Game Observations

[JoeSU]

Minor point but that was the worst PAT I've ever seen.

Really bad miss on the 51 yd FG attempt as well.

 

[721Comstock]

Really bad miss on the 51 yd FG attempt as well.

By our punter.
It had plenty of leg.

 

[CuseCactus]

So, I was a little down last night. Seemed like a mediocre effort against a high school level team. Crappy specials (kicking and punt returning), crappy running (other than flashes from Pierre), no separation by the WR's, etc.

However, my optimism is back this morning. Teams improve week to week dramatically in college football. Yesterday was a great warm up - and likely a very good opportunity for the coaches to refine things - and move some people up or down the depth chart.

Next week should be incredibly fun. Shoot out type game against Scott Shafer. Can't wait. In Dino I trust.

 

[CanadianSU]

Thinks thats a bit harsh regarding the fans. Terrible? What do you expect for a labor day weekend Friday night opener against that opponent where the game was clearly over mid way through the first quarter? People complain that not enough people show up ( most of whom dont go either ) and then they complain about those who DO show up. I dont get it.

I agree. The crowd should improve for next week against a real team.

The game was legit like 100 percent over the first touchdown... Friday night... etc. I even caught myself doing some cleaning and stuff while watching the game.

Game was pretty downright boring. CCSU is bad and they play possibly the most boring football I have ever seen. They didn't even try to win the game. No trick plays or anything.

 

[tep624]

I agree. The crowd should improve for next week against a real team.

The game was legit like 100 percent over the first touchdown... Friday night... etc. I even caught myself doing some cleaning and stuff while watching the game.

Game was pretty downright boring. CCSU is bad and they play possibly the most boring football I have ever seen. They didn't even try to win the game. No trick plays or anything.

Your second paragraph is exactly what happened to me. Honestly, it feels nice to watch the first quarter against a cream puff and drift off to other things while listening or whatever. Wasn't that long ago that we struggled to win a game against Villanova. Or Stony Brook. Or before that URI.

 

[TheCusian]

Couldn't agree more. Thats on OC bc most of early plays are scripted. Middle of game is flow and if they can't game plan on fly it is a worry for sure.

I don't think we do that scripting. It's dependent on what they are doing on D.

 

[Chris02M]

I agree. The crowd should improve for next week against a real team.

The game was legit like 100 percent over the first touchdown... Friday night... etc. I even caught myself doing some cleaning and stuff while watching the game.

Game was pretty downright boring. CCSU is bad and they play possibly the most boring football I have ever seen. They didn't even try to win the game. No trick plays or anything.

only trick plays ccsu ran were those kr reverses in 3rd quarter

 

[Ish88888]

Overall it was a pretty blah performance. Not sure how much of that was getting up 21-0 after 3 possessions and losing interest, or something more concerning? Probably a little of both, but great teams have that killer instinct, something that also has to be learned. At the end of the day I give a grade of C- . Here are some random observations that stood out:

- Dungey scares me every time he drops back and can't find anyone and every time he runs the ball. I guess his legs are what makes him the player that he is, so if they are taken away then would he even be that same dynamic player? Just going to have to get used to it and hope for the best...

-...which leads to the next point. Culpepper isn't an adequate ACC back up QB. He's not that bad on ST's, as we saw today, but he's not an ACC QB. I'm sure Dino had a feeling, but needed to see what he got in game action.

- Still can't run the ball? Doesn't help (and I understand that's the scheme), but having to defend 1 run play makes it easy on the defense. Regardless, no holes, no burst from Strickland, while Neal is much better as a slot receiver...imo the best RB is...

- Pierre. Not sure how much was bigger holes to run through and the back end of the CCSU roster is a joke, but this kid looks like he was born to be a RB. I'd be surprised if he wasn't at least splitting carriers by the time we start the ACC schedule.

- Our younger kids are the best players on the team. Pierre, N. Johnson, Evan Foster, Robinson all popped for me. Robinson looks the part of a big time DE. From what I saw last night he looked to have it all. Great size, explosive burst, and strong hands. Going to be interested to see how he develops.

- Chris Slayton was a terror all night. He will have an All ACC type of year.

- Cole can't afford to miss PAT's. Just can't happen.

- Terrible fans. Not only are the crowds dwindling, but it even seems that those fans that do go aren't even paying attention to the game. The game seems secondary at best to what seems like a good portion of those in the stands. Very little buzz, don't know when to cheer, and just plain low football IQ. It's pretty embarrassing. And now there is the victory bell. I wasn't much a fan of the horn, but that at least brought a pinch of energy. I'd be set with just hearing the fight song.

- All in all the best days of this team are ahead of them. A ton of youth playing meaningful snaps and a lot of new guys in key positions. One kid I thought should had red shirted is Fagan. I have a feeling we could be looking back at him, like we do Jonathan Thomas, where he played his Freshman year, but really could have used a RS, since he just plays on ST's.

- Onto MTSU which hopefully gives a much more focused effort for the entire game.

GO ORANGE!!

Great take! While ED will always take a shot scramblin the passing game, no NEED to call run plays featuring the qb for ED.

 

[SmilinBob]

"Riley has to make people miss and I just don't see that in him...hope I'm wrong."

I want to touch on this point. I think that the punt return team needs to hold their blocks a little longer. When the call is to set up a return the line just bumped and never held the block longer than a second. Felt bad for Riley as he had about 6 guys barreling down on him with the SU players 2 steps behind. Pretty ugly to watch.

I agree the blocking has to be better. One thing I noticed was how much better N.Johnson looked on the kickoff return with the exact same people blocking.

 

[OrangePA]

No, the worst one was Barber's at Temple in '02. While we were celebrating the last minute TD and talking OT ... that sound of the ball clanging off the post. Can still hear it.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: ROUNDUP; On a Missed Extra Point, Temple Finally Beats Syracuse

True. And Colin Barber had many bad moments

 

[OrangePA]

Robinson looked very athletic at DE.

The crowd will be back once the team starts to win consistently- it may take awhile but it will happen.

 

[TheCusian]

Great take! While ED will always take a shot scramblin the passing game, no NEED to call run plays featuring the qb for ED.

Disagree 100%. The threat of him running is very helpful to our offense. Limited, smart runs are good. He walked into the end zone twice. Our other opponents will all be scared of him doing the same.

 

[SmilinBob]

I don't mind ED running every so often but against a team like CC it was totally unnecessary for him to do so. This is where the lack of run blocking and runningbacks hurt the offense in multiple ways.

 

[TheCusian]

I don't mind ED running every so often but against a team like CC it was totally unnecessary for him to do so. This is where the lack of run blocking and runningbacks hurt the offense in multiple ways.

It was worth getting on tape. I also think he needs to run, DNA wise. I'd rather call run than to see him scramble and get decked.

(The injuries all came on scrambles, not called runs.)

 

[SmilinBob]

I think teams know he is an exceptional athlete and can run. I just think the offensive line should have blown threw CC and made holes for all the RB's due to that failure ED ran. Absolutely right, it is in his DNA...crazy competitor and HCDB will have extra gray hairs coming in each time he takes off.

 

[orangepassion]

Disagree 100%. The threat of him running is very helpful to our offense. Limited, smart runs are good. He walked into the end zone twice. Our other opponents will all be scared of him doing the same.

Agree with your sentiments. I believe the threat of him running slows down the blitz some. Those can be more dangerous

 

[djorange1989]

True. And Colin Barber had many bad moments

That game and the 2004 Temple loss are the only two reasons I needed for P to get canned. Just would have been nice if Gross had replaced him with an actual coach