Unfortunately, the program has a lot of issues.
There are not any quick fixes.
In no particular order:
No adaptation with changes in CFB. To be fair, I’m not a fan of the free agent aspects of CFB, but those are the rules of the game. Dabo has decided to not play with the capabilities allowed. Those decisions have consequences.
We have lost a lot of quality assistant coaches over the last 5-6 years and largely replaced them with inexperienced or ineffective coaches.
We have missed significantly on QB recruiting since TL. Neither DJU or CK are impactful players, at least in a positive way. It is really hard to be elite when the most important position is average to below average.
We continue to be below average on the OL. This is nothing new. We haven’t had a truly dominant OL in decades. Again, elite QB play can mask this issue (however, see above).
We have missed or failed to acquire sufficient skill at premium positions in several recruiting cycles. In particular, how many of the WRs over the last 3-4 years would have played on the 2015-2021 teams? Not many.
Offensive play calling hasn’t been good/exciting/innovative in a long while.
It is really difficult to dink and dump the ball down the field all game long against quality opponents.
If the talent has experienced a drop off, which I believe it has, then play calling has to be elite. Unfortunately, neither is anything other than average.
The defense is still pretty good, but not dominant. And it can’t hold up over the course of a tough game when the offense is so inept.
At this point, I’d say that we are a program in the 20-35 range. If the stars and moon align we can compete with many teams. However, we will look really bad at other times. Essentially, slightly better than the Bowden years.
Those are a lot of issues. Most aren’t fixable during the season. Obviously, most weren’t fixed in the offseason.
With all that being said, we have 8-9 win potential, which is really an indictment of the ACC.
There are not any quick fixes.
In no particular order:
No adaptation with changes in CFB. To be fair, I’m not a fan of the free agent aspects of CFB, but those are the rules of the game. Dabo has decided to not play with the capabilities allowed. Those decisions have consequences.
We have lost a lot of quality assistant coaches over the last 5-6 years and largely replaced them with inexperienced or ineffective coaches.
We have missed significantly on QB recruiting since TL. Neither DJU or CK are impactful players, at least in a positive way. It is really hard to be elite when the most important position is average to below average.
We continue to be below average on the OL. This is nothing new. We haven’t had a truly dominant OL in decades. Again, elite QB play can mask this issue (however, see above).
We have missed or failed to acquire sufficient skill at premium positions in several recruiting cycles. In particular, how many of the WRs over the last 3-4 years would have played on the 2015-2021 teams? Not many.
Offensive play calling hasn’t been good/exciting/innovative in a long while.
It is really difficult to dink and dump the ball down the field all game long against quality opponents.
If the talent has experienced a drop off, which I believe it has, then play calling has to be elite. Unfortunately, neither is anything other than average.
The defense is still pretty good, but not dominant. And it can’t hold up over the course of a tough game when the offense is so inept.
At this point, I’d say that we are a program in the 20-35 range. If the stars and moon align we can compete with many teams. However, we will look really bad at other times. Essentially, slightly better than the Bowden years.
Those are a lot of issues. Most aren’t fixable during the season. Obviously, most weren’t fixed in the offseason.
With all that being said, we have 8-9 win potential, which is really an indictment of the ACC.
