Nc State Postgame

[RamblinRed]

The strategist in me says fall down before the score and kick the extra point length fg, but then you think - what if something happens. If you are ahead it is a no brainer, different story if you are behind.

I do recall one game (don't remember what it was), where GT was going to kick a FG - but on third down. Snap was bobbled but GT landed on it, they were then able to set up again and kick on 4th down and made it for the win. Of course to do that you have to have a TO in your pocket and leave enough time so if something does go wrong the clock doesn't run out on you.

 

[orientalnc]

The strategist in me says fall down before the score and kick the extra point length fg, but then you think - what if something happens. If you are ahead it is a no brainer, different story if you are behind.

I do recall one game (don't remember what it was), where GT was going to kick a FG - but on third down. Snap was bobbled but GT landed on it, they were then able to set up again and kick on 4th down and made it for the win. Of course to do that you have to have a TO in your pocket and leave enough time so if something does go wrong the clock doesn't run out on you.

Hindsight is wonderful, but the 53 yard TD probably cost NC State the game.

 

[UgaBlows]

Ok, I went to the game with the wife (she "… hates to waste a ticket" which makes no sense, but there it is) since the son couldn't go. And froze my tail off, despite my long coat and gloves; a real Big 10 atmosphere. My impressions:

• The Fates were with us. That they gave the ball up 3 times, leading to the D giving us two TDs, was a tremendous gift and the key to the ball game. They've been doing that all year and Tech profited from it. Also, having McCall retire from football made it more difficult for them; with him at the helm they'd have won 8 - 9 games already. But Bailey is going to improve and make life difficult for their opponents.

• Coaching counts. After the game Key said that the staff had noticed that Bailey had a low delivery and told the D to get their hands up. Sure enough, he does and he paid for it. That was what Fridge told Godsey he'd have to get rid of or he'd never see the field at Tech. And the rest is history.

• Despite a fourth quarter where there were breakdowns, the D won the game. We stopped them for most of the game and that gave us a chance to win.

• And speaking of that, Philo showed us the future, provided he wins the job in the spring. I kept thinking where I'd seen a Tech QB like him and it came to me: Mike Kelly. Like Kelly, he can make any throw on the field and accurately too. And he can run, as he finally did to win the game. Btw, he should have run on the pass that was intercepted, but he's a freshman, he'll learn. If Buster/Weinke get to form the O around him, it'll work that much better. And look to see his high school Korpsbrudder Stockton taking a bigger part if this happens.

• NCSU is, as Garner said after the game, a better then 5 - 6 team. But they make too many mistakes. Tech's freshman QB didn't, btw; that interception was a tip on a pass Singleton should have caught.

• The run blocking was pretty bad and yet Tech won the TOP. Go figure.

• This outfit can beat Ugag. In fact they are pretty much Kirby's worst nightmare; a team that gets up for ranked opponents and has a long week to get ready for it. Will Tech do it again? 50 - 50 I'd say, especially if King gets ready. He seemed to think he could be more efficient next Saturday. Hope he's right, but if not it's Aaron time at Stanford. Either way that'll be fun.

Let's beat Georgia. Now.

On the 4th and 2 play, Philo could have easily run to the left and picked up the first down, I have to think Weinke got in his ear about that because later on he made made several big runs when the defense gave them to him

 

[orientalnc]

On the 4th and 2 play, Philo could have easily run to the left and picked up the first down, I have to think Weinke got in his ear about that because later on he made made several big runs when the defense gave them to him

Agree. In the Miami game on a 3rd down Philo threw a bit behind Singleton on a short pass. If he had keeps the ball on the play he likely makes the 1sr down yardage. He's a freshman. I'm sure the lease will be extended as he gets more experience. He's one heckuva QB.

 

[BonafideJacket]

To make us have to hit the XP to win outright. 4-5 points is the same thing, but 6 point lead means the other team has to hit their XP

I disagree about 4-5 points being the same thing. XPs are pretty automatic in college (Birr's only missed one in his career - last year against BC due to a bad snap). Doeren needed to be down by less than three after we scored in response. Leading by 4 or 5 is not the same as it changes what we do after we score because we'll likely go for 2 if we're only up 1.

From an analytical standpoint, the decision is basically a wash and comes down to which team is more likely to be successful with a 2PT conversion. If they were unsuccessful on the 2PT, they would trail by three after we score. And kicking the XP meant that they would also trail by three if we were successful on our 2PT. So he must have trusted his offense more to score than his defense to stop us on a 2PT.

Of course, there's also the risk of Bailey throwing (another) pick-2 on the conversion which would have meant we could win with a FG, but that's getting into more higher level math than I'm capable of!

 

[Darthdad]

They just make that stuff up out of whole cloth. Rubbish.

Exactly!

 

[takethepoints]

On the 4th and 2 play, Philo could have easily run to the left and picked up the first down, I have to think Weinke got in his ear about that because later on he made made several big runs when the defense gave them to him

Yes. He can run and at 215 he's a load to bring down. He's not as fast as King and I think that plays on his mind at this stage. That'll change, I'm betting. He needs that second dimension to his game. Now, I think he sees that.

 

[jojatk]

The strategist in me says fall down before the score and kick the extra point length fg, but then you think - what if something happens. If you are ahead it is a no brainer, different story if you are behind.

I do recall one game (don't remember what it was), where GT was going to kick a FG - but on third down. Snap was bobbled but GT landed on it, they were then able to set up again and kick on 4th down and made it for the win. Of course to do that you have to have a TO in your pocket and leave enough time so if something does go wrong the clock doesn't run out on you.

Wasn’t that against UGA and Manget was the kicker? Honestly asking because my memory is fuzzy.

 

[Darthdad]

Regarding attendance, look at it with a little bit of nuance; our two biggest “home” games were not at home AND this season was our best attendance since 2018. Key keeps winning, people will show up.

Imagine the energy at Bobby Dodd Stadium if FSU and ND had been on campus

 

[BonafideJacket]

The strategist in me says fall down before the score and kick the extra point length fg, but then you think - what if something happens. If you are ahead it is a no brainer, different story if you are behind.

I do recall one game (don't remember what it was), where GT was going to kick a FG - but on third down. Snap was bobbled but GT landed on it, they were then able to set up again and kick on 4th down and made it for the win. Of course to do that you have to have a TO in your pocket and leave enough time so if something does go wrong the clock doesn't run out on you.

I'm disappointed in you @RamblinRed for forgetting this was 1999 COFH (thanks Jaspar!). It was actually a block rather than a fumbled snap.

 

[Darthdad]

I'm disappointed in you @RamblinRed for forgetting this was 1999 COFH (thanks Jaspar!). It was actually a block rather than a fumbled snap.

Thank you for posting this! Great to rewatch!

 

[stinger78]

Only problem is you don’t know this. Field goal attempts are sometimes unexpectedly botched. Old rule of football is don’t take points off the board for points you don’t have.

When Singleton took the knee, or butt as it were, against Miami we were ahead. When the NCSU player scored last night they were behind. Key indicated we let the guy score to put the ball back in our O’s hands with time to move the length of the field.

 

[CPJacket]

He showed some good things but without our defense the offense only scored 14 points . King clearly gives us a better chance to win . But I think Buster has a lock on philo .

No, A HEALTHY King gives us the best chance to win. We can't win without even the threat to pass. Miami didn’t prepare for what we did but clearly NC State did and you saw the result. Us not scoring was not Philo's fault. Receivers have to catch the ball. If anything, running the two quarterback plan slowed our offense down because it was too predictable. They were well prepared for our running game . We should have led with Philo starting and King coming in as needed.

 

[UgaBlows]

When Singleton took the knee, or butt as it were, against Miami we were ahead. When the NCSU player scored last night they were behind. Key indicated we let the guy score to put the ball back in our O’s hands with time to move the length of the field.

Wait, he let them run 50 yards for a TD when we had the lead?

 

[UgaBlows]

No, A HEALTHY King gives us the best chance to win. We can't win without even the threat to pass. Miami didn’t prepare for what we did but clearly NC State did and you saw the result. Us not scoring was not Philo's fault. Receivers have to catch the ball. If anything, running the two quarterback plan slowed our offense down because it was too predictable. They were well prepared for our running game . We should have led with Philo starting and King coming in as needed.

I just don’t understand how Miami never adjusted to what we were doing to them with King, or they just couldn’t stop it.

 

[stinger78]

Wait, he let them run 50 yards for a TD when we had the lead?

I don’t think that’s what he meant. You can listen to it and see what you think.

 

[BonafideJacket]

Wait, he let them run 50 yards for a TD when we had the lead?

Yeah, I can't imagine this is the case. Source? It was third down at midfield and out of field goal range. If Key really told the team to let him score, then I have even more serious questions about his game management skills than I did before.

 

[GT33]

I'm disappointed in you @RamblinRed for forgetting this was 1999 COFH (thanks Jaspar!). It was actually a block rather than a fumbled snap.

I'm not sure how anyone would forget this unless you were still in a diaper or unborn. Second only to Easter with respect to miracles.

 

[stinger78]

I'm not sure how anyone would forget this unless you were still in a diaper or unborn. Second only to Easter with respect to miracles.

Christmas was pretty big in its own right.

 

[78pike]

Only problem is you don’t know this. Field goal attempts are sometimes unexpectedly botched. Old rule of football is don’t take points off the board for points you don’t have.

I do know this. The choice to score with that much time left instead of going down and bleeding the clock to kick a game winning field goal didn't work. I don't think playing scared works very often. Just like playing prevent defense. Another way of playing scared.