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(10-15-2017 11:03 AM)Smaug Wrote:  O.

M.

G.

Two weeks in a row. Cardiac Kids. I swear, I want to put on a UAB shirt and go out in public so people can congratulate me.

Can I make a confession? I mean we're all friends here, right? A sadistic pleasure I have is reading other school message boards' reactions to losing to us. I noticed an interesting difference between Tech and Middle fans. Tech never loses a game. Rather, they are victims of a series of evil conspiracies that steal victory from them. Middle, on the other hand, is "Oh, no! We suck again!"

If I would comment (and I don't. I may be a jerk, but I'm not THAT big a jerk) I'd tell them both that doing one thing would make them both happier. Acknowledge that the Blazers aren't the easy out you thought they'd be.

I made one prediction going into the season. Anyone who thought we'd get boat raced like SMU did are in for a surprise. We'd be a lot better a lot faster than people think.

Thank you, team and coach, for making me look so smart.

Anywho, on to the observations.

We'll get called lucky, but don't you believe it. We outgained Middle (434-394). Held the ball longer (30:02-29:58), committed fewer penalties (8/73 -10/88) and turned it over fewer times (1-2). And we rushed for 260 yards. Speaking of which...

The Good

Spencer. Brown. That man-child is a straight up wrecking ball. 160+ yards. I questioned some of our play-calling during the game, but on our last possession, we did what I would have done: Tell big two-eight, "Son, you're getting it. Now go knock some mouthpieces out."


Defense Think we're not getting better defensively? Something that was a problem for us early was getting off the field on third down. Last night middle was 4 of 13. D like that will win you some ball games.We spent a lot of time in their backfield last night. But for some quick feet by Urzua (and some shameless uncalled holding), we'd have put him down at least 3 more times. How's this for halftime adjustments? Middle had 20 points at the break. We held them to 3 points in the second half and (wait, I'm going to type this very slowly, to savor it) we pitched a shutout in the 4th quarter. Hell, our D scored more points in the game than they gave up in the fourth quarter: 2.

I was so happy for Shaq Jones.

AJ Erdely But for that one ugly pick at the goalline, he had a clean, efficient game, hit some big throws, and didn't take a sack. He accounted for 237 total yards and a TD. I'm sure last night was particularly gratifying for him, particularly after they leaned over and woofed at him while he was on the ground after that pick. That bomb to Lisa on third and long after the Viking Clap could not have been better timed. Speaking of which...

The Viking Clap I knew it was coming, and frankly, thought it might be a little hokey, but it was very, very cool, and something I hope we continue. Getting the percussion kids to tap it going was genius.

Special teams

This was a weakness early in the year, and yes, we got a punt blocked, but we covered kicks extremely well, Nick Vogel rebounded for the winning points after a rough game against Tech. Joel Dixon averaged 42 yards a punt, including a 56 yard rocket that backed Middle up to their own 14 on their last possession before the end.

We only returned one kickoff, but Jonathon Haden had an electrifying 50 yard return. Only thing: young man, when it's you and the kicker, you've got to cut it back inside and make him tackle you. Remember, their tackling ability is not what earns them a scholarship.

The Crowd Yes, attendance was very good, particularly on a race weekend and the Crimson Menace kicking their homecoming right after ours (but that's the extent to which I will dwell on it), but (and I talked about this last week), kudos to the faithful. We were loud, engaged, and timely. The team feeds off it. It's a beautiful thing.

The Bad

Ugh. The humidity Should I really sweat through my clothes in the middle of October? I had salt deposits on everything when I finally peeled it off after 11pm.

Conference USA officiating

I'm sure I'm a homer here, but two calls (or lack thereof) jumped out at me. First, the Middle fumble on their wildcat QB. They overturned it, which was correct, but if it's incomplete, how the hell is it not intentional grounding? He threw it literally at the defender's feet. That miss gave Middle a field goal. They call it, and Middle probably punts. The other was the pass interference on Middle's last drive. Pure, unadulterated horseshit.

The Ugly

I mentioned the punt block and the pick, right?

So, what does this mean, Barbara?

Friends, a bowl game is rapidly becoming a real possibility. Going undefeated at home is becoming a real possibility. I don't know what will happen. What I do know is this is way more fun than not having a team. And I believe Charlotte better buckle up in 6 days.

You know what I'd love to see one of these days? Two games in a row now we've had a late possession where we're running the clock. Do the regular thing on first down, run the game clock down, and after second down (and assuming we didn't make a first down, of course) come to the line with tempo for a quick snap on third down. I know we're running clock in this scenario, but I also know that twice in a row now we've gone three and out when another first down would have iced the game.

They just *know* we're going to run the game clock down to nothing before we snap it. If we do this we're gonna catch them with their jock around their ankles, maybe get a twelve men on the field, at the least have the defense in disarray. We're good at the tempo thing, we can do it without screwing it up.

(10-16-2017 10:23 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  You know what I'd love to see one of these days? Two games in a row now we've had a late possession where we're running the clock. Do the regular thing on first down, run the game clock down, and after second down (and assuming we didn't make a first down, of course) come to the line with tempo for a quick snap on third down. I know we're running clock in this scenario, but I also know that twice in a row now we've gone three and out when another first down would have iced the game.

They just *know* we're going to run the game clock down to nothing before we snap it. If we do this we're gonna catch them with their jock around their ankles, maybe get a twelve men on the field, at the least have the defense in disarray. We're good at the tempo thing, we can do it without screwing it up.

Good call BD.

I'd also like to see AJ under center and ready for the quick snap if the defense jumps into the neutral zone. We could've caught MTSU and Waaa Tech with it