No one on this board knows what players were feeling nor trying to accomplish. I believe they all went out there to win and play to the best of their ability and to execute "what the coaches prepared them for". That being said, preparation is the key. It looked like preparation was just a word and preparation was all wrong. NO ONE IN THE RIGHT MIND EXPECTED THIS TO HAPPEN!
What's ironic, during the course of this season we have all seen things that caused us to justifiably believe that this coach made mistakes that caused us to lose games. Not once did I hear him admit to, or directly/indirectly respond to doing things wrong or making a mistake in decision making, and/or did not make adjustments. I never felt he believed "he had" things to learn or to adjust to. It was always the players. I really believe he has the Seniors to thank for the victories that did come this year. Their team meetings are what brought this group together, not him.
On the other hand, I heard Coach Groh from Va admit to causing his offense to not be prepared properly against I believe it was Clemson. He laid the blame square on his own shoulders. He said they (the coaches) were the teachers and did not do the right things in game preparation and ultimately in the game itself. He actually apologized in the interview.
You know, I'm not a big Groh fan but as a player I would respect my coach admiting that some of the blame should lie with him or them.