Well, Bruce Arians seems giddy about the James Franklin hire.
25 Replies
8mo
(In response to this post by MikeVT85)
8mo
The narrative that Franklin can't win big games is the product of unrealistic fan expectations, not serious analysis. Someone with Arians' experience at the highest levels of football understands this.
(In response to this post by MikeVT85)
8mo
(In response to this post by Beerman)
8mo
we'll go out and get Nick Saban after that. Haha.
(In response to this post by Beerman)
8mo
He's literally the "losingest" coach against top 10 teams in history (min 25 games). I remember a TON of folks here used to complain about the Beamer teams' record against the top 10. But yeah, pretty much the same sort of record with Franklin. But hey, 10 win seasons and playing in a few big games will be fun enough...
(In response to this post by Beerman)
8mo
this is an issue for anyone. We’ve struggled over the last decade just getting to bowl games-are we really going to complain that hiring Franklin isn’t a guarantee that we’ll get past the semis of the college football playoff
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
Meyer has multiple titles and played for a number more, Harbaugh won one in college and took the 9ers to the Super Bowl, Day has one at Ohio State and probably ends up with one or two more. Kind of unfortunate to play in the league against those coaches for 12 years.
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
Plenty of pretty good coaches in the SEC....
Looks, it's a lot of moving parts to be sure. But to say that data is 100% meaningless...or to claim its some kind of false narrative...
Really? There's something real there.
(In response to this post by Happy Dog)
V
VTJay
8mo
As are most…. Piece I would say to Coach Franklin’s record was how competitive were those games and if I recall many were very close. I’ll happily go back to 10-2 and just a play away from that big win. After that we will see what happens Let’s get back here first
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
It’s not a surprise that the higher ranked top ten team wins more. You are absolutely right that he was playing against some elite teams and coaches. And he was elite in his own way against everyone else.
It’s funny the standard that some are trying to apply to JF. He played some crazy good competition. And yes a small number of elite coaches did better than him. But that list is very small.
(In response to this post by Happy Dog)
8mo
Lunch Pail defense, offense that eats clock and scores enough to win, and complementary ST.
It worked for a while. Camelot.
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
chose or stuck with the wrong quarterback for far too long. I always thought that Beau Pribula should have been given a look.
A lot of those close losses to Top 10 teams were with Drew Allar at QB.
Not a big deal now. Water under the bridge. Love the hire. Love the Hokies.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
perceived to win enough of the big games early on in his career. The nickname stuck for his entire career even though his overall record in "big games" probably didn't justify the nickname. My point for bringing this up is that perception may matter more than the actual wins and losses. If Beamer had won a few more "big games" and/or they occurred at the "right time" in the season (or bowl season), then it is possible (maybe even likely) that people's perception of Beamer and VT would have been different regardless of his actual record against Top 10 teams. Examples could include Michigan (bowl game), Auburn (bowl game), Georgia (bowl game), Miami when MV2 was QB (Miami was #3 and VT I think was #5), Alabama (CFA Kickoff Game X2), Boise State (FedEx), USC (FedEx), and Kansas (bowl game). The same could true for Franklin and VT.
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
And has roughly the same win % as we do against the top ten.
But it’s also worth noting the fact that the vast majority of their top ten losses are only to Ohio State and Michigan. He has done well against other conference teams and OOC in top ten games.
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
It tells one very little.
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
When a guy like Franklin is 4-21 against top ten teams, while a guy like Kirby smart is 19-10, and Dabo is 18-13....that doesn't tell you something? That's PLENTY of sample size...
(In response to this post by 3Manysons)
V
VTJay
8mo
Our beloved Frank wasn’t any better.
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
So that’s counted as a top ten win for VT.
But that was the first game of the year and UNC ended up being 6-7 and unranked.
So it’s important to dig into the timing of the games and the quality of the top ten team. A top ten team in November is likely legit and very strong, which makes it hard to win.
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
8mo
because, as in your example, you didn't beat a Top 10 team. But when your 1-23 against Top 10 ranked teams, you don't need any more data to show you aren't very good against those teams.
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
8mo
I like the hire....I can't think of anyone who would have a better chance to make us A LOT better very quickly.
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
8mo
Is a reasonable ambition in the current environment. The reason its hard to beat a top 10 team is that, generally speaking, they are one of the best teams in the nation at that time. But yes, in order to break through every 4 to 5 years, its reasonable to believe you will need to at least break even thst year on any top ten games you face
(In response to this post by JoesterVT)
V
VaPoly07
8mo
(In response to this post by Beerman)
8mo
(In response to this post by VaPoly07)