The players. To be fair, the coaches have said it too, but it’s the fact that we’ve heard it come from the players themselves (and they believe it in specific ways) is what the media has missed all year.

The narrative: “ we know we can get better “

Sure Jay Hill’s defense has been wonderful, but the OK state game showed it wasn’t about the defensive scheme alone. Maybe SMU was closer than it should have been because the offense still hadn’t found its groove fully by then, but it turns out that performance was really a lot better than everyone knew at the time considering the competition.

Here’s what has remained consistent: the players knowing, and publicly stating, they can get better.

Kalani, when asked what is behind his teams success, has over the past three weeks said something like “I’m just so proud of our player led team, the leadership of the team captains has been special.” Coach speak right?

Not this year. The coaches have created a structure for the players to help each other improve. And it’s working!

Pretty exciting to think this may create a sustainable high-quality program. I am hesitant to make this potentially overstated observation, but we could be looking at the emergence of a new dynasty here.