FBI St. Francis

[Big R]

FBI Saint Francis Game 9/16/2023

As readers may recall from past years, I try to write up my notes and observations from the games I am able to attend using the acronym FBI (for Field, Press Box, and Interviews).

I always try to write up my observations before reading other GoHens posts so that, right or wrong, what you read are, hopefully, my unfiltered, unbiased observations and opinions that are not influenced by outside factors. This does, however, mean that a lot of what I write may already have been posted, discussed, and dissected. So, if you feel that there is not much here that is new material, that is the reason.

Historically, I spend Pre-game and 1st Quarter on the field, and then go to the press box for the rest of the game.


Field (Pre-game and Qtr 1)

Prior to the game, the first thing I took note of was the group of recruits on the sideline. There were 17 on hand. I didn’t get there early enough to get much info, but, what I did get, I have passed on to SussexJay.

It was fun to see Rich Gannon on the sideline and out for the coin toss. He obviously keeps himself in great shape.

This was the first game that our friend, Mark “Cams” Campbell has ever watched from the box seats that he has held for a number of years, as a season ticket holder. It seemed strange not seeing him prowling the field looking for those great shots he brought to us for 17 years, but I’m glad he is now able to watch the game as a fan and can finally cheer for his beloved Blue Hens (which is Taboo when you are a working member of the media). He gave a GREAT presentation on Friday at the Blue Hen Touchdown Club luncheon, and mentioned that he would be sitting in his box seats on the 40-yard line. He was easy to spot, and I took a couple of photos of him, and noticed that another famed UD quarterback, Scott Brunner, was sitting a couple of rows over.

Now, for the game.
Through the years, I’ve learned, standing next to the bench prior to kick-off, and through the first quarter, that each team is different and has their own personality. Some take a more business-like approach and others are over-the-top emotional and involved on every play. I have to say that the energy, or, rather, lack thereof, that I saw at this game gave me pause. I didn’t doubt that we were the better team, but when a relatively young team, like ours, is as emotionless as this one appeared to be (at least to me), it can create some questions. So, when I left the sidelines at the end of Q1 to go up to the press box, and with SFU driving, I was a little anxious, to say the least.

Here is one other note of interest. When UD was on offense, it was entertaining to watch the backup QB’s (including Zach Marker), trying to peer under the big blocking screen that is held up to stop “prying” eyes of the opposing team’s coaches in the press box from seeing the plays that were being signaled in. Noah Sanders was charting the plays, and, as the other QB’s would lean and stoop and crane their necks to see what the play call was, they would repeat it for Noah to write down. I’m still not sure how functional that screen is – it seems to me like there could be someone on the opposite sideline watching the signals and getting word to the players on the field just as easily – but, what do I know?! It all seems to me like some coach started it a number of years ago and then every team had to follow suit, whether it makes sense or not. (Note to self – ask RC about this sometime.)


Press Box (Qtrs 2, 3, & 4)

Some things that were noticeable about our defense:
With a mobile QB like Doyle, our young defenders need to do a better job of staying in their lanes than they did in this game. Also, I think they need to work on taking better angles. It appeared to me, from up above, that there were a number of times when plays could have been held to considerably lesser gains, had the defender(s) taken a better angle. This is something that should improve with experience and film work, but against a team like UNH this coming Saturday, it is an area of concern to me.

After the interception by Seay in the end zone, he hesitated bringing it out and then got tackled around the 11 yard line, it looked like RC may have yelled at him for not taking a knee for a touchback.

With under a minute left in the first half, UD had the ball first-and-ten at SFU’s 37 yard line, and I was thinking, “Let’s get another 10 or 12 yards and attempt a FG.” On the next play, O’Connor was sacked for an 11-yard loss back to the 48 and I thought “Well, there goes that chance.” So, it looked like UD would go into the locker room with a relatively evenly-fought, and uninspired, 14-7 lead. Then, on the very next play, with under 30 seconds left in the first half, Kym Wimberly worked his magic and changed the whole complexion of the game.

When the players came out in the second half, they looked like a completely different team – much more energized and aggressive. The running game really kicked into high gear, which helped open up the passing game.

It looked like O’Connor was waiting for his receivers to get open before delivering the ball, instead of “throwing them open”. Improvement in that area should come with repetition and experience, and could make a big difference in his completion percentage. There were a couple of notable exceptions where he didn't wait, the most evident being the long TD pass to Youngblood. Good job by O’Connor giving one of his play-makers a chance to make a play. On that play, I really thought Youngblood came down out-of-bounds – even after watching the replay on the big scoreboard – and I was wondering why the replay officials didn’t intercede. It wasn’t until I got home and watched a replay of that particular play on my computer that I was able to pause the action and see that his knee did appear to hit inside the end zone before he rolled out. Again, nice play all around.

O-Line did a fair job of pass protection, but did open some really nice holes in the running game. There were times when it looked like O’Connor could have made some decent yards on the run if he had chosen a different hole, but he’ll learn from that when watching film. He did make a very nice play on one third down when he ran up the middle and reached the ball out just across the line-to-gain for a first down to keep a drive alive.

Here is an interesting factoid that is at least partly attributable to the play of the O-Line:
Marcus Yarns has 332 yards rushing in 3 games, but does not show up among the top-10 rushers in the CAA stats. Only Jaden Shirden from Monmouth has more yards rushing with 376. So, what gives? To make the list, a player has to have averaged 10 rushes per game. Shirden has 88 attempts. Yarns only has 29. So, in three games played he is one carry short in order to make the list, but is averaging 11.4 yards per attempt!


Post Game Interviews
GH: “Coach, it seemed like the ball really started rolling after halftime. Was anything said in the locker room or was it just adjustments that were made at that point?”

RC: Took a deep breath, and took a moment before answering. Then he nodded and said: “There were some things said. You know, I think we’re feeding off the energy of the crowd; I think we’re feeding off the energy of the student section. I think, every time we got close to that student section, it made us better, and I’m proud of that. I can’t wait to see it next week. It made a difference. And I think there were some things that went on out there that I wasn’t extremely happy about. I think there were some plays made against our guys that weren’t necessarily being handled well, and so I think there were some things said at halftime that riled the troops up a little bit, enough to go out there and play under control and be smart and make sure that we were the ones that were the beneficiaries of that energy.”

So, whatever was the cause – whether it was cheap shots by SFU, or some other factor, the malaise that I felt at the beginning of the game was certainly washed away at the half, and it sounds like RC didn’t mince words when addressing it with the players in the locker room.

The entire interview can be seen on YouTube. I realize this link has been included in a separate post, but I include it here to make it faster to access https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPshl-AL3CQ

Summary

First of all, I thought the scoreboard looked great and I really like the format with the stats for each team going down their respective sides.

After Reed and Schmoke alternated KO’s and FG’s & PAT’s the first two games, Schmoke handled everything in this game. I’m not sure if that was an indication of anything in the competition between the two, or if it was just to give Schmoke all the work against his former team.

I actually thought that, despite the difference in scores against PSU and SFU, our defense did a better job of staying in their lanes against PSU than they did against SFU. This week, they lost contain quite a few times. That, and taking some bad angles, were probably the two most concerning things about this game to me, especially going up against the offense that New Hampshire has.

On the positive side, in his third career start, I thought O’Connor did OK, and showed growth, as did the entire offense. He was a workmanlike 13 of 24, for 194 yards and 3 TD’s, and, most importantly, NO interceptions. He needs to make quicker decisions, and, as I said previously, continue to improve at throwing the receivers open rather than waiting for them to get open, but I do see progress there. The O-Line continued to open holes for the RB’s.
If I have a concern here on offense, it is pass blocking, especially while O’Connor is still a little slow in getting the ball out. It's not entirely on their shoulders - as O'Connor becomes faster at making his reads and progressions, this will eventually help the O-Line, but in the meantime, they’ll need to work a bit harder to give him that extra second or two. It’s not an easy "ask", but it’s just something that has to be done.

So, overall, the end result of this game was good. My concerns about the energy level at the beginning of the game were resolved after halftime. The defense did hold SFU to just the one initial touchdown until garbage time, and had a pick-six, and the offense did score 35 points on a combination of drives and chunk plays. We also won the turnover battle 2-0, so ball security was good and needs to be an even bigger point of emphasis this week.

Progress was made, which is important since, as Tubby used to say: “You are either moving forward, or moving back – you never stay the same.”

Let’s hope that, against UNH, we continue to move forward. It will be a significant test – on paper, they are probably the better team right now.

[Section J]

"After the interception by Seay in the end zone, he hesitated to bring it out and then got tackled around the 11-yard line, it looked like RC may have yelled at him for not taking a knee for a touchback."

I hope RC did chew on his **** about that, it was a silly unthinking reaction.

Great summary, on point with Connor getting the ball out in a more timely manner.

[Udforever1]

"After the interception by Seay in the end zone, he hesitated to bring it out and then got tackled around the 11-yard line, it looked like RC may have yelled at him for not taking a knee for a touchback."

I hope RC did chew on his **** about that, it was a silly unthinking reaction.

Great summary, on point with Connor getting the ball out in a more timely manner.

Was right in front of where I sit. RC gave him a pretty good chewing. Seay had another great game, just made a rookie mistake.

Great summary as usual, Big R!

[HENJOHN]

Nice work Rich

[mpwerrell]

Thanks Rich! Great stuff.

[Henzone]

As good as any input you have given on here . Thanks a lot! I mirror most of your thoughts.

I was completely bummed out with the lack of excitement initially shown in the first half as RC prides himself in energizing his guys.

A lot of people are a work in progress and that includes both our players & coaches.

The scrum seemed to kickstart our Hens and we improved as the game progressed and the Flash started to flicker.

We can't afford a slow start or questionable decisions this Saturday or UNH will walk away with a win.

[HENJOHN]

Watched numerous teams come out seemingly Flat this past weekend. It's just a fact of life anymore not just for Ryan. Alabama, Texas, Michigan, even Georgia all struggled mightily .Motivation of players today is seemingly much more challenging. This weekend should pose no such issue

[77HEN]

Very nice write up, well written with good comments. Discipline in rushing the QB and holding lanes was lacking some as you said. Crazy and stupid rule for listing CAA rushing leaders as you pointed out. Hosting my friend, former UNH player, at Del. Stadium this Saturday. Should be a good game with a good crowd. Go Hens!

[Caribbean Hen]

Excellent report Big R

I noticed that on the YPC with Yarns but they can’t keep him out of total rushing yards and he’s 7th in the nation

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fcs ... vidual/469

332 yards
29 Carries
11.4 ypc

[Big R]

I understand why the CAA does it - they have to draw the line somewhere. Hopefully, he will get enough carriers to qualify as the season progresses, but I don’t think making this particular list is the be-all and end-all, as long as he continues to produce. I doubt he will maintain an 11.4 ypc pace over the season (but we can hope!)

IMG_7030 2 Large.jpeg (279.34 KiB) Viewed 481 times

[Big R]

Watched numerous teams come out seemingly Flat this past weekend. It's just a fact of life anymore not just for Ryan. Alabama, Texas, Michigan, even Georgia all struggled mightily .Motivation of players today is seemingly much more challenging. This weekend should pose no such issue

Agree - ideally, you want to have a a team of players who motivate themselves.