10/24 Tech @ UTSA (7 PM) - Game

[dawg80]

I was pleasantly surprised we made a game of it, for slightly over 3 quarters! I expected something like UTSA 31 Tech 13 but our pups did a good job early on. Then they wore down and Holtz got out-coached again, especially in the 2nd half. If not for the pick 6 we would have been shut out in the 2nd half. This happens a lot under Holtz...getting spanked in 2nd halves.

Anthony cannot handle pressure. Allen does a better job of dealing with it. On that game-ending INT Allen was hit just as he trying to get the ball to Tucker. If he had done so cleanly Tucker had 12-15 yards in the bag. We would have been one completion away from giving Barnes a shot. Speaking of Barnes he is absolutely DEAD LAST in punting in the nation! So, not only do we have a sucky offense but we have a lousy punter who can't change field position. Not a winning combination.

UAB will beat us next week. Probably be a competitive first half and we'll get killed in the 2nd half...par for the course. We'll be sitting at 3-4. BTW, when UAB beat UTSA I said that was for the western division title and I caught grief for it. Well...the west is down to 1) UAB and 2) UTSA. Prove me wrong. Luckily for us CUSA sucks and we also get the "sleepy giant" in their Super Bowl. As bad as we are, the rest of our schedule, after UAB, is worse! I think we will go bowling...yippee!

[SicemDawgz]

If you watch every game over again, you’ll see Anthony has gotten a little worse every since the Houston Baptist game. If he has time, he is an above average pocket passer. If he doesn’t , he is horrible, and teams have figured that out. The reason he’s regressed is because our O line is absolutely pathetic. No QB in football history could have a whole lot of success when they have to run for their life the whole ballgame. I turned the game off last night after UTSA DE came around the left side, and #77 just motioned at him. Poor Tucker tried to block him and got creamed, and down goes Anthony. If you watch the game, we have the most success when #45 is in as an extra blocker. Without him, as fat and out of shape as I am, I could beat our Tackles and sack Anthony. Our QB is not the biggest problem, having a junior high Oline coach is the problem.

[dawg80]

Which begs the question, who allowed our OL to get this bad? (rhetorical...we all know the answer).

Anyone attend the 1981 (?) game vs. Baylor at Indy Stadium? Whoa! Matt Dunigan was our QB and he would get the snap and immediately start running for his life! Baylor's DL...and one crazed LB Mike Singletary...chasing him. But, Dunigan had a cannon for an arm and could throw very well, while on the run. We ultimately lost 28-21 but Dunigan had a good game...all things considered. Not too many QBs have both the athleticism and "field vision" like a Dunigan to excel under such situations.

Luke Anthony is strictly a pocket-passer, which is not a bad thing, provided he actually has a pocket to pass from! In the first half I thought we did a good job, game planning, to keep the pressure off of him. I was shocked UTSA waited until the 3rd qtr to change things and bring real pressure. UTSA brought up everyone, clamped down on our WRs and dared Anthony to try to hit something over the top. Of course, our WRs were jammed and couldn't get off the LOS and Anthony wouldn't have time anyway. Frankly, I cannot understand why opposing DCs don't just dial up some kind of blitz every play. I would. Often coaches THINK they have to think things through and end up over-thinking it. This is really, really simple...bring the house and Tech will end up with negative yards and zero points. Period.

[HogDawg]

This team might be worse than the 2013 squad. That’s saying a lot because Tech sucked something awful that year (lost to a horrible Kansas team). This is one of the worst teams Tech has fielded over the past decade. Yeah...you can blame COVID, but the other teams are going through the same thing so that’s no excuse. Barely scraping by a crappy UTEP team and then letting UTSA beat them from behind. I’m not going to call any one person out, but it’s shameful.... They should all feel embarrassed. I sure as hell am.

...And THAT'S part of the problem, Cory. We have to speak up about these things. Otherwise, you're the equivalent of the convenience store owner who keeps getting robbed and pilfered each day by his own employees. He knows they are robbing him blind, but he just doesn't have the guts to fire 'em. So, they continue to rob and steal him blind.

Let me be clear: Fans are not the problem. Good Tech fans and supporters like you are much respected and much needed by our athletic program, and fellow Tech fans like myself thank you for your support. But long-time Tech fans --like you-- are going to have to be more brave about SPEAKING UP regarding the "poor coaching" on this team. Our players deserve better than this.

In today's game, it's more important than ever to speak up in these situations, or we'll find many of our players moving into the transfer portal in the spring like they've been doing at USM.

[HogDawg]

If you watch every game over again, you’ll see Anthony has gotten a little worse every since the Houston Baptist game. If he has time, he is an above average pocket passer. If he doesn’t , he is horrible, and teams have figured that out. The reason he’s regressed is because our O line is absolutely pathetic. No QB in football history could have a whole lot of success when they have to run for their life the whole ballgame. I turned the game off last night after UTSA DE came around the left side, and #77 just motioned at him. Poor Tucker tried to block him and got creamed, and down goes Anthony. If you watch the game, we have the most success when #45 is in as an extra blocker. Without him, as fat and out of shape as I am, I could beat our Tackles and sack Anthony. Our QB is not the biggest problem, having a junior high Oline coach is the problem.

So, why aren't our coaches "rolling Anthony out" so he can see the field better and complete a pass without it being tipped or blocked? It's a real simple coaching call. For goodness sake, I've never seen any starting college QB have as many passes tipped or blocked at the line of scrimmage as Anthony does. He holds the ball far too long (our last pass play to the back of the end zone is a great example), and doesn't trust his receivers.

By the way, we ran the "sideline bubble screen pass" play at least 10 times last night (I finally lost count late in the 2nd half), and picked up approximately 15 total yards with it. THAT'S INSANE! Can we please REMOVE this play from our playbook? That play ONLY WORKS if you have a deep passing threat to go with it. Anthony wasn't fooling anyone last night. What could we do if we had those 10 to 12 plays back? Almost any other play would get us more than 15 total yards in 10 tries.

[Guisslapp]

So, why aren't our coaches "rolling Anthony out" so he can see the field better and complete a pass without it being tipped or blocked? It's a real simple coaching call. For goodness sake, I've never seen any starting college QB have as many passes tipped or blocked at the line of scrimmage as Anthony does. He holds the ball far too long (our last pass play to the back of the end zone is a great example), and doesn't trust his receivers.

By the way, we ran the "sideline bubble screen pass" play at least 10 times last night (I finally lost count late in the 2nd half), and picked up approximately 15 total yards with it. THAT'S INSANE! Can we please REMOVE this play from our playbook? That play ONLY WORKS if you have a deep passing threat to go with it. Anthony wasn't fooling anyone last night. What could we do if we had those 10 to 12 plays back? Almost any other play would get us more than 15 total yards in 10 tries.

I remember a few roll outs last night where he threw the ball away. I don’t really remember one working.

Against both UT## teams, the extra blocker on the line seemed to get the best results.

[HogDawg]

I remember a few roll outs last night where he threw the ball away. I don’t really remember one working.

Against both UT## teams, the extra blocker on the line seemed to get the best results.

Anthony is the wrong guy. He's not going to make it, because he's not mobile enough. The sooner Holtz figures this out, the better.

[SicemDawgz]

Anthony is the wrong guy. He's not going to make it, because he's not mobile enough. The sooner Holtz figures this out, the better.

I agree he can’t be anything other than a pocket passer. When he tries to throw on the run, it’s usually a disaster. The moment he senses pressure, he freezes up and usually ends up taking a sack. As far as the bubble screen, that’s nothing more than an extension of the run game. We cant run to the outside, or up the middle for that matter, so Holtz tries throwing it to the outside. That’s ok if you can do anything else on offense. Our Oline is so bad, that’s about all we can do. Any offensive play that takes more than 2.5 seconds to develop is an automatic sack. Until we get tackles that can at least slow a pass rush down just a little, we are screwed on offense no matter what play we call.

[SicemDawgz]

I’ve said it before, #45 needs to be in the game a lot more than he is. We need to stick with trips formation instead of going 4 and 5 wide. We simply don’t have the personnel to do it, but when has that ever stopped Holtz?

[bubdawg]

Not really. It's all just talk.

It's certainly talk that I enjoy because it helps me cope with how bad we suck - I know that I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

But end of the day, there's no real discussion about any sort of change. Unless Dr Wood can work some kind of contract magic.

COVID year 2020 is no time to make a coaching change. Give Wood 1 year to get his feet on the ground & if we suck this bad next year then start looking.

[Tech52]

I dont understand why we basically abandoned Tucker after a successful first half.

[PawDawg]

I dont understand why we basically abandoned Tucker after a successful first half.

Our HC thought it would make himself look bad. He starts him because the other guy won't run, then when Tucker did a great job, he rewarded him by sitting him on the bench...can't make this crap up, but we saw it for two years with Boston Scott not getting the carried he earned.

[Bone_afide_Dawg]

COVID year 2020 is no time to make a coaching change. Give Wood 1 year to get his feet on the ground & if we suck this bad next year then start looking.

I don’t think it can go any other way really. Woods has to have a year to really evaluate everything Tech and he’s got his own job level repairs to make too. For one thing he’s got to vastly improve the game day experience beginning with attendance costs, student attendance, and the big screen fiasco. Tech has got to get people in the seats! If that means selling general admission tickets for $5 at the gate then do it. But, after this season there can be and should be some expectations set about the immediate future. #1 Holtz has to either make the appropriate Position and Coordinating coaching changes or give up the tight micromanaging of those coaches. He can not be an effective Head coach if he’s being the everything else coaches too. Great coaches set standards for their subordinates and then hold them too them. Saban as an obvious example doesn’t do everyone else’s job for them. He just gets pissed off and tells them when they’re not doing their part.

Case in point, it is inexcusable for Tech to have the worst punter in the nation. Barnes is clearly a very capable and competent place kicker, but if he’s not punter material have somebody else do it. There are hours in a day to have some other guy(S) practice at punting a football.

I’m just a fan and paying customer but I have expectations that I want meant. That’s how it works.

[HogDawg]

I don’t think it can go any other way really. Woods has to have a year to really evaluate everything Tech and he’s got his own job level repairs to make too. For one thing he’s got to vastly improve the game day experience beginning with attendance costs, student attendance, and the big screen fiasco. Tech has got to get people in the seats! If that means selling general admission tickets for $5 at the gate then do it. But, after this season there can be and should be some expectations set about the immediate future. #1 Holtz has to either make the appropriate Position and Coordinating coaching changes or give up the tight micromanaging of those coaches. He can not be an effective Head coach if he’s being the everything else coaches too. Great coaches set standards for their subordinates and then hold them too them. Saban as an obvious example doesn’t do everyone else’s job for them. He just gets pissed off and tells them when they’re not doing their part.

Case in point, it is inexcusable for Tech to have the worst punter in the nation. Barnes is clearly a very capable and competent place kicker, but if he’s not punter material have somebody else do it. There are hours in a day to have some other guy(S) practice at punting a football.

I’m just a fan and paying customer but I have expectations that I want meant. That’s how it works.

.....Now you're struggling to find a way to keep Holtz around. You want him to make "appropriate Position and Coordinating coaching changes", or "give up tight micromanaging of those coaches". You sound like the disgruntled wife who insists on changing her no good, chronically unemployed, husband. She forgets that THAT'S who he is. It's the same with Holtz. THIS is who he is, and you are not going to change him. We're not in the "rehabilitation" business at Louisiana Tech. You fire him, and send him packing. There's no other way.

Why do Tech fans have such a hard time letting go of something that's NOT working. This is no longer working.

[PawDawg]

Why do Tech fans have such a hard time letting go of something that's NOT working. This is no longer working.

Many fans judge him on the big picture...winning seasons, bowl wins, blah, blah, blah

Those same peeps refuse to discuss him NEVER winning a big regular season game outside of Lafayette two times and choking in all the CUSA big games (late season). Those same peeps defend the last two contract extensions he recieved.