Glad we won, and we’ve won 8 straight and everything is still on the table. That said, disappointing to have nearly lost and to have played and coached so poorly.
But, what I noticed is that I don’t think for any single play did Vandy not know what we were doing offensively. We didn’t surprise them or catch them off guard at any point.
Had we not been able to physically bully them in the run game in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, we might have gotten blown out.
Great example was the key point in the game in the third: we had just ridden Noel to a 20-13 edge, gotten the 3-and-out and taken over at the 33 — a drive here ends the game.
First play was a run for Noel, perfectly defensible: he had been killing them. Problem is, Vandy knew we were going to do too and totally sold out against the run. No gain. Part of play-calling is game theory: they think we’re gonna do this so they’ll be in this defense so we’ll do this etc. perfect opportunity for play-action there.
2nd-10 now: throw it. Everyone’s covered. Brady tries to force it Burden who is among 4 Commodores.
3rd-10, pass. Vandy blitzes. We don’t pick it up, flushing Brady. Short completion. Punt. Momentum shift.
They go on a tying TD drive to follow.
Same with the short yardage situations: everyone in the stadium knew what we were going to do each time.
Hopefully, it’s all because we’re saving shit for A&M
