*****DISCLAIMER**********FOOTBALL RANT**********DISCLAIMER*****
Look at the game stats and tell me why we lost. Go ahead. Try. Everything about the stats indicates that we not only were the better team on Thursday, but that we should have won the game by 10-14 points or better. We outrushed NC State, we outpassed NC State, we had a 1/3 as many pentalty yards, and all other stats were roughly equivalent. Why did we lose you might ask? Was it the dumb double-covered Johnson endzone pass turned interception to end the game instead of a Daniels run up the middle, with time left to spike the ball a kick a field goal to go to overtime in case it failed call? Basically, yes. Now, I criticized Gailey for this call. But now that I've thought about it more about it, do you really want to take another chance on Travis Bell in that game? 6'4" Johnson, even double covered by 5'10" backs, is probably still a better percentage play than letting Mr. 0-for-2-in-the-game-and-0-for-5-over-the-last-3-games try to kick another one, even in the middle of the field at extra point range. So again, why did we lose? Because we had to settle for attempting to kick field goals earlier in the game. We couldn't cap off drives with touchdowns. And then of course the last play interception indended for Johnson that woudl ahve won the game. But you can't ever nail it down to a single play. It's a team sport. But looking at the statistics, as a team, we played great. It's just irritating to lose a winnable game, especially at home, in front of a national audience, to a team we'd beaten the last 4 years straight. At 1-2, goodbye ACC championship, hello again mediocrity. With Miami, UVA, Duke, Clemson, and Wake on the conference schedule, We're looking at probably somewhere in the 5-3 to 3-5 ballpark. Let's assume wins over Duke and Wake and a loss at Miami. That's 3-3. Then UVA and Clemson are the make or break games. UVA is away and Clemson is homecoming. Let's give the home team the benefit of the doubt and call us 4-4 in conference. That's 6-4 going into Thanksgiving, until UGA comes knocking. Maybe maybe maybe we win this year, going 7-4, but more likely we'll be 6-5 again. Whoo. Just like our 6-5 regular season in 2004, our 6-6 regular season in 2003, our 7-5 regular season in 2002 and 2001. You have to go back to the year after Joe Hamilton left, when we went 9-2 in 2000 before getting beaten by LSU in the Peach Bowl. Improvement improvement improvement. That's all I ask for. Show me a 7-4 season this year and a bowl game win, and I'll be placated. Not happy, but placated. But then I want an 8 win season next year. This is Gailey's 4th year. He's got his own recruits in here and is working within his own system now. Let's see some results please. I don't think an 8 win season is too much to ask after 4 years.
Look at the game stats and tell me why we lost. Go ahead. Try. Everything about the stats indicates that we not only were the better team on Thursday, but that we should have won the game by 10-14 points or better. We outrushed NC State, we outpassed NC State, we had a 1/3 as many pentalty yards, and all other stats were roughly equivalent. Why did we lose you might ask? Was it the dumb double-covered Johnson endzone pass turned interception to end the game instead of a Daniels run up the middle, with time left to spike the ball a kick a field goal to go to overtime in case it failed call? Basically, yes. Now, I criticized Gailey for this call. But now that I've thought about it more about it, do you really want to take another chance on Travis Bell in that game? 6'4" Johnson, even double covered by 5'10" backs, is probably still a better percentage play than letting Mr. 0-for-2-in-the-game-and-0-for-5-over-the-last-3-games try to kick another one, even in the middle of the field at extra point range. So again, why did we lose? Because we had to settle for attempting to kick field goals earlier in the game. We couldn't cap off drives with touchdowns. And then of course the last play interception indended for Johnson that woudl ahve won the game. But you can't ever nail it down to a single play. It's a team sport. But looking at the statistics, as a team, we played great. It's just irritating to lose a winnable game, especially at home, in front of a national audience, to a team we'd beaten the last 4 years straight. At 1-2, goodbye ACC championship, hello again mediocrity. With Miami, UVA, Duke, Clemson, and Wake on the conference schedule, We're looking at probably somewhere in the 5-3 to 3-5 ballpark. Let's assume wins over Duke and Wake and a loss at Miami. That's 3-3. Then UVA and Clemson are the make or break games. UVA is away and Clemson is homecoming. Let's give the home team the benefit of the doubt and call us 4-4 in conference. That's 6-4 going into Thanksgiving, until UGA comes knocking. Maybe maybe maybe we win this year, going 7-4, but more likely we'll be 6-5 again. Whoo. Just like our 6-5 regular season in 2004, our 6-6 regular season in 2003, our 7-5 regular season in 2002 and 2001. You have to go back to the year after Joe Hamilton left, when we went 9-2 in 2000 before getting beaten by LSU in the Peach Bowl. Improvement improvement improvement. That's all I ask for. Show me a 7-4 season this year and a bowl game win, and I'll be placated. Not happy, but placated. But then I want an 8 win season next year. This is Gailey's 4th year. He's got his own recruits in here and is working within his own system now. Let's see some results please. I don't think an 8 win season is too much to ask after 4 years.
