Ball State Post Game Thread | Page 5 | The Boneyard

Ball State Post Game Thread

I think the team is still shell shocked from the two OT losses. I am not sure if this win will help them mentally either. I also think AD Dave needs to start thinking about some staff changes, privately. I don't under stand why Coach Mora does see the deficiencies in defense overall and play calling.
 
Jetskies said:
I'm heartbroken for this offense, truly. Can you imagine the ceiling on this season, if we had a competent defense? not even an elite one.

we'd have beat syracuse by 14, Delaware by 28, and ball state by like 40 easy. heartbreaking

with our luck, we may not have an offense this good again.
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If we were actually good, we wouldn’t choose plays having receivers look directly into the sun for the ball. Counted at least 2 instances just in this game, and more in the others too. Just unacceptable.
 
Glad to take this W but some of the playcalling still baffling. Like Coach S has learned nothing. Thank somebody we have Cam and Sky. But we don't get enough out of other players. Looking for some week to week improvement on both sides but not seeing a lot yet. D seems a little undermanned. But hey there's enough games left to make a dent. Worried how dangerous Duke's offense looks though. One week at a time I guess. We're still fighting and that gives us a shot. Gonna enjoy the win and move on with a mostly healthy squad.
 
I share everyone's concerns about the D, but for now I'll look at it this way. Ball State is probably not a bottom 10 team. Their 2 blowout losses came against P2 teams. Syracuse just beat Clemson on the road, and Delaware thumped our future opponent FIU by 22, also on the road. So overall. I think our competition to date has been better than their ratings would suggest. Plus, as was pointed out, we are still down a couple of key players on D. I believe Brock is a good DC and that we will see improvement going foward. That is how I'll look at our situation.....for now.
 
gopher2 said:
I share everyone's concerns about the D, but for now I'll look at it this way. Ball State is probably not a bottom 10 team. Their 2 blowout losses came against P2 teams. Syracuse just beat Clemson on the road, and Delaware thumped our future opponent FIU by 22, also on the road. So overall. I think our competition to date has been better than their ratings would suggest. Plus, as was pointed out, we are still down a couple of key players on D. I believe Brock is a good DC and that we will see improvement going foward. That is how I'll look at our situation.....for now.
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Voice of reason, like your line of thought. Was like a glass of warm milk as I shut down for the evening. Go Huskies!
 
The good... A win!; Skyler Bell is a beast; Edwards remains a HR threat out of the backfield (which makes the struggles on short-yardage downs even more befuddling)

The bad... The O-Line seems incapable of generating a push on short-yardage conversions, when the defense is geared up for the run. Fagnano throws well from the pocket; anytime he's on the move, it's time to hold your breath as frequently throws are behind the receivers (or bounced low).

The ugly... The defense.. particularly against the run. If the defense isn't able to adjust, the Rice game (among others) could get ugly as they've shifted to a shotgun option attack, with three legit threats to run.
 
UConnTrumbull said:
Buffalo is now a must win if we’re going to go bowling
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Agreed. I feel like this is the make or break game for how the rest of the season goes. A win on the road gets us to 3-2 with a home game against FIU, then a bye before BC. Maybe some positive momentum. A loss and I struggle to see how we get to 6 wins.

Buffalo has Roberson at QB (although he got hurt today) and they’ve struggled mightily on offense. If our defense can’t play a decent game here, I don’t think they’re stopping anyone else
 
uconnfan68 said:
If we were actually good, we wouldn’t choose plays having receivers look directly into the sun for the ball. Counted at least 2 instances just in this game, and more in the others too. Just unacceptable.
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I don't think our offense is good, in the objective sense.

It's just the best offense WE'VE had in a while, and idk when we'll have a skyler + cam + Joe (who isn't great but is serviceable enough to help the other 2 score) combination again in Storrs.
 
giddyup said:
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.
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Is it really that hard to figure out? With Mel Brown out, they don’t have a second TB they trust to carry the ball more than a few times. So the constant screens to Bell was just a way to let Bell be the second ball carrier and make plays.
 
giddyup said:
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.
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Worst part about this is I think the defense is shown they could really play. Syracuse game was not a fluke. What happened since then I have no idea. But if I’m being paid six figures to manage that defense, after the last few games, I would expect my job to be in question
 
It was clear after the CCSU game our lines would be challenged this season.
OL surely better than expected though, giving Joe enough time and opening seams for the patient Edwards.
Love the growth of Fagnano and dependability of our 2 TNT guys, Bell and Edwards.
3-3-5 does look like maybe not the best choice with this group but think of it this way, if Brock/Mora knew we'd be weak up front, it'd be smart to at least cover deep to prevent the deep pass/quick score.
Not a terrible gamble to hope the LBs could at least keep the run game down but it has sure led to a lot of yards given.
DBs have not been the problem and Molette is studly.
 
Jetskies said:
I don't think our offense is good, in the objective sense.

It's just the best offense WE'VE had in a while, and idk when we'll have a skyler + cam + Joe (who isn't great but is serviceable enough to help the other 2 score) combination again in Storrs.
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The opposite actually. Objectively by most metrics, the offense is good. It’s not only the best offense UConn has had in years, it is in top top quartile of most offensive categories in the NCAA.

Subjectively, and peeling back a couple of layers and the offense’s warts start to show. Extending drives in the 4th quarter with the lead? Not good. Red zone efficiency, especially inside the 5 yard line?? Not good.

The athleticism which allows the OLine to run a strong zone run game becomes a hindrance when you need to put helmet on helmet in short yardage. Other than Big Ben at LT, the rest of the line is small.

But there are things to work with. Edwards is showing he is a beast. Bell, even if it takes 14 catches to get a hundred yards, gets the yards. Credit Ball St for their open field tackling yesterday. It was good.

Defense is a different story. I’d hate to know how many times they’ve let up a TD on a drive after UConn scores.

The DLine is easy to block and push downfield. The LB’s have gotten pressure at times but if they don’t get a sack the DB’s have shown zero ability to contain broken plays.

The Syracuse and Delaware losses don’t look as bad after this weekend, but this win didn’t build any confidence for the fans.
 
microfich said:
It was clear after the CCSU game our lines would be challenged this season.
OL surely better than expected though, giving Joe enough time and opening seams for the patient Edwards.
Love the growth of Fagnano and dependability of our 2 TNT guys, Bell and Edwards.
3-3-5 does look like maybe not the best choice with this group but think of it this way, if Brock/Mora knew we'd be weak up front, it'd be smart to at least cover deep to prevent the deep pass/quick score.
Not a terrible gamble to hope the LBs could at least keep the run game down but it has sure led to a lot of yards given.
DBs have not been the problem and Molette is studly.
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Not a bad take up until that last sentence.

DB’s have been atrocious, especially on broken plays.
 
UCan3 said:
Worst part about this is I think the defense is shown they could really play. Syracuse game was not a fluke. What happened since then I have no idea. But if I’m being paid six figures to manage that defense, after the last few games, I would expect my job to be in question
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Chin Diesel said:
The opposite actually. Objectively by most metrics, the offense is good. It’s not only the best offense UConn has had in years, it is in top top quartile of most offensive categories in the NCAA.

Subjectively, and peeling back a couple of layers and the offense’s warts start to show. Extending drives in the 4th quarter with the lead? Not good. Red zone efficiency, especially inside the 5 yard line?? Not good.

The athleticism which allows the OLine to run a strong zone run game becomes a hindrance when you need to put helmet on helmet in short yardage. Other than Big Ben at LT, the rest of the line is small.

But there are things to work with. Edwards is showing he is a beast. Bell, even if it takes 14 catches to get a hundred yards, gets the yards. Credit Ball St for their open field tackling yesterday. It was good.

Defense is a different story. I’d hate to know how many times they’ve let up a TD on a drive after UConn scores.

The DLine is easy to block and push downfield. The LB’s have gotten pressure at times but if they don’t get a sack the DB’s have shown zero ability to contain broken plays.

The Syracuse and Delaware losses don’t look as bad after this weekend, but this win didn’t build any confidence for the fans.
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One problem is without Mel Brown we need another running back. Preferably a big back. Edwards is great and can break long ones on any play, but he isn’t the guy who is going to get you 2 yards when he gets hit a yard behind the line. He isn’t that type of back. Mel was more of a slasher. Rosa seems more a power runner. But clearly they trust Edwards. They don’t trust Rosa. The other kid seems to be earning a bit of the pounder role. We’ll see.
 
freescooter said:
One problem is without Mel Brown we need another running back. Preferably a big back. Edwards is great and can break long ones on any play, but he isn’t the guy who is going to get you 2 yards when he gets hit a yard behind the line. He isn’t that type of back. Mel was more of a slasher. Rosa seems more a power runner. But clearly they trust Edwards. They don’t trust Rosa. The other kid seems to be earning a bit of the pounder role. We’ll see.
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Looking at the Roster.. the only guy bigger than Edwards (and Rosa) is Freshman Soren Rief. Edwards & Rosa are listed 5'11" / 210. Rief is listed 6' / 220. Everyone else is listed 200 pounds or less.
 
freescooter said:
One problem is without Mel Brown we need another running back. Preferably a big back. Edwards is great and can break long ones on any play, but he isn’t the guy who is going to get you 2 yards when he gets hit a yard behind the line. He isn’t that type of back. Mel was more of a slasher. Rosa seems more a power runner. But clearly they trust Edwards. They don’t trust Rosa. The other kid seems to be earning a bit of the pounder role. We’ll see.
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I thought we were deep at RB position but apparently not as deep as we thought.

But on these key plays with 4th and short, it’s hard to put that all on the Running Back. They don’t seem to have anywhere to run. That is on the Line IMO.

But in fairness, Joe has a nice 4th + short pass to bell for that 1st touchdown. But other times in the game where we need to pick up a yard or two, we’ve got to play the game with the players we have - not the ones we wish we had.

The O Line needs to adjust / improve.
 

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