Coming off of a 6-5 record in 2007, many thought the Southwestern Oklahoma would take the next step towards being a power in the LSC North in 2008. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
The Bulldogs finished up with a very disappointing 3-8 record in 2008, and their Head Coach - Ryan Held - didn't make it to the end of the season before deciding he would step down from his position.
Their 3 wins came against NSU, Oklahoma Panhandle and Northwestern Oklahoma. Looking back at Southwestern's LSC Scoop Season Preview, we stated:
"...Playing Oklahoma Pandhandle and Northwestern Oklahoma again should be 2 easy wins. Southwestern has alot of swing games this year that could easily go either way..."
Southwestern ended up going a disappointing 1-4 in those games. The games we listed as swing games were as follows, along with the actual scores:
- Eastern New Mexico - Lost 37-24
- Angelo State - Lost 24-2
- Northeastern State - Won 17-16
- East Central - Lost 42-21
- Central Oklahoma - Lost 23-16
Due to the fact that Southwestern is in the middle of a transition period right now while looking for a new Head Coach, we spoke with Southwestern Athletic Director Todd Thurman, and he gave us the following insight on their season and the future of the Bulldog program:
"We felt like this season was just one play away from being a great year. If we could have knocked down the ball at the end of the Tarleton State game and not allowed the game winning touchdown with less than 13 seconds, it would have made all the difference for the rest of the season. That is how important the mental part of the game is.
Coach Held left us with the program in great shape. We are hoping to find the best possible candidate that fits Southwestern Oklahoma State University. We are exciting about the interest that we are receiving, and feel confident that the program will move forward under new leadership."
2008 LSC Statistical Rankings
#11 Scoring Offense
#8 Scoring Defense
#11 Passing Efficiency
#12 in Sacks (only 18)
#11 in Turnover Margin (-4)
#13 in Red Zone Defense (83%)
#3 Passing Defense
#2 Fewest Penalty Yards (62 ypg)
Standout Players of 2008 (Conference Rankings)
RB Luke Lundy - #10 Rushing Yds (55 ypg) - LSC North Freshman of the Year
QB Steve Day - #5 Passing Yards (232 ypg), #5 in Total Offense (226 ypg) - HM LSC North
DB Demarcus Render - #3 Interceptions (5) - 2nd Team LSC North
DL Justin Cannon - #6 Tackles for Loss (15.5) - 2nd Team LSC North
LB Ruzell McCoy - #3 Tackles (107), #1 Tackles for Loss (20.5) - 1st Team LSC North - Co-LB of the Year
LB Jason Burgess - #10 Tackles (81), #12 Tackles for Loss (12) - 1st Team LSC North
LSC Scoop Preseason Predictions:
Best Case Scenario - 8-3
Worst Case Scenario - 4-7 "...If the breaks don't fall their way in the swing games mentioned above, it could be a rough season for Southwestern..."
Actual Record - 3-8
3 comments:
OK. Two year-end reviews posted by Scoop and both times the team's actual record was worse than Scoop's predicted worse case scenario. They got to feel good about that! Worse than worse case is pretty bad!
Wouldn't that kind of be expected for the bottom teams in the rankings?
Not really. I'd say worse case scenario is what would be expected of your last place team or teams. But like it said, they were worse than even that.
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