SWC75
Bored Historian
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- This game was supposed to be over by halftime. The second half was supposed to be a look at the guys we hadn’t seen or hadn’t seen much of. But, after we bolted to a 24-3 lead and then got that resounding hit from Tyrell Richards that was going to force a punt from deep in Crusader territory. Then came “the call” which astonished Matt Park and Dan Conley in the SU booth and clearly upset Dino Babers, who couldn’t publically complain about it but instead asked the fans what they thought of it in the halftime interview and was rewarded with a chorus of boos, (for the refs). This was followed by a foul on Trill Williams for angrily picking up and Clemson receiver and slamming him to the turf. Holy Cross never threatened but the next four SU possessions produced a total of 57 yards, three punts and a field goal after Sean Riley’s 34 yard punt return. Taj Harris finally broke it open with his 47 catch and run with 1:15 left in the quarter. By that time the opportunity for extended time for the guys beyond the two deep had shrunk to a few plays in the fourth quarter.
- Even at that, the starters were kept in too long. I wanted to see Jawar Jordan and Courtney Jackson. Those two and Clayton Welch came in at 10:18 of the fourth quarter. Jordan had two good runs for 7 and 9 yards but had the ball stripped at the end of the second run Jackson caught a 3 yard sideline pass. Welch was 4 for 5 for 17 yards. The ACC games figure to be competitive enough that these guys and other back-ups are unlikely to see much action. This was their game to show what they can do and we didn’t get to see that, both because of our ineffective offense in the second and third quarters and because the coaches waited too long to get them into the game.
- It may have bene too late for DeVito, who spent some time in the injury tent after he threw an interception with 12:43 left and walked to the locker room without his pads. I won’t tell you Dino’s response to Matt Park’s question about his status but the initials were IHTCWTD. Later matt asked DeVito how he was feeling and he said “Fine”. Amazingly, Matt didn’t pursue the matter beyond that. It would be just like Dino to keep a lid on this until the NC State kicks off so that the opposition won’t know how to prepare for us.
- Tommy wasn’t as sharp as he had looked in the last few games. He misfired on 12 passes, including an interception when he threw into coverage on his last play. He under-threw Trishton Jackson on a couple of long passes and threw crossing routes behind the receiver a couple of times. It made no difference here but it will in the coming weeks.
- Dino told Matt after the game that he’d grade our offense in this game as a ‘B”. I think I’d opt for C+ at best. At halftime the yardage was 184-107 over a bad FCS team. We ended the game 5 for 16 on third down plays and -2 in turnovers. We averaged 4 yards on running plays. We averaged 465 yard a game against all comers last season. Today we got 429 yards against Holy Cross.
- I still don’t think our offensive line has its act together yet. Actually, I’m not sure they have an act. If Tommy’s primary receiver wasn’t wide open, he got happy feet and was off and running. Maybe it’s partially his fault. He doesn’t yet have a good sense of where the pressure is coming or what to do when it arrives. He’s starting to learn to step up into the pocket. He’s just not very good on the run yet. Most of the incompletions were Tommy just throwing the ball away. At elast he’s getting it out bounds now after a couple of interceptions on balls he left in the playing field. Dino caught one of them. That’s a good plan: if you are in trouble, throw it to the coach.
- When Nykeim Johnson decided to run after that bouncing punt, figuring he could get there before the two defenders who were also after it, everyone in the Dome knew the result was going to be a fumble- except Nykeim, of course.
- Make a note. Never….pass….the…football…to….Chris…Elmore. Elmore saw considerable time on the defensive line today and that may be his future. He catches the ball like a nose tackle.
- I don’t think anybody in the ACC is scared of us. We need to show consistent game-to game improvement to become the team we thought we might have this year. I think we back-slid a bit today.
- Even at that, the starters were kept in too long. I wanted to see Jawar Jordan and Courtney Jackson. Those two and Clayton Welch came in at 10:18 of the fourth quarter. Jordan had two good runs for 7 and 9 yards but had the ball stripped at the end of the second run Jackson caught a 3 yard sideline pass. Welch was 4 for 5 for 17 yards. The ACC games figure to be competitive enough that these guys and other back-ups are unlikely to see much action. This was their game to show what they can do and we didn’t get to see that, both because of our ineffective offense in the second and third quarters and because the coaches waited too long to get them into the game.
- It may have bene too late for DeVito, who spent some time in the injury tent after he threw an interception with 12:43 left and walked to the locker room without his pads. I won’t tell you Dino’s response to Matt Park’s question about his status but the initials were IHTCWTD. Later matt asked DeVito how he was feeling and he said “Fine”. Amazingly, Matt didn’t pursue the matter beyond that. It would be just like Dino to keep a lid on this until the NC State kicks off so that the opposition won’t know how to prepare for us.
- Tommy wasn’t as sharp as he had looked in the last few games. He misfired on 12 passes, including an interception when he threw into coverage on his last play. He under-threw Trishton Jackson on a couple of long passes and threw crossing routes behind the receiver a couple of times. It made no difference here but it will in the coming weeks.
- Dino told Matt after the game that he’d grade our offense in this game as a ‘B”. I think I’d opt for C+ at best. At halftime the yardage was 184-107 over a bad FCS team. We ended the game 5 for 16 on third down plays and -2 in turnovers. We averaged 4 yards on running plays. We averaged 465 yard a game against all comers last season. Today we got 429 yards against Holy Cross.
- I still don’t think our offensive line has its act together yet. Actually, I’m not sure they have an act. If Tommy’s primary receiver wasn’t wide open, he got happy feet and was off and running. Maybe it’s partially his fault. He doesn’t yet have a good sense of where the pressure is coming or what to do when it arrives. He’s starting to learn to step up into the pocket. He’s just not very good on the run yet. Most of the incompletions were Tommy just throwing the ball away. At elast he’s getting it out bounds now after a couple of interceptions on balls he left in the playing field. Dino caught one of them. That’s a good plan: if you are in trouble, throw it to the coach.
- When Nykeim Johnson decided to run after that bouncing punt, figuring he could get there before the two defenders who were also after it, everyone in the Dome knew the result was going to be a fumble- except Nykeim, of course.
- Make a note. Never….pass….the…football…to….Chris…Elmore. Elmore saw considerable time on the defensive line today and that may be his future. He catches the ball like a nose tackle.
- I don’t think anybody in the ACC is scared of us. We need to show consistent game-to game improvement to become the team we thought we might have this year. I think we back-slid a bit today.
