Things I cant figure out from last night

  1. why we didnt try a FG from the 33 on the first drive. We probably try a FG vs Lindenwood - why not in a game that will be low scoring

  2. why were we so pass happy. When the game was zero-zero we called 12 passes vs 9 runs with Hesson at qb. In the first half it was 21 called passes (some were sacks and scrambles- but they were called passes) vs 10 runs. Normally when the pass is working and they cant guard our receivers we are 50-50 but with Hesson we decide to go 2-1 passing???

  3. why we blitzed on many first and second downs but played zones and soft on 3rd downs. It was UNLV all over again - cant get off the field

  4. why we keep running Brunson over Jones on short yardage. Brunson is a big back but slow to the hole. Jones makes the 3rd and 1s. After last week we do it again

  5. why Miami thinks it is fine for gamblers to know DQ isnt playing but fans driving hours to the game dont know until the first snap and still get a very unsatisfactory answer. They had Finn as the model for the jerseys and then tell us he was sick all week and never was going to play.

Last night made no sense

4 Likes

I dont have answers but god damn. That sucked to watch. Last two weeks have been brutal. Good thing I held off on that hotel in Detroit

A week or two ago there was a discussion about why conferences or any of us should care about injury reports and why the NCAA and conferences are apparently servicing gamblers.

Last night was exhibit A why it matters. The players on the team have known most the week Finn was very unlikely to play. Clearly that news got out first narrowly then widely as the line moved from 1.5 to 3.5 to 6.5 leaning to 7 by kick. That type of knowledge could have been worth tens of thousands of dollars to the right unscrupulous betting rings.

Were Miami players compromised? Did this just get out innocently (player tells a friend/family member who tells someone who eventually gets to the people that can drop enough money to shift lines)? You don’t want information like this private because it puts our players in a very dangerous/enticing situation where someone who isn’t getting big NIL money could have made some cash with a simple text to the right person.

6 Likes

Nice list! Borrowing from WWII GI jargon, last night was simply FUBAR - from the hideous Bearcat Black uniforms, to the coaching decisions, to most of the Offensive execution.

It also exposed how unprepared we would have been to play this season if we hadn’t landed Finn in the portal in January.

3 Likes

Do we even have a QB coach on staff?

Gus Ragland

  1. We kept throwing because CM has a love affair with “chunk plays” even when we clearly are not equipped to go for them.
  2. Our DBs have been soft for the last few years. Count how many yards of cushion they give. It is usually close to or over 10 at the line of scrimmage
  3. I commented several times last night, as did others, that on short yardage, give the ball to Jones.
  4. FUBAR ON STEROIDS IS WHAT THAT WAS LAST NIGHT
2 Likes

Agree entirely that our D backs play too soft. If we don’t have the skill to go m/m on some of those 3rd down situations then we need to recruit better. If we do have the skill, someone needs to be replaced. Waiting for the other team to make a mistake works really well w bad teams, not so much with good teams.

Henry Hesson career stats including last night in 14 games of action:

46/106, 43.4%, 635 passing yards, 4 TDs, 3 INT. 43 total yards rushing.

Most of those 14 games involved second half mop up duty. And one was the Cure Bowl mess.

I did nothing but give the straight stats. You can reach your own conclusions which I guess you have.

Still mind boggling we didn’t go w heavy run game plan along w short passes. I also was surprised to see how lost Hesson looked out there…painful to watch and even more painful to realize he is a 4 year player on the team and our supposed best back up QB option.

1 Like

Also worth noting that a significant chunk of his playing time has been against bottom tier FCS teams.

Against FBS opposition his numbers are:

31/80, 38.8%, 390 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs, and 23 carries for 21 yards

he should never see a second of playing time. Give other guys a chance.