TSU88

The lack of a running game, from a RB, is problematic. I wonder if Simpson is going to pursue a medical redshirt? Ironic that we were worried about suffering injuries vs Florida, when it’s been every game but Florida that we’ve suffered a serious injury. Injuries are always the X factor variable which can’t be controlled. Failing to bring in a single freshman, JUCO or FBS transfer RB could have been controlled. As far as the D, they need to get off the field after 3rd down & stop giving up crippling 3rd & 4th down & long conversions. Seems like no matter who the D coordinator is and who the personnel are, this is a chronic problem. When the other team is facing 3rd & 10 or more, or 4th & 10 or more, my reaction is always, “they’ve got us right where they want us.” Unfortunately, on more occasions than not, that turns out to be the case.

I saw a practice during the summer and my impression was that Betrand would be much improved. Your update has done nothing to dispel my belief. Any idea on the seriousness of Sanders ankle injury & Timberlake’s back issue? Sanders looked trimmed down and good when I saw him over the summer. Gibson is the key. Hate to lay that on a freshman, but it is what it is. Dottin, IMHO, is a liability on offense & Howard is better suited to come off the bench as a (streaky) 2

I was more impressed with Florida’s backup QB than I was the starter

I understand the position that just making the playoffs equates to a successful season. I’m going to play devil’s advocate & take the position that just making it isn’t enough. I don’t expect us to be NDSU, but I personally think being content just getting an invite isn’t enough. In any event, this topic is probably best revisited at the end of the season.

Your last post raises an interesting question in my mind-assuming we make the playoffs, would we be 1 & done again? Is it premature to pose this question? Perhaps, but it does beg the question whether we’re content as a program to scratch & claw to make the playoffs, only to get summarily bounced once we do.

No doubt that injuries are an X-factor which have taken a huge toll. I hope I’m wrong, but I feel that what looked like a promising season is in danger of finishing 6-6 or 7-5

FBS transfers can be boom or bust. There’s a reason they’re transfers. Struck gold with Flacco; meanwhile, Clark can never stay on the field, the OL transfer from Temple hasn’t seen the field, Johnson on D is out with an injury, DeBerry’s out with an injury & I don’t even know if Alexander, Topps & Gibbs play

RA should be accountable for leaving the cupboard so bare at RB, especially knowing Simpson’s injury history.

Nothing to be embarrassed about. We played a top 10 team, without 4 of our best players (Johnson, DeBerry, Simpson & Allen) & held them under 40 points. 1st half wasn’t far from a statistical draw; we had two 12 play drives and an 8 play drive. Would have liked to have avoided the shutout, but it is what it is. The Nova loss is the one that should stick in our craw. 7 games left. We have to beat Albany, Bucknell, & W&M. That would give us 6 W’s. We likely lose to JMU, so that’s 3 L’s. That leaves Stony Brook on the road, & Elon & Delaware (who barely lost to Pitt today) at home. We probably have to win 2 out 3 of those games to make the playoffs, assuming we win vs Albany, Bucknell & W&M. We have no running game from our RB’s, and a very suspect D. Can we finish 8-4? Maybe, though I wouldn’t bet the mortgage on it. Btw, Nova beat Maine by 16 today. That doesn’t help us. Dilutes our W vs Maine & it doesn’t bring Nova back to the pack

I’m not a Skins fan, but I think I’m going to start Terry McLaurin Sunday as my 3rd receiver in my fantasy football league. “Scary Terry,” what a great nickname

I’d like to think there’s a happy median between “he’s the program savior” & “he’ll de-commit if he has a strong upcoming season at Oak Hill.” I’d like to think that median goes like this ...”hey, he’s super athletic, plays at Oak Hill & had some other good offers, so let’s keep a good thought that we might be onto something here.”

One poster has him de-commiting & another has him bricking his foul shots. Yikes. I’m going to look at the glass being half full, unless & until proven otherwise

The way Hofstra churns out scorers, if they wanted him then it’s definitely a great get. Kid is uber athletic, goes to Oak Hill & keep in mind that he likely would have had more offers if he had kept his recruitment longer. I’m not a Pollyanna when it comes to these things, but in this case I think we should collectively be excited about this kid, rather than negative

Per verbal commits, he had offers from the likes of JMU, Hofstra, St. Bonaventure, UMass, Va Tech & ODU. Sounds like a great signing.

Haughton & Patterson seem to be a cut above the caliber of a typical TU walk-on. We’ll have 14 players, including the 3 walk ons, this season. If nothing else, we shouldn’t run low on bodies like we have the last two seasons

Didn’t he previously have a medical redshirt year (I think he got hurt in that disastrous game in the rain at Elon a few years ago, where we literally ran out of RB’s). Can a player have a 2nd medical redshirt year?

Eastern Washington (#5) & Weber State (#6) both lost yesterday, so perhaps we move up to #6 in the rankings, behind the usual suspects (NDSU, JMU, South Dakota State) and UC Davis & Kennesaw State

We’re now paper thin at RB, & opponents will know it. Of course, Flacco was going to be 1st or 2nd in rushing anyway, so the remainder of the season really turns on him, to a higher degree than it did before Simpson’s injury. I see this Nova game as a huge one. Win & we come home from the swamp 4-1, with home games vs Albany & Bucknell. Lose & we come home 3-2 from the swamp, on a 2-game losing streak

Btw, breaking news scroll on ESPN-Florida QB Franks out for the season. Injuries are the X factor at every level

Great road W vs a top 10 conference opponent who beat us at home last season. Love the D coming up with multiple TO’s. Huge game at home next week vs Nova, which is 3-0, but who’s 3 W’s are against opponents with a combined 0-9 record. Maryland does not play next Saturday, so, if the weather is nice, we should have a big crowd. (Galls me that our attendance should depend to any agree on whether the Turtles 🐢 are playing, but I suspect it’s a factor). Now, I’m going to say it. Why was Simpson retuning kicks, especially when we have Tippett & Hunter? I expressed my concern about him returning kicks before the season, and another poster analogized it to PSU fans wringing there hands when Saquan Barkley returned kicks. Well, now here we are. Simpson is a huge cog in our offense, but he’s undersized & has been injured in the past. It also begs the question why didn’t we bring in an FBS transfer RB, or even a JUCO or freshman RB?

Carted off doesn’t sound good. We better hope Kobe Young can step up & stay healthy

We still have 3 ships for next fall, right? Howard, Sanders, Tunstall & Fobbs are seniors, but we already have 1 commit, Barnes Mims & Victor U are already on scholarship even though they have to sit out this season, so they count as part of this year’s incoming class, right?

I agree with Brockman

I was thinking it was an audition for the NFL for O’Neil. Too bad he didn’t make it. I will agree that maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to try it, in the event we needed a field goal of similar distance in a game that was on the line

Offense wasn’t firing on all cylinders early, but I’ll allow for having a new starter on the O-line. Any idea how long the starting C is out? Offense had less than 400 yds, but that’s attributable to the fact we mailed it in in the 4th Q. I’d like to see more sustained pressure on the opposition’s QB. I thought I noticed us blitzing yesterday. Nice crowd yesterday. Weather was perfect, which I’m sure helped. I also asked (during the online chat yesterday) where is Kobe Young. Several dubious coaching decisions I thought yesterday: (1) going for a 54 yd FG and (2) passing from near our goal line, at the end of the 1st half, with a 28 point lead, resulting in a sack. We got away with both vs an inferior foe. I doubt such decisions would go without consequences vs better teams The season starts in earnest next Saturday, on the road vs Maine, followed by Nova at home. Given that we’re going to lose in the swamp in week 5, it would be great to put these next 2 in the W column, or at worst go 1-1