Changing some of the schemes has helped, but Georgia State defensive coordinator John Thompson said it’s the players, not the X’s and O’s, that made the difference for the Panthers the past two weeks.
After Saturday’s victory over South Alabama, players credited the inclusion of more 4-3 formations as a reason why they are playing better. Thompson said that could be part of the success, but the bigger part is the players are working harder and seeing the results of that work.
The Panthers will play at Texas-San Antonio on Saturday.
“It really doesn’t matter if it’s 1-10 or 10-1, if they’ll just go and attack like they did, it gives us a chance,” he said.
During the game, players were calling out what South Alabama was going to do before the snap, just by reading the formation. And then they attacked. That didn’t happen often in the season’s first five games.
Thompson credited the increased time some of the players have spent watching film. More important, he said the players aren’t just watching film, they are studying the film.
End Christo Bilukidi, a team captain, said he’s not sure why the players weren’t spending more time studying film on their own, but that seems to no longer be a problem.
“It is a success,” he said. “We should have done it in the beginning. It happened, but that’s the past. We are on to new things. We should just continue to do what we do: study more of the opponents.”
Perhaps because of the recognition gained by the improved mindset, the Panthers created five turnovers inside the 35-yard line against South Alabama and engineered a successful goal-line stand on the Jaguars’ first possession. Bilukidi said those things could be credited to film study and prep.
“If they attack, and they think they are going to make plays, and they want to make plays bad enough, it doesn’t matter what [the formation] is,” Thompson said. “They had belief in what we are doing. Our preparation has been better. Our film study has been better. We are putting more energy into preparing for the battle, instead of letting it come to us.”
Thompson said the changes began a couple of weeks ago, when he guesses the players and coaches realized that their previous routines and preparations weren’t working.
The results are dramatic.
After four consecutive games of allowing at least 37 points and 400 yards, the Panthers did not allow more than 23 points or more than 368 yards in the past two. The Panthers won Saturday’s game, and were in the game the previous Saturday at South Carolina State until the fourth quarter.
Stopping the run has been key. The run defense has steadily improved with the addition of more 4-3 plays, something that started two weeks ago. South Carolina State rushed for 155 yards and South Alabama 178, but it took the Bulldogs 47 carries and the Jaguars 50 to reach those marks. That per-carry average of 3.43 is a yard less than what the Panthers allowed in their first five games.
Against the Jaguars, outside linebacker Jake Muasau crept up to the line as a stand-up end, the fourth defensive linemen, and disrupted several running plays by knifing into the backfield.
Muasau’s plays are an example of what Thompson said he wants to see from everyone: Instead of reading and trying to react perfectly, go fast and knock somebody down. Mistakes can be corrected later.
“Everybody wants to get better,” Muasau said. “Everybody’s flying around more. The confidence level has increased tremendously.”
Coach Bill Curry said he can see a change on the field. No matter what situation the defense was put in against South Alabama, they remained excited and confident because they were prepared.
“That’s the key to everything,” he said.
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