Do You Miss Mason Yet?

[Albert_Camus]

Probably not. It was time for him to go. However, one of the mistakes that I think Lea made when hired was not to acknowledge some of the successes of the Mason era. Whatever you might think overall, he led us to a handful of some of the best wins of the last 50 years.

Clark is in a race against time. Recruiting is obviously the key, and the question is whether lackluster performance and anemic program support will torpedo recruiting no matter how many colors Barton Simmons may have on his spreadsheet. There needs to be some reason for kids to commit, and everything matters. So yes, some fire from this team, support from fans and improvements in the stadium play a role. Why not improve that which we have full control over like the game day experience? The artificial noise level of the sound system may seem trivial, but not being able to hold a conversation or hear yourself think is actually extremely unpleasant…especially when watching a beat down surrounded by thousands of nimrods from your least favorite opposing fanbases.

Clark can turn it around, but his window is uncertain. A spirited performance next week would make a difference in creating some momentum. These players are just not THAT bad.

[Golddore68]

Mason beat teams like ETSU and MTSU in his tenure because of his strategy of power running game. He would line up and run it down team’s throats. But that strategy wouldn’t have worked this year with the weaknesses we have with our offensive line and running back.

Mason’s best year, we started out 3-0 in our non conference games, including an upset over Kansas State, then CDM mouthed off about how we were going to do the same thing against Alabama. Well we know how that turned out. In his stubbornness CDM never understood that you can’t win with that strategy at Vanderbilt in the SEC (except over UT when they were struggling and weak Missouri teams).

[rumbledore]

Seemed like they abandoned the run game too early for me. It started looking pretty good when there was still enough time for another possession or two. I guess they were feeling the deficit.

[Seadog73]

Golddore68, it wasn't Mason that "mouthed off about how we were going to do the same thing against Alabama." It was then-prized recruit Nifae Lealeo.

[Golddore68]

Golddore68, it wasn't Mason that "mouthed off about how we were going to do the same thing against Alabama." It was then-prized recruit Nifae Lealeo.

Yes. I was thinking of the South Carolina game when Mason told everyone it was going to be “smash-mouth football.” Well, the only ones who did any smashing that game was South Carolina. We got blown out. Thanks for motivating South Carolina, CDM.