2012 Season Recap
2012 Season Recap
2012 Season
Final Record: 8-5, (6-2)
2nd in the Sun Belt
GoDaddy.com Bowl Winners
----------------------------------------------------
SCHEDULE
[table="head;width=45em;color="white""]Week|Date|Opponent|Opp Record|Result
1|08/25|@ #3 LSU|10-3|L, 20-62
2|09/01|BYE||
3|09/08|@ Kansas State|8-5|W, 49-46
4|09/15|vs Iowa|11-3|L, 24-70
5|09/17|@ Houston|9-4|L, 31-41
6|09/29|vs FIU|8-5|L, 24-28
7|10/06|@ FAU|6-6|L, 34-51
8|10/13|vs ULL|3-9|W, 43-7
9|10/20|BYE||
10|10/22|@ Western Kentucky|7-6|W, 17-14
11|11/03|@ MTSU|6-6|W, 38-13
12|11/10|vs Troy|7-6|W, 17-0
13|11/17|BYE||
14|11/24|@ ULM|4-8|W, 41-38 (OT)
15|12/01|vs Arkansas State|3-9|W, 48-21
Champ||BYE||
Bowl|01/06|vs NIU|9-5|W, 35-18[/table]
With the loss of stud HB Lance Dunbar, I knew it was going to be tough sledding in 2012. I had no idea it would be as tough as it was in the beginning.
Much like last season, we started off terribly. By Week 7, we had managed only one win. Unlike last season, the majority of 2012's losses were magnificent blowouts. Our defense never came to play in the first half of the season. Our only victory (@ KSU) was a shootout decided in the final minute.
We struggled to run the ball early. Because the defense couldn't make a stop, we'd fall behind incredibly quickly and be forced into a no-huddle passing offense. This led to QB Derek Thompson topping 500 yards passing three times in the first 5 games.
However, our luck changed on a Friday the 13th in November, when we faced ULL. Everything clicked in a 43-7 blowout of the Ragin' Cajuns and it was all downhill from there.
We rattled SEVEN CONSECUTIVE WINS en route to a second-place finish in the Sun Belt. In that stretch, Derek Thompson didn't even surpass 300 yards passing until the final three games of the season. In that same period, HB Brandin Byrd topped the 100-yard rushing mark five times.
What looked to be a doomed season eventually turned out to be an improvement over 2011's magical run.
----------------------------------------------------
PASSING
Derek Thompson: 2012 National Passing Leader
[table="head;width=45em"]Class|Name|Rating|Comp|Att|Yards|YPG|YPC|TD|INT|Comp %|Sack
RS JR|Derek Thompson|148.8|281|509|4918|378.3|17.5|35|26|55|48
RS FR|Andrew McNulty|143.7|18|32|302|23.2|16.7|2|2|56|1
[/table]
In his second year in my spread attack, Derek Thompson led the nation in passing yardage. Almost all facets of his game improved a great deal except for his turnover ratio, which decreased slightly.
Also, his sacks taken total shows just how improved our offensive line play was. Thompson was brought down two less times in 108 extra opportunities, which is fantastic considering the sack rate last season was abysmal.
Andrew McNulty looked good in his opportunities and has set himself up nicely as the QB of the future when Thompson departs.
----------------------------------------------------
RUSHING
Brandin Byrd performed better than expected in his first year as a starter.
[table="head;width=45em"]Class|Name|Att|Yards|Avg|YPG|TD|Fumbles
JR|Brandin Byrd|180|976|5.4|108.4|8|1
RS SO|Antoinne Jimmerson|138|586|4.2|45.0|6|2
FR|Rasheed Barnes|26|107|4.1|10.7|0|0[/table]
After losing star tailback Lance Dunbar to graduation, HB Brandin Byrd had to step up into a starting role. Thankfully, he blew away all expectations. In nearly every statistical category, Byrd trumped Dunbar's 2011 campaign - except in one vital area: health.
In 2012, Byrd missed all or part of the first five games of the season. This forced Antoinne Jimmerson, a power back better suited to short-yardage situations, into a starting role. Jimmerson was solid, but lacked the big play capability of Byrd.
Freshman Rasheed Barnes was forced into playing early due to Byrd's injury and performed well. He'll be a great back down the line.
----------------------------------------------------
RECEIVING
Tyler Stradford proved his Junior campaign was no fluke.
[table="head;width=45em"]Class|Pos|Name|Rec|Yards|YPC|YPG|TD|Long|Drops
RS SR|WR|Tyler Stradford|51|1315|25.7|101.1|11|84|3
RS SR|WR|Christopher Bynes|46|791|17.1|60.8|1|80|4
RS SO|WR|Brelan Chancellor|42|1005|23.9|77.3|14|80|5
SR|TE|Andrew Power|41|688|16.7|52.9|2|80|1
SR|TE|Daniel Prior|26|171|6.5|13.1|0|20|4
[/table]
In my second year, our air attack absolutely flourished. With veterans littering the field, going 4 or 5-wide was almost unfair to other teams.
Tyler Stradford again led the team from the outside. However, a big surprise was the emergence of speedy wideout Brelan Chancellor. He's the only receiver with any significant playing time in 2012 returning next year and hopefully he can deliver on a promising start.
Our TEs and HBs were equally reliable. Andrew Power was able to stretch defense as a Flex TE and Daniel Prior was a consistent threat in short-yardage situations. HB Antoinne Jimmerson flashed sticky hands out of the backfield and may be looked upon more next season if no other wideouts can prove themselves.
----------------------------------------------------
AWARDS
QB Derek Thompson - Sun Belt Offensive Player of Week 3, 5 & 15
WR Tyler Stradford - Sun Belt Offensive Player of Week 1
WR Brelan Chancellor - Sun Belt Offensive Player of Week 14 & Bowl Week 3
----------------------------------------------------
NCAA RECORDS
Longest Pass: QB Derek Thompson - 84 yards
SCHOOL RECORDS
Passing Yards (Game): QB Derek Thompson - 627 yards
Passing Yards (Season): QB Derek Thompson - 4920 yards
Passing Yards (Career): QB Derek Thompson - 8668 yards
Passing TD (Season): QB Derek Thompson - 35 TDs
Receiving Yards (Career): WR Tyler Stradford - 2648 yards
----------------------------------------------------
HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER
RS SR QB Andrew Luck, Stanford
201.6 Efficiency Rating, 238-312, 3068 yards, 41 TD, 1 INT, 76.3%
The interesting thing about the 2012 Heisman was in regards to the votes:
Michael Ford, HB, LSU - 331 1st, 329 2nd, 109 3rd - 1760 total votes
Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford - 350 1st, 301 2nd, 106 3rd - 1758 total votes
Michael Ford won the popular vote, while Andrew Luck had more 1st Place votes. Andrew Luck won.
2004 all over again.
----------------------------------------------------
BCS BOWL RESULTS
Rose Bowl: Wisconsin 31, Baylor 19
Fiesta Bowl: Texas 41, LSU 34
Orange Bowl: Boston College 19, USF 7
Sugar Bowl: Virginia Tech 41, South Carolina 31
BCS National Championship: Stanford 30, Nebraska 17
----------------------------------------------------
Coach Josh Miller
[table="head;width=45em"]Year|Position|Team|Record|Bowl|Champ
2011|OC|North Texas|7-6|New Mexico Bowl (W, 48-42)|None
2012|OC|North Texas|8-5|GoDaddy.com Bowl (W, 35-18)|None
TOTAL|
-|
-|
15-11|
2-0|
-[/table]
----------------------------------------------------
At the end of the season, I knew I would have a lot of offers rolling in. I knew I wasn't ready for a primetime gig as the OC at a successful BCS AQ program, but I thought I had the ability to jump up to a floundering BCS school to see what I could do.
Another reason that made me want to take the leap was the likelihood that my quarterback, Derek Thompson, would try and make a jump to the NFL after a record-breaking season. I didn't think he was ready, but I had a feeling.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find out if he was staying or not before making my decision as the offers would be off the table before he would inform me of his decision, so I decided to take an offer to be the Offensive Coordinator for the...
2013 LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
Head Coach Charlie Strong asked me to come aboard after a rough 5-7 season in which the Cardinals lost six of their final 8 games.
I'll be taking my spread running attack with me in the hopes that a supreme talent like QB Teddy Bridgewater can take my offense to the next level in 2013. Hopefully it can get him some serious NFL attention in the process.
It's only a one-year contract - an intense trial run. Who knows what will happen after this? A failure could mean being bumped down to the lower ranks, while success could mean either a longer contract in Louisville or a catapult into the upper echelon of CFB programs.