I will say, can we gripe about not winning a MAC Title? Absolutely.
That said, would be intrigued to see how this staff does next year. Especially given that 2025 has the potential to be a very unforgiving year in terms of scheduling, will be very interested to see the recruiting chops come through of the "new" staff.
It doesn't matter because with 8 wins an automatic extension its going to take 3 years of mediocre football in a row for them to lose their jobs. TA just extended to 2027 following this year's 9 win campaign.
This football program won 77% of the games last season and 75% of the games this season and you are concerned about an extension for Coach Albin? What planet are you from? Would you be concerned if Boals and the Bobcat basketball team won 25 games yearly, because that is the equivalent of what just occurred in football the last two seasons. If Boals won 25 games this season, many of you would be irate if he wasn't given a 2 year extension.
It's more than just winning percentage in an isolated year. Albin had a very impressive 2022 season, turning around a team that seemed to be going in the wrong direction on both sides of the ball. This came after a disappointing year in 2021, which can be excused for several reasons. The record in 2023 looks extremely impressive on the surface; the 'Cats were loaded with talent on both sides of the ball with few portal losses. Two of the team's main rivals (Buffalo and Kent) were hurt by the portal, the Akron turnaround never materialized, and Miami had their QB go down for the season. The out-of-conference schedule was relatively easy. The Cats may go 7-6 next year, and at the end of the year, many of us may think that it was a good rebuilding year. He's a 22-16 coach right now with several years to establish a reputation.
Hence why I say next year is gonna be a significant year to watch. Will show if we are recruiting young guns that can help win, and if we are, whether they stay or not.
And if we're losing a lot of games in a rebuild year next year but the young guys are not showing through, that 2025 schedule between WVU, Rutgers, and O$U will be unforgiving physically. The kind of year which can very easily take the sails out of the program in 2025 and do some real damage.