We were warned ... but hoped for the best. (And this thread title says it all.)
As I've said on many threads, I only played the game at the scrub level. And those who've followed my posts know I'm mostly a "numbers guy" and neither a "sugar coater" nor "doom and gloomer."
That being said ... football is not rocket science: The X's and O's are there in books and observations. I've been observing, and studying, college football for going on sixty years. (And, yes, it's changed over the years ... but not really as much as some people think.) For those same 50-60 years, I've listened to "coach-speak." Hauck warned us -- not is so many words, obviously, that the team had weaknesses that had to be corrected. For equally-obvious reasons, he never doubted the players' effort or commitment (nor should we).
Posters who question the staff's ability have it totally backwards, IMO. And this game is a prime example, believe it or not. With two weeks to get ready, they found a way to maximize what the Griz can do well, and hide/protect their weaknesses. And make no mistake, UC-Davis is a very good team, definitely deserving their high ranking. UCD had no need to "out-coach" UM for the second half ... they only had to figure out what Hauck & company had done to screw them up
and adjust for it. After that, the better talent would take care of the rest.The game turned into a blowout when the Griz got desperate and made mistakes.
The Griz now have no chance, IMO, to make the playoffs, but I do think (having seen their opponents play) they can win out. That should be their goal.