Couple of observations

saxondawg said:
I didn't see every single play, but my impression is probably no one this season will defend the triple option that well. Notre Dame has a lot of talent. Having said that, this game proved to me again that your own defense is ready for prime time. Roof has worked miracles with it in my opinion, and has had to work with what he inherited from a poor defense before him. Keep him at all costs.

I thought Tech would win this one but like many, I underrated ND, particularly playing at South Bend where the Archbishop presides over "further review" in the box.

As others have said, the game is early; it will cost little in the rankings and nothing in the league; and is much better preparation for league games than another FCS type team. Just avoid a letdown against Duke and the ACC is there for the taking. But are you ready for the greatest rejected Virginia quarterback in NCAA history??? :naughty:
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A sad day when a Dwag fan is more level headed than 90% of our fanbase.
 
nD hired a triple-O specialist to help them get ready for this game, and recruited a running QB just to run the scout team offense, they were serious about beating us! It doesn't help that they play Navy every year either.
 
swampsting said:
I thought that was the kid who went to Alabama. Or was that the other way around?
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Not sure if you're talking to me, but the FSU kid (Coker) went to Bama. ND's old QB has gone to FSU. And the Va QB (who really did struggle last season) is at UGA.
 
gtphd said:
It was a bullshit call. Should have been a TD.

Also, Fuller was pushing off all game, which is why Milton looked terrible. And not just slight push offs, full arm extension push-offs.
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His two big catches were minor pushoffs that yes were indeed pushoffs but they used to let Calvin get away with them too. Needed to double that guy on 3rd down.
 
Yeah, wasn't the first one on 3rd and 16? I know it's one of those things where "it's great if it works," but bringing the house on that play is questionable. Play man-to-man on the other receivers, but not that guy.
 
I agree wigh most of the level headed stuff already posted, so I won't repeat it. However, in the spirit of bitching, why were the late hits on jt not called? I saw at least 2 uncalled.
 
gtphd said:
It was a bullshit call. Should have been a TD.

Also, Fuller was pushing off all game, which is why Milton looked terrible. And not just slight push offs, full arm extension push-offs.
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CPJ was going off on the refs for that one
 
Didnt read the whole thread, so sorry if this was mentioned, but to me, our lack of a reliable go-to receiver finally caught up to us. We got out of many long 3rd down situations last year by having Waller and Smelter as reliable options. We are missing that this year. We were in 3rd and 8 all game and couldnt do crap passing the ball. ND tightened down on the run game and without a threat at receiver we couldnt keep their DB's back to open up the run like we could at then end of last year.

I hope someone emerges soon as a go-to receiver.
 
I don't think we can say we lacked a receiver in this game since JT struggled to throw anywhere close to the guys we did have. Lots of underthrows and throw behinds.
 
coit said:
I don't think we can say we lacked a receiver in this game since JT struggled to throw anywhere close to the guys we did have. Lots of underthrows and throw behinds.
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OL sucked. I think we need to have a series of plays where we ignore the gyrations of the option. Justin was constantly stuck in a position where he had to go to the first read.
 
coit said:
I don't think we can say we lacked a receiver in this game since JT struggled to throw anywhere close to the guys we did have. Lots of underthrows and throw behinds.
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JT obviously did not play well, but the receivers were not getting open, forcing JT to scramble and throw it up too often. Receivers also had several chances but couldnt come down with the ball enough. Not saying they were bad drops, but we need to make more plays in traffic against those tight D's or we will be helpless in 3rd and long all season.

If we are back to a situation where our passing game relies way too heavily on A backs we will struggle on 3rd and long all year.
 
In the thread about your keys to the game my #1 was "O-line keeps their D-line from getting penetration to disrupt the option game". We didn't, and the option game was in trouble. JT was really panicked at times and seemed reluctant to just get what he could. He's used to improvising to keep a play going. ND would have none of that - they stayed with their responsibilities and made tackles.

The key to stopping our option is to get penetration into the lane our QB needs open in order to run the option effectively. I love to hear about defenses that plan to stay back and carry out their assignments. They are great candidates for getting cut blocked all day long. ND put their D-line right on the line of scrimmage and in the gaps and got penetration.

What can you do when they get that kind of penetration? It's hard to win when you don't have control of the line of scrimmage, but I think bringing an A-back next to the B-back and run the counter we ran so effectively at NCSU a few years ago is one idea. Rocket toss and FB sweeps are an idea, as are wheel routes in the passing game. Anything that has some element of misdirection or either gets more blockers to the point of attack is worth a try.
 
I'm surprised there wasn't more rocket toss, as they had 8 in the box most of the game. Part of the problem was missed opportunities deep (i seem to remember most being overthrown, not under). Additionally, with all of that pressure on the front, the blocking inexperience seem to really get exposed. I think the ajc commented on us getting away with some bad blocking in the first two games.
 
I felt like we were lined up with three wide all öööö game. Why not run the diamond?!

I feel like we need a screen pass or something of the like for when the D-line is so aggressive...

Armchair quarterbacking I guess.
 
beej67 said:
His two big catches were minor pushoffs that yes were indeed pushoffs but they used to let Calvin get away with them too. Needed to double that guy on 3rd down.
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How you let one of the best receivers in the country get man coverage on 3rd and 20... Wtf.. Also agree seemed like we could have had a rocket toss or two
 
buzztheirazz said:
I felt like we were lined up with three wide all öööö game. Why not run the diamond?!

I feel like we need a screen pass or something of the like for when the D-line is so aggressive...

Armchair quarterbacking I guess.
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There were a lot of weird motions in the game. Looked very different from our typical offense. Could've been part of the problem.
 
I don't think Johnson/Thomas figured out how to attack the ND defense until the very end of the game. I think Johnson gets some preconceived notion in his head about what play(s) will work and then proceeds to run those play(s) come hell or high water. He usually burns the first quarter probing and then turns it loose the rest of the game but sometimes he just has trouble moving on from what his original game plan was even in the face of repeated failure.

It happens and overall he is right a lot more than he is wrong. I hope even an old goat like him (I'm one too), can learn a new trick every now and then. Hopefully he will use this as a lesson in how to be more flexible in the face of adversity.

Go Jackets!
 
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