🏈 Flaws that could waylay contenders

[PhillyGirl]

http://espn.go.com/college-football...ive-teams-kryptonite-college-football-playoff

Pick your poison.

Is it a weak defense? A one-dimensional offense? A star quarterback who can't stay out of trouble? Whatever it is, every team in the top five has one -- a Playoff Kryptonite. Each of the top contenders in the Associated Press Top 25 has a glaring weakness that could keep it out of the College Football Playoff. Considering what we've seen the past four weeks, there hasn't been one team that has truly separated itself from the rest -- let alone four teams.

Here's a look at the Playoff Kryptonite that could cripple the current contenders:

1. Florida State: No running game. Florida State had 13 rushing yards against Clemson. None of the Seminoles' running backs have cracked the 70-yard mark yet. If it wasn't for Karlos Williams' 12-yard touchdown run in overtime, he would have had a completely forgettable performance (33 yards on nine carries).

According to data from ESPN Stats & Information, 30 percent of Florida State's running plays have gone for zero or negative yardage -- good for 110th in the FBS and ahead of only Wake Forest in the ACC. It's all contributed to its ineptitude on third downs. FSU ranks No. 108 in the country in third-down conversions (12 of 37 for 32.4 percent).

2. Oregon: The offensive line. Marcus Mariota was sacked seven times against Washington State. Seven! With a true freshman starting at left tackle, and a former walk-on starting his first game at right tackle, it's amazing he wasn't sacked 10 times.

Back-to-back holding calls negated runs of 15 and 54 yards. There were three false starts, and the Ducks couldn't get a first down on third-and-one. Oregon is supposed to get that in its sleep. Injuries to three linemen have taken their toll. Jake Fisher's possible return against Arizona could help, but if the Ducks are going to stay in the top four, they've got to get better production from their rookie tackles up front.

3. Alabama: Turnovers. The Tide ranks No. 108 in the country in turnover margin, having lost the ball seven times already, including four turnovers that amounted to 21 points for the Gators. The Tide have lost 15 fumbles since the start of last season, tied with South Carolina for most in the SEC. Alabama has had a turnover in every game this season, and at some point, a more opportunistic and better team is going to take advantage of those miscues.

4. Oklahoma: Allows too many big plays. West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett was able to expose some weaknesses in the Sooners' secondary. Zack Sanchez was burned on a 68-yard pass to Kevin White, and Julian Wilson allowed a 30-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Sooners have allowed the most passing touchdowns and 20-plus yard completions in the Big 12. You don't think Baylor's got that memo? The Bears are second in the country in pass completions of 30 yards or more.

5. Auburn: Downfield passing. If teams are going to take away the read-option like K-State did, Nick Marshall has to be able to throw it deep. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Marshall has completed 34.4 percent of his passes thrown 15 yards or more since the start of last season, ranking him 10th out of 13 SEC quarterbacks with 50 such attempts. Marshall was 3-of-8 on such passes against Kansas State, but he did deliver in the clutch.

 

[TheChief]

It seems to me the easiest fix for any of these teams is Alabama and turnovers. I wonder about the Tide secondary still though. I wonder what the numbers say?

 

[psychojoe]

Our problems with ball security can be fixed. Our secondary is quite young, but also quite talented. I expect them to continue to get better each week. Considering who is on our schedule, we probably faced the best passing QB we are going to face in our opening game.

I think that Auburn's biggest issue is their pass defense, not their own passing game. They had to make plays in their offensive passing game to win last week, and they did so.

 

[PhillyGirl]

Our problems with ball security can be fixed. Our secondary is quite young, but also quite talented. I expect them to continue to get better each week. Considering who is on our schedule, we probably faced the best passing QB we are going to face in our opening game.

I think that Auburn's biggest issue is their pass defense, not their own passing game. They had to make plays in their offensive passing game to win last week, and they did so.

WVU's QB is currently #2 in passing yards. Other guys we play: #6 Kenny Hill - TAMU, #24 Bo Wallace - Ole Miss, #30 Dak Prescott - Miss. State.

Those are obviously based on the season so far, but judging off of that, we defeated the best passing QB on our schedule.

 

[MissingRing]

I think that our ball security issues in the FL game were simply a case of the law of averages catching up with us. Nobody was saying, prior to FL, that we had a ball security problem, because there wasn't one. I do not think that there will be a pattern of such miscues in the future. This is too much being made out of a blip on the radar screen.

 

[alabama mike]

The turnovers concern me but they do not concern me as much as the points off turnovers or field position off turnovers. I agree with Joe, this can be fixed. Bottom line, we just have to be carefule where we turn the ball over and make sure points are not scored. Sooner or later it can bite us in the rear.

 

[planomateo]

Florida is currently [HASHTAG]#20[/HASHTAG] in interceptions gained with 5 and #4 in fumbles gained with 7. They'd done well with turnovers this year regardless of the Alabama game.

WVU's QB is currently #2 in passing yards. Other guys we play: #6 Kenny Hill - TAMU, [HASHTAG]#24[/HASHTAG] Bo Wallace - Ole Miss, [HASHTAG]#30[/HASHTAG] Dak Prescott - Miss. State.

Those are obviously based on the season so far, but judging off of that, we defeated the best passing QB on our schedule.

Auburn and Ole Miss have only played 3 games fwiw. Texas A&M has played 4 junk teams (USC included).

 

[TerryP]

I think that our ball security issues in the FL game were simply a case of the law of averages catching up with us. Nobody was saying, prior to FL, that we had a ball security problem, because there wasn't one. I do not think that there will be a pattern of such miscues in the future. This is too much being made out of a blip on the radar screen.

The weird thought I can't shake is how much attention is paid to ball security during practices. Out of the 1000 or so articles the software grabs with references to Alabama I'm betting I see at least five a week pointing to a video of a coach trying to dislodge the ball. They were even carrying two balls running drills a few weeks ago.

It's been a focal point, but we still see...

FWIW, I want to use the term "controlled running." As example, even though the back sees 25 yards of daylight he's first thought is ball security.

I'm tempted to believe when guys like Drake see those openings, or have those 8-10 yard scampers, the athletic nature simply takes over his mind set (one aspect of which would be concentration on the ball.)