SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 33,980
- Like
- 65,546
- This season has just been straight uphill. The schedule is full of strong or improved teams. The bye weeks have come too early and too late. We’ve had an incredible number of injuries. We are on the verge of elimination from bowl eligibility but really, have we ever been in the race for a bowl? We’ve beaten an FCS team, (Villanova lost today, by the way), a MAC team and the worst team in the ACC. That’s it, and that might remain it.
- This was NC State’s first conference victory in two years, the first their coach has ever had. For Syracuse fans it reminded us that we are now 1-7 against this schools. This game reminded those of us with long memories of past games against the Wolfpack where just enough seemed to got their way instead of ours for them to win.
- We ran for 362 yards on these guys last year. This year it was 38. Dan Conley said his old teammates were texting him, begging us to stop running the ball up the middle. Eventually, we did but we wasted most of the first half trying to do something that is beyond our capabilities at the moment. The middle of our line was tissue paper today, including on the blow-up flea flicker. I didn’t get the number but we had one lineman who totally whiffed on the play. Coming into the season we thought the line and the running game would be a strength but all those in juries has reduced it to a weakness instead.
- Turnovers had been to our advantage this season, (+6), even if we didn’t take full advantage of them. In this game we were 0-3, not including two plays where State fumbled and the one guy in white among a sea of SU players came up with the ball. AJ Long just didn’t see that defensive end who backed into coverage. He tends to throw kind of allow ball anyway. Then we couldn’t catch up to a defensive end in 82 yards. Did my eyes deceive me or wasn’t AJ clipped at the end of that run.
- AJ showed talent but he also is pressing, (as well he might be) and making freshman mistakes, like holding the ball away from his body on that run. Someday we’ll benefit from what he’s learning but right now it’s frustrating.
- Last year we had two road victories over ACC teams that were mediocre and like us this year, facing significant injury problems, Maryland and NC State. Those two winds got us to the bowl game. We lost to those two teams in the Dome this year.
- We’ve got good kickers in Riley Dixon and Cole Murphy but in recent games it’s not given us an advantage. FSU had that guy who never misses, (until Thursday night). Wake had one of the country’s top punters. But nobody’s ever looked better to me than Will Bauman, who trapped us inside the five three times in a row, including a 60 yarder. And Niklas Sade kicked three field goals- more if you count the kick-offs that went through the up-rights. It was an impressive show.
- I haven’t kept track of how many players who have been treated on the field were our guys this year but I wish I had. It must be 80% of them. Shafer was almost in tears after the game, describing his respect but also his anguish over the efforts of his wounded warriors. And if you have any spare luck, please send it to John Raymon.
- This was NC State’s first conference victory in two years, the first their coach has ever had. For Syracuse fans it reminded us that we are now 1-7 against this schools. This game reminded those of us with long memories of past games against the Wolfpack where just enough seemed to got their way instead of ours for them to win.
- We ran for 362 yards on these guys last year. This year it was 38. Dan Conley said his old teammates were texting him, begging us to stop running the ball up the middle. Eventually, we did but we wasted most of the first half trying to do something that is beyond our capabilities at the moment. The middle of our line was tissue paper today, including on the blow-up flea flicker. I didn’t get the number but we had one lineman who totally whiffed on the play. Coming into the season we thought the line and the running game would be a strength but all those in juries has reduced it to a weakness instead.
- Turnovers had been to our advantage this season, (+6), even if we didn’t take full advantage of them. In this game we were 0-3, not including two plays where State fumbled and the one guy in white among a sea of SU players came up with the ball. AJ Long just didn’t see that defensive end who backed into coverage. He tends to throw kind of allow ball anyway. Then we couldn’t catch up to a defensive end in 82 yards. Did my eyes deceive me or wasn’t AJ clipped at the end of that run.
- AJ showed talent but he also is pressing, (as well he might be) and making freshman mistakes, like holding the ball away from his body on that run. Someday we’ll benefit from what he’s learning but right now it’s frustrating.
- Last year we had two road victories over ACC teams that were mediocre and like us this year, facing significant injury problems, Maryland and NC State. Those two winds got us to the bowl game. We lost to those two teams in the Dome this year.
- We’ve got good kickers in Riley Dixon and Cole Murphy but in recent games it’s not given us an advantage. FSU had that guy who never misses, (until Thursday night). Wake had one of the country’s top punters. But nobody’s ever looked better to me than Will Bauman, who trapped us inside the five three times in a row, including a 60 yarder. And Niklas Sade kicked three field goals- more if you count the kick-offs that went through the up-rights. It was an impressive show.
- I haven’t kept track of how many players who have been treated on the field were our guys this year but I wish I had. It must be 80% of them. Shafer was almost in tears after the game, describing his respect but also his anguish over the efforts of his wounded warriors. And if you have any spare luck, please send it to John Raymon.
