Sunday Morning QB- A Tale of Two Halves Edition
1. What a good Saturday. Got up and took the boys to workout. Watched our game. Went to the shrimp boil. And then finished hanging out at the local watering hole with friends. I so enjoy living in Florida and thanks to BWW's for letting me have Saturday off.
2. What a 1st half yesterday. Bo Nix carving us up like he is in the Heisman race. Offense sputtering and struggling. I see everybody mouthing off after the fact- but all you have to do is look at the game thread on this board and know how most people were feeling and thinking. After last week's loss and that 1st half- there were lots and lots of doubters out there.
3. The TD before half was huge. It was certainly the spark that ignited the fire. But holy lord- I dont ever recall a team getting their ass beat roll off 40 straight points. Not even the Buffalo Bills. It was an incredible turnaround. Leach and the O gets credit- but the way the D turned it around was something rarely seen. They went from swiss cheese to lockdown. Momentum is a helluva emotion in humans- and we harnessed it's power to the max yesterday.
4. The Airbone got off to a slow start yesterday as usual. It seems we have to use the 1st Q to figure out what other teams are doing against us. It's like we are shocked we are going to see the other team run a 3 man front. But once we got on a roll and established the TB dump down- the offense started clicking. Just an absolute 180 that was something not often seen.
5. I Seen It Dawg said something yesterday I totally agree with. "Rogers may be the best QB in the country on passes 0-20 yards". He doesnt have a strong arm. He's not likely to have any kind of NFL career or be an NFL starter. But- he is smart and he is very accurate from 0-20 yards. He throws a good, catchable ball that doesnt overwhelm passcatchers. He has really come on and should be in the top 5 of the Heisman race. It's such an open race this year with nobody standing out really- no reason he shouldnt be 4th or 5th in the race. Young at Bama and the RB from Mich State should certainly be the top 2. Maybe throw in Coral from the Bearfins at 3 or 4. You really have to look forward to watching them battle it out for the Egg.
6. On a down note- it does have to concern you that we dont have anybody better than Lashley to play RT. With us losing both OT's this year- it's a glaring hole to fill for next Fall. We look better since replacing Dolla Bill on the right side- Lashley has shown that it wasnt all him. But he is still below average. Dolla Bill even got a holding call on an XP yesterday. That's ridiculous. You have one move on the XP/FG- protect inside.
7. 14 carries for 79 yards from the RB's. Excellent job of making it count on very few opportunities. They are both making the cuts and running tough you love to see from your RB's. 11 catches between them for another 70 yards. Good production and a good day from them.
8. 35 mins on TOP yesterday after struggling in the 1st half. The Airbone doing Airbone things. That was big in the 2nd half. We kept the ball away and never allowed them to get back into rhythm. D forced the 3 and outs and kept them on the sideline getting colder and colder. Just kept putting the ball in the end zone and never allowed them to get any Mo back. All you can say is what an amazing 180 the game took.
9. Got to give a "wtf???" and an "Attaboy" to Arnette and the D. We got pushed around and didn't cover a damn thing in the 1st half. We looked like we haven't watched any Auburn game film. 2nd half looked like we had been prepping for them for 3 weeks. We were more physical, dominated the trenches, and were all over their WR's. Only had 4 TFL's but it seemed like more with the way the DL played in the 2nd half. Took the run game away completely and then the DB's just clamped down. Safety play improved greatly.
10. Egg Bowl has become an even bigger game now as we fight for pecking order on the holiday bowl season. But I'm gonna go ahead an warn you now- beating OM, Kentucky, and A&M is likely to not matter when it comes to bowl choices. Bowls want appeal and storylines. I've wanted nothing more than to see my beloved Bujldogs play in the Sugar Bowl. You likely wont see a 4 loss State team play in it even with a win over the Bearfins. You are going to see a 3 loss Kentucky, Bearfin, or A&M there. Just my opinion.
Hail State!