- The atmosphere at Death Valley was electric on Saturday. I watched on TV and it was great to see the hill packed from start to finish. The crowd seemed loud and engaged on TV, and from those I talked to at the game, it was the best atmosphere in many years. Hats off the the Clemson faithful for showing up.
- FSU reminds me of the up and coming Clemson teams when our run started. They never panicked. They were opportunistic when they needed to be. The TD in overtime was a perfect throw and catch, and it reminded me of what we used to do to everybody. Also, look at the stats- 0 turnovers and 7 penalties for 60 yards. They had no false starts, we had 2. I just think back to some of the past FSU teams recently and they were sloppy and undisciplined (personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conducts). This team was not that. The Clemson fans that claim this is not a great team, that is just sour grapes in my opinion. They manhandled what looks to be a pretty good LSU team and came into Death Valley and escaped with the win. Great teams find ways to win and don't make excuses. In a year when no one has looked to be the sure fire best team, you have to mention FSU in this group of 7-8 teams that could make a run.
- Cade is growing up quickly. No, he is not perfect, but he certainly played his best game on Saturday. There were multiple instances where he stood tall in the pocket and delivered strikes. The one that really comes to mind was the dime he delivered over the middle to Briningstool as he got lit up. Contrast that with some of the pocket presence we saw against Duke/ Pick 6 against Chas. Southern, and it is obvious he is becoming more comfortable with the system and the speed of the game. He remained positive even after the sack/forced fumble/td. Imagine what DJ would've been like after that play. He looks to me like he is developing into the leader of the offense. The future looks bright with him at QB.
- My, do we miss BT Potter. 19/20 on extra points isn't terrible. but we are 2/6 on field goals with misses from 23 yards, 29 yards and 31 yards. our two makes were from 30 yards and 23 yards. How long has it been since we could honestly say we didn't feel good about a 40 yard field goal? It seems like a pipe dream at this point. You could make the argument that field goal kicking is the 2nd largest contributor behind turnovers (we will discuss later) to the fact that we are 2-2 and not 4-0. I know we are all in with Gunn. My problem is that the backups that went through spring were so unreliable that we go and grab Weitz and bring him back. The coaching staff had to see this coming. I don't care how good Gunn looked in spring through the summer, this is what happens when an inexperienced freshman gets the yips. This would be a nice spot to take a look at the portal and grab someone that can reliably make kicks from 40 yards in.
- Our two best receivers right now were afterthoughts in initial recruiting. Let that sink in. Is that a development issue or have we just missed on evaluations? Either way, I think you can chalk it up to coaching (Jeff Scott is available...maybe??). We would be in big trouble without 0 and 6. We need to continue to recruit speed as that is the way it seems to be trending.
- Dabo appears to be coaching his assistants more on gameday than his players. This is a huge problem. I have never seen him so involved with the defense, nor have I ever seen him make a comment like he did at halftime, or let Wes have it during the timeout on 3rd down. Speaking of halftime and the defensive adjustments...
- Can we just go ahead and throw out the playbook for 3 down linemen on defense? I know situationally it can be used (3rd in 20+), but we are at our best with 4 lineman and when we are applying pressure. It was a horrible decision that certainly cost us 7, and you could make the argument that the first FSU touchdown was largely due to conservative play calling. I'd rather see us go down being aggressive and sometimes making mistakes than sitting back and getting picked apart.
- Offensive statistics that make you feel good...2nd in firsts downs/game at 27.8, 21st in total offense at 474.2 yards/game, 33rd in scoring offense at 36.2/game, 34th in 3rd down conversion rate at 47%.
- Offensive statistics that make you feel bad...99th in 4th down conversion % at 38%, 124th in red zone offense at 68%, 112th in passing yards/completion at 10.2 yards, 54th in passing efficiency at 144.33
- Other notable statistics...14th in penalties/game at 4.0, 67th in turnover margin at 0/game, tied for last (124th) with 2 blocked kicks allowed, 66th in net punting at 39.08 yards
- Defensive statistics that make you feel good...8th in total defense at 262.8 yards/game, 9th in first downs/game at 14.25, 11th in rushing defense at 79 yards/game, 11th is passing efficiency defense at 101.23, 14th in 3rd down conversion defense at 30%, 19th in tackles for loss at 7.2 per game, 36th in red zone defense at 75%,
- Defensive statistics that make you feel bad...63rd in 4th down conversion defense at 50%
- Our 2-2 record can most certainly be tied to turnovers and points given up off of these. Lets take a look in detail:
- Duke game - first turnover occurred at the 7 yard line, resulted in no points as Duke went 3 and out after. 2nd turnover occurred at the 1 yard line, resulted in a Duke TD and 2 point conversion. Certainly a 15 point swing there. 3rd turnover interception at midfield resulted in 7 points.
- Chas So. game - first turnover fumbled returned to the 1 yard line, TD 1 play later. 2nd turnover was a pick six
- FAU game - only turnover occurred on a muffed punt, resulted in 0 points
- FSU game - only turnover was a scoop 6
6 turnovers given up, 5 by the offense that resulted in 36 points. Out of these 5 turnovers, 4 resulted in short fields (35 yards or less), with one being at the one yard line and 2 that were scored. You can't get much worse as far as catastrophic turnovers. We are essentially giving our opponents 9 points per game. This needs to be cleaned up, and I would make the argument that most of this is coaching.
Bonus material that makes you just shake your head...In the last 4 losses to P5 competition we have
-Averaged 418 ypg and 26 first downs (369 ypg and 16.75 first downs for opponents)
-Turnover margin of -6 (9 for Clemson, 3 for opponents)
-3/9 in fields goals
- We were inside the opponent 40 yard line 27 times and converted 11 (41%)
- We were in the redzone 17 times and converted 10 (59%)
Finally, I hope this team can rebound and continue to improve. It is going to be difficult this weekend in my opinion, coming off an emotional loss and playing a team that we have historically struggled with.
- FSU reminds me of the up and coming Clemson teams when our run started. They never panicked. They were opportunistic when they needed to be. The TD in overtime was a perfect throw and catch, and it reminded me of what we used to do to everybody. Also, look at the stats- 0 turnovers and 7 penalties for 60 yards. They had no false starts, we had 2. I just think back to some of the past FSU teams recently and they were sloppy and undisciplined (personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conducts). This team was not that. The Clemson fans that claim this is not a great team, that is just sour grapes in my opinion. They manhandled what looks to be a pretty good LSU team and came into Death Valley and escaped with the win. Great teams find ways to win and don't make excuses. In a year when no one has looked to be the sure fire best team, you have to mention FSU in this group of 7-8 teams that could make a run.
- Cade is growing up quickly. No, he is not perfect, but he certainly played his best game on Saturday. There were multiple instances where he stood tall in the pocket and delivered strikes. The one that really comes to mind was the dime he delivered over the middle to Briningstool as he got lit up. Contrast that with some of the pocket presence we saw against Duke/ Pick 6 against Chas. Southern, and it is obvious he is becoming more comfortable with the system and the speed of the game. He remained positive even after the sack/forced fumble/td. Imagine what DJ would've been like after that play. He looks to me like he is developing into the leader of the offense. The future looks bright with him at QB.
- My, do we miss BT Potter. 19/20 on extra points isn't terrible. but we are 2/6 on field goals with misses from 23 yards, 29 yards and 31 yards. our two makes were from 30 yards and 23 yards. How long has it been since we could honestly say we didn't feel good about a 40 yard field goal? It seems like a pipe dream at this point. You could make the argument that field goal kicking is the 2nd largest contributor behind turnovers (we will discuss later) to the fact that we are 2-2 and not 4-0. I know we are all in with Gunn. My problem is that the backups that went through spring were so unreliable that we go and grab Weitz and bring him back. The coaching staff had to see this coming. I don't care how good Gunn looked in spring through the summer, this is what happens when an inexperienced freshman gets the yips. This would be a nice spot to take a look at the portal and grab someone that can reliably make kicks from 40 yards in.
- Our two best receivers right now were afterthoughts in initial recruiting. Let that sink in. Is that a development issue or have we just missed on evaluations? Either way, I think you can chalk it up to coaching (Jeff Scott is available...maybe??). We would be in big trouble without 0 and 6. We need to continue to recruit speed as that is the way it seems to be trending.
- Dabo appears to be coaching his assistants more on gameday than his players. This is a huge problem. I have never seen him so involved with the defense, nor have I ever seen him make a comment like he did at halftime, or let Wes have it during the timeout on 3rd down. Speaking of halftime and the defensive adjustments...
- Can we just go ahead and throw out the playbook for 3 down linemen on defense? I know situationally it can be used (3rd in 20+), but we are at our best with 4 lineman and when we are applying pressure. It was a horrible decision that certainly cost us 7, and you could make the argument that the first FSU touchdown was largely due to conservative play calling. I'd rather see us go down being aggressive and sometimes making mistakes than sitting back and getting picked apart.
- Offensive statistics that make you feel good...2nd in firsts downs/game at 27.8, 21st in total offense at 474.2 yards/game, 33rd in scoring offense at 36.2/game, 34th in 3rd down conversion rate at 47%.
- Offensive statistics that make you feel bad...99th in 4th down conversion % at 38%, 124th in red zone offense at 68%, 112th in passing yards/completion at 10.2 yards, 54th in passing efficiency at 144.33
- Other notable statistics...14th in penalties/game at 4.0, 67th in turnover margin at 0/game, tied for last (124th) with 2 blocked kicks allowed, 66th in net punting at 39.08 yards
- Defensive statistics that make you feel good...8th in total defense at 262.8 yards/game, 9th in first downs/game at 14.25, 11th in rushing defense at 79 yards/game, 11th is passing efficiency defense at 101.23, 14th in 3rd down conversion defense at 30%, 19th in tackles for loss at 7.2 per game, 36th in red zone defense at 75%,
- Defensive statistics that make you feel bad...63rd in 4th down conversion defense at 50%
- Our 2-2 record can most certainly be tied to turnovers and points given up off of these. Lets take a look in detail:
- Duke game - first turnover occurred at the 7 yard line, resulted in no points as Duke went 3 and out after. 2nd turnover occurred at the 1 yard line, resulted in a Duke TD and 2 point conversion. Certainly a 15 point swing there. 3rd turnover interception at midfield resulted in 7 points.
- Chas So. game - first turnover fumbled returned to the 1 yard line, TD 1 play later. 2nd turnover was a pick six
- FAU game - only turnover occurred on a muffed punt, resulted in 0 points
- FSU game - only turnover was a scoop 6
6 turnovers given up, 5 by the offense that resulted in 36 points. Out of these 5 turnovers, 4 resulted in short fields (35 yards or less), with one being at the one yard line and 2 that were scored. You can't get much worse as far as catastrophic turnovers. We are essentially giving our opponents 9 points per game. This needs to be cleaned up, and I would make the argument that most of this is coaching.
Bonus material that makes you just shake your head...In the last 4 losses to P5 competition we have
-Averaged 418 ypg and 26 first downs (369 ypg and 16.75 first downs for opponents)
-Turnover margin of -6 (9 for Clemson, 3 for opponents)
-3/9 in fields goals
- We were inside the opponent 40 yard line 27 times and converted 11 (41%)
- We were in the redzone 17 times and converted 10 (59%)
Finally, I hope this team can rebound and continue to improve. It is going to be difficult this weekend in my opinion, coming off an emotional loss and playing a team that we have historically struggled with.
