Originally Posted by
dawg80
Agreed. Smith was mediocre, which for him is a HUGE step up. No, seriously, he was not horrible last night. At times....at times, mind you, he actually looked good. But, at times he was horrific again, such as his inability to "see the field." That's one of his biggest issues, he doesn't see what's happening, and that's because he doesn't look.
I can see right before and a second after the snap that the defense knows the play. Yes, Holtz's entire playbook could fit on a post-it note, but even so, a defense can never be 100% sure a play is what you think it is. Smith doesn't recognize at the git-go that the defense is "jumping the play." I can see it from the stands...you've been had Smith, they KNOW the play. But, doesn't matter, Smith carries out the play anyway. I PROMISE you, if I could be DC for a team on our schedule, any decent team with a pulse on defense, I could shut out the Dawgs. Tech would not cross midfield on any drive they started inside their 30. (have to assume there would be a lucky pitch and catch for a 15-20 yard gain now and then). The ONLY reason other DCs haven't accomplished that is because they don't have the luxury of being able to learn Holtz's offense like I have. They have to scheme for 12 opponents each year and don't have the time to really dissect any opposing offense.
Anyway, Smith was very mediocre last night which is his best performance of the year. He probably had 80 yards rushing, just guessing, haven't seen any stats. He was humming those slant passes. He actually stepped up into the pocket a few times and allowed the rush to flow by him. I was like, wow! Where has this been all year?
Still, we seem to be stuck on 23. If we can hold UTEP and UTSA under 23....we have a chance to win out.