The most discouraging aspect of the 2021 football season?

[Nitt1300]

Everybody always forgets about 2005 and 2008. Oh well.

both were good, neither was a NC caliber team

 

[OptionBob]

both were good, neither was a NC caliber team

I disagree about the 2005 squad. I think Penn State got the full Dave Witvoet effect at Michigan or it would have been 12-0.

USC struggled to beat Fresno State, and Texas needed a Herculean effort from Vince Young to edge OK State. Hence, I think both were beatable.

Finally, Michael Robinson, though not the passer of Leinart or the runner of Young, was a leader whose determination and strong will to win just might have been enough with that superb Lion defense of 2005 to beat 1 of either USC or Texas.

I do agree that the 2008 team was not quite so powerful.

 

[harjeff]

The air seemed to go out of the team after Clifford missed a wide open Johnson and the poorly executed fake punt.

The team wasn't gassed at that point. Halftime was shortly after. Ark went to the zone read game and dominated. 3rd quarter probably zapped em.

I'd have taken a time out and tried something different, but the one time we lined up 8 in the box, they instantly went to a quick out pass for 8 yards burning the soft coverage.

Sometimes, you are just outmanned.

The biggest white flag wave was when CV came in and handed off the ball with us down 14, 8 minutes left. Our RBs had 8 rushing attempts prior to that, mostly successful ones. And to run twice on first down at a critical point of the game where we should have been running the 2 minute drill...

I don't know what day the players told JF they were opting out, but that is the day this game was lost. One month to prepare and we didn't try anything new. Knowing full well that Ark would run right at us and we didn't get aggressive and force them to run against 9 in the box.

Pitiful coaching effort even if we were outmanned.

Clifford was TERRIBLE Saturday and it falls completely on him as on many throws he had time and just missed the throw by a wide margin and that is just unacceptable for the amount of time he has been in the program. Other than the nice pass to Washington on the first possession he was way off.

The defensive issues fall squarely on lack of depth. You basically lost the entire starting defense with the injuries and opt outs and early in the third Jacobs got banged up and they marched right down the field and took the lead as just no one left to come in and play at even a mediocre level. Basically the entire defensive front 7 was missing except Luketa.

 

[VaDave4PSU]

Basically the entire defensive front 7 was missing except Luketa

And with Luketa at Mike vs DE and Jacobs at Will vs Sam, it was a new front 7.

I'd rather have kept Jacobs and Luketa at the spots they played all year. Someone else pointed it out, Luketa made 2 good plays and whiffed on the rest. Jacobs is too small for inside, but made a play his first snap back at Sam.