GDT: Villanova (12/09/23) ***FCS Championship, Quarter Finals***

[tbcruiser]

jimmy was exposed today by his poor game management experience but I’m sure the lil fella will learn and improve. Lujan always starts slow but pulls through. Enjoy the run and let’s hope no one gets hurt. O-line backups aren’t going to go far and I wish all the best to chase when mark leaves for the arena league next season.

Someone needed a nap. Hope your feeling better this morning.

[JackJD]

Two posters thought it appropriate to criticize the coaches. I defend the right of posters to criticize coaches. But, I don't agree with the criticism and I hope that the coaches and team members are ignoring this message board. In my opinion, there are two or three posters in this thread who failed to acknowledge there was a very good, well-coached, football team that was working hard to defeat the Jacks. And then there was the wind. Playing football in strong, constant wind with occasional gusts hitting 35 mph was like having a third opponent on the field trying to defeat both of the other two teams.

LetsGoRabbits and others who responded to the critics: You've done a good job expressing what I think is the overwhelming majority view. Thanks for doing that.

We're witnesses to a season that will be talked about for decades. We watch a team that no matter what happens in the first half, there isn't an opposing coaching staff that we've seen -- and we've seen a significant number of the top FCS teams in the country -- who can make better half-time adjustments than those made by SDSU's coaches. The 27-game winning streak is the third longest in FCS history. This team and its coaches have positioned SDSU to have a realistic shot at getting to another title game in Frissco.

Perhaps the Jacks have made it look easy in some games played since the last loss (Iowa) and so when there is some adversity, two or three posters blow a cork and spew vitriol in all directions. Maybe a few posters on this board have forgotten that the Jacks get challenged every weekend and sometimes those challenging the Jacks have a realistic shot at beating us.

It's pretty hard to imagine what more the coaches and players can do to top this season so far.

[Cowbell]

Exactly, JackJD. When I read comments from the bellyachers I'm often reminded of the quote, "The loudest tree in the woods is usually the hollow one."

[SlapJack]

There is certainly room for coach criticism against Nova, but they were also battling against uncertainty and trying to mitigate risk.

First Half - Offense was ineffective. If we don't get special teams points, it's 9-0. Were we too conservative in playing call? Likely when the wind was at our back. What if: we get aggressive and a pass sails or drifts into an INT or pick 6? It seemed like anything other than a dart was problematic with the wind. O-Line adjustments: why wait until 2nd half? Were the adjustments that complicated? We had 53 yds on the half. This is pathetic for this team. That said, I'm sure Lujan would admit that it wasn't his best performance.

Also, Who let Gronowski go sleeveless? Reminded me of Mellot last year. He wisely put sleeves on for the 2nd half.

At halftime, despite winning 10-9, I had real concerns. Unless we are able to wear down the Nova defense, nothing was working.

Second Half - Offense became unstoppable. We scored or were moving the ball confidently on every drive barring the fumble and 15yd personal foul set back. We rolled up 264 yds of offense.

As disappointing at the first half was, the response and adjustments are what makes great teams and coaches.

[jbjack]

Two posters thought it appropriate to criticize the coaches. I defend the right of posters to criticize coaches. But, I don't agree with the criticism and I hope that the coaches and team members are ignoring this message board. In my opinion, there are two or three posters in this thread who failed to acknowledge there was a very good, well-coached, football team that was working hard to defeat the Jacks. And then there was the wind. Playing football in strong, constant wind with occasional gusts hitting 35 mph was like having a third opponent on the field trying to defeat both of the other two teams.

LetsGoRabbits and others who responded to the critics: You've done a good job expressing what I think is the overwhelming majority view. Thanks for doing that.

We're witnesses to a season that will be talked about for decades. We watch a team that no matter what happens in the first half, there isn't an opposing coaching staff that we've seen -- and we've seen a significant number of the top FCS teams in the country -- who can make better half-time adjustments than those made by SDSU's coaches. The 27-game winning streak is the third longest in FCS history. This team and its coaches have positioned SDSU to have a realistic shot at getting to another title game in Frissco.

Perhaps the Jacks have made it look easy in some games played since the last loss (Iowa) and so when there is some adversity, two or three posters blow a cork and spew vitriol in all directions. Maybe a few posters on this board have forgotten that the Jacks get challenged every weekend and sometimes those challenging the Jacks have a realistic shot at beating us.

It's pretty hard to imagine what more the coaches and players can do to top this season so far.

Great post. Coaches can and will make mistakes as will players. But this looked to be entirely related to the elements.

Just watching what was happening to the ball on any kind of throw in the first half made it appear that the game was being played in the Cosmos Mystery Area. I don't know if the wind relented just enough in the second half but the ball didn't seem to defy physics in the second the way it did the first.

And an overlooked aspect is the effect that sttong, persistent wind has on a person's sensory system. It seems to overload the senses, increasing reaction time and mentally tiring the affected person. Any of that are outdoorsmen can attest to the draining effect that wind like that has on a person. Our guys didn't look sharp. Nova was jacked. Thankfully the script flipped in the second.

Nova isn't the Sisters of the Poor. Nova was a good team, well coached, and came to play. Their guys get scholarships to play fb too. They didn't make the quarters by being a pushover. The reality is that in CFB, even the best teams can get outplayed and outcoached, whether on a drive, for a quarter, for a half, or for a game. NDSU certainly stubbed their toes during their unprecedented run. At FBS, Bama stubs their toes from time to time.

For a quarter in Vermillion, we weren't the best team or best coached in the field. Against MtSt, we were owned for the first half. But what matters is how it ends and while we've had a few teams come out swinging, our guys were the ones standing triumphant at the end. You can't predict how the game is going to start but with good coaches and good players, you can determine how it will finish.