CSNbbs

... the ESPN Bottom 10.

I don't even want to tailgate anymore because this was such a depressing loss.

Naw...You'll be fine by midweek...

Could be. You have to at least protect the home turf and we're 0-2 at home. If it would have been a couple good Big 10 teams then OK, but not with the 2 we've played. Toledo football should 2-0 at home. NO EXCUSES.

Guys - we are soon going to be at least 1-5. Ball State is going to kick our A$$ on our field and no way can we beat Michigan. After watching this game tonight, I am probably going to do a repeat of last year and miss the final 3 games of the year.


Not having Collins in the line-up hurt us a lot. Not holding onto the ball - and still not having a clue how to cover a kick-off - just killed us. I'd rather stay home and get some work done. this is just not enjoyable watching all the FIU idiot players dancing and prancing on the sidelines and jawing with the crowd. Thanks to the Rockets - I got a ticket driving home after the game. I'm in a great mood right about now...

it was a grouchy ride home for me and the kids too.
just a sad display of football.

our "coverage" teams are really embarrassing.

opelt has taken a couple steps backwards and is playing a bit scared in my opinion. he has next to no pocket presence now which doesn't make sense for a kid who is a good natural runner.

no running lanes and collins was missed.

really wish we'd pass downfield. use moore on mid range routes which he runs perfectly and always catches, instead of little screens and short crosses which he is mediocre at. the object is to get downfield and right now we have a qb who is backpedling or sprinting sideways every pass play and patterns that are usually behind or along the line of scrimmage. we had one series down by 12, our last last gasp basically where we had a little momentum and a came up on 3rd and 2 and ran a misdirection pass play where opelt lobbed a pass to williams 4 yards behind the line. we followed that up with a 4th and 5 pattern that was a yard or two behind the line.

just a continuation of sloppy play and poor coaching, part of a pattern over recent years. i wonder if they'll find a way to fire joplin again.

pono Wrote:our "coverage" teams are really embarrassing.

obvious

pono Wrote:opelt has taken a couple steps backwards and is playing a bit scared in my opinion. he has next to no pocket presence now which doesn't make sense for a kid who is a good natural runner.

Opelt is not performing at the level we expect a starter at UT to acheive

pono Wrote:no running lanes and collins was missed.

I think our "young" offensive line is a rare bright spot but got roughed up last night against FIU

pono Wrote:really wish we'd pass downfield.

use moore on mid range routes which he runs perfectly and always catches, instead of little screens and short crosses which he is mediocre at.

came up on 3rd and 2 and ran a misdirection pass play where opelt lobbed a pass to williams 4 yards behind the line. we followed that up with a 4th and 5 pattern that was a yard or two behind the line.

bingo on Moore and that misdirection is barely good once a game and then only because of extreme effort for yards after the catch

pono Wrote:just a continuation of sloppy play and poor coaching, part of a pattern over recent years.

coaching is a big problem, I don't think THIS change in offensive coordinator has been a good one, although Shannon had to GO

And Tom is the boss, so it ultimately is his baby.

MotoRocket Wrote:Guys - we are soon going to be at least 1-5. Ball State is going to kick our A$$ on our field and no way can we beat Michigan. After watching this game tonight, I am probably going to do a repeat of last year and miss the final 3 games of the year.


Not having Collins in the line-up hurt us a lot. Not holding onto the ball - and still not having a clue how to cover a kick-off - just killed us. I'd rather stay home and get some work done. this is just not enjoyable watching all the FIU idiot players dancing and prancing on the sidelines and jawing with the crowd. Thanks to the Rockets - I got a ticket driving home after the game. I'm in a great mood right about now...

UT has enough talent to beat Ball State.

Boca Rocket Wrote:UT has enough talent to beat Ball State.

Concur.

Leadership, guts and determination appear to be in short supply however.

RangerRocket Wrote:

Boca Rocket Wrote:UT has enough talent to beat Ball State.

Concur.

Leadership, guts and determination appear to be in short supply however.

It takes more than talent to win. You have to use that talent inside a system and have that talent mesh together. Something that we are not doing.

RocketsNo.1 Wrote:

RangerRocket Wrote:

Boca Rocket Wrote:UT has enough talent to beat Ball State.

Concur.

Leadership, guts and determination appear to be in short supply however.

It takes more than talent to win. You have to use that talent inside a system and have that talent mesh together. Something that we are not doing.

Seemed to work against EMU and Fresno State.Last night turnovers and some poor special teams lost the game.I don't think it's the system.

Boca Rocket Wrote:

MotoRocket Wrote:Guys - we are soon going to be at least 1-5. Ball State is going to kick our A$$ on our field and no way can we beat Michigan. After watching this game tonight, I am probably going to do a repeat of last year and miss the final 3 games of the year.


Not having Collins in the line-up hurt us a lot. Not holding onto the ball - and still not having a clue how to cover a kick-off - just killed us. I'd rather stay home and get some work done. this is just not enjoyable watching all the FIU idiot players dancing and prancing on the sidelines and jawing with the crowd. Thanks to the Rockets - I got a ticket driving home after the game. I'm in a great mood right about now...

UT has enough talent to beat Ball State.

...and your point is ???

If we didn't have enough talent to beat FIU, then we have no chance against Ball State who is undefeated and putting up about 40 points a game. All the talent in the world isn't going to help us if we don't know how to use it, can't cover kicks, turn the ball over, and run the same plays over and over and over.


If Collins is back and fully healthy and we come out fired up - I agree, we can beat Ball State. We do have talent - but I also think we have it over-rated in terms of actual accomplishments on the field. I'll be the first to comment on this - but is Barry Church really that big of factor any more? He's a 3-time all conference player, but he hasn't been a big time playmaker since his freshman year. We need him to strip balls, sack the QB, and make a couple of interceptions every now and then. He is also on the kick-off team.

MotoRocket Wrote:

Boca Rocket Wrote:

MotoRocket Wrote:Guys - we are soon going to be at least 1-5. Ball State is going to kick our A$$ on our field and no way can we beat Michigan. After watching this game tonight, I am probably going to do a repeat of last year and miss the final 3 games of the year.


Not having Collins in the line-up hurt us a lot. Not holding onto the ball - and still not having a clue how to cover a kick-off - just killed us. I'd rather stay home and get some work done. this is just not enjoyable watching all the FIU idiot players dancing and prancing on the sidelines and jawing with the crowd. Thanks to the Rockets - I got a ticket driving home after the game. I'm in a great mood right about now...

UT has enough talent to beat Ball State.

...and your point is ???

If we didn't have enough talent to beat FIU, then we have no chance against Ball State who is undefeated and putting up about 40 points a game. All the talent in the world isn't going to help us if we don't know how to use it, can't cover kicks, turn the ball over, and run the same plays over and over and over.


If Collins is back and fully healthy and we come out fired up - I agree, we can beat Ball State. We do have talent - but I also think we have it over-rated in terms of actual accomplishments on the field. I'll be the first to comment on this - but is Barry Church really that big of factor any more? He's a 3-time all conference player, but he hasn't been a big time playmaker since his freshman year. We need him to strip balls, sack the QB, and make a couple of interceptions every now and then. He is also on the kick-off team.

Barry is #4 in the nation in Solo Tackles,enough said.

Imo, Church was hamstrung last year, forced to be all-everything on defense. Last night I noticed him lined up more as an OLB than as a strong safety. As usual, he was in on a lot of tackles. And he's got a sack or two this year, along with some TFL. He's playing his assignment, from what I see. He's just not necessarily being put in a position to make those plays.

Can only speak for the Fresno game, he (Church) was all over the field. You may recall he forced a fumble by punching the ball out from behind late in the game, but as usual, a couple of other Rockets could not make a "simple" recovery and ended up knocking it out of bounds. Fresno ended up scoring a TD on that drive. It's the "simple plays", like this, that we are NOT making in games that end up being a major factor in a win or a loss. For what ever reason it seems like this lack of "simple play making" is contagious on this team for the last three years. Kick Off coverage, dropped passes, missed tackles, all fall under this "simple play making" category, in my opinion. We are not very good at it!

Barry has to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest defender in UT history. His instincts are unmatched. I agree that we have the talent to beat Ball State, but if overall focus, play calling, and special teams coverage doesn't improve; Ball State and Michigan are going to stomp us into the ground. Which will be very depressing as I sit next to my friends in The Big House, since most of them are UM fans.

Well - ESPN's Bottom 10 is updated... and we aren't on the list.

See for yourself

We are on the waiting list - but we avoided claiming an actual spot. But don't worry, there's still a lot of season to go -- I'm sure we can manage to clench a spot before the snow flies.

Hard to believe we didn't make the list this week. Very hard to believe.

The waiting list is embarrassing enough. I wonder if MOB notices things like that?