Valdosta State coaching

[Dozsa2]

Since I always rail on Lutz when he makes insane coaching decisions, I have to mention that I was absolutely flummoxed by the Valdosta game management in the last five minutes or so of the championship game. Their coach did all he could to hand that game to Ferris. And, did any other Rock fans notice that the Blazers took three victory formation snaps in the shotgun? One bad snap and Ferris could have gotten in field goal range to win the game.

Crazy.

Congrats to VSU.

[RockNation]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

Valdosta is fortunate to have the talent they have. They made a LOT of bone head mistakes in both of the final 2 games. Talent can make up for a lot of things... That being said, the final four was pretty good this year. Makes you wonder what the Rock could do with nearly the entire defense returning next year, imagine if the best PSAC teams had 28-30 schollies... if Rock can re-load talent on offense, they may have a chance.

[Horror Child]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

Since I always rail on Lutz when he makes insane coaching decisions, I have to mention that I was absolutely flummoxed by the Valdosta game management in the last five minutes or so of the championship game. Their coach did all he could to hand that game to Ferris. And, did any other Rock fans notice that the Blazers took three victory formation snaps in the shotgun? One bad snap and Ferris could have gotten in field goal range to win the game.

Crazy.

Congrats to VSU.

But a ballsy TD at the end of the first half on 4th and 1 after getting stuffed three times in a row.

[Dozsa2]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

Valdosta is fortunate to have the talent they have. They made a LOT of bone head mistakes in both of the final 2 games. Talent can make up for a lot of things... That being said, the final four was pretty good this year. Makes you wonder what the Rock could do with nearly the entire defense returning next year, imagine if the best PSAC teams had 28-30 schollies... if Rock can re-load talent on offense, they may have a chance.

I agree. I heard on the broadcast that Valdosta has a lot returning, too. That's kinda scary.

[Dozsa2]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

But a ballsy TD at the end of the first half on 4th and 1 after getting stuffed three times in a row.

Yeah, that was a decision straight from the Lutz book of decision-making haha. It worked for Valdosta, but I would have kicked the FG there. And that's why Lutz drives me crazy. We just have totally different philosophies. But hey, we won the West and he was PSAC Coach of the Year. So he's doing something right.

[Horror Child]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

Yeah, that was a decision straight from the Lutz book of decision-making haha. It worked for Valdosta, but I would have kicked the FG there. And that's why Lutz drives me crazy. We just have totally different philosophies. But hey, we won the West and he was PSAC Coach of the Year. So he's doing something right.

I would have too. But that's why I'm not a coach. :smile-big: The point is, he's certainly aggressive. It paid off at the end of the first half, but not at the end of the second. If Valdosta completed one of those passes, or if the ref would have called the obvious pass interference, that would have sealed the game.

[Dozsa2]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

I would have too. But that's why I'm not a coach. :smile-big: The point is, he's certainly aggressive. It paid off at the end of the first half, but not at the end of the second. If Valdosta completed one of those passes, or if the ref would have called the obvious pass interference, that would have sealed the game.

[BlueJay]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

Just let me say that NDC held VSU to 30 points in the national semi, and scored 24. We need to look at their roster and how many are being lost to graduation, but I have a inkling it is not many. I am now going to go check, and then probably edit this post. I am back. 11 seniors! They are not losing a lot of key players. We will be seeing them next year.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

Just let me say that NDC held VSU to 30 points in the national semi, and scored 24. We need to look at their roster and how many are being lost to graduation, but I have a inkling it is not many. I am now going to go check, and then probably edit this post. I am back. 11 seniors! They are not losing a lot of key players. We will be seeing them next year.

You never know what an off-season will bring.

They could see their rising sophomore RB decide he's too good for D2 and move up. (probably a legit item)

An academic epidemic could hit the program. Off-the-field issues appear.

They go from the 'hunter' to the 'hunted' ...

A suddenly hot-commodity, young coach gets cherry-picked for a better job.

On paper entering this season West Florida and IUP looked stacked and both terribly underachieved. They read too many clippings telling them how good they are and end up working just a bit less.

Lot of factors. Kids in this age group are awfully unpredictable. So are coaches. No such thing as a sure bet.

[Horror Child]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

You never know what an off-season will bring.

They could see their rising sophomore RB decide he's too good for D2 and move up. (probably a legit item)

An academic epidemic could hit the program. Off-the-field issues appear.

They go from the 'hunter' to the 'hunted' ...

A suddenly hot-commodity, young coach gets cherry-picked for a better job.

On paper entering this season West Florida and IUP looked stacked and both terribly underachieved. They read too many clippings telling them how good they are and end up working just a bit less.

Lot of factors. Kids in this age group are awfully unpredictable. So are coaches. No such thing as a sure bet.

Agreed. I listed this in the GMAC forum after SR1 championship:

• Held on for a 2-point win against Shepherd.
• Scored in the final minute for a 2-point win against WV State.
• Scored in the final minute and a half for a 3-point win against Fairmont St.
• Scored twice in the final four minutes, with the last one coming with 13 seconds left, to win against Charleston.
• Scored three times in the final six minutes to beat UVA Wise.
• Twice in the final six minutes to come back against Hillsdale.
• Stopped three fourth quarter possessions inside Notre Dame territory to hold off Slippery Rock for a 4-point win.

They were that close to having a 5-5 regular season.

[iupgroundhog]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

Just let me say that NDC held VSU to 30 points in the national semi, and scored 24. We need to look at their roster and how many are being lost to graduation, but I have a inkling it is not many. I am now going to go check, and then probably edit this post. I am back. 11 seniors! They are not losing a lot of key players. We will be seeing them next year.

I agree with Blue Jay here. While it is true that MAINTAINING a highly successful program year after year is a path strewn with pitfalls, NDC appears to be a program on the move upward. I expect them to be a constant force. They might not win the region every year but they are probably here to stay. Heck, they will probably be NDU pretty soon rather than NDC.

[SRU 88]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

I agree with Blue Jay here. While it is true that MAINTAINING a highly successful program year after year is a path strewn with pitfalls, NDC appears to be a program on the move upward. I expect them to be a constant force. They might not win the region every year but they are probably here to stay. Heck, they will probably be NDU pretty soon rather than NDC.

I agree; as long as they stay in the overall weak MEC; they can become the new Shepherd, run the table in the conference, get a high seed and secure home field advantage for a round or two; they will be in the region equation year after year.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

I agree; as long as they stay in the overall weak MEC; they can become the new Shepherd, run the table in the conference, get a high seed and secure home field advantage for a round or two; they will be in the region equation year after year.

And THAT will set off the chain reaction. Lol.

[Ram Tough]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

I agree; as long as they stay in the overall weak MEC; they can become the new Shepherd, run the table in the conference, get a high seed and secure home field advantage for a round or two; they will be in the region equation year after year.

Yet, Shepherd only won the region as the top seed once. In 2010 and 2016, Shepherd won the regional semifinals and finals on the road.

[Dozsa2]

Re: Valdosta State coaching

You never know what an off-season will bring.

They could see their rising sophomore RB decide he's too good for D2 and move up. (probably a legit item)

An academic epidemic could hit the program. Off-the-field issues appear.

They go from the 'hunter' to the 'hunted' ...

A suddenly hot-commodity, young coach gets cherry-picked for a better job.

On paper entering this season West Florida and IUP looked stacked and both terribly underachieved. They read too many clippings telling them how good they are and end up working just a bit less.

Lot of factors. Kids in this age group are awfully unpredictable. So are coaches. No such thing as a sure bet.

I know our region is looked down on by the rest of the country, but winning it isn't easy. The PSAC West is always a grind, West Chester (and usually one other East team) is solid. The conference champions of the others leagues are rarely pushovers. So, while NDC will perhaps come into 2019 as the favorite, they better work just as hard this offseason as they did last offseason. Nothing is guaranteed.