Comparability Trend

When playing the stock market investors keep an eye on trends in the market. Football fans should do the same with football trends. One trend to keep an eye on is the comparability trend. How do we compare with other teams is something to keep an eye on.

By now everybody has read about the 42-0 win over Miami. How good the Cats offense looked and how good the defense looked after getting a look at the Miami offense for a quarter.

Next week we are off but will get another interesting look at how good we really are offensively. Miami plays Boise St. a team that dominated Oregon a team expected to contend for the PAC-10 title.

Miami is going to have a game under their belt and Boise St. will have game tape of Miami. It will be interesting to see how Boise St. (a possible top 10 team by then) a team who has less team speed, an offense thats no better at quarterback, running back and wide receiver than the Cats does.

So keep an eye on the score and the stats of the game next weekend. It should give us an idea of how we compare with a possible BCS buster.

A SEASON ON THE BRINK FROM INSIDE THE HUDDLE Part 4

#1–It was the opening game of what we felt would be a very good season

#2–We lost to a team that we felt we should have defeated

#3–We defeated ourselves with mistakes and poor execution

Pretty hard for a team heavy with seniors and juniors that were experienced. We turned the ball over, We gave them short field position to score from, we got a lot of penalty’s called that killed our drives and helped our opponents drives. Our kick coverage was poor which ended our chance for a comeback.
We got behind early and let the crowd bother us but still this game was much closer than the score would indicate.

We got behind 13-0, then in the second half we marched down the field and scored 7. We were back in the game and good kick off coverage and a stop by our defense which had been playing well would give us the ball around our 35-40 yard line with plenty of time left to march down and score and win this game.

We got poor kickoff coverage and LSU ran it back for a long td. Game over, no alibis, no complaints, we lost that one. It would be a long ride back to bluegrass field.

The coaches were also in shock trying to figure out just where the problem was but they would have to look at and grade the film to know just what went wrong. Well it was mistakes and poor execution that did us in. That big tackle named Legget didn’t help either he was a load.

We got back to Lexington and everyone was in shock like zombies. I called 10-12 of the seniors and juniors in to write my weekly column–it went like this.

Inside the huddle the wrap.

The loss at LSU was very disappointing. It was the result of poor execution on our part. We turned the ball over. We gave LSU short field position to score from. We had a lot of penaltys that stalled our drives and a few penaltys on defense that helped LSU’s drives. Our kicking coverage was inadequate and cost us a chance to get back into the game. In the end we lost a game that we should have won, a very poor way to start a season.

Our only bright spot was that our defense played well enough to win and that we had marched down the field and scored 7 in the second half to get back into the game.

Ole Miss was coming to town and would be ranked #1 or #2 when the rankings came out on Monday. This was a great football team and it would take an error free effort to play with them. They were loaded with great rangy athletes that looked like a measuring tape had selected them. They ran a sprint out run pass offense with split ends and wide receivers. The quarterback threw on the run or kept the ball if the linebackers and corners came up. The quarterback would also slip the ball to the fullback who stayed in which froze the middle linebacker. They ran a well greased, well organized offense. They had speed at all the receivers including the ends. Their backs were fast, could get outside or power inside. Play action offense at it’s best.

Their defense was textbook, good linebackers, good corners, good safety’s and a very good line. They would be hard to run power stuff at

The common feeling of our seniors and juniors is that this will take a great effort to play with Ole Miss. At the same time this group feels that this will be exactly what Kentucky brings Saturday. Better get your tickets. Don’t miss this one it could very easily be the game of the year.

My prediction Kentucky 20 Ole Miss 14.

A SEASON ON THE BRINK FROM INSIDE THE HUDDLE Part 3

Part 3 in a series with a first hand view from inside the huddle on the1955 football team that played under head coach Blanton Collier in his second year at Ky.

Getting ready for LSU now opening away from home is always tough but to open at tiger stadium in Baton Rouge is especially tough. 75,000 screaming cajuns, mostly well oiled with liquor for the last 10 days[or longer]makes for an unfriendly setting. The seniors and juniors had been there before. The sophomores never had and it would be a shock for the sophomores.

We had scouted the tigers spring game but little new was shown. This is what we expected the crowd noise would be deafening. We would probably have to go off the center’s snap since the tackles and ends would not hear the qb signals. The tigers defense would be very aggressive especially when “the Chinese Bandits” were in. Linebackers shooting the gaps, later called “red dogging” and today called “blitzing”. Tackles and ends pressuring, we would have to run some draws, screens, maybe the “shovel pass” and a few quick slants to freeze the linebackers.

The offense was pretty unknown, a lot of sophomores. A quarterback with play action passing who would run and throw. They would run inside and outside with a lot of speed in the backfield and at the receivers. Alot of speed on kick returns.

We feel that we can move the ball on this team consistently. We feel that our defense will match up well against the tigers.

Key points of interest.
Crowd noise and play calling.
Tigers defensive aggressiveness.
Tigers speed at receivers, backfield and kick returning.

Defensive coverage in the backfield don’t get suckered on the play action pass and let the receiver get by you.

Our game plan was to take care of the ball, no fumbles or interceptions. Don’t beat ourselves make the tigers drive 70+ yards to score. Don’t give them a short field to score on with a turnover. Give our defense a chance to stop them with that 70+ yard drive to the goal line. No foolish penalty’s.

We expect a low scoring game, with good defense on both sides. A hard played game.

Our prediction Ky 14-LSU 10.

The 44 man travel squad flew out of Bluegrass field with the coaches and some sportscasters, sportswriters on board. A new sportscaster named Cawood Ledford was on board for his first trip with a Ky team. We arrived in Baton Rouge in late afternoon then went to tiger stadium and had a very lite work out under the lights. Mostly just loosening up and getting familiar with the field and lighting. We then had a team dinner, went to a movie and returned to our rooms. Curfew 10:00pm no exceptions.

The next morning team breakfast then around 10:00am a meeting with all players and asst. coaches was called, it went like this.

Coach Ermal Allen called all plays and signals from sideline.

Listen up pay attention this is very important. When you are on the sidelines pay attention at all times, watch whats happening on the field and on the sidelines in front of you, forget whats behind you, stay together with your group. Ends together tackles and guards together backs together quarterback’s on the phone table. Things get wild down there so if you stay with your group we can find you if we need you or your whole group if we need to make an adjustment during the game. Be ready to go in all the time, keep your shoes on and laced up and your helmet handy. Don’t go wandering around, if we need to send you in and we can’t find you, you just cost us a delay of game or caused us to waste a timeout to keep from getting a delay of game penalty. That’s just like getting a penalty on the field or much worse.

If the noise gets bad and you can’t hear the snap signal by the quarterback give him the signal and start going off the snap. We have practiced all this.

Don’t make a bunch of mistakes, run the plays right, don’t give the opponent any short fields to score on. Make them march 70+ yards and we win.

The best way to quiet the crowd is to get in front early and stay in front.

We have 44 players here. We selected each of you to come because we felt you could and would help us win this football game. That’s what we’re here for. Stay alert and have a good game.

The players then went to a short meeting with their position coaches.

In the afternoon around 4:00 pm the pre game meal was held and then off to tiger stadium for dressing, warm ups and the kickoff.

A SEASON ON THE BRINK FROM INSIDE THE HUDDLE PT 2

Part 2 in a series with a first hand view from inside the huddle on the1955 football team that played under head coach Blanton Collier in his second year at Ky.

The 55 team did not have a “special teams coach” as such, several coaches coached the various special teams. We had kick off and punt teams usually the same team unless some one was injured. We had return teams for both kick offs and punts the same team. We had a team that ran the field goal and extra points the same team.

This team is vital. I just saw where UK was ranked #8 in special teams last year. I remember when Guy Morris had a very good special teams coach. Very good and “special teams”go together don’t they???

Successful play calling by the quarterback and successful defensive signal calling by the MLB is a very complicated process and goes far beyond just one player getting out in front of 10 of his teammates on the field and through the use of numbers, letters and signs in an effort to get his team mates to join him in a common effort against the day’s opponent on the next play don’t guarantee success. It’s complicated, it involves hours an hours of work by the coaching staff scouting teams, watching game film and preparing a game plan. It involves meetings, practice, game input from the sideline coaches and the coaching box upstairs. It involves the situation at hand, line of scrimmage, first down marker, and down marker as well as present score especially if it’s late in the game. And yes it demands confidence. Confidence that the next play//signal you call will be the right one for the play coming up. All this churns around the play clock and if it’s late in the game the time clock. Tough task and not a lot of players can handle this job.

When Bob Hardy was in at quarterback he called about 60% of the plays on the field, no cheat sheets. The other 40% of the calls came from the sideline by substitutes, timeouts, or signals. With back up qb’s in more calls were made from the sideline.

When Dave Kuhn was in at mlb he called about 60% of the defensive signals from the field I don’t recall any cheat sheets.About 40% came from the sideline by subs, timeouts, and signals–with backups in that number called from the sidelines went up.

The 54 team struggled with the play calling process, a new staff, a new offense and defense and everything was slow which resulted in.

#1–Delay of game penalty’s which killed a lot of drives and ended up losing possession of the ball.
#2–Wasted timeouts to prevent delay of game penalty’s.
#3–Poor selection by the signal caller due to being rushed
#4—More play//signal calling

After the problems in 54 with play and signal calling asst. coach Ermal Allen created a process, a strategy, a system that gave the person on the field and the coaches up stairs a 12 second earlier notice over what they had received in the past. This cut back on

#1–Delay of game penalty’s
#2–wasted use of valuable timeouts to prevent delay of game penalty’s
#3–rushing of the signal callers and coaches upstairs to make calls in order to beat the play clock–
#4—In 55 i don’t know if 2 way radios were around I couldn’t afford one anyway. I don’t exact know when cell phones came in or text messaging and now twitter.

I don’t know what is being used out there today to transmit information quicker and more reliable and after all that’s part of the play and signal calling process to find out what the line of scrimmage is and how much more to go for a first down or td isn’t it??? There has to be a way to give me and my team that 5 second edge on play calling every down.

Take a stop watch when the guy with the ball goes down start the clock, when the ball is marked and the down marker/line of scrimmage stick is moved stop the clock. How much time did you get??? That’s what you’re working with–saving 5 seconds off that dead time is money in the bank–

It worked for us but wasn’t widely known or discussed. Ii don’t think anyone ever picked it up after coach Allen left for the Cowboys. I am not sure what system was used though coach Bradshaw did talk to me once about it but i wasn’t around much in those days.

Play calling today is even far more complicated than it was in 55. The expanded use of the “spread offense” and use of changing defenses to defend them makes it a new crap shoot entirely. Coach Collier brought the Cleveland browns offense to Ky in 54. It was on the edges of the “spread offense” with wide outs and slot backs and splitting the ends out.

Sid Gilman, head coach at Cincinnati had created a offense that later became known as the “west coast offense” and many people have been credited with it’s invention including the Forty Niner’s coach who won a couple of super bowls with Joe Montana using it, but it was Sid Gilman who created it and it was a beginning strain of “the spread offense”.

A SEASON ON THE BRINK FROM INSIDE THE HUDDLE

The first in a series with a first hand view from inside the huddle on the1955 football team that played under head coach Blanton Collier in his second year at Ky.

In the summer of 55 I was asked by the majority owner, publisher, and editor of what was probably Kentucky’s largest weekly newspaper, to write a weekly article on the 55 Ky. football team as they went through the season. The publisher wanted something that the Courier Journal did not have, a inside view–sort of a one up situation.

I was concerned about my writing skills since my English 1a and 1b grades were less than superior but the publisher said you get the info together and I will edit it if that’s ok”??? I agreed–and away we went–

The predictions listed in the upcoming series are those made in that column every week. So stay tuned it should be fun. If it isn’t blame it on bill he asked me 6 times.

Those weekly predictions were not just mine but the team’s predictions.

Each week the seniors and about 10 juniors would get together and write the article. I would do that by asking “how do you see this game”??? The answers were very good, deep thinking on everyone’s part. Then I would say “so you are saying this is going to be a hell of a ball game”??? This will be a “take no prisoners game???” An all out brawl??? Score predictions?? Opponents strengths, never list weaknesses.

Then I would write the comments with the prediction and have it picked up at a store in Chevy Chase on Wednesday for publication on Friday.

Background
The team was lead by 13 seniors and a large talented junior class. The senior class came in 52 except one player who came in 51. That senior class had played a lot of minutes along the way. The junior class came in 53 during coach Bryant’s last season at Ky and had played a lot of minutes also. The sophomore class was large but untested in any way. Freshmen were not legible for varsity play in 54, the last year for that was 53. Lou Michael’s looked good in spring practice and would play several minutes. Several other players had possibilities. Some would have to step up and play. so freshmen were not legible in 55.

About 60% of the players would go both ways. Obviously qb’s would not play on defense due to injury risk. A number of soph lineman would play on defense but few would play on offense due to complicated blocking schemes and play learning. A number of sophmore backs would play on offense but few on defense due to pass coverage and play reading problems.

Leadership we had 13 seniors and a talented junior class. Senior bob hardy at quarterback was a 5 year man who had spent 3 years under coach Bryant and 54 under coach Collier, seldom got rattled, seldom made mistakes was in command, called “paddle foot” but now and then picked up a few on the run when other things were shut down. Co-captain and leader.

Senior end Howard Schnellenberger played both ways. Started the third game as a freshman and every game since. Lead the team in minutes played in all 3 years to date and was expected to do so again in 55. Co-captain and a great leader.

The team was organized and confident not cocky the seniors and juniors were experienced and had been through the wars. There were no superstars on this team but instead a group of hard practicing and hard playing group of “blue collar players” who wanted to win and played hard.

The 55 coaching staff had settled in and adjusted-,the full offense and defense had been installed in spring practice.

The 54 season had been “helter skelter” for the team and staff thru no fault of their.

Coach Bryant had suddenly departed in early April 54 for Texas A&M. Coach Collier came on board around April 20th or so and started assembling a staff, but spring practice had not been held and it had to start and quickly coaches or no coaches. So spring practice started and coach Collier continued to hire coaches but there was no other choice than to revert back to the 53 season for offense and defense.

The summer came and then fall practice started. Coach Collier had a full staff of good coaches but several didn’t know the players they would be coaching. 2 a days started with the introduction of a new offense and new defense was attempted but it didn’t mix well with 2 a days and hot weather. So back to the old system with a plan to slowly introduce new plays as we went along. This cost the team a lot of problems and probably at least 1 loss in early season but by mid season everything was pretty much in and the team started cooking. The record in the second half of 54 proves it and the players liked the new offense.

If we are going to play the “blame game” here we probably must blame coach Bryant for not departing in Dec 53 after the season ended or in early 54 after the bowl games. Seldom does a major college football coach depart after late January of any given year.

But 54 was now in the rear view mirror and it’s 55 and looking forward.

Every year all college teams have a few holes to plug due to losing starters and backups so departing starters must be replaced as well as back-ups. I remember a couple of years ago when Locke was #5 on the depth chart at the start of the season but by the 7th or 8th game he was starting you have to be ready.

Incoming classes have to be inducted. They have a hard time adjusting to the speed and agility of the seasoned players.

So the sophomore class of 55 was untested, untried and some of them would have to step up.

Known soft spots.

#1–Back ups at quarterback, some talent but untested and unproven.

#2–Defensive backs, ome sophomores would have to step up. Scary

#3–Back ups at end. We had 3 solid both way ends. We lost one solid 2 way end due to an off campus incident. There was 4-5 sophomores there who were not impressive in spring practice. A couple had to step up.

It is very hard to get “rookie” sophomore players to step up at the following positions.

#1–Defensive secondary–pass coverage and run support.

#2–Offensive line–blocking schemes and various calls.

#3–Kick coverage of any kind “rookies” get over anxious, get out of their lane,lose their spacing instead of staying home. That’s how they run the big one back on you. Unless you have a kicker who kicks the ball a mile high and a cover guy that is a track man who arrives the same time as the ball and creates a fumble,.Stay at home, keep your spacing andstay under control. You’ll get your shot and you won’t have egg on your face and the opponent points on the scoreboard.

The hardest positions to fill.

#1–Defensive backs–most people want to be a quarterback.

#2–Quarterbacks–a mouth full to swallow.

#3–MLB//signal caller–another mouthfull

Toughest position to play.

#1–Quarterback–key to the offense–hours and hours and hours of study and practice.

#2–MLB//defensive signals–key to defense–about 80% of quarterback hardness

#3–Defensive backs–you either get it or you don’t–must have great reaction and agility–you gotta want to play it baby.

Successful Juco Class Could be a Key to the Season

This could be the most successful Juco class of football players that UK has had since they have been tapping into the ranks. They are being counted on by many to bolster us on the defensive side of the ball, as well as at the WR spot. Both Chris Matthews and DeQuin Evans are in the Top 20 of all Juco’s and Crawford ranks in the Top 100. Here is a rundown of the kids.

2009- 2-4 Stars From the JUCO RANKS!

Chris Matthews WR 6-5 210 4 STAR ****
Mark Crawford DT 6-1 305 3 STAR ***
DeQuin Evans DE 6-2 275 4 STAR ****

 
Chris Matthews is the highest rated juco signed by UK this year and perhaps ever. He has a measured skill set that exceeds anything we’ve seen in the Juco Ranks for some time. I don’t think it will take a long time for him to develop, since unlike Stevie Johnson, he is not coming into a great receiving corps to start the season.

Has great hands, and just outruns people catching the football. He is going to make the UK QB job much easier. Caught 80 balls last year and is the second rated Juco WR by Rivals, behind Halo Carpenter…., AND, from a raw athletic standpoint…, How many 6’5 210lb receivers will UK have this year who run 4.4 forties?

My hunch is that Matthews locks down one wide spot, and will be very good in short order. Randall Cobb will play the slot, and the other WR spot goes to Lanxter.

We received an interesting quote  from Los Angeles Harbor College Coach Brett Peabody about Chris, “Chris is probably the best junior-college wide receiver in the country,” Peabody said. “He lives up to the saying that ‘big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.’ He can beat you short, he can beat you deep, he can beat you across the middle.”

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Mark Crawford was one of the nation’s top 100 junior college prospects at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College after making 41 tackles and getting 6.5 quarterback sacks last year. He only played two years of high school football in Indianapolis, one reason he redshirted his first year at Coffeyville. Certainly UK is not taking this Juco out of desperation like they were a few years ago when they were coming through the probation.

By all accounts Crawford is looking good and making strides at the DT position: “I am adjusting real well. It is a new experience with coach Petri teaching me how to play better and teaching me stuff I never knew in junior high or high school.”

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 DeQuin Evans: Defensive Ends are sorely needed, a known fact, and “DE”, as I’ll be calling Dequin Evans, needs to hit the ground running. Watch him on film and you see what amounts to a man among boys. Now granted that wasn’t SEC competition, but the film says a lot about what type of player we are getting. Simply stated, I don’t think we have seen a Defensive Juco player who looked any better than DE did on film.

Making up the loss of a Jeremy Jarmon may be a daunting task,  therefore this makes it even more important that someone from our stable of players at the Defensive End position step up and make a big splash there. DE  has all the tools. Evans (6-2, 275) is rated the No. 15 junior college prospect in the nation by Rivals.com, as well as one of our 4 Star athletes. He was a teammate of Chris Matthews. Did I mention he ran a 4.6 forty according to Scout…That is truly smoking for a man his size! GBB!!!

Never to early to go out on a limb

With a little over two months left till the football season starts its time to talk about what sort of season the Cats will have this year.

Starting off the season with Miami of Ohio 2-10 last year should give the Cats an easy win although the hiring of Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Haywood as head coach should put a little spunk in the Redhawks offense. Haywood has worked as an assistant at Texas, LSU, Ball State, Ohio, Army and Minnesota and in 2005, he was named NCAA Division I-A assistant coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association. Kentucky 1-0.

Louisville 5-7 last year should be another win but this is a rivalry game. With Hunter Cantwell’s back up Matt Simms transferring Louisville has no experience at quarterback making it a little more difficult for Louisville to come away with win. Kentucky 2-0.

The third game of the season brings Florida 13-1 to Lexington. The best we can realistically hope for is that the Gators stomp Tennessee the week before and the Cats play the Gators much better than they did last year. A good game could be a launching board for a great season. Kentucky 2-1.

Alabama 12-2 last year is the next visitor to Lexington. Last year with one or two breaks the Cats could have beaten the Tide. Having them in Lexington and without an experienced quarterback they can be beaten. If Mike Hartline can connect with our receivers and couple of defensive stops go our way and this could be a big upset. Kentucky 2-2.

OK the Really Ole Ball Coach thinks he’s finally found his quarter back at South Carolina 7-6 last year. The Cats are due to win this game. Kentucky 3-2.

Auburn 5-7 last year had a problem the Cats use to have. According to Gene Chizik “Depth is an issue at this point, and I think that’s glaring”. Their offense also stinks so this is close but another winnable game. Kentucky 4-2.

We then get Louisiana Monroe 4-8 last year at home. The Warhawks beat Alabama in 2007 but wont beat the Cats in Lexington. This will be the game where a freshman quarterback gets a decent amount of playing time. Kentucky 5-2.

Mississippi State 4-8 last year doesn’t come to Lexington and win. Kentucky 6-2.

Eastern Kentucky 8-4 won the OVC last year but don’t look to match up with the Cats although they might play them better than people expect. Kentucky 7-2.

Vanderbilt 7-6 came into Lexington and beat the Cats. Mackenzi Adams is a good quarterback and running back Jared Hawkins should be much improved as a senior. This game is a toss up but I think injuries will be starting to plague the Cats by this time of the season. Kentucky 7-3.

Georgia 10-3 last year will be a tough game for the Cats. If they can go thru the season without as many injuries as last year they should beat the Cats. Kentucky 7-4.

The final game of the season is against Tennessee 5-7 last year. With Lane Kiffin bringing the Vols to Lexington the Cats welcome him to Kentucky. I’m gonna get out on my limb and say the Cats win with Morgan Newton running for a touchdown and tossing a touchdown to Cobb with little time left in the game. Kentucky 8-4.

FOOTBALL RECRUITING: JOKER”S WILD

It just might work that way on the recruiting front for Joker Phillips and Co. After securing the promise to play football at the University of Kentucky, one would think that Joker has hit the jackpot in the state of Indiana.

….And he has, when you think of it….IU is not much of a recruiting magnet for the state – and for those who think that Notre Dame might be a bit “high brow” for them and like the SEC better than Purdue’s BIG TEN – then “HERE”S JOKER” …….

Isaiah Lewis has said that he is very interested in UK and why not? UK had just offered the Big Safety a scholarship to play football at the University that had just signed his Quarterback to “LOI”.

Isaiah Lewis has said of his QB: “I think I’m pretty tough, but he’s hard to bring down. He is going to be a great college football player”. His QB is Morgan Newton, one of the Top Twenty Five in “All DE Land”… senor~

But alas, the larger story here is the fact that UK has hit the state and hit it H-A-R-D. When you take a state’s best player, and leave the rest of the world the “pickins”, then you are on the right track for serious inroads. That’s the stuff of Florida and USC lore, NOT UK….

________________________________________
Isaiah Lewis
Indianapolis, IN (Ben Davis HS)
HT: 5′11″
WT: 186
40: 4.69 – electronic time between soph.-jr season

Offer: Yes
Interest: Iowa, Purdue, Indiana, Kentucky

Probably more of a strong safety. Isaiah plays LB in high school

SEC Power rankings

Here my weekly take on the SEC power rankings.

1. Alabama: Alabama may not be the flashest team in the SEC but once again they have proved they are one of the best teams in the nation.

2. Florida: The SEC championship will prove who is the best in the SEC.

3. Georgia: Still 3rd best in the SEC yes but wouldnt win the ACC title or the PAC 10 title.

4. Old Miss: Have the next SEC quarterback star and can play against anyone.

5. South Carolina: The ol ball coach thought he had a contender but South Carolina has had enough offensive problems to keep them in the middle of the pack.

6. Vanderbilt: Bowl elegable for the first time since 82 and finally living up to their first five games. Should be favoried over Tennessee.

7. LSU: An ugly loss drops them down.

8. Arkansas: Who to rank 9th took some thought but not to much. Better than Auburn, Tennesee and Miss St.

9. Tennessee: Beating Vandy and Kentucky moves the Vols up

10. Kentucky: Banged up and no offensive but the defense even giving up 30+ points in the last few games still makes them better than the bottom of the SEC.

11. Auburn: What can you say

12. Mississippi State: The worst offence in the SEC and a defense thats not living up to what is expected of them.

Croom resigns at Miss St

From ESPN

JACKSON, Miss. — Sylvester Croom resigned from Mississippi State on Saturday, five years after becoming the Southeastern Conference’s first black head football coach.

Croom announced the decision after meeting with athletic director Greg Byrne. It came less than 24 hours after an embarrassing 45-0 loss to No. 25 Mississippi in the most lopsided Egg Bowl in 37 years.
Croom and Doom

Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom resigned Saturday, a day after his team lost 45-0 at Ole Miss, the Rebels’ second-biggest win ever in the rivalry. Croom was 21-38 in five seasons and lost eight-plus games in four of his five years. The major problem was offense. It simply never got better under Croom.

Mississippi State Offense
Under Croom, FBS Ranks Total Scoring
2008 105th 113th
2007 113th 96th
2006 103th 97th
2005 113th 113th
2004 107th T-114th

Croom, who took over the team while it was under NCAA sanctions, won 2007 SEC coach of the year honors after leading the Bulldogs to an 8-5 finish and the Liberty Bowl. He signed a contract extension in the offseason that paid him $1.7 million this year.

But he came under immediate pressure from fans after a season-opening loss to Louisiana Tech of the Western Athletic Conference, and the heat only intensified as the offensively inept Bulldogs stumbled to a 4-8 finish.

The coach was 21-38 overall. He did not immediately return a phone message left by The Associated Press.

“Five years ago, Mississippi State gave me the unprecedented opportunity to be a head football coach in the Southeastern Conference and to build a program based upon a strong foundation,” Croom said in a statement.

“We have tried to build a program the right way that can compete for conference championships. I believe the foundation has been set for those goals to be reached under the leadership of someone else, and it was my decision to resign.”

Byrne was scheduled to meet with reporters later Saturday afternoon.

Calls for Croom to make changes to his coaching staff and run-first offensive philosophy dogged the Bulldogs. The team continued to have trouble at quarterback and Croom switched starters midway through the season.

A source familiar with Croom’s situation at Mississippi State told ESPN.com’s Pat Forde that the breaking point was not a refusal on Croom’s part to make staff changes; an important issue was the continuing ineptitude of the Bulldogs’ offense under Croom. In five years, Mississippi State has never ranked in the NCAA top 100 in total offense.

The Bulldogs were 11th in the SEC in scoring offense (16.6 points per game) and 10th in total offense (297.7 yards per game) through 11 games and lost badly at Georgia Tech (38-7) and Tennessee (34-3). Yet some optimism remained that Mississippi State could salvage a bit of pride and its promising recruiting class after a 31-28 win over Arkansas last week and with a good game against the revitalized Rebels.

Croom even got a vote of confidence from incoming Mississippi State president Mark Keenum.

But Mississippi State was outmatched from the start and looked poorly prepared against Ole Miss. The quarterbacks were hit hard on nine of their first 10 pass attempts as the Rebels put together a school-record 11 sacks and set another mark by holding the Bulldogs to minus-51 yards rushing.

Croom seemed stunned after the game.

“They came in here with the idea they were going to beat us bad, and they did from start to finish,” Croom said. “I don’t know why what happened today occurred. I’m sorry to say that it’s an absolute mystery to me.”

Byrne, a new hire who’s been on the job less than a year, wouldn’t comment on the speculation surrounding the football team during the season but said Saturday that a possible resignation was discussed in the morning meeting.

“We discussed the football program and many topics were addressed, including resignation,” Byrne said in a statement. “I want to thank Coach Croom for the leadership he has provided our football program over the last five years.”

While Croom wasn’t able to squeeze many wins out of his tenure, there’s little question he improved a Mississippi State program that was at its lowest ebb. The Bulldogs were hit with major sanctions following rules violations under previous coach Jackie Sherrill and had won just three games a season between 2001-03.

Hired Dec. 1, 2003, the Bear Bryant disciple who had been an all-American center at Alabama and an NFL assistant for 17 seasons inherited a team low on talent. Heavy sanctions and the SEC’s lowest budget made the challenge even steeper.

“We couldn’t even get recruits to visit campus,” Croom said this week while talking about his early recruiting efforts.

But Croom upgraded the talent enough that the Bulldogs were competitive in the nation’s toughest conference and they earned their first winning season since 2000 last year, capping it with a 10-3 win over Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl.

He also was having success off the field, drawing commitments from several top recruits, including a quarterback.

A spokesman said players would not be available Saturday, but some defended Croom following Friday’s loss.

“I think it is unfair,” wide receiver Delmon Robinson said of the criticism. “When it’s man-to-man coverage, it’s the receiver against the [defensive back]. If the receiver doesn’t win, it’s not the coach’s fault that he didn’t win. It’s all about the players. We’ve got to win and we’ve got to go out there and execute coach’s plays.”

It was the second straight season an embarrassing loss in the Egg Bowl led to a coaching change. Coach Ed Orgeron was fired a day after the Rebels collapsed in a 17-14 loss. Ole Miss led 14-0 going into the fourth quarter, but Orgeron went for it on fourth down at midfield. The Bulldogs stopped the play, went on to score and finished with 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

Byrne said Croom’s assistants remain under contract and will work until a new coach is hired. He told Forde that Mississippi State’s search for a successor begins immediately and will be national in scope. He declined to discuss any specific potential candidates but said he wanted a “passionate leader who is capable of helping us win in the SEC. We have a lot of talent here in this state, and a very supportive fan base. We can win here.”

Among the coaches Mississippi State might target to replace Croom are Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables, East Carolina coach Skip Holtz and TCU coach Gary Patterson.

“Looking forward I plan to work closely with athletic director Greg Byrne to move quickly, but with due deliberation, to find a new head football coach with high energy and a commitment to compete for championships and bowl opportunities in the best conference in America,” Keenum said.

There likely will be several candidates for a coveted SEC job, but Mississippi State’s new coach shouldn’t get comfortable. There have been coaching changes at five of six SEC West schools in the past five years, with only Tommy Tuberville at Auburn lasting through that time. And even he’s facing criticism in a losing season.

The Rebels’ new coach, Houston Nutt, had been at Arkansas for 10 years before resigning after last season and moving to Ole Miss. But he believes tenures like that could be a thing of the past because fans and boosters have little patience for losing.

“It’s sad, but it doesn’t surprise me,” Nutt said. “It’s the way of the world in college football right now.”

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3733168

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