Let me start off by saying this: I know it's only one game, but I was fully buying what this staff was selling through spring/summer/fall camps. And I was telling you all as much.
From Bicknell saying this could be the best offensive line he's ever coached, to Satterfield saying the culture is finally where it needs to be, to Mark Ivey raving about YaYa Diaby. And so on and so forth...
I bought back into this staff.
And after last night's performance, I'm close to being back out.
I've listened and read the hot takes all day, and here's what I've come to as things I'm taking away from last night after sleeping on it:
***The offensive line, whether a bunch of starters are back or not, is not improved. For the most part, Ole Miss only rushed three guys. And Louisville still couldn't run the ball effectively. And they still couldn't protect Cunningham. Cole Bentley has been here a while, he's played in a ton of games, he has a ton of experience, but that doesn't mean anything at the end of the day if he can't get a push up front.
***On the flip side, the Louisville defensive line didn't touch Matt Corral outside of one play by Yasir Abdullah. It didn't matter how many guys Bryan Brown sent, it didn't matter who was in the game, Louisville couldn't get any pressure on Matt Corral. YaYa Diaby's name wasn't called one time if I recall correctly.
***And that's the difference. Ole Miss could drop eight in coverage, and still get a pass rush. The same can't be said for Louisville.
***Bryan Brown's defense showed glimpses, but I was still disappointed in a few things. On the very first drive, Louisville got Ole Miss into a 3rd and long. And Brown dropped eight and only sent three. A receiver is going to get open, and Corral is going to find someone if he can sit in the pocket and pat the ball for 10 seconds. IMO, you have to bring pressure there. On another instance, Louisville had Ole Miss in a 4th and 6, and the defensive backs are playing 10-15 yards off the ball, and Ole Miss throws a quick slant for an easy first down. I just don't get that whatsoever.
***The in-game adjustments are nowhere to be found. It essentially took Satterfield and the offensive staff a whole two quarters to change what they were doing on offense. Cunningham reiterated that in the postgame, basically saying Ole Miss was giving them a look they had never seen. It shouldn't take a half of football to adjust to a defense dropping eight into coverage.
***There were multiple plays where Louisville only had 10 players on the field. On one occasion, Louisville didn't have a defensive end in the game. The other was on a field goal block. That is unacceptable and a direct result of a team not being prepared.
***The play calling was way too predictable and was the exact same as last year. The stretch run on 2nd and long isn't it. Neither is the read option on 3rd and 4th down. Everyone knows it's coming, and Ole Miss stuffed it all night. The quarterback sweeps and draws on obvious passing downs was just as frustrating. The passing game is just as bad. Louisville dialed up maybe one deep shot all night. Sure, Malik threw an interception on that, but you can't just shut down because of it. Where is the quick game? Where are the quick slants? Where are the quick hitch routes?
If you've made it this far, I'll leave you with this.
The way Scott Satterfield handled his postgame press conferences last year drove me nuts. He repeatedly said "we were right there with a chance to win"
Last night, he pointed to the second half: "we did some good things"
I'd rather hear this: "Our performance tonight was unacceptable. This staff and I are going to get right to work on getting this fixed."
Beat EKU.
From Bicknell saying this could be the best offensive line he's ever coached, to Satterfield saying the culture is finally where it needs to be, to Mark Ivey raving about YaYa Diaby. And so on and so forth...
I bought back into this staff.
And after last night's performance, I'm close to being back out.
I've listened and read the hot takes all day, and here's what I've come to as things I'm taking away from last night after sleeping on it:
***The offensive line, whether a bunch of starters are back or not, is not improved. For the most part, Ole Miss only rushed three guys. And Louisville still couldn't run the ball effectively. And they still couldn't protect Cunningham. Cole Bentley has been here a while, he's played in a ton of games, he has a ton of experience, but that doesn't mean anything at the end of the day if he can't get a push up front.
***On the flip side, the Louisville defensive line didn't touch Matt Corral outside of one play by Yasir Abdullah. It didn't matter how many guys Bryan Brown sent, it didn't matter who was in the game, Louisville couldn't get any pressure on Matt Corral. YaYa Diaby's name wasn't called one time if I recall correctly.
***And that's the difference. Ole Miss could drop eight in coverage, and still get a pass rush. The same can't be said for Louisville.
***Bryan Brown's defense showed glimpses, but I was still disappointed in a few things. On the very first drive, Louisville got Ole Miss into a 3rd and long. And Brown dropped eight and only sent three. A receiver is going to get open, and Corral is going to find someone if he can sit in the pocket and pat the ball for 10 seconds. IMO, you have to bring pressure there. On another instance, Louisville had Ole Miss in a 4th and 6, and the defensive backs are playing 10-15 yards off the ball, and Ole Miss throws a quick slant for an easy first down. I just don't get that whatsoever.
***The in-game adjustments are nowhere to be found. It essentially took Satterfield and the offensive staff a whole two quarters to change what they were doing on offense. Cunningham reiterated that in the postgame, basically saying Ole Miss was giving them a look they had never seen. It shouldn't take a half of football to adjust to a defense dropping eight into coverage.
***There were multiple plays where Louisville only had 10 players on the field. On one occasion, Louisville didn't have a defensive end in the game. The other was on a field goal block. That is unacceptable and a direct result of a team not being prepared.
***The play calling was way too predictable and was the exact same as last year. The stretch run on 2nd and long isn't it. Neither is the read option on 3rd and 4th down. Everyone knows it's coming, and Ole Miss stuffed it all night. The quarterback sweeps and draws on obvious passing downs was just as frustrating. The passing game is just as bad. Louisville dialed up maybe one deep shot all night. Sure, Malik threw an interception on that, but you can't just shut down because of it. Where is the quick game? Where are the quick slants? Where are the quick hitch routes?
If you've made it this far, I'll leave you with this.
The way Scott Satterfield handled his postgame press conferences last year drove me nuts. He repeatedly said "we were right there with a chance to win"
Last night, he pointed to the second half: "we did some good things"
I'd rather hear this: "Our performance tonight was unacceptable. This staff and I are going to get right to work on getting this fixed."
Beat EKU.
