SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
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- We continue to prove we can compete with anybody. In my season preview I referred to LSU, NC State, Clemson, Miami, Florida State and Louisville as the “spider teams” that are going to be so dominant they will probably wrap us in their silk before we get a chance to do anything. I couldn’t have been more wrong. We are capable of beating all of them. We need better starts and more efficient play but we aren’t going to get blown out by anybody.
- The thing is, we aren’t nearly the team we are going to be. The offense sputters and sputters and winds up with 20 something points. We finally have a running game but suddenly can’t pass it. We have neither balance nor explosiveness. The defensive backfield is again beaten up and is again a liability. We don’t’ have real depth. Hofrichter id good and Murphy bad. Now Murphy is good and Hofrichter bad. We don’t’ do anything with kick returns, block kicks or force turnovers. Dino is going to add more and more talent and depth the next few years and then we’ll see what he is really trying to build. This is just an early stage where we are trying to find ways to compete and somehow doing it, despite significant limitations.
- Brian Ward’s defense is a huge reason why we can compete with these top teams. They went from off the charts horrible last year to keeping us in game after game this year. Zaire Franklin and Parris Bennett are an amazing duo and Steve Slayton is the next Arthur Jones up from. Alton Robinson is star in the making. And we haven’t even gotten Kendall Coleman back yet. If only we had Antwan Cordy….
- Dontae Strickland rushed for 105 yards on 14 carries – that’s 7.5 yards per carry. I don’t know who that other Dontae Strickland was- the guy who used to just run right to the nearest defender and fall down. Like the defense, he’s gone from a liability to an asset. Meanwhile Ward’s defense held Travis Horner, who had been averaging 8.5 yards per carry to 4.8.
- Eric Dungey had an awful time throwing the ball and he looked as if he’d gone 15 rounds with Mike Tyson but he earned even more respect than his teammates, coaches and the fans already had for him but taking that beating and dealing with the stress of his errors and leading the team back once again. You could see him feeling of his back and right leg after a hard hit but he still rallied to run away from all those quick Miami defenders for 105 yards rushing in 20 carries and several late first downs that set up those field goals. In the worst game he ever played he had 237 yards total offense and we almost beat the #8 team in the country in their own place.
- The offensive line seemed over-matched early but when we went to the supposedly non-existent ground game they led the way to 264 yards rushing at 5.2 per carry. When we pass the linemen get attacked and have to hold up under the assault. When we run the ball, they get to attack the other guys and I think they had a good time doing it.
- Cole Murphy has risen from the dead! (I know, it’s Halloween, not Easter). He got off to a fine start as a freshman, making 13 of 16 field goals. The next year he was solid with 16 of 22 and made all 37 extra points. Last year he faltered, missing 8 of 18 field goals and 3 extra points. This year he’s 16 for 18, including 4 for 4 in this game with a career high 53. In the post- game interview he said several times “all field goals are just the same”. That’s obviously his mantra and it’s working.
4-4 with 4+ to go
LET’S GO ORANGE!!!
- The thing is, we aren’t nearly the team we are going to be. The offense sputters and sputters and winds up with 20 something points. We finally have a running game but suddenly can’t pass it. We have neither balance nor explosiveness. The defensive backfield is again beaten up and is again a liability. We don’t’ have real depth. Hofrichter id good and Murphy bad. Now Murphy is good and Hofrichter bad. We don’t’ do anything with kick returns, block kicks or force turnovers. Dino is going to add more and more talent and depth the next few years and then we’ll see what he is really trying to build. This is just an early stage where we are trying to find ways to compete and somehow doing it, despite significant limitations.
- Brian Ward’s defense is a huge reason why we can compete with these top teams. They went from off the charts horrible last year to keeping us in game after game this year. Zaire Franklin and Parris Bennett are an amazing duo and Steve Slayton is the next Arthur Jones up from. Alton Robinson is star in the making. And we haven’t even gotten Kendall Coleman back yet. If only we had Antwan Cordy….
- Dontae Strickland rushed for 105 yards on 14 carries – that’s 7.5 yards per carry. I don’t know who that other Dontae Strickland was- the guy who used to just run right to the nearest defender and fall down. Like the defense, he’s gone from a liability to an asset. Meanwhile Ward’s defense held Travis Horner, who had been averaging 8.5 yards per carry to 4.8.
- Eric Dungey had an awful time throwing the ball and he looked as if he’d gone 15 rounds with Mike Tyson but he earned even more respect than his teammates, coaches and the fans already had for him but taking that beating and dealing with the stress of his errors and leading the team back once again. You could see him feeling of his back and right leg after a hard hit but he still rallied to run away from all those quick Miami defenders for 105 yards rushing in 20 carries and several late first downs that set up those field goals. In the worst game he ever played he had 237 yards total offense and we almost beat the #8 team in the country in their own place.
- The offensive line seemed over-matched early but when we went to the supposedly non-existent ground game they led the way to 264 yards rushing at 5.2 per carry. When we pass the linemen get attacked and have to hold up under the assault. When we run the ball, they get to attack the other guys and I think they had a good time doing it.
- Cole Murphy has risen from the dead! (I know, it’s Halloween, not Easter). He got off to a fine start as a freshman, making 13 of 16 field goals. The next year he was solid with 16 of 22 and made all 37 extra points. Last year he faltered, missing 8 of 18 field goals and 3 extra points. This year he’s 16 for 18, including 4 for 4 in this game with a career high 53. In the post- game interview he said several times “all field goals are just the same”. That’s obviously his mantra and it’s working.
4-4 with 4+ to go
LET’S GO ORANGE!!!
