#GTvsCUSE Postgame

orientalnc

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Clearly turnovers and penalties lost this game. But looking deeper:

1) On O play calling, we would get some momentum running the ball and then try passing just because of the need to establish a "balanced" offense. I'd like to see us keep pounding the rock (when it's working) until they show they can stop it and THEN start mixing in more passes. No need to mix it up just to have "balanced" pass/run stats...
2) Kicking game and overall special teams are unexplainably bad - the joke of college football right now. How can this level of kicking game not have been exposed earlier in practices? Points strongly to coaching/recruiting/practice issues. HAS to improve this season or the responsible coach should be fired to send message that repeated "below the line" performance is unacceptable.
3) A lot of missed tackles on D - too many to help extend their drives early. Can be improved within this season.
4) Pass blocking was well below average - direct cause for 2 of the 4 INT`s. Hated to see the Oline regression here. Can be improved within this season assuming our injuries remain manageable.
5) DL and LB's did poor job applying pressure relative to previous Syracuse opponent results. We all know this is a clear recurring weaknesses - hope more recruiting and depth for the front 7 will help - don't expect we'll see much improvement here until that happens. Likely not to improve much this season.
6) Our WR's are not creating enough separation - QB is having to go through progressions routinely which compounds issues with a Freshman QB... Can improve route running skills and getting off the line better this season.
7) Our DB's are getting beaten on a regular basis - have really regressed here - we were better here last season. I know Tre is out but a lot of our DB's are trailing opponent receivers by a yard or two even on incomplete passes. Not sure what the answer is here...

On the positive side (hard to find in a game like this), our running game looked great, punting was on NFL level and.....that's about it... In summary, if the running game is working, keep running until it's not working... This changes the passing game dynamics entirely (ie less INT's). Fix the penalties, and we win this game...
I love the optimism of this post. I wish more of our posters shared it.
 

tmhunter52

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The “optimism” I can offer after the debacle yesterday is (1) we probably can’t coach or play worse, (2) Coach Collins may actually realize he needs more discipline and less “juice”, and (3) if Covid protocols are not implemented next year, our home attendance may be better than we will have this year.
 

LibertyTurns

Banned
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6,216
The “optimism” I can offer after the debacle yesterday is (1) we probably can’t coach or play worse, (2) Coach Collins may actually realize he needs more discipline and less “juice”, and (3) if Covid protocols are not implemented next year, our home attendance may be better than we will have this year.
I listened to his press conference and 1 other interview after the FSU game and he mentioned having to be more disciplined in practice due to Rona. I think he already thinks he’s managing discipline effectively. We just gotta hope CGC takes the bye week and does a gut check with the team and we come out better. Tough slate to do that with unfortunately. We’re probably going to get absolutely pounded 5 of the next 6 games. That’s what made this game so important. We could end up 2-7 going into Dook and NcSt. We’re not going to get any recruiting lift looking like a complete dumpster fire.
 

buzzed

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
339
The freshman QB mistakes are to be expected and we weren’t protecting him well so all of the turnovers aren’t just on him.

15 penalties is on the coaches. I don’t know all the ways that covid has affected practice, but having watched the way this staff has players rush from one rep to the next with no time for feedback makes it no wonder to me that we lack discipline. They get a lot of reps, but it seems to me they are rushed reps, carried out in an undisciplined manner with no immediate feedback because they’re already on to the next one. The undisciplined play on the field reflects the way they practice.
 

Deleted member 2897

Guest
A lot of crazy football games yesterday. It’s not just us. The Mississippi State QB threw for 625 yards. They were unranked, first year in a new offensive system, and not expected to do much. Conversely. All kinds of top 10 teams lost.

To me, the kicking unit should skip the weight lifting, and all other parts of practice and do nothing but kick over a 10 foot wall all week long. It is not difficult, High school kids do it every week.

Penalties, guys just have to settle down and play. It’s about poise and control and focus. Turnovers is a split second push - Sims made some great throws under pressure that turned into points. He just has to do a better job of reading the risk - the TD to Gibbs was a difficult, unlikely throw. But Gibbs only had a trailing LB on him with no safety help, so what’s the worst that could happen? On the other side, forcing a throw into a WR double covered with also a LB underneath is too much risk...pull the ball down and turn it up field, living for another day. Run more plays that help him in that regard.

Syracuse scores 17 points off our turnovers. We effectively had about 8 possessions to their 16. Very similar to UCF - hard to win against much of anybody when you do that to yourself.

Louisville’s only win this year was a squeaker over Western Kentucky. We can beat them if we clean our game up. Plus, it’s another Atlantic team. We’re something like 13-2 against our non-permanent crossover in the last 10-12 years.

I remember playing Miami in 2015 and having 9 fumbles. We’ve been here before. We can get out of it if we focus on it. We have the ability to win games this year.
 

jayparr

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newnan
A lot of crazy football games yesterday. It’s not just us. The Mississippi State QB threw for 625 yards. They were unranked, first year in a new offensive system, and not expected to do much. Conversely. All kinds of top 10 teams lost.

To me, the kicking unit should skip the weight lifting, and all other parts of practice and do nothing but kick over a 10 foot wall all week long. It is not difficult, High school kids do it every week.

Penalties, guys just have to settle down and play. It’s about poise and control and focus. Turnovers is a split second push - Sims made some great throws under pressure that turned into points. He just has to do a better job of reading the risk - the TD to Gibbs was a difficult, unlikely throw. But Gibbs only had a trailing LB on him with no safety help, so what’s the worst that could happen? On the other side, forcing a throw into a WR double covered with also a LB underneath is too much risk...pull the ball down and turn it up field, living for another day. Run more plays that help him in that regard.

Syracuse scores 17 points off our turnovers. We effectively had about 8 possessions to their 16. Very similar to UCF - hard to win against much of anybody when you do that to yourself.

Louisville’s only win this year was a squeaker over Western Kentucky. We can beat them if we clean our game up. Plus, it’s another Atlantic team. We’re something like 13-2 against our non-permanent crossover in the last 10-12 years.

I remember playing Miami in 2015 and having 9 fumbles. We’ve been here before. We can get out of it if we focus on it. We have the ability to win games this year.
Very good read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

4shotB

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Retired Staff
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4,941
How many total loses will be unacceptable this year?

What does this mean? I have seen years where we lost 10. One year where we didn't lose. No matter how may there were, I accepted them. I didn't see it as a choice really but perhaps I was simply unaware that there were options. If I hadn't accepted them though what would have changed? Because if things get better by only accepting X # of losses and unaccepting the others, count me in! I am willing to do my part.Buy you need to explain it first.
 

Tjacket

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
359
Clearly turnovers and penalties lost this game. But looking deeper:

1) On O play calling, we would get some momentum running the ball and then try passing just because of the need to establish a "balanced" offense. I'd like to see us keep pounding the rock (when it's working) until they show they can stop it and THEN start mixing in more passes. No need to mix it up just to have "balanced" pass/run stats...
2) Kicking game and overall special teams are unexplainably bad - the joke of college football right now. How can this level of kicking game not have been exposed earlier in practices? Points strongly to coaching/recruiting/practice issues. HAS to improve this season or the responsible coach should be fired to send message that repeated "below the line" performance is unacceptable.
3) A lot of missed tackles on D - too many to help extend their drives early. Can be improved within this season.
4) Pass blocking was well below average - direct cause for 2 of the 4 INT`s. Hated to see the Oline regression here. Can be improved within this season assuming our injuries remain manageable.
5) DL and LB's did poor job applying pressure relative to previous Syracuse opponent results. We all know this is a clear recurring weaknesses - hope more recruiting and depth for the front 7 will help - don't expect we'll see much improvement here until that happens. Likely not to improve much this season.
6) Our WR's are not creating enough separation - QB is having to go through progressions routinely which compounds issues with a Freshman QB... Can improve route running skills and getting off the line better this season.
7) Our DB's are getting beaten on a regular basis - have really regressed here - we were better here last season. I know Tre is out but a lot of our DB's are trailing opponent receivers by a yard or two even on incomplete passes. Not sure what the answer is here...

On the positive side (hard to find in a game like this), our running game looked great, punting was on NFL level and.....that's about it... In summary, if the running game is working, keep running until it's not working... This changes the passing game dynamics entirely (ie less INT's). Fix the penalties, and we win this game...
To the point exactly. Defense is really bad. Need to get off the field. Too many extended drives. Front 7 is really hurting the team overall. Dbs are really slow. No closing speed on pass routes. If we score 35 the last 2 games. We still lose.
 

Deleted member 2897

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How many total loses will be unacceptable this year?

15 or more.

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Low Carb

Banned
Messages
6
What does this mean? I have seen years where we lost 10. One year where we didn't lose. No matter how may there were, I accepted them. I didn't see it as a choice really but perhaps I was simply unaware that there were options. If I hadn't accepted them though what would have changed? Because if things get better by only accepting X # of losses and unaccepting the others, count me in! I am willing to do my part.Buy you need to explain it first.
The ambiguity in my question is on me! I have to get better, I will get better starting after our next game on E S P N in the A T L !!!!
 

MWBATL

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6,536
I just hope we stop beating ourselves.

I think there is enough talent there to win a few games if we simply stop letting GT beat us...
 

slugboy

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11,499
Naa. Pitt ain’t a tossup. Their def is legit.
Yep, Pitt has a legit pass rushing D, and that’s been a mismatch for us this year. BC has one of the better offensive lines in the conference too, so while that’s a tossup on paper, unless we find a way to pressure the QB that’s another rough game.
Duke and NCST are possibly our best matchups remaining.

I still wanna believe we get one shocking win this year like we did against Miami last year. I hope it is against Miami or Notre Dame.
It’s a GT tradition.

Precisely my point. CFR was a special OC. He utilized the advantages of GT student athletes . He certainly benefited from CGL defenses too. Football has changed light years since CRF. I don't have the same confidence moving forward in CDP to develop the same.
It looks like you’re trying to use “CFR” for “Coach Ralph Friedgen” and “CGL” for “Coach George O’Leary”, but you’re probably the only one using those initials for those coaches. I can’t remember anyone using those initials for those coaches.

Friedgen didn’t “take advantage of GT student athletes” if the traditional sense of that phrase; he had some of the most athletic recruits we’ve seen on the flats both times he was here. Traditionally, that phrase means “I’m going to use a schematic advantage or outthinking you for my 280 pound player to beat your 315 pound player”; Friedgen players were comparable to the ones on the other sideline, and some were better. Also, Ralph was famously not a recruiter, and needed other people on the staff to bring players in.

College football has changed since his day. Some of the offensive tactics he introduced were ahead of his time, but they’ve been incorporated into schemes at places his coaching fraternity worked—places like UCF—and even though he would add tactical wrinkles, his scheme would not look foreign to most defensive coordinators these days.

Ralph had and relied on a big and physically powerful offensive line. It took several years under Ross to develop the team—the first couple were ugly. The 1990 team was definitely not built in a day, and the building process looked a lot like what we’re going through right now.

I find it bizarre that people use Ross, O’Leary, and Friedgen as examples of why fans shouldn’t be patient and grind through losing seasons and poor play on the way to something better—that’s exactly what Ross’s first two years were like. The stadium wasn’t full of people watching brilliant coaches and knowing they would turn the team around—you could buy a decent walk up ticket in the second quarter of a game for his first two seasons, and students and fans were grumbling that we’d never have a good team.

I’m not saying that Collins is going to achieve anything like those other coaches. I am saying that those coaches aren’t the examples for your argument—they’re the examples against your argument.
 
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