I have to be honest. I am a bit relieved, as I debated whether to even look at the swarm today. I was expecting to see a bunch of negative chatter about how terrible this season is going to be etc etc. Evidently, most see this game the same way I do, as a HUGE character win. Ladies and Gentlemen, we pulled a game out of the fire today. That hasn't happened in a long time for this program. I guess you could say FSU 2015, but we all know the actual ending was a bit of a fluke. Our final offensive FG drive was clutch, but the "miracle" was just that. Today was a gut check drive after getting stuffed for an entire game when there were no more chances left on the table. I have some concerns, but this team showed me they are here to FINISH games in 2016. My initial takeaways on a live viewing:
BC defense is really good. I didn't see them play last year, just read the stats. They handled us on the center of both LOSs and they had some great athletes and speed out in space. I doubt we face a better defense. I don't think we played well against them, but they were really really good.
I give our defense a B for the game. Any time you have given up only 14, by the middle of the 4th Q, when you have only gotten 6 first downs on offense, is a pretty good day, regardless of how prolific the offense is that your are facing. I remain concerned about the DL mostly. We got some activity on the edge, but the middle was weak. We need Keshun to heal up and get his quickness back. Pass rush is still a question mark.
Our ABs disappeared today. We had a couple catches by Qua and a nice run by Clinton, but after that? There were a lot of red shirts and no white shirts around GT ball carriers toward the boundary. Cut blocks? Hello?
Our OL couldn't get their DL blocked.
Their boundary DBs had no respect for our WRs.
We had some serious execution errors on offense not related to the strength of their defense.
JT had several senior moments and willed this team to victory. He did not stuff the stat sheet, BUUUT.......he put this team on his back and made HUUUUUUGE plays when it mattered, just to keep our pulse going. It was CPR out there. Let's be honest.
When their defense contacted our guys in space, we went down with no added yards. When our defensive players contacted their offensive carriers in space, they always wiggled and fell for a few more yards. This is not a good sign.
The sloppy footing favored them, the more physical team.
As always, I will have a film (TV slomo) review tomorrow. As of right now, I am elated, exhausted, proud, and curious all at the same time. We have a win in the pocket that could have gone the other way. For those of you who have played sports, there are certain wins that stand out. Those are the ones where you faced a worthy adversary in an epic battle and still managed to come out on top. This is one of those. Getting a W is huge. End of story. They aren't always going to be easy or pretty. If this were an SEC game, the story would be about how amazing the defenses are in this conference and nobody from the outside would stand a chance.
