I made the same comments as everyone else about the rugby kicks ā but then started wondering: What if you could actually teach someone to line-drive a punt off an opponentās back? Seems like an inventive way to create a turnover. Sort of like the punting version of an onside kick, or a basketball player throwing an in-bounds pass off the guy guarding him.
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Agree with all this, especially the crowd. Was disappointed in the turnout for a 4-1 team, coming off a big win, on a perfect day against a good opponent.
One observation thoughā¦Iāve probably been to 100 games at Scott over the years, and always sit on the home side. Yesterday I found a good deal on the visitor side of the stadium and it sucks for day games. The sun was brutal on that sideā¦especially the 3rd quarter where the sun was still above the stadium, but the field was shaded. I found myself watching the game on the big board more than the field. 4th quarter was fine, but I wonāt sit on that side for a day game again.
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Im so disappointed in the turnout and the fans. Everyone is waiting around to jump on the bandwagon of a 10-2 team that will never arrive. Even at 4-2 this is a competitive team that plays itās ass off and deserves better from the fans.
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Yeah on paper we didnāt turn the ball over, but that Sparks put was as bad if not worse than any kind of fumble/interception. It led to an immediate TD.
We responded very well and probably should have won the game but man that was a costly one.
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It was the difference maker. Like you said led directly to a TD. The defense cant be expected to hold when you give the offense the ball redzone.
The punting strategy is very puzzling to say the least. For years before the novelty of recruiting 29 year old Australian rules footballers to punt, directional punting just fine. Was a two step punter in hs, and because of this I got a lot of interest because most take 3. The hasmarks in college have made it more chic for that stupid style, you can basically roll out to the field and kick it. I HATE THAT SHIT. Use the out of bounds as an extra defender, pin them between the hash and out of bounds every time!
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I love this teamās discipline and resilience. Whether we make a bowl or not this is a team I can be proud of instead of embarrassed about. We should have won that game and didnāt, which is frustrating. But the fact that we even āshould have wonā against a good Louisville team is not to be overlooked.
Each game this season I come away feeling more optimistic that Elliott is our long term solution. At a minimum heās proven to be a great choice at getting our program back on track.
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Totally agree there. I do, however, like the post-wheel combo route package we run from time to time. We were going to run that inside the red zone on a third down, but were whistled for a pre-snap penalty, and ran it again for the Brown TD.
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Heās got good sets and plays and generally i donāt have a lot of issues with the actual plays. Itās the timing and required wisdom.of when to call them that concerns me.
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Scheme isnāt really the issue, people call it āpro styleā but itās really just a conservative slightly more pass happy version of the smashmouth spread which is what Elliott ran at Clemson and is one of the most commonly ran offenses in the country.
I think he struggles with game flow, trying to rely too much on the passing game and not establishing an identity as each game progresses. This should be a ground and pound, control the clock running team who rolls the pocket on play action and looks for quick hitters to Fields and Neville. Not a team that throws the ball 45 times and tries to beat defenses on the edges.
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I find the Des situation a little dispiriting because heās not quite bad enough to fire, but heās not good enough to win us games. Feels like weāre just going to toil in mediocrity at that spot.
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I wouldnāt mind moving on from him this offseason to be honest. The main allure when he got hired is he was purportedly a great recruiter but he hasnāt given us much of a bump there either. I agree heās not horrible as an OC but he just doesnāt do anything that makes you go āwe gotta keep this guyā, would prefer Elliott go to the G5 level and bring in a young guy with some bright ideas (Brennan Marion, Mack Leftwitch, Dean Kennedy).
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I get the feeling that Tony is very involved in the offensive game planning, more specifically the first set of scripted calls, after that itās all on des and he just seemed confused.
1st down pass play, long out route, incomplete
2nd down the mesh hand off , off tackle gain of 2
3rd down, defensive sends more then we can block, AC throws it away
4th down punt
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Thatās my concern with Des as well.
I could see them moving on though as CTB faces a make or break season
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I saw 4 players that popped when watchingā¦.thatās it.
Fields, Sanker, Robinson and the punter when allowed to actually punt.
And probably only Sanker popped to the level of Louisville RB and run blocking.
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I touch on some of this in the Sunday Couch QB thatāll be out later today, but the redzone inefficiencies should be enough to have his job status in question if they donāt improve as the season progresses
Right now the Hoos are dead last in the ACC and bottom 10 nationally in redzone touchdown conversion %. That canāt happen.
His playcalling to me tries too hard some times, particularly when they get in close. Donāt run plays that have potentially negative outcomes.
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Iām gonna zag on this. Iām disappointed too, but not with the fans or the students. Sure, thereās more the administration could be doing to woo students to the games, but weāre talking about a first year class that has seen 4 winning seasons in their lifetime.
And I donāt think people are waiting to jump on a 10-2 bandwagon, they want to see consecutive winning seasons and bowl games.
So yeah, this 2024 squad deserves better but so do the fans.
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Oh I would love to move on from him, I am just skeptical we will. Brennan Marion has always been the dream for me (the UNLV QB situation does seem to implicate him a bit unfortunately). His offense is a ton of fun and his ties to the area are pretty solid.
I also would have been fine keeping Beck and moving him up to OC. Kitchings was by far the hire I was least happy about on Elliottās staff when he came.
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Also what is the best Scott Stadium moment since 2019? Nothing you can do about Covid but they have not done enough at home to get the crowd back or make a case to new fans to actually come to the games. Even this year with improvement weāre 2-2 at home. Program desperately needs a signature win at home to make people think these games are worth coming to.
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Twice this year Iāve seen the situation be 2nd and goal from the 8 or 9 yard lines.They run the ball up the middle. Once for one yard. Once for no gain. What is the purpose of play calling like that? Basically your just giving a down away. Now there is one shot for the end zone instead of 2.Some of you coaches explain that to me
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