You are right. They didn't look great. If I had to make a somewhat educated guess.......I would blame the decision (which ultimately was Franklins) to "manage the reps" and workloads of the veteran players. This was a theme that James shared in the spring and even into fall camp. He was certainly also taking the advice of his strength and conditioning staff on this as well. At the time, it sounded logical. You want your best players healthy and peaking at the right moment. However, in hindsight, we all have lived by the adage that you can't turn it on and off. When the bright lights came on, the key players were still managing their workloads. It's simple. To get stronger in the weight room....doing reps with weights you can already manage will maintain strength.....but to increase strength, one must rep to momentary muscular failure. Only when all the available muscle fibers have been recruited and exhausted, does rest and repair allow for an increase in strength.
You don't get better or prepared for peak competition, by going half speed, managing workload etc.
I once scouted a team that led 38-0 at half time. The coach subbed in his bench at halftime. They won that game 38-35.
I never forgot this. No matter what the lead, I never subbed until my team established dominance in the second half. Subbing at half sends a subliminal message to your player that the game is over.
I think that James and the training staff, sent a similar message to some of the veteran players. Personally, I think that's the best explanation for the uneven play early and the late wake up against Oregon.
Simply put, PSU could have been very good. But, perhaps they weren't as good as they thought they were! LOL
