I think he's saying that assistant coaches don't count. That is until he wants to criticize one or compliment one.

Amen Billy! That is 100% accurate.

So I dug into the 247 recruiting ratings. If you trust them as a good indicator of talent (which in general they are), OHIO has its best recruiting class EVER for 2024. Ranked #83. Ten spots higher than any class under Frank or Tim. Rankings go all the way back to 1999. So it appears that recruiting is getting better. That’s encouraging.

So, let me get this straight, Nebraska goes 9-3 & says time to fire Solich. Huskers haven’t won 9 games since he left!!

My question is, can we be happy at 9-3 team WITHOUT winning or playing in the MAC Championship Game? Legit topic!

Before answering, however, ask Nebraska, Kent State or Bowling green fans!

Happy is a subjective word but I hope nearly all of us agree that firing a coach after a 9-3 season is almost always a bad idea.

However, he was a train wreck behind the scenes.

Absolutely, no doubt about that

Yeah, I only root for UM 1 game each year. They've won the last 3 of those games.

When evaluating play calling, a lot of people often forget that it is a chicken and egg problem. Does the success of play calling determine the offensive efficiency? Or, does offensive efficiency determine the play calling?

Oddly, people seem to remember this when evaluating the defense. If the defense can take away the other team's ability to run the ball, they can make the other team one-dimensional, and that, in turn, limits their ability to call the plays they want to, and forces them into passing situations.

The same thing works the other way, however. If Ohio can gain 4-6 yards per rush, that opens up the playbook on second down to be anything, regardless of down and distance. When Ohio can only rush for 2-3 yards, that forces Ohio to throw more, and allows the other pin to get after the Ohio QB,, and not worry as much about run fakes.

Ohio has traditionally been one of the MAC leaders in rushing, which in turn, allowed them to pick and choose where they were going to pass, and allowed them to go deep when it suited them. This year, Ohio had one of the worst rushing attacks in the MAC, which limited flexibility in calling plays, and meant that Rourke was going to be getting a lot more pressure, since the other teams knew he was going to have to pass.

For Ohio to be more successful in 2024, they need to find their rushing attack again, and get back to averaging ~5 yards a carry. That, in turn, will force other teams to respect run fakes, and allow Ohio to open the playbook and call passes because they choose to, rather than because they are forced to.