10-29-2017, 01:25 PM
I've been awake roughly an hour. Rolled up to the Lonely Mountain at exactly 4:11 am. Holy catfish, what a day.
Rode down with Attalla, DM, and another member of TVF, and had a hell of a good time. Birmingham. Tuscaloosa. Meridian. Hattiesburg. A whole lot of nothing in between. My apologies if I've besmirched some quaint little village of which you are fond.
We didn't just win a game. We beat them down. I can't remember the last time I'd seen a more thorough second half dismantling of another team like that. A pretty good team. An eleven point favorite team.
Anywho, on to the observations:
The Good
1. Spencer. Freakin'. Brown. 33 carries. 209 yards. Including 157 second half soul-crushing yards. Remember, this man child was a Mortimer Jordan Blue Devil exactly one year ago. Imagine when he's had a year at a D1 weight room and training table. I don't think the Jordan Howard comparisons are premature. Speaking of...
2. Something about Hattiesburg.
3.D. Fense. Completely smothered them. Completely. It started right after the first play from scrimmage. And I mean RIGHT after. We set the tone on the damn extra point.
USM's possessions, after their second field goal at 8:10 in the second quarter (where they started on our 36):
6 plays, punt.
3 plays, punt.
3 plays, punt.
4 plays, punt.
3 plays, punt.
3 plays, punt.
6 plays, turnover on downs.
8 plays, interception.
4 plays, ball game.
Destruction. Total. Complete. Particularly...
4. Tevin Crews. Dude has very quietly been a damn tackling machine this year. Leading the team, with another NINE last night.
5. Offensive efficiency. "OJ Nerdly" was a solid 16/29 for 208 yards and one TD, on a hell of a catch by Hayden Pittman. Goldilocks went up over the defender and ripped it down. It's nice when we remember the tight end is an eligible receiver. Oh, and a word on Erdely. I like this kid. Nice guy. Quiet, soft-spoken, but there's definitely a low key vibe that he'd kick your ass if you pissed him off. Clean, efficient game. Took care of the ball. Hit a couple of really nice throws. 10 of 19 on third down. We can win like this.
5. Andre Wilson. What he lacks in JJ Nelson speed, he makes up for in Thomas Cox daring. I've always said you have to be a little bit crazy to return punts. AW is a little bit crazy.
6. The home crowd. And by "home" I mean us. When we went up 8, it was OUR Rock. The band (and grudging kudos to Punkinhead for making that happen), the fans, and the Viking clap.
7. Waffle House is clearly the place to be at 11 o'clock on a Saturday night in Laurel, MS. Between a bunch of kids fresh off a homecoming dance, the sexy cop and her inmate date, some really nice USM fans, and us, the joint was jumpin'.
8. Southern Miss fans. Invariably the nicest fans I've encountered on the road.
The Bad
1. First play from scrimmage. I've watched a lot of football, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone not from Midfield and named JJ that wide open. We completely lost him.
2. Some kid sitting behind us screaming, "HOLDING" on every single offensive play we had. You know that nerve-grinding, screechy sound we only make when we're whining during the throes of puberty? That sound that, when translated, means, "Punch me. Hard"? That sound. The bright side was he was part of the exodus when we went up 8. Speaking of which...
3.Southern Miss fans. I am loathe to call out other fan bases on attendance, but an important conference game the week after a miracle win the previous week? Guy at Waffle House said it. "Two weeks ago they said it was too hot. Tonight they'll say it was too cold." Not one more word from them about our attendance. They claimed 19K, and the kindest word I can use to describe that number is "hallucinatory". Even worse, those that DID come bailed on their team when they were still very much in it. I was very surprised.
The Ugly
1. I mentioned the exodus, right?
Best Wish-fulfillment of the night
Attalla: "I don't want to be greedy, but a pick six to ice it would be so great right now."
Me: "A little icing on the cake?"
Then, BAM!
Best trolling of your own fanbase
After the pick-6, the PA started playing Sam Hunt. The fireworks were a nice touch.
Worst Smack
USM fan, when told UAB had won 6 of the last 7 in the series, "Yeah? Well, when you lose Clark, you'll go back to being the old UAB". Dude, Neil Callaway and Garrick friggin' McGee own 4 of those 6 victories.
So, what does this mean, Barbara?
Bowl talk is back on the table. Seriously. Start thinking about your holiday schedule. Show up. Bring a friend or 3. Beat Rice.
That's all I got. For now. I think.
Rode down with Attalla, DM, and another member of TVF, and had a hell of a good time. Birmingham. Tuscaloosa. Meridian. Hattiesburg. A whole lot of nothing in between. My apologies if I've besmirched some quaint little village of which you are fond.
We didn't just win a game. We beat them down. I can't remember the last time I'd seen a more thorough second half dismantling of another team like that. A pretty good team. An eleven point favorite team.
Anywho, on to the observations:
The Good
1. Spencer. Freakin'. Brown. 33 carries. 209 yards. Including 157 second half soul-crushing yards. Remember, this man child was a Mortimer Jordan Blue Devil exactly one year ago. Imagine when he's had a year at a D1 weight room and training table. I don't think the Jordan Howard comparisons are premature. Speaking of...
2. Something about Hattiesburg.
- Jordan Howard, 256 yards. 2014
- Darrin Reaves, 223 yards. 2012
- Spencer Brown, 209 yards. 2017
3.D. Fense. Completely smothered them. Completely. It started right after the first play from scrimmage. And I mean RIGHT after. We set the tone on the damn extra point.
USM's possessions, after their second field goal at 8:10 in the second quarter (where they started on our 36):
6 plays, punt.
3 plays, punt.
3 plays, punt.
4 plays, punt.
3 plays, punt.
3 plays, punt.
6 plays, turnover on downs.
8 plays, interception.
4 plays, ball game.
Destruction. Total. Complete. Particularly...
4. Tevin Crews. Dude has very quietly been a damn tackling machine this year. Leading the team, with another NINE last night.
5. Offensive efficiency. "OJ Nerdly" was a solid 16/29 for 208 yards and one TD, on a hell of a catch by Hayden Pittman. Goldilocks went up over the defender and ripped it down. It's nice when we remember the tight end is an eligible receiver. Oh, and a word on Erdely. I like this kid. Nice guy. Quiet, soft-spoken, but there's definitely a low key vibe that he'd kick your ass if you pissed him off. Clean, efficient game. Took care of the ball. Hit a couple of really nice throws. 10 of 19 on third down. We can win like this.
5. Andre Wilson. What he lacks in JJ Nelson speed, he makes up for in Thomas Cox daring. I've always said you have to be a little bit crazy to return punts. AW is a little bit crazy.
6. The home crowd. And by "home" I mean us. When we went up 8, it was OUR Rock. The band (and grudging kudos to Punkinhead for making that happen), the fans, and the Viking clap.
7. Waffle House is clearly the place to be at 11 o'clock on a Saturday night in Laurel, MS. Between a bunch of kids fresh off a homecoming dance, the sexy cop and her inmate date, some really nice USM fans, and us, the joint was jumpin'.
8. Southern Miss fans. Invariably the nicest fans I've encountered on the road.
The Bad
1. First play from scrimmage. I've watched a lot of football, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone not from Midfield and named JJ that wide open. We completely lost him.
2. Some kid sitting behind us screaming, "HOLDING" on every single offensive play we had. You know that nerve-grinding, screechy sound we only make when we're whining during the throes of puberty? That sound that, when translated, means, "Punch me. Hard"? That sound. The bright side was he was part of the exodus when we went up 8. Speaking of which...
3.Southern Miss fans. I am loathe to call out other fan bases on attendance, but an important conference game the week after a miracle win the previous week? Guy at Waffle House said it. "Two weeks ago they said it was too hot. Tonight they'll say it was too cold." Not one more word from them about our attendance. They claimed 19K, and the kindest word I can use to describe that number is "hallucinatory". Even worse, those that DID come bailed on their team when they were still very much in it. I was very surprised.
The Ugly
1. I mentioned the exodus, right?
Best Wish-fulfillment of the night
Attalla: "I don't want to be greedy, but a pick six to ice it would be so great right now."
Me: "A little icing on the cake?"
Then, BAM!
Best trolling of your own fanbase
After the pick-6, the PA started playing Sam Hunt. The fireworks were a nice touch.
Worst Smack
USM fan, when told UAB had won 6 of the last 7 in the series, "Yeah? Well, when you lose Clark, you'll go back to being the old UAB". Dude, Neil Callaway and Garrick friggin' McGee own 4 of those 6 victories.
So, what does this mean, Barbara?
Bowl talk is back on the table. Seriously. Start thinking about your holiday schedule. Show up. Bring a friend or 3. Beat Rice.
That's all I got. For now. I think.