there's been a lot of talk this week about this team not having been "tested," which is true in a sense given that even our best opponents have had far less talent than us. but both of the last two games came to moments where the team could have cracked -- vs app st it was when our 24-0 lead became 24-10, and vs GT it was when our 28-7 lead became 28-21. at those points, each game in essence became a "test" of the team's resolve, composure, and ability to execute under (a bit) of pressure. they responded by finishing 21-0 vs app st and 7-0 vs GT (and that would have been more had david njoku not gotten 30 yards of penalties on one play to spoil herndon's 50 yard catch).
under the old regime, it seems like these points are often where we lost games, especially on the road. last year cincinnati closed us out 17-3 after we got up 20-17. in 2014, we narrowed nebraska's lead to 24-21, only to be outscored 17-10, with our lone touchdown being in garbage time with :20 seconds left. also in 2014, in kaaya's first game, the score was 14-10 louisville at halftime. in the second half, we got outscored 17-3.
so far at least, a difference between this richt team and golden's teams is that this year we have stepped on the gas and played our best football when we could have let wins slip out of our grasp (our drive vs GT to go up 35-21 was maybe our smoothest of the year). kaaya especially -- for as much as people have been hating on him this year -- has made big throws at the pressure points in both games, usually to ahmonn richards.
the FSU game is probably going to get to this point at a certain part of the game, and we'll see how we look in a pressure moment under the bright lights vs a team equally or more talented than us. but so far we've been poised, and the players have executed well, which i think is a reflection of this coach versus the last one.
under the old regime, it seems like these points are often where we lost games, especially on the road. last year cincinnati closed us out 17-3 after we got up 20-17. in 2014, we narrowed nebraska's lead to 24-21, only to be outscored 17-10, with our lone touchdown being in garbage time with :20 seconds left. also in 2014, in kaaya's first game, the score was 14-10 louisville at halftime. in the second half, we got outscored 17-3.
so far at least, a difference between this richt team and golden's teams is that this year we have stepped on the gas and played our best football when we could have let wins slip out of our grasp (our drive vs GT to go up 35-21 was maybe our smoothest of the year). kaaya especially -- for as much as people have been hating on him this year -- has made big throws at the pressure points in both games, usually to ahmonn richards.
the FSU game is probably going to get to this point at a certain part of the game, and we'll see how we look in a pressure moment under the bright lights vs a team equally or more talented than us. but so far we've been poised, and the players have executed well, which i think is a reflection of this coach versus the last one.
