Defending Moise and other football notes

Running backs coach Carl Franks defended having sophomore Moise Plancher in the game for a crucial second-and-goal play from the 1-yard line late in the fourth quarter Saturday. Plancher was stopped for no gain, but Franks said he was confident with Plancher in the game in place of an injured Mike Ford.

"Mo's practiced there. It's his spot as a backup," Franks said Monday night. "If we had blocked it right, he would have scored. If I had not been comfortable with him, I would have not put him in, or we would have not run that formation."

Leavitt, clarifying an ambiguous statement he made after the game, said Monday that he knew Plancher was in the game, but didn't realize he'd be the ballcarrier on the play, thinking he was a lead blocker for another running back.

Ford, by the way, had injured his rib cage as he tried to throw a block on the previous drive. He was at practice Monday night, running with his teammates while carrying a ball in post-practice conditioning runs, and Franks said it's possible he could play Saturday. Again, Ford was hospitalized for a short time Saturday night because he was having trouble breathing and there was concern he might have collapsed or damaged a lung; tests there showed no lung damage and no broken ribs.

Receiver Amarri Jackson was not at practice Monday night, but I saw him Monday afternoon, and he was still walking on crutches, with a heavy brace on his injured knee. Jim Leavitt and receivers coach Mike Canales said they don't know yet how long he'll be sidelined; this Saturday certainly seems questionable at best. Freshman Carlton Mitchell, leading USF with 280 receiving yards, would step up for his first start if Jackson can't go.

-- Noticed something interesting watching Saturday's game on DVR: On USF's opening drive, after Jamar Taylor's 54-yard run, on third-and-goal from the 3, it looks to me like USF was running the same ill-fated naked bootleg the Bulls tried on third-and-goal from the 1 at the end of the game. In heavy rain, Grothe loses the ball after the snap and recovers it for a short loss, but all three running backs took off in the opposite direction, leaving Grothe alone on the back side for the bootleg. It didn't fool UConn then, so I don't get why the Bulls would go back to that play with the game on the line. Similar situation, similar call, similar result.

-- As much as we wrote that USF had a terrible first half, the first quarter wasn't that bad. Two missed field goals, but otherwise, the Bulls weren't really outplayed, down 3-0. Total offense was within 6 yards of being dead even. UConn outscored USF 13-0 in the first seven minutes of the second quarter, and that made the Huskies' victory possible.

-- I'm impressed by the number of players battling through injuries. Defensive tackle Allen Cray, who saw significant action with Richard Clebert slowed by an ankle injury, made two tackles easily 20 yards downfield, even though he was slow to walk off the field with trainers between the two plays. Safety Carlton Williams literally collapsed coming off the field after taking a blow to the head, and was back out shortly after; Matt Grothe had his right ankle wrapped after the play where his interception was run back for a score, and he was scrambling for yards two plays later.

-- Watched the 1-yard Mike Ford touchdown run, where Cedric Hill was called for holding. After reviewing it a couple of times, it seems like a legitimate call, relevant to the play. Hill is pulling on a Connecticut player's jersey as he's trying to tackle Ford. ESPN's analysts never picked up on the flag being on Hill, making a comment about a lineman unrelated to the play or the flag. I think the flag came a second late, but the call itself shouldn't be questioned. And if you watch Hill's pivotal drop, a UConn defender did have a hand in the air right in front of his face. Rough sequence of plays, to be sure. Again, I admire the guy for coming off the team bus to address his play in the game.

-- Officials stopped the game in the fourth quarter to review whether a 1-yard UConn pass play on second down was a completed pass or not. I don't know how long a play would have to be to seem worth stopping play for a few minutes, but I have to think that distance is longer than 1 yard. Is the difference between third and 6 or third and 5 worth the hit in credibility you take for reviewing an irrelevant play?

-- Check out these stats: In USF's first five games, Grothe had 246 rushing yards and two touchdowns; USF's three running backs (Williams, Ford, Taylor) had 609 yards and 11 touchdowns; in the last three, Grothe has 304 yards and four touchdowns, the three RBs have 203 yards and two scores.

-- USF's receivers are so depleted. You had Taurus Johnson out, then Jackson, and Jessie Hester was the only Bulls player to catch a pass in the first half. Found out Monday that freshman Eddie Alcin didn't make the trip because of a groin injury, so on that last drive, the Bulls are using freshman A.J. Love, who doesn't have a catch yet this season.

Okay. Off to bed. I'll have some basketball on Tuesday -- finally got USF's newest commitment, Eladio Espinosa, on the phone tonight. So check back for your hoops fix in the morning ...

Comments

[nickdelray]

Greg,you tell it like it is!! Great work as always

Not that it determined the outcome, because it would have only tied the game and good teams overcome penalties...but, I disagree with you on the Cedric Hill holding call. I watched it several times and noticed Hill was pushing on the defender not pulling, as well as both of his hands were inside of the guy's shoulders. The only possible call I could see was that his arms were extended--which I was under the impression was made legal, anywhere on the field, back in the mid 80's. While we are on the subject of penalties, and again this is not to complain on the outcome because UConn deserved the win, but on the first drive...how many times do our CB's have to be blocked in the back to get it called once. The announcer even touted the receivers effort at blocking once and replayed it only to show him ceiling the edge for Dixon with a block in the back? Otherwise, I have no complaints, as the second half of the Rutgers game, when we truly lost that game (since we were up 17-13 at the half), and most of this UConn game was, IMO, officiated well.

[nybullsfan]

Any word on whether Carlton Williams has been in for an MRI or not? Collapsing on the field like that looked really scary.

[Jim]

Greg, I saw blocking in the back penalties that were not called as well. Great job on he coverage, I have a feeling we will see a different team on Saturday.

FYI, I feel sorry for Cincinnati if they have to use our game film from the last two games it sure is going to not help them at all.

[Ken]

I thought your observation here yesterday, Greg, about the viewers for the USF and UF games was interesting; but in the paper this morning it read differently and as a slam at USF.

[G.A.]

I filed essentially the same story that I posted on the blog. I got tweaked a little, and the headline's a little more pointed. Nothing too harsh. Again, I don't think USF fans should be surprised or ashamed that there are more Gator fans in the Tampa area. USF is certainly bridging that gap with every win and every season.

[SailingBull]

Imagine that, when Grothe tries to do it all himself, the Bulls loose. Seriously this kid needs a dose of "humble pie". He has a big head and the coaches are feeding into it with their playcalling. That naked bootleg might have worked, if Grothe hadn't run the ball all day.

BTW, does anyone in this town sell a Bulls jersey that isn't #8?

[G.A.]

That's a good question, SailingBull. You'd think you could sell a few 59s in this town, probably a few 30s or 26s.

[Ari]

Why wouldn't you keep giving the ball to Grothe? They can't stop him.

I think something that hasn't been mentioned is the rain in the first half. It was brutal.

Another thing was the tipped pass from Grothe that was returned for a TD. Its not like he threw that bad of a pass it was just deflected at the line of scrimage.

[Tom]

I'm glad to see Mike Ford is all right. If he is available this friday then we should get him as many carries as possible. I'm tired of waiting to see how good he really is. I don't want to see him get injured without having seen what he can do as our feature running back! Play the FIVE STAR player already!

[SailingBull]

I would buy a #59 or a #4 in a heartbeat.

As for Grothe, other teams have proven that they can stop him. Didn't you watch the last two games? Hey I'm not saying the UConn loss was on him, that was an overall lousy team and coaching effort. The kids were obviously on an emotional down.

What I am saying is that Grothe isn't a one-man show. If he keeps trying to do too much, we are in trouble. All the attention on chatboards, the buzz around the GroHawk, the billboards on the interstate, and ESPECIALLY the playcalling have not helped in keeping Mr. Grothe humble on the field.

[G.A.]

I agree that the rain was a factor in the two early kicks, both close misses. With dry weather late in the game, Alvarado made both of his kicks.

And Grothe's pass, absolutely, was altered at the line of scrimmage. It also came immediately after a dropped pass. The pick Grothe threw in the end zone was all him, though -- throwing off the back foot, not enough on the throw. No excuses on that one, aside from trying to make a play on third down when other things weren't working.

[Austin]

When is the basketball update going to be posted? What other prospects are we looking at for 08' and beyond?

[Ari]

Yeah -- that picke Grothe thew was a terrible pass.

I don't know what he was thinking there. He seemed a little dazed by the whole situation. There seemed to be a little panic in him.

[Ari]

Sailingbull,

I'm not sure if you watched the second half, but Grothe was the only reason we even got back into the game. His 50+ yard scramble to the 10 yard line was the beginning of the momentum swing.

The guy is pretty much our whole team.

I still don't understand why we are effective running a QB draw, but uneffective running Mike Ford or Taylor off tackle. Makes no sense to me.

I also HATE that trap draw play where they run a delay hand off to Ben Williams. I think it works maybe 1 out of 5 times.

[Dave W]

Grothe is the entire offense. He is without question the best player on the offense, and in my mind, is superior to any running QB in the nation. The reason is the lack of help- Tebow has a very good O-line (only getting better with the Pouncey boys) and WRs, Pat White has a good O-line and Slaton, Reynaud et al. Dixon has Stewart and a great O-line. And notice, the last two have great playcallers as well. Grothe has the worst playcalling in history.

He forces things, but it is out of necessity. If he loses his aggressive streak, we'll be much worse on offense.

At WR- will Denson start next week? Didn't Love post some of the best athletic numbers in the 40 yd dash and such? And one more- any chance a DB moves over to practice WR for two weeks?

All I can say is: Get well quickly TJ, you are needed. Carlton Mitchell is going to be a great big play threat, and Hester is solid, and Bogan will be solid, but we need the established solid big threat now.

[T. Bever]

Greg - I'd cut him some slack if he was hitting more than 50% of his field goals on the year, but he's not. In closely contested games (8 pts or less): 2-for-4 against Rutgers; 2-for-6 against Auburn; 0-for-1 against WVU; and 2-for-4 against UConn. That's four games all decided by 8 points or less and he's a combined 6-for-15, or 40%.

Not only did he miss FGs on the first two drives... when the team stalled on teh third drive at teh 40, Alvarado knocked the punt into the first row of the student section.

[JoeB]

You guys aren't looking in the right places for other jerseys. I see plenty of 95s and 26s.

Greg, as far as the 3rd Down play on that first drive. I too watched and rewatched that play numerous times and couldn't tell what they were doing. My best guess is that it was going to be a sweep to the left with Jamar Taylor getting the carry. But it might very well have been a bootleg to the right (opposite of the last drive that went to the left...a true 'naked bootleg'). Either way, it didn't appear any TEs were available for a toss, so it had to be a run of some sort.

Dave your nuts, Grothe is not in the top 5 of running QBs. Oregon, WV and Florida all have a better running QB and I'm sure there are others. (deleted)

[G.A.]

JoeB, watch that goal-line play again. Jamar Taylor, the last of the three RBs, had already passed Grothe when he fumbled; there wasn't going to be a handoff, and nobody was blocking to Grothe's side. It's the same naked bootleg, just run to the right instead of the left, as was the second one.

[Ari]

Good catch Greg.

It was the same nake boot leg.

[SailingBull]

Yes I watched the whole game. I also know that Grothe made several mistakes in the second half as well. Grothe is a great QB, for a sophomore. A great QB leads the team though. He does not try to do everything himself. I'm sure given time he will improve, but the coaches need to recognize this or it will continue to be a problem.

Take the bootleg play for example, a bad playcall yes, but that loss was made worse by Grothe not playing smart football. This is becoming too familiar of a sight.

What about actually reading the defense and calling an audible when UConn stacked the weak side of the line? Grothe needs to learn not to call his own number all the time and so does the offensive coordinator.

[CG]

Well, I'm chalking this season up not only as another step in the right direction, but also an important lesson for Grothe to learn to AUDIBLE THE HORRIBLE PLAYCALLING IN IMPORTANT SITUATIONS!!!

QB sneak it four times if you have to when you have a couple yards to go! Defenses expect it because it works.

[Dave W]

On the bootleg SailingBull, what exactly should Grothe have done? The choices- throw it up (penalty, or more likely, tipped and picked), somehow turnaround and run the other way, or fall forward (landing on the 4). It's probably easier to throw a ball into the endzone from the 10 than it is the 5. We called three stupid plays in a row (why only one WR in the endzone? I saw a man run a crossing route on the 2) and Grothe did everything humanly possible to make a play. The only other choice was to give up. Its not his fault Gregory is simply the worst OC in the nation.

[thumper]

greg, any recent news on recruiting? i believe we need one qb., one wr. one rb., and, at least 3 more ol. on the d., we need: one dl., one lb., and 3 more dbs. any news about roger frazier, grothe's favorite receiver in high school? any chance of getting the running backs from st. pete ne., largo, or arline from ridgewood? i hope we get back on the winning trail again, to make recruiting more productive.

[Capt. Obvious]

Hey you big babies,

You were lucky to get a HUGE no-call when Carlton mitchell hit one of the UCONN receviers in the endzone about two seconds before the ball go to the receiver. The crowd saw it, the announcers saw it, and I saw it. Quit being big babies. You say you are the states elite, but you act like a bunch of whining babies. If not for that no-call UCONN would have been up by much more. Finally, it was blatantly a hold by your TE on that touchdown.
Want to be big-time, but you act small-time. I hope your players talk about last week as much as you. They will lose again!

[Capt Obvious]

Correction, I beleive your safety is a carlton too and that is who I am referring to. Greg Auman, you are such a homer. I have never read so much crying in my life and its seems that all the USF fans are doing it. One thing your fan base lacks is experience. Some of you will learn that its about ups and downs. Geez, what a collective group of babies!And you were on the UF boards talking smack!

[G.A.]

On one thread, I'm too harsh on USF for the TV ratings deal, and here, I'm a homer. It's hard keeping you guys polarized at both extremes, but I'll try my best.

[nybullsfan]

c'mon greg, get off the fence and take a position!

ROFL

[Capt. Obvious]

sorry, i'm just a douchebag from Connecticut. 3 of my team's wins have come from favorable officiating.

:[

[Capt. Obvious....]

HAHAHAHAH...ROFL....You think you loss the game to us because of bad officiating!!! This only solidifies my point! What LOSERS! We beat you FAIR AND SQUARE. What a bunch of babies!

[thumper]

capt. obvious,
did you beat l'ville fair and square?

[steve oneal]

Great question, Thumper!!