Thoughts on the Duke game

[JasonB]

WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF

I'll write something up in the morning.

But WTF? Go Mustangs!

[deucetz]

Haha

[soccermom]

[ponyte]

I have only seen maybe two games other than this one where both teams were desperately trying to lose. It's just Duke wanted to lose more than SMU.

Tongue in check

Our D was outstanding. Zero points given up off turnovers. Placed in horrible situations by an impotent offense. Thought the D didn't create a turnover or score any points, they nonetheless won the game. Our D wanted to win more than anyone else on that field tonight.

[RunningStang]

Reminds me of the Bobby Leach miracle game back in the day on the road at Tech!!! Go Mustangs!!


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[EastStang]

As I said earlier that blocked FG was epic.

[Hop Sing]

Reminds me of the Bobby Leach miracle game back in the day on the road at Tech!!! Go Mustangs!!

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I thought the same thing, and how weird is it that we play Pitt next!

[TidePony]

After our sojourn in the wasteland for 30 years, it’s nice to snatch a victory out of the jaws of defeat!

Let’s pack the stadium and beat Pitt!!!

[jkflamebo]

SURVIVE and ADVANCE.

Heart attack to watch. Bailed out by defense AGAIN. First drive fumble took Jennings out of it...seemed off all night. Collectively need to get it together and hold the rock. Pitt will eat us alive if have turnover after turnover.

LFG.

[Hop Sing]

Mark Richt predicted that the familiarity of the offensive systems would give the defense an advantage, and I think he was proven right. Jennings was facing a good defense that knew his offense.

[JasonB]

Alright, here we go...

- First of all, some props to Duke, the former SMU coaches and Maalik Murphy. In the two games I watched, he showed no capability of doing that. He made his customary throws down the middle, he threw the ball too [deleted] some of those passes which lead to drops, he missed a couple of throws. But some of those passes to the outside were magnificent, and throws he had not made all year. The TD in overtime was a fantastic pass, and that throw to the sideline over Smoke with safety help was outstanding. Defensively, they were just as good as expected, the corners are great and the LBs are outstanding.

- The sloppy play in Stanford carried over. There are some travel issues here - West coast to east coast can't have a high sweep percentage. But 9 turnovers in two games (as well as other fumbles that we got back) is not good at all. Penalties are an issue as well. Hopefully this becomes our Rice game from last season rather than a continuing trend.

- Talked in the pregame about the impact of losing RJ. Hibner had some catches and was fine, but he doesn't provide that big threat that requires a double team. Duke has a great secondary and we mentioned that before the game that we would need to grind this out on the ground. We did that in the first half. But when we had to start throwing the ball, RJ is a huge factor on the "scramble" plays. Not having that tall target that can drift deep, stretch the defense and open up space underneath for a short throw or scramble is a really big deal. Definitely something to watch as we move forward in the season.

- I also mentioned that Bailey staying healthy was really important because of our RB depth situation. That slot WR was always going to be critical in this game because of the great corners Duke has. But his health is vitally important. There were two reasons we abandoned the run in the second half, and one of the reasons was his injury. Junior did an awesome job moving over to slot - Lashlee said he hasn't even practiced there in a month, so stepping in and playing as well as he did with two massive explosives is amazing. But now the backfield is only Brashard and LJ. LJ clearly is on a "pitch count" post-concussion. 25 carries for Brashard isn't sustainable. This led to us being forced to throw the ball in the second half and Jennings forced to be involved in the running game. Jennings doesn't have the body frame to run a lot of times, and with his fumble issues you don't want him to run unless it is really open. We are running out of options. If Bailey went out with anything other than a stinger, that is a big, big problem for SMU. Not sure what is going on with McFall, but he is absolutely going to need to play if he is healthy.

- The other thing of note is that we stopped running the ball after Osborne went out injured. We clearly wanted to run right - the 12 runs between C and RG and 6 runs behind RG were the highest carries on the team. Once Osborne got hurt, we bailed. Great adjustment by RL to throw the slant early in the second half and the other explosive on the next drive before Duke figured out we were going to give up on the run. But Osborne is a huge piece on the OL. We absolutely need him in order to continue grinding things out in the running game.

- Shoutout to Parr. He was bad in the Stanford game, and I wondered if he was carrying an injury. He started against Duke, but then exited pretty early in favor of Sparks. But then after Osborne went out, Sparks had to play RG and Parr was back in. Whatever he is playing through, he gutted it out. Always appreciate that from your linemen.

- Also want to note that with the goal line play calling on that 4 down sequence, to me LJ was clearly a decoy in the situation. For whatever reason, they didn't run him, I don't know if it is the concussion or something else. But that is the only reason they went with Jennings under center twice on sneaks. And we saw Clark get blown up on the first play. In hindsight, it might have been creative in that sequence to put Byrd in at RG next to PJ and just run behind them. Might be something to think about to get a yard if Osborne is out again.

- Final note about the offense - as much as we talk about scheme, the Jimmies and Joes are really important. Losing RJ hurts. Not having Moore available yet to help take that load hurts. Bailey hurts. Camar and Rooster hurts. LJ on a carry limit hurts. Osborne hurts. Chamblee not being healthy all season hurts. Mello. Those are all ACC top level starters. Staying undefeated in the ACC without those guys is a freaking miracle, but it isn't sustainable. I am sure that RL is going to keep all the injury information close to the vest ahead of the Pitt game, but we are not going to be able to keep up with other teams with all of those injuries.

- Defensively, the line was outstanding against the run. Sure, we gave up some 5 yard carries and early on they weren't great, but man after the first drive they really stepped it up. We forced Duke to pass the ball, which is what you want to do. With no Jefferson, Lockhart stepped in and had an outstanding game. Four tackles in 24 snaps for a DT is amazing - to put it into perspective, the rest of our DTs had 4 tackles in 125 snaps.

- This was really the first game all year where the front four were not able to generate pressure on their own, and Symons did a great job of adjusting and blitzing. This forced Duke to block zone and not double Roberts, who made a bigger impact as the game went along, even after he got hurt. Really good job by Symons of adjusting.

- The defense stepping up after turnovers was absolutely amazing. What a group of players. And then to have Harvey just not want to lose the game on the FG block. That is something else. That is the impact of a great team culture - picking everyone up as a unit and refusing to lose. Symons and RL deserve a ton of credit for establishing that winning culture in the team.

- Ahmad Walker was outstanding. Pressuring on the blitz, key tackles, two pass breakups.

- McGill, NWO, and Moses were outstanding as well. Has to be the strongest safety room in the league. If there isn't at least one all-ACC player in the group, it is a crime. Walker was talked about a ton on the broadcast, but NWO ended up with double digit tackles and was all over the place.

- We have been waiting for teams to really go after the SMU corners and it happened in this game. I thought Brewer did a great job of scheming - they new that we would protect Crossley deep with one safety, and that would expose the other side of the field especially after we started blitzing. So they attacked us outside. Sanders got beat on the first TD, which we haven't seen out of him this season, but he had no protection. Because Deuce had no protection, he was playing off his WR and just got killed on short routes and got yanked after they went 6/6 against him. JDR did a little better, but still struggles a bunch.

- Keep in mind that teams aren't allowed to travel as many players, so you have to shorten rotations and injuries are really impactful. Getting a home game next week is really going to help with some of that.

- We just went on the road against a good, 6-2 Duke team and won after losing turnovers 6-0. Miracle win, but it also shows you the quality of the team that we have. Just an amazing result.

Crazy, crazy game. A win is a win. But Pitt next week is no joke. They are going to go after us on the outside with our corners, and we are really banged up on the offensive side of the ball and are really going to struggle to keep up. The duct tape is probably going to tear on this thing at some point, but enjoy the ride and support the team - after the effort they put out last night, they deserve the support regardless of how the rest of the year plays out. Please stay until the end of the game next week and cheer these guys on. Be there to cheer them on the field at the start and off the field at the end, regardless of the result, to show your appreciation, because they deserve it. And who knows, maybe some of the injuries aren't that bad and we are able to make our way to Charlotte and the CFP.

Regardless, these guys have shown a ton of heart and have put together a special season so far.

[Graceland Tar Heel]

Mark Richt predicted that the familiarity of the offensive systems would give the defense an advantage, and I think he was proven right. Jennings was facing a good defense that knew his offense.

And I expect Narduzzi to be able to show the Pitt D how to contain Jennings and then to set him up to make big mistakes.

[highlander]

Davey Downer.

[highlander]

Does the "B" in "JasonB" stand for Buzzkill?

JK - I really appreciate your honest analysis.

[carolina stang]

Great analysis as always. I was at the game and the emotions went from devastation to ecstasy in seconds. I hugged more people I didn’t know last night than any other time since the Bobby Leach game. I felt the loss of Maryland and others was going to be a problem. Defense: No scores against us after turnovers was stellar.

Duke fans were gracious before and after the game. Good folks.

The PA guy was incredibly irritating. He was basically doing actual play by play by the end. “And the chains keep rolling.” His deadpan “Duke” (Sometimes with echo afterwards) was ridiculous. But if I was a Duke fan I probably would love it.