That is the difference between a Win and a Loss - that is the definition of a 50/50 ball and an effort play. Dorian Baker made some incredible plays last night.
This picture came from KSR.
4th & 2
- Thread starter jayhovah
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That is the difference between a Win and a Loss - that is the definition of a 50/50 ball and an effort play. Dorian Baker made some incredible plays last night.
This picture came from KSR.
May be too early for me to say this but he seems to be our best player by far. His two catches the past two weeks on the end zone fade routes pretty much allowed us to win those games and they weren't easy catches.
It's between him and CJ Johnson. Both of those guys have been awesome.
Hard to overestimate the importance of that play..the game, and possibly the season was on the line. Good throw and fabulous catch.
When Towles threw that pass, a piece of me died. Until Baker made the catch, anyway. I thought for sure the game was over. I guess I'm just so used to being a UK football fan. We aren't supposed to make that play. Man did we play terrible until the last 7 minutes of the game. That's all on Stoops - the head coach. You can't expect to just show up and win.
Coaches can only tell players to mentally prepare for foes, they can't do it for them. Coaches direct practice (all reports were that they had a very good week of practice), game-plan and put the players on the field. The kids are still 18-22 yrs old, they go to class and hear their fellow students about how badly they will beat EKU. They (the kids) hear all the talk on the radio. A coach can't make a player respect an opponent, that's on the kid and that usually comes with experience.
Every coach who has ever coached at a high level has had games similar to last night. Hell, look how Ole Miss smoked Alabama and then turns around and gets smoked by Florida. Was Hugh Freeze a good coach one game and a bad coach the next?
EKU played inspired, over their collective heads all night last night. If they played with that intensity and spirit all year it is doubtful they would ever lose a FCS game. They won't.
Wow...what a pic....had no idea it was that close. Personally i hate the Fade in a position like that. Seems so much like a cope out route. You just put the ball in a particular area instead of a target throw to an open receiver everything and hope every works out. Especially so when you are 4th and 3 where you can pick up a first down two yards from the endzone.
just crazy to think if he doesn't make that catch we take a MAJOR step back in the Stoops era that would have been talked about for years to come..especially so if it kept us out of a bowl game.
just crazy to think if he doesn't make that catch we take a MAJOR step back in the Stoops era that would have been talked about for years to come..especially so if it kept us out of a bowl game.
All I was implying was that it's on the coach to make sure his team is mentally prepared for every opponent. When you're down by 14 to EKU at home with 7 minutes remaining, I think it's okay to take a look at the head coach, and ask some hard questions. At one point we had 18 rush attempts for 23 yards. It wasn't one person, it was a collective team effort. Everyone stunk from the players to the coaching staff.
Spot on post. Fade is not a high percentage play and not one you run in a "have to convert" situation. We staked a season and possibly a coaching career on that play. What makes it worse is that Horton was wide open on about the 6 yard line and could have waltzed in for the score. I have to think that was a read made by the QB and not called by Dawson. It ultimately worked so I will take it but damn.
I agree with you, but Stoops DID talk about getting the second stringers good reps in this game leading up... To say he didn't also look ahead is to ignore some things, IMO
The thing we have to understand is in Baker we have our Cobb like player. He's a playmaker and gamer. Every top team has a player or two like him who makes the exciting or difficult catch or play. He would be the first to tell you that all he wants is for Towles to give him a chance in every game to make a remarkable catch because great players want to be in that situation.
Evidently PT told Dawson during the timeout before the play that if he saw that D. Baker was in man-to-man coverage he was going to throw it to him.
There is no getting around it- a clutch play by Baker on either a questionable call or a questionable read by Towles or both. There is no way to quantify how devastating a loss that would have been. I know how I felt when EKU went up 27-13. I can't even imagine what Stoops was feeling at that time.
Baker will go down as one of if not the most talented WRs to ever play here. Coaches saw it in his camp performance here years ago where he caught everything thrown at him
It was a good read and a good call. A ballsy call, but a good call. I've only seen one coach make that call in that type of situation and it was at a passing league tourney in Louisville. Not quite the same possible ramifications and It didn't work out for us like it did Dawson. Ballsy move. I can't say it enough.
Towles had his mind made up when he looked and saw single coverage on Baker. Fade route is either throw it or don't. If you wait, then the timing is off and it can't work. I would have guessed 25% chance of success if someone had told me that was the play before it happened.
I watched AJ Green and UGA beat us on the same play has a true freshman. The only difference was UK had two players draped all over him. Didn't matter, he still got it. I'm not calling Baker AJ Green material, but he does remind me of him.
I watched AJ Green and UGA beat us on the same play has a true freshman. The only difference was UK had two players draped all over him. Didn't matter, he still got it. I'm not calling Baker AJ Green material, but he does remind me of him.
It worked and that makes everything look good. Stoops said just a few minutes ago that they changed the play when they saw that Baker was in man coverage. I noticed he said "they" and not "we", which I take to mean that he is not taking credit for a bad play call that worked out. Towles made a perfect pass and a very well covered Baker made a spectacular catch to save the game. It is a play that statistically doesn't work very often. We gambled and won but if we do that on a regular basis, we will usually lose the game. Last night, Drew Breeze threw a fade to the left corner of the endzone on first down and then to the right corner on the next play. Neither pass was caught. The difference was that is was first and second down and the game was not on the line. I don't think Stoops liked betting the game on that play and neither did I.
A
anon_013cn8yrfncx2
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Hate the fade in a must complete situation. Think it fails more often than not. It worked out but wouldn't like
to ever depend on that again. At least it wasn't a fade where the receiver had to track it down .. really it was closer
to a back shoulder throw as it got there in time for Baker to have the advantage he needed to wrest it away from the defender.
Play was over before I had time to worry. lol
to ever depend on that again. At least it wasn't a fade where the receiver had to track it down .. really it was closer
to a back shoulder throw as it got there in time for Baker to have the advantage he needed to wrest it away from the defender.
Play was over before I had time to worry. lol
That play may be looked on yrs from now as the play where new Kentucky seperated from old Kentucky in regards to football.
Its one of the clutches plays in UK football history and I dont give a damn that it was versus Eastern.
Its one of the clutches plays in UK football history and I dont give a damn that it was versus Eastern.
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