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Trojan's Live: Full transcript of Lincoln Riley

Jeff McCulloch
You guys have flipped it here, winning the last two, how do you feel like you've been able to make that change to finish these games off the right way?

Well, I think first the team has just hung in there. I mean really, and the team deserves a lot of credit for that. That's not easy. And just emotionally to stay in it, to keep battling. I think the team's kept their confidence. I think the team has kept great perspective on all that's happened this year, the good, the bad, everything in between. And they've stayed steady and they've stayed motivated. And so we really looked at this last three game stretch. We said it's a three game season and it's going to happen quickly. It's three great opportunities against three other very good programs, three important games here for us. And so we've done a great job getting the first two that the guys have played well. We've done what we've needed to do to play well in these games and to put ourselves in position. And we said it a lot throughout the year, we are battle tested. We don't get in one of those games and it's like we don't panic. We know what it feels like. We know what it takes and it's a matter of just going and doing it. And so we've done it two games in a row now and two different type situations. One on the road, a rivalry game. And to be able to close that out, especially with how we played defensively and how we played on special teams. I mean because really what won the football game, I mean to be completely honest, I mean those two sides of the ball really played well, gave us some huge advantages, made clutch plays, and obviously were kind of the spearhead to the victory.

Coach. I know you didn't talk about it a bunch, maybe going into the game, but you had a team that was down a lot of guys during the week and some sickness was a part of it, and just the time of the year, it's guys are not feeling a hundred percent. What was it like trying to get the team going when especially everything's not feeling that great this week and you're just trying to battle through the week to get the guys to the game?

Yeah, I think I said something after it. It really was there was some covid, deja vus of going through a covid season and that you weren't real sure day to day. I mean we were masked up in meetings. I mean you were getting about five different injury reports a day. Not sure exactly who you were going to have even up to five or 10 minutes before practice, but we just said from the beginning, we're going to manage it. We're going to prepare the best that we can with what we have, but we're not carrying excuses into this week as far as preparation and certainly not into this game. And so it is what it is and we've got to deal with it. And that was just the mentality the whole week. And I give credit to our trainers and doctors. I mean they worked overtime this week, nutritionist, the players. I mean it was definitely a group effort to get this team ready, but they were very motivated and very determined to go play well no matter what was stacked up.

Coach some highs and lows in this game for Jayden Maiava, I thought he did a better job protecting the football, which was important in this game. When your defense is playing so well, how would you evaluate his performance? Not only in this game but over the last couple of weeks?

He played good. He played good the other night. I thought he was steady. I thought he stayed patient even when we didn't make some plays around him that we should make. And I thought he never really got rattled. I thought he saw things well. I thought he was a lot steadier and more consistent than he was in the first start, which is I don't think a surprise. I mean we felt like that there would be an element to just settling in a little bit and we felt that he threw some great balls down the field. He gave our guys some chances to make plays that, like I said, that we need to make. He was patient, I thought when he needed to be patient, there was a number of really good check downs that were really efficient plays for us and he played a good game. He's going to keep getting better. But it was fun to see him really feel more settled in and in control than he did the first week.

What are you seeing from your guys up (defensively) front here late in the season?

It was an impactful game. It was the big thing is we were able to affect the quarterback and that was huge. And it didn't just take us blitzing to affect the quarterback. We were able to do it in multiple ways. We were able to do it with different types of rushes, getting it from different players and even obviously we got him on the ground some, but even at times when we didn't get him on the ground, we were moving the quarterback off of his spots. You're making him have to move. You're making him have to scramble. Yeah, and I think some of the new guys that we're playing with in that lineup, you can feel the confidence growing in that group. They're starting to get more in sync. They're starting to play better and better. And so it was an important part of the game. They'd been on a pretty good string offensively. The quarterback had been playing some good ball for 'em. They had been scoring some points and so we knew it was going to be a key to the game. To step up was awesome. And yeah, like you said, I mean stopping the quarterback sneak was probably my favorite play of the game. I mean just the surge that we had in that critical of a moment when a team's going to be aggressive like that and try to go for it deep in their own territory to be able to flip that was huge. And we had a number of obviously big third and fourth down stops for the game that were certainly the difference.
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My notes on SC’s 80-69 win over Grambling

S
Grambling State University (GSU) founded 1901 as Colored Industrial & Agricultural School by the North Louisiana Colored Agriculture Relief Association (organized in 1896 by group of African-American farmers who wanted a school for African-Americans in their region. In 1905, renamed North Louisiana Agricultural & Industrial School, moved to present location. In 1928 state junior college named Louisiana Negro Normal & Industrial School. First baccalaureate degree awarded 1944 in elementary education. In 1946 became Grambling College, named for PG Grambling (white sawmill owner who donated the land for the school). 1949 accreditation by Southern Assn of Colleges & Schools (SACS). In 1974 graduate programs added, became Grambling State University, one of 107 Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU), part of National Register of Historic Places

GSU has 384 acres in Grambling, LA, enrolls 5,232 students, $7 M endowment, USN&WR No. 99 of 136 in region

Famous alumni include NBA great Willis Reed, NFL HOF Buck Buchanan, Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams (father of current WOT Laura), 4x Pro Bowl/College Football HOFer Tank Younger (1st black in NFL All-star game,1st to become Asst GM (SD Chargers), 8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, pro football / WWE HOF Ernie Ladd, Grammy winner Erykah Badu, rapper E-40, Actress Natalie Desselle-Reid. Coaching legend Eddie Robinson (not an alum) retired after 56 seasons as winningest football coach with 408 wins (408-165-15, .693)

GSU Athletics: NCAA Div I FCS Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) – 1952 Midwestern Conf, SWAC in 1958; 15 Black College football national titles, 27 conference titles (26 SWAC, 1 Midwest Conf). 1 Olympic gold medal – Richard Stebbins 1964 4x100 relay team

Colors – Black & Gold, Nickname – Tigers, fight song GSU Fight Song, Mascot – Eddie the Tiger (costumed). GSU is famous for their NCAA HOF Inducted marching band, founded in 1926 aka “The World Famed Tiger Marching Band” provided half time entertainment at Super Bowl I in the Coliseum

Basketball started 1901, DI since 1977 (531-825, .392), 1 NCAA appearances (2023-240), 12 conf titles (5 DI), 2 DII Sweet Sixteen, 1 DII Elite Eight (DII), 10 NBA draft picks (incl - Larry Wright Rd 1, Willis Reed Rd 2, Aaron James Rd 2, Will Frazier Rd 2). Won SWAC for 1st time in 2023, defeated Montana St in First Four, lost to NCAA runner up Purdue in 1st rd

Winningest coaches: (48 DI seasons): Fred Hobdy 123-126, .494, Donte Jackson 121-104, .538

Current – Donte Jackson (8th season); Career record 401-371; 2023 MWC COY, 3x SWAC COY

Currently: 1-3, 1-0 (W: Southern; L: Ole Miss, UF, New Mexico). GSU picked 1st in SWAC (1 GSU, 2 Tex Southern, 3 Southern, 4 Jackson St, 5 Alcorn St, 6 Ala St, 7 Prairie View A&M, 8 Bethune-Cookman, 9 Ala A&M, 10 Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 11 Florida A&M, 12 Miss Valley St

All-time: first meeting, SC favored -22.5

GSU NET n/a, KenPom 226, SC NET n/a, KenPom 82

GSU Scores: 69.0 ppg (+0.5), 44.2% FG, 40% 3FG, 7.5 3’s/g, 62.5% FT. Rebounds 38.0 pg (-1.5), Assists 11.0 pg, TOs 19.0 pg (-6.0), 15.5 ppg/TO, Steals 7.5 pg, Blks 5.5 pg

GSU Leaders:

Scoring: Kintavious Dozier 13.0 ppg (54.3% FG, 45.5% 3FG, 60.0% FT), Antwan Burnett 11.8 (54.5% FG, 70.0% 3FG, 80.0% FT), Mikale Stevenson 11.0 (39.5% FG, 33.3% 3FG, 78.6% FT), James Flippin 9.3 (45.5% FG, 45.5% 3FG, 50.0% FT), Ernest Ross 7.3 (40.7% FG, 25.0% 3FG, 83.3% FT)

Rebounding: Burnett 7.3, Solomon Ray 5.0, Ross 4.5; Assists Stevenson 4.3; Steals Burnett 2.0, Stevenson 1.3, Dozier 1.3; Blks PJ Eason 1.8, Ross 1.5

SC scores: 79.6 ppg (+8.8), 50% FG, 33.3% 3FG, 7.0 3’s/g, 73.6% FT, Rebs 29.8 rpg (-1.8), Assists 19.2 apg, TOs 9.2 pg (+5.0), 14.2 ppg/TO, Steals 6.2, Blks 2.6

SC Leaders

Scoring: Terrance Williams 15.3 ppg (64.3% FG, 46.7% 3FG, 100% FT), Claude 12.6 (50% FG, 30% 3FG, 72.0% FT), Yates 12.0 (53.3% FG, 30.0% 3FG, 100% FT), Cohen 10.8 (67.6% FG, 0.0% 3FG, 80% FT), Chibuzo Agbo 9.8 (35.9% FG, 34.5% 3FG, 78.6% FT), Thomas 9.4 (37.3% FG, 27.8% 3FG, 44.4% FT), Knowling 7.5 (61.9% FG, 57.1% FT)

Rebounds: Saint 5.6, T-Will 4.3; Assists Saint 6.0, Claude 3.4; Steals Yates 1.6, Saint 1.0; Blks Knowling 1.0

Pregame

Will Conroy returns as guest speaker. After Saturday’s Rose Bowl win he says he had his first experience as a Trojan in the crosstown rivalry – Fight On! The team continues to put in the work to get better, especially boxing out and getting into transition. He says GSU is better than their record (lost to No. 24 Ole Miss, No. 20 UF, NM on the road)

All players are available for the game. Asked about being a walk-on when he was 4x state champion and finished as UWs assists leader, he said he initially turned down a sch’p from UW thinking he would go to Syracuse or BC – until he looked at a map and saw how far it was – he contacted UW to accept their offer, but they were out of sch’ps, so he had to walk on. By the time the season began he was on sch’p because an incoming player failed to qualify

In what is becoming a thing, a Hornery fan club member asks whether he will play this game. The answer is the same: Harry does everything right, great student, hard worker, great teammate, speaks up in the huddles, cheers for teammates and is the first to greet them. His leadership skills have Conroy predicting he will be a coach. So, don’t hold your breath on Harry getting playing time absent a blowout

Another question on what they are doing about stopping the barrage of 3’s they’ve faced. He says players think they’re Steph Curry and are shooting from longer distances. If they go out to guard them the middle is wide open – he shrugs and says, ‘pick your poison’

On the way into the arena, I ask a Grambling fan if he’s local or if he traveled. He says he’s the coach’s brother and HAS to travel to all games - haha. I ask what happened vs. NM and he says their shooting went south in the 2nd half. He said that was the 3rd straight road game against a tough opponent.

No surprise that the crowd is not a crowd at all (3068 announced). Our players were stunned because they were at SOLD OUT Wbb game vs ND and handed out free pizzas. Saint and Des manned the mic and said that fans could get free tix to the men’s game at the box office. Truthfully, there isn’t a whole lot of crossover among the fanbases for men’s & women’s bball. Again only a few media on hand (1 SC website, 2 B1G Network, couple of randos). There’s a big group of Grambling fans in the section opposite the student section. They outnumber the students and are more vocal. I talk to a GSU OG and ask if he knows Doug Williams. I tell him that Doug’s daughter Laura is playing bball for SC (out for season with knee injury)

Rletto from Season 25 of The Voice sings the national anthem. I don’t spot any other celebs. The WOT had Snoop Dogg (custom Juju jacket), Michael B Jordan, Ted Sudeikis, CP3, Cheryl Miller, Pam McGee, Candace Parker, Sparks coach Lynn Roberts et al – the men need a Juju (sigh).

The Game

SC starts Thomas, Knowling, T-Will, Cohen, Patton. Hmm, Claude’s turn to gain a new perspective?

Patton, the ‘designated opener’, jumps center and is now 2-0. He is the most athletic player on the team but will only get 3:20 of court time and log no stats.

Knowling scores inside to get SC on the board, T-Will hits a pair of FTs and Knowling’s floater puts SC up 6-0 at 17:48. GSU hits a couple of 3’s and Dozier’s layup (another small guy, who shoots 3’s and leads team in scoring) puts GSU up 8-6 at 16:41. Cohen with back to back layups gives SC the lead 10-8 at 15:48. Back and forth action continues to the half. GSU had 7 leads, SC 6 with 5 ties. A bad TO by Saint leads to a GSU dunk with .02 left giving GSU the 38-37 half-time lead. SC played matchup zone for much of the half, GSU exploited it and in the 2H Muss reverted mostly to man

For the half

GSU shot 14-24 FG (58.3%), 5-12 3FG (41.7%), 5-6 FT (83.3%)

SC shot 13-27 FG (48.1%), 3-10 3FG (30%), 8-13 FT (61.5%)

Yates and Agbo start in 2H, alongside Claude, Knowling, Cohen. Claude’s bucket at 19:28 puts SC back up 39-38. There are 7 more lead changes in the 2H. GSU largest lead is 5 pts (49-44 at 15:20). SC’s largest, after a 19-2 run,12 pts (65-53) at 10:14. GSU has their own 13-3 run and SC’s lead is 68-66. If Patton is the opener, Claude is the closer as he takes over down the stretch scoring 14 pts in the 2H. Slajchert played a season high 15:51 and was an energizer pushing the pace of play. His steal and layup was said by Muss to be a key momentum changer. Toward the end of the game there was an offense/defense substitution going on with Slajchert and Knowling. The team showed a lot of grit to get this win and eventually pulled out an 80-69 win.

The bench scoring was the difference, as the SC outscored GSU 41-14.

For the game:

GSU shot 45.5% FG (25-55), 31.8% 3FG (7-22), 85.7% FT (12-14)

SC shot 50% FG (25-50), 33.3% 3FG (7-21), 69.7% FT (23-33)

GSU

Scoring: Dozier 17 pts, 5-9 FG, 2-3 3FG, 5-6 FT, Stevenson 14, 5-11 FG, 1-4 3FG, 3-4 FT, Burnett 13, 6-14 FG, 1-3 3FG, Ross 9, 3-6 FG, 1-4 3FG, 2-2 FT

Rebounds: Eason 6; Assists Stevenson 10; Stls Dozier 4; Blks 3 players with 1

SC

Scoring: Agbo 21 pts, 6-12 FG, 4-9 3FG, 5-5 FT, Cohen 18, 7-8 FG, 1-1 3FG, 3-5 FT, Claude 14, 4-7 FG, 0-1 3FG, 6-11 FT, Thomas 8, 3-9 FG, 1-4 3FG, 1-1 FT, T-Will 7, Knowling 6

Rebounds: Cohen 6, Thomas 6, T-Will 5, Claude 5; Assists Claude 5; Stls Agbo 2; Blks Thomas, T-Will w/ 1

SC moves to 5-1, Grambling to 1-4.

Next up: St. Mary’s (6-0) at Acrisure Classic (Palm Desert), Thursday 11/28 at 6 pm. Watch on TruTV & MAX

Fight On! Beat the Gaels!
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OT: Lakers

FilltheColi
STEAL of the draft Dalton Knecht tonite in New Orleans…..

37 mins
10-17 FG (5-10 from 3)
7 rebs
And the 2 FT to seal it at the end

Lake Show completes the back to back roadies to get to 9-4….
AD is playing like an MVP.
LeBron is triple-doubling.
Knecht and Christie both playing more minutes and making more plays each nite.

JJ Reddick is making a POSITIVE change
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Football PFF grades, snap counts and stats from USC's win over UCLA

Ryan Young
Offensive snap counts (65 total plays):

QB Jayden Maiava 65, LT Elijah Paige 65, LG Emmanuel Pregnon 65, C Jonah Monheim 65, RG Alani Noa 65, RT Mason Murphy 65, TE Lake McRee 58, RB Woody Marks 56, WR Kyron Hudson 38, WR Makai Lemon 33, WR Zachariah Branch 32, WR Kyle Ford 31, WR Duce Robinson 22, TE Walker Lyons 18, WR Ja'Kobi Lane 13, RB Quinten Joyner 12, TE Kade Eldridge 11, OT Tobias Raymond 1.

Top-graded offensive players:

1. LG Emmanuel Pregnon 83.9
2. RG Alani Noa 81.2
3. WR Makai Lemon 79.1
4. C Jonah Monheim 78.4
5. LT Elijah Paige 75.9
6. RT Mason Murphy 70.7
7. WR Kyron Hudson 70.3
8. QB Jayden Maiava 66.5
9. RB Woody Marks 65.6
10. TE Lake McRee 64.4

Stats/analytics:

-USC had a season-low 346 offensive yards, marking only the third game all season the Trojans were under 400 -- vs. Michigan (379) and vs. Minnesota (373).
-Jayden Maiava was 19 of 35 passing for 221 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT. This game was mostly a slog for the Trojans, obviously, and Maiava had many of the same struggles getting the downfield passing game going that Miller Moss had this season. On throws of at least 20 air yards, Maiava completed just 2 of 4 for 90 yards while 14 of his 19 completions were inside of 10 yards or behind the line of scrimmage. When under pressures, he was 4 of 9 for 26 yards and his lone TD.
-Left tackle Elijah Paige allowed just 1 pressure (0 sacks) after giving up 0 pressures last week. He also had a season-best 91.6 pass-blocking grade and is really come on strong down the stretch.
-USC gave up a respectable 7 pressures total but 2 sacks -- one blamed on RG Alani Noa and one on TE Walker Lyons. The other pressures were attributed to RT Mason Murphy (3) and TE Lake McRee (1). For the season, Paige still has the most pressures allowed (25) with Murphy now at 24.
-LG Emmanuel Pregnon (88.2) and Noa (84.7) had the best run-blocking grades.
-Woody Marks had 76 rushing yards on 18 carries (which is right at his average the last eight weeks). He caused three missed tackles and had 55 yards after contact. Quinten Joyner had 4 carries for 24 yards but 27 yards after contact, meaning he wasn't given much to work with at all, and he still managed the team's long run of the day at 21 yards.
-Kyron Hudson led USC with 6 catches for 79 yards on a team-high 8 targets. Marks was next with 4 targets (4 catches for 25 yards), Ja'Kobi Lane had 4 (1-4, TD), Lake McRee 3 (2-36), Zachariah Branch 3 (2-13), Makai Lemon 3 (2-69), Quinten Joyner 2 (2-20), Kyle Ford 1, Waker Lyons 1 and Duce Robinson 1 (1-14). Lane had the lone drop.

Defensive snap counts (56 total plays:

CB Jaylin Smith 56, S Kamari Ramsey 55, LB Mason Cobb 53, LB Easton Mascarenas-Arnold 53, S Akili Arnold 49, DE Kameryn Fountain 37, NK Greedy Vance Jr. 36, CB Jacobe Covington 32, DT Nate Clifton 30, DT Gavin Meyer 29, DE Jamil Muhammad 27, DE Sam Greene 25, DE Braylan Shelby 23, DT Kobe Pepe 23, CB John Humphrey 19, DT Devan Thompkins 14, DT Elijah Hughes 12, S Zion Branch 11, S Anthony Beavers 9, CB DeCarlos Nicholson 7, S Bryson Shaw 6, DT Jide Abasiri 5, LB Desman Stephens II 3, CB Prophet Brown 1.

That was Thompkins' fewest snaps by far since Week 4 vs. Michigan. I didn't notice if he got hurt at some point -- haven't finished rewatching the game yet.

Top-graded defensive players:

1. DE Kameryn Fountain 85.0
2. DT Gavin Meyer 77.1
3. DE Braylan Shelby 74.5
4. S Akili Arnold 74.4
5. DE Jamil Muhammad 73.6
6. DT Elijah Hughes 73.2
7. NK Greedy Vance Jr. 68.3
8. DE Sam Greene 65.7
9. DT Devan Thompkins 64.9
10. S Kamari Ramsey 64.9

Defensive stats/analytics:

-USC gave up 376 yards.
-Mason Cobb led USC with 7 tackles, while Easton Mascarenas-Arnold had 6 each. EMA, Nate Clifton and Braylan Shelby each had a sack. EMA now has a team-leading 3 sacks, while Shelby is up to 2.
-Jacobe Covington, DeCarlos Nicholson and Kobe Pepe each had a PBU.
-USC had 20 total defensive pressures, led by Kam Fountain (4), Sam Greene (4), Braylan Shelby (3), Devan Thompkins (2), Gavin Meyer (2) and EMA (2).
-Shelby now leads the team with 19 pressures while Fountain is already up to 13 despite not playing much at all the first half of the season.
-Cornerback stats: Jacobe Covington gave up 4 catches on 6 targets for 70 yards, Greedy Vance Jr. gave up 3 catches on 4 targets for 37 yards, DeCarlos Nicholson gave up 1 catch on 2 targets for 2 yards, Jaylin Smith gave up 2 catches on 2 targets for 48 yards, John Humphrey gave up 1 catch on 1 target for 10 yards.

Special teams:

-Punter Eddie Czaplicki averaged 47 yards on his 3 punts, pinning all inside the 20, with a long of 52. More specifically, his punts pinned UCLA at the 7, 9 and 1. For the season, he's averaging 48.8 yards per punt, which is second nationally behind Florida State's Alex Mastromanno (49.06).
-With Michael Lantz's 4 field goals Saturday, he's now 14 of 20 for the season.
-Makai Lemon is now averaging 29.25 yards per kick return after returning 3 for 88 yards with a long of 41 Saturday.

National rankings:

-Scoring: 29.3 PPG (56th)
-Total offense: 429.7 YPG (33rd)
-Rushing offense: 144.27 YPG (84th)
-Passing offense: 285.5 YPG (T-13th)

-Scoring defense: 21.2 PPG (32nd)
-Total defense: 365.7 YPG (65th)
-Rushing defense: 130.09 YPG (43rd)
-Passing defense: 235.6 YPG (93rd)
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NO PLAYOFF for Bama??

FilltheColi
OKLA 24
ALA 3
7:54 to play

Barring something miraculous, this will the 3rd loss for Bama (all on the road)…..
looking like the 1st 12 team playoff will NOT include them.

We shall see…..
get ready for THE GREAT STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE DEBATE….

The SEC powers that be will DEFINITELY not stand by quietly.
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Football Postgame interviews after win over UCLA and full Lincoln Riley transcript

Ryan Young
We got a lot of players postgame so I just got back to the press box.

Press conference with Lincoln Riley, Jayden Maiava and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold

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Kyron Hudson

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Woody Marks

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Makai Lemon

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Akili Arnold and Eddie Czaplicki

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Jaylin Smith and Gavin Meyer

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Football Lincoln Riley said USC was without 27 players at practice Tuesday due to the 'a lot, a lot of flu'

Ryan Young
Riley hinted a couple times in the postgame last night that the team overcame an unusual obstacle this week, so I asked him to elaborate.

"Yeah, we had, I don't want to use the wrong word, I don't know if I want to say outbreak, but we had a lot of flu. Like a lot, a lot of flu. We practiced Tuesday with I think 27 players out, and it ran through over half the staff. Guys battled. We had a lot of guys that didn't feel very good even here at the end of the week. The preparation was a little disjointed because of that, but said from the very beginning, we're going to get through this deal here at the beginning of the week and then there are no more excuses. We said last night in the team meeting, like, we wake up in the morning, nobody's sick -- period. Nobody's sick. So we healed them all, baby."

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It never fails to amaze me...

TrojanGiftHorse
...how coaches over think the situation.

I've posted this thought on here before, but here goes....

On a normal down, it's super easy to run a play and get one or two yards. On a normal down, you'd almost consider that a failure. All of a sudden, you get to 4-and-1 or 4-and-2, you willingly narrow the field of play down to just five yards across, making it way easier for your opponent to try to stop you. It makes no sense! Coaches are sooooo stupid, LOL!
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