In the grand scheme of things I get it, but when it's likely he's only going to play 3-6 more drives in an Aggie uniform the risk-reward ratios for wear and tear on the QB change dramatically. And this is pretty much only an issue of wear and tear, not hugely risky things -- other teams run their QBs on short yardage all the time.
I've said it before on here -- I think this staff was good at dealing with the low-hanging fruit by getting a few good players on offense and switching to the spread and going for it on 4th once in a blue moon. They also are kinda ok at realizing when something needs to be worked on -- i.e. we saw the false start penalties go away mid-season.
But our playcalling is generally still "play-not-to-get-blown-out". Tackling is still bad. Clock management is iffy sometimes. Lack of focus in key moments. Generally not playing up to competition (i.e. I'm not sure we have any wins against top 10 FCS teams in the Hawkins era)
TD Thompson. I'd love to be proven wrong but it's over and I'm turning it off. If it were me in Hawkins' shoes neither coordinator would have their job by December, but that's above my pay grade.
I don't think it's coaching. Case in point- ags first down by Gilliam, unnecessary holding by offensive guard. It's been that all year, over and over. Stupid plays/lack of clutch play by the players.
I agree, announcers complimented our defense several times.
We were shutout in the 2nd half. Only 3 receivers caught balls, 2 with more than 1 catch. No Harrell today. Should Vaughn have caught that key pass? Huge. Offensive line looked solid. Maier helped bring our program back, but I believe lack of mobility and arm strength didn't help. We should be deep next year at WR.
You can't win in the Big Sky scoring under 20 a game no matter how strong your defense.
Our Defense looked solid, can't blame them for 3-and-outs on offense. Special teams appeared A+.
Youth & injuries play a big role. Losing our top 2 playmaking LBs was a blow, and they adjusted. Losing two top WRs seemed to stunt our offense, along with losing our downhill RB (ribs I believe). No FB on the roster, and new RBs reportedly wiped out by injuries.
The downfield OL hold? A freshman. Probably not a mistake he'll make as an upperclassman. The negated interception? Ugh.
[Edit] You have a quick trigger finger on proven coaches. I would emphasize the need for a pass rush, and see if we could steal a JC pass rush threat. Play calling needs work, that again circles back to young inexperienced players.
This has to be one of the most diesappointing seasons ever. The expectations were so high going into the season and now we finish 5-7 without beating a single quality team. The writing was on the wall when we were lucky to beat San Diego and the exclamation point was added when we didn't show up to play against Montana.
The defense played ok but missed failed to wrap up the ball carrier after making contact on too many occasions. The offense was simply anemic. Other than the long pass, it just looked listless. Jake had tons of time and, generally, our receivers were not creating separation and too often our running plays were entirely predictable.