Ball State Post Game Thread

[FightOnCT]

The defense collapses at the end of every game (and overtime).

They’ve done this since last year. I am out on the 3-3-5

 

[JMick]

Nieder also bringing it on Saturdays

He's gotta be the most surprising player in a while right? He's really good

 

[DawgEnjoyer]

I've said it before in other threads and I'll say it here too. The 3-3-5 is a defensive scheme leaving no room for error. There's a reason why almost no one uses it. If the coordinators calls the wrong set, offense will get chunk yards. If the defender blows his assignment, offense will get chunk yards. And if you don't have big uglies who can stand there ground to free the LB's and hybrid DB's, the offense will get chunk plays.
So, yes, part of this is on Mora not backfilling the losses from last year, and part of it is on Brock not realizing he doesn't have the same talent and making adjustments to the talent he does have on this year's team.

They should come out in a 4-2-5 with Mills as a box safety.

 

[JMick]

I said after the CCSU game that I was surprised how bad the defense was. Nothing has changed. Nor will it this year. Every year is a portal crap shoot. We are not in the money this year.

A bowl game is now less than even money.

The offense seems to be getting worse.

Robinson being out hurts a lot

 

[JMick]

I've said it before in other threads and I'll say it here too. The 3-3-5 is a defensive scheme leaving no room for error. There's a reason why almost no one uses it. If the coordinators calls the wrong set, offense will get chunk yards. If the defender blows his assignment, offense will get chunk yards. And if you don't have big uglies who can stand there ground to free the LB's and hybrid DB's, the offense will get chunk plays.
So, yes, part of this is on Mora not backfilling the losses from last year, and part of it is on Brock not realizing he doesn't have the same talent and making adjustments to the talent he does have on this year's team.

I like the 3-3-5 but it's really hard to run nowadays when you don't even know who's playing what positions. We really failed recruiting the DL and it has to be a point of emphasis going forward

 

[Devland]

I said after the CCSU game that I was surprised how bad the defense was. Nothing has changed. Nor will it this year. Every year is a portal crap shoot. We are not in the money this year.

A bowl game is now less than even money.

The offense seems to be getting worse.

A lot of times these players are in the portal because they are not getting the playing time at the schools they're at. Them they get here and we find out why.

 

[JMick]

They should come out in a 4-2-5 with Mills as a box safety.

I'm not sure adding another one of our rotational DL to the field is going to help... Some of the backups literally just stand up when the ball is snapped

 

[UCan3]

W- I’ll take it.
D- porous
O- Can’t convert 3rd downs

We just don’t make adjustments as we need to on offense for those short yardage situations.

Saw Memphis today on critical last drive put in back-up QB for 1st time all game to do a QB run play on 3rd down / game on line - that decision sealed the game for them as he picked up 1 down.

Feeding the ball over and over again to Cam on 3 and 1-4 yards can’t be our only plan.

And the Defense, it is combination of X Os and players - this is 100% D Coach issue and actions will need to taken in short term - this can’t continue all season.

 

[freescooter]

A lot of times these players are in the portal because they are not getting the playing time at the schools they're at. Them they get here and we find out why.

Thank is not fair. Bell, Fagnano, Hoh are all portal guys who have performed very well. Last years defense had a couple of guys who made big plays. The portal is a crapshoot because you aren’t developing guys. It’s plug and play but if you miss it leaves a big hole.

 

[giddyup]

D is a disaster. The D line couldn’t stop a ham sandwich.

 

[DawgEnjoyer]

I'm not sure adding another one of our rotational DL to the field is going to help... Some of the backups literally just stand up when the ball is snapped

In this scenario you have Branch moving back to DE (where he has played his whole career) and Smiley who at 245 LBs shouldn’t be trying to 5 gap as a 5 technique and should be a true 4-3 edge rusher.

 

[Forte]

ladies and gentlemen your 2025 uconn huskies defense

View attachment 111777

LOL ... the player thats 5 yards behind the qb

 

[Brochacho]

Granted, I think that last TD should’ve been blown dead for forward progress. But I’ve never seen anything more pathetic than that on a football field. Like 7 Huskies are piled up on 1 BSU guy at the 4 and he gets in the endzone? Walk back to campus.

 

[BlueWolf25]

I didn’t see the game today, think I’m glad about that. Take the win and hope things get better, but the unfortunate fact is we’re not as good as we thought we would be, specifically on defense

 

[JustbrewitMan]

First, the D is abysmal and I have no idea what got into them at Syracuse to give us so much hope. Seeing Cuse thump Clemson just makes it even more bizarre.

Next, I’m at a loss for words as to why our offense can’t just exploit opportunities and pummel the other team into oblivion. No one on Ball St could defend Bell anywhere. Why didn’t we just run chunk yard plays all day for him? Who has the great idea that we’d do BS screens all day? Same goes with Edwards running to the edges. They had little hope of stopping him. Heck the only that stopped big gains was us committing holding penalties 15 yards away from the play.

It’s frustrating that JF has hit his ceiling as a 7th year game manager. Because now it turns out we actually need an accurate dynamic QB who also improves as the season progresses with this joke of a defense. Unfortunately, he threw short & long of receivers all day long…we missed out on a bunch of big gains and could have just torched BSU.

Sorry to vent but I really though this could be a special year and it’s clear now we’ll be lucky to finish 6-6

 

[Palatine]

Bottom line. An ugly win looks exactly like a beautiful win in the won/loss column.

But we have work to do.

 

[Purple Stein]

A win is a win but this one doesn't feel great. We are soft up the middle, we are soft over the middle, and we can't get a stop when we get a team in second and long. Offense did enough today but I can't get over how bad the defense is. The line is not good enough to free up the LBs to make the plays the scheme calls for.

Other than "throw to Bell" and "give it to Cam" I have no idea what our offensive philosophy is. Joe forces so many throws to Bell and Cam won't be able to save us against better teams.

I get that I'm slow to get on the bus, but I'm realizing we're just not a very good team and I think that sucks.

 

[Alum86]

I melted in the sun in our seats behind the Husky bench. Honestly on TV you probably get a better perspective. I do have to give Joe F props for running that one time he had to and he looked pretty good. The D? Like all have said, suspect at best, really bad at worst.

 

[superjohn]

Thankfully we have Cam Edwards. If he didn't get that 3rd and 9 Ball State was going to march right down the field and tie it. A win is a win but it looks ugly. Team can't tackle.

 

[Bonamassa]

On defense we look slow and can't get off of blocks. The want wasn't there today either. Very concerned about the season going forward. It's tough starting with a new team full of portal guys every year. You really don't know what you've got.

 

[MrHockey9]

Brutal in person. Good size crowd just waiting to erupt and instead were treated to a paint drying clinic. Fagnano underthrowing bell time and time again and throwing behind other targets. Left early to watch the Mets lose another critical game. Watching second half rn and am glad I did.

 

[huskymedic]

They should come out in a 4-2-5 with Mills as a box safety.

Mills didn’t dress today.. DL Trent Jones is still out. Our depth across the board is a problem.

 

[Jetskies]

re: bell - did anyone else feel like we ran nothing but screens?
Screens work when they're not expected. Sammis makes them feel like they're a dive up the middle lol
14 for 103 yards is laughable. I said in the game chat that doing that over and over is going to get him hurt against real defenses.

 

[giddyup]

First, the D is abysmal and I have no idea what got into them at Syracuse to give us so much hope. Seeing Cuse thump Clemson just makes it even more bizarre.

Next, I’m at a loss for words as to why our offense can’t just exploit opportunities and pummel the other team into oblivion. No one on Ball St could defend Bell anywhere. Why didn’t we just run chunk yard plays all day for him? Who has the great idea that we’d do BS screens all day? Same goes with Edwards running to the edges. They had little hope of stopping him. Heck the only that stopped big gains was us committing holding penalties 15 yards away from the play.

It’s frustrating that JF has hit his ceiling as a 7th year game manager. Because now it turns out we actually need an accurate dynamic QB who also improves as the season progresses with this joke of a defense. Unfortunately, he threw short & long of receivers all day long…we missed out on a bunch of big gains and could have just torched BSU.

Sorry to vent but I really though this could be a special year and it’s clear now we’ll be lucky to finish 6-6

Sammis is baffling with some of his play calling. At times it’s sheer stupidity. Why he refuses to exploit the middle of the field is beyond be. Why he rolls out Fagnano cutting the field in half and making him throw on the run (a weakness) is ridiculous. Why he keeps running the useless wideout screen especially into the short side of the field is another dummy maneuver. He stalls a lot of drives with stupid calls.

 

[FightOnCT]

Brutal in person. Good size crowd just waiting to erupt and instead were treated to a paint drying clinic. Fagnano underthrowing bell time and time again and throwing behind other targets. Left early to watch the Mets lose another critical game. Watching second half rn and am glad I did.

There were a couple of high school bands there. I wouldn’t hold my breath about FIU without help from CT schools.