Thoughts on the BC Game

[JasonB]

Man, close game, and great to walk away from that with a win. I started to think BC was going to be our bugaboo team for a while there.

- I mentioned before the game that I thought BC was great on both sides of the line and were just a couple of elite skill position players away from being competitors in the ACC. I think all of that played out. I think BOB will have them super competitive in the league next season. I wouldn't be surprised to see them beat both UNC and Pitt to close out the year.

- James proved to be a way better fit for their offense than TC. When you watch their games, the would dominate the LOS and then TC would just make key mistakes that cause them to lose against good teams. James is a much better fit for that offense. He doesn't have a great arm, but he makes the right decisions and throws the ball accurately.

- The simplicity of that BC offense is great to watch, and clearly everything starts with that OL. It is really hard to find players that size that are also incredibly mobile and athletic. But the simplicity is incredible - run the ball, pull players, force the other team to blitz to add run defenders, and then throw into the gap to your RB or TE. Especially when you know Symons is going to play zone behind a blitz across the middle, so you can find the right zones to settle in. Just really impressive to watch, and a lot of credit to the OL, BOB, and the OC.

- If you weren't at the game, you might not know that there were three separate times that RL was yelling at the officials and doing a twist motion with his hands. After the game, he mentioned about BC grabbing at KJ's ankle and trying to twist it. And that was the case on the personal foul against Hudson in the 4th quarter - they were trying to hurt KJ, and Hudson defended his QB. Terrible job by the refs of not recognizing it even after Lashlee had told them in advance what was happening.

- Jennings had a fantastic evening throwing the ball. Especially in the first half, he was incredible. I have no idea how in the world PFF has a lower rating on him yesterday. Such a special player. Russell Wilson.

- The three running plays with Jennings clearly did not go very well. But, that last one, as frustrating as the call was in the stands, was all on Jennings. The hole opened to his left and would have been a huge gain. Instead, he cut the ball back to his right for some reason and was stopped before the first down line.

- Fantastic game from the WR group. We talk about there not being an alpha, but Smith, Moochie, Junior, and Hudson were all great. They all have really done a great job of running routes and then coming back to help Hudson. Much better feel for the game than a year ago. Great game from them.

- Hibner couldn't find a way to impact the game. Great to see Moore out there for a few snaps. I expect we will see him more and more over the last two games, he is huge and a big mismatch. I thought he might have caught the ball on that play where the "blindside block" was called and then taken back, but I never saw a replay.

- Byrd had his problems, as we thought he would before the game. Bad matchup for him. Chamblee came in and was a little better in pass protection, but doesn't get the push Byrd does in the running game. Hopefully Byrd is able to come back for the last two games.

- Defensively, 16 tackles from Kobe? What a game. He was all over the place. Lots of open field tackles as well. He should get some defensive player of the week recognition from the ACC.

- First game in a long time that we were pushed around on the line. It is hard because BC really loads up at the point of attack and outnumbers you, and their running backs are good enough that if you overpursue to the point of attack, they will cut back and get their yardage. Interesting reaction from Symons to move to some 3 LB sets by taking Sanders out and getting Kilgore, Walker, and Wilson out there at the same time.

- Best call of the game by Symons was the first down call after the 2 minute warning. We had been playing man on the outside and zone in the middle for just about the entire game, and then all of a sudden on that play he sent a blitz but had everyone in man coverage. That really threw the BC QB for a loop and he held the ball which resulted in the "sack" (really no gain). It got in his head. Then on second down he ran a different man/zone scheme than he had before, and the QB couldn't figure it out and held the ball too long. He was in the QB's head at that point and the final two plays didn't have a chance. That sequence of plays was all Symons.

- They really targeted JHH in the running game, and he struggled with it. Again, great line and they hit him with the double team and were able to get the push. Credit to their center as well, who was able to single up Tank a lot of the time, which not many teams have been able to do. That Center did good enough on Tank and Jefferson to allow the double on JHH. I'm surprised we didn't see more Lockhart, who had such a great game two games ago. I think he would have been an important plug in this game.

- Not having Roberts was a huge deal in this game. As I mentioned in the preview thread, he is our version of Demarcus Lawrence - he can pressure the QB, but also sets the edge against the run and is very physical in the run game. Cam held his own, don't get me wrong, and kept getting a push in the pocket. But he had to play a TON of smaps because Abiara wasn't able to do much when Cam went out.

- NWO is great. Fantastic game at safety from him, not only tackling but with the fantastic interception at the end of the first half.

- Deuce just seemed out of sync in the passing game. There were times we had a blitz called and he was way too far off his guy to give the easy pass. And then he really got turned around giving help inside when he didn't need to on that 3rd and 20 conversion. That was all on him, and he was benched for Smoke until Smoke got hurt. That said, he also should have pulled in an INT if he wasn't interfered with.

- Keep an eye on the injury news this week from SMU. Byrd has become pretty important in the running game. Roberts is a beast and really changes the way our DL plays. And if Bailey can somehow come back, getting Junior back more involved in his flex slot/RB role provides another critical playmaker to the offense and will allow us to run the ball quite a bit more.

Gritty, gutsy win from SMU. BC played pretty much a perfect game, and yet SMU still managed to come away with the win. And both of the remaining games are going to play out in a similar fashion - Cal and Virginia both play good enough defense to keep the game tight. Virginia has to beat either SMU or Virginia Tech to make a bowl game. They have only won 1 of the last 19 against VT, so they will have their focus on the SMU game. Cal might clinch a bowl against Stanford, but they may very well be coming to Ford trying to make a bowl in the final. It is going to be a tough slog through the end of the season. But SMU has done a great job to this point of keeping its focus on the prize - a trip the the ACC Championship game in Charlotte.

[MV pony]

Thanks for your thoughts, as always.

[Charleston Pony]

Kobe with 16 tackles was really impressive but as an old guy it just boggles my mind to think that back when I was a recent grad (I think it was '76 or '77), Putt Choate had 31 tackles in a game against Texas A&M

Once again, our D was clutch when it mattered most. I really thought it might come down to whether the BC kicker could make a FG to get that game to OT. Didn't think BC had enough time to ground out a length or the field TD but I'm sure glad they decided to put the ball in the air on that last drive. That's when the enthusiasm of the home crowd really helps amp our guys up to put pressure on when everyone on the field is exhausted from a really physical game

What a great ride this season has been...far exceeding my expectations!

[dalpony]

Thanks, Jason B - great review and analysis as usual

[JasonB]

Kobe with 16 tackles was really impressive but as an old guy it just boggles my mind to think that back when I was a recent grad (I think it was '76 or '77), Putt Choate had 31 tackles in a game against Texas A&M

Once again, our D was clutch when it mattered most. I really thought it might come down to whether the BC kicker could make a FG to get that game to OT. Didn't think BC had enough time to ground out a length or the field TD but I'm sure glad they decided to put the ball in the air on that last drive. That's when the enthusiasm of the home crowd really helps amp our guys up to put pressure on when everyone on the field is exhausted from a really physical game

What a great ride this season has been...far exceeding my expectations!

The BC kicker was never going to make a FG. They are terrible. They had to drive for a TD at the end of the game. That is why they started throwing the ball instead of continuing to run on first down.

[Charleston Pony]

Kobe with 16 tackles was really impressive but as an old guy it just boggles my mind to think that back when I was a recent grad (I think it was '76 or '77), Putt Choate had 31 tackles in a game against Texas A&M

Once again, our D was clutch when it mattered most. I really thought it might come down to whether the BC kicker could make a FG to get that game to OT. Didn't think BC had enough time to ground out a length or the field TD but I'm sure glad they decided to put the ball in the air on that last drive. That's when the enthusiasm of the home crowd really helps amp our guys up to put pressure on when everyone on the field is exhausted from a really physical game

What a great ride this season has been...far exceeding my expectations!

The BC kicker was never going to make a FG. They are terrible. They had to drive for a TD at the end of the game. That is why they started throwing the ball instead of continuing to run on first down.

They had no problem with their PATs so I was thinking they might get close enough and be able to center the ball to give him a shot

[BUS]

JasonB summed it up...
Knife fight in a phonebooth.

We won - you aught to see the other guy.