10-21-2018, 10:59 AM
Fellas, it's getting increasingly difficult to find the adjectives.
How many times have we faced an important game? A "take the next step" game? A "control your own destiny" game?
Not many.
How many did we lose?
Every damn one of them, near as I can remember.
Until last night.
I made the observation last night that we, the Ever Faithful, the ornery and obnoxious Vocal Few, have it within our power to make Birmingham a tough place to play. The crowd was electric.
Isn't if funny how quickly expectations change? I saw on the tron "BOWL ELIGIBLE" and I heard it mentioned on my way out, and my initial reaction was, "Meh." There's a bigger fish out there, and we've hooked it. Now we have to stay focused and reel it in.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
Okay, enough gushing. Let's get to the observations.
He's so Fine
I will not hear a bad word said about Mason Fine. The kid's a baller, and probably the best QB we'll see this year. He was throwing darts all night. Dude completed 73% of his passes. But you know what?....
AJ's A-Okay
Erdely completed 64% of his, which ain't shabby, for more yards per completion, 8.6 to 8.4. He played the clean, efficient kind of game we saw so much last year, and the fact is, he made a couple of hellacious throws. Dropping into his own end zone and hitting Ubosi to flip the field. Dropped one right in the bucket to Wilson to set up a TD. Laser beam to Lisa for a big first down.
Balance in the Force
Total yards were pretty even, 400 for UNT, 392 for us. But there's a story in that stat. Ours breaks down this way: 189 passing, 203 rushing. Balance. Meanwhile, the Meanies managed a paltry 64 yards on the ground. This game was won in the trenches. We won damn near every short yardage battle on both sides of the ball. You win football games that way. The big uglies took over the game in the second half. We held the ball for 11 minutes in the third quarter. UNT's defense was gassed.
Who the hell was that guy?
Starling Thomas V. Freshman DB. Ramsey High School. Birmingham, AL. Electrifying 61 yard kickoff return. Holy cow, the kid's got some wheels.
'Rino
Garrett Marino. Junior DT. Mission Viejo High School. Mission Viejo, CA. 4 solo tackles (3 for loss) and two sacks (one for a safety) and general destructive force. Something about UNT must've really pissed him off. Speaking of sacks...
It's nice to have you in #SACKINGHAM
Put an opposing QB on his ass 4 more times last night. Without looking it up, we've got to be around 20 for our last 4 games. We are gettin' after it.
Not to praise a fumble on the goal line, but...
That was the best possible outcome for when it happens. Safety. Short Field. Touchdown. Nine points, with UNT snapping the ball once.
The Good
1. Halftime adjustments. Raise your hand if you thought we'd pitch a shutout in the second half, so I can call you out for the damn liar you are.
2. Cue Del Shannon, "Run, run, run, run, runaway" . Spencer Brown, 25 carries for 100 yards and 3 TDs. Jerrion Street, 4 carries for 59 yards. Lucius Stanley, 3 carries, 19 yards (seemingly all of them on 3rd down in the 4th quarter). You know it's got to be demoralizing to a defense when 28 abuses them for three quarters, and then we put in a slasher and a guy who hits the hole faster than anyone I can remember when they're good and dead-legged.
3. Special teams. Did you know UNT did not return a single kick or punt last night? That and Vogeltron hit every kick he tried, and I've already mentioned that kick return by Thomas.
4. Homecoming/tailgating. I frequently mention this, because I enjoy it so much, but the food and fellowship were top shelf yesterday. I saw the regular Blazertalk crew and got to see some old friends for the first time in a while. Ate too much, laughed too loud, and all was right in the world.
The Bad
C-UAB officiating. Again this week. Quick whistle cost us a touchdown.
The Ugly
Big Lee Dufour ended the game in his civvies and his arm in a sling. I don't know his injury, or his prognosis, but I hope he's well soon. He's one of the last of the '14 refugees, has had one hell of a college football odyssey, anchored a road grader offensive line, and it would be a shame for it to end prematurely.
So, what does this mean, Barbara?
It means we're doing it better than it's ever been done before. We won a game with a lot riding on it. We are in the drivers' seat for CUSA West. UTEP is getting better, and they make me nervous, but I'll worry about that next week. For now, I think I'll just enjoy the view from the catbird seat.
That's all I got. For now. I think.
How many times have we faced an important game? A "take the next step" game? A "control your own destiny" game?
Not many.
How many did we lose?
Every damn one of them, near as I can remember.
Until last night.
I made the observation last night that we, the Ever Faithful, the ornery and obnoxious Vocal Few, have it within our power to make Birmingham a tough place to play. The crowd was electric.
Isn't if funny how quickly expectations change? I saw on the tron "BOWL ELIGIBLE" and I heard it mentioned on my way out, and my initial reaction was, "Meh." There's a bigger fish out there, and we've hooked it. Now we have to stay focused and reel it in.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
Okay, enough gushing. Let's get to the observations.
He's so Fine
I will not hear a bad word said about Mason Fine. The kid's a baller, and probably the best QB we'll see this year. He was throwing darts all night. Dude completed 73% of his passes. But you know what?....
AJ's A-Okay
Erdely completed 64% of his, which ain't shabby, for more yards per completion, 8.6 to 8.4. He played the clean, efficient kind of game we saw so much last year, and the fact is, he made a couple of hellacious throws. Dropping into his own end zone and hitting Ubosi to flip the field. Dropped one right in the bucket to Wilson to set up a TD. Laser beam to Lisa for a big first down.
Balance in the Force
Total yards were pretty even, 400 for UNT, 392 for us. But there's a story in that stat. Ours breaks down this way: 189 passing, 203 rushing. Balance. Meanwhile, the Meanies managed a paltry 64 yards on the ground. This game was won in the trenches. We won damn near every short yardage battle on both sides of the ball. You win football games that way. The big uglies took over the game in the second half. We held the ball for 11 minutes in the third quarter. UNT's defense was gassed.
Who the hell was that guy?
Starling Thomas V. Freshman DB. Ramsey High School. Birmingham, AL. Electrifying 61 yard kickoff return. Holy cow, the kid's got some wheels.
'Rino
Garrett Marino. Junior DT. Mission Viejo High School. Mission Viejo, CA. 4 solo tackles (3 for loss) and two sacks (one for a safety) and general destructive force. Something about UNT must've really pissed him off. Speaking of sacks...
It's nice to have you in #SACKINGHAM
Put an opposing QB on his ass 4 more times last night. Without looking it up, we've got to be around 20 for our last 4 games. We are gettin' after it.
Not to praise a fumble on the goal line, but...
That was the best possible outcome for when it happens. Safety. Short Field. Touchdown. Nine points, with UNT snapping the ball once.
The Good
1. Halftime adjustments. Raise your hand if you thought we'd pitch a shutout in the second half, so I can call you out for the damn liar you are.
2. Cue Del Shannon, "Run, run, run, run, runaway" . Spencer Brown, 25 carries for 100 yards and 3 TDs. Jerrion Street, 4 carries for 59 yards. Lucius Stanley, 3 carries, 19 yards (seemingly all of them on 3rd down in the 4th quarter). You know it's got to be demoralizing to a defense when 28 abuses them for three quarters, and then we put in a slasher and a guy who hits the hole faster than anyone I can remember when they're good and dead-legged.
3. Special teams. Did you know UNT did not return a single kick or punt last night? That and Vogeltron hit every kick he tried, and I've already mentioned that kick return by Thomas.
4. Homecoming/tailgating. I frequently mention this, because I enjoy it so much, but the food and fellowship were top shelf yesterday. I saw the regular Blazertalk crew and got to see some old friends for the first time in a while. Ate too much, laughed too loud, and all was right in the world.
The Bad
C-UAB officiating. Again this week. Quick whistle cost us a touchdown.
The Ugly
Big Lee Dufour ended the game in his civvies and his arm in a sling. I don't know his injury, or his prognosis, but I hope he's well soon. He's one of the last of the '14 refugees, has had one hell of a college football odyssey, anchored a road grader offensive line, and it would be a shame for it to end prematurely.
So, what does this mean, Barbara?
It means we're doing it better than it's ever been done before. We won a game with a lot riding on it. We are in the drivers' seat for CUSA West. UTEP is getting better, and they make me nervous, but I'll worry about that next week. For now, I think I'll just enjoy the view from the catbird seat.
That's all I got. For now. I think.
