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What a satisfying win. This win has me fully aboard the hype train. I was hesitant to jump on leading into this one but I am all in.
Let's do the darn thing. Why not us? We have the QB. Our offense line is aggressive. Our receivers are first class. Our running backs are true compliments. Our defense is fierce. Our coach is motivated as is this team. Our fanbase is hungry. Screw 2016 being our year. Let's start dominance and make them all our year! If you're not as hyped up as I am after this win, then you better check your pulse or get to a hospital quick, because you're more than likely dead (Note: I don't recommend driving while under the influence of death, leave that to EMT's).
Shorthand and Nicknames
IZ-Inside zone, OZ-Outside zone, ZR- Zone read, TrO- Triple Option, ExTro- Extended triple option, PA- Play action, JS- Jet sweep, QS- Quick screen, TS- Tunnel screen, WC- Wildcat, NB-Nickleback, LOS- Line of scrimmage, and HR- Hot read.
Nicknames: G-Drop (Germone Hopper), Whiffles, (Jordan Leggett), Turnstyle (Ryan Norton), RM3 (Ray Ray McCloud III), Dr. Schuess (Nick Schuessler), Wayne Train (Wayne Gallman)
1st Drive
1st and 10, ZR give to Gallman, nice sustain on the edge by Gore, gain of 10....1st and 10, 5 wide with 11 personnel, quick hitch to the outside batted down by FSU.....2nd and 10, inside power to Gallman, MacClain gets assaulted here and Morris hits no one after making it around the center.....3rd and 9, FSU shows 6 man pressure, send only 4 but keep a spy on Watson, good pocket by the oline but Watson misfires deep to Peake...Punt
2nd Drive
1st and 10 at the 5 post Adrian Baker interception, twin TE's to the right, dive to Gallman for a gain of 3...2nd and 7, PA quick slant to Peake who shows good stemming and nice hands to make the play, even better job to wrap the ball and not to fumble while fighting for yards....1st and 10, quick screen to Scott, Renfrow beat on the block....2nd and 8, 5 wide with 11 personnel (henceforth 5W11), FSU blitzes and Whiffles is wide open down the seam but Watson doesn't step into throw and the ball is overthrown....3rd and 8, drop back pass, FSU twists both sides of their dline, and Watson scrambles out for no gain but a personal foul on Jalen Ramsey keeps the drive alive.....1st and 10, dive by Gallman, Morris and Hyatt both get great push on their men......2nd and 3, dive again but Guillermo shoved back by Demarcus Christmas and kills the play by forcing and early cut....3rd and 2, PA roll right, Watson hits Whiffles in the flats for the 1st...1st and 10, fake JS drop back but Watson is sacked, Whiffles, Morris, and Gallman all look lost in protection, Guillermo beat on a rip move up the middle, bad play that kills the drive.....2nd and 15, swing screen to Gallman, almost breaks it for huge yards after cutting back in but gets ankle tackled....3rd and 7, FSU blitzes 5 after showing 6, Gore refuses to block first threat apparently and allows the DE to come right in and pressure Watson, Watson scrambles for no gain....Punt
3rd Drive
1st and 10, quick out dropped by Whiffles......2nd and 10, bucksweep for Gallman, Whiffles gets abused and 69 hits no one in space again......3rd and 10, Watson throws backshoulder to Scott that's incomplete but a pass interference keeps the drive alive....1st and 10, 5W11, Watson hits Whiffles up the seam in stride, nice ball....1st and 10, dive for Gallman who bounces for 4 yards...2nd and 6, we go with multiple shifts with heavy personnel and line Hyatt up on the right side with Cannon Smith lining up at "LT" but he's eligible, we roll Watson right and send Smith deep but well covered by FSU, Watson scrambles for no gain....3rd and 6, 5W11, quick pass batted down as Gore sucks at cutting the DE to get his hands down....Field Goal is up and good, 7-3 FSU
4th Drive
1st and 10, JS to Scott, nice edge block by Gallman here...2nd and 1, 5W11, QS to the trips to Scott, three receivers vs 2 tight defenders leads to a numbers advantage and a 1st down….1st and 10, roll right, deep ball to Renfrow, some mild contact down the field but a good no call as they were battling, nice edge seal on the play by Whiffles……2nd and 10, OZ Gallman, nice climb by Morris to the second level here, good initial double team to climb by MacClain but doesn’t make second level contact…3rd and 5, Watson scrambles out of the pocket and makes a nice cut to get the first…..1st and 10, 5W11, QS again due to numbers to Scott….2nd and 6, IZ Gallman, MacClain gets stoned on the play and forces an early cut by Gallman…..3rd and 4, Gallman leaks out into the flats vs the CB blitz, he’s butt naked levels of open but Watson overthrows him on the play, just loft it out there and it’s probably 6…..Punt
5th Drive
1st and 10, QB draw for 12 yards, good slide to avoid contact by Watson….1st and 10, inverted veer to RM3, gains 8 but goes down awkwardly and injures his knee here, you could tell this formation and play call were specially designed for him this game….Sideline penalty FSU…..1st and 10, miscommunication between Watson and Brooks as Watson looked to hand if off but Brooks blocks on the play, Watson pulls it down and takes off for 4 yards….2nd and 6, good pocket on the drop back by the oline, but FSU has good downfield coverage, Watson forced to throw it away….3rd and 6, mesh route to G-Hop short of the sticks….4th and 2, we gamble and get shut down on the TrO pitch to Scott, Peake danced with Ramsey instead of trying to block him.
6th Drive
1st and 10, deep drop by Watson, Gore beat around the edge, Watson steps up and drills it to Whiffles….1st and 10, corner route into tight coverage to Cain, dropped…..2nd and 10, Watson drills another ball downfield to Whiffles, if Watson leads him up the seam instead of throwing to the inside Whiffles may be off and running….1st and 10, QB draw, good block by Morris and MacClain annihilates a LB and Watson gets out of bounds after gaining 16 yards, Cain could have been called for a hold on the play…..1st and 10, quick out to Cain, does a nice job to get out of bounds….Timeout FSU…..2nd and 7, QB sweep, Whiffles can sustain on the edge, Morris forced to double on the LB on the pull and MacClain is late to the party…..RANDOM SPIKE TIME BY WATSON ON 3RD DOWN WITH A TIMEOUT REMAINING MOTHER #&@!ER......Field Goal by Greg Huegel is up and good….10-6 FSU
7th Drive
1st and 10, fake JS inside power by Gallman, Gallman doesn’t set up MacClain well and runs past him before he can seal the LB…..2nd and 8, 5W11, QB draw, MacClain almost drops too deep on the play……3rd and 2, PA TE slip, batted down at the LOS, if Watson looks to Whiffles and then goes with the high route to Williams, Williams has a shot at a big play as the safety crashed down on Whiffles in the flats…..Punt
8th Drive
1st and 10, PA TE slip, Watson hits Cain up the seam for a 15 yard gain….1st and 10, we go with tempo here, ZR give but Hyatt, MacClain, and Guillermo are all stalemated…2nd and 9, JS to Scott, Cain climbs up on the safety instead of blocking the CB who makes the play…..3rd and 6, 5W11, drop back, Gore beat around the edge again, Watson takes off and slides down after picking up 16……1st and 10, JS to Scott, Whiffles and Gore play paddy cake with their men which forces Scott to bounce way outside, Cain lowers the boom on Ramsey but play is a no gainer…..2nd and 10, quick pass set up but no one is open, Watson scrambles out for 7 yards…..3rd and 3, tunnel screen to Cain and he is off and running to the endzone, we finally take advantage of FSU blitzing the boundary CB on 3rd down like they had been doing most of the night, great play call and great execution by Cain, MacClain, Whiffles, Watson, and Guillermo…..13-10 Tigers
9th Drive
1st and 10, quick out too high for Scott…..2nd and 10, quick slant to Peake, nice concentration to pull it in….3rd and 3, underneath on a mesh route to Renfrow, incomplete, FSU had showed 6 pre-snap but sent 5 with a twist stunt, Watson didn’t see false blitzer drop into hook zone….Punt
10th Drive
1st and 10, IZ for Gallman nice seal by Hyatt, McCollough nice block on the DE…2nd and 4, roll out left, quick out to G-Drop…..1st and 10, IZ for Gallman again, nice HARD run, good blocks by Hyatt and Guillermo, MacClain stalemated again….2nd and 5, QB draw, nice seam made by Hyatt and MacClain, great climb by Gallman…..Start of the 4th Quarter……..1st and 10, swing out to Gallman, nice seal on the LB by Renfrow and good downfield blocking by Scott, nice play….1st and 10, sweep to Gallman out of the gun, Seckinger cannot block Ramsey on the edge…..2nd and 8, tunnel screen to Renfrow, dropped on the play but it was going nowhere if he catches it as Guillermo didn’t seal the DT who keyed the play and MacClain couldn’t get out in space quick enough…3rd and 8, great pocket for Watson who throws to Cain on the corner route but thrown too far inside as the safety comes over to bat it away….Punt
11th Drive
1st and 10, IZ and nice run by Gallman…2nd and 3, quick hitch to G-Drop who almost gives up the first down yardage to backtrack to make a move, still gains the first…..1st and 10, IZ but Morris gets whipped on the play and Gallman has to make a move in the backfield to avoid it….2nd and 7, Watson scrambles for 1st down, had a good pocket though just good coverage by FSU…1st and 10, PA RB slip by Scott who was lined up in the backfield, initially covered Watson pulls down to run it but flips it to Scott at the last second for good yardage…1st and 10, PA deep out to Whiffles, nice concentration to get his feet down there….1st and 10, Watson and Whiffles run the scramble drill after good initial coverage by FSU and Watson drills it in for a gain of 11….1st and 10, JS to Scott, FSU loaded the edge and we had 2 blockers for their 3 defenders, big loss on the play….2nd and 14, QB draw and there was a hole to the right but MacClain dropped too deep and his man trips up Watson….3rd and 14, FSU shows jailbreak 7 man blitz, Watson checks the play and FSU checks and sends only 4 on the rush, Watson hits Gallman on the check down….Field goal is up and good by Huegel….16-13 Tigers
12th Drive
1st and 10, fake JS inside power for Gallman, nice pull by MacClain….2nd and 5, ZR but Hyatt cannot sustain and gets pushed back, Watson should have pulled….3rd and 6, tunnel screen to Peake, Watson had to pump as FSU had read it well and was in position, Whiffles-Morris-Guillermo all combine to get out in space and make good efforts to spring Peake…..1st and 10, QB draw, good surge by the entire oline…..2nd and 5, rollout right, draw left for Brooks, Morris gets destroyed on the play and Brooks gets hammered down…..3rd and 7, tunnel screen again to Peake, MacClain and Guillermo double the same man and help spring Peake again who carries 3 or 4 guys to the sticks, great effort….1st and 10, Gallamn given the ball on the ZR, McCollough has a great seal on the DE and Watsons fake holds the OLB, the Wayne Train finally rumbles and rumbles through 4 arm tackles on the way for the game sealing TD…..23-13 Tigers
13th Drive
1st and 10 post fumle, IZ and the offensive line and Gallman ABSOLUTELY SACK UP AND MANHANDLE THE FSU DEFENSE FOR 5 YARDS IN A RUGBY SCRUM, TALK ABOUT A WILL TO WIN….1st and 10, IZ Gallman, nice climb by Hyatt…..2nd and 7, IZ Gallman for 2…..3rd and 5, under center with a jumbo set, fake the dive left, Watson rolls right and nice block by Peake on the edge, great pull and block by MacClain to lead Watson, and Williams got out in space but really didn’t hit anyone……Victory formation the rest of the way and the fans rush the field. God it feels good.
Player Grades
All American
Deshaun Watson (9.5)- Shook off a lackluster first half to come out and guide his team to victory with great poise and a solid stat line. That’s what All-American players are made of.
All ACC
Jordan Leggett (8.8)- Had an excellent game receiving the ball, the in line blocking remains a struggle, but his perimeter blocking is improved.
Mitch Hyatt (8.2)- Was spectacular in pass pro and minus two plays where he got stood up by Demarcus Christmas (who is going to be a monster), Hyatt played his best game on the biggest stage thus far in his career.
Solid
Wayne Gallman (7.9)- Was not given much room to run but gets graded this high because given his lack of running room, he still got stronger and more intense as the game went on.
Charone Peake (7.9)- Best effort I have seen out of him ever. What big plays on two big 3rd downs by Peake. Had some good blocks on Ramsey too (minus the one where he tried to dance with him rather than be the aggressor).
Deon Cain (6.2)- Probably would have graded higher if he had blocked better on the edge and not dropped the one pass. Still gets a solid for showing off the wheels and knocking the crap out of Ramsey.
Average
Artavis Scott (5.9)- I was expecting a bit more out of him this game, it’s not that he didn’t deliver and didn’t necessarily have opportunities, but he just doesn’t seem to have the same downfield presence that he had earlier on. The pass interference call was correct, but that was still a catchable ball. Perhaps I’m being too critical, and perhaps he has some pain in those ribs so let’s see how he does these last 3 weeks.
Eric MacClain (5.5)- Struggled at times against father Christmas but did get better as the game wore on. Didn’t really have any pass pro issues which is encouraging.
Jay Jay McCullough (5.0)- Had limited snaps but made the most of them with some strong in line blocking.
Germone Hopper (4.9)- Didn’t have any drops and did well with his chances. Blocking remains a concern but for him that’s pretty average.
Jay Guillermo (4.5)- Probably his worst game of the season in the first half. Second half got somewhat better as the offense began to click as a whole, but struggled at times blocking one on one in the interior.
Hunter Renfrow (4.5)- Again, probably his worst game to date. Outside of a few blcoks, he was non existent.
Maverick Morris (4.2)- Morris continues to be effective in line blocking (mostly). Where he struggles is in space, where he either lacks the athleticism to make the play or just kind of looks lost on who to hit. But, given the circumstances of why he was in, he gets an average grade for performing pretty admirably under said conditions.
Joe Gore (4.2)- Failed to get a strong push the whole evening and was lost in pass pro at times. And when he did block his assignment in pass pro, he was beat around the edge some.
Final Thoughts
This team showed fire in the 4th quarter. Where analysts and sportscasters thought we may stumble in a close game against a good opponent, we came through big, on both sides of the ball. This was a truly satisfying win on so many levels and has paved our way to Charlotte.
And how about a big shout out to ScElliot? Those two are proving to be an effective duo. Sticking with the run, taking what the defense gives them, and then attacking the defenses situational tendancies. Wow. If this continues, we will be lucky to hold on to these two for a significant amount of time.
Finally, we will get (hopefully) some experience for younger guys and rest for the starters the next 2 weeks as we prepare to potentially put the death blow on the finest era of SC football, then onto Charlotte. But, let’s see the Tigers maintain focus and take care of business this weekend as we travel to the loudest, hottest, craziest key jangling atmosphere on earth. Go Tigers and I hope to see all of you in Charlotte.