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We won last night and are 5-5, with two chances to get to bowl eligibility. One is against a Liberty team that has certainly performed better than us over the course of the season, but is still somewhat of a mystery and will have to come to our place between two games against P-5 teams in their region, and one is against an Army team that I don’t think is as good as us, but will be at home, desperate for a win and running an attack that is tough to prepare for in one week. Last night, the fan base and the players for a half seemed emotionally flat. That should not have been a surprise since we had a short week coming off an incredibly emotional and important win, and now were 16 point favorites, but you could feel the lack of energy in the building. But we overcame it and got the job done, which was the only goal that mattered. I’m not sure how we were ahead at halftime — we were outplayed, outcoached and out emotioned, but we still managed to nose in front. It took a bunch of luck — a return of a long FG that never should have been attempted, recovering a lateral that the offensive player never realized wasn’t a forward pass and breaking off a 75 yard run that wasn’t supposed to be THAT successful a play. But we were up. And then in the second half, the D took over, the offense did what it had to do with short fields and opportunities and we walked away having won 3 straight at home and 4 out of 5 overall. This from a team that had won a total of four games in the last four years. Was it pretty? No. Was it entertaining? No. Were we at the level we were against Fresno or BC? No. But none of that matters. What matters is we won and are now 5-5. Coming into the season, I would have been o.k. With beating Central, UMass and anyone else if I thought the staff was going in the right decision. We’re now 3-2 against “anyone elses” who aren’t ranked teams. As far as I’m concerned, we’re now playing with house money. But that having been said, for the players who’ve been with the program for a while, I will pray for them that we can get to 6 and they get the reward of going bowling. They deserve it.
The defense in the first half was incredibly disappointing given the level they had played at the prior two home games. Frankly, they were shredded by a really bad passing offense. On the TD, I’ll cut him some slack because it was the first really bad play I’ve seen Malcolm Bell make since he started playing, but I don’t know what happened. Bell had leverage and was in position, and then dove to the outside when the ball was inside. Did he get faked out by the receiver’s eyes? Did he slip? No idea. But even if you take their one scoring play away, the effort and intensity wasn’t there. The DL which destroyed BC never showed up. Yates and Watts, who so dominated last week, were very quiet. But the second half was totally different, as three and outs became the norm and, on 4 of their first 5 possessions, UMass was held to a combined one first down. We need 60 minutes of our best the next two games, but last night, after a worrisome start, it was more than good enough.
I’ve been saying for a month that we’re a different team with Houston healthy. One touch and viola! But we will need more than a cameo from him to get another win. Burns did a really good job last night. Rosa, for 3 quarters, was the same problem we’ve been seeing, but then as the UMass defense wore down in the 4th quarter, we saw the talent that, with more experience, will make him immensely dangerous in future years. Any time you break 250 yards running, shout out to the OL. The passing game, however — yuck. I’m fine with being conservative and not helping the other team with turnovers, but it seemed like last night was a step backwards. WAs it some flatness that Ross and Maririon only combined for one offensive snap? I can’t imagine what Flynn does to get on the field while Jolley only plays a limited number of snaps, Clercius just doesn’t have the speed to get the separation he needs, and Turner has nice quickness that can make plays every so often but hasn’t shown he can make tough catches with any consistency. I’m not sure it’s fair to judge ZT as a throwing QB until we have upgraded the WR position but no one should have any question about his toughness, his leadership and his willingness to play within himself. As I said in another thread, that’s an offseason question — the only thing that might improve passing now is the unlikely scenario of Marrion and/or Ross not just being back but being at 100%. But like the rest of the team, just look to the second TD and don’t question the effort. There was no reason for Rosa to score on that, other than the entire OL just willing the scrum to push forward until all of them entered the end zone together.
Ruelas seems to lose distance as the season goes on. His performance has been good, but for the next two games he has to make everything under 45 ;yards. We won’t be able to give up points every week. Caratin had a big night, and him outpunting his counterpart was the key to us winning the field position battle in the third quarter which led to the rugby scrum TD off a short field drive that allowed us to make the lead comfortable. Kickoff coverage remains below average. Rosa did a nice job returning both kickoffs and punts, though his best kickoff return came back because of an illegal block.
So that’s it. I’ll get to watch some college football relaxed today around golf. Due to a business trip that has to be made to Las Vegas next week I will not be at the LIberty game. I will make sure my two seats are filled and will make it up to myself by heading to West Point for the finale. But if anyone is in Vegas Saturday morning (I delayed my flight home to make sure I wouldn’t have to leave until the game was over) and wants someone to watch the game with, I’ll be in the Mandaly Bay sports book for the opening kickoff (unless someone wants to meet up somewhere else). As I said, just because we’re playing with house money doesn’t mean I’m not desperate for the players to be rewarded for their effort this season.. GO HUSKIES!
The defense in the first half was incredibly disappointing given the level they had played at the prior two home games. Frankly, they were shredded by a really bad passing offense. On the TD, I’ll cut him some slack because it was the first really bad play I’ve seen Malcolm Bell make since he started playing, but I don’t know what happened. Bell had leverage and was in position, and then dove to the outside when the ball was inside. Did he get faked out by the receiver’s eyes? Did he slip? No idea. But even if you take their one scoring play away, the effort and intensity wasn’t there. The DL which destroyed BC never showed up. Yates and Watts, who so dominated last week, were very quiet. But the second half was totally different, as three and outs became the norm and, on 4 of their first 5 possessions, UMass was held to a combined one first down. We need 60 minutes of our best the next two games, but last night, after a worrisome start, it was more than good enough.
I’ve been saying for a month that we’re a different team with Houston healthy. One touch and viola! But we will need more than a cameo from him to get another win. Burns did a really good job last night. Rosa, for 3 quarters, was the same problem we’ve been seeing, but then as the UMass defense wore down in the 4th quarter, we saw the talent that, with more experience, will make him immensely dangerous in future years. Any time you break 250 yards running, shout out to the OL. The passing game, however — yuck. I’m fine with being conservative and not helping the other team with turnovers, but it seemed like last night was a step backwards. WAs it some flatness that Ross and Maririon only combined for one offensive snap? I can’t imagine what Flynn does to get on the field while Jolley only plays a limited number of snaps, Clercius just doesn’t have the speed to get the separation he needs, and Turner has nice quickness that can make plays every so often but hasn’t shown he can make tough catches with any consistency. I’m not sure it’s fair to judge ZT as a throwing QB until we have upgraded the WR position but no one should have any question about his toughness, his leadership and his willingness to play within himself. As I said in another thread, that’s an offseason question — the only thing that might improve passing now is the unlikely scenario of Marrion and/or Ross not just being back but being at 100%. But like the rest of the team, just look to the second TD and don’t question the effort. There was no reason for Rosa to score on that, other than the entire OL just willing the scrum to push forward until all of them entered the end zone together.
Ruelas seems to lose distance as the season goes on. His performance has been good, but for the next two games he has to make everything under 45 ;yards. We won’t be able to give up points every week. Caratin had a big night, and him outpunting his counterpart was the key to us winning the field position battle in the third quarter which led to the rugby scrum TD off a short field drive that allowed us to make the lead comfortable. Kickoff coverage remains below average. Rosa did a nice job returning both kickoffs and punts, though his best kickoff return came back because of an illegal block.
So that’s it. I’ll get to watch some college football relaxed today around golf. Due to a business trip that has to be made to Las Vegas next week I will not be at the LIberty game. I will make sure my two seats are filled and will make it up to myself by heading to West Point for the finale. But if anyone is in Vegas Saturday morning (I delayed my flight home to make sure I wouldn’t have to leave until the game was over) and wants someone to watch the game with, I’ll be in the Mandaly Bay sports book for the opening kickoff (unless someone wants to meet up somewhere else). As I said, just because we’re playing with house money doesn’t mean I’m not desperate for the players to be rewarded for their effort this season.. GO HUSKIES!
