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Well my fellow Canes’ Brethren it was, yet again, another year full of hype, optimism, hope, and in the end, let down. I’ve said it before, but the off season, the Green Tree Practice Reports are so much better than September - December when things ACTUALLY matter.
Nevertheless, there were some positives this season, things that if (and that’s a humongous word around these parts) we build upon will result in much more favorable outcomes moving forward.
Let’s review the positives, first:
1. A better defensively sound team compared to the 2022 version: Huge shout out to both Coach Guidry and Coach Taylor. The defense was light years better this season vs. last season.
2022 & 2023 Defensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Def: 2022 (64th) v. 2023 (25th)
3rd Down Def: 2022 (96th) v. 2023 (37th)
4th Down Def: 2022 (104th) v. 2023 (27th)
Passing Def: 2022 (79th) v. 2023 (54th)
Passing Efficiency Def: 2022 (102nd) v. 2023 (34th)
Rush Def: 2022 (54th) v. 2023 (13th)
Scoring Def: 2022 (66th) v. 2023 (41st)
TFLs: 2022 (22nd) v. 2023 (20th)
Overall we saw a massive improvement across the defense, & at times it was more fun watching them play than the offense itself. With that said that brings us to point 2
2. A better offense: Despite some flaws, the offense was still leaps & bounds better this season than last season.
2022 & 2023 Offensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Off: 2022 (85th) v. 2023 (30th)
4th Down Off: 2022 (104th) v. 2023 (65th)
Passing Off: 2022 (59th) v. 2023 (43rd)
Passing Efficiency Off: 2022 (84th) v. 2023 (52nd)
Rush Off: 2022 (95th) v. 2023 (45th)
Red Zone Off: 2022 (86th) v. 2023 (65th)
Sacks Allowed: 2022 (108th) v. 2023 (20th)
Scoring Off: 2022 (96th) v. 2023 (39th)
TFL Allowed: 2022 (70th) v. 2023 (34th)
So statistically, again much better this year offensively vs. last year, overall.
3. Rueben Bain, and Francis Mauigoa: Two OUTSTANDING true freshmen! Yes, they had some rough moments at times, but both were grown *** men that held their own against a slew of 21+ year old players. Outstanding recruits, and look fwd to their maturation come next yr & beyond.
4. Kiko Mauigoa and the LB Crew: What was once a weak spot became a very bright spot. Kiko, Wes, & the much maligned Corey Flagg Jr played w/ their hearts on their sleeves, often covering over missed alignments along the DL to clean up plays. Flagg will forever be good w/ me, despite me being vocally critical of his offer, with the play of the season (imo) making the proper read, & having the fluidity in hips to change direction & chase Klubnik, refusing him entry into the end zone. Will be interesting to see how the LB room/play look next season.
5. Mark Fletcher: Again, another solid true freshman season for us. Showed so much fight and determination as a runner at such a young age. Imagine; we might not have featured either Fletcher or Bain this yr had not been the injuries sustained by Parrish, Messidor, and Chaney going down for a moment. Those untimely injuries gave us a glimpse into some solid foundational pieces.
6. Xavier Restrepo: Have a season young man! Proud of X, & I recall how hyped I was for this non-blue chip WR from Deerfield Beach choosing us over UK. He was a straight dog, & he finally got an opportunity to showcase that he can be WR 1.
7. Jacolby George: Yes, I know, he’s been a fake tough guy lately causing dumb penalties, but he was by far our most explosive playmaker on O this season, & had a helluva season for us. Led our team in TDs, longest play, & avg. this season.
8. Margin of Defeat: This cannot be stated how much of a difference this was from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, our avg. margin of defeat was 21, this season 8. That means we were in every single game this year vs. last season in defeat.
9. 2 game improvement: Regardless of how minuscule it may seem, the fact is we did go from 5 to 7 wins.
So with all those positives, how did a team that started the season 6-2 with so much momentum finish the season 1-4 culminating with an embarrassing loss for the first time in school’s history to a mediocre Rutgers team?
What’s the old saying; “A Tiger doesn’t change its stripes?” Well, we were that Tiger. The 2023 season was nothing more than lipstick on a pig, if I’m going to be frank. ‘But Relly Rell, come on brotha, u just highlighted all those positives to show how much more improved we were than last season!” U would be right, but this was also to highlight how stats can be empty numbers without context. So what’s the context?
This team was woefully undisciplined! The **** numbers improved, but the stats that show how good a team really is declined. (i.e turnover margin, penalties, RZ efficiency, poor utilization of situational football, etc.)
Let’s take a look at some glaring stats:
While our defense did improve, there were some things left to be desired.
Sacks:
2022 (10th) vs. 2023 (20th)
Passes Intercepted:
2022 (22nd) vs. 2023 (33rd)
Fumbles Recovered:
2022 (49th) vs. 2023 (74th)
While we became more disciplined on defense, we took a step back in being opportunistic in creating turnovers and causing backfield havoc meeting at the QB. This was important to note b/c of our offense, unfortunately. Here’s why:
Turnover Margin:
2022 (90th) vs. 2023 (94th)
We were a turnover machine as a team, constantly shooting ourselves in the foot. To further complicate matters:
Penalty Yards:
2022 (79th) v. 2023 (102nd)
Mixed that in w/ **** poor special teams:
Kickoff Defense: 2022 (39th) v. 2023 (92nd)
Blocked Punts Allowed: 2022 (T-1st) v. 2023 (T-120th)
Blocked Kicks Allowed: 2022 (T-32nd) v. 2023 (T-101st)
Along with an inability to stop offenses when they entered the RZ:
Def RZ Def: 2022 (61st) v. 2023 (T-101st)
With the cherry on top of a HC who refused to kneel on the ball when the game was over (GT), and several times down by more than one score having poor clock management:
Ex. See FSU down 14 in the 4th w/ 11 mins to play & the most recent example of the Pinstripe Bowl against Rutgers.
So what we had this year was some good, sure, and that good can give all the fans of fans the glimmer of hope that next season will be different; but, for all the good we saw, we still saw a team that couldn’t get out of its own way either by dumb penalties, an inability to make a timely stop after seizing momentum, or poor coaching acumen. 2 of the 3 is what has me most concerned, simply b/c 2 of those 3 happened at another school prior to.
This season we saw Jordan Travis become the first FSU QB to win 3 straight against Miami. This season we saw the first time in history a University of Miami Football team lose to a Rutgers University Football team. This season marked, for the past 15 seasons, our record plummeting to 1-11 in bowl games (maybe that’s why some say these bowl games are meaningless).
As I look at the coaching class of new hires of 2022, I can’t help but wonder how or why are we here.
DeBoer took over a 4-8 UW team, yet he’s 24-2 after 2 yrs
Kelly took over a 6-7 LSU team, yet he’s 19-7 after 2 yrs
Riley took over a 4-8 USC team, yet he’s 19-8 after 2 yrs
Elko took over a 3-9 Duke team, yet he’s 16-9 after 2 yrs
Dykes took over a 5-7 TCU team, yet he’s 18-9 after 2 yrs
Summerall took over a 5-7 Troy team, yet he’s 23-4 after 2 yrs
Kill took over a 2-10 NMST team, yet he’s 17-11 after 2 yrs
McGuire took over a 7-6 TT team, yet he’s 15-11 after 2 yrs
Cristobal took over a 7-5 UM team, yet he’s 12-13 after 2 yrs
See the entire picture, and u’ll see why we’re off pace. It’s not just the players, or refs, or the ACC, or any other excuse used, it’s the infrastructure, & by yr 3, the infrastructure (namely, Mario Cristobal) is going to need to make some needed changes in how he approaches the game of football. What we saw to begin the season gave us hope, but how we ended the season w/ the same bad habits from 2022 is why we should all be cautiously optimistic for next year.
Here’s hoping we hit a grand slam on the QB position via portal, the entire staff is on the same page, & we see us go from 5, to 7, to 10 wins next season.
Nevertheless, there were some positives this season, things that if (and that’s a humongous word around these parts) we build upon will result in much more favorable outcomes moving forward.
Let’s review the positives, first:
1. A better defensively sound team compared to the 2022 version: Huge shout out to both Coach Guidry and Coach Taylor. The defense was light years better this season vs. last season.
2022 & 2023 Defensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Def: 2022 (64th) v. 2023 (25th)
3rd Down Def: 2022 (96th) v. 2023 (37th)
4th Down Def: 2022 (104th) v. 2023 (27th)
Passing Def: 2022 (79th) v. 2023 (54th)
Passing Efficiency Def: 2022 (102nd) v. 2023 (34th)
Rush Def: 2022 (54th) v. 2023 (13th)
Scoring Def: 2022 (66th) v. 2023 (41st)
TFLs: 2022 (22nd) v. 2023 (20th)
Overall we saw a massive improvement across the defense, & at times it was more fun watching them play than the offense itself. With that said that brings us to point 2
2. A better offense: Despite some flaws, the offense was still leaps & bounds better this season than last season.
2022 & 2023 Offensive Stat Rankings per NCAA:
Total Off: 2022 (85th) v. 2023 (30th)
4th Down Off: 2022 (104th) v. 2023 (65th)
Passing Off: 2022 (59th) v. 2023 (43rd)
Passing Efficiency Off: 2022 (84th) v. 2023 (52nd)
Rush Off: 2022 (95th) v. 2023 (45th)
Red Zone Off: 2022 (86th) v. 2023 (65th)
Sacks Allowed: 2022 (108th) v. 2023 (20th)
Scoring Off: 2022 (96th) v. 2023 (39th)
TFL Allowed: 2022 (70th) v. 2023 (34th)
So statistically, again much better this year offensively vs. last year, overall.
3. Rueben Bain, and Francis Mauigoa: Two OUTSTANDING true freshmen! Yes, they had some rough moments at times, but both were grown *** men that held their own against a slew of 21+ year old players. Outstanding recruits, and look fwd to their maturation come next yr & beyond.
4. Kiko Mauigoa and the LB Crew: What was once a weak spot became a very bright spot. Kiko, Wes, & the much maligned Corey Flagg Jr played w/ their hearts on their sleeves, often covering over missed alignments along the DL to clean up plays. Flagg will forever be good w/ me, despite me being vocally critical of his offer, with the play of the season (imo) making the proper read, & having the fluidity in hips to change direction & chase Klubnik, refusing him entry into the end zone. Will be interesting to see how the LB room/play look next season.
5. Mark Fletcher: Again, another solid true freshman season for us. Showed so much fight and determination as a runner at such a young age. Imagine; we might not have featured either Fletcher or Bain this yr had not been the injuries sustained by Parrish, Messidor, and Chaney going down for a moment. Those untimely injuries gave us a glimpse into some solid foundational pieces.
6. Xavier Restrepo: Have a season young man! Proud of X, & I recall how hyped I was for this non-blue chip WR from Deerfield Beach choosing us over UK. He was a straight dog, & he finally got an opportunity to showcase that he can be WR 1.
7. Jacolby George: Yes, I know, he’s been a fake tough guy lately causing dumb penalties, but he was by far our most explosive playmaker on O this season, & had a helluva season for us. Led our team in TDs, longest play, & avg. this season.
8. Margin of Defeat: This cannot be stated how much of a difference this was from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, our avg. margin of defeat was 21, this season 8. That means we were in every single game this year vs. last season in defeat.
9. 2 game improvement: Regardless of how minuscule it may seem, the fact is we did go from 5 to 7 wins.
So with all those positives, how did a team that started the season 6-2 with so much momentum finish the season 1-4 culminating with an embarrassing loss for the first time in school’s history to a mediocre Rutgers team?
What’s the old saying; “A Tiger doesn’t change its stripes?” Well, we were that Tiger. The 2023 season was nothing more than lipstick on a pig, if I’m going to be frank. ‘But Relly Rell, come on brotha, u just highlighted all those positives to show how much more improved we were than last season!” U would be right, but this was also to highlight how stats can be empty numbers without context. So what’s the context?
This team was woefully undisciplined! The **** numbers improved, but the stats that show how good a team really is declined. (i.e turnover margin, penalties, RZ efficiency, poor utilization of situational football, etc.)
Let’s take a look at some glaring stats:
While our defense did improve, there were some things left to be desired.
Sacks:
2022 (10th) vs. 2023 (20th)
Passes Intercepted:
2022 (22nd) vs. 2023 (33rd)
Fumbles Recovered:
2022 (49th) vs. 2023 (74th)
While we became more disciplined on defense, we took a step back in being opportunistic in creating turnovers and causing backfield havoc meeting at the QB. This was important to note b/c of our offense, unfortunately. Here’s why:
Turnover Margin:
2022 (90th) vs. 2023 (94th)
We were a turnover machine as a team, constantly shooting ourselves in the foot. To further complicate matters:
Penalty Yards:
2022 (79th) v. 2023 (102nd)
Mixed that in w/ **** poor special teams:
Kickoff Defense: 2022 (39th) v. 2023 (92nd)
Blocked Punts Allowed: 2022 (T-1st) v. 2023 (T-120th)
Blocked Kicks Allowed: 2022 (T-32nd) v. 2023 (T-101st)
Along with an inability to stop offenses when they entered the RZ:
Def RZ Def: 2022 (61st) v. 2023 (T-101st)
With the cherry on top of a HC who refused to kneel on the ball when the game was over (GT), and several times down by more than one score having poor clock management:
Ex. See FSU down 14 in the 4th w/ 11 mins to play & the most recent example of the Pinstripe Bowl against Rutgers.
So what we had this year was some good, sure, and that good can give all the fans of fans the glimmer of hope that next season will be different; but, for all the good we saw, we still saw a team that couldn’t get out of its own way either by dumb penalties, an inability to make a timely stop after seizing momentum, or poor coaching acumen. 2 of the 3 is what has me most concerned, simply b/c 2 of those 3 happened at another school prior to.
This season we saw Jordan Travis become the first FSU QB to win 3 straight against Miami. This season we saw the first time in history a University of Miami Football team lose to a Rutgers University Football team. This season marked, for the past 15 seasons, our record plummeting to 1-11 in bowl games (maybe that’s why some say these bowl games are meaningless).
As I look at the coaching class of new hires of 2022, I can’t help but wonder how or why are we here.
DeBoer took over a 4-8 UW team, yet he’s 24-2 after 2 yrs
Kelly took over a 6-7 LSU team, yet he’s 19-7 after 2 yrs
Riley took over a 4-8 USC team, yet he’s 19-8 after 2 yrs
Elko took over a 3-9 Duke team, yet he’s 16-9 after 2 yrs
Dykes took over a 5-7 TCU team, yet he’s 18-9 after 2 yrs
Summerall took over a 5-7 Troy team, yet he’s 23-4 after 2 yrs
Kill took over a 2-10 NMST team, yet he’s 17-11 after 2 yrs
McGuire took over a 7-6 TT team, yet he’s 15-11 after 2 yrs
Cristobal took over a 7-5 UM team, yet he’s 12-13 after 2 yrs
See the entire picture, and u’ll see why we’re off pace. It’s not just the players, or refs, or the ACC, or any other excuse used, it’s the infrastructure, & by yr 3, the infrastructure (namely, Mario Cristobal) is going to need to make some needed changes in how he approaches the game of football. What we saw to begin the season gave us hope, but how we ended the season w/ the same bad habits from 2022 is why we should all be cautiously optimistic for next year.
Here’s hoping we hit a grand slam on the QB position via portal, the entire staff is on the same page, & we see us go from 5, to 7, to 10 wins next season.
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