ShotgunDawg
11-02-2014, 12:54 AM
Well... This is what it feels like to number 1. We no longer have the hope that teams will show up flat against us. No, now we are the hunted, and we are being hunted by very very good teams. Tonight was a struggle, but we did what championship teams do. We found a way to win. I have sat in DWS for 20+ years and watched Alabama, LSU, and Auburn come into DWS and lay a turd, only to win a close one in the end and go on to win National Titles. Apologize for nothing. When you are playing for titles, it is only about winning.
1. Our defense may have played their best game tonight. Sure... Arkansas got some yards, but Arkansas has been averaging 250+ rushing yards per game this season, and we held them to a mere 160 on 33 carries. We played championship level football in this department and made one of the best running teams on the planet, one dimensional. This stat is also a good sign going into the Bama game. If we can stop Arkansas from running the ball, then I feel fairly good about making Bama one dimensional on offense and making Blake Sims beat us. That's a good spot to be in.
2. Our defense did a great job of not allowing big SCORING plays. This has been the real problem. We have the best redzone defense in college football, and if we can make offenses have to beat us in the redzone, then we stand a good chance. The problem against UAB and Kentucky wasn't that they gained yards, it's that we gave up big scoring plays. Tonight, Arkansas had some big plays, but we stopped them before they scored. This allowed our redzone defense the chance to shine.
3. Tonight's game encouraged me about the direction this team is taking because we won a game on the backs of our defense. Our offense had led our team this year, but tonight our defense stepped up and won a game. This should give everyone on our team great confidence that we can win football games in different ways. Again, another sign of a championship team.
4. Kicker was a big concern entering the year, and, while we still aren't NFL caliber at the position, Sobes has really stepped up to be reliable. Tonight's kick was huge and pretty difficult. He's been completely adequate for what we need.
5. Offensively, it was a struggle tonight for a few reasons. 1) Arkansas' style of offense takes so much time off the clock, that we simply didn't have a ton of possessions. We only ran 62 plays tonight, which is far below our yearly average. On those 62 plays, we had a very respectable 459 yards. However, the problem is that it's extremely difficult to find any rhythm on offense when your offense is sitting for 20 minutes between possessions and only getting 2 possessions a quarter. 2) We were not mentally sharp tonight. We lined up wrong a few times, ran out of bounds on a simple route that caused a penalty, etc... We didn't perform the fundamentals great tonight. 3. With the exception of one horrid pass before halftime, I thought Dak threw the ball well tonight. I have no clue what he saw on the second interception. That was the worst throw he's made this year. He has been a little off since the Auburn, but my guess is that either Bama or Ole Miss will pay for that. He's got a great game in his future. He's to awesome not to.
6. I feel bad for Jamoral Graham. Jamoral looked very natural and confident fielding punts earlier this year, but slowly his confidence has eroded to the point where now he looks a 2nd baseman with the "Yips". We can't put him back there anymore this year, but it is imperative that our coaching staff does everything in their power to help him regain his confidence. He is far too good of player to lose his career to this crap.
Going foward:
I feel like this team has been pressing a little the past few weeks and making some mistakes they don't normally make. I also feel like the most mentally challenging part of the schedule is over. Arkansas and Kentucky are two capable, trap teams that we just had to get through. Bama and Ole Miss are two good teams that are rivalry games. Our guys will have greater focus and energy in practice and in those games.
We'll probably play like crap against UT Martin next week, kind of like how Ole Miss played against Memphis. But don't let it bother you, because the focus, concentration, and energy we will play with against Bama will be at a completely different level. Hopefully, we can get an early lead, pull some starters, and coast to an unimpressive win.
What people need to understand is: When you play in an extended tournament, like College Football, you cannot play your best every week. You cannot play at full throttle every week. You just must find ways to win and survive and advance. The team you have seen the past two weeks is not the team you will see against Bama and Ole Miss. We will be up and ready to body slam babies and the elderly for those two games. We made it through the scariest part of our schedule with nothing more than a mid-season slump. So....Get ready, we are about to head down the home stretch with all of our hopes and dreams staring us right in the face.
This team has a ton of pressure on it, and the best thing that us fans can do, is help take it off of them. They aren't going to play perfect, but you don't need perfect to win a National Title. You just need to win.
1. Our defense may have played their best game tonight. Sure... Arkansas got some yards, but Arkansas has been averaging 250+ rushing yards per game this season, and we held them to a mere 160 on 33 carries. We played championship level football in this department and made one of the best running teams on the planet, one dimensional. This stat is also a good sign going into the Bama game. If we can stop Arkansas from running the ball, then I feel fairly good about making Bama one dimensional on offense and making Blake Sims beat us. That's a good spot to be in.
2. Our defense did a great job of not allowing big SCORING plays. This has been the real problem. We have the best redzone defense in college football, and if we can make offenses have to beat us in the redzone, then we stand a good chance. The problem against UAB and Kentucky wasn't that they gained yards, it's that we gave up big scoring plays. Tonight, Arkansas had some big plays, but we stopped them before they scored. This allowed our redzone defense the chance to shine.
3. Tonight's game encouraged me about the direction this team is taking because we won a game on the backs of our defense. Our offense had led our team this year, but tonight our defense stepped up and won a game. This should give everyone on our team great confidence that we can win football games in different ways. Again, another sign of a championship team.
4. Kicker was a big concern entering the year, and, while we still aren't NFL caliber at the position, Sobes has really stepped up to be reliable. Tonight's kick was huge and pretty difficult. He's been completely adequate for what we need.
5. Offensively, it was a struggle tonight for a few reasons. 1) Arkansas' style of offense takes so much time off the clock, that we simply didn't have a ton of possessions. We only ran 62 plays tonight, which is far below our yearly average. On those 62 plays, we had a very respectable 459 yards. However, the problem is that it's extremely difficult to find any rhythm on offense when your offense is sitting for 20 minutes between possessions and only getting 2 possessions a quarter. 2) We were not mentally sharp tonight. We lined up wrong a few times, ran out of bounds on a simple route that caused a penalty, etc... We didn't perform the fundamentals great tonight. 3. With the exception of one horrid pass before halftime, I thought Dak threw the ball well tonight. I have no clue what he saw on the second interception. That was the worst throw he's made this year. He has been a little off since the Auburn, but my guess is that either Bama or Ole Miss will pay for that. He's got a great game in his future. He's to awesome not to.
6. I feel bad for Jamoral Graham. Jamoral looked very natural and confident fielding punts earlier this year, but slowly his confidence has eroded to the point where now he looks a 2nd baseman with the "Yips". We can't put him back there anymore this year, but it is imperative that our coaching staff does everything in their power to help him regain his confidence. He is far too good of player to lose his career to this crap.
Going foward:
I feel like this team has been pressing a little the past few weeks and making some mistakes they don't normally make. I also feel like the most mentally challenging part of the schedule is over. Arkansas and Kentucky are two capable, trap teams that we just had to get through. Bama and Ole Miss are two good teams that are rivalry games. Our guys will have greater focus and energy in practice and in those games.
We'll probably play like crap against UT Martin next week, kind of like how Ole Miss played against Memphis. But don't let it bother you, because the focus, concentration, and energy we will play with against Bama will be at a completely different level. Hopefully, we can get an early lead, pull some starters, and coast to an unimpressive win.
What people need to understand is: When you play in an extended tournament, like College Football, you cannot play your best every week. You cannot play at full throttle every week. You just must find ways to win and survive and advance. The team you have seen the past two weeks is not the team you will see against Bama and Ole Miss. We will be up and ready to body slam babies and the elderly for those two games. We made it through the scariest part of our schedule with nothing more than a mid-season slump. So....Get ready, we are about to head down the home stretch with all of our hopes and dreams staring us right in the face.
This team has a ton of pressure on it, and the best thing that us fans can do, is help take it off of them. They aren't going to play perfect, but you don't need perfect to win a National Title. You just need to win.