Scoring Summary
-------1st Quarter-------2nd Quarter-------3rd Quarter------Final
TU ------24-----------------38-----------------45---------------45
SJS------7-------------------7-------------------7---------------10
More Later
Let me say how happy I am we won and that it wasn't a nail biter........but I have some concerns.......the best part of our offense was the running game.....against the better teams we are not going to be able to run like that.......our passing game was not that impressive at all, which is what we will live or die by against most teams. Our pass defense was a little better than last year but has a long ways too go.....in the 2nd half they were beat many times. Dane was sacked 4 times and chased around several times by a team that wasn't that good, can you imagine what Ohio St will do. 45-10 looks really good in the paper and on ESPN but I would have loved to see 400 yds passing and 150 rushing. Without a great passing attack and a leaky offensive line.....it looks like Ohio St by 40-50!!!
All those are legitimate concerns that I think PM will address.
One of the things that a lot of teams are concerned with in a first game are mistakes and immaturity. Putting kids in the uncomfortable situation of playing their first college FB game is a shock to their collective systems and the rust of the off season can be seen by veteran players in a first game. This is why a lot of the P5 programs don't schedule tough teams to begin with. The question OU is going to ask itself is - should they have played the Houston game when they did. But of course thats also an alibi for the loss.
OU is hurting right now.....they didn't look very good in a any department!! Maybe they scheduled that game 3 or 4 years ago when Houston wasn't as good!!!
The best thing about the game imo was that for most of the starters on offense, they sat for about 1/2 the game. So even though we played a first game, we should be rested up and ready for Ohio St. But in the end, the intimidation factor, atmosphere and circumstances of being so far from our comfort zone will be hard to overcome against Ohio St. Everything works against us in Columbus. When we sign these contracts, the hidden advantages for the home team are huge and the greatest of them all are almost always who gets to pick the refs.
I remember the Arkansas refs from many years ago when we would "visit" F-Ville and it was sometimes humorous they way they would mark the ball with their left foot but spot it on their right almost every time. With TV nowdays, they can't always get away with that stuff, but the uncalled holding, late hitting, roughness away from the ball is still there. We'll see how fair the game Saturday is called - or not called.
OU is a team and program questioning itself, but in reality, they just got beat by a better team last Saturday IMO. So did SJS.
Our defense looks so much better and isn't a visible liability now. That is important. But its alarming how our athletic administration sometimes still puts us in a virtual no win situation. But that's just my opine.
My prediction of us allowing 30 points against SJS was obviously wrong, but I'm very happy I was. That shows we now have a defense. :)
I think the line of scrimmage is going to be key in the Ohio State game. You mentioned the sacks and hurries on Dane. Hopefully that was due to being rusty and not knowing what their defense would do, but I don't know. Looking at tOSU's lines, they're bigger but not by a whole lot so hopefully our guys can hold up.
I agree, the line of scrimmage will determine whether we lose by 25 or 50.....the opening line is 28.5 and I think it will go up a little, maybe 32. The line of scrimmage will determine whether we can run the ball at all(which I don't think we will) and whether Dane gets his head taken off every time he drops back to pass. I would take the 28.5 right now.....45-17 and get out of town but I'm not sure we will even score unless our line holds up and our passing attack gets better!!!!
I think we can make some noise on offense against this team. We put up 38 on OU last year. More than anyone else they played. If we get the adjustments made in the passing game this offense will be lethal. And with an improved defense there should be no reason we can't hang within a couple TD's at the very least. I like our chances in this one.
I like your outlook better than mine!!!
I'm not sure we can judge our team just yet - off that SJS game. My guess is that we are a lot better than last year, but the problem of playing a team so far away in the second game might set us back a bit for the rest of the schedule. What we do not want to do is be overwhelmed. But of course that is the problem of scheduling a game we just accept and don't have much control of.
The opportunity is to walk away with our heads high regardless of the scoreboard. But knowing Ohio St, they will try to embarrass us if possible in order to enhance their chances of making the final four. That is what I fear most - what did they call that at the Alamo(?) - NO QUARTER - no survivors. At least we showed some mercy to SJS by playing our reserves most of the second half. We may not get that treatment if the circumstances present themselves to OSU.
BTW, how many of us believe Houston could have won that OU game if played in Norman? I don't.
On the positive side is that there were only two teams in the AAC that won a game against a D-I bowl team (last year) and one of those two was us. By any measure that is a nice accomplishment.
I watched the game replay and its obvious that we are a much better team than last year, but of course we have a little trip northeast to make this week and there won't be any way to sneek up on "them" Buckeyes.
So this would be a successful second week outcome IMO.
1. Win the game (probable longshot)
2. Play respectably close (under 10 points)
3. Look good in a loss regardless of the score
4. Stay healthy and show we are not physically overmatched
If we can accomplish any of these, I think we could be considered a top 25 team "in waiting". After this week we have a schedule with winnable games for the most part. At this point in the season I think its probable we can win (at least) 8 games barring any major injury issues. That of course, means a 21st bowl and most probably a very good one. The chance of us representing the AAC West in the championship is a possibility, but that would mean we'd have to win in Houston on October 15th. But I can forsee that Houston game having a great deal of significance and determining the AAC west champion now. Memphis, Navy, SMU and Tulane just haven't impressed yet with insignificant games versus SE Missouri, Fordham, North Texas and a Green Wave loss against Wake Forest (a 3-9 team from last year).
We are a team trending "UP"! Regardless of what happens Saturday against a heavily favored foe, we have a lot to gain in the next few weeks. IMO
SJSU pretty much self-destructed the same way Tulsa did in the Ohio St. game.