I was just listening to Sirius XM..

[djorange1989]

They were interviewing a North Carolina writer and Luginbill, who of course covered the game yesterday asked the guy if he thought it was the best all around game NC played this year. He prefaced that question by saying “I know Syracuse didn’t show up…”. We should never have to hear that statement and have that statement be true. This team, this program, just doesn’t seem to have the passion and the fire to get up off the mat and avoid being embarrassed. Maybe they are too busy strutting around every time they make a good play to have the fire to not let yesterday happen, I don’t know. I just don’t want to see the rest of a very winnable schedule after next week go down in flames.

 

[JKinPhilly]

That's the frustrating part to me...these past 2 games were certainly not going to be easy Ws by any means and most had them as losses coming into the season. But the fact we look disinterested, unprepared and "didn't show up" for either is inexcusable.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think we showed up, but immediately unraveled after Shrader's fumble and the blocked punt that turned into a first down.

 

[Scooch]

There was a segment during the Clemson game where the announcer talked about his conversation with Marlow Wax that week. Apparently Wax said the team “believed their hype” last season after the 6-0 start, and he believed they lost focus.

I found that to be incredibly discouraging.

We’ve seen this at happen before during the Babers era. Remember the 2019 season when we heard that they players believed their own hype coming out of 2018?

I think Babers is very bad at keeping his team focused and grounded. It’s a real skill to be able to do that with 18-22 year old guys, and I don’t think he has it at all.

FWIW, I think Marrone was pretty good in this regard.

 

[tbonezone]

He prefaced that question by saying “I know Syracuse didn’t show up…”.

siriusly ?

 

[djorange1989]

I think we showed up, but immediately unraveled after Shrader's fumble and the blocked punt that turned into a first down.

I guess you can say that and I guess that is not as bad but still bad

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I guess you can say that and I guess that is not as bad but still bad

It's definitely still bad.

 

[JKinPhilly]

I think we showed up, but immediately unraveled after Shrader's fumble and the blocked punt that turned into a first down.

So we folded at the first sign of adversity. That's fair and true, but our QB himself has said 2 weeks in a row now guy weren't ready to play.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

So we folded at the first sign of adversity. That's fair and true, but our QB himself has said 2 weeks in a row now guy weren't ready to play.

Agreed, there's something going on, and it's a problem.

But I do think those two events affected the team and we played worse as a result of them.

 

[SU91]

Agreed, there's something going on, and it's a problem.

But I do think those two events affected the team and we played worse as a result of them.

Just a thought, but I don’t think Dino thinks he can win these games. I think that filters down to the players, and I think they play like they don’t expect to win. It’s evident in everything Dino says in press conferences, in his demeanor, his decisions on the field, and in his remarks after games. In fact, I’ll echo something that kcsu has said many times, I don’t think Dino even wants to be here if not for the millions he’s making from his contract. In the end, his players lack the confidence that they can win. They play scared, timid, and discombobulated. They don’t fight for contested balls, etc. Guys like Shrader, while limited, are warriors and want to win. They get discouraged and ultimately disinterested when it finally appears obvious that no one around them shares their passion.

ps. none of this can make up for size, speed, and talent, which we lack as well. But a team that’s dialed-in, even if they lack some talent, doesn’t crap the bed like we do time and time again. Want to see a coach and team with good culture? Look to Wake Forrest. They might lose, but it’s not because they were out coached.

 

[Millhouse]

So we folded at the first sign of adversity. That's fair and true, but our QB himself has said 2 weeks in a row now guy weren't ready to play.

I just don't think anyone knows what to say. We should've done better is a lot easier to swallow than we stink

 

[BomberOrange]

Just a thought, but I don’t think Dino thinks he can win these games. I think that filters down to the players, and I think they play like they don’t expect to win. It’s evident in everything Dino says in press conferences, in his demeanor, his decisions on the field, and in his remarks after games. In fact, I’ll echo something that kcsu has said many times, I don’t think Dino even wants to be here if not for the millions he’s making from his contract. In the end, his players lack the confidence that they can win. They play scared, timid, and discombobulated. They don’t fight for contested balls, etc. Guys like Shrader, while limited, are warriors and want to win. They get discouraged and ultimately disinterested when it finally appears obvious that no one around them shares their passion.

ps. none of this can make up for size, speed, and talent, which we lack as well. But a team that’s dialed-in, even if they lack some talent, doesn’t crap the bed like we do time and time again. Want to see a coach and team with good culture? Look to Wake Forrest. They might lose, but it’s not because they were out coached.

Beside the D line we have the size

 

[DoctorBombay]

So we folded at the first sign of adversity. That's fair and true, but our QB himself has said 2 weeks in a row now guy weren't ready to play.

It's a pattern. There's loads of examples of Dino's teams getting punched in the mouth, and folding like a deck of cards.
Remember the Devito interception vs Clemson, and our collapse right after that?
Putting up a fight has become the exception, not the rule.

 

[hoopsupstate]

i think part of the problem might be some of our regulars need to be replaced by transfers. I always wonder how portal kids are going to affect team chemistry?

 

[Deleted member 8116]

The lack of fight in the face of a little adversity is on the coach.

 

[tep624]

There was a segment during the Clemson game where the announcer talked about his conversation with Marlow Wax that week. Apparently Wax said the team “believed their hype” last season after the 6-0 start, and he believed they lost focus.

I found that to be incredibly discouraging.

We’ve seen this at happen before during the Babers era. Remember the 2019 season when we heard that they players believed their own hype coming out of 2018?

I think Babers is very bad at keeping his team focused and grounded. It’s a real skill to be able to do that with 18-22 year old guys, and I don’t think he has it at all.

FWIW, I think Marrone was pretty good in this regard.

I’ve become convinced that Babers just stinks at running a consistent, focused, disciplined program and it starts with him. His decision making during games is generally all over the place and inconsistent.

 

[Millhouse]

UNC will probably end up top 6 even when we are great. Those teams kill us. It's not a defense of babers but that's what happens here

 

[sufandu]

I take what players and coaches say with a grain of salt. They're all too well versed in sports cliches. Hearing a player say "we weren't prepared" isn't the same as saying "the coaches didn't prepare us" or "the players had a lazy week of preparation." I think the meaning can be as simple as "we played like crap today." When a sports writer/analyst says, "we know syracuse didn't show up." I hear that as saying they know we didn't play as good as they know we can. It hurts to hear stuff like that, but I'm not reading too much into it.

 

[FrancoPizza]

I just don't think anyone knows what to say. We should've done better is a lot easier to swallow than we stink

Exactly. What are they supposed to come up with that isn’t depressing?