Put Howland's tenure at MSU in football terms
- Thread starter QuaoarsKing
- Start date
His 7 years here:
In football terms?
- 2015-16: 14-17 (7-11)
- 2016-17: 16-16 (6-12)
- 2017-18: 25-12 (9-9) NIT Final 4
- 2018-19: 23-11 (10-8}8)8) 5 Seed in NCAA, lost in first round
- 2019-20: 20-11 (11-7) On the bad side of the bubble going into the SECT
- 2020-21: 18-15 (8-10) NIT Final 2
- 2021-22: 18-15 (8-10) pending postseason
In football terms?
- 2015-16: 5-7 (3-5)
- 2016-17: 5-7 (3-5)
- 2017-18: 8-5 (4-4), W Birmingham Bowl
- 2018-19: 9-4 (4-4), L Outback Bowl, causing us to finish unranked
- 2019-20: 8-4 (5-3), headed to Music City Bowl before it was canceled
- 2020-21: 7-6 (3-5), W Birmingham Bowl
- 2021-22: 6-6 (3-5), headed to Birmingham again
It's also more difficult to make true postseason in basketball in the SEC. To me fans view a bowl as a bowl - just make one. You are judged by NCAA tournament appearances in basketball where the NIT doesn't count. But like I said a few weeks ago, the lower tier bowls are the equivalent of the NIT.
2017 7 and 6 with win in the ****** Tampa bowl or birmingham bow
2018 8-5 with a loss in the music city bowl
(9 and 3 in football with a loss in the out back bowl is greater than making the tourney as a 5 seed and losing in round 1 to liberty, but they both suck)
2019 7-5 headed back to the liberty or birmingham bowl
2020 5-7 squeak in to some crappy bowl on a technicality
2021 5-7 miss out on the technicality
2018 8-5 with a loss in the music city bowl
(9 and 3 in football with a loss in the out back bowl is greater than making the tourney as a 5 seed and losing in round 1 to liberty, but they both suck)
2019 7-5 headed back to the liberty or birmingham bowl
2020 5-7 squeak in to some crappy bowl on a technicality
2021 5-7 miss out on the technicality
Without a whole lot of thought, I see him as Dan Mullen of basketball, minus the 2014 season. Middle to below middle in SEC, most of the time. Winning most, if not all the ones he should, while fans really know that he is not going to win against the elite.
Looks about right. Although, that looks like a safe football coach to me. Especially if he were winning Egg Bowls.
To follow up, Mullen had three teams finish the year in the Top 25, including 2 in the Top 15. Howland never had a single Top 25 finish.
This is true. However, I think most all of us would agree that it's easier for MSU to compete at higher levels in basketball than in football, just due to resources available. So it makes the basketball version a little less acceptable. Plus, in basketball, we have a universally accepted measuring stick of 'success', which is the NCAA tournament. In football we have no such thing. Making a bowl is no longer a benchmark, and the playoff is too exclusive for most. Just big sea of gray area between those. Guess you could say the 8/9 win mark in the closest thing to an NCAA berth, but unlike the NCAAs, an 8/9 win bowl gives you no hope, whereas anyone can make a run in the Dance.
Football could fix that last part, but it appears only the SEC is interested in doing so.
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For my football analogy as for Howland's tenure I'd just recycle "a tie is like kissing you sister". Dull and boring but it could have been worse.
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No tournament in years 1-2, a 3 seed and 1-2 at the Regional loss in every year except 2018-19, which was a 2 seed and 1-2 at the Regional.
I may have been a little harsh. We probably would have been a 2 seed in the years we were at or above .500 in the SEC, but still no equivalences to winning a Regional
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