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Just a few words on what I took away from our game at Virginia Tech. Most everyone seems to be in agreement that the game was not an expected WIN. We all seem to also agree that we DID compete, and showed the improvement we expected going into this season.

This was Virginia Tech's Homecoming game, and they had a fan base that was getting sick of losing based on the previous two weeks. We were heading into a buzzsaw no matter how you looked at it. You could tell our Bronco's were a little wide-eyed at the beginning...

It's nice to know that PJ is no-nonsense when it comes to discipline, and he's consistent with regard to team rules. Henceforth we didn't have Phillips returning kicks... I was asking where he was for the duration of the game... come to find out he broke a team rule and was sat for the game... It would have been nice to see what he could have done with some of those return options... Celiscar is an interesting option... surprised we didn't use Braverman back there...

Missing pieces aside, that kickoff fumble for a TD was devastating in terms of winning this one... After watching the entirety of the game... I honestly believe we could have won this one had a couple blocks fallen a little differently. It was quite a bit closer than even the final score shows. The team NEVER gave up... even after the snap/safety... In my mind we spotted them the first 11... 8 on direct issues on special teams that gave their defense/ST points... and the safety required our kickoff/ST to use a punt kickoff... which immediately gave VT excellent field position for their first drive... leading to a few yards and a field goal.

After that first 11 the defense went into lockdown for the remainder of the half, only giving up another TD because the coverage man fell down... The WMU offense really sputtered in this game, and only looked decent on the last drive before halftime when Terrell put his Tom Brady pants on and made some terrific throws... literally throwing his receivers open at times... Great time to end the half... a TD their would have been nice, but a FG before half was great. 18-10 halftime!

Second half couldn't have started better ... or worse... force VT into a long FG attempt that they missed, then move the ball right down the field... mis-communication between Terrell and Braverman on what could have been a sure TD and we move on to miss a chip shot field goal... Defensive sails lost all remaining wind...

Rest of game exposed our defensive depth and size. They ran the ball right at us and we couldn't arm tackle anymore. Brandt got banged up a bit and played through it... but wasn't the same, and the rest of the LB-er and DL just looked worn down... Not enough depth to keep them fresh for that many drives...

Franklin was used effectively at times, and at other times it was concerning that our OC seemed to ride Terrell's arm for three straight plays in a row ... allowing the VT defensive front to lick their chops and plant our QB. They packed the box on us and begged us to run Franklin... and I think that was the philosophy on Offense... don't feed Franklin right into a sure filled hole... He still carried guys and broke a couple which was impressive!

Corey Davis would have been nice to have at 100% this day... as I think he might have created some mis-matches down field that we might have been able to expose... but all in all... I am ok with what went down Saturday. The most impressive part as I noted earlier... this team DOESN'T QUIT...

GO BRONCOS! Time to get ready for the rockets...

That's exactly what I was going to say.

Nice analysis

Tech had plenty of film on us, and loads of quick athletic players on defense. They stacked the line to take away the run and played a lot of man coverage. They were taking away the run and getting pressure on the QB.

This is what we should expect to see. Terrell is going to have to get rid of the ball quick and the receivers have to catch it and exploit man coverage. Keep the Ds honest and the run will be there. Most MAC defenses will not have the athletes to bottle us up like VT did, but they have the game plan to slow down Franklin if they can execute it.

It was a good test. I will say though, that if our team was more mature, in-sync, etc -- which would be hasty to expect this soon & this season -- we Could have won -- given how BAD VaTech played. Yes, we expected that WMU would lose -- but the how is a bit irritating. I didn't expect both VaTech & WMU to make so many mistakes. I figured VaTech would have their offensive game-plan down pat in the 1st half, not the 2nd.

Anyway, assuming WE played to the "execution level" we're hoping/looking for, while VaTech still mired in their youth woes & mishaps, here's the what-if...

35 - VaTech
17 - WMU

-8 VT: VaTech taken away on the silly screw-ups. We traded a whole possession of ours for a TD. Also, safety cost us 2 pts. Not Good.
+7 WMU: That miscomm between Terrell and Braverman. Ouch. A relatively easy missed FG, too just as a kick in the balls.
+7 WMU: That last drive in the game, we had the 15 yard penalty when moving the ball Well into VT territory, but making it 2nd & 25. Drive killer. Arguable, but combine that with our 85 yards of penalties in the game, which should be 45 yards less -- combined with this concept, it seems much More realistic in the grand scheme of things to have another +7 that seemed to be forming in the mix.

27 - VaTech
31 - WMU

Now, that would be executing in a way that we'd take Next Year's (ideal) WMU team vs VaTech right then. So no, I wouldn't Expect us to have won 31-27. Even with that victory, they still would have beat us on yards gained.

It's just frustrating because there were opps to close the gap, that didn't have anything to do with being out-manned, etc. BUT, again, hey -- we're a very young team in the 2nd season by PJ -- and we're expected to make more than average # of mistakes, notably on the road.

Nice breakdown. I didn't notice that Davis wasn't playing until half way through the 1st quarter, at which point I thought he might have been injured and I didn't notice. Not to say we would have won the game, but if he played it's a whole different ball game.

I have lot's to say since by "warning" has expired, but still can't post.

Tech was playing man free all night with one very deep safety to prevent the big play. They were going to make Terrell beat them and not let a big play score.

Here is another observation after I read today that we didn't sustain any serious injuries in the Virginal Tech game... This team RARELY goes on the road to a power conference team and comes away healthy. Sure we had a few guys knicked up before the game... but to walk away generally healthy? That is AWESOME. Not to mention I think we put a few Virginal Tech guys on the IR... That's the difference between taking the violence to your opponent or from your opponent... I think we are starting to deliver the violence a little better... That's a great sign...

Saved Davis for Toledo. Beating P5 teams is exciting, but it seems like there's quite a few more wins that are regarded as higher on the ladder.

1.) MAC Championship
2.) Bowl Game
3.) CMU
4.) P5

Tech also had to play their starters the whole game. I think we did give them quite a scare. We're not at the level to beat established P5 teams yet, but I didn't think we'd be at the level to compete with them head-on. Unfortunately, the offense never really got going. It was the D that stepped up.
I seriously think that you'd have a hard time choosing a starter between Purdue's QB, Devin Gardner, and Virginia Tech's QB.

It waa smart to save davis for MAC play instead of one game against Virginia Tech

Thanks for doing this Flush. I don't think even Hoople could do as good of a job.

(10-01-2014 05:29 PM)texasbronco1 Wrote:  Thanks for doing this Flush. I don't think even Hoople could do as good of a job.

Just giving my honest two cents...

(10-01-2014 05:29 PM)texasbronco1 Wrote:  Thanks for doing this Flush. I don't think even Hoople could do as good of a job.

Wrong. Hoople talks football. Not fanspeak.

(10-01-2014 11:12 PM)DesertBronco Wrote:  

(10-01-2014 05:29 PM)texasbronco1 Wrote:  Thanks for doing this Flush. I don't think even Hoople could do as good of a job.

Wrong. Hoople talks football. Not fanspeak.

You're right... my post was clearly not at all about football. Foolish me.