...My thoughts....

Total Team Loss. Offense, Defense, Special Teams, Coaches. (Refs)

Special Teams, yeah we ran back a kick but we also had a FG Blocked and Fumbled a Kickoff that led to a score.

Offense, Rolled up a lot of yards and if you score over 40 you should automatically win BUT you drive into the redzone and throw 2 picks in the endzone?? 1 into triple coverage and I am still deciding if the other can be considered quadruple coverage. 3 defenders for sure, 1 came in late. Those weren't great plays by USU. Colby wasn't under heavy pressure. Those were garbage picks. (Oh and no ones fault, and I LOVE Dixon, Holley and Lee, no doubt King is heavily missed. He is a home run hitter everytime he touches the ball. He would have mattered today.)

Defense, Finally came up with some big stops but overall another pathetic performance. Gave up over 300 yards rushing and over 630 yards overall. That is an inexcusable embarrassment. Sadly I think our fans are so used to poor defense they will actually try to pin this on the offense. Sorry, that's a no go. We failed on all levels today. That TD in OT was WAY too easy.

Coaches, We still can't figure out a way to have even a medicore defense??? Really?? Terrible play call on that last play in OT. No options, way too easy to snuff out. Again fool me once, shame on Spangler. Fool me all season, shame on Dykes. If he stays, my opinion of Dykes as a coach will be determined by what he does about our defense in the off season.

I could go on re: offense, defense and special teams but I will keep it brief.

OH, one more thing!

Refs, Sorry but anyone that didn't see that Patton was completely mugged at the end of the first half on what would have been a TD is BLIND. WR's mugged all game, their OL holding all game.

All that said, we wouldn't even be in this position if it were not for the hard work of the players and this coaching staff. I still love all of them. Since I have followed Tech we haven't won 10 games. We can do that this season. We win the bowl we finish with 11 wins. That is a hell of an accomplishment. 11 wins and back to back bowls is nothing to sneeze at. Let's make it happen Dawgs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good analysis and honest evaluation and great advice. Thanks, Big DOG!
Gotta go beat San Jose and share the title.
Still could get get best bowl game ever!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aubunique

Good analysis and honest evaluation and great advice. Thanks, Big DOG!
Gotta go beat San Jose and share the title.
Still could get get best bowl game ever!

---

I agree Aub. Finish 10-2 and I still think we go to a better bowl than Utah St. does!

Their defense was as good as advertised:bigcry:................and so was ours.:rolleyes:

I'm not qualified to tell Dykes what to do about the defense, but something has to be done.

We'll be a decided, and possibly deserved, underdog at SJSU.

The only ones who didn't fail tonight were the fans. We showed up and, for the most part, stayed to the end. I am convinced that our team will give 100% no matter how the game is going. However, you cannot make up for the fact that our defense obviously lacks in several areas, effort not being one. I am still up in the air as to whether it was ineffective recruiting(by the coaches) or ineffective coaches(also, believe it or not, by the coaches). Proud of our guys and I won't bail on them, but I will doubt this coaching staff until some major changes are made.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LookingForResults

We'll be a decided, and possibly deserved, underdog at SJSU.

---

I am worried where we will be mentally for this game. It could go two ways. Dykes will need to earn his money this week that's for sure. Again though, if we go 10-2, that is a hell of an accomplishment and a big step towards where we need to be. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

If you had said before the game that Tech would be -3 in turnover margin I would have guessed a 2-3 TD loss.

That said, the three turnovers cost Tech 6-9 points...3 that Utah State did score and up to 6 that Tech could have scored on FGs. That was the difference in Tech not winning in regulation.

But there is no excuse for Tech to have been down 24 with 1:00 left in the 3rd quarter. Good teams can come back from that as Tech did. Great teams don't put themselves in that position in the first place.

If you don't appreciate what Tech has done this year, turn over to CBSSN real quick and look at all the fans disguised as empty seats in Hattiesburg.

Great post, BD13. The defense needs to improve, but it can't all be blamed on defense. If we could take back the two picks in the endzone or the fumbled KO, it might have been a different ending. Defense tightened up in the 4th quarter, but we don't start games well on defense. Other offenses eat us up in the first quarter, probably because of something they have seen on film, but I don't know what it is. I think we have the same athletes as almost every team we play, so our troubles on defense could be attitude, scheme, or something else.

I think today's loss will end the talk of a BCS bowl and our guys will be able to focus on SJSU. I will be there next weekend if anyone else is going.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RealityCheck

If you had said before the game that Tech would be -3 in turnover margin I would have guessed a 2-3 TD loss.

That said, the three turnovers cost Tech 6-9 points...3 that Utah State did score and up to 6 that Tech could have scored on FGs. That was the difference in Tech not winning in regulation.

But there is no excuse for Tech to have been down 24 with 1:00 left in the 3rd quarter. Good teams can come back from that as Tech did. Great teams don't put themselves in that position in the first place.

If you don't appreciate what Tech has done this year, turn over to CBSSN real quick and look at all the fans disguised as empty seats in Hattiesburg.

---

Very true. And yes, 9-2 still tastes a HELL of a lot better than what the USM fans are drinking right now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RealityCheck

If you had said before the game that Tech would be -3 in turnover margin I would have guessed a 2-3 TD loss.

That said, the three turnovers cost Tech 6-9 points...3 that Utah State did score and up to 6 that Tech could have scored on FGs. That was the difference in Tech not winning in regulation.

But there is no excuse for Tech to have been down 24 with 1:00 left in the 3rd quarter. Good teams can come back from that as Tech did. Great teams don't put themselves in that position in the first place.

If you don't appreciate what Tech has done this year, turn over to CBSSN real quick and look at all the fans disguised as empty seats in Hattiesburg.

---

Good post.

We know our defense is bad. We've known it for a long time. If you had told me before the game that our defense would hold them to 34 in regulation, I'd had bet big money that we would win.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

I am worried where we will be mentally for this game. It could go two ways. Dykes will need to earn his money this week that's for sure. Again though, if we go 10-2, that is a hell of an accomplishment and a big step towards where we need to be. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

---

You will disagree, but my honest feeling is that if we lose to SJSU and end the season at 9-3 with no wins over a team with a winning record and being ranked dead last in the nation on defense, I will not take pride in this season. The national ranking, while brief, will have been undeserved and our ability to beat ANY team with a winning record will, for me, remain in doubt. I take no solace that things could be much worse. That's just me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LookingForResults

You will disagree, but my honest feeling is that if we lose to SJSU and end the season at 9-3 with no wins over a team with a winning record and being ranked dead last in the nation on defense, I will not take pride in this season. The national ranking, while brief, will have been undeserved and our ability to beat ANY team with a winning record will, for me, remain in doubt.

---

Not sure where I stand on that comment. On one hand it is very valid when looking at the season by itself. But again IMO, our trip to where we need to be is a marathon and it's gonna take a lot of steps. This can still be a big one towards where we need to go. But standing by itself, yeah, a loss to SJSU kills this season unless we beat a good team in our bowl.

coworker of mine predicted we would finish 9-4. looking about right now. i hope not.

Good defenses make good offenses make mistakes. Being behind a lot, needing to score a lot and often cause QBs to make mistakes, such as trying to squeeze some in because the thought is FGs won't get it done. This game is on the DS shoulders, period!

Offense wins games, defense wins championships. It never fails. It had to catch up to us at some point. USU had a good strategy in the first half, [ if the receiver runs by you then grab him! Maybe the refs won't call it] and it worked! Colby threw to picks in the endzone but he was put in no win situations. USU was playing pass all the way on both plays so that should have been when you called the play that we ran on the last play of the game. Two field goals instead of two picks and we win...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Snapdawg

Good defenses make good offenses make mistakes. Being behind a lot, needing to score a lot and often cause QBs to make mistakes, such as trying to squeeze some in because the thought is FGs won't get it done. This game is on the DS shoulders, period!

---

So you are satisfied with our offense scoring 34?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

So you are satisfied with our offense scoring 34?

---

34 is not bad by any means. It's not great but not bad. They shouldn't have to score 50 every game.

We have strange ideas of what is good and bad re: offense and defense on this board. The defense gave up 48 points and over 630 yards. You shouldn't have to score 50 to win a game. The point total by the offense wasn't the issue as much as the WAY they didn't score more. 2 picks into TRIPLE coverage when not under much pressure is inexcusable.

Great comeback. To me, it is just disturbing to be where we are this far down the road with defense. It is just too hard to watch and needs to be addressed before next season. I think ultimately it may keep our head coach one more year because nobody thinks that is acceptable.

It HAS been a wonderful year....and still has a chance to be a really great one moving us giant steps forward, but we've got to address the defense!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

So you are satisfied with our offense scoring 34?

---

Absoulety not, the first half is as much on their shoulders as anything. Being down by 14 should be no big thing to Tech's O. Just think some of Sunshine's mistakes come from pushing it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

So you are satisfied with our offense scoring 34?

---

Absoulety not, the first half is as much on their shoulders as anything. Being down by 14 should be no big thing to Tech's O. Just think some of Sunshine's mistakes come from pushing it.

[QUOTE=Bigdog13;1302874]The defense gave up 48 points [QUOTE]

Let's keep the discussion to regulaton since I'm not complaining about the OT calls made by our coaches.

Our defense didn't give up 41 in regulation. Special teams mistakes don't count against the D or for the offense.

[QUOTE=maddawg;1302882][QUOTE=Bigdog13;1302874]The defense gave up 48 points

Quote:

---

Let's keep the discussion to regulaton since I'm not complaining about the OT calls made by our coaches.

Our defense didn't give up 41 in regulation. Special teams mistakes don't count against the D or for the offense.

---

I AM!!!!!!!!

And I disagree. Our defense did give up 41 in regulation. Yeah the fumble put them in a bad spot. So What???? Deal with it and stop the other team!!!!

[QUOTE=Bigdog13;1302885][QUOTE=maddawg;1302882]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

The defense gave up 48 points

I AM!!!!!!!!

And I disagree. Our defense did give up 41 in regulation. Yeah the fumble put them in a bad spot. So What???? Deal with it and stop the other team!!!!

---

Okay. Whatever you say.

We knew our defense was not so strong. We failed on OFFENSE. Why did we not score early? That is where we failed. The defense was not great but I do not blame them. We knew to win we needed to score on most every drive and we did not. How did we fail on offense when it was our only weapon? I think we could have used certain players more efficiently. Just observation (HL).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

So you are satisfied with our offense scoring 34?

---

I thought Utah State scored 41 in regulation. I'm no fan of Franklin but get real, any kind of defense at all and we are undefeated.

[QUOTE=Bigdog13;1302885][QUOTE=maddawg;1302882]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

The defense gave up 48 points

I AM!!!!!!!!

And I disagree. Our defense did give up 41 in regulation. Yeah the fumble put them in a bad spot. So What???? Deal with it and stop the other team!!!!

---

The D gave up 38. The D did its job after the botched KO return and Utah State scored 3 and not 7...that score is not on the D.

[QUOTE=RealityCheck;1302894][QUOTE=Bigdog13;1302885]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

The D gave up 38. The D did its job after the botched KO return and Utah State scored 3 and not 7...that score is not on the D.

---

Then my bad. The defense did not give up just 38 though. OT counts. And when a team slices through your defense like a knife through butter during their OT possession it most definitely counts. Just like the stupid playcalling in OT. It all counts because it is ALL on the scoreboard. (or in the offenses case NOT on the scoreboard!)

I think it was on both the D and the O tonight. For the second time this season we got down by 24+ in the 1st half all because we went away from our offensive strength early on (the run) and our defense acted as though they'd just stepped out of the womb. Both played like crap early on and put us in a hole from which we couldn't recover.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DFWDawg

We knew our defense was not so strong. We failed on OFFENSE. Why did we not score early? That is where we failed. The defense was not great but I do not blame them. We knew to win we needed to score on most every drive and we did not. How did we fail on offense when it was our only weapon? I think we could have used certain players more efficiently. Just observation (HL).

---

No disrespect but that is not logical. Knowing the defense sucks going in doesn't excuse the defense. If you score 41 you should win. You shouldn't have to score 50 to win a damn football game. This was a total team loss. Knowing the defense sucks doesn't give them any sort of free pass. They had a job to do and they didn't get it done.

The offense has no excuse for those picks. None at all. Those WERE NOT great plays by USU. We simply threw the ball into triple coverage.

[QUOTE=maddawg;1302886][QUOTE=Bigdog13;1302885]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

Okay. Whatever you say.

---

Nope. I was wrong. I was thinking they scored a TD after that special teams gaffe. That's my bad. But I am still counting the OT. If the scoreboard counts it, so do I.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

No disrespect but that is not logical. Knowing the defense sucks going in doesn't excuse the defense. If you score 41 you should win. You shouldn't have to score 50 to win a damn football game. This was a total team loss. Knowing the defense sucks doesn't give them any sort of free pass. They had a job to do and they didn't get it done.

The offense has no excuse for those picks. None at all. Those WERE NOT great plays by USU. We simply threw the ball into triple coverage.

---

If I'd have told you before the game that our D would hold them to 41 you'd have felt good about our chances. Our D held them o 38.

The reason I want to keep the discusson to regulation is that I thougth we should have scored a TD on our last drive. Play calling and CC's slip down before he got out of bounds really hurt on that drive. We had plenty of time remaining up until that.

Our coaches, on offense and defense, seem to enter games with only a vague game plan, or consistently poor plans. This lack of plans, or poor plans, result in consistently slow starts which often create difficult deficits to overcome. Then during the game we seem to experiment with various possibilities until we hit on something that works. We then mount a furious comeback that either wins the game or falls just short.

These coaches appear almost hapless regarding game planning and are extremely slow at recognizing and adapting to game conditions. I believe that to be the core of the coaching problem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

If I'd have told you before the game that our D would hold them to 41 you'd have felt good about our chances. Our D held them o 38.

The reason I want to keep the discusson to regulation is that I thougth we should have scored a TD on our last drive. Play calling and CC's slip down before he got out of bounds really hurt on that drive. We had plenty of time remaining up until that.

---

But that's the problem with our board and maybe our fanbase. Our defense is SO bad and our offense is SO good that we LOWER our standards for what a defense should be and we RAISE our standards to what a good offense looks like. To ridiculous levels on both sides.

To your point: YES. If you would have told me before the game that we would hold them to the low 40's or high 30's I would have thought we would have won. But that is because we are conditioned to think high 30's/low 40's is good defense. It's not. Again an offense should not have to score 50 points to win a game every week. That's asking too much. It caught up with us tonight.

It shouldn't matter. BUT do any of you think that if we had our bye week that we would have won this game???

Besides the fact that the Aggies played like thugs and the refs didn't care, I think it's on both the O and D in different ways.

The O lost rhythm for most of the game. That was bad, and it cost us the game. However, we were in that bad spot to begin with because they scored almost every time they touched the ball. If the D does its job, the pressure's off the O.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

But that's the problem with our board and maybe our fanbase. Our defense is SO bad and our offense is SO good that we LOWER our standards for what a defense should be and we RAISE our standards to what a good offense looks like. To ridiculous levels on both sides.

To your point: YES. If you would have told me before the game that we would hold them to the low 40's or high 30's I would have thought we would have won. But that is because we are conditioned to think high 30's/low 40's is good defense. It's not. Again an offense should not have to score 50 points to win a game every week. That's asking too much. It caught up with us tonight.

---

All I'm asking folks to consider is what you've suggested. It was an equal opportunity loss. Certainly not on the defense alone tonight.

Also, the bye week might have helped, but tonight we were as healthy as we've been all year.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

All I'm asking folks to consider is what you've suggested. It was an equal opportunity loss. Certainly not on the defense alone tonight.

Also, the bye week might have helped, but tonight we were as healthy as we've been all year.

---

Agreed.

And I'm not saying the lack of a BYE week mattered. I'm wondering out loud if it would have mattered. I'm not seeing the same energy I saw earlier in the year. That's why I really felt like if we could squeak out these last couple of wins we would be ok going into the bowl.

But who knows. Last year this guy I follow on Twitter had a few games timed. He timed only the amount of time in a game that the players actually played. No huddles, no moving the sticks, no referee conversations and no timeouts, etc... Just the time between the whistles. The three games were between 14-16 minutes of actual playing time. Isn't that crazy??? Makes me wonder if the BYE week is more for mental fatigue and injuries than actual physical rest.

Let me get the negative stuff out of the way first, in no particular order...

1. The WAC Officials: I know our economy hasn't completely recovered yet, but I hope every WAC referee and official will never be employed in college football again. The Conference USA officials have to be more competent than the WAC officials we've seen the last few years...right?

2. The Defense (first 3 quarters): Our offense is the reason you can never, ever count this Louisiana Tech football team out of a ball game. Our defense is the reason why you may count Louisiana Tech out.

3. Cameron's 2 INTs: The law of averages finally caught up with Colby Cameron tonight. College quarterbacks who throw 440 straight passes are supposed to have a few INTs here and there. Colby's happened to occur at the worst possible time when our team was in or near the red zone twice.

4. The final play of the game: I've spent about 2-3 hours trying to process the last play of the game by Louisiana Tech. I still don't know what the heck the coaches were thinking. I realize others here will bring up other plays during the game there were as puzzling. My question is: why would a team run the ball up the middle against the #5 rushing offense in the country on 4th and 3 in overtime knowing you will lose the game if you don't convert? You don't do it.

Now for the positive stuff...

1. Matt Nelson: He was uber-clutch tonight. Whatever was wrong with him the past few weeks seems to be gone. He was money when it counted with 5 seconds to go in the game.

2. The crowd: 25,614 in attendance. The crowd was into the game, and they knew when to be loud and cheering with almost no prompting from the disembodied voice. Some fans left after Utah State's last TD in the 3rd and after Colby's 2nd INT late in the game, but many of the fans stayed until the very end. The excitement and fan experience is light years ahead of where it was in the dying days of the Bickenll Era.

3. Dixon and Patton: Patton went into beast mode in the second half. Dixon was really good as usual.

4. Defense (4th quarter): Did LA Tech and Utah State switch defensive coordinators after the 3rd quarter ended? I don't know what happened in the fourth quarter, but the defense shined in the fourth quarter. They seem to be like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, either really bad or really great with no in-between.

5. D.J. Banks: He fumbled a kickoff return earlier in the game, but he redeemed himself when he returned a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the third quarter.

The reality is Louisiana Tech is a 9-2 team right now. Hopes of a second WAC Title are all but finished and the BCS Bowl hopes ended tonight. Tech can still have its first 10-win season in the program's span in the FBS ranks, and they can go to a better bowl than the Independence Bowl (no offense to those who like the I-Bowl).

i think we are over analyzing this. look at the box score, everything is perfectly even...except -3 in the turnovers. and especially the way we had turnovers, the kickoff fumble leads to three points for them and two are interceptions in the end zone when would have had short field goal attempts. you cannot beat a good team doing that and utah state is a very good team. end of story.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

If I'd have told you before the game that our D would hold them to 41 you'd have felt good about our chances. Our D held them o 38.

The reason I want to keep the discusson to regulation is that I thougth we should have scored a TD on our last drive. Play calling and CC's slip down before he got out of bounds really hurt on that drive. We had plenty of time remaining up until that.

---

I wouldn't have. We knew going in that this would be pretty much the best D we've faced all season.

After reading this entire thread.....I have only one comment: This was absolutely the WORST officiated football game I have ever seen in my 64 year lifetime!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

If I'd have told you before the game that our D would hold them to 41 you'd have felt good about our chances. Our D held them o 38.

The reason I want to keep the discusson to regulation is that I thougth we should have scored a TD on our last drive. Play calling and CC's slip down before he got out of bounds really hurt on that drive. We had plenty of time remaining up until that.

---

8-10 secs for the ref that bobbled the football and then couldn't move his fat butt fast enough to get the ball set.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 70TECHGRAD

After reading this entire thread.....I have only one comment: This was absolutely the WORST officiated football game I have ever seen in my 64 year lifetime!!!!

---

It was pretty bad, that no-call pass interference against Patton at the end of the first half was terrible.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 70TECHGRAD

After reading this entire thread.....I have only one comment: This was absolutely the WORST officiated football game I have ever seen in my 64 year lifetime!!!!

---

It was indeed bad. The only game that might be worse was the game that literally took them 25 minutes to review a call.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by longdawgview

It was pretty bad, that no-call pass interference against Patton at the end of the first half was terrible.

---

That was just one, no call!!!!
I heard that after the game....the refs all got into one small clown car....then drove back to the home for the blind and checked back in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dawgtired

It was indeed bad. The only game that might be worse was the game that literally took them 25 minutes to review a call.

---

That was the Hawaii game. I was there for that one too. But, the officiating at this game was MUCH worse.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

34 is not bad by any means. It's not great but not bad. They shouldn't have to score 50 every game.

We have strange ideas of what is good and bad re: offense and defense on this board. The defense gave up 48 points and over 630 yards. You shouldn't have to score 50 to win a game. The point total by the offense wasn't the issue as much as the WAY they didn't score more. 2 picks into TRIPLE coverage when not under much pressure is inexcusable.

---

No they shouldn't have to, but they do. We KNOW what our defense is like. It doesn't come as a surprise.

The point total by the offense is the defining issue

See ya there Stray!

[QUOTE=Bigdog13;1302897][QUOTE=RealityCheck;1302894]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

Then my bad. The defense did not give up just 38 though. OT counts. And when a team slices through your defense like a knife through butter during their OT possession it most definitely counts. Just like the stupid playcalling in OT. It all counts because it is ALL on the scoreboard. (or in the offenses case NOT on the scoreboard!)

---

Actually from kickoff till final whistle

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brian96

I wouldn't have. We knew going in that this would be pretty much the best D we've faced all season.

---

Yes, they were tough, but no touger than A&M. The USU defense didn't stop us. We stopped ourselves.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by longdawgview

8-10 secs for the ref that bobbled the football and then couldn't move his fat butt fast enough to get the ball set.

---

If CC hadn't slipped down he'd have gotten out of bounds to stop the clock, but yes, the ref was obviously taking extra time to allow the defense to set.

Um, The Utah State defense ABSOLUTELY KICKED OUR ASSES until 8:17 left in the 3rd quarter! We had a whopping 3 points up to that point and were down 3 - 27! If we had their defense we'd be undefeated right now.

How many times did we have the ball in the red zone and not score? They did not stop us. We just didn't score.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

How many times did we have the ball in the red zone and not score? They did not stop us. We just didn't score.

---

Come on man, lol.

You said they kicked our asses. I suppose we have different perspectives, but getting in the red zone and coming away with no points generally points to other breakdowns like we saw last night...

-penalties
-special team breakdowns
-poor play calling
-turn overs

I don't consider those things being caused by the defense, but if that is the way you see it, I understand

I see it as we got into the red zone and got DENIED by a good defense. Call it poor execution or whatever, but the fact is the Utah State defense didn't allow the points to go on the scoreboard. They didn't drop a single INT opportunity like our previous opponents have.

We had 629 yards total offense. 37 first downs.

I doubt USU's defense is feeling particularly good about itself.

We made mistakes. Patton dropped a TD pass and two plays later, our FG attempt was blocked. CC threw two INTs in the EZ. What if we came away with a FG each time instead? Hmmmm....

Yeah, USU has a good defense. I said that before the game, I say that now. But having a good defense means you get torched for 600+ yds and 40+ points when you play this offense.

We did beat ourselves. But, we would have escaped with a win, nonetheless, had we played a crappy team. USU is good, and they made us pay for our mistakes. As did aTm.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DogsWin

I see it as we got into the red zone and got DENIED by a good defense. Call it poor execution or whatever, but the fact is the Utah State defense didn't allow the points to go on the scoreboard. They didn't drop a single INT opportunity like our previous opponents have.

---

Looking back you are closer to being right than I thought. We had 3 red zone opportunities during the time you referenced, but only came away with 3 pts.

In CC's defense he did make better passes to the USU defenders than he had been making to the other defenders who had been dropping them:icon_razz:

Possessions 1,2, and 3 = punt, punt, punt. That ain't high powered.

Guys we lost the game, and have yet to prove we can beat a good team. Look at our opponents records. We have one chance left to beat a good team. The past is what it is and all the posting in the world won't change that. Let's talk about what we have to do to focus and beat a good team.

Yep. It was very similar to the TX A&M game when we were down 7-34. We can certainly come back in the late 3rd + 4th quarter, but with our porrous defense our offense MUST get engaged in the 1st quarter to keep the point differential from being too big. This has not happened against the better opponents on our schedule this year.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by stodgdog

No they shouldn't have to, but they do. We KNOW what our defense is like. It doesn't come as a surprise.

The point total by the offense is the defining issue

---

Knowing your defense is bad and offense is good does NOT change the definition of what good and bad defense/offense is!!!!!!!!

What was wrong with #78? That guy had so many false starts it wasn't funny.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DogsWin

Yep. It was very similar to the TX A&M game when we were down 7-34. We can certainly come back in the late 3rd + 4th quarter, but with our porrous defense our offense MUST get engaged in the 1st quarter to keep the point differential from being too big. This has not happened against the better opponents on our schedule this year.

---

I'm convinced that our game planning is so poor or so simplistic, and our game recognition is so slow, that late-game adjustments are the only adjustments of which we are capable.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by longdawgview

It was pretty bad, that no-call pass interference against Patton at the end of the first half was terrible.

---

No excuses for a poorly thrown int. , BUT that NO CALL on the Pass Intereference was right before that first INT. If that is called the situation changes completely and that INT probably never happens.

"Ok, who has money on Utah .... ok, let's make sure they win."


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...l_referees.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hoppinmad

"Ok, who has money on Utah .... ok, let's make sure they win."


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...l_referees.jpg

---

Funny.

But....maybe true?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LookingForResults

I'm convinced that our game planning is so poor or so simplistic, and our game recognition is so slow, that late-game adjustments are the only adjustments of which we are capable.

---

I can assure you that it may be poor, but NOT simplistic by any stretch. It is very complex......but it usually does not change. On D, we have 2....TWO calls basically. Three LB's or Nickel. There you go. There are variations of it, but we approach every game the same way.

That being said. There is no ONE play or poor officiating, or interception that loses a game. It is a total body of work throughout the game. If this were the case, we could say that the very first play on defense against USU cost us the game.

Well this has been going on all year. The Wac refs are not up to par as they should be. Very poor officiating on there side. It doesn't take 15 seconds to set a ball, especially under a minute left in the game. I'm glad that we are leaving this conference and hopefully non of the refs will follow.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by longdawgview

It was pretty bad, that no-call pass interference against Patton at the end of the first half was terrible.

---

I did not think the DB ever turned his head to look for the ball. That call and A FEW OTHERS should have been no brainers. The pass interference that was called was a great call for Utah State. It saved them six points b/c Patton was going to be wide open of the flea flicker play.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TechAlum05

Let me get the negative stuff out of the way first, in no particular order...

1. The WAC Officials: I know our economy hasn't completely recovered yet, but I hope every WAC referee and official will never be employed in college football again. The Conference USA officials have to be more competent than the WAC officials we've seen the last few years...right?

2. The Defense (first 3 quarters): Our offense is the reason you can never, ever count this Louisiana Tech football team out of a ball game. Our defense is the reason why you may count Louisiana Tech out.

3. Cameron's 2 INTs: The law of averages finally caught up with Colby Cameron tonight. College quarterbacks who throw 440 straight passes are supposed to have a few INTs here and there. Colby's happened to occur at the worst possible time when our team was in or near the red zone twice.

4. The final play of the game: I've spent about 2-3 hours trying to process the last play of the game by Louisiana Tech. I still don't know what the heck the coaches were thinking. I realize others here will bring up other plays during the game there were as puzzling. My question is: why would a team run the ball up the middle against the #5 rushing offense in the country on 4th and 3 in overtime knowing you will lose the game if you don't convert? You don't do it.

Now for the positive stuff...

1. Matt Nelson: He was uber-clutch tonight. Whatever was wrong with him the past few weeks seems to be gone. He was money when it counted with 5 seconds to go in the game.

2. The crowd: 25,614 in attendance. The crowd was into the game, and they knew when to be loud and cheering with almost no prompting from the disembodied voice. Some fans left after Utah State's last TD in the 3rd and after Colby's 2nd INT late in the game, but many of the fans stayed until the very end. The excitement and fan experience is light years ahead of where it was in the dying days of the Bickenll Era.

3. Dixon and Patton: Patton went into beast mode in the second half. Dixon was really good as usual.

4. Defense (4th quarter): Did LA Tech and Utah State switch defensive coordinators after the 3rd quarter ended? I don't know what happened in the fourth quarter, but the defense shined in the fourth quarter. They seem to be like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, either really bad or really great with no in-between.

5. D.J. Banks: He fumbled a kickoff return earlier in the game, but he redeemed himself when he returned a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the third quarter.

The reality is Louisiana Tech is a 9-2 team right now. Hopes of a second WAC Title are all but finished and the BCS Bowl hopes ended tonight. Tech can still have its first 10-win season in the program's span in the FBS ranks, and they can go to a better bowl than the Independence Bowl (no offense to those who like the I-Bowl).

---

POS #6 Our O-Line did a great job .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

How many times did we have the ball in the red zone and not score? They did not stop us. We just didn't score.

---

THREE I know of, and I think it was four. Four times inside the red zone and no points to show.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

Yes, they were tough, but no touger than A&M. The USU defense didn't stop us. We stopped ourselves.




If CC hadn't slipped down he'd have gotten out of bounds to stop the clock, but yes, the ref was obviously taking extra time to allow the defense to set.

---

One thing a good defense does is gets you off your game.

First time poster here, but I think your analysis is right on the money. The special teams blunders and turnovers didn't help, and with a defense as bad as ours those are things we can't afford. That being said, we gotta go out to San Jose and beat these guys to get a share of the title. Something has to be done about the defense in the offseason in order for us to get better next year.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 70TECHGRAD

That was the Hawaii game. I was there for that one too. But, the officiating at this game was MUCH worse.

---

According to RealityCheck, this was the same crew!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RougeDawg

According to RealityCheck, this was the same crew!

---

Confirmed. Two of the officials were different this year, but 5 of the 7 officials at yesterday's game also officiated the LA Tech vs. Hawaii game last year. FWIW, they also officiated the LA Tech-New Mexico State game this season.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

You shouldn't have to score 50 to win a game. The point total by the offense wasn't the issue as much as the WAY they didn't score more. 2 picks into TRIPLE coverage when not under much pressure is inexcusable.

---

^^^This. I thought Colby played an awful game until the 4th quarter. He held the ball FAR too long on a number of occasions, which caused the ball to arrive too late to the receiver (out of bounds, etc...), even when the receivers were wide open. Colby also had the worst case of "happy feet" I've ever seen him have. Several times when Colby was in the pocket, he panicked and moved right into the DL, making it much easier for him to be sacked or hurried.

Frankly, I'm glad Colby was finally intercepted (though I would have preferred it to have not hurt us so badly.). But, at least now we can take that issue off the table. I honestly believe the weight of that "no INT record" was negatively affecting Colby's QB play. He was thinking about it too much.




HD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DFWDawg

We knew our defense was not so strong. We failed on OFFENSE. Why did we not score early? That is where we failed. The defense was not great but I do not blame them. We knew to win we needed to score on most every drive and we did not. How did we fail on offense when it was our only weapon? I think we could have used certain players more efficiently. Just observation (HL).

---

See "Colby" post above. He was off yesterday. Waaaay off. Until the 4th Qtr.




HD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HogDawg

^^^This. I thought Colby played an awful game until the 4th quarter. He held the ball FAR too long on a number of occasions, which caused the ball to arrive too late to the receiver (out of bounds, etc...), even when the receivers were wide open. Colby also had the worst case of "happy feet" I've ever seen him have. Several times when Colby was in the pocket, he panicked and moved right into the DL, making it much easier for him to be sacked or hurried.

Frankly, I'm glad Colby was finally intercepted (though I would have preferred it to have not hurt us so badly.). But, at least now we can take that issue off the table. I honestly believe the weight of that "no INT record" was negatively affecting Colby's QB play. He was thinking about it too much.


HD

---

I would give Colby a C+ Saturday. He has given us A-level performances all year. Off days happen at the QB position (e.g., Matt Ryan throwing 5 int's today). That's why good teams must have a solid defense to keep you in those games. Unfortunately, we have nothing close to even a serviceable defense this year. We have been winning in spite of our defense.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Avi8r

Well this has been going on all year. The Wac refs are not up to par as they should be. Very poor officiating on there side. It doesn't take 15 seconds to set a ball, especially under a minute left in the game. I'm glad that we are leaving this conference and hopefully non of the refs will follow.

---

If the Robert Cameron officiating crew EVER works another game at JAS, I sincerely hope someone will let me know in advance so that I can skip that game and the frustration. That officiating crew is the worst of all time. It pisses me off that Bruce Van De Valle continues to subject our football team --and fans-- to those sorry bastards that call themselves game officials. The Robert Cameron officiating crew should NEVER be allowed to enter Joe Aillet Stadium again as long as they live.





HD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HogDawg

If the Robert Cameron officiating crew EVER works another game at JAS, I sincerely hope someone will let me know in advance so that I can skip that game and the frustration. That officiating crew is the worst of all time. It pisses me off that Bruce Van De Valle continues to subject our football team --and fans-- to those sorry bastards that call themselves game officials. The Robert Cameron officiating crew should NEVER be allowed to enter Joe Aillet Stadium again as long as they live.





HD

---

You'd think the conference championship would draw the crew grading out the best for the year. I suppose not.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DownSouthDawg13

First time poster here, but I think your analysis is right on the money. The special teams blunders and turnovers didn't help, and with a defense as bad as ours those are things we can't afford. That being said, we gotta go out to San Jose and beat these guys to get a share of the title.

---

Why does everybody keep saying this? How can we "share the WAC title" with a win over SJSU? Last time I looked, Utah St was undefeated in WAC play. And barring some totally unforseen circumstance, they will remain that way.



HD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HogDawg

If the Robert Cameron officiating crew EVER works another game at JAS, I sincerely hope someone will let me know in advance so that I can skip that game and the frustration. That officiating crew is the worst of all time. It pisses me off that Bruce Van De Valle continues to subject our football team --and fans-- to those sorry bastards that call themselves game officials. The Robert Cameron officiating crew should NEVER be allowed to enter Joe Aillet Stadium again as long as they live.

HD

---

It looks like SD may know Robert Cameron - he is a long-time official from Lubbock Texas, "is a [Texas} Tech graduate and project manager in the university's Facilities Planning and Construction Department." http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032...32005043.shtml

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SportTechFan

It looks like SD may know Robert Cameron - he is a long-time official from Lubbock Texas, "is a [Texas} Tech graduate and project manager in the university's Facilities Planning and Construction Department." http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032...32005043.shtml

---

I don't care if Robert Cameron is a part time Pope, neither he or his officiating crew should EVER be allowed to walk into JAS again. Period.




HD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HogDawg

I don't care if Robert Cameron is a part time Pope, neither he or his officiating crew should EVER be allowed to walk into JAS again. Period.

HD

---

I was not disagreeing with you - think about it - maybe there is history between Cameron and Spike Dykes???

STF

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SportTechFan

It looks like SD may know Robert Cameron - he is a long-time official from Lubbock Texas, "is a [Texas} Tech graduate and project manager in the university's Facilities Planning and Construction Department." http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032...32005043.shtml

---

What are the odds of that! You may be on to something.

Saw where he won an award for officiating back in 2005. Either he is getting senile in his old age, or he is a crooked ass clown. I'm going with ass clown.

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/032005/col_032005043.shtml

Also, doesn't it seem a BIT of a conflict of interest to have an official that involved with any one school operating in the NCAA? I know we weren't in competition for a bowl slot with Texas Tech, but it could potentially happen.

Should have said #20 Louisiana Tech and #23 Texas Tech weren't in competition for a bowl . . . but I guess Texas Tech would have moved up with a win and a loss by us. This is bullshit.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maddawg

You'd think the conference championship would draw the crew grading out the best for the year. I suppose not.

---

Officiating assignments are typically set preseason. That way a team doesn't get the same crew every week.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

Knowing your defense is bad and offense is good does NOT change the definition of what good and bad defense/offense is!!!!!!!!

---

You are right. But I don't see how the definition is relevant to Louisiana Tech WINNING football games. Please explain that to me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by stodgdog

You are right. But I don't see how the definition is relevant to Louisiana Tech WINNING football games. Please explain that to me.

---

If by definition we played just average defense in the A&M and Utah State games this year we would be undefeated the fact that we didn't and don't play average defense doesn't change whether our offense played good. Last year against Utah St. The offense played poorly. By any definition it was poor, it wasn't good because they outscored Utah State.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bigdog13

If by definition we played just average defense in the A&M and Utah State games this year we would be undefeated the fact that we didn't and don't play average defense doesn't change whether our offense played good. Last year against Utah St. The offense played poorly. By any definition it was poor, it wasn't good because they outscored Utah State.

---

My point is I know, you know, the coaches know, everybody knows we have, by DEFINITION, a poor defense. The offensive coaches MUST take that into consideration in game planning. It doesn't matter that with an average defense, 41 points SHOULD win a football game.

But there is a simple concept you aren't grasping. We try to score every single time we get the ball. We don't gameplan to score 41. That's silly.

EVERY team in the country tries to score every time they get the ball and no one does it better than we do. And against the two best defended on our schedule the Dawgs scored 57 and 41 points.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HogDawg

I don't care if Robert Cameron is a part time Pope, neither he or his officiating crew should EVER be allowed to walk into JAS again. Period.



HD

---

AMEN!!!!

HELP

Andersen's pregame is online- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12w28Fx6NzE

Fight every single play.