Yes, the offensive play calling was bland and the defense started to bend too much. But this is no where near an indication of where the team is going.
First lets bring up that some of you are thinking “it’s Fresno State” and are no different than Auburn fans saying “it’s UCF” or Alabama fans saying years ago “it’s Utah.” While Fresno State might not be UCF or the Utah those fans were talking about, they had a better year than us and stacked up perfectly against us.
Fresno State did have 4 losses just like us. The difference is, only one of those losses were against an unranked team and UNLV is still at worst a little better this year than Tulsa or Tulane. Also like us, Fresno State had a top 25 win against Boise State. Boise State and USF were equally impressive wins for both Fresno State and UH respectively. So it’s safe to say, we were going up against a team that was as good as us if not maybe a little better.
Then comes the matchups. Can anyone deny or biggest strength is our defensive line anchored by Ed Oliver? What some seem to not understand is that Fresno State’s biggest strength is their pass blocking. They had allowed only 9 sacks all year. 2 @ Alabama, 2 @ Boise State and 4 in the other 9 games combined. It was an offensive line that had the same 5 starters for 13 games, something we wish we have had the last couple of years.
When your defense doesn’t bend for 4 straight series against a line like that but your offense gets 2 first downs in it’s first 5 series, including a zero yard drive when given the ball on the opponent 28, your defense is going to start bending. Especially when you are getting very little pressure on the QB. That offensive line was amazing and when you can’t get pressure, you can’t expect your defensive backs to play tight man to man because, with 6 seconds to throw, even an average QB will find a receiver open against a good secondary. The defense wasn’t great by any means but they weren’t horrible and the sky isn’t falling.
My only defense I have about the offense is, it fortunately shouldn’t be the same offense we practice in the spring. We will have a new coordinator and play caller and we will have two very athletic QB’s to focus on. Hopefully CMA is given a budget where he doesn’t have to pick up an OC off the unemployment line but that is for another thread.
This was Applewhite’s offense and it is just as offensive as the one he had on the field last year against San Diego State. There was no reason to keep on running the same running play into the center of a defensive line that was clearly defeating us at the point of attack for 3 quarters. There was no reason to not run King outside using a Car or Catalon as a blocker to free him up for a longer run. It was done once.and then as an act of last resort. Twenty years after the fact we have hired another Kim Helton.
IMHO, if we don’t select Kendall Briles as our next OC, we’re just not very serious about winning “bigly” - to quote a politician. Sometimes decisions are a no-brainer.
Don’t get so caught up about one coordinator or one coach. You’ll just be disappointed.
All we need is CMA to allow a good coordinator to take control of the offense and, more importantly, the scheme. Hire a good coordinator with experience and trust him to do their job.
But will CMA let an OC run wild and free? I’m leaning towards No. We were told we would win lots. We win some, lose the rest. If we still played at the Rob, no facilities, etc., this wouldn’t have been a bad season at all. Next year, no excuses. I’d like to think Opie can be a good coach, but the evidence isn’t in sight.
I see the same thing as with Levine, Good guy that should have cut his teeth as a UNT , Tx St HC gig before he was given the reigns to UH. Until we get P5 it is what it is. Worked out with Briles, Sumlin and Herman. Levine and so far Applewhite have been a whiff
It makes more sense for K. Briles to remain at FAU. If I were him I’d stick to Kiffin like glue until the opportunity of a lifetime comes along to him. However if we were to dangle enough $$$ it might be a game changer for him and us.
shaggylives reminds me of the old uncle at the family picknic who wanders around the periphery mumbling to himself about how things should be while thinking that someone is listening. Sorry shag, I’m sure you’re a nice person, but come on man…CMA has proven that he only wants to run a certain style of offense and refuses to deter from his plan despite all evidence to the contrary. I’m beginning to think that CMA only KNOWS one type of offense…the one that Mack Brown ran at uta. He has had ample opportunity to prove that he can be imaginative in his offense…but nada. I remember talk that Herms was calling plays from the field over CMAs choices. I just don’t think the man understands any other style. Let’s just hope he finds a good offensive coordinator and turns them loose. And regarding picking one off the unemployment line (quoting shag), the last one had a pretty good job before coming here. In fact he supposedly came here because he would be allowed to call plays. Funny thing is that our play calling last night looked just like the rest of the season. Maybe Johnson’s leaving was more jumping ship than a retreat. CMA was paid pretty good $$s when he was Ocoord, so what happened to that money? For a program with the potential of UH, settling for a bad pick for head coach shouldn’t be tolerated. Give the man one more season and then move on.
His claim to fame was being the QB coach to Dak. Did you look at his numbers as an OC? Utah was ranked 90th and 59th in offensive efficiency his two years as the OC/QB/play caller. You don’t think we deserve a little more experience than a guy with two years experience at the position and no success?
That is all besides the point. I must have been mumbling because I certainly did not defend Applewhite as our coach in that post at all. The point of the post was to say, based on the season we had, that game was, what should have been expected.
As far as replacements, Brian Wright maybe? Matt Kubik looks good but he needs another year or two of success at the FBS level.
Fresno State was clearly the better team last night. The game was not as close as the score would indicate. If I were a DC going against the Coogs offense, I’d be licking my chops. Absolutely no imagination. Most of their running plays are between the tackles of an OL that has been subpar the last two seasons. We all know MA loves the “bubble screen” and screen pass. They take an occasional shot down field but that’s about it. The next OC is a HUGE hire for MA. He better get it right.
I love King as an playmaker but I’m not totally convinced he’s the answer to our QB in the future. He was injured most of last spring and summer but come this spring and summer, he finally get to work on being a full-time qb. If if King doesn’t workout at qb, I would love for Bryson to take over with King and Juju being the playmakers at the WR position. And let’s hope Stevenson can stay healthy this upcoming season. With Lark, Corbin, Stevenson, Juju and King, we need a qb to get them the ball.
…and a different, more explosive offensive system that will let them use every bit of the playing field for maximum success…searching kindle…ken doll…kendall…
kiffin is border line black balled…he’ll get an nc state type job but wont reach top levels again…
applewhite on the other hand is a golden egg in the coaching world …literally if he comes here will finsih top 15, literally every program in the nation will start targeting applewhite
When Fresno State took an early lead, the game was over. While the Coogs came back and tied it several times afterward, we’ve seen this team enough to know it can’t handle adversity well.