What's your guess about GT-Iowa?

[RShack]

I realize nobody here cares much about GT but me, but I'm curious about what you think will happen tonight in the Orange Bowl. What's your guess?

For myself, I'm mainly hoping that Paul Johnson has gone about it with a different attitude than he did last year. A year ago, he clearly said that he viewed the bowl game as a fun thing for the players, and that he wasn't gonna work them to death. And, as we all know, LSU cleaned their clock. I don't think Iowa is as good now as LSU was then, but I think the issue of how seriously GT preps will have a lot to do with it. Last year, I think they were cocky because of how they beat GA. Obviously, this year is a different story. Whenever they play right, a big part of it is their ability to adjust to whatever the other team's D does that works. We'll see if GT is sharp about that or not...

[beaner]

With a month to prepare, the triple option doesn't intimidate. GT needs to adjust in the second half.

[The Epic]

I'd have thought that GT would have brought in some extra wrinkles in that triple-option for the game.

Guess not.

[RShack]

Well, crap.

It was sloppy on both sides, which happens a lot in bowl games. If/when they get a playoff, I hope they put a stop to the month-long gap between games. By early December, everybody's cranked up and ready to go... and then... nothing for a dang month.

The thing that I don't understand (and don't know enough to make sense of) is why it requires halftime to make adjustments. PJ is very good at reacting to how the D is stopping his O, and the yards gained in the 2nd half reflect that. But how come he can't do that with 10 minutes left in the 2nd quarter by getting the O to huddle up on the sideline while the D is on the field and get their new instructions then? If they're getting stopped, God knows they want them...

Between Iowa this year and LSU last year, it's a safe bet that PJ is gonna have to prove he can win a bowl game when the other team has a month to get ready...

ps: Whoever did the post-game interviews for this game is terrible. Any time an interviewer says, "Talk about [some aspect of how you won]", it's like he's advertising he's an amateur. It's not even a question, it's just saying, "Give me some cliches, please." He did that after this game, and did it for one of the other bowls a couple days ago. Don't they teach these guys how to do anything properly?

[RShack]

I'd have thought that GT would have brought in some extra wrinkles in that triple-option for the game.

Guess not.

It's not the triple option. That's a play they run a minority of the time, but it's not the triple option offense. I realize the TV guys keep calling it that, but that's just because they don't know any better.

As for wrinkles, what PJ does is see how the D is interfering with his O, and then adjusting to that. No point in wrinkles until you see what is needed (unless you want some trickeration plays). He's quite good at it. The main problem was that he didn't do it until halftime. Not sure why...

[beaner]

Well, crap.

It was sloppy on both sides, which happens a lot in bowl games. If/when they get a playoff, I hope they put a stop to the month-long gap between games. By early December, everybody's cranked up and ready to go... and then... nothing for a dang month.

The thing that I don't understand (and don't know enough to make sense of) is why it requires halftime to make adjustments. PJ is very good at reacting to how the D is stopping his O, and the yards gained in the 2nd half reflect that. But how come he can't do that with 10 minutes left in the 2nd quarter by getting the O to huddle up on the sideline while the D is on the field and get their new instructions then? If they're getting stopped, God knows they want them...

Between Iowa this year and LSU last year, it's a safe bet that PJ is gonna have to prove he can win a bowl game when the other team has a month to get ready...

ps: Whoever did the post-game interviews for this game is terrible. Any time an interviewer says, "Talk about [some aspect of how you won]", it's like he's advertising he's an amateur. It's not even a question, it's just saying, "Give me some cliches, please." He did that after this game, and did it for one of the other bowls a couple days ago. Don't they teach these guys how to do anything properly?

The Fox guys are TERRIBLE. It's so obvious that they don't do College Football at all during the season. Thankfully the title game tomorrow is on ESPN/ABC. Those guys normally do a nice job, especially Herbstreit, I think he's terrific.