[BostonCard]

Yeah, it’s always tough to determine how much of turnovers is good defense and how much is just luck.  In the ASU game, I think we earned all the turnovers, especially the two interceptions.  The first interception was on a trick play, but the defense didn’t bite and kept to its assignments.  And when you ave a defense that can be disciplined against a trick play, you wind up with a wide receiver attempting a pass to a covered receiver, and you like your chances for an interception in that circumstance.  The second interception came with quarterback pressure resulting in a bad throw, and those are always going to be poor, high risk throws when the Qb is rushing, off-balance, and in the process of being hit.

The fumble too was the result of a heady play by Okereke rather than just an accident.  Yeah fumble recoveries have some degree of luck involved based on how the ball bounces.  But still, reading through the chat, it sounds like we almost had another turnover that wasn’t counted (I didn’t get a chance to see the play), 

Against USC the two interceptions at the end came with the SC offense in desperation mode, and that’s when you will often force opponent turnovers,

The place where we were truly lucky was the Oregon game.  You can’t count on a bad snap at the goal line being recovered for a length of the field scoop and score or a freshman mistake by a running back who should have known that holding onto the ball was much more important than stretching for a first down.

And yes, opponent coaching will always play a role in every win or loss, but part of the game is knowing when and how to capitalize on opponent coaching mistakes.

BC

[BostonCard]

Yeah, it’s always tough to determine how much of turnovers is good defense and how much is just luck.  In the ASU game, I think we earned all the turnovers, especially the two interceptions.  The first interception was on a trick play, but the defense didn’t bite and kept to its assignments.  And when you ave a defense that can be disciplined against a trick play, you wind up with a wide receiver attempting a pass to a covered receiver, and you like your chances for an interception in that circumstance.  The second interception came with quarterback pressure resulting in a bad throw, and those are always going to be poor, high risk throws when the Qb is rushing, off-balance, and in the process of being hit.

The fumble too was the result of a heady play by Okereke rather than just an accident.  Yeah fumble recoveries have some degree of luck involved based on how the ball bounces.  But still, reading through the chat, it sounds like we almost had another turnover that wasn’t counted (I didn’t get a chance to see the play), 

Against USC the two interceptions at the end came with the SC offense in desperation mode, and that’s when you will often force opponent turnovers,

The place where we were truly lucky was the Oregon game.  You can’t count on a bad snap at the goal line being recovered for a length of the field scoop and score or a freshman mistake by a running back who should have known that holding onto the ball was much more important than stretching for a first down.

And yes, opponent coaching will always play a role in every win or loss, but part of the game is knowing when and how to capitalize on opponent coaching mistakes.

BC