Post SC State Game Discussion 9.9.2023

USCJacket said:
Both LOS’s are going to be an issue next week and against quality ACC teams.

OL does not open up holes up the middle.
DL gets very little pass rush.
WR blocking on the quick bubble screens was bad against UofL and wasn’t much better today.

Injuries to Lane and Haynes are also concerning. To me Haynes has already established himself as the lead RB.
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Haynes played much better today than last week, I hated to see him go out of the game. But, Cooley ran really well today, too. Having Haynes and Cooley gives us a nice change up against a defense, but both are good, capable backs.
 
I like the new OC so far. He seems to understand what we can and cannot do. Our OL isn’t driving anyone off the ball, but they seem pretty good at maintaining run blocks. So our playcalls seem to have the OL drag the DL/LB into the mud and then let our RB find the gaps. The previous two OC never got that but kept calling plays we couldn’t execute.

The D still looks bad. It is like a Roof defense without the turnovers. I think we’ll do better against teams that want to line up and run to a specific spot. We do worse in space so the spread and option offenses make us look worse than we are.
 
coit said:
My concern as well. This is what will keep us from a bowl game. We will score enough points. Just won’t be able to get enough stops.
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Alright calm down. It’s game 2. UNC and Clemson don’t look like world beaters either. Thacker turned it around last year, he might pull it off again.
 
Our offense, barring a rash of injuries, is going to put up enough points. I think our secondary is just good enough to get enough stops for us to outscore some opponents and go 4-3 the rest of the way in conference. BGSU is a must win for us to go bowling. Our defense is bad, but let's be honest, it's on par with CPJ era defenses maybe even a little better. Our offense clearly improved as the game went on and I'd venture to say that if we'd had our OL clicking last Friday like it was today that we would've pulled off the upset over Louisville.
 
I thought Lane was on crutches in the 2nd half/late in the game. Kelly goes out with a back injury. All of a sudden we are thin in the 2 Deep on the DL. It’s only game 2 and we have issues with run stopping and QB pressure. The option was a wrinkle that was a surprise and we had to make in games adjustments too according to the post game presser. One thing I did notice is that King will try and force it once or twice a game where he shouldn’t. If he negates that he’s going to be a very QB for us in the end. Heading into Ole Miss he’s got 7 TDs and 1INT. He’s going in confident. The OL has to step up with QB protection next week. The Rebs we’re running a lot of 3-4 and 3-3-5 combinations. I’m confident Buster F will exploit it if we can execute. I think it’s going to be a shoot out. Good win today as expected and we did finally adjust to defending the option. I had hoped to see Pyron more productive but it was a pretty vanilla game plan. He just needs more reps. I was pleased in the play of Oliver at LB. Blaylock had a great game.
 
ee8384 said:
Neither the O nor the D ever looked really comfortable. Some good spurts here and there but a lot of big plays on individual effort and better athleticism.

Play calling still looks discombobulated from series to series. I hope Buster has been holding back for Ole Miss. Given time, King throws a good ball but thought we would see more running from QB. Pass plays seem to be short to the outside (not very effective) or post/corner - not working the middle. Also a lot of RB shuffling - gimme more Cooley.

Haven't figured the defense's plan. Weak on the edges on runs. Can't generate pressure with front 4 alone. Seem to be relying on reputation of backfield but too many plays with DBs not turning their heads and/or looking at each other afterwards with that "I thought you had him" vibe. Tackling is a problem but looks to be more a situation where we are beat and trying to catch up - not breaking down up front blocking.
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I think on O that CBF has been trying to see what works and what doesn’t, and what players need to be where. I believe this week we will see a much more focused game plan targeted at Ole Miss’ tendencies on D.

Our D is a hot mess right now. The two biggest issues, IMPO, among several, are 1) lack of any notable pressure on the QB, and 2) very poor open field tackling. Thacker needs an answer for both of those issues ASAP. You can cover an otherwise weaker D by pressing the QB. Tenuta had this down in spades, though he occasionally got burned. Still, those D’s largely played above their pay grades.
 
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