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by WASU 93 » Tue Dec 07, 2021 12:39 pm
Here are my thoughts, I was at the game and have not watched the replay on TV:
Louisiana is certainly a worthy champion and earned the title. They had a very solid crowd there who sat in the shaded side of the stadium (off camera) and was also spread out. My guess is that they could put 50,000K in Cajun Field if they filled the seats and the Hill, which is bigger than Miller Hill. The announced attendance was probably close to accurate.
The script went their way early. The ineligible receiver down field on Sutton's big gain was a huge play that allowed them to keep the early momentum. Going into halftime, Clark had a good plan to burn clock and try to move the ball. Napier's timeout outflanked him and he went conservative, which gained UL three points going into the locker room.
Sutton's near touchdown catch (when we settled for an eventual field goal, would have been another big shift in momentum) If we convert that play, it's a different ball game.
Our defense, despite being on the field for most of the first half, played incredible in the period between their second TD and their last TD. We didn't stop every play, but they were communicating, flying to the ball and giving us a chance.
As solid as Napier is, he almost blew the end of the game. If he punts coming out of the timeout with 0:33 seconds left, our best situation would be to have the b all at the 20 with 0:25 seconds left and no timeouts. Instead, we were at midfield with 0:23 seconds left.
Comparing the two offenses: Louisiana was usually at the line of scrimmage with 20 seconds left on the play clock and Levi Lewis was patient. He had time to survey the defense, make adjustments, run motion, etc. You also saw misdirection from their team, including a beautiful job on their final TD where they brought their 6'4", 233 yard TE in motion and hid their RB behind him. The TE threw a kickout block and our LB's couldn't find the RB. It was a great play call.
They also had a key play on their final drive on 2nd and 9, when they were burning clock, where they brought their RB across the formation, threw it to him in space in the flat and he was able to evade tackles and pick up the first down.
Napier also does a great job of limiting possessions when he has a lead.
Contrasting our offense: We do not run any misdirection. We do not get the ball to our backs in space (Noel specifically could prosper in this situation). Hence, when our running game is not going, we are easy to defend and Brice is under duress.
To compound this, we are often switching offensive players with 20-25 seconds left on the play clock. With the defense having the chance to match substitutions, we are getting up to the line of scrimmage with 6 or 7 seconds left on the play clock. Brice does not have time to analyze defenses, we aren't using motion in that situation and our line doesn't have time to call out blocking assignments. This happened throughout the game and cost us a very valuable timeout in the second half.
On the flip side, we come out of any media timeout, in formation, on the ball 10 or 15 seconds prior to the ready for play. From there, we don't shift or motion into a different alignment. Why not come out in a bunch and switch to a spread? Or, move three receivers from one side of the formation to the other?
Where Louisiana puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense with readiness, motion, misdirection and play calling (plus, having a mobile QB), App St. has a lot of opportunity to improve in all of these areas on the offensive side of the ball. We are not creating mismatches for our playmakers on the offensive side of the field and we are not challenging defenses.
Overall, it was a great atmosphere and a solid football games with two very good teams trading punches all game long. It wasn't fun watching their fans rush the field, but our players played hard and our defense was fun to watch. Plus, Peoples and Hennigan made great individual plays.
