I know I'm as tough on them on here as anyone--because I want them to pursue excellence--and I just want to say that I'm proud of them. Game could have been over after the first quarter, and we'd be talking about a blowout loss...except we aren't.

BYU is good. We'll have to wait a few more weeks to see just how good. But I doubt we would have been any better than 1-3 playing the teams they did before our game.

Rocket D struggled for much of the 2nd half, but that same D owned the 2nd quarter. I have to think that the combo of the elevation and size/physicality of Byu's offense, combined with a lack of sufficient depth, just caught up with us. Plus, there was tons of emotion/energy in that stadium, and I think that almost always helps the home team offense. Let's see how our D responds these next couple games.

Offensively, we did things to the Cougars that I didn't see happening. Have been hoping for one more receiver to break out and join Thompson/Jones/Roberts as a true threat, and Johnson has done that. They will put a ton of pressure on MAC defenses. If Woodside has time to see his options, he will have plenty more 300+ yard games. And while the BYU running back deserves all the headlines, I thought Hunt had a solid game. There may be a couple MAC offenses that think they can get the better of our D, but they better be equally concerned about our offense.

Season starts now.

Walking out, BYU fans were very complimentary towards the offense. They knew they escaped with a W. I'm mad our defense couldn't somehow find a way to make a stop at the end but that's football. Just get into the MAC championship game...

Maybe a little shocked at the beginning but I never got the feeling they were awed. Just not used to the competition level and we basically got out-smarted on the first play. We should have been playing back, presuming the scripted plays would do the unexpected. D got real aggressive when BYU went up early. THAT is a sign of quality kids and coaching. We won't see many games where they get out physicalled but it's to be expected that can happen when playing a team with their recruiting scope.

I didn't see the second half but did that "poor sportsmanship" BYU team ever show up? First half, they were helping our players up, making clean tackles.... There are some social issues some don't want to schedule them but I've never believed dialogue is created by isolating people. I think they are a really good add to our schedule.

(10-01-2016 10:12 AM)eastisbest Wrote:  I didn't see the second half but did that "poor sportsmanship" BYU team ever show up?

Sure did, and they had a player ejected because he tried to force-feed his facemask to Logan Woodside.

(10-01-2016 11:06 AM)Photodan Wrote:  

(10-01-2016 10:12 AM)eastisbest Wrote:  I didn't see the second half but did that "poor sportsmanship" BYU team ever show up?

Sure did, and they had a player ejected because he tried to force-feed his facemask to Logan Woodside.

Ugly play- defender kept his head up the whole way, never attempting to miss Woodside's head. Ejection was well deserved.

(10-01-2016 12:19 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  

(10-01-2016 11:06 AM)Photodan Wrote:  

(10-01-2016 10:12 AM)eastisbest Wrote:  I didn't see the second half but did that "poor sportsmanship" BYU team ever show up?

Sure did, and they had a player ejected because he tried to force-feed his facemask to Logan Woodside.

Ugly play- defender kept his head up the whole way, never attempting to miss Woodside's head. Ejection was well deserved.

YEah, the ESPN guys didn't even attempt to argue against that targeting call.

Great game. Are they coming to Toledo for a home game next year?

(10-01-2016 01:16 PM)NIU17 Wrote:  Great game. Are they coming to Toledo for a home game next year?

2019 I think.

We just played a very tough BYU team, on the road, in a different time zone, in front of an active fan base, at almost 5,000 feet altitude.

Playing run defense, over and over and over again, against a very capable RB, without having time to acclimate to the oxygen deprivation – is an extremely tall order.

Would I have liked a W: absolutely.

Am I happy with the performance: absolutely. That game was a character builder. No other game this year will pose those sorts of inherent challenges.

I think that we are going to hammer every team remaining on our schedule.