Fran Brown's first game grade = B+

[CbusCuse]

OU has won 10 games in both of the past couple seasons but lost 30 some dudes to the portal and 11 starters. I don’t think they’ll be a 10 win team this season. They are well coached though.

After OU drove the field on us on the first drive McCord looked a little tight and Almost threw a pick twice. But after that, the offense looked pretty solid overall. Peña and Gadsden are friggin fantastic. Losing both of them early last year really hurt us a lot. Nice to see Meeks make some plays and be a contributor and Zeed looks solid. I just wonder how durable he will be and how long he will be in the lineup being just 170 lbs. Hatcher didn’t take advantage of his starter opportunity and allowing a DB to get a pick on a jump ball just can’t happen. Hopefully JRS is ready to go soon and seizes that starting position.

Still some work to do in regards to run blocking. For as massive as the OL is, they don’t seem to get all that much push. I think they looked pretty solid in the spring in large part because our run D was obviously not up to par yet. But pass blocking at the OT spot was better than I expected game 1 so props to them. Did Weatherspoon come back in after getting injured?

OU looks like they might be able to run the ball on most teams but how did that back not get more carries at Northwestern? He looks pretty legit although we certainly helped him. Lots of missed tackles and bad angles today. Not setting the edge was a huge problem and I don’t exactly know why as that isn’t exactly a new concept. That needs to be done regardless of scheme. And as good as Diggs is, he even failed to do it a couple times. I think Watson looks good and will start to get more and more snaps. Props to true freshman Xavier Mikes for getting push and a deflection causing that interception. A huge play for a true freshman DT and a guy who when he signed, many of us likely didn’t think too much of. With his size he could get in the mix more. Not setting the edge was not the only scheme issue, the DL appears to be in read and react mode and looks really soft. I want to see more attacking and push. I think Jobity should get some more snaps out at the other DE spot to add some more size there. And I think his pass rush would be as good or better than Jacques and Simmons seem to produce. That may make our inside depth a little light though.

Losing Wax will hurt us a lot. That’s a real shame. Hopefully it’s just something like 4-6 weeks. We’ll see I guess. I’m really surprised Heard is playing and McDonald didn’t look great out there today either. I’m surprised it’s not ZMG out there and I wouldn’t hate to see a little more Sparrow either. i don’t like David O as a LB at least in the play I noticed him.

Barron had a bad game with the penalties. and Deuce made a few big errors tonight. Safeties seem to be a bit of a weakness in my opinion And the depth is thin. CB’s were not tested much except their slot guy killed us. He was their only receiving threat and we didn’t seem to adjust to shutting him down at all.

Lots to work to be done to improve on defense.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

I'd give it a C, defense is a huge concern. Everyone on the shuttle bus back to the lot seemed depressed, like we lost.

I’m glad to hear that. That is an excellent sign that they know what wins

 

[two3zone]

I've seen enough of Hatcher, one ball should have been caught that he couldn't handle and other ones he does not fight or battle for. He is soft. He cost us a win vs. BC last year when the defender ripped the ball from him on the 15- yard line when we were driving for the winning TD.

Is it me or did I notice a lot of (not all) Dino's guys made the biggest mistakes today? Maybe I was intentionally looking for it subconsciously but Fran's guys seem to look at this from a professional standpoint, knowing the goal and what the benefits of them are. Dino's guys play with emotion more than their heads far too often. The other thing different is the presence on the sidelines. That dude wants to win every single play from the opening kickoff until the very end.

I was skeptical but excited like many and I think today really showed the future, will be a lot of bumps but holy cow this is the energy this deflated program needed.

 

[two3zone]

OU has won 10 games in both of the past couple seasons but lost 30 some dudes to the portal and 11 starters. I don’t think they’ll be a 10 win team this season. They are well coached though.

After OU drove the field on us on the first drive McCord looked a little tight and Almost threw a pick twice. But after that, the offense looked pretty solid overall. Peña and Gadsden are friggin fantastic. Losing both of them early last year really hurt us a lot. Nice to see Meeks make some plays and be a contributor and Zeed looks solid. I just wonder how durable he will be and how long he will be in the lineup being just 170 lbs. Hatcher didn’t take advantage of his starter opportunity and allowing a DB to get a pick on a jump ball just can’t happen. Hopefully JRS is ready to go soon and seizes that starting position.

Still some work to do in regards to run blocking. For as massive as the OL is, they don’t seem to get all that much push. I think they looked pretty solid in the spring in large part because our run D was obviously not up to par yet. But pass blocking at the OT spot was better than I expected game 1 so props to them. Did Weatherspoon come back in after getting injured?

OU looks like they might be able to run the ball on most teams but how did that back not get more carries at Northwestern? He looks pretty legit although we certainly helped him. Lots of missed tackles and bad angles today. Not setting the edge was a huge problem and I don’t exactly know why as that isn’t exactly a new concept. That needs to be done regardless of scheme. And as good as Diggs is, he even failed to do it a couple times. I think Watson looks good and will start to get more and more snaps. Props to true freshman Xavier Mikes for getting push and a deflection causing that interception. A huge play for a true freshman DT and a guy who when he signed, many of us likely didn’t think too much of. With his size he could get in the mix more. Not setting the edge was not the only scheme issue, the DL appears to be in read and react mode and looks really soft. I want to see more attacking and push. I think Jobity should get some more snaps out at the other DE spot to add some more size there. And I think his pass rush would be as good or better than Jacques and Simmons seem to produce. That may make our inside depth a little light though.

Losing Wax will hurt us a lot. That’s a real shame. Hopefully it’s just something like 4-6 weeks. We’ll see I guess. I’m really surprised Heard is playing and McDonald didn’t look great out there today either. I’m surprised it’s not ZMG out there and I wouldn’t hate to see a little more Sparrow either. i don’t like David O as a LB at least in the play I noticed him.

Barron had a bad game with the penalties. and Deuce made a few big errors tonight. Safeties seem to be a bit of a weakness in my opinion And the depth is thin. CB’s were not tested much except their slot guy killed us. He was their only receiving threat and we didn’t seem to adjust to shutting him down at all.

Lots to work to be done to improve on defense.

Perfect post.

 

[tep624]

Agree here. After seeing Meeks' performance tonight, I think we'll see him starting over Umari next week vs the Yellow Jackets.

Offensively Hatcher was the biggest disappointment for me. After all the talk about him finally putting it together, he looked like the same inconsistent player we've seen here.

 

[tep624]

My biggest disappointment was the beef. The DL was horrible and the OL wasn’t much better. Better DL play helps everyone behind them. The OL is very slow with no feet. The 2 new OT never moved and I saw very little blocking at the 2nd level from any of them. Reed got steam rolled a few times on the pass rush. Very disappointed.

DL agree. OL disagree. I saw them open up some huge running lanes and the pass protection was significantly better than last year. Last year had the benefit of a QB that was as much a runner as a passer and the pass protection still wasn't as good as what we saw today. Was it always consistent? No, but a good foundation to start with. DL was the more glaring but seemed to show some signs of life when the younger players were in.

 

[FrancoPizza]

I’m glad to hear that. That is an excellent sign that they know what wins

You’re glad fans on the shuttle bus were depressed?

 

[FrancoPizza]

DL agree. OL completely disagree. I saw them open up some huge running lanes and the pass protection was significantly better than last year. Last year had the benefit of a QB that was as much a runner as a passer and it still wasn't as good as what we saw today.

Pass pro was good for the most part, but we couldn’t impose our will in the running game.

 

[zjscuse]

Defense needs major work. Run defense, rushing the passer in particular. Also, penalties and more missed tackles than I can remember in a while. Unfortunately, we have a well-oiled machine of an offense coming to the Dome next week so time is limited.

Glass half full says all these things can be improved and I have faith Fran and Elijah will get the players attention in the film room.

We were missing just as many tackles last year it’s just been a while

 

[Nicknack]

My dumbass Florida State buddy...

Syracuse may not get to 6 wins. They suck. Their defense is porous. Fren Brewn, or whatever his name is, reflects a deer caught in headlights. Only reason dude pulled recruits is because rando sh- when he was at GA. Dome looked good, surprised by attendance, so that's a positive for ya i guess. I just don't see the orange school winning more than 5 or 6 games. Sorry.

 

[Crusty]

No false starts or offside calls.

Good point. Oline penalties were one of the big problems during Dino's tenure. Drive killers no program can allow if 7-8 or more wins is to be the floor.
Will be interesting to see the PFF grades for our line play.

 

[Crusty]

My biggest disappointment was the beef. The DL was horrible and the OL wasn’t much better. Better DL play helps everyone behind them. The OL is very slow with no feet. The 2 new OT never moved and I saw very little blocking at the 2nd level from any of them. Reed got steam rolled a few times on the pass rush. Very disappointed.

They couldn't shed blocks. While I thought there was serious holding on a few plays that only was on one player - where was the secondary?
The pass protection looked OK but as you say the run blocking was nonexistent. You have to move to run block and we were slow.

Now is when position coaching matters. The season depends on improvement in line play.

 

[bevosu]

They couldn't shed blocks. While I thought there was serious holding on a few plays that only was on one player - where was the secondary?
The pass protection looked OK but as you say the run blocking was nonexistent. You have to move to run block and we were slow.

Now is when position coaching matters. The season depends on improvement in line play.

After that Willis run that took us down to the 1-2 yard line, followed by 2 more Willis runs that got zip, I thought that was a failure of the offensive line. Not a great sign.

Ohio has a decent team and a few very good players, but they aren't Georgia. We should have been able to punch that in. Thank you, T. Pena.

 

[SmilinBob]

My biggest disappointment was the beef. The DL was horrible and the OL wasn’t much better. Better DL play helps everyone behind them. The OL is very slow with no feet. The 2 new OT never moved and I saw very little blocking at the 2nd level from any of them. Reed got steam rolled a few times on the pass rush. Very disappointed.

Yeah thought the same about second level blocking as well. The pass blocking was better than the run blocking though which kind of surprised me.

 

[SmilinBob]

Regarding Coach Fran, I wonder who he was yelling at on the head sets and stomping around angry as heck? Lou Piniella would have been proud. Still...it seemed to go on for far too long and I'm curious if this is what coach was talking about regarding losing his temper.

 

[Finwad32]

My dumbass Florida State buddy...

Syracuse may not get to 6 wins. They suck. Their defense is porous. Fren Brewn, or whatever his name is, reflects a deer caught in headlights. Only reason dude pulled recruits is because rando sh- when he was at GA. Dome looked good, surprised by attendance, so that's a positive for ya i guess. I just don't see the orange school winning more than 5 or 6 games. Sorry.

lol - your buddy sucks. Tell him to take his fragile ego into church this morning when he prays not get boat raced Monday.

 

[tep624]

My dumbass Florida State buddy...

Syracuse may not get to 6 wins. They suck. Their defense is porous. Fren Brewn, or whatever his name is, reflects a deer caught in headlights. Only reason dude pulled recruits is because rando sh- when he was at GA. Dome looked good, surprised by attendance, so that's a positive for ya i guess. I just don't see the orange school winning more than 5 or 6 games. Sorry.

Well FSU is lacking at the most important position on the field, so he should be more concerned about them winning 6 games. DJ Ukelele stinks.

 

[Newhouser]

Barron to me was the biggest disappointment. Horrendous performance. Inexcusable for his level of experience. And Deuce better learn how to tackle and take better angles if he's going to make it at safety

Barron is overrated by the board. Misses tackles every game and is shoddy in coverage. Makes just enough plays to catch your eye but we need to upgrade when he goes.

 

[JRHEETER]

I'd give it a C, defense is a huge concern. Everyone on the shuttle bus back to the lot seemed depressed, like we lost.

Some of this was the e unrealistic expectations people have for this team.

I’ve been saying all along, with a brand new coaching staff this team could go anywhere from 5-7 to 10-2

I think this game was a reality check for a lot of fans and maybe even players too

 

[mark79]

Yeah I thought it was solid. Feel like the first major decision is what to do with Barron if he continues with the personal fouls. Poor play is one thing, but if he continues with losing the mental game. He’s got to come off the field

I think we have to give JB a chance to redeem himself. Losing MW had to be a big unexpected shock to the system and meant he had a lot of additional things to focus on that he wasn’t anticipating. Not an excuse but these are still kids.

 

[richmondcuse03]

Some of this was the e unrealistic expectations people have for this team.

I’ve been saying all along, with a brand new coaching staff this team could go anywhere from 5-7 to 10-2

I think this game was a reality check for a lot of fans and maybe even players too

I think there were a lot of those games this weekend. Transfer portal was evident across college football. Lot of teams struggled. Hopefully we see a big improvement on D. We have the offense to win a lot of games at least.

 

[syrBossHogg]

Won by 16 when Vegas had it as -17.5

Small underperformance but overall a fine debut

 

[bigmike]

What do they say about improvement from game 1 to game 2? I’ll be looking for that.

 

[MikeSU02]

My dumbass Florida State buddy...

Syracuse may not get to 6 wins. They suck. Their defense is porous. Fren Brewn, or whatever his name is, reflects a deer caught in headlights. Only reason dude pulled recruits is because rando sh- when he was at GA. Dome looked good, surprised by attendance, so that's a positive for ya i guess. I just don't see the orange school winning more than 5 or 6 games. Sorry.

Florida State would trade half its team away to have McCord and OG right now.

 

[wiseman3]

Regarding Coach Fran, I wonder who he was yelling at on the head sets and stomping around angry as heck? Lou Piniella would have been proud. Still...it seemed to go on for far too long and I'm curious if this is what coach was talking about regarding losing his temper.

Lots of great coaches do this, I don't really think this is a major issue