I know a lot of fans are no doubt bent out of shape about how drastically different the game was officiated in the first in second halves. They'll say that Bowden giving the refs an earful before halftime led to missed calls against the Noles or objectionable calls against State (my only beef was the helmet-to-helmet call...very iffy).
But that's not why State lost that game. Not even close.
One need look no further than three plays that sealed State's fate against the Noles: 3rd-and-14, 3rd-and-21 and 3rd-and-17. FSU converted on those three crucial third downs at the end of the first half and in the second to keep two key drives alive that not only put points on the board (10 total) but also help wear down a beleaguered Wolfpack defense.
Losing Nate Irving again didn't help matters, of course, but State's inability to get off the field in those crucial third-and-forevers put points on the board for the Noles, help build their momentum in the game and ultimately led to State's defensive fatigue late in the game.
If State continues that trend beyond this game, it could make for a rocky end of the year.
But that's not why State lost that game. Not even close.
One need look no further than three plays that sealed State's fate against the Noles: 3rd-and-14, 3rd-and-21 and 3rd-and-17. FSU converted on those three crucial third downs at the end of the first half and in the second to keep two key drives alive that not only put points on the board (10 total) but also help wear down a beleaguered Wolfpack defense.
Losing Nate Irving again didn't help matters, of course, but State's inability to get off the field in those crucial third-and-forevers put points on the board for the Noles, help build their momentum in the game and ultimately led to State's defensive fatigue late in the game.
If State continues that trend beyond this game, it could make for a rocky end of the year.
As I recall, at least one of those 3rd and longs was aided by a holding no-call that should have gone against FSU. You can say calls (or no-calls) didn't cause this loss, but some calls keep drives alive and result in eventual scores that shouldn't have happened.
ReplyDeleteembarrasing...it's impossible to go 0-8 in the acc right?!
ReplyDeleteDavid, the good news is that you can argue that the four toughest ACC opponents on our schedule this year are Clemson, BC, Florida State and Maryland. So our three conferences losses to date are from that grouping and we play Maryland this weekend, so if we can eek out a win against the Terps (we're not ranked, so we've got a shot against the Terps, right?) there's a chance -- A CHANCE -- to run the table.
ReplyDeleteWake and Carolina aren't as bad as they looked this weekend, but they aren't unbeatable, either, especially since we have another bye week following Maryland to prepare for the home stretch of the Big Four and Miami, who also looks very beatable.
We're winless in conference now, but we won't be come December.