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- Aug 26, 2018
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This feels like the worst loss of the MC Era. Losing on the road to a bad NCST Team, where we had ample opportunities to score and put the game away off the back of a great defensive performance. Oh well, here are some observations and where we go from here.
- Tyler Van Dyke had some great moments here at Miami. The four-game run at the end of 2021 was a sight to see. He also had some great moments from then on, especially against A&M earlier this year. Unfortunately, though, we've reached the end of the line. From his interviews and the way people talk about him, you can see that TVD is a good, decent guy. Nevertheless, for the good of this program, it's time to wish him the best and move on. Ten interceptions in his last few starts is inexcusable. He has some of the best pass protection in the country, and even then can't get the job done. His pocket awareness is also years behind where it should be. Ultimately TVD is making mistakes you'd expect from a freshman QB. Every time he gets on the field you hold your breath hoping he doesn't throw a back-breaking int. Teams have realized that selling out to stop the run is how you beat us 9.5/10 times. If TVD continues to start for this team, we will lose our next three games.
- Considering the above, Mario should not announce a starter for FSU. Emory should be getting the majority of snaps this week, and Shannon Dawson needs to draw up some packages for Jacurri Brown. We always hear how Brown is an amazing athlete, one of the best on the team, yet we do nothing with him. Bringing him in for a few packages would be the change of pace that this offense has been lacking.
- If Emory Williams can beat Clemson, he can give us a chance against FSU. Why? Because he's already beaten a better defense vs Clemson. Clemson's a near Top-5 Defense in the country right now. Emory protected the ball and made throws when we needed him to. At this point, he's a far better option than TVD. If TVD starts vs FSU, we will have a 0% chance to win that game. None. Zero. Zip. And giving him a half and throwing in Emory in the second, if things go bad, would be a disaster. I know it's not fair to Emory, but this sport is rarely fair. Give him the start to at least give him and this offense a chance to get into some sort of rhythm. Also, the redshirt argument for Emory makes no sense. The value of a redshirt is severely diminished with the existence of the portal. If Mario's not playing Emory because he wants to preserve his redshirt, we've got problems that go far deeper than any of us could ever realize.
- On the offensive scheme, something is broken. The offense of Weeks 1-4 and post-GT look like they're from completely different teams. Part of this is that GT gave everyone a blueprint on how to beat us. But it goes deeper than that. We've regressed to the same basic, tight formations of 2022. We have no variability in the run game (9/10 times its an inside zone run and a cloud of smoke). Our route concepts are basic, and teams are just sitting on them. To me, this offense has Mario's fingerprints all over it. He needs to back off. Also, if your QB is limiting your entire offense, you sit that QB.
- Something we don't do, which is infuriating, is make our elite skill players the focal point of our offense. NCST had one of those yesterday, and he was the focal point. Who's our focal point? TVD. Not Brashard Smith, not Jacolby George, not Colbie Young, TVD.
- Mark Fletcher is gonna be a great one. One great play I noticed yesterday was the early run he converted for a first down. Why? Because when he had a millisecond choice to make (bounce outside to the open field and try to outrun the DB or cut inside and probably get the first) he cut inside. A choice that took a millisecond and that our past RBs would've tried to bounce outside.
- Our WRs were uneven, but that's more on TVD than them. It's a shame that we're wasting so much talent in this position group. Also, Colbie Young's gotta stop jogging on every route. Noticed that repeatedly yesterday. Maybe though, that's a product of him knowing his QB isn't gonna get him the ball.
- Cam McCormick's value is that he is supposed to be a good blocker. Last night, he was atrocious. I counted at least 4 to 5 times when he missed his assigned block. And in the passing game, he's a non-factor. Put Riley Williams and give Emory another target that can actually catch the ball (Riley dropped one pass that was predictably thrown behind him by TVD).
- Our defense played, by and large, another great game. Can't blame them for that last drive. By that point, they'd held NCST to less than (I think) ten yards of offense in the half. We're squandering a very very good defense because of an inept offense. Give Guidry whatever $$$ he wants to keep him here; he has completely turned around his unit. Also, someone tell James Williams that we don't need a big hit on every play. That last big hit-miss cost us a TD. If he wraps up, NCST doesn't score on that play.
- Coaching was, again, abysmal in this game. Where do I even begin:
- 3 min left in half and two TO's. What do we do? Basically, run out the clock, put the ball in the air, and squander a chance to go into halftime with a lead.
- TVD does nothing on his first three drives of the second half after an abysmal first half. What do we do? Keep him in, and make no QB change.
- We have the ball at the 4-yard line and a FG will cut the NCST lead to one with plenty of time to give our offense a chance to win the game. What do we do? First, we call a TO. Then we come out of the TO with the same ******* inside zone run we'd been doing all night. NCST predictably collapsed the middle and that was that.
- Defense is getting shredded and NCST starts a long drive. What do we not do? Call a timeout to give our guys a breather and reset.
- Time and time again, Mario makes head-scratching coaching decisions that make you wonder what he's thinking. I don't know how you fix this problem. There are few coaches in CFB who put their team in as bad a position with their decision-making as Mario does.
- Is Mario the guy? There are two sides to that coin. The first side tells me that he's more our version of Scott Frost than someone like Butch Davis, who revived this program. He says the right things, and from a cultural and organizational standpoint, he does the right things. On recruiting, he does the right things. But on gameday, he rarely does the right thing. Butch also had his gameday coaching woes early in his tenure here, but the big difference is that Mario was already a major P5 coach taking this job. Butch wasn't. On the other side of the coin, there's the fact that this program was an irradiated wasteland when Mario took the job, culturally and talent-wise. There are plenty of coaches in CFB who take over an ailing program and take more than two years to turn things around:
- Steve Sarkisian:
- Year 1: 5-7
- Year 2: 8-5
- Mike Norvell:
- Year 1: 3-6
- Year 2: 5-7
- James Franklin
- Year 1: 7-6
- Year 2: 7-6
- Steve Sarkisian:
- Our culture was utterly broken when Mario took the job, and I will say our guys haven't quit in a game this year yet. They have shown grit. We've made massive upgrades on both lines and at RB. Defensive coaching is also not a problem. That is progress that bodes well for the future. But Mario's not putting our offensive players in a position to win, and someone in the building (Alonzo) needs to have a long talk with him and convince him that he can only succeed as a GM HC and cannot micromanage the offense.
- My predictions for the rest of the year:
- Emory Starts: 8-5 Overall
- TVD Starts: 6-7 Overall
It's that simple. Give this team a chance to close out the year strong and give our potential QB of the future invaluable reps. Give people a reason to believe you learn from your mistakes. Otherwise, Mario's just another in a long line of CFB HCs who would rather die than adapt.
