1. FSU has a stable full of talent.
2. Jim Bo out coached Bobby P. I only got to see most of the last QTR. But once again, here's the deal. The shotgun formation gives one 'instant' pass protection & a QB can pass the ball faster than a defender can react - even if the receiver is right next to the defender. L'ville tried to play zone defense which leaves a receiver 'open' when the QB throws the ball into the seams. R'er catches the ball & gets tackled OR runs right up the seam for a huge gain or score.
3. In a game like this you cannot take your foot off the pedal like L'Ville did when they got the ball inside their 20 on a punt with the lead with @ 6 minutes left to go. They put their game plan on a shelf (remember the very first play of the game?) & went into the tank.
4. Defensively, you have to keep the QB in the pocket (which was easier to do in the 4th because Winston was hobbling around on a bum leg). There must be a controlled rush-DE's have to rush from the outside in keeping the QB in the pocket & the DTs must maintain their lanes. AND defenders have to disrupt the R'ers during the first 5 yards of their route. If not, you will not be able to react quick enough to stop them passing. Man Under-Zone Deep. If you do that, you give yourself this chance: a QB under pressure must throw the ball over an under defended & under an over defender (or the sidelines). Defenders simply cannot just sit back, in a zone & stare at the QB, read where the pas is going & try to rally to the ball. THE DEFENSE MUST "BE THERE WHEN THE BALL GETS THERE" go up and get the ball at it's highest point. Afterall, if the R'er has practiced to run down the field & catch the ball, why can't the defense practice to BE THERE WHEN THE BALL GETS THERE? Coach Holtz always said pass defense is really very easy. There is one guy who catches the ball and normally 7 defenders (plus the two sidelines & the endline of the End Zone). Add it up. That's 10 defenders vs one R'er. What's so hard about that?
5. L'Ville painfully demonstrated the need for a "Jumbo' package complete with a fullback to lead the ball carrier into the end zone from 2-3 yards out. These one back offensive guys who think they can snap the ball back to outside of the yard line, had the ball off deep, have the playside try to reach block & pull some from the offside is just not going to work. The reach block is the most difficult block to maintain; I learned in JHS that you just DO NOT pull linemen in goal line or short yardage defense; handling the ball off deep means that the back is not going to be in the hole when the block is being made. The block is going to break down. Or a defender is going to beat the back to the hole because of the lane the pulling guard has opened to the defense who fills it with an inside rusher who blows up the play. Again, Jim Bo's staff out coaches L'Ville's.
That's my story & I'm sticking to it.
