal along with the keeping our key players will be of the upmost importance. 
 

I certainly share the same frustration that you guys feel as well. Regardless of what the score maybe, I am interested to see how we perform at Texas Saturday. 

[pancho]

kromenhawk is the backup to Parson at USF

[Dawg83]

2 hours ago, Bulldogs4 said:

You can play the What If scenario until you are blue in the face. People have microwave expectations today and Lebby has and will continue to face criticism. That is the nature of coaching. Win and all is good. Lose and the pendulum swings the opposite way. 
Just looking at State objectively. He has measurably improved the team from the beginning of 2024. Our first 22 are good. Depth is still an issue and in the SEC is a must because of injuries. Regarding the QB position, I was under the impression that we had a transfer from Florida State (did he leave unexpectedly or did I miss something there?). 
If any of those other guys were our coach and had suffered the same injuries, then I suspect our record would be the same as it is right now (or possibly worse). 
 

So let’s see how this season finishes out before we starting cutting off our nose to spite our own face. Obviously recruiting and getting the right pieces in transfer portal along with the keeping our key players will be of the upmost importance. 
 

I certainly share the same frustration that you guys feel as well. Regardless of what the score maybe, I am interested to see how we perform at Texas Saturday. 

Fairly or unfairly, Lebby’s biggest problem is that other programs that were previously in a similar station to State have risen from the ashes quickly.

 

Cignetti is a unicorn, or so I thought, but now I’m seeing Kentucky and UCLA in the Top 10 with Year 1 coaches too. Heck, UCLA lost its starting QB weeks ago and just kept winning anyway. It’s not the previous era of slow roster building anymore. There is a lot of evidence of multiple programs being able to turn the ship around fairly quickly.

 

It’s hard to watch State this season and not come away from it thinking that Kamario was covering up a ton of problems that have yet to be fixed three years in. State is a terrible line of scrimmage team for the third year in a row. And recruiting doesn’t seem to suggest that’s being fixed anytime soon.

 

State has had some tough injury luck this season, no question. But so have other teams. At a certain point, and we’re more than 2.5 seasons into this operation, your record just ultimately says what you are. 11-21 and 3-18 say a lot of not good things. And heck, you can throw out his first season where the roster was in shambles, and his SEC record the last two years is still only 3-10.

 

I get what you’re saying about letting the whole season play out. And heck, maybe they find a way to rally the troops, beat Vandy and Auburn, and finish 7-5. But if you made me call it right now, the only game the rest of the season that I think any State fan can have much confidence in is Tennessee Tech.

[Bulldogs4]

You make some valid points but Stoops had recruited well at KY and left a pretty good roster for Stein (so he came into a good situation) similar to Sherrill in ‘91 and Mullen in ‘2009. 
Don’t know much UCLA and Indy seem to hit the jackpot with Cignetti. Give credit where credit is due. 
2024 State team does not beat Minnesota or SCAR.

Improvement has been uneven with last year and now this year starting fast and then fading. 
Though we will see how these last five games go. 
Certainly a player of Kamario’s caliber elevates everyone and unfortunately for us we don’t have a way to replace him adequately. That is squarely on Lebby. 
It is definitely on him to improve the depth of the roster going into 2027. I think we all understand that this process was going to be painful and slow. And at the end of the day you are judged by wins/losses. And that will eventually be his fate one way or another. 

[DrownInEtown]

I believe in Lebby. I think we’ll 100% be in the 24 team playoff next year if Kamario stays healthy. Was just pondering at some other names that came out of that 2024 carousel
 

Twitter and Facebook is already calling for Lebbys head. He’s certainly improved from each year, and I expect us to be better next year also. But the reality is State currently doesn’t have the resources to be able have depth. So what do these people expect when our key players go down? It is difficult to recruit here meanwhile Lebbys hit on a couple guys in the portal, and have increased their value substantially (Brenan Thompson for ex). He’s doing what he can, just dealt an extremely unfortunate hand at an already difficult job. Most State fans need a reality check on how limited their program is in the current era. 
 

Kamario going down has taken an effect on whole team’s confidence. That’s not out of the ordinary for a team’s overall performance to drop after losing their Star Qb. But I saw what we were when healthy, and that was a really good football team. And guess what, even if Kamario doesn’t play this year, we’re gonna get another go at it next year with him again. So don’t torch the whole thing right now and screw up a very good playoff opportunity next year. If next year plays out the same way, then I guess I could see why people are losing patience. But it’s still too early for that talk

Edited Sunday at 10:30 PM by DrownInEtown

[Dawg83]

Elephant in the room on Kamario…. Him getting hurt is kinda not a unique thing? He’s had some issues going back to high school.

 

I love the player, but you kinda have to go into next year fully understanding there’s a good chance he might not make it through a whole season.

[rebmus]

MSU-

The offensive woes without Taylor are 100% understandable. LSU and Oklahoma both have good defenses- it’s a tall ask for a young backup (isn’t he a freshman?) to take over.

The defensive effort, especially yesterday, surprised me. Oklahoma has pretty much stink this year and put up 23 on the road. I know the stud DB from Fulton was out, but other key injuries on D? 
State has to start hitting some holes with the portal. I don’t know if Lebby is evaluating poorly in the portal or if State is just too far behind in funding for NIL? Maybe some of both? Dunno, but seems to be a big issue.

 

Ole Miss- I really think Pete needs to find a DC this offseason, a HC trying to also be the DC (or OC) seems to rarely work. Pete hired a DC in January that ended up with an offer from the NFL which he smartly took. The timing sucked… not sure if Pete couldn’t find someone available he was comfortable hiring or just thought he could handle both roles? 
 

This season has been a roller coaster for dang near every fan base this season. 
The playoff MAY have a couple of 3 loss invites when it’s done, good luck to the committee deciding which 2 are in and which MANY others are out. 
 

 

[Dawg83]

Kamario officially out for the season.

 

Take me back to September. It was a lot more fun than October has been for State fans.

[maroontide06]

1 hour ago, Dawg83 said:

Kamario officially out for the season.

 

Take me back to September. It was a lot more fun than October has been for State fans.

Heck, I want to go back to SEC West Best LOL.

[rebmus]

Huge loss for State.

How many does State need to win for Lebby to be safe? 
7 is definitely safe.

6 is probably 50/50?

5 and he’s toast.

 

 

[Bulldogs4]

5 minutes ago, rebmus said:

Huge loss for State.

How many does State need to win for Lebby to be safe? 
7 is definitely safe.

6 is probably 50/50?

5 and he’s toast.

 

 

Honestly, I don’t think he is any trouble this year.

Hopefully AJ Swann can play going forward. At least he is a player with game experience. 
I know some of our fans have the patience of a gnat but I don’t think Lebby should be fired this year. 
Of course I am from the old school that feels like you should give a coach at least 5 years or even more before considering a change. We all talked about having some stability at the HC position after having 4 HC’s in six years. We are only three years into Lebby’s tenure. Give him a chance to succeed. 
 

Regarding Taylor, when I first heard turf toe, I was of the mind that he was probably done for the season. It is an impossible injury to recover from quickly. 
 

Again I am interested in seeing how we play Saturday. 

[MSTSatchmo]

5 minutes ago, Bulldogs4 said:

Honestly, I don’t think he is any trouble this year.

Hopefully AJ Swann can play going forward. At least he is a player with game experience. 
I know some of our fans have the patience of a gnat but I don’t think Lebby should be fired this year. 
Of course I am from the old school that feels like you should give a coach at least 5 years or even more before considering a change. We all talked about having some stability at the HC position after having 4 HC’s in six years. We are only three years into Lebby’s tenure. Give him a chance to succeed. 
 

Regarding Taylor, when I first heard turf toe, I was of the mind that he was probably done for the season. It is an impossible injury to recover from quickly. 
 

Again I am interested in seeing how we play Saturday. 

It always has been an injury that lingers.  You really didn’t want him to keep trying to play and end up causing another injury not being at full strength.  
 

They need to get bowl eligible to carry any positive momentum into the offseason, but I agree Lebby won’t be going anywhere this year unless they lose to TN Tech. 

[Dawg83]

1 hour ago, rebmus said:

Huge loss for State.

How many does State need to win for Lebby to be safe? 
7 is definitely safe.

6 is probably 50/50?

5 and he’s toast.

 

 

I am going to say “it depends”. I kinda need to know how they get to whatever record. At 7-5 he’s probably getting an extension and I would say job well day for weathering the storm and winning games in spite of key injuries.

 

He’s very likely back at 6-6 too. The only thing I think that could sway that MAYBE is if they go to Oxford on Black Friday and it’s a 2008, 45-0 style massacre.

 

If they go 5-7, that would mean they lost 7 of 8 to finish the year and lost to Vandy and Auburn at home. I don’t think he’s going to have many in his corner if that happens.

 

There was a lot of smoke before the year that Lebby was told that the expectation was 7-5 better. Maybe the injury situation buys him a little leeway, but how much?

 

I do think it’s really important that State look competitive in these last 5 games. If they go out and lose to Vandy at home and get smoked by Texas, Auburn, and OM…. I don’t know that anyone has any faith in this guy even with Kamario next season.

 

Because I will go ahead and say now, the expectation for a Lebby Year 4 with a returning Kamario would be 24 team Playoff or bust. I think that much would be pretty cut and dry.

[maroontide06]

How much leniency does Lebby deserve?  His record is flat out awful and his press conferences aren't any better.  Dude is out of his element as a HC.

[Dawg83]

1 hour ago, maroontide06 said:

How much leniency does Lebby deserve?  His record is flat out awful and his press conferences aren't any better.  Dude is out of his element as a HC.

I was optimistic when he was hired. And I still think his offensive scheme is very good. But the program building has not been a strength for him. State hasn’t recruited well and his staff hires have been iffy at best at many positions.

 

I’m open to being wrong on this but right now it sure feels like Lebby is another classic case of “good coordinator, bad head coach”. Which would be the third time that’s happened for State in the last decade. So maybe next time hire someone with head coaching experience, just a thought.

 

Lebby’s winning percentage is worse than Sly Croom’s. And I would argue that Croom was a superior program builder too.

Edited 2 hours ago by Dawg83

[maroontide06]

1 minute ago, Dawg83 said:

I was optimistic when he was hired. And I still think his offensive scheme is very good. But the program building has not been a strength for him. State hasn’t recruited well and his staff hires have been iffy at best at many positions.

 

I’m open to being wrong on this but right now it sure feels like Lebby is another classic case of “good coordinator, bad head coach”. Which would be the third time that’s happened for State in the last decade. So maybe next time hire someone with head coaching experience, just a thought.

 

Lebby’s winning percentage is worse than Sly Croom’s.

Also bringing Arnett back this year hasn't panned out at all.  The defense probably cost us that Oklahoma game and yes you can point to the Puckett fumble and interception, but Oklahoma was able to move the ball pretty much at will.

[Former Coach]

14 hours ago, Bulldogs4 said:

Honestly, I don’t think he is any trouble this year.

Hopefully AJ Swann can play going forward. At least he is a player with game experience. 
I know some of our fans have the patience of a gnat but I don’t think Lebby should be fired this year. 
Of course I am from the old school that feels like you should give a coach at least 5 years or even more before considering a change. We all talked about having some stability at the HC position after having 4 HC’s in six years. We are only three years into Lebby’s tenure. Give him a chance to succeed. 
 

Regarding Taylor, when I first heard turf toe, I was of the mind that he was probably done for the season. It is an impossible injury to recover from quickly. 
 

Again I am interested in seeing how we play Saturday. 

Agree I think he's back next year if for no other reason than if he goes KT will go as well. We have improved every year and anyone that watched the first 4 games should see that with a healthy KT this is a 9-10 win team. For the crowd saying he should have recruited a quality back up, who wants to come when you know you are going to be a back up. We had one in Kromenhek and he left because he knew he was never going to start.

 

And for the fire Lebby crowd, who you going to get. We have Lebby because no "name" coaches wanted the job last time.

[maroontide06]

20 minutes ago, Former Coach said:

Agree I think he's back next year if for no other reason than if he goes KT will go as well. We have improved every year and anyone that watched the first 4 games should see that with a healthy KT this is a 9-10 win team. For the crowd saying he should have recruited a quality back up, who wants to come when you know you are going to be a back up. We had one in Kromenhek and he left because he knew he was never going to start.

 

And for the fire Lebby crowd, who you going to get. We have Lebby because no "name" coaches wanted the job last time.

Apparently Manny Diaz or Jake Dickert would take the job.

[Raiders 10]

15 hours ago, MSTSatchmo said:

It always has been an injury that lingers.  You really didn’t want him to keep trying to play and end up causing another injury not being at full strength.  
 

They need to get bowl eligible to carry any positive momentum into the offseason, but I agree Lebby won’t be going anywhere this year unless they lose to TN Tech. 

Jeff Lebby don't know how to use his talent, not a good x's, o's coach