Initial Impressions

[SidewalkJacket]

Please. The question about who ran the option better is not even arguable. Wofford had better yards per carry (5.8 vs 5.3) and more yardage rushing (271 vs 226) than we did. We obviously won by dominating the passing game. But with our superior talent and speed, and with a coach who is supposed to be a master at the option game, there is no excuse for our inability to win the option game. My point was not to argue whether or not Wofford ran the option better than we did. That argument is settled. Period. End of discussion. My point was to raise for discussion the reasons WHY Wofford ran the option better than we did. I think the reason is that there is a deeper, more fundamental issue within the team, possibly related to attitude, motivation, or mindset. (i.e. does this team really care? do they see Johnson already as a lame duck? something else?)

Buddy, relax and hug your family or something. A little strong reaction for what became a comfortable win. Our offense isn't just the option, no matter what the media says. You might be surprised how much "non-option" was run in CPJ's early championship runs at gsu as OC. Tracy Ham could sling it, so they did. Wofford sold out to stop run, and we made em pay for it. We could have thrown for 400 yards today if we wanted to.

 

[Nook Su Kow]

UGA makes me a little sick with the backs they keep pulling in. Chubbs is the real deal too.. Welcome to third string Mr. Marshall.
Clemson has a very stout D IMO. They got gassed in Q4 I think. Clemson's O looks awful right now. NO deep threat passing at all and very pedestrian rushing. Their offensive play calling was incredibly conservative and their hurry up looked bad and helped gas their D.

5 star rbs man. They're deep but still a long road before we have to worry bout that

 

[Nook Su Kow]

Buddy, relax and hug your family or something. A little strong reaction for what became a comfortable win. Our offense isn't just the option, no matter what the media says. You might be surprised how much "non-option" was run in CPJ's early championship runs at gsu as OC. Tracy Ham could sling it, so they did. Wofford sold out to stop run, and we made em pay for it. We could have thrown for 400 yards today if we wanted to.

Hahaha I need to take your advise. Thank you man

 

[Nook Su Kow]

But 3option needs improvement

 

[Longestday]

Some of the D issues was scheme... very soft corners and at times soft safeties.
The D scheme that covered the outside but left the inside open hurt us twice.
Wofford came to play and to hold tightly to our jerseys!

Keep in mind we made them punt twice as much as us and we scored twice as much as them. I know I was frustrated with how long they had the ball and the score at half time. JT got on target and started pitching.

I would have liked to have dominated, but Wofford offense looked well coached. The Wofford OL looked very well coached to hang on to jerseys for dear life!

 

[Eric]

Please. The question about who ran the option better is not even arguable. Wofford had better yards per carry (5.8 vs 5.3) and more yardage rushing (271 vs 226) than we did. We obviously won by dominating the passing game. But with our superior talent and speed, and with a coach who is supposed to be a master at the option game, there is no excuse for our inability to win the option game. My point was not to argue whether or not Wofford ran the option better than we did. That argument is settled. Period. End of discussion. My point was to raise for discussion the reasons WHY Wofford ran the option better than we did. I think the reason is that there is a deeper, more fundamental issue within the team, possibly related to attitude, motivation, or mindset. (i.e. does this team really care? do they see Johnson already as a lame duck? something else?)

Wow.

 

[orientalnc]

I'm sorry but we were 29 pt FAVORITES vs a lower level team at OUR HOME. We won by 19 -that is way off the expected
The DEF did nothing to show that they can play at a high level.The LBs played poorly esp Nealy ,our Sr leader, for some reason.Remember---- this a wofford not UCLA.
The passing game looked MUCH better.Nice to see. Smelter will play pro.
Maybe the biggest concern is that we couldn't run the middle vs WOFFORD.What was the longest bback run in middle -10 yds? If we can't control the middle -we are not going to be able to run wide or pass vs the VTs of the world or maybe even the tulanes or gaSoutherns.

otoh-if we can win the same next week on the road vs a D1 team maybe this was an aberration

A couple of things:

The point spread for a game is not the point difference odds makers expect. It is designed to balance the betting. Same with the Over/Under. Those numbers should not be translated into a measure of success or failure on the field.

Second, our offense gained 500+ yards with a bunch of new guys playing. Give 'em a chance. How many practice days have they had? 25? I thought JT looked great. I will take those numbers every game. However, 65 of his passing yards should be changed to rushing yards because that pitch to Snoddy was not a pass.

Third, we played at least four freshmen on defense today. Only one DL started last year and only one DB started. Do we need to play better? Yes? We stacked the box on the 92 yard run trying to get another possession before the half, and made a bad read. The question I would like to ask Roof is why we let them drive the ball the length of the field and eat up 9+ minutes of the second half.

OTOH, I wish we had played this game as if it mattered. I was disappointed in the energy level on both sides of the ball.

And, I agree with @Eric that we ran for almost 300 yards out of the option with 9 defenders in the box. Why should we pretend passing is not the correct attack in that case? The option offense was just fine, given my general concern overall.

 

[ramblinvak]

I think its important to look at this game in perspective of the offenses being used. From the get-go, there was only 9 possessions by both sides not counting GT's last one which ended in victory formation. A major reason why we run this offense is because it helps level the playing field in terms of talent and Wofford was able to do the same with the offense they run. Georgia Southern was able to play a tough game against Alabama a few years back when I think Alabama won it all, and it was not until the 3rd quarter that Alabama was able to pull away IIRC. It is not just us that have had difficulty with these type of offenses. It is surprising since we do practice against it a lot, but variations will make things different. Today, the offense did their thing after starting a little slow. The defense made one big mistake that could easily have been at least a 10 point, if not a 14 point swing. If that run is stuffed at the end of half, we get the ball back with great field position and I am more than confident we go in for a score.

I guess the point I am trying to make is we all expected an Elon type score, but I will admit I did not know enough about Wofford to expect such a score. I will wait until the Tulane game to make any assumptions about how this team will fare this season. There was a lot to be desired from this game, but it definitely was not as ugly as some are making it out to be.

 

[yellojello]

Please. The question about who ran the option better is not even arguable. Wofford had better yards per carry (5.8 vs 5.3) and more yardage rushing (271 vs 226) than we did. We obviously won by dominating the passing game. But with our superior talent and speed, and with a coach who is supposed to be a master at the option game, there is no excuse for our inability to win the option game. My point was not to argue whether or not Wofford ran the option better than we did. That argument is settled. Period. End of discussion. My point was to raise for discussion the reasons WHY Wofford ran the option better than we did. I think the reason is that there is a deeper, more fundamental issue within the team, possibly related to attitude, motivation, or mindset. (i.e. does this team really care? do they see Johnson already as a lame duck? something else?)

They had more rushing yardage and better YPC, because the Snoddy pitch was considered a forward pass. So your premise is wrong.

 

[ilovetheoption]

Please. The question about who ran the option better is not even arguable. Wofford had better yards per carry (5.8 vs 5.3) and more yardage rushing (271 vs 226) than we did. We obviously won by dominating the passing game. But with our superior talent and speed, and with a coach who is supposed to be a master at the option game, there is no excuse for our inability to win the option game. My point was not to argue whether or not Wofford ran the option better than we did. That argument is settled. Period. End of discussion. My point was to raise for discussion the reasons WHY Wofford ran the option better than we did. I think the reason is that there is a deeper, more fundamental issue within the team, possibly related to attitude, motivation, or mindset. (i.e. does this team really care? do they see Johnson already as a lame duck? something else?)

Again, please note that when you add Snoddy's option run (that was counted as a pass) GT had both more yardage, and a better per carry average.

You are simply incorrect.

 

[jwsavhGT]

Wow.

Eric you know you just have to walk away sometimes. I have to admit it's starting to sound like a broken record. Time to take it off the turntable & throw it away.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Eric you know you just have to walk away sometimes. I have to admit it's starting to sound like a broken record. Time to take it off the turntable & throw it away.

A lot of people forget that Wofford came with a few minutes of beating Clemson in 2011, only losing by 8. We did a helluva lot better than that today

 

[SidewalkJacket]

I think its important to look at this game in perspective of the offenses being used. From the get-go, there was only 9 possessions by both sides not counting GT's last one which ended in victory formation. A major reason why we run this offense is because it helps level the playing field in terms of talent and Wofford was able to do the same with the offense they run. Georgia Southern was able to play a tough game against Alabama a few years back when I think Alabama won it all, and it was not until the 3rd quarter that Alabama was able to pull away IIRC. It is not just us that have had difficulty with these type of offenses. It is surprising since we do practice against it a lot, but variations will make things different. Today, the offense did their thing after starting a little slow. The defense made one big mistake that could easily have been at least a 10 point, if not a 14 point swing. If that run is stuffed at the end of half, we get the ball back with great field position and I am more than confident we go in for a score.

I guess the point I am trying to make is we all expected an Elon type score, but I will admit I did not know enough about Wofford to expect such a score. I will wait until the Tulane game to make any assumptions about how this team will fare this season. There was a lot to be desired from this game, but it definitely was not as ugly as some are making it out to be.

Great post and great summary of what went down today.

 

[Ggee87]

Please. The question about who ran the option better is not even arguable. Wofford had better yards per carry (5.8 vs 5.3) and more yardage rushing (271 vs 226) than we did. We obviously won by dominating the passing game. But with our superior talent and speed, and with a coach who is supposed to be a master at the option game, there is no excuse for our inability to win the option game. My point was not to argue whether or not Wofford ran the option better than we did. That argument is settled. Period. End of discussion. My point was to raise for discussion the reasons WHY Wofford ran the option better than we did. I think the reason is that there is a deeper, more fundamental issue within the team, possibly related to attitude, motivation, or mindset. (i.e. does this team really care? do they see Johnson already as a lame duck? something else?)

So what you are saying is... If they put all 11 defenders in the box, and we couldnt run worth a damn, but we threw for 600 yards.. That they ran the offense better? If you were to say they ran the ball better, your statement may have some validity to it. But last time I checked... Offense is running and passing. Also... as others have stated already, Snoddys "reception" should have been recorded as a rush, since it was a pitch play. So that sort of takes your point and smashes it to pieces. Get a grip dude. Its football season... Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[JazzyD95]

Some of the D issues was scheme... very soft corners and at times soft safeties.
The D scheme that covered the outside but left the inside open hurt us twice.
Wofford came to play and to hold tightly to our jerseys!

Keep in mind we made them punt twice as much as us and we scored twice as much as them. I know I was frustrated with how long they had the ball and the score at half time. JT got on target and started pitching.

I would have liked to have dominated, but Wofford offense looked well coached. The Wofford OL looked very well coached to hang on to jerseys for dear life!

Your joking right? You want us to have 600 yards of total offense so we can have 300 running and 300yards passing just so we have enough of both? The whole point of our offense is to speed up the game, it's not feasible to put up crazy numbers. We did just fine today.

 

[Eric]

I learned today how frustrating it is to play against our offense

 

[ctcjb]

I'll add a couple of thoughts:

- I thought the O looked OK and pretty vanilla. We did not see too much (any) midline. We did not go no huddle. We did not run any "check with me" audibles from the sidelines. I assume we will see that when we need to.
- I would like to see more pure rollout from JT...pass/run option. He had a good number of half rolls today. Maybe we will see more in future weeks.
- I thought Merriweather, Roderrick R-C and Freeman looked solid. Did Stargel make a tackle today?
- Not sure what the rotation was at DT. We played Gotsis, Gamble, Green....was that all? No Kallon?
- Wofford is a tough match-up. As many have said, it is probably best to pass judgement after the next 2 weeks. Make it to Blacksburg 3-0 and it will be interesting.

 

[ctcjb]

I learned today how frustrating it is to play against our offense

The Mike Ayers Death March is hard to watch.

 

[Go4Tech]

Believe that Sidewalkjacket and Ramblinvak see the picture. The offense is one of pick your poison. Recently, teams have chosen to slow the run and make us beat them by executing consistent passing. Sometimes we were able to do enough. Sometimes not enough.

What was seen today was establishment of a real dual threat. Speed and quicks to make things happen on the ground and the ability to make excellent tosses taking advantage of the opening(s) given. Several of the tosses and catches today were just outstanding.

Time will tell how good these young men are. More than one good team had "issues" today coming away with wins.

Time will tell if teams chose to adjust their section of poison as the season develops. Good news is our coach is able to see their selection, and serve it. The better news is we may have more tools to help in the delivery process.

THWG!

 

[Nook Su Kow]

A couple of things:

The point spread for a game is not the point difference odds makers expect. It is designed to balance the betting. Same with the Over/Under. Those numbers should not be translated into a measure of success or failure on the field.

Second, our offense gained 500+ yards with a bunch of new guys playing. Give 'em a chance. How many practice days have they had? 25? I thought JT looked great. I will take those numbers every game. However, 65 of his passing yards should be changed to rushing yards because that pitch to Snoddy was not a pass.

Third, we played at least four freshmen on defense today. Only one DL started last year and only one DB started. Do we need to play better? Yes? We stacked the box on the 92 yard run trying to get another possession before the half, and made a bad read. The question I would like to ask Roof is why we let them drive the ball the length of the field and eat up 9+ minutes of the second half.

OTOH, I wish we had played this game as if it mattered. I was disappointed in the energy level on both sides of the ball.

And, I agree with @Eric that we ran for almost 300 yards out of the option with 9 defenders in the box. Why should we pretend passing is not the correct attack in that case? The option offense was just fine, given my general concern overall.

Option game was mediocre. Enjoyed the speed option though .