What they didn’t do here is win! I don’t care what TJ or Arroyo do elsewhere, the fact is they did not do it here. So that is my opinion on the matter, you think what you want but I care about UNLV, not Miami or Iowa State!
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- Thread starter LocoRebel
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No he's just terrible and players can't improve.
I don't care if he didn't play as a senior or if he saw limited reps.
🙂
What you are saying can be all true. Can blame someone for trying to capture that lighting in a bottle if they have done it before? Management issues by Arroyo? This is a school that throw the iconic coach under the bus for their ego. Now things have changed? Where are the changes?
So coaches find success the moment they went somewhere else, there is nothing wrong here?
I can't think of a single UNLV football head coach in the last 30+ years that had any success as a head coach after they left UNLV. Some have done ok as assistants, but as a head coach, it hasn't happened! You would need to go back to Ron Meyer to find the last coach who had success as a head coach after leaving UNLV!
Hauck is doing just fine at Montana. Tark did pretty well at Fresno. TJ is doing ok at Iowa State. Coach Gurg did just fine as well. Bayno done good to great wherever he goes.
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I think that everyone on this site cares about UNLV winning. Only question I have is, with Odom as the new coach and what he was able to recruit for next year, what are the chances of having a winning season? To me, it seems more like a rebuild despite comments to the contrary. Please let me know what am I missing? Thanks a lot.
The class doesn't blow me away. It's not bad. Not saying that at all. Although there are a couple transfers I think could make an immediate impact.
I think what the hope is, and personally I believe this to be true...
UNLV was close last year. 4 one score losses.
Flip even 1, you're bowl eligible.
If Arroyo's preparation, Xs and Os and in game management were the problem and Odom is in fact a better coach some of those one score losses should flip.
I also have a feeling that Odom will be better than Arroyo at identifying talent and fit.
He turned some after thought recruits at Mizzou into solid contributors..
Nothing on that team was commendable or deserved an award. He was not good and the team was terrible. It actually must have been a very small and poor pool of freshmen eligible for that award.
The bottom line is we are talking about taking that step ahead next season, and not embracing players on the 2 win team of two years ago just because. Friel just isn’t going to be good enough and his transfer will be best for all.
I'd say that it's not a bad idea for him to stick around this year since he's seen live game action. This way, we have three guys who shouldn't be shell-shocked should they get called into action.
That being said, I'm not going to argue that he can become the next Andrew Luck or Mike Vick (college versions, of course). He may just fill a roster spot for the remainder of his tenure here. But he also may come from a school or region that the coaches hope to get more players from. You don't sh.. on a guy and then hope that the next guy from there trusts you.
I think every year is going to relatively be a rebuild with the transfer portal for a program like UNLV. Also I meant to say that I would be surprised if Friel & Maiva didn't transfer for better opportunities, not that they should.
Odom was hired to win now, and not just make a bowl game. If the team doesnt win 8-10 games it will be a failure. This isnt about what the program has done in the past and accepting mediocrity because we "made a bowl". There is no rebuild, thats where Arroyo failed because he thought he had to strip down everything Tony had set up. Odom was hired along with his staff to win alot of games quickly. Its why he aggressively hired Petrino first and now Marion, a big up and comer in the coaching ranks... Again, AD wants the P5- how do you get that invite, you make your premier programs look like good. Odom winning 6 games isnt going to drive attendance at Allegiant...
So anything less than 8 wins will be a failure? At team that has not had more than 7 regular season wins since 1984. And we've only done that twice.
No one is saying we shouldn't try to win every game, and I'm not stating 8 wins isn't possible. But expecting that is a bit much.
I agree that there is a even smaller window to try to impress to gain P5 access. I do think a winning season is crucial right now. And yes 8+ wins is much better than 6 or 7.
Agreed. Personally, if he gets to 6 wins next season, I'd be impressed. Granted, I haven't looked at the schedule, but we've lost some key players, and he's implementing a new system that the team needs to learn. Hopefully they can pick it up quickly, and if so, we may blow past 6 wins, but I'm realistic in my expectations
I'm telling you yes. Because they fired Arroyo for not reaching 6, it wasn't a stretch to say we were a couple of plays from winning 3 games we lost by 1 score that could be fixes with coaching.
Odom isn't here to just win 6 games, he didn't come in to rebuild. He's here to win a lot of games over 2 maybe 3 seasons and get back to his roots in the Midwest and I'm fine with that. The biggest issues we've had is to rebuild after each coach gets fired because the program degrades rather than gets better... Arroyo wasn't supposed to do that, he was supposed to take Tony's 5 win program and upgrade some spots and keep getting better. Instead he tore everything down to 0 and while he was building back, he was fired for tearing it down in the first place.
It all goes to making the program look attractive enough short term to get the long term benefits(P5 invite)
If we go 6-6 next year, it’s a start in the right direction. Can we win 8, maybe, would I enjoy that… of course but a bowl game next year at 6-6 wouldn’t be a failure. I want UNLV football to win, as we all do but we have to start somewhere. It’s been 10 years since our last bowl game and I stand behind my statement, if UNLV goes to bowl games the next 3 years even if we only win 6-7 games per year, that would be something for our program!
I can understand the need to win 8+ games and not settle for another slow rebuild. Winning 6 games would be a one play improvement over last season which I do not believe is what anyone is looking for or expecting from this staff. I am tired of looking for any signs of life and settle for 5 or 6 wins as a success. I believe the bottom line in 7 wins and anything less is a failure! Maybe that is a lot compared to the past history of UNLV, but it has been this year after year settling and waiting for the next year which needs to be buried and replaced with the same kind of expectations that SDSU and BSU have every year!
I see a positive progression coming this next year. Odom clearly stated he is not done recruiting for next season so I will be looking for him to add experienced run blocking O Linemen and some run stuffers on the D Line. Lots of turnover coming around the country after spring ball. Not ruling out another QB via the portal.
Our conference schedule this year does not include Boise or SDSU which should give us a 1 year bump. 7-9 wins should be expected.
I am putting the Ov/Un at 15 more UNLV players to hit the portal before all is said and done.
Our conference schedule this year does not include Boise or SDSU which should give us a 1 year bump. 7-9 wins should be expected.
I am putting the Ov/Un at 15 more UNLV players to hit the portal before all is said and done.
Nah, Im done with "hope for 6 wins" teams... Dont be afraid to want more, especially with the $$ the program has invested in itself over past few years.
I guess it depends on what "failure" means.
If this coaching staff considers anything less that 8 wins a failure, than I think that is great.
But Harper, or even the fans? That is still a bit much.
I'm with you though. The time to win is now, especially for that P5 invite. the more wins the better, even in one season.
But that being said. The investment in the program itself speaks volumes, UNLV has a lot of other things going for it already. So just being competitive goes a long way and being bowl eligible is almost a minimum requirement. Showing progress and truly being able to compete near the top of the MW will go a long way.
It’s funny you mention Boise State as a successful program? Aren’t you the one who claims Boise is overrated like every year? I have no problems hoping for better but it has not been done here and expecting a huge leap in one year to 8-9 wins here is just that hope. Track record means something and we have none, not to mention recruiting this year while interesting was not overwhelmingly positive on the OL/DL positions which is where you win football games! The staff still has time to add lineman but if you think we just add some “scat” backs and Bailey as a starter at QB and we win 8-9 games, your nuts! I still like the idea of being bowl eligible 6-7 wins the next 3 years in a row as moving in the right direction!
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BSU is overrated almost every year which shows by how they play against out of conference teams from major conferences. Last year they got lucky to beat the same North Texas team that UNLV destroyed in their bowl game. Saying that a program is overrated doesn't mean they are not one of the top teams in the MWC, it means they are typically ranked in the top 25 based on past history not what they have done in the last 3-5 years. The MWC is far from what it was a decade ago, and that is why UNLV has finally figured out that they need to be desperate to improve football if we want any chance to get off the sinking ship before it goes under! As for being bowl eligible with 6 wins, that tells me that you are ok with UNLV showing a one play improvement over the entire season. A single play that scores would have given UNLV 6 wins!
California, FSU, SDSU, and Hawaii are all games that UNLV lost which could have been flipped by a single play. If the coaching staff had even won 2 of those games they would have been 7-5 instead of 5-7. If we hired a good coaching staff, then we should expect UNLV to have won at leat 3 of those games.
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I don't have any problems with setting a goal of 7 or 8 wins for the team. If you do that you could be playing in the MWC championship game next year. That would be amazing.
But I don't think it's really realistic.
This team had some okay talent, but some of that transferred or graduated, and the guys we had never stood up amongst their peers. This team that was so loaded last year that 8 wins is what we should get had 2 1 1st team all-MWC, and 2 2nd team all-MWC last year and they are all gone. Arroyo got guys here, but they never really seemed to develop. Recruiting looked great on paper, and never really showed up in the W column.
Realistically, I would be ECSTATIC to be bowl eligible next year. I'm not sure we're going to get there. This team has been 0.500 twice in the current millennium, my expectations are not quite as high as some around here already.
But I don't think it's really realistic.
This team had some okay talent, but some of that transferred or graduated, and the guys we had never stood up amongst their peers. This team that was so loaded last year that 8 wins is what we should get had 2 1 1st team all-MWC, and 2 2nd team all-MWC last year and they are all gone. Arroyo got guys here, but they never really seemed to develop. Recruiting looked great on paper, and never really showed up in the W column.
Realistically, I would be ECSTATIC to be bowl eligible next year. I'm not sure we're going to get there. This team has been 0.500 twice in the current millennium, my expectations are not quite as high as some around here already.
Precisely. Did we lose some players certainly, but we're not in terrible shape or bare cupboard rebuild. Odom was hired to fix those one possession losses. Both SDSU and Hawaii the team was flat out unprepared and Cal we had them right till the PI wasn't called...
I'm just done waiting/hoping for 6 wins from a coach as the standard of excellence. That's not acceptable anymore and would be a huge disappointment.
No one, ok maybe some, but not many truly feel like 6 wins is "standard of excellence" for this program.
But calling a bowl game a "Failure" for a program that hasn't been to one in 10 years in a coaching staff's first year is a different thing.
Deep down I think that this team can at least be a contender for the MW crown. Top 3-4.
People forget that Arroyo had the top recruiting class in the conference 2 years in a row. Sure some of those transferred out, but not that many.
I think we were hamstrung by poor game planning and a overly complicated, inefficient offense.
Now of course all of our returners may not fit into the schemes perfectly, but at least offensively it was designed to be adaptive to all kinds of personnel. Also that is Odom's philosophy, to adapt a defense to maximize the talent that he has.
Still 7 wins a Failure in year one. yeesh. With the amount we are paying, yes we should be expecting MW titles or at least playing for them, sometime in the future, but not until year 3 realistically.
But calling a bowl game a "Failure" for a program that hasn't been to one in 10 years in a coaching staff's first year is a different thing.
Deep down I think that this team can at least be a contender for the MW crown. Top 3-4.
People forget that Arroyo had the top recruiting class in the conference 2 years in a row. Sure some of those transferred out, but not that many.
I think we were hamstrung by poor game planning and a overly complicated, inefficient offense.
Now of course all of our returners may not fit into the schemes perfectly, but at least offensively it was designed to be adaptive to all kinds of personnel. Also that is Odom's philosophy, to adapt a defense to maximize the talent that he has.
Still 7 wins a Failure in year one. yeesh. With the amount we are paying, yes we should be expecting MW titles or at least playing for them, sometime in the future, but not until year 3 realistically.
Going 6-6 next year is just that, bowl eligible! Because I’m okay with that the next 3-4 years does not mean that I’m settling? Settling is your words not mine, so there’s that! As for your waffling on Boise just know that we don’t agree on your take about the Broncos either. I’d like to see this program walk before running and that takes persistent consistency not pipe dream aspirations! Let’s be bowl eligible next year and then we can pick up this debate at that time! Go Rebs!
Exactly.
Let's see them win six before we start talking about 10 wins and MWC titles.
If they do somehow get to 9 or 10 wins great.
But the idea that 6 wins and a bowl invite in year one would be disappointing seems odd.
Having realistic expectations while also being in the crappy MWC where an immediate upkick in wins is totally attainable are both true at same time. This conference sucks. Happy whether that comes with 6 or 10 wins in year one. Any crappy program in this conference can string together 2-3 impressive seasons out of the blue. Example. San Joser St.
This is why UNLV fails! They think small and the fans think small!
And when they fail to achieve the lofty standards I put in place, it's on them for failing not me for being unrealistic!!!
I mean, it's not a standard of excellence to go .500 and end up the the Mike's Hard Ice Tea Shaboigan Bowl, but it's a first great step.
I think a realistic standard of excellence for now is to build a program identity and integrity and set bowl eligibility every year as a real and attainable goal. Building a football program takes more time than basketball and requires more talent across the board.
But we don't have a standard of excellence. We can set lofty goals about conference championships and BCS invites, but we're just one step above piddling ourselves in football quality. We've been in the bottom 10 consistently in the last 30 years. We get 1-2 .500+ seasons a decade. We're really going to lift our noses up at Boise and SDSU and call them overrated? Boise State has been above .500 for the last 25 season.. Boise has been ranked in the top 25 in 18 of the last 25 season. Boise has been to two BCS bowls despite having coaches actually poached by P5 programs every 6 years on average. Harsin got poached by Auburn, Peterson by Washington, Hawkins by Colorado, Koetter by Arizona State, and Houston Nutt, by Arkansas. I'd be dancing on my neighbors' cars if UNLV got 80% of what Boise's overrated looks like.
Does the MWC suck? Sure. But we're a bottom tier program in a conference that sucks with no real history of success who has finally got into some good facilities in the past 2 years. We are part of the reason the conference sucksI do think Odom's plan is to take us into actually competing for conference titles and national rankings--but we are going to have to prove we can walk before we start bemoaning that our 100m time isn't world class.
I think a realistic standard of excellence for now is to build a program identity and integrity and set bowl eligibility every year as a real and attainable goal. Building a football program takes more time than basketball and requires more talent across the board.
But we don't have a standard of excellence. We can set lofty goals about conference championships and BCS invites, but we're just one step above piddling ourselves in football quality. We've been in the bottom 10 consistently in the last 30 years. We get 1-2 .500+ seasons a decade. We're really going to lift our noses up at Boise and SDSU and call them overrated? Boise State has been above .500 for the last 25 season.. Boise has been ranked in the top 25 in 18 of the last 25 season. Boise has been to two BCS bowls despite having coaches actually poached by P5 programs every 6 years on average. Harsin got poached by Auburn, Peterson by Washington, Hawkins by Colorado, Koetter by Arizona State, and Houston Nutt, by Arkansas. I'd be dancing on my neighbors' cars if UNLV got 80% of what Boise's overrated looks like.
Does the MWC suck? Sure. But we're a bottom tier program in a conference that sucks with no real history of success who has finally got into some good facilities in the past 2 years. We are part of the reason the conference sucksI do think Odom's plan is to take us into actually competing for conference titles and national rankings--but we are going to have to prove we can walk before we start bemoaning that our 100m time isn't world class.
Well said! It all starts with a first step, even the 100m relay starts with that first few steps!
I hope the coaches are still working the transfer portal because we need more OL/DL depth. The game is won in the trenches and that’s where we have been weakest. Let’s face it, in the past our OL don’t block and our DL does not get pressure, this equals subpar results every time. We were on to something initially until Petrino turned into who he is and left a good thing for what he believed to be a better thing. So first year just get bowl eligible, do it for all of us alums, fans ex UNLV coaches etc or whatever you are because if you post here you care! All except that Reno poster lady!
Is this what we do now to players who are the loyal to UNLV? This is improvement? You do that to my kid, you got another thing to deal with.
This minimum win number discussion is just that, words. You cannot achieve that number without support. Lips service aint crap. The recruiting class aint sh!t worth crap.
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Put some respect on @wolfgang jayn 's name. That's the three time defending champion of The Urinal Cake Melting competition at the Reno Fair.
