Cuse Postgame

[Heisman's Ghost]

We have lost 2 games with a lead going into the 4th quarter this year - Louisville and BC. We won one game trailing going into the 4th quarter - UNC. Bottom line is we are an average P5 team with a bad defense and a good but inconsistent offense so there is no guarantee we will win or lose based on the score at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Lots of teams like this. Most teams have good quarterback, not great mind you, and good receivers, good backs, all of which are quite frankly a dime a dozen. What they don't have is what Alabama, UGA, Clemson, FSU, and other elite teams possess. Much coveted and rare defensive linemen who can run and can get pressure on quarterbacks. The gulf between the elite factories' defenses and the also rans is wide and getting wider. Want to be a true factory? Want to be elite and spoken with awe by fans and commentators? Then, get five star linemen on both sides of the ball. It is that simple.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

We simply aren’t that good if a football team currently thus a 6-5 record with one win over a FCS Team.

We have lapses on Specual Teams, see Cuse long punt return. We have lapses on offense as you pointed. We have occasional stops on defense and we have managed to get a good number of turnovers.

Mostly the issues with consistency come from not being able to consistently win at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. This year the offense has taken a very nice step up on OL play while the defensive line has taken a step back.

That makes for inconsistent play and some wild game swings.

Still it’s real progress from the past few years.

Not a great team or even a good team by some standards but nonetheless, light years better than what we had in terms of team unity, respect, and desire to win. Talent is lacking on both lines, not much depth and the linebackers are historically poor, yet this team has managed to win 6 games with two of them against ranked opponents and two losses that were really bad but let us not dwell on that.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

If you're leading in the 4th quarter, you ought to win. You may not win, but you ought to win. It's the way I was coached, and it's my opinion. You can think differently.

I think we had over a 90% win probability at the start of the 4th quarter when we were up 28-23 and had first and ten on their 19. At that point, we should have won.

And, yes, we should have lost to Miami.

 

[joehamiltonfan14]

I think we had over a 90% win probability at the start of the 4th quarter when we were up 28-23 and had first and ten on their 19. At that point, we should have won.

And, yes, we should have lost to Miami.

The win probability calculator is the biggest fraud…every week there are multiple games where someone with a 99% chance to win loses. Sometimes 99.99%. I don’t put much stock in it.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

The win probability calculator is the biggest fraud…every week there are multiple games where someone with a 99% chance to win loses. Sometimes 99.99%. I don’t put much stock in it.

Um, ok

By the way, the only game I have ever seen a 99.99% favorite lose is when Miami lost to us.

 

[wreckrod]

On the lack of targeting, I just though that was a good, clean hit. There's been a lot of wonky enforcement of all the rules. As far as I'm concerned, offensive holding isn't a real penalty so much as a random hardship, like rain or extreme temperature or running into a ref on the field. On any given play you have a 15% chance for being called for holding and it has nothing to do with whether anyone actually did it or not. Sometimes it helps you, sometimes it hurts you. It's just a random thing that happens. It'll make you a lot less angry if you think of it this way.

The D-lineman didn't leave his feet, didn't hit King in the head with his arm, shoulder, or the crown of his helmet. He just went to wrap up and is tall and his facemask contacted King's facemask/head. Those are not the kind of hits that targeting should be removing from the game, and I had no problem with it. I thought at BEST, it might get called targeting due to the letter of the way the rule is written, but definitely wasn't the kind of hit that the spirit of the rule is written for.

 

[Towaliga]

Listen, ill leave after this. Mods can delete my account if they want, I don't really care. But you guys need to learn how to handle opinions that may differ from yours. We all have different opinions on the state of the program. You guys blew up this thread with nonsense because you couldn't handle one fairly minor comment. Best holiday wishes to you all and Go Jackets!

Hello, kettle . This is pot. You’re black.

 

[yeti92]

Um, ok

By the way, the only game I have ever seen a 99.99% favorite lose is when Miami lost to us.

I can't find the reference, but pretty sure uga was calculated at 99.99% chance of winning against Tech in 2014 when they scored to take the lead with 18 seconds left.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

I can't find the reference, but pretty sure uga was calculated at 99.99% chance of winning against Tech in 2014 when they scored to take the lead with 18 seconds left.

Mayhaps. In looking at play by play, that could make sense. However, since they had to kickoff and we could return the kickoff for a TD or kick a game tying FG (like we did), my expectation is that the probability was lower than 99.99%. Miami had the ball and did not need to run a play to win the game.

 

[MusicalBuzz]

This is an entirely un-analytical perspective, but I feel like this season has been so damn fun and fulfilling! Like watching our own kids turn the corner and growing and building their own accomplishments. A couple utter disappointments and letdowns aside, I for one will not ever forget CBK’s enthusiasm on the sidelines, his hugs and words with the kids, his after-game TV interviews; Haynes King buying into the program; Jamal Haynes literally moving the opposing defense into the end zone. And many more! If we are never to be in the echelons of the biggest programs, I will take every year this program of committed leadership and student athletes fighting for themselves and the Tech brand! Peace

 

[4shotB]

Want to be a true factory? Want to be elite and spoken with awe by fans and commentators? Then, get five star linemen on both sides of the ball. It is that simple.

This is what Bobby Ross knew. And did. I don't know if we discussed 3,4 or 5 stars back in those days but he just got guys who could block and tackle and his '90 team just absolutely dominated on the LOS in the way that the programs like Bama, OSU and Uga do now. With that team, 3rd and 5 was clearly a running down. And you expected it to be picked up. No disrespect to William Bell and peers but most anyone toting the rock at the intramural fields back then could have rushed for positive yards behind that group. No matter how much things change, it is still a game won and lost on the LOS.

 

[roadkill]

Just to throw in some more comments and opinions after rewatching the game on DVR…

I’m not sure we would have won the game had we not been the more disciplined team. Syracuse’s penalties at critical times really made a difference. I think we may have been able to get them to jump offside a couple of times by varying our snap count, so credit to us as well.

I think both our lines played well overall. We had some apparent missed assignments on some of our run plays, but not bad overall considering Cuse has a pretty good defense. Only allowed one sack. 2 of King’s 4 incompletions could have been caught for high EPA plays. Getting a little concerned about #13’s drops lately.

‘Cuse’s offense was often able to hurt us most consistently when they ran wide, or used WR screens. Their screens were simple setups – quick pass to WR in the flat with a lead blocker. We usually tried covering with a single DB near the line who got blocked/held. I saw our next closest defender (5-10 yards off the play) sometimes take a step back when the screen pass was thrown. The result was usually a 5-6 yard gain, consistently. Don’t know if this was due to our scheme (protect the middle of the field as top priority) or being out of position, but it happened repeatedly. Head scratcher. It worked so well that I can’t help but wonder why our similar screens often fail.

We did have a lot of guys on D who made great plays. They played with intensity, rallied to the ball, and got off the field at some critical times. This was probably the best game for our linebackers. Unfortunately, there are times when it only takes one weak link to let your opponent stay ahead of the chains and get into scoring position. My conclusion is that we have many playmakers on both sides of the ball, but don’t always have 11 guys executing well. If the play attacks your weakest links, it succeeds – and we look inconsistent, but really it's just exposing the weaker player(s) on our team. To put it another way, no one plays perfect all the time, but some play imperfectly most of the time. We did play some freshmen who will probably get better with reps and more time in the system.

So, lots of coaching and correcting opportunities before our next opponent. The extra bowl practices should help as well.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Not sure anyone has mentioned this but Syracuse jumped offsides, we had a free play, King put the ball right in the receiver’s hands, in stride, for an easy touchdown, and the receiver dropped the ball. I’m not trying to rag on the young gentleman but I mentioned two weeks ago that he was starting to develop a head case about catching bombs behind the secondary. I also asked back then what the proper coaching strategy is for this kind of thing. Luckily we ended up not needing that TD to win the game but against UGA last year one dropped pass completely changed the energy level for Georgia and killed the momentum we had built with our lead.

 

[roadkill]

Not sure anyone has mentioned this but Syracuse jumped offsides, we had a free play, King put the ball right in the receiver’s hands, in stride, for an easy touchdown, and the receiver dropped the ball. I’m not trying to rag on the young gentleman but I mentioned two weeks ago that he was starting to develop a head case about catching bombs behind the secondary. I also asked back then what the proper coaching strategy is for this kind of thing. Luckily we ended up not needing that TD to win the game but against UGA last year one dropped pass completely changed the energy level for Georgia and killed the momentum we had built with our lead.

Getting a little concerned about #13’s drops lately.

 

[CEB]

Dropping this here because I think its interesting and would be a huge win for Cuse if true…

 

[Techastrophe]

I keep thinking how huge the 6th win must be for prep recruiting and transfers. The upswing is happening. There are still plenty of slots for stud athletes to come in and shine, but there's a much better case now that other people are going to be holding up their end.

 

[jgtengineer]

Dropping this here because I think its interesting and would be a huge win for Cuse if true…

Mullen doens't liek to recruit. so will be interesting.

 

[CEB]

Mullen doens't liek to recruit. so will be interesting.

You’re right… with the new “recruiting rules” he could be very successful if a place has the right donor setup. Bag men can do the “unsavory” part for him.

 

[Bogey]

I think 13 will be fine. I heard he got banged up a little and a true freshman playing in these last few high pressure games for the team gave him a little bit of the jitters. Pressure is off a little now now that we are bowl eligible and he can relax a bit.

 

[stinger78]

I think 13 will be fine. I heard he got banged up a little and a true freshman playing in these last few high pressure games for the team gave him a little bit of the jitters. Pressure is off a little now now that we are bowl eligible and he can relax a bit.

We hope. He may also just be fatigued by of the pressure grind of P5 college ball and losing a bit of focus. Could be a lot of things, but we all know he can catch... and run. He should be OK. We really need him to be OK this Saturday. Ha!