1. There was a palpable atmosphere of appreciation for the fans in attendance. I know a few of you had LAZ issues, but hopefully that gets straightened out. I give the AD full marks for a lot of little things that made a big difference. The aggressive distribution of programs and cheer cards, the fan ambassadors, the $3 waters, the dairy bar truck all signs of a program that gives a darn that you have a good time.
2. The band had a lot of nice new wrinkles. Being mic'd so they can help lead the cheers I think will be big. The drumline show was a big hit, though the PA/TV timeout tripped up Sandstorm. They will need to figure that out. And we got to hear more band, less PA. I still have issues with the pregame show, but halftime was great.
3. The student section was full and stayed full until the 4th, though they started leaving before Sandstorm. Needs to stay that way and they need to get there earlier. I'm a bit out of practice, but they seemed a bit lubricated. If that is a byproduct of the school sponsored tailgate, that's great. I don't know if that is going to be a regular thing, but they could convert the idea by letting student groups have reserved tailgate spots. It would develop into a culture of its own.
4. As for the game, it's our sixth year in the desert. Thirst and mirages are the order of the day. What I saw looked a lot like last year's team. OL not good enough, Too much of the offense is BS scrambling and taking big hits. He left a lot of open guys on the outside when he decided to run. Overall, the O just looks slow to develop. From the time it takes the snap to get to the QB, the handoff, and the time it takes to get to the hole. Everything seems slow, except the time it takes the pocket to collaspe. That fumble was one of the worst cases of not knowing where you are that I have seen in a while. But, they played pretty mistake free if not exciting football. They did do better in the 2nd half and when there was a hole to run though, both backs made some good gains. Davis was a nice surprise, and Thomas needs to get the ball a lot more. He is our guy this year.
5. On D, others have mentioned the lack of push by the line. More concerning is the lack of ability by our LB to drop into a zone and cover. They were very static and Maine easily passed around them. Run D was pretty good for the most part, but it's Maine, so meets expectations is about a good a review as I can give on that. The safeties got beat on the deep ball but otherwise did OK. We need to address the gaping holes in the 7-12 yard range.
6. Special teams did great. Both kickers were solid throughout, the coverage and return teams while not spectacular made good decisions and played mistake free with no penalties. We will need to return punts at some point, but I didn't see any Thursday that were returnable as Maine kicker was short legged and there was little blocking up front. I'd like to see more blocking.
7. Diaco is going to have to trust his player a little more, this is what will sink his tenure here. You have a good kicker Bob, at least try to get a FG attempt with 30 seconds left in the half.
Had a bite and tossed the rest as I didn't want to miss kickoff and was too full to just down it.