Despite spending most his life in football, Bill Curry says only recently has he seen the “brilliant” switch to the hurry-up offenses many teams run.
He got a first-hand look last year, when Old Dominion used it to defeat Curry’s Georgia State team during its inaugural season. The Panthers will get another shot Saturday when they host the Monarchs in what could become the CAA’s next rivalry.
Curry and his players have been looking forward to this since Old Dominion caused them to admittedly wilt in the last three quarters of a 34-20 loss.
“We do consider it somewhat of a rivalry because of what happened last year,” safety Brandon Jones said. “We feel like we have to go in here and win this one. We want to beat these guys. Just watching it, it really hurt to walk off the field knowing we had been punished.”
The Panthers learned a few lessons:
No. 1: Curry said when you are inside the 20-yard line you have to score touchdowns. The Panthers twice had opportunities for touchdowns in the first quarter of last year’s game, but came away with field goals.
No. 2: Your offense can’t afford to go three-and-out too frequently. Curry said winning teams are doing it with tempo, citing Auburn and Oregon playing for the national championship last year.
“What they do is grind people into the dirt. If you can match them and get their defense on the run, fine. But if you can’t, and you have a couple of three-and-outs, then your defense is going to be on the field maybe for 35 plays when you’ve been out there for eight plays on offense. It’s just a tremendous strategy.”
No. 3: Turnovers and penalties are killers. After taking that 6-0 lead, the Monarchs scored 34 consecutive points, fueled by four fumbles and numerous penalties. The Panthers seemed to have learned those lessons. They’ve lost one fumble in four games since and, after committing nine penalties against Old Dominion, haven’t committed more than eight penalties in a game since.
Still the Panthers tried to rally against the Monarchs, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. However, the margin was too much to overcome.
“If we can start where we finished last year and start by playing our very best, it will be a tremendous football game,” Curry said. “It’s a very good time for us to be playing a repeat opponent.”
The Panthers feel they are better prepared because the defense is deeper and because they know what’s coming. Plus, they have picked up the pace in practices since then, trying to match the two huddles that the offense frequently uses during drills.
“We’ve been working hard on this, so we’ll definitely be there by the time game time gets here,” linebacker Jake Muasau said.
About the Author
