Was it that “Ah Ha” moment?

[appdaze]

October 15th 2005. Aha moment number 1. Fresh off a hard lump from Furman, we hit the ground running and never looked back.

September 18th 2006. Aha moment number 2. We seemed to fully commit to this scrawny dude from Greenwood, SC.

September 1st 2007. Aha moment number 3. 34-32.

Those three events made the last 15 years icing on the cake.

[GreatAppSt]

Not sure how much of an Ah Ha moment may be gleaned from thumping (clears throat) Georgia State but, if it is I'll take it.

[WASU 93]

And, I understand that at halftime, Coach Clark told a reporter that we were not going to throw the ball any more.

Yes, Clark told the sideline reporter from ESPN at halftime the we were don’t throwing it and were going to run it straight at them. And that’s what we did.

Does anyone have any idea why we can run the ball like we did last night and against A&M but not JMU or Texas St.?

AppStateNews is probably better suited to answer the nuances of this, but in simple terms, the line HAS to work as one. It stopped working for some reason. My guess is that after the first two weeks, there was enough tape out for teams to identify and expose the weak link. (Weak doesn’t insinuate bad)

We made some effective adjustments with the defensive secondary this week. While good, it gives Coastal tape to look at and figure it out. Football is a season long chess match.

Edit: He answered above. I didn’t read the thread prior to responding.

Last year, we kept McCall uncomfortable and off his rhythm in the second half. If we are going to stop their offense, we need the same effective play from the front 7 that we had in the second half against Grainger.

In the second half, Grainger missed his first 8 passes. He ended the half 3-10 for 35 yards with an Interception. We sacked him 5 times and we forced and recovered three fumbles (we fumbled one back on the return).
Their third downs were 3rd and 8, 3rd and 25, 3rd and 16, 3rd and 4, 3rd and 6, 3rd and 8. That sets up well for our defense and they did not convert any of them, except for a Defensive PI against our reserves on the final drive.

[AppSt94]

And, I understand that at halftime, Coach Clark told a reporter that we were not going to throw the ball any more.

Yes, Clark told the sideline reporter from ESPN at halftime the we were don’t throwing it and were going to run it straight at them. And that’s what we did.

Does anyone have any idea why we can run the ball like we did last night and against A&M but not JMU or Texas St.?

AppStateNews is probably better suited to answer the nuances of this, but in simple terms, the line HAS to work as one. It stopped working for some reason. My guess is that after the first two weeks, there was enough tape out for teams to identify and expose the weak link. (Weak doesn’t insinuate bad)

We made some effective adjustments with the defensive secondary this week. While good, it gives Coastal tape to look at and figure it out. Football is a season long chess match.

Edit: He answered above. I didn’t read the thread prior to responding.

Last year, we kept McCall uncomfortable and off his rhythm in the second half. If we are going to stop their offense, we need the same effective play from the front 7 that we had in the second half against Grainger.

In the second half, Grainger missed his first 8 passes. He ended the half 3-10 for 35 yards with an Interception. We sacked him 5 times and we forced and recovered three fumbles (we fumbled one back on the return).
Their third downs were 3rd and 8, 3rd and 25, 3rd and 16, 3rd and 4, 3rd and 6, 3rd and 8. That sets up well for our defense and they did not convert any of them, except for a Defensive PI against our reserves on the final drive.

Yep. Most of those outcomes can be attributed to adjustments and situations. As the score got out of hand, they were forced to get more one dimensional.

[AppSt94]

Not sure how much of an Ah Ha moment may be gleaned from thumping (clears throat) Georgia State but, if it is I'll take it.

I get your point, but Grainger is the type of QB that has a history of causing us fits. The defense is a work in progress that has talent, but lacked consistency. The offense made it easier on the defense this week, but they looked a lot more confident unit this week.

[appfanz]

October 15th 2005. Aha moment number 1. Fresh off a hard lump from Furman, we hit the ground running and never looked back.

September 18th 2006. Aha moment number 2. We seemed to fully commit to this scrawny dude from Greenwood, SC.

September 1st 2007. Aha moment number 3. 34-32.

Those three events made the last 15 years icing on the cake.

I will never forget that at that Furman game in 2005 I ran into Gerald Adams in the restroom at halftime and we discussed how we thought we had something special going on with this team. We may have lost the game but the rest is history.

[Stonewall]

Keeping the defense off the field[ with all of it's benefits ]due to a dominant run game is our formula for success.

[Saint3333]

Grainger is a below average QB with a weak arm.

He’s probably the 8th best QB we’ll face this year.

McCall even at 80% will be a much tougher test.

[bigdaddyg]

Grainger is a below average QB with a weak arm.

He’s probably the 8th best QB we’ll face this year.

McCall even at 80% will be a much tougher test.

Agree. McCall can improvise and might option the ball last second or make a difficult throw into a tight window. Grainger not even close as a QB.

[WVAPPeer]

Grainger is good running - I think he had100 yds against us - not much of a passer