We choked

[J_Mountaineers]

We 100% choked. We rarely handle expectations well when they're accompanied by national attention.

[App91]

We did choke ..... and i am concerned we are losing players mentally.... i hope i am wrong because if i am right, some more changes are a comin

Based on one game? Wow. Seems like things were rolling pretty good about a week ago. I am sure there will be those that drop in here with their nonsense “inside” info about pre-existing undercurrents and how wins were masking some kind of pervasive discontent, but a certain level of drama exists on every team during the course of a long season. We sucked in all phases and were totally unprepared, but it was one game. Yeah, it was a huge game and everyones disappointed, but I’m calling BS on this one.

1 game? Did you not see last week? This was just a carryover of that effort. Only difference is last week was a dead fish

[AppSt12]

We 100% choked. We rarely handle expectations well when they're accompanied by national attention.

This. So many die hard fans who've been to every game since 1962 still dont actually understand our tendencies. There are 2 things we are known for....being giant killers and performing on the big stage. When in fact...its actually the only 2 things we are terrible at.

We are such an amazing program because we are consistent. Amazing winning percentage, tons of conference titles, bowl wins, double digit win seasons ect. We are rarely upset when there is no spotlight.

But man oh man big moments we die. First time ranked? Lose by 20. Host miami? Raped. Outplay Tennessee? Missed extra point. Have Penn State by the neck in one of the best games we ever played? Score too quick instead of dive run the clock down and take a field goal. Finally start to be recognized and have major networks publishing articles about how weve arrived and are NY6 contenders? Not show up against the same team who did it too you last year..

We also rarely upset anyone...perhaps one of the lowest upset rates in the country over the past 15 years (granted we are rarely underdogs) Michigan and 2 wins over GA Southern when they were ranked #1 fcs are all I can think of since 2005...and put us on national television and watch us flake.

Look at our 5 years of full FBS eligibility. Now dont get me wrong weve been awesome. 11-2, 10-3, 9-4, 11-2, 7-1...but that's just because we are a bigger program than most teams we play. Think about this.

Games vs superior opposition:

Wins: 0

Losses

2015: Clemson
2016: Tennessee
2016: Miami
2017: Georgia
2018: Penn State


Tossup games between similar teams:

Wins:

1. Toledo 2017
2. UNC 2019
3. Lousiana 2019

Losses:

1. Arkansas State 2015
2. Troy 2016
3. Wake Forest 2017
4. Georgia Southern 2018
5. Georgia Southern 2019

Games vs teams we ended up being clearly better than:

Wins:

Every win weve had since 2015 except UNC and Toledo.

Losses:

1. UMass 2017
2. ULM 2017



I dont think anyone would disagree with my breakdown of our opponents since moving up.

We are 44-2 against teams we were favored to beat. 3-5 in relatively evenly matched games and 0-6 in upset bids despite letting 2 of those games out of our hands. We thrive with no media attention against teams we should beat....and its impressive we dont often slip up. But big time games scare us.

[PhillyApp1]

We 100% choked. We rarely handle expectations well when they're accompanied by national attention.

This. So many die hard fans who've been to every game since 1962 still dont actually understand our tendencies. There are 2 things we are known for....being giant killers and performing on the big stage. When in fact...its actually the only 2 things we are terrible at.

We are such an amazing program because we are consistent. Amazing winning percentage, tons of conference titles, bowl wins, double digit win seasons ect. We are rarely upset when there is no spotlight.

But man oh man big moments we die. First time ranked? Lose by 20. Host miami? Raped. Outplay Tennessee? Missed extra point. Have Penn State by the neck in one of the best games we ever played? Score too quick instead of dive run the clock down and take a field goal. Finally start to be recognized and have major networks publishing articles about how weve arrived and are NY6 contenders? Not show up against the same team who did it too you last year..

We also rarely upset anyone...perhaps one of the lowest upset rates in the country over the past 15 years (granted we are rarely underdogs) Michigan and 2 wins over GA Southern when they were ranked #1 fcs are all I can think of since 2005...and put us on national television and watch us flake.

Look at our 5 years of full FBS eligibility. Now dont get me wrong weve been awesome. 11-2, 10-3, 9-4, 11-2, 7-1...but that's just because we are a bigger program than most teams we play. Think about this.

Games vs superior opposition:

Wins: 0

Losses

2015: Clemson
2016: Tennessee
2016: Miami
2017: Georgia
2018: Penn State


Tossup games between similar teams:

Wins:

1. Toledo 2017
2. UNC 2019
3. Lousiana 2019

Losses:

1. Arkansas State 2015
2. Troy 2016
3. Wake Forest 2017
4. Georgia Southern 2018
5. Georgia Southern 2019

Games vs teams we ended up being clearly better than:

Wins:

Every win weve had since 2015 except UNC and Toledo.

Losses:

1. UMass 2017
2. ULM 2017



I dont think anyone would disagree with my breakdown of our opponents since moving up.

We are 44-2 against teams we were favored to beat. 3-5 in relatively evenly matched games and 0-6 in upset bids despite letting 2 of those games out of our hands. We thrive with no media attention against teams we should beat....and its impressive we dont often slip up. But big time games scare us.

Are you saying statistics say "choke" ?

My throat felt the choke.....lol
And we still almost won the game...lol

USC . .... let's see how we respond??

[Yosef84]

Here are my observations after a miserable drive back down the mountain........

1. Drink got out coached. He underestimated this rivalry and how hard this team will come at us. Our guys came out flat and had no intensity. Drinks gameplan was awful and we all knew what the weather was going to be, so he should have prepared.

2. Jordan Fehr was hurt. He should’ve been pulled early in the game. He could barely run to tackle and he cost us early.

3. Dez Franklin needs to be benched. He has been a liability all year and his play tonight from the safety position was the last straw. He took bad angles, he read the wrong cues, he filled the wrong gaps continuously. Loved him last year, but we cannot count on him this year.

4. Zac has played two back to back terrible games. Do not get caught up in the stats, he has been bad. He played intimidated and he lacked the fundamentals needed to succeed. He stared down receivers all night, mainly Hennigan, and made regrettable throws. Why he continues to struggle to go through his progressions is a huge issue and he has regressed this year. Yes, we were undefeated to date, but game after game he misses wide open receivers because he does not go through his reads. He is a good QB with a good arm, and that bails him out often, but sometimes you have to make the easy reads.

5. Corey Sutton is the best offensive weapon on this team. He continues to make play after play when given the opportunity, but his opportunities aren’t enough. Because Zac can’t get his eyes off Henni, he continues to miss Corey open after Corey torches his defenders. If you are going to force the ball to someone, force it to the receiver who can make plays after the catch or win 1v1s. Henni is a great possession receiver, but should be a compliment to a #1 like Corey. I get the sense that a Corey will transfer out after he graduates this year and we would have wasted having a talent like his on our team.

6. Our defensive line and offensive line got abused. Evans had no where to run and we kept stretching and playing into GAS scheme of sliding the D-line. Bad playcalling, bad O line scheme. Our defensive line got manhandled.

Our season is not technically over, but it kind of is. We lost a divisional conference game and now we aren’t in control of our destiny, we will drop out of the top 25 and be lucky if we fall back in after Bowl season, we continue to miss the opportunity to prove we belong. This game hurt, bad, worst than my calves after walking up stadium drive tonight carrying my daughter. I’m still going to the USC game, the Georgia State game, and Texas State game, but this GAS game is going to burn for a looonnnngggg time.

This is a stacked team. Players are passionate. They have embraced a practically entire new staff. Schemes have been changed. They are trying to adapt. But these players were recruited for a different set of schemes with much different roles. The play calling is entirely inappropriate to the talent on this team. Zach did great last year while this year he is being coached completely different. Another example is the TE position. There are 5 or 6 TEs. Drink barely utilizes the position. Same goes for receivers. Your point of losing Corey is valid. It would be a devastating loss. Other players may be thinking that too. Yeah, the team seemed flat. But that falls on the coaching. I have not seen these coaches fire up this team once on the sideline. It is what made Satts crew so awesome for the past 5 years. Energy. It has to start at the top.

I don't really agree that what is being asked of the players is significantly different from what they were recruited for. Yes, the schemes are different but our overall system is the same. Lack of athletic fit is not our problem and was not the reason we lost on Thursday. As far as coaching transitions go, this one has been about as seamless as anyone could have expected.

In terms of the "energy" that did seem to be a problem Thursday. Coach Drink seems to run a very "business like" shop in that he doesn't really use "hype" but prefers to emphasize focus and execution. It's hard to argue with those being the emphasis, and we're getting great results (usually). That said, I hope he takes a lesson from this loss in that, there are games where emotion is required! Rivalry games are played on a different level of intensity and I do think the team should have been more "hyped" for this one. I think he underestimated the rivalry aspect. He is entitled to a learning curve also though....just like the players.

I really don't think we need to project this loss into the future. Players and coaches will all be focused on righting the ship and completing our season. Stuff happens. When GS is involved, it seems to happen a lot. I don't get the impression that anybody in that locker room is ready to quit or make excuses. Bring on the Gamecocks!