I used to watch CGD religiously every Saturday morning. Today I woke up a little early, and as an afterthought decided to turn it on. Immediately my thoughts turned to, will we still be featured along with all the heavyweights in the opening theme song?? To my great relief, there we were, the “Farm at Stanford”, in the same breath as “roll Tide roll through Alabama.” Who says we’re not relevant?!!

A win is a win. Start today.

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One of the perks of joining the ACC is having a network that posts full-game videos to its YouTube channel. Here's the TCU game. Have fun with the analysis.

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Think his commitment to Cal lasts? He is shooting up the board

Looks like Yurosek had an underwhelming start to his career at Georgia

Got called for a False Start penalty, no targets in the passing game, and got absolutely bullied in the trenches here

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Tough matchup with Peter Woods who has 60 pounds on him but still a tough rep. He's had trouble adding strength for whatever reason

Nonetheless I hope he has some impact plays for the Bulldogs, seems like a good kid

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Our hitting % far improved over yesterday. Newbies Kurt & Harvey both played better overall than yesterday vs Minnesota. Rubin again our leading player. But Ogilvie and Miner also great.

Wisconsin started in 1st preseason poll as #3 in the country, but after losses to #4 Louisville and #1 Texas had dropped to #6 just below us when we played them this afternoon. Arena (I think where the Bucks play) had a great crowd, likely 10,000 to 15,000, and 95% Wisconsin rooters.

We won set #1 coming from behind to tie, then go ahead for the win. Another nice late run.
In set 2, they blew us out early and then held it to the end. Walk in the park for Wiscy.
In set 3 we came back and played cleaner with far better focus, winning clutch points.
And in set 4, again tight but late run by the Cards... clean/focused.
Hambly's demeanor very stoic, cool as a cucumber, but with great fist pump when we took set #4.

Our serving again had too many errors, but seemed less early on than vs Minnesota. And it appeared overall less error ridden than yesterday. Wisconsin served well as well. Don't have the stats but think about equal on that. Our freshman, Harvey huge later in the match in set 4 when she went on a great service run, Rubin nice throughout, as was Miner, but their runs less than Harvey's And Kurt also did well.

Wisconsin's blockers very tall. Their best hitter (forgot her name) but very tall blonde and their most dangerous pin was said to be ~ 85%, not yet fully healed, but you wouldn't have known it. She was tall, cool & powerful, and plenty fast. Robinson, their other pin also tall & powerful. Our Setting and Libero play vs theirs gave us a nice advantage.

Overall some very good minutes rotations today for our newer/younger players.

Smart scheduling by Hambly. to test them early and calibrate his players. Now 3-0 going into our match vs Marquette tomorrow (Coirrection: Wednesday, Thanks Bobbk!). Then home to Maples.

And #1 Texas looms.

*** ROSTER ARROWS IS THE OFFICIAL POST- GAME DEPTH CHART. THIS IS AN OBJECTIVE LIST OF A PLAYER'S STATUS ON THE ROSTER FROM GAME TO GAME. COMMENTS THAT FOLLOW ARE SUBJECTIVE ( Green is going to get an arrow up for starting at nickel. He does not get an arrow down for not playing well)
* I don't give down arrows to walk ons
* Roster Arrows do not include special teams unless I make mention of it (Farrell will get an arrow down for G1 because he did not get any offensive snaps. He was the KO/punt returner)
* Injured players do not get arrows


OFFENSE ARROW UP

8 LAMSON - 3 situational snaps as QB2. 2 TD's and a 1st down. BOOM!
13 AYOMANOR - WR1 targeted 12 times
14 DANIELS - QB1 - thoughts documented elsewhere.
20 FORD - RB1A gets the start in first college game. Doesn't feel like a difference-maker but glad to have him. Struggled in pass pro to be expected.
24 BACHMEIER - one of the WR2's. Got the start and had 3 targets but could have easily had double the throws go his way IMO.
26 IRVIN - RB1B Tough little dude. Sticks his nose in there in pass pro. Easy to like.
55 PALE - Played every snap at RG. No knee braces and looked pretty good on the move - was pulling all night. Guy is a mauler. Has to keep developing in pass pro to not be such a liabilty.
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57 ROGERS - Played every snap at OC. One of my favorites but disappointed in both his command of the unit and overall play. I'm really hoping this TCU defense turns out to be a problem in '24
69 MAIKKULA -Played every snap at LG. Athletic but needs better functional strength in the run game.
71 McLAUGHLIN - Played every snap at RT. Was expecting and hoping for a better effort.
76 LEYER - Played every snap at LT. Looked improved in pass pro which obviously you want at the position.
83 HARRIS - One of Daniels fav targets in G1. 8 targets and a score. And 1 HUGE drop.
84 CISSE - Big arrow up. Daniels threw 5 balls his way. Lamson hit him with a TD and 2 carries on reverses.
86 ROUSH - TE1 was out there for every snap. Added weight helped in run game. Lack of speed kind of clogs up passing schemes/timing.
88 BLACKBURN - TE2 Freshman saw 5 snaps including a route on the goal line.

OFFENSE ARROW DOWN

0 REUBEN - Big arrow down. Zero snaps. Passed up by Harris
3 B. FARRELL - BIG arrow down. One of CTT's favs LY did not get a snap. Passed up by Cisse
5 DAVIS, JR - Hate giving a true frosh the bad arrow but the recruiting dynamics/roster structure turned this into an immediate competition for playing time. Ford got the start and the snaps.
9 JACKSON - Things don't look great for the player.
15 BUTLER - Zero snaps. No short yardage role. Nada.
34 HAMPTON - Might want to start focusing on baseball.
67 ANDERSON - 3rd year player started 3 games LY but did not get any snaps in G1
72 UKE - Another OL who saw some snaps in '23 but nothing in G1
73 SYMONDS - 2nd year player still looking for his first action.
78 BAKLENKO - Started the last 5 games LY. Player was dressed and on the PAT/FG team but did not get a snap on offense.
81 BORDEN - 2nd year player still looking for his first action.
82 RAINES - Senior WR did not get a snap.
85 TAYLOR - TE was on the field for only 3 snaps and a frosh TE had a bigger role in G1
89 UNGAR - Not a great sign when the coach does not remember your name.


DEFENSE ARROW UP

0 BERNADEL - Played every snap at ILB. Helluva game. left 1 big play on the field unfortunately.
4 MANLEY - Starter at RCB. Not close on a TD throw but otherwise not awful.
5 GREEN - Starter and only nickel. I'm not his biggest fan. He and Leigber switched off playing in the slot and at safety. That in itself poses a huge issue. Stanford is predominantly a zone nickel defense and they were picked apart in G1. I dunno man.
6 WRIGHT - Starter at LCB. Solid.
8 SINCLAIR - Played every snap at ILB. One of the better games I have seen him play. Just clean up that tackling a bit.
11 TAFITI - Didn't start but got the bulk of the snaps at FOLB. So active but this guy has to clean up his tackling.
14 AYBAR - Starter at BOLB. Usually assignment tight. Would love to see more production/flash. Interesting moment at the end of the game He was sent off the field and to the bench during the 2:00 timeout when the rest of the entire defense was huddling on the field. Did not return just something to monitor.
21 EDWARDS - Starter at FS. I like the player. The problem is that Leigber and Green can't cover and that really isn't Edwards strength either. Not sure how April can play that combination.
23 BAILEY - Starter at FOLB. Would have probably played more but the big penalty kept him off the field a bit. I gave him his own thread yesterday. Dominant pass rusher who is so misused April should be fired on that fact alone.
27 PORTER - OCB3 came in to replace an injured Manley.
32 LEIGBER - Starter at SS. Just not good in coverage. Pretty decent game otherwise. Got bailed out by a TCU penalty after beaten badly on a big throw down the sideline.
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40 PHILLIPS - Starter at 1 DL spot. He and Franklin led the rotation in snaps. Didn't make the biggest impact but he was assignment tight.
44 COOPER - A couple dozen snaps subbing for Aybar. I love this guy's enthusiasm. Fun to watch. Would be even more fun if April turned Cooper and Bailey loose at the QB at the same time.
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75 BM-O - Who was it that said this dude was going to be starting and was the phenom of camp? CMON MAN. Gets the arrow here because he did get on the field for a handful of snaps but didn't pass the look test to me.
91 PATTERSON - Love this addition. In fact, I was really encouraged by our run defense. Much more physical team and Patterson looks the part. About 20 snaps in G1.
Login to view embedded media 94 FRANKLIN - Starter at DL. Both starters did not combine for 1 tackle. Can't ignore that. I still like both guys.
97 ROWELL - Shared the big part of the DL rotation with Phillips and Franklin. Looks the part.
98 BUCKEY - Was given about a dozen snaps and a bunch at a crucial time late. Not good IMO.


DEFENSE ARROW DOWN

17 FRAUSTO-RAMOS - 2nd year player saw a ton of defensive snaps as a frosh but nothing in G1.
30 DUBRE - Special Teams captain did not get a defensive snap.
31 MORRIS - Stay with me here. The player replaced Leigber for 1 series right after the half. Had an INT go through his hands after Bailey put heat on the TCU QB. And that was it. Nothing before and nothing after. It was strange. Morris gets the down arrow because he was clearly in competition with Green for that NB spot. IMO Morris allows April more flexibility to mix up coverages as opposed to the Green/Leigber/Edwards combo.
35 ROSE - 3rd year ILB did not get a snap on defense.
45 STAPLES (schollie?) - No snaps
61 MAYBERRY - No snaps on the DL after the position switch. Would be surprised if this changed.
90 GEWENIGER - 2nd year player still looking for first action.
95 TAYLOR - What a damn specimen. Looks like Tarzan.....

Read that here.

5pm PDT - SMU takes first set against Nebraska 25-23 in Dallas. 6,700 in attendance at Moody Arena. SMU has never had more than 2,000 previously.

BC defense looking pretty game. Getting lots of pressure on Uigalelei. Their offensive line looks awesome in the run game. Passing O isn't much to speak of but is efficient.

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Read that here. There is a good chance that when Wake Forest comes to The Farm, Tiger and Bear Bachmeier's older brother Hank will be under center for the Demon Deacons.

I just watched Boston College dismantle FSU, as many of you likely did as well.

They looked very physical while also having athletes on the outside. Looking at their roster they have have about 10-12 guys over 300 LB's

If Boston College can do this in the NIL and Transfer Portal world, why can't we?

Let me remind you that regardless of the loss, we played a very competitive game that TCU didn't seize until there were just over 3 minutes left in the game. Yes, TCU made a bunch of unforced errors that perhaps made it closer than it should have been. But good teams find a way to keep things close and give themselves a shot at the end. With a more seasoned O-line and better QB under center, it's not hard to envision that we could have driven the field and taken another lead with under a minute to go. We were that close.

Not writing off Troy Taylor just because we couldn't beat a Week 1 opponent that some consider a dark horse to win their conference. Given the results of last night's game, I doubt anyone still considers TCU to be a Big 12 dark horse. However, they looked the part of a surefire bowl team and by extension, we looked much improved as well (despite being smaller & less explosive than TCU). Daniels definitely ain't the guy but my goodness has Lamson taken a noticeable leap. If Elijah Brown can infuse the passing element that Daniels is clearly lacking, we may just have a heck of a 1-2 punch at QB with Brown & Lamson.

In the end, it wasn't the result I wanted but it also wasn't the train wreck that some here are suggesting it was. We played them close and found a way to cover the spread - last year's team would not have taken a single lead, let alone played TCU so close deep into the 4th. I already like our RB tandem of Ford & Irvin over Smith & Butler, I like our creative play-calling in critical moments, and even though 4th-and-16 call was ludicrously reckless, I liked Taylor's aggression and belief in the offense on all the other 4th down situations we faced. Unfortunately, this also speaks to a lack of trust in the defense, which despite getting a very fortunate turnover early in the game, didn't do much to inspire hope that our bottom-dwelling unit is any better than last year. Wright had a tough assignment and an up-and-down night overall but Manley just looks physically outmatched out there. I suspect our freshman CBs are going to get thrown into the mix sooner rather than later.

This was always going to be a rebuilding year - nothing has changed in that regard. But I can already see the pieces that will get us to become a much more competent, competitive team by year's end with the hope that we have enough to work with in 2025 to get back to a bowl game. If I'm Troy Taylor, here's my formula for the rest of the season:

1.) Pray for health along the O-line so they can gel over the course of the season. Baklenko appeared to acquit himself well against Osafo-Mensah (sorry, Gary) - gives us something to build around. Room for improvement but not hard to envision given their relative youth

2.) Give Brown some meaningful playing time next week and slowly ramp up his responsibilities until turning the reins over to him by midseason (I'd make the switch against SMU or Wake Forest at home). As much as I'd love for him to take over next week, subjecting a true freshman to that brutal stretch of Clemson-Virginia Tech-Notre Dame would just be flat-out cruel

3.) Design more plays to Ayomanor & Bachmeier. They're way too good to have as quiet of a 1st half as they both had. Harris getting so many targets early is a promising sign for a redshirt frosh but he's not there yet as a jump-ball specialist. Can't wait to see what this unit looks like once Moseley is back in action and fully healthy

4.) Run defense held it's own until the 4th. That's an enormous positive that I did not see coming. If we can get after the run game like we did last night and make that a focal point of the D, we'll have more 3rd down opportunities than we did last year (when opponents routinely converted within the first two downs). Guys were swarming to the ball early - we'll need plenty more of that this season

5.) Secondary needs some serious re-configuring. Wright is a mainstay even though he has a lot to clean up in his game. Manley, on the other hand, is out of excuses as a 6th year senior. If he is going to keep getting pushed around and give up soft-coverage completions like that, we need to see what Nicholson & Richardson can bring to the table. Scotty Edwards is a tackling machine but we need a ball-hawking safety across from him. Problem is I'm not sure we even have one of those on the roster (Ojarikre?)

6.) 4th & short: love the aggression. 4th & 10+: wtf are we doing out there?? Troy Taylor needs to cool it with the desperation heaves down the field with the game on the line. If we can establish a more consistent run game, I'm not sure he'll need to swing for the fences quite so often. Absolutely loved that 3rd & long designed run that caught the defense off guard. In my opinion, utilizing more 3rd down run plays and/or short passes to set up 4th & short is a much better formula for moving the sticks with Lamson being so clutch on 4th down. I'm hoping we see way more of that guy in the coming weeks - talk about a weapon!

7.) I noticed TCU had a boatload of transfers on their starting roster, including former Stanford recruits Tymon Mitchell & Nana Osafo-Mensah (I promise that's the last time, Gary). The portal will always be a marginal-at-best resource for us but I don't see any reason why we can't re-recruit some of the guys who were at least willing to give us a hard look out of high school. Until we can properly develop the freshmen + sophomores on the depth chart that will serve as the backbone of this team for the next 3-4 years, we need to do a better job identifying those old high school recruits and start beating out the TCU's of the world for their services once they jump into portal. Both of those guys would have made a big difference for us last night

8.) The season ahead is long & full of challenges and we're just getting started. Let's hold off on making proclamations on what are and aren't until at least midseason. We obviously have a ways to go until we become that team that Troy Taylor envisioned when he took this job. But if we can so much as make meaningful improvements over the course of the season, identify our QB of the future, and upset a team or two along the way that we have no business competing with, I'll count that as a win no matter what our final record indicates

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