Snowed in today so I thought I would do a little research to see if the stats tell the same story as what my eyes are seeing. We finished the year ranked 117th in the Sagarins, which is the 5th worst VU Team in the last 28 years. Here are the worst 5 VU teams per Sagarin beginning in 1996:
#1 2021 (Clark Lea year 1): 143
#2 2010 (Robbie Caldwell lame duck year): 126
#3 2020 (Derek Mason's last year): 122
#4 2014 (Derek Mason's first year): 120
#5 2023 (Clark Lea year 3): 117
Sagarin Ranking Average per Coach since 1996 (not counting Caldwell):
#1 James Franklin: 34.33 (!!!)
#2 Bobby Johnson: 80
#3 Woody Widenhofer: 88.2
#4 Derek Mason: 91.43
#5 Clark Lea: 118.33 (27 spot difference between #4 and #5)
SEC winning % per Coach since 1996 (not counting Caldwell):
#1 James Franklin 45.8%
#2 Bobby Johnson 18.75%
#3 Derek Mason 17.86%
#4 Woody Widenhofer 10%
#5 Clark Lea 8.33%
For Clark Lea to rise to #4 in either category next year, he would have to field the #10 team per Sagarin next year and win 2 SEC games.
I recently saw where someone said they had never criticized Clark Lea before. Well, if they're having that much trouble, just direct them to this post and they can finally find something. That's like saying you can't find anything to compliment Nick Saban on. It's so preposterous that no one can take anything else seriously that is said.
#1 2021 (Clark Lea year 1): 143
#2 2010 (Robbie Caldwell lame duck year): 126
#3 2020 (Derek Mason's last year): 122
#4 2014 (Derek Mason's first year): 120
#5 2023 (Clark Lea year 3): 117
Sagarin Ranking Average per Coach since 1996 (not counting Caldwell):
#1 James Franklin: 34.33 (!!!)
#2 Bobby Johnson: 80
#3 Woody Widenhofer: 88.2
#4 Derek Mason: 91.43
#5 Clark Lea: 118.33 (27 spot difference between #4 and #5)
SEC winning % per Coach since 1996 (not counting Caldwell):
#1 James Franklin 45.8%
#2 Bobby Johnson 18.75%
#3 Derek Mason 17.86%
#4 Woody Widenhofer 10%
#5 Clark Lea 8.33%
For Clark Lea to rise to #4 in either category next year, he would have to field the #10 team per Sagarin next year and win 2 SEC games.
I recently saw where someone said they had never criticized Clark Lea before. Well, if they're having that much trouble, just direct them to this post and they can finally find something. That's like saying you can't find anything to compliment Nick Saban on. It's so preposterous that no one can take anything else seriously that is said.
