Anybody else as nervous as I am? On the plus side, we get a chance to avenge our most frustrating and disappointing loss right away, in Week 1. Of course, the down side is that there is at least a decent chance that our realistic hopes to contend for the conference go down the drain in Week 1. Hence, my anxiety.
I thought we had an excellent chance to win last year, and we threw it away with a lot of self inflicted issues. The following series is a great example. We lead 7-0, our defense has gotten 2 stops on VT, we have an excellent chance to work this game. We take over at our own 10 yard line. We could drive for a score to make it 14-0, but even if we don’t go 90 yards, if we can move the ball a little bit, we can improve our field position to punt and give our defense rest. Instead we roll out these 3 consecutive plays:
1 - Great option, we have Tevin and Roddy on the corner against only 1 defender. Inexplicably, Tevin decides to pitch far too early, with no defender near him. Makes the decision for the lone defender easy, who tackles Roddy for no gain. This play might have gone for 10+ yards.
2 - Botched snap, Tevin falls on it for no gain.
3 - 3rd and 10, but a good pass play should convert, but Orwin drops an easy catch.
See here:
The significance of failing to get this first down was huge. Instead of having the ball at our own 25 or so and possibly driving to score, but definitely giving our defense more rest and better field position, we punt from our own end zone, and VT takes over at our 38. They punch in a TD and our early 7-0 advantage is erased. To make matters worse, this came in the 2nd quarter, and we were to receive the ball to open the second half. Getting this first down would have allowed us to eat some clock, and dramatically increased our chances of either leading or at worst, being tied, at halftime.
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