Rewatched Several Games From This Season (snowflakes)

I like to rewatch blowout games whenever I'm stressed or not having the greatest day, it's good TV.  So after a long week, I went back and knocked out 5 games from this past season (UNLV, Indiana, MSU, Purdue, Minnesota).

I'm glad I did, because there were a ton of things that popped off the screen that maybe I didn't realize, forgot, or maybe we don't discuss enough.  However, pretty much everything was on offense.

Notes are below.

QB: McCarthy's injury was real.  Sure the competition was tougher, but when J.J. was rolling and in the Heisman discussion, it wasn't because he was standing in the pocket making great throw after great throw.  His biggest weapon might be his mobility within the pocket, he throws on the run better than any QB in the country. 

Think back to early in the year where he got away with 2 throws where he moved up in the pocket and almost crossed the LOS before releasing the ball.  Both were reviewed.  Think of the throw against IU where he escapes to his right, points Loveland downfield, and "puts the LB in conflict" as Klatt points out, and hits Colston for a catch and run touchdown.

He wasn't doing that nearly as much towards the end of the year.

I share because McCarthy missed easy reads and throws in this game...just like he did at the end of the year, the difference was he wasn't making plays out of the pocket at the same rate.

These next few weeks are imperative that he get healthy and take it to the next level (which means we HAVE to incorporate him into the run game).

As a sidenote, go win two more games and go pro, but there's a legitimate argument for one more year.  If he can get better in the pocket and get better with the deep ball...he's the #1 overall pick in '25 and I'd argue he's as good or a better NFL prospect than Caleb Williams.

 

RB: Nothing of note with Corum, didn't learn anything new. However, I forgot how much Edwards was used as a check down.  He made some NICE catches, cuts, and runs to move the chains.  I don't know why we went away from this.  We know he hasn't had the year he wanted on the ground, but he is lethal in the open field against a LB.  I would *LOVE* to see Moore and McCarthy use him more to relieve pressure of having slightly above average OTs on each side.

 

WR: I had no idea Semaj Morgan was "flashing" as early in the season as he was...his rise shouldn't have been as much of a surprise (at least not to me).  That kid doesn't have the dog in him...he *IS* the dog.  No other surprises.  Going into next year we have some really nice pieces, we just need that true #1 option from the portal.

 

TE: Nothing stood out here either other than watching them versus MSU makes you cackle with joy.

 

OL: Yeesh.  Worse than I remembered.  They couldn't put it together early (remember Hinton was a turnsile).  Then they looked like they had a little something, but really the competition just sucked, because we know what happened late.  Two things.  One, the OT situation isn't great, there is a reason J.J. was always making throws on the run earlier in the season...he was always escaping the pocket because someone missed a block.  Two, Nugent is Molk and we're trying to use him like Olu.  He's not great in the power game and Moore continued to put him in situations where he needed to be powerful - watching Nugent a second time gave me more of an appreciation for Vastardis.  Drake is solid, it's just a tough fit in this offense where he's asked to move people.  That said, he doesn't really get beat either.

 

Overall, get J.J. and Drake healthy, and use Edwards more as a checkdown to alleviate pressure...because the OL "is what it is" (a solid group that isn't as good as '21 or '22).  Unleash the full McCarthy.

 

Defensively, there were no big surprises.

DL: I liked the rotation early and I think we saw it help us late.  All offseason we heard about how worn down the defense was at the end of the year.  It also created depth, guys like Cam Goode used those snaps early to get better.  But no shockers here, the "Gifts from God" were still "Gifts from God."

 

EDGE: Again no surprises in the rewatch, the surprise was that this group as a whole was as good as its been (all year).  4 starters.

 

LB: Colson improved throughout the year.  His career has always kind of reminded me of Prescott Burgess...hype, supreme talent, waiting for it to all click, not sure that it ever does, but the experience eliminates some of the mistakes and that becomes enough to make him great late in his career.  With Rolder injured, I don't think we rotated as much as we wanted at LB, the only difference between this year and last year seems to be that we used Hausmann as a 3rd starter and he took snaps from both Colson and Barrett (rather than a full unit rotation like DL).

 

DB: I remembered Wallace in my head having a stronger start to his season than he did.  He's solid, but he's always had moments where he gives up a play that makes you groan.  The safeties were still boring in the replay, and that's a compliment. 

 

Overall, this group improved throughout the year...but we all saw that together, so nothing to add.  Just keep getting better and let's hope whether it's Wallace/Sainristil or Sainristil/McBurrows, we find 3 CBs who can play with Bama, and Washington/Texas.