Mid-season halfway point grade?

[Seattleapp]

Only if he can move. Hes been a sitting duck back there

[AppSt94]

Since Dozier is back and Mbake is back, maybe Swann needs another chance to play some. Kohl ended up playing like Swann did during the last half of the game. Maybe Swann plays diff with some receivers who can play and try their best (not Stroman).

I'm not ready to throw Kohl under the bus but he really didn't perform well late in the game when the pressure was on. He did exhibit some rookie mistakes and we did survive a couple of near turnovers directly from his play. He was nearly flawless in the first half but his performance tailed off in the second half. Some of that obviously was due to some things Coastal was doing.

We have now lost every 4th quarter this season. By my count, we have been outscored 65-24 in that frame this season. We've been outscored by 24 points in the 2nd half of games to date which means we have outscored opponents in the third but have faded in the final stanza.

Excellent point on the 4th quarter. Does the inefficiency of the offense create issues with the defense by putting them back out there rather quickly?

If they had stopped anyone the first three quarters you may have a point. They had their worst showing of the season from the first snap yesterday.

At some point you have to recognize that your defense is getting gashed and protect them with some time consuming drives. I’m not putting execution of play calls on the staff. But you score on every possession in the first half and roll up 218 yards. 3 points in the second half. You had a true freshman LT in the game and you didn’t protect him by running the ball. They tee’d off on him and pressured Kohl.

[AppSt94]

The blueprint to beating App is easy. Gear up to stop the run and make the receiving corps that leads the country in drops beat you. Listen, we will get better with time. I see it. It doesn’t change the fact that the frustrations aren’t frustrating.

[Saint3333]

How can we run a time consuming drive down thestarting RB and two starting lineman?

The defense was terrible all day, if they had stepped up at any point 37 points would have been enough.

I’ve said this since week two the lack of depth of the oline and RB is going to bit us the back half of the season. It played out that way yesterday.

[BambooRdApp]

Use the pass as an extension of the run game.
We are what 7 games in. Teams have film and have figured out we almost exclusively run inside... Very rarely, if any, true outside runs.
If 7 out, got to use short passes to get outside.
Trig is a good back . More often, though, he is going to get 2 to 4 yards when 7 can make it 5 to 7 yards. Just my humble opinion, with better Ds coming our way, I believe the run game is going to get more difficult with or without 7 in the backfield.
Coach DLo is going to have to make adjustments now that coaches have adjusted to our offense.

[AppSt94]

How can we run a time consuming drive down thestarting RB and two starting lineman?

The defense was terrible all day, if they had stepped up at any point 37 points would have been enough.

I’ve said this since week two the lack of depth of the oline and RB is going to bit us the back half of the season. It played out that way yesterday.

It’s easier to run block than pass block, or should be. To Bamboo’s point, you don’t have to run to control the clock. Quick passes to get guys in space is a way to use the pass as an extension of the run. Out routes and seam routes aren’t going to control the clock. Especially when our receivers aren’t consistently reliable.

[Saint3333]

The idea that we allowed the defense back on the field quickly impacted their play is a farce:

In the first half we had three scoring drives of 4.5 minutes or greater which CCU answered with a FG or TD.

Then to start the fourth we had a 6:00 minute, 14 play drive that ended in a FG. A “well rested” defense then proceeded to allow CCU to go 75 yards in 13 plays and 5:44 with the go ahead score.

We also led in the overall TOP 31-29.

The defense just laid an obsolete egg yesterday.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/g ... -app-state

[AppSt94]

Yep. We followed that long Coastal drive with a 4 play .20 second drive.

We can agree that the defense laid an egg yesterday. Both defenses did. The difference is that their offense scored on our defense.

[Stonewall]

Trade field goals for touchdowns, lose games. A mobile QB might have made a difference. It does for them.

[spacemonkey]

I have been calling for a mobile quarterback for 5 years now. We dont have nfl receivers. They are going to drop passes. Passing is a low efficiency/probability way to run an offense. Now if a receiver is wide open because 8 are trying to stop your running quarterback.....then it becomes a toss and catch wide open pass.

Anyway...it is great to be a mountaineer. Hopefully we figure it out.

[ASUFan4863]

How can we run a time consuming drive down thestarting RB and two starting lineman?

The defense was terrible all day, if they had stepped up at any point 37 points would have been enough.

I’ve said this since week two the lack of depth of the oline and RB is going to bit us the back half of the season. It played out that way yesterday.

Great question and point.

[Saint3333]

Yep. We followed that long Coastal drive with a 4 play .20 second drive.

We can agree that the defense laid an egg yesterday. Both defenses did. The difference is that their offense scored on our defense.

It’s ok, the offense and special teams played well enough to win, give them some credit.

[311neers]

Need one more recruiting/portal class to get some inside linebackers. We haven’t had speed at that position in what feels like 5+ years. (Demarco Jackson)

[Bootsy]

The offensive line is so banged up I’m not sure it matters what pocket passer we put on the field.

In a related note, Kohl was banged up on that play when he went down hard on his hip. After that, he seemed more tentative. So maybe Swann gets the nod this week. But to your point, the OL issues are a big concern.

[Saint3333]

Unless Kohl can't go I don't see how you give Swann the nod given his performance the last three games.

[WASU 93]

Use the pass as an extension of the run game.
We are what 7 games in. Teams have film and have figured out we almost exclusively run inside... Very rarely, if any, true outside runs.
If 7 out, got to use short passes to get outside.
Trig is a good back . More often, though, he is going to get 2 to 4 yards when 7 can make it 5 to 7 yards. Just my humble opinion, with better Ds coming our way, I believe the run game is going to get more difficult with or without 7 in the backfield.
Coach DLo is going to have to make adjustments now that coaches have adjusted to our offense.

Exactly, Joe Flacco and Jamar Chase put that offense in play last Thursday. Chase had 16 catches on 23 targets, with the longest reception being 18 yards. Essentially, it was an outside run that the Steelers couldn't stop. We could have employed bubble screens to nullify their blitz/spread them out. Instead, they had 7 or 8 in the box at every snap.

[AtlAppMan]

We put up 37 pts. That should be enough to win but the D couldn’t stop anything. Clearly we are lacking enough skilled players as a result of many years of declining recruiting. It is quite obvious that we are going to need at least another year of two recruiting cycles to get enough talent to be back to our previous level, much less be where we want to be and that is a top G5 team. DLo is clearly trying to make the most of what he has but sometimes that is not enough until reinforcements arrive.

That is unfortunately where we are at this point in the 2025 season, like it or not.

[AEwiththebraids]

Not to sound conspiratorial but it is going very similar to year one of my Dynasty on the video game I did over the summer. Same record to this point but with the Charlotte and Southern Miss games flip flopped on win loss. Everything else and I mean how the games played out is about the exact same to this point odly enough. The video game knows ? (We end up 7-6 btw L in the bowl)

[Stonewall]

We have lost two we could have won. We won one we could have lost. I don’t consider FCS opponents regardless of the number of first round draft picks they have on the roster. Unfortunately the two are conference games so it looks like we are out of contention for a championship. Not to our standard. I’m giving us a “ D”.