Bill Connelly’s advanced box score for Outback Bowl - 98% win expectancy

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Hard to overstate how impressive those numbers are. It just dawned on me now (to go along with the other accolades): 0 sacks.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Hard to overstate how impressive those numbers are. It just dawned on me now (to go along with the other accolades): 0 sacks.
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The line play was incredible in both running and pass protection against one of the best defensive lines in the country.
Morgan was running around a bit, but not getting hit like he was at other times this season.
Whatever they did with those bowl practices was the right thing to do.
 

From an O and D standpoint, the game was basically 31-14. Auburn got 10 of their points by only gaining like 10 yards of offense (short-field FG and KO return). It was a beat-down.
 

So, it looks like Ciarrocca's footprint was in the PSU game planning after all. I look forward to seeing how much PSU's offense will improved next season. The PSU players have to be elated.

The question is, how much of the game planning for the Auburn game is Ciarrocca's? I mean he basically left the team on December 26. How much of it was Simon's body of work? I don't know how much material PJ Fleck has in order to evaluate Simon. Had Ciarrocca left earlier right after the Wisconsin game or sooner, it would have been a different story. I mean Rossi had four games to be evaluated from.

This is PJ Fleck's dilemma: Take a leap of faith an award Simon the OC job based on his knowledge of the system, albeit unproven as an OC? Or do you hire an outsider who you think will advance the Gophers Offense and risk losing a loyal protege`? I think there is a bigger worry than losing coaches. Knowing Fleck from what I can garner from the media, he is a masterful strategist and inspirational motivator/teacher. His reputation as a mentor to coaches is up in the stratosphere.

His name will probably be in most D1/P5 program's hiring list.

He is one if not the architect of relationship coaching which is revolutionizing the coaching world with the new generation of coaches.

As have been mentioned previously in GH, do we know how Simon at this point will function as basically the Offense manager/administrator? He is an excellent coach IMO. It's just that I don't know if Ciarrocca had groomed him enough to handle the other duties that came with the job. Does PJ Fleck re-structure the Offensive Coordinator function by allocating more staff to help?

On top of that, we'd want him to still have his footprint on the WR and recruiting. That is a boatload. Simon's advantage is that he is young, and maybe he fits the mold of PJ as an indefatigable worker/thinker.

With all the success, PJ Fleck has to worry about his coaches being poached. Also, he will probably have to escalate the indoctrination of the other coaches/potential coaches under him. A strategic succession plan has to be laid so the system will still be intact when you plug in and play a new coach. Similar to what Wisconsin is as a program.

My gut feeling is either way he goes the Gophers Offense will be okay. If you lay out all the pluses and minuses on the table, I'd say take a leap of faith and hire from within. Hiring from the outside is not without risks no matter how great a coach's resume is. That doesn't say much about probability of success. PJ Fleck is a great judge of talent and success factors. He still needs to look at available external OC candidates for the sake of the program.

Ciarrocca was fired by then Rutgers coach Schiano for an awful offense. But, look at how well he has done under Fleck. Success at one place doesn't mean it can be replicated elsewhere. But, establishing a good fit and having/developing a good system will. PJ Fleck seem to want to hire people he has a history with.

It is gut check time. The way it is taking too long means it is not an easy decision. It's not just the hiring of an OC alone. It is also how he can re-orchestrate the entire boat to keep it afloat to navigate the waters ahead.

This is just my 50 cents. Care to chime in?
 
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That’s a lot of words. You’re basically saying Simon is mentally challenged?
 

I am saying he is in uncharted territory. My money is on him when the smoke clears. He took a chance on Clay Patterson. Maybe the real question is who will be QB and WR position coaches.
 

The Gophers haven't had these problems since I was a wee lad.
 

We were more concerned about RUM and spirals.
 



All these stats are interesting (I'm a math guy) but psychology matters a lot too. Look at Indiana last night. They had about a 98% chance of winning too late in the 4th, according the ESPN win probability meter. You can call a great play, like our TE pass on 4th down, but if the players don't execute it doesn't matter. Everybody second guesses the call instead. What I love about Fleck is his emphasis on changing that loser mindset. It works and it's really needed when a team has a long history of losing.
 
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PSU will be better because they got rid of Limey!
Will Kirk have the same success? what will Franklin do when there are wide open TE's and the play call is to not throw to them? It will be interesting at least!
 

DoubleB said:
PSU will be better because they got rid of Limey!
Will Kirk have the same success? what will Franklin do when there are wide open TE's and the play call is to not throw to them? It will be interesting at least!
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PSU could use an OC that forces the run a bit more. I think Kirk is a great fit for them.

I don't think Kirk calls plays to put their TEs out in space with the direction not to throw the ball to them. I think you'll see fewer TEs who are wide open, but maybe a tad bit more success for the incredibly talented WR corp they recruit.
 

I don’t see Clifford as a top tier QB in terms of accuracy so we’ll see. The dumps to Pat are integral to his success this season.
 



Pompous Elitist said:
I don’t see Clifford as a top tier QB in terms of accuracy so we’ll see. The dumps to Pat are integral to his success this season.
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I agree. He looked fine against teams with a huge talent deficit....not so much against top teams, including us. Morgan stepped up his game against better competition.
 

I'd much rather play Michigan than Penn State. Michigan is total garbage in road games against ranked teams under Harbaugh.
 

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