SWC75
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It’s time for my annual comparison of what I said in August about the forthcoming season and what actually transpired. The Italics are my quotes from my 2016 SU Football Preview and the normal font are my comments now, (as of November 30, 2016).
About the team in general:
First, regarding my avatar change: The image is from my favorite-all-time TV series, “The Fugitive”. The man is Richard Kimble, who is looking forward but isn’t sure exactly what he sees. Is it the one-armed man, and possible salvation or is Lt. Gerard, and possible disaster? I don’t know what we are going to see this fall so this image came to mind.
The uncertainty was justified as we had a very bumpy ride and aren’t sure where we are really going at this point, although we remain hopeful.
Babers brings a system that had worked, in fact worked miracles, at his other jobs and he fully expects the same thing to happen here. And he brings key members of the coaching staff that worked those miracles so he doesn’t have to just pick-up guys form the scrap heap or promote people to positons they’ve never had before.
Babers retains his confidence, at least publically and, as long as he remains confident, we have reason to continue to believe in him. Next year will tell us a lot about what is really happening or not happening. And if it’s not happening, his confidence will either fade or ours in him will. But if things go well, our confidence will turn into belief.
I’m optimistic about the successful tenure but not about the quick-turn-around…. But this isn’t FCS and it isn’t the MAC. He’s not playing Austin Peay or Kent State. I know Baylor did very well in the Big 12 but I don’t think the Big 12 was all that strong for a Power 5 conference in the Art Briles Era- Texas and Oklahoma were down and Nebraska and Missouri were gone. And Briles went 4-8, 4-8, 7-6 before a 10-3 breakthrough. I think at the very least the Babers tenure here will follow the Briles pattern, possibly be more difficult than that. One poster said “This year our opponents will never know what hit them!” They may not know because it may not hit them yet.
I think it hit them a few times this year- in the Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh games, as well as the first quarter against South Florida and Connecticut and the first half against Notre Dame and the second quarter against Louisville. The key was moving the chains. We wore down a very good Virginia Tech team by moving the chains and tiring them out to the point where we owned them in the fourth quarter. We did the same thing to Pittsburgh. We lost the Pitt game by playing no defense whatsoever. That needs to be addressed. But the offense we played in those two games was a vison of what is to come.
In fact, let’s look at the quarterly breakdown of the scoring in this year’s games:
COLGATE…………………… 7-7 13-0 6-0 7-0
LOUISVILLE……………….. 7-28 14-7 7-7 0-20
SOUTH FLORIDA……….. 17-0 0-28 3-7 0-10
CONNECTICUT………….. 14-0 3-14 7-3 7-7
NOTRE DAME……………. 13-23 14-10 0-14 6-3
WAKE FOREST…………… 2-0 7-14 0-0 0-14
VIRGINIA TECH………….. 7-3 10-0 0-6 14-8
BOSTON COLLEGE……… 7-3 7-7 7-7 7-3
CLEMSON………………….. 0-10 0-20 0-14 0-10
NC STATE…………………… 7-0 3-14 10-14 0-7
FLORIDA STATE………….. 0-14 7-7 7-21 0-3
PITTSBURGH……………… 14-14 7-21 13-21 27-20
Totals………………………… 95-102 85-142 60-114 68-105
There’s not exactly a trend of the other team weakening as the game goes on because of our pace. I think the difference in depth, augmented by our injuries, (which is itself related to depth), accounts for that. I think next year we can look forward to more of a trend of improving as the game goes along. It would also help if we would accomplish something at the beginning of the second half. In 12 first possession of the second half we produced one touchdown, one field goal, seven punts, one failed fourth down and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, giving us a net of three points in 12 possessions. . Dino needs to work on his half-time speeches. At least we are on Briles’ schedule with 4 wins in the first season. Can we do better than that in the second season?
About the team in general:
First, regarding my avatar change: The image is from my favorite-all-time TV series, “The Fugitive”. The man is Richard Kimble, who is looking forward but isn’t sure exactly what he sees. Is it the one-armed man, and possible salvation or is Lt. Gerard, and possible disaster? I don’t know what we are going to see this fall so this image came to mind.
The uncertainty was justified as we had a very bumpy ride and aren’t sure where we are really going at this point, although we remain hopeful.
Babers brings a system that had worked, in fact worked miracles, at his other jobs and he fully expects the same thing to happen here. And he brings key members of the coaching staff that worked those miracles so he doesn’t have to just pick-up guys form the scrap heap or promote people to positons they’ve never had before.
Babers retains his confidence, at least publically and, as long as he remains confident, we have reason to continue to believe in him. Next year will tell us a lot about what is really happening or not happening. And if it’s not happening, his confidence will either fade or ours in him will. But if things go well, our confidence will turn into belief.
I’m optimistic about the successful tenure but not about the quick-turn-around…. But this isn’t FCS and it isn’t the MAC. He’s not playing Austin Peay or Kent State. I know Baylor did very well in the Big 12 but I don’t think the Big 12 was all that strong for a Power 5 conference in the Art Briles Era- Texas and Oklahoma were down and Nebraska and Missouri were gone. And Briles went 4-8, 4-8, 7-6 before a 10-3 breakthrough. I think at the very least the Babers tenure here will follow the Briles pattern, possibly be more difficult than that. One poster said “This year our opponents will never know what hit them!” They may not know because it may not hit them yet.
I think it hit them a few times this year- in the Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh games, as well as the first quarter against South Florida and Connecticut and the first half against Notre Dame and the second quarter against Louisville. The key was moving the chains. We wore down a very good Virginia Tech team by moving the chains and tiring them out to the point where we owned them in the fourth quarter. We did the same thing to Pittsburgh. We lost the Pitt game by playing no defense whatsoever. That needs to be addressed. But the offense we played in those two games was a vison of what is to come.
In fact, let’s look at the quarterly breakdown of the scoring in this year’s games:
COLGATE…………………… 7-7 13-0 6-0 7-0
LOUISVILLE……………….. 7-28 14-7 7-7 0-20
SOUTH FLORIDA……….. 17-0 0-28 3-7 0-10
CONNECTICUT………….. 14-0 3-14 7-3 7-7
NOTRE DAME……………. 13-23 14-10 0-14 6-3
WAKE FOREST…………… 2-0 7-14 0-0 0-14
VIRGINIA TECH………….. 7-3 10-0 0-6 14-8
BOSTON COLLEGE……… 7-3 7-7 7-7 7-3
CLEMSON………………….. 0-10 0-20 0-14 0-10
NC STATE…………………… 7-0 3-14 10-14 0-7
FLORIDA STATE………….. 0-14 7-7 7-21 0-3
PITTSBURGH……………… 14-14 7-21 13-21 27-20
Totals………………………… 95-102 85-142 60-114 68-105
There’s not exactly a trend of the other team weakening as the game goes on because of our pace. I think the difference in depth, augmented by our injuries, (which is itself related to depth), accounts for that. I think next year we can look forward to more of a trend of improving as the game goes along. It would also help if we would accomplish something at the beginning of the second half. In 12 first possession of the second half we produced one touchdown, one field goal, seven punts, one failed fourth down and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, giving us a net of three points in 12 possessions. . Dino needs to work on his half-time speeches. At least we are on Briles’ schedule with 4 wins in the first season. Can we do better than that in the second season?