[LUconn]

What does everybody think so far?

[Cider Jim]

As Coach Myer used to day, "It's not where you start; it's where you finish."

After beginning 0-4 and finishing 6-5 with a share of the Big South Conference championship, I'd give Coach Gill and his staff and players a strong B+ for the season.

(And I think Rocco knew that he couldn't have a winning a season with this squad breaking in a new QB, but Coach Gill and his staff made it happen).

[Purple Haize]

As Coach Myer used to day, "It's not where you start; it's where you finish."

After beginning 0-4 and finishing 6-5 with a share of the Big South Conference championship, I'd give Coach Gill and his staff and players a strong B+ for the season.

(And I think Rocco knew that he couldn't have a winning a season with this squad breaking in a new QB, but Coach Gill and his staff made it happen).

Man you are tough. I'm going A- because of the directions they are heading. I don't think you looked closely at the recruits already signed. They are bringing in some bog bodies up front. Plus a year under their belts will help those we have. Plus, given what they started with, I give them bonus points to put them over the top

[phoenix]

This team had to deal with injuries and adversity and a lot of change, and they did pretty well. Coming into the season, we weren't sure what to expect, and there were some predicting 6-5 or 7-4 (though many of us thought 8-3). I think it's interesting to read what ProudPapa73 had to say pre-season:

Warning: all predictions are one injury, one transfer, one arrest, one academic suspension, one girl friend, one family issue, one bad weather day, one bad play call, one bad play execution, one bad official call, one bad bounce, one illness, one sun in the eyes, one better prepared competitor away from being wrong.

(from https://www.flamefans.com/forums/viewto ... 84#p395340)

No arrests or academic suspensions, but we had plenty of injuries and bad play calls/executions and a few bad official calls. A few of the bad breaks go our way, and we're in the playoffs this season.

I'm going to agree with Cider, though, and give this first season a B+. I'd say A if not for some questionable playcalling at times, and some failure to capitalize on opportunities at other times.

[Sly Fox]

We certainly had our share of growing pains under the new staff. But I'm feeling much better going into this offseason than I was a year ago at this time. The defensive coaching & execution earns an A from my perspective based on the circumstances of this first season. The offensive coaching & execution would probably be a B-. A big chunk of their struggles was attributed to the O-line being decimated by injuries. But I agree that the playcalling took until midseason to really start clicking.

There certainly are games that I believe we should have won (NSU & Lehigh in particular) that could have resulted in a very different outcome in retrospect. But I believe we are much better prepared to attack 2013 than I expected to be back in August.

Well done to the staff & players!

[NotAJerry]

Somewhere in the B/B+ range seems about right. The run defense was excellent and the pass defense was solid. Offense finally figured out how to use their strengths better the last few games but there's still a lot of room for improvement there. The strong finish, especially the win over Stony Brook, was definitely a positive and increased the grade significantly.

If Fogg and Boyd are allowed to come back next year, and the offensive staff keeps getting better at using what we have instead of trying to force things, the outlook for next year should be pretty good.

[SumItUp]

Good season. I'm looking forward to next year.

[bigsmooth]

As Coach Myer used to day, "It's not where you start; it's where you finish."

After beginning 0-4 and finishing 6-5 with a share of the Big South Conference championship, I'd give Coach Gill and his staff and players a strong B+ for the season.

(And I think Rocco knew that he couldn't have a winning a season with this squad breaking in a new QB, but Coach Gill and his staff made it happen).

Jim, really? you want to throw Rocco under the bus? UR goes from 3-8 to 8-3 and will probably make the playoffs. He is a good coach and i think the same results with the LU team would have occurred with him as the HC

As for our season, we had several games we should have won but did not. we had some questionable play calling in those losses that i think contributed to the losses. Of course injuries did hurt us this year and we really need some good recruits next year especially on the OL, and some playmaking receivers. I am still not 100% convinced this staff is going to get the job done, but i will give credit where credit is due. the coaches and players did a heckuva job to grab a share of the title after an 0-4 start. hopefully next year its an outright title.

[Sly Fox]

Next year, Stony Brook isn't part of the equation in the Big South. And in a perfect world, neither would we.

[flameshaw]

I would grade us a B overall. The defense played well, The offense struggled mightily at times. With a first and goal at the 5 and losing games to a bad NSU team and Leigh at home are hard to overlook. I believe we beat Coastal 7 out of 10 games at a neutral field and no rain, but we didn't play well at all in Conway. I am looking forward to next year. With Coastal at home and SB gone, I don't see anyone keeping us from getting the auto bid next year. In addition, we have a full year of Gill recruits on board.
Looking forward to baseball season.

[bigsmooth]

you forgot about basketball.....

[flamesfan30]

whats the schedule for next year?

[flamesfan30]

i give this season a B-. after the wake forest game we all thought this team was significantly better than it really was. after going 0-4 we thought we were significantly worse than we really were. the reality is, we were a worse team then last year, but a slightly better team than what everyone thought we would be. as of now the only thing we can say for certain is: coach gill and this staff is no worse than Rocco was.

honestly, i think the real difference between the two, is that gill has a better defensive coordinator and is a much better recruiter. on everything else, i honestly couldn't see that much of an improvement over Rocco.

[Purple Haize]

Even sideline attire?

[flamesfan30]

touche.

[Purple Haize]

touche.

Watch your language. ,

[phoenix]

lol -- College Sports Madness has us in the playoffs playing Lehigh in the first round as of last week. http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/fcs ... acketology

Obviously they have no clue about anything Big South related. Somehow they must have assumes that Coastal would get beat this week, because Stony Brook is in as well.

EDIT -- They are TOTALLY clueless. They have SB in as conference champion (according to their preview of the Coastal/Chuck South game), and somehow have a 6-5 Liberty team getting an at large.

[Cider Jim]

somehow have a 6-5 Liberty team getting an at large.

Finally, somebody is giving us some respect!

[g-webb1994]

You have hope a-plenty. We have zilch.

[bluedevilflame]

I am impressed with the first season of the Coach Gill era. I'll acknowledge that I had my doubts when we went 0-4 but to finish at 6-5 and to have a share of the Big South title is a great accomplishment in his first season and he has earned my confidence for what it's worth. If we remain in the Big South next season, I think we run away with the league and could make some noise in the playoffs. Woodrum is only going to get better and I can't wait to see what he and the rest of the team accomplish next season!

[PAmedic]

against my better judgement I have to agree with the Texan.

B, albeit a solid B.

the win over SB may be masking the fact that the losses to Lehigh and Norf St were horrendous. The loss to Montana was not as unexpected but in retrospect we could have shown better there too.

Nice adjustments by the coaching staff throughout the season- especially dealing with 13 guys (?) going out for the yr. I have a lot of hope for the future, where a month and 1/2 ago I wanted to vomit.

Congrats to the seniors- we appreciate your efforts, esp PK #9

[Bigsouthking]

Let's be honest, they won 1 game no one thought they would win (SB) -- they lost 2/3 that everyone figured would be wins... Winning A Co-Championship in football in the Big South isn't nor should it be the standard.

[adam42381]

I'd give it a B-. Very solid finish to the season, however.

[Equinox]

i give this season a B-. after the wake forest game we all thought this team was significantly better than it really was. after going 0-4 we thought we were significantly worse than we really were. the reality is, we were a worse team then last year, but a slightly better team than what everyone thought we would be. as of now the only thing we can say for certain is: coach gill and this staff is no worse than Rocco was.

honestly, i think the real difference between the two, is that gill has a better defensive coordinator and is a much better recruiter. on everything else, i honestly couldn't see that much of an improvement over Rocco.

+1

[Svandive]

I would give it a B minus overall. The Stony Brook win saved our season as the other wins were against poor competition. Should have never lost to Norfolk St or Lehigh. The Wake Forest game should have been a win but a fine performance none the less. A new coaching staff and injuries contributed to some of our poor performance and that is understandable and things like that happen to the best of programs.

I think that we have a bright future, good recruiting, great fan base but we could use a little help in certain areas like OL, WR, LB, and others. Some high profile transfers or underclassmen stepping up would do wonders for next year's prospects in those areas.