The stats don't lie | Syracusefan.com

The stats don't lie

Fjoinkay

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SU won the second half including time of possession. Wake dominated the first half and scored only 20 points.

In the first half SU was 3-and-out on 6 out of 7 possessions. The SU first half TD (Provo broke a tackle and had nice blocking down field) was a 4-play possession. In the second half SU had 6 possessions, all but 2 of those were drives. Those 2 possessions were Bailey's fumble on the second play of the drive, and Bailey's 53 yard TD run on the first play of the drive.

Wake was 7/19 on third down, but it seemed like they were even better. Some of those third down conversions were third and long, and those hurt any defense. More than anything else ever in this new era, Wake's third and long conversions reminded me of the painful past. But this team is different and better than those teams and the result shows that.

Despite being on the field forever in the first half the SU defense hung in there. Several players were banged up or cramped up. But in the second half it was the Wake defense that appeared tired and out of gas. Gotta love the conditioning and all the hard work in the off-season.

I'm glad the offense faced heavy blitzing pressure right out of the gate. After the adjustments at halftime the offense looked like a new and different unit. Nassib had a bounce in his step, and he played brilliantly in the second half. Gong forward I trust that the offense will adjust earlier. The first game is a unique challenge.

Despite a few costly breakdowns in the secondary, I saw many positives especially from some players with very little experience. And Shamarko, who has a lot of experience, played like the heat seeking missile that he is.

Wake averaged 1.9 yards per carry. Yes, the 3 sacks and Wakes bad snaps assisted those numbers, but the SU defense played well against the run.

Despite some breakdowns in the kicking game and short snaps, the SU special teams outplayed Wake's special teams. Krautman's KO out of bounds was costly, but Wake scored on the next play because K. Scott blitzed and Givens beat P. Thomas. Worse than being beat on the route and the nice throw, P. Thomas failed to tackle Givens.

Turnovers were even but Wake scored a field goal (I believe) after Bailey's fumble, and after the interception SU had it's field goal blocked (poor snap).

SU scored 29 points in the 2nd half and OT, and wake scored 9 points.

This win is the psychological equivalent of successful heart bypass surgery.
 
All true and good post. One factor is missing...Price going down.
 
Very true. Price went down in the 4th quarter. He played very well, and Wake probably wins if he stays healthy. However, Wake dominated the first half with Price, and they failed to put SU away. Also, the play when Price was hurt in the 4th quarter Wake's holding penalty was huge.
 
Agree with their QB... but... I can't help but think we won b/c of the conditioning. I know you mentioned it above, but I was also thinking it during the game. How all of a a sudden our O was able to move the ball. Did they outlast wake's D? I was flipping out to my friend that our O line (once the weakest unit) was now our strength.. and they gave nassib maybe a second to throw the ball... and then all of a sudden he got some more time, and lanes opened up, and we looked stronger. Conditioning is all i could think of
 
I think conditioning was a huge factor. I also think after reading coach Hackett's comments that the adjustments at half were crucial. After the game HCDM said that SU likes to play against pressure because it gives them the opportunity to take advantage of it, and going forward I expect the offense to handle pressure more like the second half against Wake.
 
...and once we started utilizing the fullback as well. I definitely believe conditioning was a deciding factor as well.
 
The biggest factor in the offensive performance in the 4th quarter was the change in tempo. Up to that point, the O was plodding. Once they picked up the pace, they got into a rhythm and had Wake on their heels, they were able to move seemingly at will.

Hopefully, they won't wait so long to go no-huddle next time.
 
Nassib looked more confident and in control in the 4th quarter than I ever remember seeing him including the Pinstripe Bowl.
 
"Wake was 7/19 on third down, but it seemed like they were even better. Some of those third down conversions were third and long, and those hurt any defense. "
Agreed, also what helped to make it feel like they were even better than the 7/19 on 3rd down were the successful 4th an short conversions they had.
 
they converted several 3rd and long and also got several 3 and 7-8 turned into 4th and one allowing them to go for it.. really got an extra long possession about 6-7 times. those extra plays really added up in the first half.
 
As a true soph Price played very well especially moving around on 3rd downs and making plays to pick up 1st downs on 3rd and long or setting up the short 4th down play. How many other QBs with those skills will SU face? I really don't know the answer to that, but I'm guessing not many. Geno Smith comes to mind and BJ Daniels.
 
Price did play well but I thought he couldve played better... he couldve ran and picked up 1st downs but choose to throw late a couple of times and those attempts went for incompletes... Wake couldve easily had 30 on the board at the break.
 
Price did play well but I thought he couldve played better... he couldve ran and picked up 1st downs but choose to throw late a couple of times and those attempts went for incompletes... Wake couldve easily had 30 on the board at the break.

Yep...we were lucky he didn't take off and run on those couple of plays.
 
BTW we KNOCKED Price out of the game. Give the defense credit for that. This defense has done that on a regular basis, so i wouldnt say SU was lucky.
 
All true and good post. One factor is missing...Price going down.

True, but the real factor is that Wake didn't have anyone behind him. Injuries are part of the game. Defections too. What often separates the champions from the also-rans is quality depth

Not saying we're champions because we don't have quality depth either. On the other hand, we didn't get any key guys injured.
 
There is a superstitious reason why WF lost...

Their coach... his name is GROB... with an E on the end...
 
And the Wake back-up QB was the starter at the beginning of last season until he was injured. Price took over as a true frosh which is impressive and probably says something about Stachitas sp?. Price just looked very comfortable under pressure whether in the pocket or moving out of the pocket. I think he would have had a great year.
 

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