It's hard to beat that feeling of 'wake'ing up on a Sunday morning following a big win...
Here are a few final thoughts from the 48-21 win:
-- Like most, after the loss to Boston College, I didn't think this was salvageable. I was here for any discussions on when a change should be made and who should be on the coaching hot board. If there's one thing you can definitively say about Scott Satterfield and this staff, it's that they never lost the locker room. No matter how bad it got, the players stayed bought in and responded. That's a testament to what Scott Satterfield has built within this program.
-- The defense has been nothing short of outstanding over the last three games. Louisville had 11 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, and forced 8 turnovers yesterday. They now lead the country in turnovers forced with 24. They’re 4th in the country in turnover margin. Additionally, Louisville leads the country in sacks and sacks per game.
-- Mark Ivey, in addition to Bryan Brown, was under a ton of heat, and his defensive line has improved a ton. The development of YaYa Diaby has been fun to watch, and Diaby is one of the best in the country statistically. Diaby is ranked in the top 20 in both sacks and tackles for loss.
- Speaking of player development: Following Lole's injury, Jared Dawson has been playing a lot more snaps, and give credit again to Mark Ivey for having him ready to play. Dawson once again stepped up and played a helluva game yesterday, forcing a fumble. Caleb Banks has been brought along quite a bit, too.
-- Another point about individual player development: Kei'Trel Clark finally looked like the player he was before the injury. Clark was great yesterday and had two excellent plays that went against him: the DPI was a bogus call, and the touchdown should've been a PBU.
-- MJ Griffin and Ben Perry are also two guys who have continued to get better and better. Perry has been very good against the run, and has really solidifed himself at the CARD spot. Even Momo Sanogo has improved a ton over the last three weeks. Improvement is evident across the board on defense.
-- One last point about individual players: it was not a secret that Tiyon Evans had troubles staying healthy and staying committed to the team at Tennessee. After he lost his starting role there, the wheels sort of came off. When the same sort of thing happened here, I was worried that Evans may distance himself from the team, etc. Even when he was out, he was extremely engaged on the sidelines. And yesterday, when he returned to the lineup, he ran hard, and provided that game-breaking speed that some of the other backs don't have.
The attendance wasn't great, and I'm not sure how it looked/sounded on TV, but it was LOUD. The noise clearly got to the Wake offense.
Big picture wise, NC State at home looks a lot more winnable. Kentucky is reeling. A solid season is very much within reach and Scott Satterfield deserves a ton of praise.
Here are a few final thoughts from the 48-21 win:
-- Like most, after the loss to Boston College, I didn't think this was salvageable. I was here for any discussions on when a change should be made and who should be on the coaching hot board. If there's one thing you can definitively say about Scott Satterfield and this staff, it's that they never lost the locker room. No matter how bad it got, the players stayed bought in and responded. That's a testament to what Scott Satterfield has built within this program.
-- The defense has been nothing short of outstanding over the last three games. Louisville had 11 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, and forced 8 turnovers yesterday. They now lead the country in turnovers forced with 24. They’re 4th in the country in turnover margin. Additionally, Louisville leads the country in sacks and sacks per game.
-- Mark Ivey, in addition to Bryan Brown, was under a ton of heat, and his defensive line has improved a ton. The development of YaYa Diaby has been fun to watch, and Diaby is one of the best in the country statistically. Diaby is ranked in the top 20 in both sacks and tackles for loss.
- Speaking of player development: Following Lole's injury, Jared Dawson has been playing a lot more snaps, and give credit again to Mark Ivey for having him ready to play. Dawson once again stepped up and played a helluva game yesterday, forcing a fumble. Caleb Banks has been brought along quite a bit, too.
-- Another point about individual player development: Kei'Trel Clark finally looked like the player he was before the injury. Clark was great yesterday and had two excellent plays that went against him: the DPI was a bogus call, and the touchdown should've been a PBU.
-- MJ Griffin and Ben Perry are also two guys who have continued to get better and better. Perry has been very good against the run, and has really solidifed himself at the CARD spot. Even Momo Sanogo has improved a ton over the last three weeks. Improvement is evident across the board on defense.
-- One last point about individual players: it was not a secret that Tiyon Evans had troubles staying healthy and staying committed to the team at Tennessee. After he lost his starting role there, the wheels sort of came off. When the same sort of thing happened here, I was worried that Evans may distance himself from the team, etc. Even when he was out, he was extremely engaged on the sidelines. And yesterday, when he returned to the lineup, he ran hard, and provided that game-breaking speed that some of the other backs don't have.
The attendance wasn't great, and I'm not sure how it looked/sounded on TV, but it was LOUD. The noise clearly got to the Wake offense.
Big picture wise, NC State at home looks a lot more winnable. Kentucky is reeling. A solid season is very much within reach and Scott Satterfield deserves a ton of praise.
