(10-13-2019 06:55 PM)Ocalabull Wrote:  That win was not because of McCloud. It was the Defense and the running game...

McCloud looked awful but I think that was because his throwing shoulder and wrist were injured

The defense that gave up 439 yards and 26 first downs to a first time QB? The one that couldn't be bothered to put a spy on this kid who ran for 83 yards and a > 5 yard per carry day before he got injured (thus saving our bacon)? Or the defense that allowed the Cougars to have a 15 minute time of possession advantage? Maybe you mean the defense that forced a whopping 3 punts all day? Dude, our defense is not good.

Now, you are correct that the running game was very good (in the second half). Bell clearly made adjustments that let us move the ball after halftime, and Cronkrite was a beast. But McCloud also ran in a TD and threw for one.

Here's the thing - if we can somehow manage to win our next two games (which isn't impossible - @ Navy and @ ECU), then we're sitting at 5-3 with the need for 1 more win to get bowl eligible and a glimmer of hope for the future. If we lose in Annapolis this week, the season's over for all intents and purposes.

USFFan

(10-13-2019 08:15 PM)usffan Wrote:  

(10-13-2019 06:55 PM)Ocalabull Wrote:  That win was not because of McCloud. It was the Defense and the running game...

McCloud looked awful but I think that was because his throwing shoulder and wrist were injured

The defense that gave up 439 yards and 26 first downs to a first time QB? The one that couldn't be bothered to put a spy on this kid who ran for 83 yards and a > 5 yard per carry day before he got injured (thus saving our bacon)? Or the defense that allowed the Cougars to have a 15 minute time of possession advantage? Maybe you mean the defense that forced a whopping 3 punts all day? Dude, our defense is not good.

Now, you are correct that the running game was very good (in the second half). Bell clearly made adjustments that let us move the ball after halftime, and Cronkrite was a beast. But McCloud also ran in a TD and threw for one.

Here's the thing - if we can somehow manage to win our next two games (which isn't impossible - @ Navy and @ ECU), then we're sitting at 5-3 with the need for 1 more win to get bowl eligible and a glimmer of hope for the future. If we lose in Annapolis this week, the season's over for all intents and purposes.

USFFan

I'm talking about how the defense only gave up one score in the 2nd half. Who gives a **** about how many yards they give up if they only give up 7 points in the 2nd half.

Also they recorded 6 sacks in the game...

(10-13-2019 06:55 PM)Ocalabull Wrote:  

(10-13-2019 02:46 PM)usffan Wrote:  

(10-13-2019 02:10 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Bulls fans. I didn't watch a second of this game. Do you think Charlie Strong is actually getting it turned around a bit?

In a word, no.

I don't think we were ever really as bad as everybody wanted to make us out to be, but we're also not very good. For all of the talk about how we went into the toilet last year after a 7-0 start against a pillowy-soft schedule, we lost our last 6 games (all of which were against bowl teams - @ Houston, vs. Tulane, @ Cincinnati, @ Temple, vs. UCF and vs. Marshall). Not great, but not shocking for a team that wasn't really very good. This year we have 3 losses - two of which are to top 20 teams. The only really bad loss we've had in over a year was @ Georgia Tech, where we finally made the call to go with a mobile freshman QB to mask our mediocre at best OL and watched him almost come back (and truthfully, we scored the go ahead TD but the replay ruled it wasn't conclusive).

If McCloud develops into a decent QB, Strong will probably be able to look like he's turned things around. But his record indicates he only is successful when he has a good QB (Bridgewater and Flowers).

But the win on Saturday was less a matter of Strong turning it around and more a matter of McCloud maybe starting to get his sea legs. Plus, if BYU's QB doesn't get injured, I'm not sure we hold on and win that game.

USFFan

That win was not because of McCloud. It was the Defense and the running game...

McCloud looked awful but I think that was because his throwing shoulder and wrist were injured

Nothing to think about, McCloud was injured. He couldn't grip the football properly due to his injury. He played with a glove on his injured hand. That is why they purposely ran the ball non stop in the 2nd half. Not that BYU could stop it anyway.

https://247sports.com/college/south-flor...136938768/

Jordan McCloud didn't throw a single pass in the fourth quarter. Instead, he pushed in for a two-yard score three seconds into the fourth quarter to bring the hosts within two.
And it was a little bit by design. McCloud suffered a right wrist contusion - his throwing hand - in the game against SMU and it's evident that it still isn't healed completely. To add onto it, McCloud suffered a stinger early in the game, which impacted his ability to throw. He had a glove on his right hand and trainers pumped air for compression on it in between drives.
McCloud said his ability to grip the ball was weakened, as well. That showed on a couple of deep throws to Eddie McDoom that went way over his head. His grit showed, especially since there are no scholarship quarterbacks behind him with former starter Blake Barnett being held out with a high-ankle sprain for the second consecutive game.