Temple & North Carolina

Whiskey_Clear

Banned
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10,486
that works until they put 8 in the box.

forget Citadel, nothing about that game translates to this one, unless Temple is suddenly running flex bone option.

can we beat Temple with a one dimensional offense, good defense, and good special teams?

It’s still football. Plenty translates. Our D absolutely needs to get off blocks better, actually set the edge, make better reads, take the right angles, and do a better job stuffing the run in short yardage. Football.

They’ve had two weeks to get right and I think the benefits will show.
 

Jerry the Jacket

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Chapin, SC
I think our problems are more mental/emotional than physical. This team does not seem to have their head on straight. Until they show they can execute as a team, I really have my doubts we can beat anybody. Our offense is disorganized and ineffective, our defense is undisciplined and not aggressive, our place kicking is terrible and the lone bright spot is punting the ball.

Now the good news is, it is possible to turn these liabilities into assets. It is going to take some leadership on the field on both sides of the ball. There is nothing more contagious than winning unless it is losing. It just appears to me that we are thinking like losers right now and we have to turn that around. Coach talks about juice, effort and competing. We have to bring that to the field. Will we? I hope so but right now, I will believe it when I see it.

Regardless, I will be watching and rooting for the White and Gold!

Go Jackets!
 

Dustman

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1,226
He’s averaging almost 6 ypc. I’d take my chances.
I hear you. I really thought he was going to run it down Citadel’s throat in OT too. I love Mason too, but not sure I hand it off to him when it’s 3rd and 12. We’ve seen too many of those situations. Too many negative plays and I’m not talking about the sacks.
 

UgaBlows

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Messages
6,379
Temple has a pretty solid run defense (linebackers are the strength of the def) from what i understand, we are probably going to have to hit some bid passes to win this game.
 

UgaBlows

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,379
that works until they put 8 in the box.

forget Citadel, nothing about that game translates to this one, unless Temple is suddenly running flex bone option.

can we beat Temple with a one dimensional offense, good defense, and good special teams?

Speaking of flexbone, is anyone worried that duke is going to kill us with their option formations they’ve installed?
 

CuseJacket

Administrator
Staff member
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18,945
I'm a believer that winning games against the Temples, UNCs, Pitts of the world boils down to simply not beating yourself.

That means:
  1. No penalties - we were outstanding first two games and disastrous in game 3
  2. No turnovers - or as a fallback, win the turnover battle. Saw a stat previously that a turnover is generally worth 4 points. Against Clem, we gave up 4 compared to their 3. Against USF, we tied 2 to 2. Against Cit, we had no turnovers and got an INT. Too soon to tell what our MO is here.
  3. Solid special teams - Harvin is great. Kicking is not. Return game hit and miss; mostly miss if not for Oliver's kickoff returns.
  4. Stick with what's working - definitely have some concerns here. On O, we have almost no tendencies to a fault, whether it's who plays QB or the play calls and who is getting the rock. Obviously we have some limitations, but the question is whether we're maximizing our ability within those limitations.
This is the formula that has made Duke successful despite having middle to below avg talent the last several years. It's not necessarily sexy, but it works really well in college football and the encouraging part is that it's mostly within our control.
 

slugboy

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Staff member
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10,804
  1. all 11 players engaged: There were several times we were one or two blocks from a big play, especially on special teams
  2. set the edge on defense: We got gashed outside because we were focused on pass defense and not run defense
  3. aggressive on defense: Attacking works for us. Getting pushed back doesn't
  4. get off the field: Mistakes and penalties kept our defense on the field.
  5. get healthy on the offensive line: Hopefully, we have a player or two back for Saturday.
  6. forward beats backwards: We've had 5 yard sacks turn into 11 yard sacks. We've gotten 9 on third and 10. If we just keep the down marker moving in generally the right direction, it's gonna open up all sorts of success. There's no offense designed for third and 20.
  7. either get a pocket, or get our QBs an outlet to run and pass from: if the pocket is going to collapse, at least get our QB some breathing room outside.
 
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