Post Game Observations

[Grahambo]

Redfield > Farley

 

[Irishnuke]

On that ASU touchdown just before halftime, it looked like Kelly was still backing up into his shotgun stance instead of being set before the snap. Shouldn't that have been a penalty (not to mention the delay of game)?

It was for sure a delay of game. Don't know about the other potential penalty.

 

[Senoj13]

My observations:

1. Special Teams were actually special tonight. Kickoffs were almost if not all touchbacks, had a 53 yard field goal and a nice punt return by TJ. Plus the punt downed late in the game at the 1 gets a small assist in the Dan Fox INT.

2. Thought B. Jackson played a solid game with good coverage and the big strip of the ball.

3. The other DBs not so good. Collinsworth got beat like a youth football player. Was flat footed as their best WR ran right past him.

4. OL good job in protection as well as run blocking.

5. DL finally had a game where they created havoc and forced the QB into bad throws instead of letting him sit back there and pick them apart.

6. The Rees thing has been beat to death. However, ND sitting at 24-13 with the ball and a chance to put the game out of reach and he brings them right back in with that pick six. Can't happen.

7. What was with the 3rd down call when running out the clock? If you are going to pass, at least go play action when they are selling out to the run. Would have been a nice spot for Nicklas in the seam.

 

[DillonHall]

My observations:

7. What was with the 3rd down call when running out the clock? If you are going to pass, at least go play action when they are selling out to the run. Would have been a nice spot for Nicklas in the seam.

ASU was already selling out for the run (I assume- don't remember for sure). I'm not sure what play action would have accomplished...

And people need to stop complaining about that play call. They did a similar thing last year versus Michigan to close out the game; since it worked, people thought it was a brilliant call. IMO, execution is a much bigger problem than playcalling.

 

[Irish Insanity]

How else are we supposed to entertain ourselves through a game then?

Farley seems to be taking over that role. Lol

I thought Ishaq was good in rushing the passer. He didn't register a sack, but he caused two of them by forcing the QB into another defender.

He his best game in some time, as did Shembo. Keep Ishaq out of drop back coverage on 3-long. He is lost.

I was at the game are here are my thoughts:

Rees is a very limited QB. He lacks touch on deep passes, as a couple were under or over thrown. He also makes at least one horrible pass a game that lands in the other team's lap. He is very late with some of his decisions when the whole stadium can see one of his WR is wide open, but he misses them. But, he is also a class act and a battler .. so he will always give you a chance.

Kona Schwenke saved the Irish today. He blew up two 3rd down plays all by himself. This guy gets good penetration, and he and Nix were destroying ASU's running game all night.

People are too hard on GAIII. The ASU d-line blew up ND's OL on several plays and he had nowhere to go. He tried to make something out of absolutely nothing. I think it has to do with play calling .. they run him outside the tackles consistently while Cam gets all the interior runs. The ASU defensive ends were getting penetration and thus shutting off GAIII's running lanes, while Cam had the opportunity to run inside and pick his way through a less talented DT front for ASU.

Troy Niklas is going to be a monster. He can seal block as well as a lineman and he is just athletic enough to be a good receiver. He's an NFL TE for sure.

#22 Elijah Shumate played well. He was a solid tackler today and seemed to be around the ball quite a bit.

Ben Koyak had a nice early TD catch. Good for him!

GA III still has the occasional bonehead run. But he's running so much more physical and has learned to keep his feet moving until the whistle blows. To not go down to easy. I'm not sure why people on here are calling for Cam to be the starter and GA III only get a few runs. 1a and 1b would be good. There are situations for them both to succeed.

Koyak finally fills his potential and gets in the endzone. But how odd did that trip/dive over the cone look? Lol

gonna go back and watch it tomorrow but on that PI call with DD, it looked like he caught the ball. I know the announcers seemed to think the ball hit the ground on the reply but I didn't see it. Anyone rewatch it? Did it hit the ground?

The tip of the ball did hit the ground, although barely. And it moved.

Redfield > Farley

I gotta believe the coaches are keeping him out for a reason. All I say is give him a shot and see how he is in game situation. Let him show if he's there or not in a real game. If he struggles early then we know he's not, if he succeeds then our D strengthens up. We have a bye before USC. Now's the time to work him in for the start. #Redfield2start4ND. Lets get it trending.

 

[DillonHall]

Koyack

 

[Irish Insanity]

Also, use some ****ing play action. Our running game has come around, and our O line is doing there job. It should help open up or TEs over the middle. Something we haven't taken advantage of to this point.

It was a good win against a good team. We didn't give up. This D is coming into its own.

 

[Senoj13]

ASU was already selling out for the run (I assume- don't remember for sure). I'm not sure what play action would have accomplished...

And people need to stop complaining about that play call. They did a similar thing last year versus Michigan to close out the game; since it worked, people thought it was a brilliant call. IMO, execution is a much bigger problem than playcalling.

They were keyed on the run, but play action would at least freeze the MLBs or cause them to come up and fill, freeing the TE in the seam. I remember the play you are referring to last year and I think it was a play action pass, but am not 100% sure.

 

[PANDFAN]

enough of the negativity

enough of the negativity

really not understanding the amount of bitching on this site by some members in every thread about the same ****...


we beat a ranked team! and looked like the better team throughout the game...the defense came alive...hell i woke up this morning and had to look at the box score 1 more time to ensure that we did in fact win because i received a penalty for excessive celebration


GO IRISH!

 

[enrico514]

Seriously all this team needs is a decent QB! TR threw a couple of beautiful passes but they were greatly outnumbered by horribly thrown balls. He also made a number of horrible decisions including his 2nd or 3rd pass which should have been a pick sick. The kid is a trooper and I will remember him fondly once he graduates but I can't wait for him to finish his plaing career. Anyone know if he has any interest in coaching?

Diaco's defense can be frustrating to watch but the kids are great at times. It seems like they were thinking less yesterday and just playing yet doing great with their assignments. I loved to see our front four just go at it and put pressure on the QB. It's in incredible what a little pressure can do! #9 is already special and I look forward to see him progress over the next couple of years. Our secondary baffles me!!! Seems like they never ever look for the ball. Farley is too slow and made two bad decisions on his interception!

This team can be great next year!

Any recruiting news last night?

 

[CurtisCandy]

One of my favorite points of the game came when ASU had a third down rather deep in ND's end... When the QB rolled to his left, it looked like he might have some room. There was only one ND defender in the picture.

Immediately, I start sweating that Kelly is gonna juke him and make a gain. Then, I saw it was #9 who was coming after him and realized we had a HUGE athletic advantage and the worry went away.

Just lay on the ground, young man QB, because you're not going anywhere.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

Seriously all this team needs is a decent QB! TR threw a couple of beautiful passes but they were greatly outnumbered by horribly thrown balls. He also made a number of horrible decisions including his 2nd or 3rd pass which should have been a pick sick. The kid is a trooper and I will remember him fondly once he graduates but I can't wait for him to finish his plaing career. Anyone know if he has any interest in coaching?

Diaco's defense can be frustrating to watch but the kids are great at times. It seems like they were thinking less yesterday and just playing yet doing great with their assignments. I loved to see our front four just go at it and put pressure on the QB. It's in incredible what a little pressure can do! #9 is already special and I look forward to see him progress over the next couple of years. Our secondary baffles me!!! Seems like they never ever look for the ball. Farley is too slow and made two bad decisions on his interception!

This team can be great next year!

Any recruiting news last night?

I was at the game last night, and agree with you the team is a good QB short of being a very good team. Tommy like always missed a TON of open receivers downfield, and I dont mean bad throws I mean at least half a dozen times he had a man open in behind the LBs and he threw underneath or threw the ball into tight coverage instead. He also had quite few times where the pocket broke down and he alluded the pressure and had open field for days in front of him if he just took off, but he pulled up an forced a throw. For as much changing of plays and reading the defense as he does at the line scrimmage, he seems to get a receiver in his head, and no matter how things unfold once the ball is snapped, that is who he is going to.

Jaylon smith looked amazing last night in person. He was aggressive and trusted his reads. Our defense in general did a much better job holding containment on the perimeter against a pretty fast team. ASU made some plays, but overall a nice job by the D.

The one thing that continually frustrates me though is that our secondary ALWAYS plays the wide receiver and literally NEVER turn to pick up ball. They are constantly face guarding in situations where if they picked up the ball they could make a play on it.

Grace was playing a solid game before his injury, and Tuitt was much more active tonight as well.

Offensive playcalling was better but could still use some work. Wish we ran down hill with a true lead blocker or ran more unbalanced with an extra tackle once in a while. A lot of our run plays almost look like they are set up like punt returns by design...up to the running back to make the first man miss as soon as he gets the ball for any chance of success.

Lastly, we run tons of those quick hitters and WR screens to the outside, and in person it is even more evident how telegraphed they are and watching the entire secondary crash down makes me wonder why we never run any sort of pump and go off that play and make teams pay for overcommitting.
Also why does the offense never run any swing passes or wheel routes out of the backfield? It seems like we arent doing a very good job of creating favorable matchups right now. Carlisle is a good receiver and could be used as a threat on a swing pass or wheel route, or even a true halfback screen, but 99% of the time when our RBs are in the game on a pass play it is strictly for pass pro.

Overall I thought the team played with a lot more heart and energy last night, and hopefully they can take the next step and continue to grow, but those were my thoughts watching the Irish live for the first time this year where I could see more of what was going on all over the field.

 

[domerfreak]

Man even after the win I still sense a lot of hate and don’t understand it a bit. I don’t care if it’s a win by a hundred or 1 point as long as the team won don’t get me wrong ill take any win but wins like last night was a team win.

BK has beaten a top 25 team four years in a row now and clearly has made progress where past coaches have failed so I still don’t see a need to complain all that much.

Tommy is tommy very level headed and stand up ND student athlete (minus his altercation with the 5 0) just not a strong arm. To be honest I have never been worried about tr this year because I knew what to expect. Not knocking tr but it was no secret.

Still think we have a shot at 9 win season just need to stay consistent and im welcoming this bye week to help polish up certain aspects that need some attention.

Oh yeah…kyle brindza had great freaking game last night and overall special teams dare I say looked better.

 

[enrico514]

I was at the game last night, and agree with you the team is a good QB short of being a very good team. Tommy like always missed a TON of open receivers downfield, and I dont mean bad throws I mean at least half a dozen times he had a man open in behind the LBs and he threw underneath or threw the ball into tight coverage instead. He also had quite few times where the pocket broke down and he alluded the pressure and had open field for days in front of him if he just took off, but he pulled up an forced a throw. For as much changing of plays and reading the defense as he does at the line scrimmage, he seems to get a receiver in his head, and no matter how things unfold once the ball is snapped, that is who he is going to.

Jaylon smith looked amazing last night in person. He was aggressive and trusted his reads. Our defense in general did a much better job holding containment on the perimeter against a pretty fast team. ASU made some plays, but overall a nice job by the D.

The one thing that continually frustrates me though is that our secondary ALWAYS plays the wide receiver and literally NEVER turn to pick up ball. They are constantly face guarding in situations where if they picked up the ball they could make a play on it.

Grace was playing a solid game before his injury, and Tuitt was much more active tonight as well.

Offensive playcalling was better but could still use some work. Wish we ran down hill with a true lead blocker or ran more unbalanced with an extra tackle once in a while. A lot of our run plays almost look like they are set up like punt returns by design...up to the running back to make the first man miss as soon as he gets the ball for any chance of success.

Lastly, we run tons of those quick hitters and WR screens to the outside, and in person it is even more evident how telegraphed they are and watching the entire secondary crash down makes me wonder why we never run any sort of pump and go off that play and make teams pay for overcommitting.
Also why does the offense never run any swing passes or wheel routes out of the backfield? It seems like we arent doing a very good job of creating favorable matchups right now. Carlisle is a good receiver and could be used as a threat on a swing pass or wheel route, or even a true halfback screen, but 99% of the time when our RBs are in the game on a pass play it is strictly for pass pro.

Overall I thought the team played with a lot more heart and energy last night, and hopefully they can take the next step and continue to grow, but those were my thoughts watching the Irish live for the first time this year where I could see more of what was going on all over the field.

Carlisle should be playing slot!

 

[TDHeysus]

ASU was stubborn and continued to blitz off the corners, when the blue print to beat Tommy is to rush 3 and drop 8.

However, I am glad for the win, even though the game was a frustrating to watch at times.

 

[Booslum31]

Just opened the thread for the first time so this may have been covered...Players not knowing the snap count and us not getting plays in in time cost us five yards AT LEAST five times and AT LEAST two outs. These types of miscues should only happen when we are playing in a hostile environment (Big House) and even then it shouldn't happen so often. Coaching? Tommy? Don't know but it came close to losing us the game.

 

[enrico514]

Almost forgot... NBC commentators were aweful as usual and started off as biased as ever (better in second half). NBC and ND needs to learn how to promote their product better! I'm not even going to comment on the annoying bitter Heisman winning midget and his obvious disgusts for ND. Finally I really wish NBC shot their games more like ESPN/ABC. A friend who is in that business once explained to me that the main reason we often believe we are slow is the way the game is shot compared to how ESPN/ABC does it.

 

[ndfi78]

This place is turning into NDNation.

 

[ndfi78]

Read the first page and wanted to puke. Did we not just upset the #22 ranked team, a team favored by 6 pts over us and who most thought would just roll us?

And yet so many people are complaining. WTF am I missing? Are ND fans EVER ****ing happy?

Sorry, but I refuse to be miserable or even a little mad about this win. The team obviously has some flaws, but life is too short to be complaining even when good things happen to you. I'm going to enjoy watching all things college football again, and listening to all my favorite podcasts again.

Cheers to a good win!

This.

Seriously thinking about never coming back to this board. It's ridiculous.

 

[ryno 24]

That is absolutely true, we always look so much slower on NBC than espn. I cant stand ESPN, but we look like a more adequate football team.

 

[kmoose]

He also had quite few times where the pocket broke down and he alluded the pressure and had open field for days in front of him if he just took off, but he pulled up an forced a throw.

I'm betting that the coaches have threatened to kill him, and his family, if he runs with the ball. Hendrix is certainly better than Pat Dillingham, but not by a wide margin.

Speaking of Hendrix.......

I hated the call of bringing Hendrix in on 3rd and...............1(?), and then emptying the backfield. Did anyone think that Hendrix was going to throw? And, with no one else in the backfield, who did we think was going to run the ball? The boys won enough one-on-one matchups to get the 1st down, but I thought the play call was too obvious.

 

[sportallyr]

I have not been a fan of Chuck Martin's play calling this year and this game was no exception. Several times in the second half I screamed at the TV when we should have been running the ball and there was no RB in the backfield. That may work when you have an athletic QB that can scramble if everyone is covered, but not with Tommy Rees. We become one dimensional and Tommy is just not good enough to consistently beat D1 defenses when they know a pass is coming. Even if we don't run the ball, put a RB in the backfield and have him stay home for pass protection or give TR a safety valve when everyone is covered.

The most frustrating offensive series of the game for me occurred late in the 4th quarter after ASU had tied the game. The drive started strong and we made it down to the 8 yard line with a 1st and goal. First down, Cam runs for 4 yards up the gut. I have no problem with this play. Second down, we toss it outside for Cam and he loses 4 yards. No reason why to try and run that play outside off tackle where the risk of a loss outweighs the reward of a possible gain. Plus, we are trying to run time off the clock and that negates the option of Cam making it to the sideline and potentially going out of bounds. Third down, everyone (including the announcers) correctly predicts this would be a great time to throw the ball to our 6'7" TE. So what happens? Niklas stays on the line to block and Rees throws an incomplete fade to Daniels. Why was Niklas on the line for max pass protection if we were calling a play where Rees got rid of the ball after 2-3 seconds? Why not send him out and either throw the ball up to him or use him as a decoy (ASU would have probably double teamed him).

There were other examples, but this series stood out to me. Poor play calling could have cost us this game. I'm really glad that some of the boys stepped up and would not let us lose this game!!!

Cam played well and ran hard. I really liked the way GA3 ran the ball in the first half (building off a strong game vs Oklahoma), but he was bad in the second half. He missed holes and danced when we needed him to pound it.

It's frustrating to watch DD play. So much talent and he just doesn't seem to grasp the game mentally. I think Kelly needs to start someone else vs SC (maybe Robinson) and send him a message that mental mistakes will cost him. If he wakes up, he could be an All American...even with somebody like Rees at QB.

Don't understand why people are bashing on Chris Brown. He had one costly drop, but he was open on a bunch of plays and just didn't get the ball or was under/over thrown. If Rees starts looking his way more, he is poised for a 5 catch 100+ yard game very soon.

Shembo has a game like this last year. I don't remember who we were playing, but he was all over the place and I think he had 3 sacks. I remember thinking that was his break out game and then he went back to being mediocre afterwards. I hope this year he continues playing at a high level because he was a beast last night.

Nix and Kona had great games. They may not get stats, but we dominated the interior line.

People were bashing Tuitt early, but it was obvious that Diaco's gameplan was to have our DE's rush outside and make sure that Kelly didn't escape outside. It worked and then when we had the lead and knew they would be passing, Tuitt bull rushed and attacked inside and dominated. We need Sheldon Day back though in a major way and I hope he's 100% after the bye week.

Bennett Jackson played well and his turnover was a huge momentum shifter (a play that I predicted on the live chat). Farley was awful and people should not give him a pass because of his pick. That play actually cost us 35 yards as it was 4th down and we would have had the ball on ASU's 20 if he had just knocked it down. Comes down to discipline and he has shown that he doesn't have it. I agree that it's time to give Max a shot. There is no way he could be worse.

Kyle Brindza was HUGE! I give him a pass on the shanked early FG because he hit the monster 53 yarder (ND record), the eventual game winner late in the 4th, the punt down to the 1 (which may have been the most important play of the game when they could have driven down and tied / taken the lead) and every kickoff went into the end zone. Amazing ST game overall if you count TJ Jones excellent punt return that we unfortunately wasted.

TJ Jones, Dan Fox and Jaylon Smith had incredible games that were the best games of all 3 of their careers in my opinion.

Go Irish...beat SC!!!!

 

[Henry521]

First, I want to make it clear that I am not making excuses by any means. However, regarding the play where collinsworth got torched for the TD, I talked to collinsworth after the game and asked him what happened. He told me that the coverage that was called was designed to stop short yardage routes, which is understandable being that it was fourth and short. That being said, after he got torched off the ball, he was able to gain some ground and atleast regain decent position. Had that ball not been thrown in a perfect spot, I feel that collinsworth would have been in a position to make a play. Like I said before, I am not making excuses for him getting torched off the ball. But after finding out that the coverage called for him to prevent the short pass instead of the deep pass, it is atleast understandable to see why he got beat like he did.

 

[Guest]

gonna go back and watch it tomorrow but on that PI call with DD, it looked like he caught the ball. I know the announcers seemed to think the ball hit the ground on the reply but I didn't see it. Anyone rewatch it? Did it hit the ground?

They replayed it during the game, and it was clearly a catch. It never hit the ground. We got to watch several angles at the game. There were several obvious missed calls by the officials, but that happens at every game.

 

[aubeirish]

They replayed it during the game, and it was clearly a catch. It never hit the ground. We got to watch several angles at the game. There were several obvious missed calls by the officials, but that happens at every game.

It was clear on TV that the ball hit the ground.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Originally Posted by kuehnja View Post
You think Diaco's strength is in game adjustments?

We have won or tied the second half in every game this year. EVERY GAME.

Love you man, and I am not trying to be at all like the negativists around here, but I am not sure we should have lost any of the first half's in any of the games this year. I am not mad, or interested in blaming anyone. But nearly 21 points for free against OK, and a nearly equally poor first half against UofM, maybe we should obsolete the conversation about adjustments and look at the body of works.

MSU and OU obviously took a look at the bend don't break defense, and found a way to get the ball out across the field in about 1.75 seconds. So did UofM sort of. These three teams neutralized our defensive linemen, as did Temple (at a much better rate than their overall football aptitude), and Purdue (to a slightly lesser degree). As someone who had mesh inserted as part of a hernia correction, and someone who could see the dink and dunk phenomena, I didn't see much of a reason to curse at or complain about these kids who have as a rule played their hearts out. (Oh, by the way, Kona is becoming a warrior god. Check his play out!)

Ever since last year's Freddy Kruger's remarks denial and the ensuing temper tantrum, I have found him to be a very arrogant, vain man, not my cup of tea, but that doesn't affect my view his job for ND. I think my very logical and unemotional criticism of Bob Diaco is fueled by three things.

Attention to a pre-existing prejudice, I have some Cincy fan friends that hate his guts. I mean everyone down their couldn't stand him. I was always rather puzzled by their reaction but it put his performance on the radar.

Weapons and opposition, last year where his second half adjustments were cheered by all, his weapons were phenomenal, and there is evidence that his number one weapon MT (just) reacted, as opposed to following the BD book step-by-step, isn't there? Last year we matched up better against more of the stronger teams on our schedule, that we did against than the two teams that we have our two losses this year. Last year the teams that played best brand of football to defeat us were the weaker teams on our schedule, which resulted in a few close games like Purdue and Pitt, but an overall 12-0 regular season. This year our whole schedule seems to be tougher than last year, or it may just be the fact that teams want to mix it up with us more, but I thought UM, MSU, and OU were tougher than last year, and we didn't play anyone on the schedule like ASU. And I thought Temple and Purdue, played the dink and dunk game as well as anyone last year. So, last year, adjustments were made from the position of clear superiority, not having to use acumen to make up for inferior talent or tactical superiority.

Overall, the defensive body of works as a whole. It is one thing to say that you have a coach that is great at making "second half adjustments. But that to me is a bit of a prescription for losing. It seems to me that with scouting, you should be familiar with what the other team does, and anticipate what they will do. To a degree. I guess this is where I need to beg out of the conversation, because "bend but don't break" can turn too easily into "bend over!" I think it is a defenses job to punch you in the mouth. Watch the ND defense against the run. They definitely "punch running backs in the mouth!" So you have this first half, short passing game hole in the defense. I don't think that can be reconciled with great defensive coordinator. Average maybe, but ND shouldn't have to be "great at making adjustments."

And for the record. There is no one at ND involved in the program that can't do their job better than what I could. And I have little or no ego involved in this season. I think Nix, and Tuitt are heroes. Like I said, until they "tack" that mesh through your facia, into your muscle, and you go through the process of healing from that, where you feel like you are being stabbed every time you move, don't criticize a 21 year old kid. Would you rather have Clowney with his bruised ribs?

And it is funny. I think Kelly almost righted himself with his press conference. Delving into superficial questions with more in depth answers, I was pleased and proud of ND. If he was correct, and I have no reason to doubt him, this was the first truly vertical team we played against. And they just were one linemen short every play. Maybe that was the problem that the first five teams on the schedule posed. They were good at dink and dunk which neutralized our defensive linemen, and exposed our linebackers. NOTE: Kelly didn't offer his edification about the linemen's play until after the had gotten it. I like that!

 

[Patulski]

It's frustrating to watch DD play. So much talent and he just doesn't seem to grasp the game mentally. I think Kelly needs to start someone else vs SC (maybe Robinson) and send him a message that mental mistakes will cost him. If he wakes up, he could be an All American...even with somebody like Rees at QB.

Whatever mistakes he's making mentally is far outweighed by what he gives us on the field. He is a weapon that is consistently underutilized due to Rees' limitations.

Daniels beat his man by 5 yards on a double move that should have been an easy TD last night, but instead had to adjust back to a terribly under thrown ball, and then still almost made the catch while the defenders body was crashing into him. That was one hell of an effort by a very skilled and determined athlete. He is going to be a monster player for us next year, when team will not be able to count on deep passes being underthrown. They will have to respect the deep ball, which is going to open up Daniels underneath. He's on his way to the NFL and we are very fortunate to have him back next year.

 

[Irish Insanity]

First, I want to make it clear that I am not making excuses by any means. However, regarding the play where collinsworth got torched for the TD, I talked to collinsworth after the game and asked him what happened. He told me that the coverage that was called was designed to stop short yardage routes, which is understandable being that it was fourth and short. That being said, after he got torched off the ball, he was able to gain some ground and atleast regain decent position. Had that ball not been thrown in a perfect spot, I feel that collinsworth would have been in a position to make a play. Like I said before, I am not making excuses for him getting torched off the ball. But after finding out that the coverage called for him to prevent the short pass instead of the deep pass, it is atleast understandable to see why he got beat like he did.

I think Kelly understood that. I don't think he got screamed at as he left the field of play, looked like Kelly just stopped him and discussed something with him.

 

[Patulski]

First, I want to make it clear that I am not making excuses by any means. However, regarding the play where collinsworth got torched for the TD, I talked to collinsworth after the game and asked him what happened. He told me that the coverage that was called was designed to stop short yardage routes, which is understandable being that it was fourth and short. That being said, after he got torched off the ball, he was able to gain some ground and atleast regain decent position. Had that ball not been thrown in a perfect spot, I feel that collinsworth would have been in a position to make a play. Like I said before, I am not making excuses for him getting torched off the ball. But after finding out that the coverage called for him to prevent the short pass instead of the deep pass, it is atleast understandable to see why he got beat like he did.

Every defense puts their safety in man coverage at some point. That means that the safety can't only be expected merely to defend short routes, it means he has to have the foot speed to defend long route as well.

 

[IrishLax]

Rewatched the game this morning:
-Tommy played a C- game... if that. He missed a ridiculous amount of wide open throws and also had a bunch of bad reads. And let's not even touch on all of the checks. He threw a horrible pick 6 (bad throw/read by him, but Daniels also got flat out beat by the CB there so that's on him some), the TD to Niklas... he had him wide open up the seam and missed it, and then threw it right at a defender but Troy came from nowhere to make a great play. If that's a Stanford level defender that's an interception.
-The defense... excusing that last "prevent" garbage time drive for a second... played an A level game. Whenever they needed to step up and make a play they did. Got pressure, forced turnovers, etc. Rewatching most of the breakdowns at crucial moments I put that on coaching. A lot of asking the wrong guy to do something he shouldn't be doing. The best example was Ishaq Williams dropping 20 yards in coverage on a 3rd and 20. Seriously Diaco? But there were oodles of instance of linebackers running with WRs or dynamic pass catching RBs... just a recipe for disaster. A couple costly mental errors too... like Collinsworth not realizing he had underneath help and biting up so the WR ran right past him for a long TD, Farley not just knocking the ball down, etc. but stuff happens.
-Jaylon Smith's speed is so awesome.
-Prince Shembo played an incredible game. We've been missing that all year.
-I was really impressed with how the OL played as a whole. Great protection against a lot of creative pressures. No breakdowns like Oklahoma. WITH THAT BEING SAID... wtf is up with all of the false starts and snap infractions? Does it have to do with all of the checking?
-Kyle Brindza had a whale of a game after his first miss. Punted the sh*t out of the ball and drilled all his field goals (some tough ones too)

-Let's not get it twisted, this was a very impressive win. That team is better than Oklahoma and Michigan. Defense made some big plays against a prolific offense. I think the injury to Grace was a catalyst for all the effort and playmaking we saw from that point onward. The scheme for the offense wasn't great, but at the same time we would've scored 45+ if Tommy didn't miss wide open big plays. I think Tommy handicapped us more than play calling in this game. I thought the coaches put us in a good position to succeed. This was a great win against a quality opponent and if we beat USC it sets us up for a good season. Kelly has shown throughout his tenure that when the team hits a low he gets them to fight back hard... and this was just another example of that.