Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="Fjoinkay, post: 6274, member: 604"] 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. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?