Greetings, Lion fans, and there’s no other way to describe last night, and the entirety of the 2023 season is, “Thank Goodness it’s over.” A 52-14 beatdown at the hands of a 3-7 Southeastern Louisiana team finally ended what has to be the poorest season in recent memory for the Lions of Texas A&M-Commerce. Let’s get to it.

OFFENSE: Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. The Lions rushing game beyond pathetic. Yes, seven SELA quarterback sacks set the Lions back 59 yards, but this went far beyond that statistic. The Lions had 32 attempts for a -23 yards. You read that right. -23 yards. Their longest rush was 7 yards, and that was in the last stages of the game. Aside from the seven sacks, walk on freshman Mirko Martos, Josh Magana, and freshman Jahrik Jones were under constant pressure all evening, and when not running for their lives, were getting hit as they threw. Again, play calling seemed to make no logical sense. Basically, it was a continuation of what we’ve seen all season. A complete inability to get the ball into the hands of what play makers they do have.

DEFENSE: For the first time all season, the Blue Gang was quite literally pushed around. Southeastern, using a basic package of quarterback runs, gashed the Lion defense for 226 yards on 44 carries, averaging 5.1 yards per attempt. It wasn’t anything fancy or complicated, SELA just lined up, snapped the ball, and the quarterback either ran off tackle or around the end, and the Lions were not able to stop it. At all. The level of domination? In the first quarter alone, SELA ran 26 plays for 158 yards, with 9 first downs. The Lions? SIX PLAYS FOR SIX YARDS. Southeastern only threw the ball 31 times for 190 yards, and 10.6 yards per completion. This time, there were no halftime adjustments, and no clamps put on the opposing offense. This was a terrible start just got worse.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Easily their poorest performance of the year, and one quite unexpected. Emmanuel Adagbon concluded his Lion football career without another field goal attempt but was perfect on both extra point attempts. Mitchell McGarry had a punt blocked for the first time all season, and had his worst day average wise, 34.1 yards on seven punts. Coverage on kickoffs and punts were all right, but not to the standards that we’ve come to expect, and that the special teams have shown this season.

COACHING: To be bluntly honest, the Lions looked like a team that wanted to be anywhere else but where they were last night. Whatever progress the Lions may have made in the 2023 season disappeared in just 60 minutes Saturday night. Again, the Lions did not look ready to play in any facet of the game. There’s been no consistency of effort for more than one, maybe two games consecutively all year.

FINALLY: Never a more appropriate title for this segment. Finally, this nightmare of a season is over. When the staff here at The Wire analyzed this season, we approached it from a best case/worst case scenario. Best case: The offense, if they could make any measurable progress, would be a giant step forward. Even though 2022 starter Eric Rodriguez would be out for the whole season, the Lions had a whole spring and summer to develop transfers brought in through the portal and establish themselves with the rest of the skill position players. An offensive line that started five freshmen in 2022 now had a year’s experience and growth. A coaching staff brought in with a renewed emphasis on offense would be able to keep the defense off the field for long stretches of time and steal a game or two. 9-2. Worst case: A brutal early non-conference schedule would take its toll, the offense would have some kinks in implementing the new system, and the defense would get exposed at times, but would be respectable. 6-5.

What we saw was entirely different. A team that had no business finishing 1-9 did just that. There were some high notes: The lone win over McNeese State. The almost miracle finish in Virginia against FBS school Old Dominion. The strong effort against Incarnate Word. The low notes, however, were far more, and far more evident. Turnovers. Penalties, especially pre snap and self-inflicted ones, like personal fouls, continued to be a problem. An inability to settle on a quarterback, even when healthy. An offensive line that was in a constant state of flux and never did come together. The defense was inconsistent at best. There were times when they were able to make adjustments, and keep the Lions in games, but never showed the consistency of play that the Blue Gang standard set.

So, where do the Lions go from here? If there is a silver lining to be had, it is that the Lions have a full coaching staff and athletic director in place and prepared to head into a full recruiting off season. However, there are many more questions, some of which do not have an apparent answer.

There are issues here in the Lion football program. Ones that run deeper than injuries, lack of experience, or talent. What are they? We’re not sure. One thing is certain, though. Clint Dolezel and his staff are going to have to find and fix them. Because what we saw in 2023 can’t continue. Yes, Lion Nation is a spoiled fan base. It is a result of winning, and winning a lot, even when the wins weren’t plentiful, one could see the reasons why. Now, we can’t.

Here’s to a brighter 2024. It certainly can’t be as awful as 2023.