I am still trying to make sense of not just the calamity that is the 2010 inaugural season for Turner Gill, but also of the future for Gill's teams here at KU.  Gill's new offense, defense, and mantra haven't taken hold yet, as far as producing on-the-field results, anyway (to say the least).  But can we look at Gill's time as Buffalo's head coach to get some insight into what's happening now and what will happen in the future?

Season 1, 2006: 2-10 Record (83rd toughest schedule) - Sagarin Ranking #150, 12th in the MAC

The record looks familiar, and so does the conference ranking.  I guess that's good news?

Season 2, 2007: 5-7 Record (107th toughest schedule) - Sagarin Ranking #115, 6th of 13 in the MAC (they actually tied for the lead in their division)

Would we take 5-7 next season?  This was Buffalo's best season in decades.  I suppose the glimmer of hope would be that Gill's system/mantra just took a little while to work it's way into the players' performance.

Season 3, 2008: 8-6 Record (92nd toughest schedule) - Sagarin Ranking #76, 2nd of 13 in the MAC

Another jump.  This used to be the question (before the question became "WTF?"): Is this Gill's peak, or is this just a step along his upward trend?  Looking back at this season, it's actually a little disappointing that Buffalo was still below the median according to Sagarin - I would have thought they were more like a #40-ish team.

Season 4, 2009: 5-7 Record (106th toughest schedule) - Sagarin Ranking #107, 6th of 13 in the MAC

This season suggests that 2008 really was Gill/Buffalo's peak. The 2009 results certainly did not build on the relative success of 2007 and 2008.

But I'm willing to cross that bridge when we come to it, if that means that Gill will take this abysmal 2010 and provide a positive 2011 and 2012, similar to Gill's 2nd and 3rd seasons at Buffalo.

Sagarin Index link