An opinion? Hardly. Fans here who claim they could do a better job of playcalling than the coaches are stating a foolish certainty. A couple of points that might be worth considering:
1 - In similar short red zone situations this fall, how many times have we seen Joel bulldoze his way into the end zone from the shotgun? How many times have we seen him fail to reach the end zone in such situations? Why in hell would you switch up what has worked so well previously?
No one can know that under center would have worked better. Joeldozer from the shotgun running full speed with momentum bulldozing into the line makes a lot of sense.
2 - Joel gave it two shots, didn't work because the stout KSU DLine stuffed us both times. Why do the same thing under center when Joel has no momentum and the chances are large that KSU DLinemen would again win the line of scrimmage?
Third play, Joel hands off on an inside counter to Montgomery, we had great blocking angles with the DLine taking a step to its left (terrific call imho) and we still couldn't get it in. In comes Park. TD was there to be had, he could have run it in but muffed a lob to an open Montgomery in the end zone. The coaches got us in position to score, they didn't muff the play. And you guys point your fingers at the coaches and call them stupid. Just wow.
YOU GUYS CANNOT KNOW THAT JOEL WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE BALL IN FROM UNDER CENTER! YOURS' IS SPECULATION ONLY! The KSU DLine proved that it was the key here, not Joel and our OLine.
I thought the coaches did a great job with game management yesterday. And I've got reasons for thinking so:
1 - After the first quarter, KSU was on pace to roll up 600 yards offense for the game; we were an ineffective team. Looked like we were in for an overwhelming beating, particularly when the score mounted to 31-10. Somehow, someway, the coaches brought our guys back from cliff's edge. By game's end, we amassed 100 more total yards than KSU. A monumental turnaround.
Savvy coaching, again imho, was responsible for the fiesty turnaround.
2 - When we kicked a field goal in the first half, I thought we might follow with an onside kick attempt. We didn't, and I didn't think about it further. To start the second half, down 17-3, we surprised everyone with a successful onside kick. Perfect surprise timing! We recovered not only the ball, but our ability to play hard and compete. Great, great coaching call.
3 - In the second half, we also saw a new tactic: Using both quarterbacks in the same series, Park with his arm in space (he rolled up 301 passing yards) and the Joeldozer in Red Zone-type situtations. Recall KSU's 150 yard first quarter performance? With this quarterback changeup, we rolled, outscoring KSU in the final half 16-0. In the 4th quarter KSU had, what, less than 10 yards offense? In the end, we created havoc, not only with Park's 300 yard passing day, but our 154 yards rushing was the most surrendered by KSU's defense in 2016 -- including Stanford and RB McCaffrey.
If you guys can't see it, you're as blind as your comments are nonsensical. But WAIT! I'm not done extolling the virtues of our coaches.
4 - It's 31-26 with not more than a couple of minutes remaining. Everybody, I mean everyone, knows an onside kick is coming. Yet, again, we do something that I have never, ever seen in a football game -- we kick the ball in an entirely different way. Two onside kick plays? Really?
The first onside kick was typical, but it caught KSU unaware. The second onside kick, you bet your butt KSU was aware, but we used a different tactic. Jeff Francis looped the ball a couple yards high, he trailed the ball and caught it on the second or third hop. Unfortunately, though he had room to latch onto the ball another yard down field, he caught it 1/2 yard shy of the necessary 10 yards it had to travel. Clearly, it was a practiced play, brilliant coaching to prepare two different style onside kicks.
Ryen's wide open TD drop with a Park pass; Park's muffed lob to Montgomery; Francis's failure to grab the onside kick. . . . The coaches had us in position to win this game.
From the end of 2015 to the beginning of the 2016 season, we lost a number of OLinemen and Linebackers who gave up the game to continuing injuries. Our greatest team weaknesses? OLine and Linebacking.
We are a program in transition with great weakness in the two key areas: OLine and DLine. What the hell do you all expect? Really?
We have an outstanding coaching staff. I'm looking at the Big Picture, where we'll be in a couple or three years after our guys have built up the roster with consecutive powerful recruiting classes.
Saturday's goalline disappointment rests on the shoulders of our players (the football gods love 'em!). Our coaches put on a fantastic performance against KSU. Can't you see it? Are you unable to look beyond the momentary troubles and see the larger picture.?
Can you not see the exciting future that awaits us?
(I dare someone to save this post and slap me in the face with it at the end of the 2018 season. Go on, I dare you.)
