I agree. It could have gone either way. Sometimes we do need a little bit of luck which didn't go the Tiger's way in that play. That quick score sure set the tone for the rest of the game.
Watch the replay again, Harvin shoved him in the back at the last second. With out the offensive pass interference it's an interception. However the way both teams played I'm not sure it made a ton of difference in the outcome of the game. Florida simply came fired up and ready to play and LSU didn't.
Is a pass attempt average valid with him having only one previous start? Clearly we were out of gameplan early due to the fact we were behind and we couldn't effectively run the ball. So throwing the ball more was an indication we were in trouble... but so was the scoreboard.
You're right Harvin did shove him. But Harvin also already had a half step or so on McCray. McCray on Harvin should not have happened. This is one of the few points that I agree with people calling out the Co-DC's on. Why are they using McCray who is not a good cover as the cover back? Maybe LSU just doesn't have anyone that they could put in that position and McCray is just sort of "best of the worst" choice. He seems to be able to cover the run decently. . .but Harvin being a Slot WR hybrid, I'm not sure what they were thinking with that match up. It's certainly a knock you could make on the DC's. A few games now people have been calling out McCray on his covering abilities.
I have sen McCray get beaten plenty this year but he deserves no grief over this play. He played it perfectly and made a great play. He played underneath because the safety was supposed to be backstopping him. The safety does his job, and Harvin would have been laid out like a rug on that play. If you are going to pick one play to beat him up on, at least assess the blame correctly.
I think you are a 100% right on that, the play could have gone either way, probably an interception if Harvin doesnt push the guy in the back. McCray played it pefectly, however, its just the timing of who it is. If it was Coleman, we would be talking about it differently. The fact that McCray has blown a number of coverages in the past has a huge psychological barring in this discussion.
I'm fine with Lee's numbers. Florida stacked the box so Crowton adjusted accordingly and went to the pass. That's the chess match. They make a move, you counter the best you can. The trade off was a couple of picks, but what do you expect from a RSFM QB starting his first road game in the Swamp? Overall Lee and the offense did their job. The offense when down and got the score before the half and then came back out and scored again to put us right back in it. I wasn't 100% sold on Lee going in but he did what he needed to win. The problem was that our defense was never able to adjust. They never found a way to pressure Tebow and insisted on covering one of the most explosive players in the SEC with a linebacker. (that constantly got burned) They knew exactly what was coming and had two weeks to prepare. But, for some reason, the defense still had no answer for Florida's offense and look confused much of the game. I, like many others, was not thrilled about the decision to go with the dual coordinator approach. Miles has had a great track record for bringing in top notch assistants in the past so I was surprised to see him take this route. Granted this is our first loss with these coordinators, but our overall defensive stats have not been stellar all season. Especially considering the weakest competition is at the beginning of the year where you would expect the best numbers. It's certainly not time to freak out and start firing people, but very much cause for concern. I'm taking a wait and see attitude because I trust Miles and his personnel choices have been excellent so far. It will be interesting to see if the defense can bounce back and put the clamps on USC.
The game was 3 days ago and it's been examined and re-examined 9 ways to Sunday. We all know what did/didn't happen and why we lost the game. Can we move on now?