Quick Observations

[OrangePA]

No particular order.

I was on campus at about 9 am for an unrelated event. I was amazed at the number of people hanging around Marshall Street and tailgating near Waverly and other lots - the campus was alive and fun. I have to believe that if more people knew how much fun it is going to games on the Hill more would show for the games on a regular basis.

The Clemson fans I met were all very nice.

The Dome crowd was truly great - worthy of the ACC. Even in the mid-third quarter the fans were there and supportive. Once again I was impressed at how much fun college football can be in a packed Carrier Dome - the best football experience I have ever had.

I like the new SU Marching Band uniforms - a really good combination of orange and blue.

Enough already with the funky uniforms - we should have been in our traditional orange pants and helmets for our first ACC game. I'm done with the all blue look - it was nice for a game but enough.

I bought a pass to Club 44 this year - I like it but I think they should do more to make the experience more SU Football oriented - pump the SU Football broadcast in the facility - especially the pre and post game shows. I also think they should provide some free food along with the couches and flat screens.

After looking at the rushing statistics for the game I once again realize how much about football I don't understand or see during a game. I still can't believe we rushed for 325+ yards on Saturday.

I can't believe how inept Ryan Norton appears to be as a FG kicker. We have no FG threat at this point. I also remain perplexed at Ryan's lack of consistency this year as a KO specialist - on only one kick yesterday he did do what he did quite often last year - put it deep into the end zone.

Obviously Riley Dixon had his coming out game yesterday. He needs to be more consistent but has great punting leverage.

We seemed to be pretty much dominated on both the lines, though we did have our moments on the DL. And as many have observed, the Clemson LBs and CBs dominated our skill guys.

I still like Terrel Hunt. I thought that two of his INTs occurred when the WRs stopped running their patterns - I like the fact that TH throws to a spot and I still think he throws a very catchable pass - the drop by Broyld was awful.

I see nothing from J. Kobena.

I hate to criticize play calling - and as you know I beat up posters on this board who do that - but I have to admit it - I found it frustrating during the second half that we ran the ball so often on first down and left Hunt with so many second and long and third and long situations. Very hard to succeed in those situations.

I think Shafer did more for building trust with the players by going for it on fourth and three from his own 40 or so - Hunt QB keeper for the first down - than anything else he has done this year. That was a great way of telling the players - I'm with you and I believe in you. I thought it was a great moment for him.

I liked the fact that Shafer was willing to pull out the stops in the second half. Just frustrated that we could not score TDs following the fake punt, the gadget plays, etc.

Despite the offensive output by Clemson, we still hit hard and tackled pretty darn well.

The Clemson center moving his head up and down before the snap was distracting and I think worthy of a penalty flag. He caused at least one encroachment call against the Orange - that tactic should not be permitted.

I agree with those that feel we look undisciplined on too many occasions - the OL false starts - another QB late hit - Desir dropping back for a punt return on third down - the safeties biting on the third play of the game, etc.

During the review of the second Broyld gadget play Shafer was ripping into the officials - I would love to know why.

Clemson is a very good team.

I remain optimistic - I think we as fans - when we show up at the Dome - bring something really special to the ACC. I think opposing teams and fans - and TV - will truly enjoy the Carrier Dome experience as we move ahead.

Gotta beat NC State.

 

[djcon57]

During the review of the second Broyld gadget play Shafer was ripping into the officials - I would love to know why.

Because they were reviewing the play to see if a penalty should have been called...which I believe is against the rules of review.

I think the refs realized this and backed off quick

 

[GoSU96]

The lines weren't dominated. The pass protection was pretty good given the down and distance most pass plays were called. You can't protect forever. In fact pass protection has been a bright spot this year.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

It didn't end up hurting SU because we got the stop but watching Desir line up for a punt return on 3rd and 15 on the second drive was frustrating as hell. Team had to use three timeouts on defense in the first half.

 

[SmilinBob]

Seriously there is too much money to screw Clemson or FSU and the refs know this. This is why we should have NCAA refs. Again, Clemson beat SU without the refs but they hung around to make sure it happened in a pretty cheesy way.

 

[orangepassion]

I agree about Norton. Think he could cost us a game or two. If we're not very confident about Krautman coming back 100%, we need to go recruit a kicker for next year. I previously posted about the repetitive 1st down run calls-Didn't give hunt a shot. Wouldn't mind some more screen passes in there.

 

[orangenirvana]

At least half of the rushing yards were a result of Smith's long TD, McFarlane's punt fake, and McFarlane's long rush near the end of the game. An example of stats not really telling the story.

 

[OrangePA]

The lines weren't dominated. The pass protection was pretty good given the down and distance most pass plays were called. You can't protect forever. In fact pass protection has been a bright spot this year.

Yeah, I kind of go back and forth on it as I think about the game.

I still think we had trouble running the ball - at least on first down.

We had way too many run losses and way too many second and long situations.

I agree that pass protection was decent - I guess most here feel that the OL and Hunt were impacted by the inability of our WRs to separate.

That may be the case - I would like to watch the film.

 

[OrangePA]

At least half of the rushing yards were a result of Smith's long TD, McFarlane's punt fake, and McFarlane's long rush near the end of the game. An example of stats not really telling the story.

Yeah, I guess that's right.

It didn't seem to me that we knocked anybody down on the DL for most of the game.

And that's a big problem if you want to win in the ACC and help a young QB develop.

 

[Millhouse]

At least half of the rushing yards were a result of Smith's long TD, McFarlane's punt fake, and McFarlane's long rush near the end of the game. An example of stats not really telling the story.

Smith's td counts. A lot of clemsons passing yards came on long plays too

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[HtownOrange]

Because they were reviewing the play to see if a penalty should have been called...which I believe is against the rules of review.

I think the refs realized this and backed off quick

Aside from being wrong, even if there was a flag, you are correct, they cannot review a play to see if a penalty should have been called. I guess this is what everyone meant by "ACC" refs: "We make the rules up as we go along. Enjoy the ride."

 

[weakstraw]

The lines weren't dominated. The pass protection was pretty good given the down and distance most pass plays were called. You can't protect forever. In fact pass protection has been a bright spot this year.

I watched the game from home in NJ. I kept yelling "throw the ball" because you could not see in the TV screen that our WR's were blanketed. We never stacked the receivers, or put tight ends to wide out. The O line was good, we just have bad receivers and we were exposed badly.

 

[RICuse44]

Yeah, I guess that's right.

It didn't seem to me that we knocked anybody down on the DL for most of the game.

And that's a big problem if you want to win in the ACC and help a young QB develop.

Could we really run the ball and exert our will when we absolutely needed to? Answer was no which is why the stat is misleading. Still, coaches have to realize that is our strong suit on offense. We need more cutbacks with the run to keep the defense guessing. Sometimes the run can set up the run and the pass. I think coordinators lose sight of this.

 

[Madbiker]

The predictability of the offense is maddening. Just about every 1st down is a run play. We were in 2nd and 9 a whole bunch of times yet the play calling never changed. I get the mentality of sticking to the game plan ...but if it isn't working how about making some adjustments?

 

[IHeartSUFball]

stunned kobena has been this bad... while he hasn't dropped many or caught many I jsut thought being a jr. he was going to be a break out player. It can still happen, but def had high hopes for him.