Ball State Post Game Thread | Page 5 | The Boneyard

Ball State Post Game Thread

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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.
 
Chin Diesel said:
Not a bad take up until that last sentence.

DB’s have been atrocious, especially on broken plays.
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Cam Chadwick hopefully improves. Still young.
 
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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BlueWolf25 said:
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
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Buffalo blew a 17-0 lead in the last 10 minutes of the game. Losing Roberson late 3rd qtr probably didn't help either.

I know everyone's disappointed in how our defense is playing but there's still a lot of season left to fix it. We're still 2-2 when we could/should easily be 4-0. UB will still remember the drubbing we gave them last year so they'll be ready to play. It's up to our coaches to get this figured out and the D able to make stops at crucial times.

Still hopeful about this season.
 
I’m a little surprised by the doom and gloom here. Yeah, Ball State isn’t that good, but that game never felt out of our control. Up until late in the game, the defense fixed quite a bit of its mistakes against Delaware.

-21 was way too big of a line and it’s probably why some are disappointed here. Just like we were a couple bounces from beating Cuse/UD, we were a couple bounces from blowing that game wide open and covering. Not much has changed for me, we should beat everyone left except BC and Duke
 
BugsyCT said:
Buffalo blew a 17-0 lead in the last 10 minutes of the game. Losing Roberson late 3rd qtr probably didn't help either.

I know everyone's disappointed in how our defense is playing but there's still a lot of season left to fix it. We're still 2-2 when we could/should easily be 4-0. UB will still remember the drubbing we gave them last year so they'll be ready to play. It's up to our coaches to get this figured out and the D able to make stops at crucial times.

Still hopeful about this season.
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I don’t know what would he worse......
1. Roberson having the game of his life and the game we all expected him to play when he came to UConn.....
Or, behind door #2...Having some California kid named Gunnar Gray becoming the upteenth back up look like an All-conference level QB.
 
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I was curious how the team would react after last week. It was not very good. I was hoping we put a beatdown on them to set tone for rest of the season. Two weeks in a row now the Qb run has killed us (as it has for an eternity), and we can never get off the field on defense. Its weird because it seems if they are locked in they can play. See 3.5 quarters against SU. The last TD drive we allowed was alarming to me because a group that is mentally locked in and wants to finish them off does not allow that QB scramble and the last TD was even worse. At least we escaped. Next week huge. Wondering if team is all in or not. Just feels like something is off.
 
Chin Diesel said:
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.
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Thought this would be interesting to dive into. Here is every defensive possession after UConn scores (TD & FG) not counting CCSU

In total: 16 defensive possessions after scoring. 8 of those 16 times, we’ve given up a TD. 2 times we gave up a field goal. So overall, 62.5% of the time we give up points. We’ve forced 3 turnovers, and forced 3 punts

Syracuse: 50% scoring possessions (2/4), 50% no score (2/4)
Forced TO, FG, forced punt, gave up TD (counting this as first possession on OT and not the QB kneel at the end of regulation)

Delaware: 71% scoring possession (5/7), 29% no score (2/7)
Gave up TD, gave up TD, forced punt, gave up TD, gave up TD, forced TO (missed FG), gave up TD (OT)

Ball St: 60% scoring possession (3/5), 40% no score (2/5)
Forced punt, gave up TD, gave up FG, interception, gave up TD.
 
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REB1094 said:
thought this would be interesting to dive into. Here is every defensive possession after UConn scores a TD not counting CCSU

In total: 16 defensive possessions after scoring. 8 of those 16 times, we’ve given up a TD. 2 times we gave up a field goal. So overall, 62.5% of the time we give up points. We’ve forced 3 turnovers, and forced 3 punts

Syracuse: 50% scoring possessions (2/4), 50% no score (2/4)
Forced TO, FG, forced punt, gave up TD (counting this as first possession on OT and not the QB knee at the end of regulation)

Delaware: 71% scoring possession (5/7), 29% no score (2/7)
Gave up TD, gave up TD, forced punt, gave up TD, gave up TD, forced TO (missed FG), gave up TD (OT)

Ball St: 60% scoring possession (3/5), 40 no score (2/5)
Forced punt, gave up TD, gave up FG, interception, gave up TD.
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Wonder what the National average is for that stat? I just tried to find it, no luck. My impression has always been that a team that allows a score after they score is one whose defense is not ready to play when they take the field. Almost like too much pressure. Clearly if we had one stop after a score more per game, the season would look a lot different.(ie Syr 1/4 instead of 2/4, Del 4/7 instead of 5/7). Clearly a "no SH_t Sherlock" statement by me, appreciate REB1094 doing the digging
 
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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THIS!

2 points separates us from undefeated right now, and nobody has beaten us in regulation. Again, every game feels like an existential crisis, but let's take the win and keep building...
 
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 think we have all the tools on offense. I just don’t think that Gordon Sammis knows how to break down and exploit opposing defenses.
 
UConnDan97 said:
THIS!

2 points separates us from undefeated right now, and nobody has beaten us in regulation. Again, every game feels like an existential crisis, but let's take the win and keep building...
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Every game? How about every first down? How long did it take UConn to keep the drive alive in the last two drives before they got big plays? They were hanging by a thread 3rd and long multiple times. In contrast Ball State just ripped off big gainer after big gainer. The guy sitting close to us says "Well, that should lock down the win." I said, "Nope, we are gonna need one or two more." And we did.
 
uconnbaseball said:
FIU is as bad as Ball State. UConn will probably beat FAU as well.

Rice is going to THUMP UConn. The Owls are much improved. Air Force has been a disappointment but is, at best, a toss-up.
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Just curious, what have you seen from Rice that makes you think they are going to "THUMP" UConn?

They won @UL 14-12. They lost to UH 35-9. They beat an FCS team 38-17 and won @Charlotte 28-17.

They're currently 3-1 but I can easily see them finishing in the 4-8, 6-6 range. The only competent team they've played blew them out of the water, and they haven't scored a lot in 2 of their 4 games.

I think our offense is better than theirs, but like most of us I don't trust our defense. If I thought our D was competent I would have this marked as an easy W. Instead I have this one marked as a tossup. But I don't see them smoking us. They're not that good
 
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RSTuthill said:
Every game? How about every first down? How long did it take UConn to keep the drive alive in the last two drives before they got big plays? They were hanging by a thread 3rd and long multiple times. In contrast Ball State just ripped off big gainer after big gainer. The guy sitting close to us says "Well, that should lock down the win." I said, "Nope, we are gonna need one or two more." And we did.
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We are an offense that is built around big plays, not a grind it out one. We were that for years and even in our better seasons under Edsall 1 people complained they we played that way. Now we play a very different style and you complain we don’t grind out every first down.

Just as a side note, Ball State, who supposedly ripped off all these big gainers lost the game. We had a 32 yard td run and a 60 plus yard one.
 
Nameless said:
Just curious, what have you seen from Rice that makes you think they are going to "THUMP" UConn?
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I didn't say it, but their offense is a bad matchup for a UConn defense that has yet to show the ability to stop a running attack. I could easily see it being another Delaware-esque game, where whomever can make the final big stop or whomever has the ball last will win.
 
ScottVib said:
I didn't say it, but their offense is a bad matchup for a UConn defense that has yet to show the ability to stop a running attack. I could easily see it being another Delaware-esque game, where whomever can make the final big stop or whomever has the ball last will win.
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I actually agree with this take, which is why I have it marked as a tossup game. I expect our defense to give up a lot of points, but I expect to score a lot too. Like you said, whoever has the ball last probably wins.

But thumping someone, to me, implies winning by 2 TDs or more. I just don't see this as that type of game, in either direction. Both teams will score a lot
 
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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They need a 2nd RB or else, dare I say it, Cam is going to break down and get worn down or Football Gods forbid he gets injured. I know Sammis was using the WR screen game a lot, even more than usual, to have Skyler be a de facto 2nd RB, but WR screens are a lot more effective when the defense doesn't expect it and get diminished even more than other offensive plays when the defense expects it. Plus, those WR screens could UConn's WRs hurt or lead to a costly turnover when the defense knows it's coming.
 
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Windham4th said:
The odds of Brock changing his scheme mid-season are 0 to none. The players are out of position in the scheme they have put in place for months. Imagine how scattered they'd be in a new scheme next week.
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No question, Brock can't change the scheme mid season. If you all think the defense sucks now and they play sloppy missing tackles and miss assignments and are not where they are supposed to be, you will see these issues 3x more with a scheme change.

Tweaks can be made to the scheme, but major changes will be akin to fighting out of quick sand-it will only make things worse.
 
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Nameless said:
Just curious, what have you seen from Rice that makes you think they are going to "THUMP" UConn?

They won @UL 14-12. They lost to UH 35-9. They beat an FCS team 38-17 and won @Charlotte 28-17.

They're currently 3-1 but I can easily see them finishing in the 4-8, 6-6 range. The only competent team they've played blew them out of the water, and they haven't scored a lot in 2 of their 4 games.

I think our offense is better than theirs, but like most of us I don't trust our defense. If I thought our D was competent I would have this marked as an easy W. Instead I have this one marked as a tossup. But I don't see them smoking us. They're not that good
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ULL is better than us and we play them on the road. Their annoying option offense will torture our beleaguered DL.
 
BonaConn said:
I’m a little surprised by the doom and gloom here. Yeah, Ball State isn’t that good, but that game never felt out of our control. Up until late in the game, the defense fixed quite a bit of its mistakes against Delaware.

-21 was way too big of a line and it’s probably why some are disappointed here. Just like we were a couple bounces from beating Cuse/UD, we were a couple bounces from blowing that game wide open and covering. Not much has changed for me, we should beat everyone left except BC and Duke
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We would have been up 21, but a holding penalty took 7 off the board. Then we stalled and they scored to make it 7. But given how we have performed at winning time, the doom and gloom is somewhat justified.

The three man line has been awful. Moving up a LB to make it a four man line has worked a little better.
 
Palatine said:
We would have been up 21, but a holding penalty took 7 off the board. Then we stalled and they scored to make it 7. But given how we have performed at winning time, the doom and gloom is somewhat justified.

The three man line has been awful. Moving up a LB to make it a four man line has worked a little better.
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Stafford-Grad
Gourdine-Grad
Hardy-Portal to Wake
Yates-Portal to the NFL's newest franchise (Muh Brotherhood)

All of those guys were great.
 
Two things I wish they would try but almost certainly won't. And by try, I mean more than the good old college try rather commit to it until it is thoroughly proven that it won't work

1. Going back to a four man front.

2. Using an honest to goodness fullback to maximize impact at the point of attack. Teams have figured out that the UConn OL can't open holes in the interior line and a FB can be useful running wide as well. Jordan Todman and Anthony Sherman should be the model if a player could be found to develop the skills needed. And yes, I am well aware that there aren't many Anthony Sherman's on the roster.
 
cellocgg said:
I didn't think we could sink any lower than last week, and yet, even with a win, here we are
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This is crazy. Get a win. Team has some issues on defense and can get better. Should be 4-0, but 4-0 or 2-2, destination is same place. I would shoot for 9-3 as an expectation. They end up there, we happy?
 
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