(10-10-2018 02:42 AM)T-Dog Wrote: I'm kind of baffled that A-State fans are jumping off the ship so fas. A play here or there away from three straight Sun Belt titles last season and still have a lot to play for this season.
How has this been building up despite the wins. Please enlighten this outsider.
2016 lose first four games. Toledo and Auburn, no shock. Utah State out-gained the Aggies and set a school record for penalties in a game, negative side of turnover margin. Next week out-gain FCS Central Arkansas negative side of turnover margin. Ditto at Louisiana. Three losses where the offense moved the ball everywhere but the end zone and poor ball security sunk the team. 8-5 squad could have done better.
2017 Nebraska, USA, Troy, MTSU, same song. Move the ball over the place but can't score the most points (object of the game), negative turnover margin. 7-5 squad that could have done better.
2018. End up in tighter games against UNLV and Tulsa after early success. Georgia Southern out-gain end up on the negative side of turnover margin.
31 games, 18-13 record, 8 losses where ball security and/or penalties sinks the team along with bad play inside the 30.
In the past 8 seasons the worst two season in offensive possessions to scoring possessions (ie eliminating defensive scores and special team scores from possessions) have been 2016 and 2018. At the halfway point Hansen's efficiency rating is the worst in his time at AState.
Here is an example I used.
A play that AState has nearly discarded from the playbook the past few years has been the jet sweep. Against App we ran a jet sweep to modest success. A few plays later AState fakes the jet and runs right into the heart of the defense for a no gain.
The "idea" was run the jet, App will react when they see it again, that will pull LB's out of the middle of the formation and open up the run. No. That doesn't happen when the opposing team has only seen it one or two times on film and one time in the game. Running a play that depends on the defense biting that you are doing something else requires doing that something else several times with success and triggering in the defense the desire to not get burnt by that something again. One frickin play doesn't do that.
Guys like Freeze, Malzahn and Harsin would have a play they'd run over and over and over then around the third quarter they'd show that play and instead run something designed to take advantage of the defense reacting.
The pick on our side of the field just before half. AState needs a yard. OK if you are Satterfield you are weighing a handoff, QB keep, or short pass. The RB goes in motion to empty the backfield, a formation 4 times out of 5 we throw a quick slant left on. Well hell Satterfield says that made **** easier. Hansen is late throwing the ball and nearly is a pick six.
Dumb play call plus + bad execution.
AState is currently rated 95 in ESPN FPI. To find an AState team rated 95 or worse, you have to go all the way back to 2007, our last season using the Indians nickname.