All of you who think our program is in such bad shape, what would you be saying if we had beaten Texas the last two years? Will you admit that despite how terrible our program is, we had leads against Texas Tech and West Virginia? I know we lost the games, but we were good enough to play with these teams, even after having been depleted by injuries. Will you admit that we would have had a good chance at being bowl eligible if we hadn't been hit with so many injuries (suspend blaming the coaches for the injuries for a moment)? I don't think we should underestimate the significance of losing Bundrage and Farniok on the outcome of the NDSU game (after starting with a 14-0 lead that made even LakesBison sit there quietly). Yes, these are "what if's," but they are real "what if's." I don't think we can ignore that fact that we have shown that we can be competitive, even in this season that feels so dismal.
We have a good coach. Maybe not great, but certainly good. He has made very good hires of assistant coaches recently. He has gotten aggressive in the JUCO market (which may be the trend for the future for northern plains schools). We have some great WR including one who is only a freshman.
He is committed to the institution which means that he can honestly tell recruits that he intends to be there for their entire careers. Can Nick Saban say that with as much honesty as Paul Rhoads?
He is a good fundraiser and has worked well with Pollard to improve our facilities. And I suspect that Rhoads himself gives back very generously to the program.
Maybe I just have rose-colored glasses, but I think we were a few injuries and a few big plays away from having a much different result over the last two years. Of course, I'm frustrated that we lost so many games, but I won't deny that we were competitive in many of them. And that wasn't because we were lucky or someone was having mercy on us. It was because we have coaches and players that are pretty good.
Lastly, I think the best path for the future is to build on the present, not to discard what we currently have. A disruption in the head coach position would be the worst thing we could do. Even if we went after a new head coach, things would get much worse, not better. Can you imagine what our team will be like if we throw away a few years of recruiting?
Glad to hear Pollard coming out in support of Coach Rhoads.