Report Card @FSU

Going into last night's game, we were a 21 point underdog. Most of the experts predicted an FSU blowout and that's eventually what happened. I thought we had a pretty good chance to win up there, but tip your hat to FSU, they made the adjustments and we didn't, and in the 2nd half, they took over and we had no answers for it. We did get banged up, with the biggest one being Duke with a severe ankle injury and according to his mom, is done for the year, which is a very tough blow. Which means, guys like Dallas Crawford, Eduardo Clements, and Freshman Gus Edwards are going to have to step up and carry the load going forward. Going in, here were my keys to a CANES victory at Doak and the end results from last night:

1. No Turnovers - Absolutely under no circumstances can we turn the ball over because that's asking for big trouble in a hostile environment like we're going to face. FSU is 11th in the country in Turnover Margin at +8 (1.1 per game). Ball security is going to be critical in this game. Stephen Morris cannot have a 4 INT game up there like he did in Chapel Hill and expect to win. That cannot happen. Most of their turnovers they force is via the Pick. (End Result: Even in TO margin, and FSU 10 pts off 2 INTs, not going to beat a great team like FSU when you don't win the TO battle for 4 quarters and we did not last night in the 2nd half). Grade: F
2. Morris has to be at a minimum 65% completion rate - Morris' completion rate this year is 60% (.599). He needs to manage the game properly and on occasion, take shots downfield when they are there. He's going to be facing the best pass defense in the country in FSU, which allows just 153.7 ypg passing on the season. FSU opp pass completion rate is 52%. Their opponents pass efficiency rate is 95.92, which is 5th in the country. He must make very good decisions on Saturday Night. (End Result: 16-28 (57%), 192 yards, 2 TD, 2 INTs, Sacked Twice) - Grade: D
3. Run the football effectively - If there's a weakness in the FSU defense, its vs the Run, which is 29th in the country allowing 135.7 ypg on the season. The magic number, IMO, is 175 yards rushing combined from Duke, Dallas, Clements, et al. I feel if we're close to that or exceed it, I think we have a very good chance to leave Doak a winner. No fumbles at all. I go back to ball security because at times this year, it has been an issue and up there, we cannot have fumbles lost here by the backs in this game. We have to do what BC did on the ground and they were very effective at it too. (End Result: 29 carries, 115 yards combined and like BC, in the 2nd half, we could not run the ball effectively, especially after Duke got hurt) - Grade: D
4. TDs, not FGs - FSU's RZ Defense isn't as good as in years past (this year, they are tied for 33rd with Wisconsin in that department with opponents converting 76.5% of the time. We have to finish drives with TDs, not FGs. We cannot leave any important points on the field in a game like this. (End result: Matty misses a FG, left at least 3 on that first drive and against a great team like the Noles, you cannot leave any points on the field when you have a chance to cash in). - Grade: F 
5. Pressure Winston - Our defense is 11th in the nation in Sacks, averaging 3.14 per game. Its going to be imperative to get to Winston early and we must rattle him early and often because if we give him time to throw, he's going to pick us apart. You can force Winston into mistakes. Make him have to beat our defense throwing. That's a risk because FSU is 11th in the country in Passing offense, averaging 341.4 ypg. They're 3rd in the nation in yards per completion averaging 16.83 ypc. Our Defense is 10th in the country in Pass Efficiency with a 104.77 rate. (End Result: Winston 21-29, 325 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs (both turned into 14 points for us), 6 carries, 27 yards, sacked once. The D was picked apart by Winston of the game but especially in the 2nd half, where Winston was 12-14, 161 yards. When you allow a great player like that to take over a game, our D had no answers in the 2nd half for him). - Grade: D
6. Stop FSU on 3rd Downs - FSU hasn't been in many 3rd down situations this year, in fact, they have the fewest attempts in the country (69), but when they are in these situations, they convert 52% of the time. The last two weeks vs Carolina and Wake, our defense has allowed opponents to convert 13 out of 31 attempts (42%). Its vital, the D makes stops on 3rd downs and gets off the field. We have to make FSU have to convert the long yardage situations on 3rd down. (End Result: Here's where I give FSU credit, on 3rd and long situations, they made the plays. They were overall 11-15 (73%) on 3rd downs. Against a great team like this, you have to get the D off the field in these situations and we could not make the big plays on 3rd down to get the D off the field, after the Deon pick). - Grade: F
7. Field position - This is a battle we have GOT to win. FSU starts their drives on average from their own 31. Their opponents have started their drives from an average of their own 26. We cannot expect our offense to have to go 80+ yards per drive. We have to have short fields to work with. Make FSU have to go 80+ yards per drive and not allow the big play. FSU's PR Defense is next to last in the country with opponents allowing 26 ypr on Punts, while our PR Defense is 101st allowing 11.5 ypr. On KRs, they are 28th allowing 740 yards in Kick Return Yards. We lead the nation in KR yardage averaging almost 30 yards a return (29.62). FSU is 17th averaging 25.13 per return. Our KR Defense is tied with UCLA for 22nd allowing 466 yards in Kick Returns. FSU is 29th in PR yards averaging 11.8 per return, while we're tied with W. Michigan for 62nd averaging 8.1 ypr. We have to play a clean game here and no penalties because in a game like this, field position is going to be crucial. (End Result: This is more of a wash from a field position standpoint. Tip my hat, we made them had to go 80+ yards on a few drives there, and they got the job done. Matty misses a FG, We made FSU just punt only once, and that's not acceptable at all. Patty had one of three punts be a touchback and another inside the 20. We did what we had to do here for the most part, but again, tip your hat to the Noles, they made the most of the poor field position they started with). - Grade: C-

Those were my keys to a CANES win up in Tallahassee, but unfortunately, that did not happen. Way too many mistakes with poor tackling and where FSU really did the damage was in the running game. 4 of their TDs were on the ground, and this was another key coming in, we had to stop the run first, and we did not do that at all. Very poor performance by the D and last night, the D broke. We allowed 192 yards rushing and 4 TDs, and 517 overall. Not going to beat a great team like FSU when you allow that many yards, especially in big spots. 20 points allowed in the 2nd half, not going to get it done. Defense Grade: F

For the O, in the 2nd half, we had six drives. They ended as follows: Punt, Pick, Downs, Pick, Downs, End of Game. Against a great team like FSU is, you have to try and get points whatever way possible. Tip your hat to FSU's D coordinator Pruitt. He made the adjustments in the 2nd half, and Coley didn't. I like Coley, but in the 2nd half last night, Pruitt outcoached Coley badly. Grade: D (only because of the good 1st half).

Bottom line, we need to shake this off, and get ready for VT at home on Saturday. We have to learn from last night and if there was anything we did learn after last night, its that to beat a great team like FSU, you have to be efficient for 4 quarters, not 2 like we were last night. We'll see the Noles again in Charlotte in 5 weeks and we'll have to play a whole lot better, especially in the 2nd half, if we're going to beat a great team like this. We let it get away from us, hopefully, we learn from this loss, and I'm very confident we will and hopefully, the next time we play FSU in Charlotte, the result will be much different and in our favor.

Win or Lose, I will always stand with the []_[]. See you next week and as always, GO CANES! 

Keys to the game @FSU

As you know by now, we are a 21 point underdog on Saturday Night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. Game time is 8 p.m. on ABC with College Gameday in Tallahassee. 

Most of the experts predict an FSU blowout on Saturday Night. I think we have a pretty good chance to win up there. Here are my keys to a CANES victory at Doak. 

1. No Turnovers - Absolutely under no circumstances can we turn the ball over because that's asking for big trouble in a hostile environment like we're going to face. FSU is 11th in the country in Turnover Margin at +8 (1.1 per game). Ball security is going to be critical in this game. Stephen Morris cannot have a 4 INT game up there like he did in Chapel Hill and expect to win. That cannot happen. Most of their turnovers they force is via the Pick. 
2. Morris has to be at a minimum 65% completion rate - Morris' completion rate this year is 60% (.599). He needs to manage the game properly and on occasion, take shots downfield when they are there. He's going to be facing the best pass defense in the country in FSU, which allows just 153.7 ypg passing on the season. FSU opp pass completion rate is 52%. Their opponents pass efficiency rate is 95.92, which is 5th in the country. He must make very good decisions on Saturday Night. 
3. Run the football effectively - If there's a weakness in the FSU defense, its vs the Run, which is 29th in the country allowing 135.7 ypg on the season. The magic number, IMO, is 175 yards rushing combined from Duke, Dallas, Clements, et al. I feel if we're close to that or exceed it, I think we have a very good chance to leave Doak a winner. No fumbles at all. I go back to ball security because at times this year, it has been an issue and up there, we cannot have fumbles lost here by the backs in this game. We have to do what BC did on the ground and they were very effective at it too. 
4. TDs, not FGs - FSU's RZ Defense isn't as good as in years past (this year, they are tied for 33rd with Wisconsin in that department with opponents converting 76.5% of the time. We have to finish drives with TDs, not FGs. We cannot leave any important points on the field in a game like this.
5. Pressure Winston - Our defense is 11th in the nation in Sacks, averaging 3.14 per game. Its going to be imperative to get to Winston early and we must rattle him early and often because if we give him time to throw, he's going to pick us apart. You can force Winston into mistakes. Make him have to beat our defense throwing. That's a risk because FSU is 11th in the country in Passing offense, averaging 341.4 ypg. They're 3rd in the nation in yards per completion averaging 16.83 ypc. Our Defense is 10th in the country in Pass Efficiency with a 104.77 rate. 
6. Stop FSU on 3rd Downs - FSU hasn't been in many 3rd down situations this year, in fact, they have the fewest attempts in the country (69), but when they are in these situations, they convert 52% of the time. The last two weeks vs Carolina and Wake, our defense has allowed opponents to convert 13 out of 31 attempts (42%). Its vital, the D makes stops on 3rd downs and gets off the field. We have to make FSU have to convert the long yardage situations on 3rd down. 
7. Field position - This is a battle we have GOT to win. FSU starts their drives on average from their own 31. Their opponents have started their drives from an average of their own 26. We cannot expect our offense to have to go 80+ yards per drive. We have to have short fields to work with. Make FSU have to go 80+ yards per drive and not allow the big play. FSU's PR Defense is next to last in the country with opponents allowing 26 ypr on Punts, while our PR Defense is 101st allowing 11.5 ypr. On KRs, they are 28th allowing 740 yards in Kick Return Yards. We lead the nation in KR yardage averaging almost 30 yards a return (29.62). FSU is 17th averaging 25.13 per return. Our KR Defense is tied with UCLA for 22nd allowing 466 yards in Kick Returns. FSU is 29th in PR yards averaging 11.8 per return, while we're tied with W. Michigan for 62nd averaging 8.1 ypr. We have to play a clean game here and no penalties because in a game like this, field position is going to be crucial. 

Those are my keys to a CANES win up in Tallahassee. 

Report Card and Game Balls vs Wake Forest

Here's my report card and Game Balls to give out vs Wake Forest. 

Gotta give Wake Forest credit, they killed us on 3rd downs, and on the first drive, they just pound it down our throats. I felt we played a clean game from a turnover perspective and when we needed a play from the D late, we came up with the big pick to clinch the win. We were again out of sync for most of the game and this is still a big problem that almost cost us again yesterday. The good part here was that we didn't turn the ball over in this game and was a +1 in turnover margin. We still have to get the ME's fixed. For the most part though, we again found a way to win late. We did commit 6 penalties for 56 yards, which was a big problem vs a team that doesn't beat itself. However, we still have to clean the mistakes.  

Offensively, we had 391 yards of total offense. 200 yards rushing and 191 passing. Duke had another big game yesterday, with 30 carries for 168 yards and 2 TD (including the GW with :53 left). Dallas Crawford had a poor game with just 35 yards on 7 carries. We had some decent games out of Herbie here having 47 yards on 4 catches, with 1 TD. Clive had a good game as well with 33 yards receiving on 4 catches.  Decent game from Stephen here going 17-28 191 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs. Again yesterday, on the last drive, he stepped up and was a leader with two big completions that led to Duke's GW TD. Duke was the man on the final drive, having 7 carries for 42 yards. However, that said, we still need to be better and clean up those silly mistakes. Of the 6 penalties yesterday, 2 were on the offense (One was a false start on Brandon and the other was an illegal procedure on Shane). The OL did allow another sack in this game. Bottom line, this type of performance won't cut it in Tallahassee. This unit, especially Stephen, has to play a whole lot better and start much faster in Tallahassee if we are to win up there. Grade: C

Defensively, we forced the pick late to seal the win. We allowed 361 yards of total offense last night, however, just 59 of those yards were rushing, and again, we didn't allow a 100 yard rushing game from an individual standpoint. In the 1st half, we allowed 66 yards rushing, but 132 passing and Price had his way with our defense most of the day. However, In the 2nd half, we allowed just 3 yards rushing (-10 yards rushing in the 4th quarter), but 132 yards passing. The rush defense did a pretty good job, however, the tackling is still an issue. and the pass defense was sloppy in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half, it stepped up and made the plays that had to be made, especially at the end with the Antonio Crawford pick. We sacked Price twice, however that Campanero kid from Wake killed us. We allowed him to have 88 yards on 10 receptions and 1 TD. Still, we need to have a complete game from the Defense. To emphasize this point, Wake on 3rd downs were 8-16 (50%) and only forced 2 three and outs. Of the 6 penalties we had in this game, just 1 was on the D (The PI call on Antonio). We did allow 2 X-Plays yesterday, and one of them almost cost us yesterday, and that was the TD in the 4th on a Wheel route. The D came up big again when it had to, but still, there were some ME's here as well that need to get fixed because mistake like that will kill us up there if we don't fix them. Grade: C

Special Teams wise, of our 6 penalties yesterday, half were on this unit, and two on Jamal Carter alone (one for holding and another for an illegal block in the back). Matty did miss a long FG from 40 in the 3rd, but made one from 34 earlier in the game. Another solid return game with 126 yards of total return, 37 on PR's from Stacy, and the 3 KR's from Duke for 75 yards. Solid game from Patty overall. The Punting game was very solid with two of his 4 punts being inside the 20. On Kickoffs, he was rock solid with all four KO's being Touchbacks. The Return Defense was pretty good. Wake had just 20 yards of returns (19 on KR's, but just 1 on one PR). We started drives on Average from our own 32 and Wake started drives from their own 20, which is excellent. We have to fix the penalties, because those type of penalties give up hidden yards and field position, which against FSU up there, that's asking for trouble. Overall, very good, but need to clean up the penalties here. Grade: C

Now, to Game Balls. This week, I'm going to give out three game balls. 

1. Duke Johnson - 30 carries, 168 yards rushing, 2 TDs (including GW with :53 left), 3 ret., 75 yards (213 all-purpose yards). 
2. Antonio Crawford - 1 Game-clinching INT. 
3. Stacy Coley - 2 receptions, 52 yards, including a big catch, that would ultimately change the game from a field position standpoint.  

Overall, I felt we were sloppy, however, we again kept grinding and found a way to win late. That being said, there were still some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties, which are still issues that have to be fixed. The penalties are still a problem, and still a little bit too many of those for my liking. Close games like this build character, and it felt like we were going through the motions again yesterday. Efforts like we had the last two weeks will not cut it vs FSU, because if we play like we did yesterday and in Chapel Hill, we'll get beat and beat badly. Bottom line, we gotta clean up the mistakes before the trip to Tallahassee Next Saturday Night in Primetime on ABC at 8 p.m. (with Gameday up there too). 7-0 is a good feeling right now, but we could still get better and cut the ME's out. Take care and GO CANES! BEAT FSU!

My take on NCAA ruling

Well, its been over 24 hours since the NCAA came down with its ruling on us. Its what I expected the day before it came out. 9 scholarships lost over 3 years (3 per year), but no bowl ban, and to me, that's the big one right there, no more postseason bans. 

Now, that the NCAA cloud is gone, we're going to see a much more aggressive Al Golden on the recruiting trail, especially in South Florida. The wall is being fortified and strengthened and teams like Florida, FSU, Notre Dame, SEC, and the Big 10 that have taken top talent away from South Florida, those days are OVER! While I understand we can't keep everyone, we're going to keep as much top talent in South Florida as possible. As the slogan for this season goes, and its very accurate here: FULL SPEED AHEAD!, and after yesterday, it takes on additional meaning as from here on going forward, it will be FULL SPEED AHEAD for us. 

Great days are ahead of us and the road back to dominance starts this week vs Wake Forest at Sun Life Stadium. Hopefully, it'll be a sellout (in fact, its very close to that right now). 

NCAA report to be released tomorrow 10 a.m.

As you've heard by now, the NCAA will release the final report tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., with a press conference an hour later. UM will get the report first at 10 a.m. Look for some statement from somewhere in the Ashe Building (re: Donna) sometime after that. 

There's a real possibility we could get hit with another bowl/postseason ban, but that's very unlikely. What is likely however is going to be scholarship reductions and show causes for former CANE coaches. Here's something to remember here: We'll have 15 days to appeal any or all of the sanctions that the the NCAA announces. I don't expect any more postseason bans. 

Here's my take and what I expect to happen tomorrow. Look for a reduction of 'ships (I would say 3-5 a year for 3 years). They're going to be show causes (I suspect Clint Hurtt would be one of the main ones getting a show cause). There will be a hit tomorrow, but I don't expect it to be a big time hit (i.e., postseason ban), but I do expect a hit on 'ships end tomorrow. 

After tomorrow, we can put this behind us and get back to the business at hand of winning National Championships again. 

Report Card and Game Balls @UNC

Here's my report card and Game Balls to give out @ Carolina. 

Wow, where do you begin on last night's game? Well, here's my take on it. I felt we were pretty sloppy and out of sync for most of the game and this is a big problem that almost cost us last night. We turned it over 4 more times in this game and was a -2 in turnover margin. We have got to get those ME's fixed. For the most part though, we found a way to win late. We did commit 4 penalties for 30 yards, which is an improvement from last game vs GT when we committed 7 for 54. However, we still have to clean that up some more. 

Offensively, we had 556 yards of total offense. 234 yards rushing and 322 passing. Duke gets knocked out of the game with a concussion in the 1st half, and Phillip also gets hurt in the 1st half as well. According to Al Golden, Duke should be back for next game. Before he was knocked out, he had 8 carries for 83 yards. What a big game out of Dallas. He had 33 carries, 137 yards, 2 TDs (including the GW with :16 left). Big night out of Hurns in the receiving game with 98 yards on 6 catches. Solid games all around from Herbie here having 54 yards on 3 catches. Phillip (before getting hurt) and Clive had some good games as well with 68 and 57 yards receiving respectively.  Poor decision making from Stephen with the 4 picks, but fortunately, they only converted a FG. On the last drive, he stepped up and was a leader with three big completions that led to Dallas' GW TD. However, that said, we still need to be better and clean up those silly mistakes. Of the 4 penalties last night, 2 were on the offense and both of those penalties were false starts. The OL did allow another sack in this game. Bottom line, we need to get the ME's fixed now before we go up to Tallahassee in two weeks. Overall, very sloppy performance but found a way to win late and that's what teams of destiny do, but we can still be better. Grade: C-

Defensively, we forced 2 more turnovers in this game, both being picks.  Although we allowed 500 yards of total offense last night, just 105 of those yards were rushing, we didn't allow a 100 yard rushing game from an individual standpoint. In the 1st half, we allowed 57 yards rushing, but 234 passing and Renner had his way with our defense most of the night. In the 2nd half, we allowed 48 yards rushing, but 161 yards passing. The rush defense did a good job, however, the tackling was awful at times. and the pass defense was sloppy in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half, we sacked Renner 3 times. Still, we need to have a complete game from the Defense. They stepped up when they had to in the 2nd half, allowing just 2 FGs. We held the Tar Heels to 5-15 on 3rd down conversions, and forced 7 three and outs, including twice in the 4th quarter. Of the 4 penalties we had in this game, 2 penalties were on the D (The PI call on Tracy, and offsides call on Curtis). We did allow an X-Play in the 2nd quarter on the TD. The D came up big again when it had to, but still, there were some ME's here as well that need to get fixed before the trip to Tallahassee in two weeks. Grade: C

Special Teams wise, this unit came up huge with the Blocked FG and LaDarius returning it for a TD. Matty did miss a long FG from 43, but overall, good game from him. Another solid return game with 103 yards of total return, all on KR's. OK game from Patty overall. The Punting game was very solid with one of his punts being inside the 20. However, on Kickoffs, he did have one go out of bounds, which gave up some field position there. We did not have a penalty called on our ST units last night. We need for that part to be consistent. The Return Defense was much better last night for the most part, though missing tackles was an issue here. Carolina had 71 yards of returns (68 on KR's, but just 3 on one PR). We started drives on Average from our own 25 and UNC started drives from their own 29. There are some areas that still need some fixing and they are very fixable here, specifically tackling. Those ME's are easily fixable and need to be fixed now before we go up to Tallahassee in two weeks. Overall, very good, but there is some room for improvement, and I felt we did that last night. Grade: C

Now, to Game Balls. This week, I'm going to give out three game balls. 

1. Dallas Crawford - 33 carries, 137 yards, 2 TDs (including GW with :16 left)
2. Tracy Howard - 2 INTs
3. Allen Hurns - 6 receptions, 98 yards. Some big catches on the final drive. 

Overall, I felt we were sloppy, however, we kept grinding and found a way to win late. That being said, there were still some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties and ball security, which are still issues that have to be fixed. The penalties went down last night, there are still a little bit too many of those penalties for my liking. I'm glad we had a game like this, because it shows that if you go through the motions against a good team like FSU, you'll get beat and beat badly. Bottom line, we gotta clean up the mistakes before the trip to Tallahassee in two weeks. We have one more game to clean up the ME's and that's next Saturday vs Wake Forest at Noon on ESPNU. 6-0 is a good feeling right now, but we could still get better and cut the ME's out. Take care and GO CANES! 

Report Card and Game Balls vs GT

Here's my report card and Game Balls to give out vs GT. 

My take on Saturday's win vs GT in the ACC opener is this. I felt we did well for the most part, however, the sloppiness was still there in this game. We turned it over 4 more times in this game and was a -1 in turnover margin. For the most part though, we found a way to win late. We did commit 7 penalties for 54 yards. Gotta clean that up some more. 

Offensively, we had 551 yards of total offense. 224 yards rushing and 324 passing. Duke had a huge game with 184 yards on 22 carries. Solid game out of Dallas with another 31 yards on 5 carries and 2 more TDs. Big day for Hurns in the receiving game with 108 yards on 4 catches and 1 TD. Solid games all around from Stacy here having 74 yards on 3 catches. Phillip and Clive had some good games as well with 66 and 28 yards receiving respectively and a TD each.  Few things that concerned me after this game. Same deal as last game, ball security is still an issue here. Duke loses another fumble, this time in our own side of the field, and it cost us 7. He needs to be better at protecting the football in key situations. Stephen threw 2 picks in this one, the fortunate thing here is that it didn't lead to GT points. Need to be better and clean up those silly mistakes. Of the 7 penalties on Saturday, 4 were on the offense and 2 of those penalties were false starts. The other 2 were holding. The OL did allow a sack in this game. Bottom line, we need to get the ME's fixed now that we're in ACC play. Overall, good performance, but could be better. Grade: B-

Defensively, we forced 3 more turnovers in this game, 2 picks, one being a pick six by LaDarius to seal the win and the other a fumble forced and recovered. Although we allowed 354 yards rushing, we didn't allow a 100 yard rushing game from an individual standpoint. In the 1st half, we allowed 221 yards rushing. In the 2nd half, we allowed 113 yards rushing. The rush defense, considering, who we were facing, did an ok job. However, we need to get the rush defense better fortified going forward now that we're in ACC play. We held the Yellow Jackets to 6-16 on 3rd down conversions, but only 2 three and outs. Another issue we'll have to get fixed is our 4th down defense. GT in those situations was 4-5. That has to be fixed because later in the year, they're going to be some close games we need to shore that up. We sacked their QB's twice. Of the 7 penalties we had in this game, 2 penalties were on the D (offsides call on Justin and the unsportsmanlike call on after the Pick 6. We held GT, who doesn't throw the ball that often to just 66 yards passing on 6-19. We did allow 4 rushing TDs in the game. The D came up big when it had to, but still, there were some ME's here as well that need to get fixed before the trip to Chapel Hill on the Thursday Night after the BYE week. Grade: C+

Special Teams wise, better game out of Matty here. Another solid return game out of Duke with 114 yards of KR's, and 133 yards of total KR/PR in this one. Solid game from Patty in the Punting game and on Kickoffs. The downer here was that we had two big X-Plays here called back by really stupid penalties (one of which cost us 6), In games where field position is going to be vital, these are mistakes we can't have. The Return Defense regressed a little bit here. GT had 135 yards of returns (115 on KR's, but just 20 on one PR). We started drives on Saturday on Average from our own 26 and GT started drives from their own 35. However, the matter we really need to fix is the one penalty and that was the offsides on Antonio on the Kickoff after our first score.   Very fixable here. Gotta be better on the return Defense and not giving opponents short fields to work with here. Those ME's need to be fixed now that we're in ACC play because those mistakes come back to bite you, especially, if the game is in the balance here. Overall, good, but there is some room for improvement, and I felt we did that here. Grade: C+

Now, to Game Balls. This week, I'm going to give out three game balls. 

1. Duke Johnson - 22 carries, 184 yards rushing, 4 KR's, 114 yards (298 all-purpose yards)
2. Shayon Green - 9 Tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL
3. Allen Hurns - 4 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD

Overall, I felt we played well, we kept grinding and found a way to win late. That being said, there were still some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties and ball security, which are still issues that have to be fixed. Still a little bit too many of those penalties on O (4 to be exact), and the other 3 on D and STs. The ones that bother me the most were the 4 on O, specifically the 2 holding penalties. Those are drive killers right there. In a close game against a good opponent, those type of penalties can come back to bite you. Gotta be sure we correct those going forward now that we're beginning ACC play next Thursday Night @Carolina at 7:30 on ESPN. 5-0 is a good feeling right now, but we could still get better and cut the ME's out. Take care and GO CANES!