just posted earlier in thunder's thread my sentiments that clemson is a great value catching more than two tds this saturday. everyone may also want to give serious consideration to asu laying less than dd's to north carolina. tarheels are in shambles. ga tech would have beat them by 30+ saturday in chapel hill but for their own offensive incompetence. carolina's defense put on one of the worst tackling displays i've seen in div 1-a ball in some time, outside of the service academies. durant is not able to display any decision making capabilities and coach bunting, while maybe good person, is clueless on the sidelines. the kind of problems the tarheels have are not fixable in one week, especially with one that involves coast to coast travel. it's looking more and more like bunting is going to have to put on some kind of decent showing against the wolfpack at home in two weeks in order to stave off some serious alumni grumbling, and will likely let this saturday go in favor of looking ahead to the pack. at least that's what i would do if i was in his position. there is simply no way that he can shore up the tarheel defense enough to slow down asu. this line is bound to go to dd imo.
early 10/5 acc thoughts >>>
- Thread starter loophole
- Start date
UNC and NCSt
UNC and NCSt
Loopy - like your thoughts on North Carolina. Whats the spread on the ASU game?
N.C. State is apparently for real this year...
IP
UNC and NCSt
Loopy - like your thoughts on North Carolina. Whats the spread on the ASU game?
N.C. State is apparently for real this year...
IP
thanks djchad.
that's it ice picks - 8- or -9, depending where you look. i'm no authority on asu, but everything i know about carolina tells me this one should be a rout.
most of the acc lines look weird to me, i'm licking my chops. no way tech should be laying 13 to wake forest. their win at carolina was a victory of the least inept. jackets should play better at home but wake can run and score on anybody. i'm still trying to figure out how wake could have rushed for 350+ yards, had no turnovers, and still blow a 17 pt second half lead last saturday. it just doesn't make sense.
md at w va line says these two teams are about equal? - no way. unless mountaineers let down for this one, they appear to me to be clearly superior on both sides of the ball, with a better than average home field to boot.
four good acc lines to play - i'm psyched!
that's it ice picks - 8- or -9, depending where you look. i'm no authority on asu, but everything i know about carolina tells me this one should be a rout.
most of the acc lines look weird to me, i'm licking my chops. no way tech should be laying 13 to wake forest. their win at carolina was a victory of the least inept. jackets should play better at home but wake can run and score on anybody. i'm still trying to figure out how wake could have rushed for 350+ yards, had no turnovers, and still blow a 17 pt second half lead last saturday. it just doesn't make sense.
md at w va line says these two teams are about equal? - no way. unless mountaineers let down for this one, they appear to me to be clearly superior on both sides of the ball, with a better than average home field to boot.
four good acc lines to play - i'm psyched!
After sitting in the student section for the ASU/Stanford game, I was completly shocked. The offense looked unstoppable.
Andrew Walter-Highest passer rating in the COUNTRY
Cornell Candidate-Incredible moves and always gets yards after the 1st hit.
Shaun McDonald-One of the best receivers in college.
Mike Pinkard-NFL size, strength and quickness.
And the biggest suprise on "O" is the O-Line. After losing 4 draft picks to the NFL, I thought this was a big weakness. Now I see it as a strength.
We should of put up 72 on those fools but the refs called 2 TD's back!!!!!!!
As for our defense, we really only gave up 14 points, the last TD was crap. We created 7 turnovers. The only weakness I see is our corners. We also were hitting harder than I have ever seen ASU hit before.
As an ASU student, I think they are a really solid bet at -8 or -9, b/c I dont think the oddsmakers have cought up to how good we really are. Everyone looks at the Nebraska blowout, but if we played Nebraska right now, with Walter at QB, we would win the game. I have no doubt. I attribute that loss TOTALLY to Chad Christiansen and the lack of offense. Dont forget, our special teams gave up at least 24 of those points, not the defense. Bring on N.C. With their lack of a real passing threat (Durant is more of a runner, and with our only weakness being our corners against the pass), ASU will roll. Go sun devils.
Andrew Walter-Highest passer rating in the COUNTRY
Cornell Candidate-Incredible moves and always gets yards after the 1st hit.
Shaun McDonald-One of the best receivers in college.
Mike Pinkard-NFL size, strength and quickness.
And the biggest suprise on "O" is the O-Line. After losing 4 draft picks to the NFL, I thought this was a big weakness. Now I see it as a strength.
We should of put up 72 on those fools but the refs called 2 TD's back!!!!!!!
As for our defense, we really only gave up 14 points, the last TD was crap. We created 7 turnovers. The only weakness I see is our corners. We also were hitting harder than I have ever seen ASU hit before.
As an ASU student, I think they are a really solid bet at -8 or -9, b/c I dont think the oddsmakers have cought up to how good we really are. Everyone looks at the Nebraska blowout, but if we played Nebraska right now, with Walter at QB, we would win the game. I have no doubt. I attribute that loss TOTALLY to Chad Christiansen and the lack of offense. Dont forget, our special teams gave up at least 24 of those points, not the defense. Bring on N.C. With their lack of a real passing threat (Durant is more of a runner, and with our only weakness being our corners against the pass), ASU will roll. Go sun devils.
This is how it happened...
Midway in the third, a player ran into the huddle and said, "
buddy has us for a sizeable chunk."
I dont lay more that 3 in football much, but ASU looks good if I were a lumber laying type. As for West Virginia, line is going down for some strange reason, so I,m waiting on that and Wake Forest as that is climbing
Really, I thought he said "Jeff has a few units riding on us. Seriosuly though Buddy, I have never seen anything like it. Store that one in the ridiculously bad beats file.
I still haven't been able to bring myself to read about what happened, other than the basic cbssportsline recap.
i also would love to hear a long time usc / madjacksports member and supporter chime in...
"USC Gamecock" are you out there???......
give us the low-down if you ample time and resource.
would really appreciate your opinion.
thanks
IE
"USC Gamecock" are you out there???......
give us the low-down if you ample time and resource.
would really appreciate your opinion.
thanks
IE
sorry ie, i don't have any connections with the inside scoop on the gamecocks; could do you better on clemson. will say this though - no way usc is deep enough in the o line to replace all three of those injuries with quality depth. if all three happen to go out, gamecocks will have serious problems running the ball and on pass protection.
And I'm still trying to figure out how they did the same thing back in August at NIU. They were over 400 yards rushing and +4 in TO's in that one, IIRC.
Loophole, I'm a Clemson fan and I agree on all 4 of your ACC plays this week. I am concerend about DT Eason's status for Clemson, as he is the keystone of the D, but I will have to look to the Tigers here.
As for ASU, their coach seems to be a guy who really focuses on home games. The PAC-10 is a conference where teams routinely quit for entire seasons at a time. The PAC-10 seems to be a real momentum conference. I would be interested in knowing which officiating crew will work the game, as the ACC customarily uses its officials on the road in non-con games and the PAC-10 does it the other way around.
WVU ran for 526 yards last week, which is a buy signal. WVU actually outgained the Terps last year but were -6 in TO's, so Maryland hardly dominated last year.
dirk koetter
dirk koetter
look what this guy did with boise st...he is one helluva coach.....offensive system has proven it can rack up the points....very possible this sun devil team is just finding itself under his system...carolina is very pedestrian with bunting at the reins....coaching mismatch....cross country trek....i`ll take a shot here.
maryland getting a little better athlete now that freidgen has arrived....and i am worried that they may be stronger in the trenches.....west virginia skill position players seem to rate a large edge...md qb mcbrien is a west va transfer(couldn`t crack the mountaineer line-up).....a prevailing home team trend in this series...hoping west va doesn`t shoot itself in the foot as it did early on vs east carolina...
army played very tough vs so miss but failed miserably at rutgers(but rutgers played tennessee very tough)....i couldn`t lay over 20 on east carolina with monopoly money.....army can run the ball,and east car. certainly had trouble stopping the run vs west va....
dirk koetter
look what this guy did with boise st...he is one helluva coach.....offensive system has proven it can rack up the points....very possible this sun devil team is just finding itself under his system...carolina is very pedestrian with bunting at the reins....coaching mismatch....cross country trek....i`ll take a shot here.
maryland getting a little better athlete now that freidgen has arrived....and i am worried that they may be stronger in the trenches.....west virginia skill position players seem to rate a large edge...md qb mcbrien is a west va transfer(couldn`t crack the mountaineer line-up).....a prevailing home team trend in this series...hoping west va doesn`t shoot itself in the foot as it did early on vs east carolina...
army played very tough vs so miss but failed miserably at rutgers(but rutgers played tennessee very tough)....i couldn`t lay over 20 on east carolina with monopoly money.....army can run the ball,and east car. certainly had trouble stopping the run vs west va....
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here's an article from today's raleigh paper that suggests to me that bunting is doing exactly what i said he would do - hold back this week in hopes of being prepared for the game with nc state in two weeks. anyone read this any differently?
CHAPEL HILL -- There will be more Jonas Seawright. Cedrick Holt, the field is this way. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Larry Jessup.
Not familiar with those names, North Carolina football fans? Well, get ready to adjust. As the struggling Tar Heels prepare for Saturday night's game at Arizona State, UNC coach John Bunting wants to create as much competition as he possibly can, even as he draws from a slim pool of experienced talent. New players, those who show the proper preparation in practice, will be part of the defensive mix.
"We're going to try to get this thing righted," Bunting said.
The Heels (1-3, 0-1 ACC) have lost two in a row, including a 21-13 exercise in frustration last Saturday against Georgia Tech.
Bunting is not one to to shrug things off and say, "Well, if a couple of plays go the other way, we win." Rather, he had individual meetings with a handful of players Sunday night. And the tone in practice Tuesday indicated what the coach believes: In order to attain a different outcome, things must be done differently -- and in some cases, by different people.
"It's all about us," linebacker Malcolm Stewart said. "It's not about what [the opponents] do. We've got to work harder."
Tuesday's practice began by addressing one of the Heels' most glaring weaknesses: tackling. Several position groups took turns whacking each other at full speed. The mood was hardly lax.
"As football players, we don't always want to tackle every day in practice," cornerback Michael Waddell said. "But we know, right now, that's the only way we're going to get better."
Bunting is also going to try to give those new players more opportunity. It isn't an easy task, because his roster isn't deep. But he will turn to Seawright, a 6-foot-6, 343-pound sophomore who moved from the offensive line to defensive tackle only a month ago. He will play more against Arizona State (4-1). Junior Donti Coats and sophomore Carl Smalls will play less.
"I feel very confident, very confident in myself," Seawright said. "That's the only attitude I can have. This is a chance for me. I think I'm ready."
Sophomore Larry Jessup, who saw his first extensive action at defensive end against Tech, will continue to play in a reserve role, in part because he showed the kind of effort Bunting wants to see. But Bunting also said the poor performances don't come from lousy effort during games. Some of it has to do with preparing properly, a sticking point with the coach. Some has to do with sheer physical ability.
"We're not strong enough inside, and they do get manhandled sometimes," Bunting said. "We had way too many players on the ground [against Georgia Tech.]"
The coaching staff wonders where to turn. To Kendall High, the true freshman defensive tackle who continues to see extensive playing time? Bunting believes in High's potential, but ...
"Is he strong enough right now?" Bunting said. "How could he be? He's right out of high school. But we are forced to play him there."
The shakeup could extend well beyond the defensive line. The secondary was supposed to be the Heels' strength. Yet against the Yellow Jackets, the errors were everywhere, particularly with those missed tackles. Waddell, a senior who was second-team All-ACC a year ago, and sophomore safety Chris Curry were each benched in the second half.
"The disappointing part, as I've told you, has been the secondary," Bunting said. "Those players need to refocus on what their position is about, which is playing with their eyes, depending upon their eyes, and playing smart. And when they get in position to make plays, you got to make those plays by executing sound fundamentals and technique. That is something that's got to change."
Bunting reiterated that Waddell will start against the Sun Devils, but he also said he must figure out a way to get Holt, a true freshman cornerback, on the field. Sophomore Chris Hawkins played in Waddell's place last week, and he is a possibility if starters continue to struggle.
"I'm disappointed in my performance, obviously," Waddell said. "But I'm glad I'm getting another chance. It's behind me."
Regardless of who is in there, the Heels need the secondary to play better. In the next three weeks, UNC will play the nation's three top-rated passers: Arizona State's Andrew Walter, N.C. State's Philip Rivers and Virginia's Matt Schaub, first through third, respectively.
So the coaching staff will again be asking itself a slew of questions. How should we practice? What should we try? Who is mature enough to play? Who is not?
"This football team, because of its youth, is learning from us," Bunting said. "And evidently, I'm not doing a good enough job right now to get them to learn faster. I want it done faster."
CHAPEL HILL -- There will be more Jonas Seawright. Cedrick Holt, the field is this way. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Larry Jessup.
Not familiar with those names, North Carolina football fans? Well, get ready to adjust. As the struggling Tar Heels prepare for Saturday night's game at Arizona State, UNC coach John Bunting wants to create as much competition as he possibly can, even as he draws from a slim pool of experienced talent. New players, those who show the proper preparation in practice, will be part of the defensive mix.
"We're going to try to get this thing righted," Bunting said.
The Heels (1-3, 0-1 ACC) have lost two in a row, including a 21-13 exercise in frustration last Saturday against Georgia Tech.
Bunting is not one to to shrug things off and say, "Well, if a couple of plays go the other way, we win." Rather, he had individual meetings with a handful of players Sunday night. And the tone in practice Tuesday indicated what the coach believes: In order to attain a different outcome, things must be done differently -- and in some cases, by different people.
"It's all about us," linebacker Malcolm Stewart said. "It's not about what [the opponents] do. We've got to work harder."
Tuesday's practice began by addressing one of the Heels' most glaring weaknesses: tackling. Several position groups took turns whacking each other at full speed. The mood was hardly lax.
"As football players, we don't always want to tackle every day in practice," cornerback Michael Waddell said. "But we know, right now, that's the only way we're going to get better."
Bunting is also going to try to give those new players more opportunity. It isn't an easy task, because his roster isn't deep. But he will turn to Seawright, a 6-foot-6, 343-pound sophomore who moved from the offensive line to defensive tackle only a month ago. He will play more against Arizona State (4-1). Junior Donti Coats and sophomore Carl Smalls will play less.
"I feel very confident, very confident in myself," Seawright said. "That's the only attitude I can have. This is a chance for me. I think I'm ready."
Sophomore Larry Jessup, who saw his first extensive action at defensive end against Tech, will continue to play in a reserve role, in part because he showed the kind of effort Bunting wants to see. But Bunting also said the poor performances don't come from lousy effort during games. Some of it has to do with preparing properly, a sticking point with the coach. Some has to do with sheer physical ability.
"We're not strong enough inside, and they do get manhandled sometimes," Bunting said. "We had way too many players on the ground [against Georgia Tech.]"
The coaching staff wonders where to turn. To Kendall High, the true freshman defensive tackle who continues to see extensive playing time? Bunting believes in High's potential, but ...
"Is he strong enough right now?" Bunting said. "How could he be? He's right out of high school. But we are forced to play him there."
The shakeup could extend well beyond the defensive line. The secondary was supposed to be the Heels' strength. Yet against the Yellow Jackets, the errors were everywhere, particularly with those missed tackles. Waddell, a senior who was second-team All-ACC a year ago, and sophomore safety Chris Curry were each benched in the second half.
"The disappointing part, as I've told you, has been the secondary," Bunting said. "Those players need to refocus on what their position is about, which is playing with their eyes, depending upon their eyes, and playing smart. And when they get in position to make plays, you got to make those plays by executing sound fundamentals and technique. That is something that's got to change."
Bunting reiterated that Waddell will start against the Sun Devils, but he also said he must figure out a way to get Holt, a true freshman cornerback, on the field. Sophomore Chris Hawkins played in Waddell's place last week, and he is a possibility if starters continue to struggle.
"I'm disappointed in my performance, obviously," Waddell said. "But I'm glad I'm getting another chance. It's behind me."
Regardless of who is in there, the Heels need the secondary to play better. In the next three weeks, UNC will play the nation's three top-rated passers: Arizona State's Andrew Walter, N.C. State's Philip Rivers and Virginia's Matt Schaub, first through third, respectively.
So the coaching staff will again be asking itself a slew of questions. How should we practice? What should we try? Who is mature enough to play? Who is not?
"This football team, because of its youth, is learning from us," Bunting said. "And evidently, I'm not doing a good enough job right now to get them to learn faster. I want it done faster."
About the Army-Rutgers game, it's an angle we don't use much anymore, but that was one game where the homecoming factor played a big role. Both teams had been horribly embarrassed, but Rutgers' homecoming gave them a reason to nut up for a week. If played at another date, the teams probably would have played about like the pointspread predicted. I'm leaning to Army this week myself.
UNC head football coach John Bunting presser:
"They are a fine football team, and right now, I think all of us know that, for the most part, we are not. Some of the reasons are obvious and maybe some of the reasons are not as obvious to you. But we're going to work hard to get better this week. The one thing for sure, to a man on our staff, we believe that our kids are making great effort. If we continue to make great effort in practice, hopefully it will carry over onto game day. That's the emphasis, and that's the response that I've gotten from the players that I've talked to, particularly the seniors that I've talked to, which is a very limited group as you know. But they believe we need to practice better. We need to do it better. They've asked me to be the way I normally am, which is to force them to practice better. Therefore I hope that we improve this week.
"We made some improvement from the Texas game to the Georgia Tech game in terms of alignment and assignment on defense. Offensively I would've liked to have more opportunities, particularly in the third quarter. But we didn't.
"Third down is a point of emphasis, but mostly what's a point of emphasis is tackling on our football team. Because we'll certainly be required to make a lot of tackles. THIS OFFENSE WERE FACING IS THE BEST we've seen, that's including TEXAS, believe it or not.
"And they are sound up front. They're offensive line, though very young, is good. Their running back (Cornell Canidate) is good. They have a receiver that's caught 31 balls (Shaun McDonald), and they'll play five or six other receivers. They're going to be in all types of personnel groups. They have a great screen game that they've got going for them. They throw the ball downfield a lot. The quarterback can throw the long ball, throws some other outs also. But they are very good making big plays with their receivers.
"Their defense plays harder than any defense we've played, and they've got talent. Their safeties are tough and hard-hitting, their linebackers are tough, and the front plays fast. They have a defensive end (Terrell Suggs) who's outstanding, maybe even better than Cory Redding according to Tranq (Gary Tranquill). Probably a quicker guy, he's not as big, but quicker. So they're good. They're real good. They're probably overall the best team we've played. That's what we think. Certainly, they play harder on defense than anybody we've played. We've got to play better.
On the quarterback situation at Arizona State:
This kid's (Andrew Walter) a better quarterback. The other kid's (Chad Christensen) a tremendous athlete -- tremendous athlete -- and may be a little bit better of a runner, although Walter is a good runner also. But Walter has got the real slingshot arm. He can really throw it, and he's tall - he's 6 foot 5.
What are some of the subtle reasons for not playing better?
The effort's there. I think that's a tribute to the players, and the coaches that coach those players. There are some players that are on the field for the first time each week -- that's a new experience. We're learning football on the fly. The disappointing part has been the secondary. Those players need to refocus on what their position is about, which is playing with their eyes, depending upon their eyes, and playing smart and when they get in position to make plays, you got to make those plays by executing sound fundamentals and technique. That is something that's got to change, and we will put a major emphasis on it this week."
On meeting individually with players?
"They understand, at least they tell me they do, that it takes great practice habits to play. If you don't practice well, you're not going to play well. It's hard to do that. Some great teams can do that on occasion. It's just like I tell the players all the time: Why do the great teams practice well? Because they want to. The great teams practice well because they want to; they simply want to. They know it helps them win. We developed that, we changed that culture a little bit around that last year, where we started practicing better. For the most part, we got it changed around during training camp. But I think sometimes when you go into the season, some players are no longer in competitive situations, they're red-shirting and kind of step it down some.
"We're going to once again create a little bit of competition. Jonas Seawright is going to play more. Carl Smalls is going to play less. Donti Coats is going to play less. I've got to get Cedrick Holt on the field. He's got to play more. He's going to be a good football player for us. Clay Roberson has got to get on the field."
Did last year's team practice better?
"It was a more experienced team. They understood the value better. When you're more experienced and you're older and, particularly, those players had something to prove. They really felt they had something to prove. This football team, because of its youth, is learning from us. And evidently I'm not doing a good enough job right now to get them to learn faster. I want it done faster. We're one or two plays away from winning that football game (Georgia Tech), despite as poorly as we may have looked. We're one or two plays from winning against Miami. But you can get caught up in that for the rest of your life."
On Kendall High and Larry Jessup:
"Kendall plays a lot every week. We feel like he's getting better. He's giving great effort. I think he's going to be a real good football player. Is he strong enough right now? How could he be? He's right out of high school. But we are forced to play him there. And we'll be better next year because of the playing time he receives this year. I'm not playing for next year. I'm playing for this week. But there's not many choices there. Jonas Seawright is going to get on that field and he's going to play. We'll see how he,s going to play. He's going to be given an opportunity. I believe in that. I've been around that all my life. I was given opportunities. I've given players opportunities every level I've coached at, and I will continue to do that. Jonas is going to get his this week.
"Jessup played hard, and he will play again this week. Larry Jessup got out there and took advantage of his opportunity."
On the excitement of giving players and opportunity to play:
"I'm fired up for those guys. I'm fired up to go to practice today. I think a lot of players will be, too. You might find that hard to believe. We're 1-3. We were 1-3 last year at this time. Different team, different circumstance. But I'm fired up. I'm excited about this football team. Excited about this game coming up. Excited about this giant challenge playing this very, very fine football team that we're getting a chance to play out there."
On Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter:
"Their coach is a proven winner. They ran into some better competition last year and that is why they lost their last five games. I think they have some better players this year and he has got them believing. They came from behind to win against San Diego State, they were in a close battle with Central Florida and they beat Stanford big last week."
"They are a fine football team, and right now, I think all of us know that, for the most part, we are not. Some of the reasons are obvious and maybe some of the reasons are not as obvious to you. But we're going to work hard to get better this week. The one thing for sure, to a man on our staff, we believe that our kids are making great effort. If we continue to make great effort in practice, hopefully it will carry over onto game day. That's the emphasis, and that's the response that I've gotten from the players that I've talked to, particularly the seniors that I've talked to, which is a very limited group as you know. But they believe we need to practice better. We need to do it better. They've asked me to be the way I normally am, which is to force them to practice better. Therefore I hope that we improve this week.
"We made some improvement from the Texas game to the Georgia Tech game in terms of alignment and assignment on defense. Offensively I would've liked to have more opportunities, particularly in the third quarter. But we didn't.
"Third down is a point of emphasis, but mostly what's a point of emphasis is tackling on our football team. Because we'll certainly be required to make a lot of tackles. THIS OFFENSE WERE FACING IS THE BEST we've seen, that's including TEXAS, believe it or not.
"And they are sound up front. They're offensive line, though very young, is good. Their running back (Cornell Canidate) is good. They have a receiver that's caught 31 balls (Shaun McDonald), and they'll play five or six other receivers. They're going to be in all types of personnel groups. They have a great screen game that they've got going for them. They throw the ball downfield a lot. The quarterback can throw the long ball, throws some other outs also. But they are very good making big plays with their receivers.
"Their defense plays harder than any defense we've played, and they've got talent. Their safeties are tough and hard-hitting, their linebackers are tough, and the front plays fast. They have a defensive end (Terrell Suggs) who's outstanding, maybe even better than Cory Redding according to Tranq (Gary Tranquill). Probably a quicker guy, he's not as big, but quicker. So they're good. They're real good. They're probably overall the best team we've played. That's what we think. Certainly, they play harder on defense than anybody we've played. We've got to play better.
On the quarterback situation at Arizona State:
This kid's (Andrew Walter) a better quarterback. The other kid's (Chad Christensen) a tremendous athlete -- tremendous athlete -- and may be a little bit better of a runner, although Walter is a good runner also. But Walter has got the real slingshot arm. He can really throw it, and he's tall - he's 6 foot 5.
What are some of the subtle reasons for not playing better?
The effort's there. I think that's a tribute to the players, and the coaches that coach those players. There are some players that are on the field for the first time each week -- that's a new experience. We're learning football on the fly. The disappointing part has been the secondary. Those players need to refocus on what their position is about, which is playing with their eyes, depending upon their eyes, and playing smart and when they get in position to make plays, you got to make those plays by executing sound fundamentals and technique. That is something that's got to change, and we will put a major emphasis on it this week."
On meeting individually with players?
"They understand, at least they tell me they do, that it takes great practice habits to play. If you don't practice well, you're not going to play well. It's hard to do that. Some great teams can do that on occasion. It's just like I tell the players all the time: Why do the great teams practice well? Because they want to. The great teams practice well because they want to; they simply want to. They know it helps them win. We developed that, we changed that culture a little bit around that last year, where we started practicing better. For the most part, we got it changed around during training camp. But I think sometimes when you go into the season, some players are no longer in competitive situations, they're red-shirting and kind of step it down some.
"We're going to once again create a little bit of competition. Jonas Seawright is going to play more. Carl Smalls is going to play less. Donti Coats is going to play less. I've got to get Cedrick Holt on the field. He's got to play more. He's going to be a good football player for us. Clay Roberson has got to get on the field."
Did last year's team practice better?
"It was a more experienced team. They understood the value better. When you're more experienced and you're older and, particularly, those players had something to prove. They really felt they had something to prove. This football team, because of its youth, is learning from us. And evidently I'm not doing a good enough job right now to get them to learn faster. I want it done faster. We're one or two plays away from winning that football game (Georgia Tech), despite as poorly as we may have looked. We're one or two plays from winning against Miami. But you can get caught up in that for the rest of your life."
On Kendall High and Larry Jessup:
"Kendall plays a lot every week. We feel like he's getting better. He's giving great effort. I think he's going to be a real good football player. Is he strong enough right now? How could he be? He's right out of high school. But we are forced to play him there. And we'll be better next year because of the playing time he receives this year. I'm not playing for next year. I'm playing for this week. But there's not many choices there. Jonas Seawright is going to get on that field and he's going to play. We'll see how he,s going to play. He's going to be given an opportunity. I believe in that. I've been around that all my life. I was given opportunities. I've given players opportunities every level I've coached at, and I will continue to do that. Jonas is going to get his this week.
"Jessup played hard, and he will play again this week. Larry Jessup got out there and took advantage of his opportunity."
On the excitement of giving players and opportunity to play:
"I'm fired up for those guys. I'm fired up to go to practice today. I think a lot of players will be, too. You might find that hard to believe. We're 1-3. We were 1-3 last year at this time. Different team, different circumstance. But I'm fired up. I'm excited about this football team. Excited about this game coming up. Excited about this giant challenge playing this very, very fine football team that we're getting a chance to play out there."
On Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter:
"Their coach is a proven winner. They ran into some better competition last year and that is why they lost their last five games. I think they have some better players this year and he has got them believing. They came from behind to win against San Diego State, they were in a close battle with Central Florida and they beat Stanford big last week."
