We've been a flash team for 20 years. A statement win over Virginia Tech in 2005 followed by a punking in the Peach Bowl. Fast starts in 2009, 2013 and 2017 that ended with thuds. Explosive offenses in 2020 and 2023 paired with helpless defenses. We didn't know what we were getting game to game.
This team is different because we're good enough to win the same way every week. It's the same boring formula we saw during the Saban dynasties. Clean pockets. Power running. Good decisions in the passing game. Knockback on the defensive line. Physicality at every position, from receivers blocking on the perimeter to corners getting off blocks and tackling. This team doesn't have depth like a Saban team, but it plays a similar way.
Now we're in the rat poison stage. Everybody is telling us we look good because we do look good. All top teams have to deal with fawning press and motivated opponents. But it's new to us. This week's hype fest will be a huge test for Coach Cristobal and the team's leadership.
With that said, the team has stayed locked in through three games. They aren't just physical in spurts. It's all game, even with the backups. It's hard to overstate how bad the beating looked in person. Every time you looked away from the ball,
Anez Cooper or
Mark Fletcher was driving somebody into the dirt. USF won't be right for another month. And the lightning delay did not throw our team off at all. These are all good signs going forward.
Some position-by-position thoughts on the USF win below:
QB
Carson Beck loves to remind people he can run, and he tried to prove it on Saturday. It's probably not a good idea to lower your shoulder in the 4th quarter of a blowout. But there's no question about Beck's toughness. In the passing game, he has all the answers to the test. If we continue to protect him, it will be target practice until the playoffs.
Emory Williams really worked on his athleticism this offseason and looked faster on his first-down run.
RB
Mark Fletcher remains one of the most underappreciated Canes on the team. He dominates short-yardage, breaks off chunk runs, knocks guys back in pass protection, and has championship intangibles. He will need to continue to protect the ball, but he's the heartbeat of this offense. I'd like to see more
Girard Pringle, Jr. going forward. There was penetration on his touchdown run, and he was able to weave his through before bursting into the end zone. His profile is very similar to Louisville RB and Miami native Isaac Brown as an undersized but tough North/South burner.
WR
We could see a lot of
Josh Moore going forward. He had a ton of splash plays in camp, including a dominant scrimmage that really opened up Beck's eyes. Moore wasn't as consistent as
Malachi Toney, but the highs were stratospheric. Now that's had his breakout game, his confidence should surge. I love what we're getting from
Keelan Marion and
Tony Johnson. Some of Beck's throws to Marion were not perfectly placed, but he was able to adjust like a true receiver. Johnson showed some speed and continues to be a "glue guy" behind the scenes.
Toney looks extremely comfortable at punt returner. He probably houses that long return if he doesn't get tripped up cutting across the field.
TE
Same story as last week. This group needs to get better. I don't think it's a "Dawson's offense" issue as much as the players themselves.
Elija Lofton still doesn't look right and
Alex Bauman hasn't gotten going. The young guys are knocking on the door.
The crazy thing is that if you asked anybody inside our building about our best skill guys during spring, they would've said some combination of Lofton,
JoJo Trader and
Jordan Lyle. We've been able to score touchdowns without those guys contributing.
OL
Nothing new. This is the best group in the country. I'd take more of a wait-and-see attitude with other positions, but this room has been consistently great for three years now. Shout out to
SJ Alofaituli for making an impact as a fullback (he wore #46). He's not snapping well enough yet at center and he's small at guard, but he's twitchy and talented enough to help us now while developing into our center of the future. He also had great blocks on both Pringle TDs this year.
Front seven
I'm putting these guys all together because they played as one. We didn't get gashed once despite USF's pace. As
@Cribby mentioned in his great recap, we had outstanding communication at all levels of the defense. If you wanted to boil this game into a simple stat, we ran for 205 yards (5.4 YPC) and USF ran for 40 yards (1.5 YPC).
Shout out to two legacies for making plays:
Chase Smith and
Booker Pickett. Smith looked as fast as he has since his injury in '22, and Pickett consistently gets pressure in his garbage time reps.
Defensive backs
Same story here- clean communication and no real coverage busts. USF's big plays came on spectacular plays by the quarterback.
Jakobe Thomas is not only a tone-setter as a hitter, he's a fundamentally sound and disciplined tackler in the open field. I also wanted to highlight CB
Ethan O'Connor. The Washington State transfer is quietly playing a lot of snaps. He helped blow up a trick play and is playing with a ton of energy. I loved seeing him pump up walk-on
Nick Kelly during a kickoff.
Bottom line, we're in a similar spot to 2023 and 2024. Big out-of-conference win, 3-0 record and budding hype. Our team is better, but we need to prove it by being the same team every week. This entire week (Monday through Saturday) will be a huge test.
