(10-24-2026 04:13 PM)GiveAHoot94 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 04:00 PM)TheOwl84 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 03:49 PM)antoniovaldez7777 Wrote:  Ochoa 259 yards with 4 TD's is great. Good to see the offense. Defense has to step up.

Defense and special teams.

Special teams- Had a punt blocked, allowed a punt return touchdown, missed a 55 yard field goal.

Defense- Garbage all across the board. The interception at the end of the first quarter had a missed offsides, and one of the 4th quarter stops had a missed face mask so even 2 of the good things we did were fraudulent.

Offense- Missed what could have been a touchdown pass to Zinter in the first quarter that could have put us up 21-0 then fumbled the ball on a super late pitch right after.

Like always a play or two away from winning or being in the game

It’s frustrating because there is no doubt this team would have beaten last year’s team by 20+

The offense looked unstoppable today. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

If we want major improvements going into next year, we need to be ready to open our checkbooks. I heard today that we are at the bottom of the AAC in roster spend. We already face a hurdle with academics. Overcoming that in addition to a budget gap is going to be hard for any staff to beat

If we don’t see an increase in NIL budget, I still expect minor improvements given that it’ll be Abell’s third year

It’s been nice not getting our asses kicked when we lose (outside of ND), but I know we’re all ready for some wins

I have and will continue to open my checkbook to teams that win at this university. I’m not interested in bailing out the Ford, GMs and Chryslers of this athletic program.

(10-24-2026 11:19 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 08:00 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  Abel is out of his league. Go back to Davidson.

Abell is a very nice guy, but he can’t be the coach here past this season.

I don't really see the point in saying this. There's zero chance he gets fired this year. Next year maybe if this keeps up but the offense and defense have individually shown flashes of potentially being good despite being plagued by injuries in a way we weren't last year. He got a backup QB to play better than Jacurri and a third string QB came in absolutely ready to play too. If he's developing all his players the way it seems like he's developing Crayton Jr. I want to see what he does next year with a roster nearly full of players that have been here 2+ years.

I'd rather see a change in special teams.

(10-25-2026 12:13 AM)TheOwl84 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 11:19 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 08:00 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  Abel is out of his league. Go back to Davidson.

Abell is a very nice guy, but he can’t be the coach here past this season.

I don't really see the point in saying this. There's zero chance he gets fired this year. Next year maybe if this keeps up but the offense and defense have individually shown flashes of potentially being good despite being plagued by injuries in a way we weren't last year. He got a backup QB to play better than Jacurri and a third string QB came in absolutely ready to play too. If he's developing all his players the way it seems like he's developing Crayton Jr. I want to see what he does next year with a roster nearly full of players that have been here 2+ years.

I'd rather see a change in special teams.

The fact that the second and third string QBs performed better than Jacurri is an indictment on both Abells’ ability to evaluate talent

(10-25-2026 12:38 AM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 12:13 AM)TheOwl84 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 11:19 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 08:00 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  Abel is out of his league. Go back to Davidson.

Abell is a very nice guy, but he can’t be the coach here past this season.

I don't really see the point in saying this. There's zero chance he gets fired this year. Next year maybe if this keeps up but the offense and defense have individually shown flashes of potentially being good despite being plagued by injuries in a way we weren't last year. He got a backup QB to play better than Jacurri and a third string QB came in absolutely ready to play too. If he's developing all his players the way it seems like he's developing Crayton Jr. I want to see what he does next year with a roster nearly full of players that have been here 2+ years.

I'd rather see a change in special teams.

The fact that the second and third string QBs performed better than Jacurri is an indictment on both Abells’ ability to evaluate talent

We have had a roster depth issue for decades here, especially at QB.
Looks like we fixed that big time.

(10-25-2026 06:13 AM)owl at the moon Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 12:38 AM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 12:13 AM)TheOwl84 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 11:19 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 08:00 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  Abel is out of his league. Go back to Davidson.

Abell is a very nice guy, but he can’t be the coach here past this season.

I don't really see the point in saying this. There's zero chance he gets fired this year. Next year maybe if this keeps up but the offense and defense have individually shown flashes of potentially being good despite being plagued by injuries in a way we weren't last year. He got a backup QB to play better than Jacurri and a third string QB came in absolutely ready to play too. If he's developing all his players the way it seems like he's developing Crayton Jr. I want to see what he does next year with a roster nearly full of players that have been here 2+ years.

I'd rather see a change in special teams.

The fact that the second and third string QBs performed better than Jacurri is an indictment on both Abells’ ability to evaluate talent

We have had a roster depth issue for decades here, especially at QB.
Looks like we fixed that big time.

This is my point. We have 3 QBs I currently feel comfortable running the offense. And our D line still looks mostly strong despite losing its 2 best players, only being weak when we go down to what were originally the third strings. If we're developing players like that across the board I'll feel pretty dang good when we have a full roster of players that have been developed here or picked out of the transfer portal to have depth.

(10-25-2026 12:38 AM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 12:13 AM)TheOwl84 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 11:19 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 08:00 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  Abel is out of his league. Go back to Davidson.

Abell is a very nice guy, but he can’t be the coach here past this season.

I don't really see the point in saying this. There's zero chance he gets fired this year. Next year maybe if this keeps up but the offense and defense have individually shown flashes of potentially being good despite being plagued by injuries in a way we weren't last year. He got a backup QB to play better than Jacurri and a third string QB came in absolutely ready to play too. If he's developing all his players the way it seems like he's developing Crayton Jr. I want to see what he does next year with a roster nearly full of players that have been here 2+ years.

I'd rather see a change in special teams.

The fact that the second and third string QBs performed better than Jacurri is an indictment on both Abells’ ability to evaluate talent

I thought amongst the influx of new staff in the department was a GM tasked with roster construction.

As usual, in a close game it came down a few plays. The ones that contributed most to the defeat:

1. blocked punt. Looked like the guy was unblocked.

2. Punt return for a TD.

3. Missed FG. Yes, it was a long one - but he has made longer in HS. Should we have tried to get closer on 4th? Maybe.

4. Failure on 4th down and very short. Instead of McGuffie up the middle, I thought we should have gone wide.

Top three all ST. Add the now infamous onside kick in a previous game, and we have a clear indication of a problem.

Ochoa sure impressed with his running and somewhat with his passing. However, what evidence do we have that Brown would not have had 4 long TDs also. Or 5 or 3. At least on the first two, the lanes were there.

Crayton looked good. Still excited about Wilhelm.

I thought the defense was good. Their passer is elite, and he was ON yesterday.

the offense that can't come back kept coming back. Several times. Who the heck thought we could give up 7 TDs and be kicking for the win?

A lot of people want Abell fired, some immediately if not sooner. Most don't have a plan for what to do next, or why. Some want to transition to even more gimmicky offenses. that we don't currently have the personnel for. Some want to revert to standard stuff like Generic State runs, may even hire an assistant from Same Old State.

I am OK with another year of Abell. I want to see who he can bring in from the portal. i want to see if he can develop a stouter defense. Brown will be gone, but we should have Ochoa/Crayton/Wilhelm. Should be interesting, if the impatient ones here don't get their way.

(10-24-2026 11:21 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  I have and will continue to open my checkbook to teams that win at this university. I’m not interested in bailing out the Ford, GMs and Chryslers of this athletic program.

Aren't those the ones that need it most?

But IAC, thanks for your support.

I dont understand why the quarterback is not under center when it is 4th and one.? Just run a quick count and quarterback keeper with big lineman in the back field to push the runner across.

(10-25-2026 09:48 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  As usual, in a close game it came down a few plays. The ones that contributed most to the defeat:

1. blocked punt. Looked like the guy was unblocked.

2. Punt return for a TD.

3. Missed FG. Yes, it was a long one - but he has made longer in HS. Should we have tried to get closer on 4th? Maybe.

4. Failure on 4th down and very short. Instead of McGuffie up the middle, I thought we should have gone wide.

Top three all ST. Add the now infamous onside kick in a previous game, and we have a clear indication of a problem.

Ochoa sure impressed with his running and somewhat with his passing. However, what evidence do we have that Brown would not have had 4 long TDs also. Or 5 or 3. At least on the first two, the lanes were there.

Crayton looked good. Still excited about Wilhelm.

I thought the defense was good. Their passer is elite, and he was ON yesterday.

the offense that can't come back kept coming back. Several times. Who the heck thought we could give up 7 TDs and be kicking for the win?

A lot of people want Abell fired, some immediately if not sooner. Most don't have a plan for what to do next, or why. Some want to transition to even more gimmicky offenses. that we don't currently have the personnel for. Some want to revert to standard stuff like Generic State runs, may even hire an assistant from Same Old State.

I am OK with another year of Abell. I want to see who he can bring in from the portal. i want to see if he can develop a stouter defense. Brown will be gone, but we should have Ochoa/Crayton/Wilhelm. Should be interesting, if the impatient ones here don't get their way.

Absolutely

(10-25-2026 09:48 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  As usual, in a close game it came down a few plays. The ones that contributed most to the defeat:

1. blocked punt. Looked like the guy was unblocked.

2. Punt return for a TD.

3. Missed FG. Yes, it was a long one - but he has made longer in HS. Should we have tried to get closer on 4th? Maybe.

4. Failure on 4th down and very short. Instead of McGuffie up the middle, I thought we should have gone wide.

Top three all ST. Add the now infamous onside kick in a previous game, and we have a clear indication of a problem.

Ochoa sure impressed with his running and somewhat with his passing. However, what evidence do we have that Brown would not have had 4 long TDs also. Or 5 or 3. At least on the first two, the lanes were there.

Crayton looked good. Still excited about Wilhelm.

I thought the defense was good. Their passer is elite, and he was ON yesterday.

the offense that can't come back kept coming back. Several times. Who the heck thought we could give up 7 TDs and be kicking for the win?

A lot of people want Abell fired, some immediately if not sooner. Most don't have a plan for what to do next, or why. Some want to transition to even more gimmicky offenses. that we don't currently have the personnel for. Some want to revert to standard stuff like Generic State runs, may even hire an assistant from Same Old State.

I am OK with another year of Abell. I want to see who he can bring in from the portal. i want to see if he can develop a stouter defense. Brown will be gone, but we should have Ochoa/Crayton/Wilhelm. Should be interesting, if the impatient ones here don't get their way.

My only change to your summary would be for point #3. The Owls should have tried to get closer on 3rd down and 5 by running the option vs passing. A couple of yards could have made a difference on the long FG attempt.

(10-25-2026 05:23 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 09:48 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  As usual, in a close game it came down a few plays. The ones that contributed most to the defeat:

1. blocked punt. Looked like the guy was unblocked.

2. Punt return for a TD.

3. Missed FG. Yes, it was a long one - but he has made longer in HS. Should we have tried to get closer on 4th? Maybe.

4. Failure on 4th down and very short. Instead of McGuffie up the middle, I thought we should have gone wide.

Top three all ST. Add the now infamous onside kick in a previous game, and we have a clear indication of a problem.

Ochoa sure impressed with his running and somewhat with his passing. However, what evidence do we have that Brown would not have had 4 long TDs also. Or 5 or 3. At least on the first two, the lanes were there.

Crayton looked good. Still excited about Wilhelm.

I thought the defense was good. Their passer is elite, and he was ON yesterday.

the offense that can't come back kept coming back. Several times. Who the heck thought we could give up 7 TDs and be kicking for the win?

A lot of people want Abell fired, some immediately if not sooner. Most don't have a plan for what to do next, or why. Some want to transition to even more gimmicky offenses. that we don't currently have the personnel for. Some want to revert to standard stuff like Generic State runs, may even hire an assistant from Same Old State.

I am OK with another year of Abell. I want to see who he can bring in from the portal. i want to see if he can develop a stouter defense. Brown will be gone, but we should have Ochoa/Crayton/Wilhelm. Should be interesting, if the impatient ones here don't get their way.

My only change to your summary would be for point #3. The Owls should have tried to get closer on 3rd down and 5 by running the option vs passing. A couple of yards could have made a difference on the long FG attempt.

makes sense to me. the only thing can think is that Abell thought we were already in Bauchiero's range, so he went for the first down rather than just a little bit closer, which, as you note, would have made all the difference.

(10-25-2026 08:34 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 05:23 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 09:48 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  As usual, in a close game it came down a few plays. The ones that contributed most to the defeat:

1. blocked punt. Looked like the guy was unblocked.

2. Punt return for a TD.

3. Missed FG. Yes, it was a long one - but he has made longer in HS. Should we have tried to get closer on 4th? Maybe.

4. Failure on 4th down and very short. Instead of McGuffie up the middle, I thought we should have gone wide.

Top three all ST. Add the now infamous onside kick in a previous game, and we have a clear indication of a problem.

Ochoa sure impressed with his running and somewhat with his passing. However, what evidence do we have that Brown would not have had 4 long TDs also. Or 5 or 3. At least on the first two, the lanes were there.

Crayton looked good. Still excited about Wilhelm.

I thought the defense was good. Their passer is elite, and he was ON yesterday.

the offense that can't come back kept coming back. Several times. Who the heck thought we could give up 7 TDs and be kicking for the win?

A lot of people want Abell fired, some immediately if not sooner. Most don't have a plan for what to do next, or why. Some want to transition to even more gimmicky offenses. that we don't currently have the personnel for. Some want to revert to standard stuff like Generic State runs, may even hire an assistant from Same Old State.

I am OK with another year of Abell. I want to see who he can bring in from the portal. i want to see if he can develop a stouter defense. Brown will be gone, but we should have Ochoa/Crayton/Wilhelm. Should be interesting, if the impatient ones here don't get their way.

My only change to your summary would be for point #3. The Owls should have tried to get closer on 3rd down and 5 by running the option vs passing. A couple of yards could have made a difference on the long FG attempt.

makes sense to me. the only thing can think is that Abell thought we were already in Bauchiero's range, so he went for the first down rather than just a little bit closer, which, as you note, would have made all the difference.

Tomball, upon further reflection, I think a first down there would have iced the game for us, as we could then both run clock and get closer, and so I am OK with him going for the FD.

I think a better play call would have been an option play to the wide side of the field. If it makes the FD, great, but if it only gets us 2 or 3, then we would have at least gotten a bit closer.

(10-26-2026 02:10 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 08:34 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 05:23 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 09:48 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  As usual, in a close game it came down a few plays. The ones that contributed most to the defeat:

1. blocked punt. Looked like the guy was unblocked.

2. Punt return for a TD.

3. Missed FG. Yes, it was a long one - but he has made longer in HS. Should we have tried to get closer on 4th? Maybe.

4. Failure on 4th down and very short. Instead of McGuffie up the middle, I thought we should have gone wide.

Top three all ST. Add the now infamous onside kick in a previous game, and we have a clear indication of a problem.

Ochoa sure impressed with his running and somewhat with his passing. However, what evidence do we have that Brown would not have had 4 long TDs also. Or 5 or 3. At least on the first two, the lanes were there.

Crayton looked good. Still excited about Wilhelm.

I thought the defense was good. Their passer is elite, and he was ON yesterday.

the offense that can't come back kept coming back. Several times. Who the heck thought we could give up 7 TDs and be kicking for the win?

A lot of people want Abell fired, some immediately if not sooner. Most don't have a plan for what to do next, or why. Some want to transition to even more gimmicky offenses. that we don't currently have the personnel for. Some want to revert to standard stuff like Generic State runs, may even hire an assistant from Same Old State.

I am OK with another year of Abell. I want to see who he can bring in from the portal. i want to see if he can develop a stouter defense. Brown will be gone, but we should have Ochoa/Crayton/Wilhelm. Should be interesting, if the impatient ones here don't get their way.

My only change to your summary would be for point #3. The Owls should have tried to get closer on 3rd down and 5 by running the option vs passing. A couple of yards could have made a difference on the long FG attempt.

makes sense to me. the only thing can think is that Abell thought we were already in Bauchiero's range, so he went for the first down rather than just a little bit closer, which, as you note, would have made all the difference.

Tomball, upon further reflection, I think a first down there would have iced the game for us, as we could then both run clock and get closer, and so I am OK with him going for the FD.

I think a better play call would have been an option play to the wide side of the field. If it makes the FD, great, but if it only gets us 2 or 3, then we would have at least gotten a bit closer.

I think we should go for the 1st down on every play. I just wish on 3rd down they had gone for it with an option run. Hopefully gets the 1st, but if not, it hopefully gets a few yards for a shorter FG attempt on 4th down ... and the clock keeps running. Don't remember how many TOs FAU's had left, but it would have forced them to use one if they had any. An incomplete pass does none of those.

(10-26-2026 08:24 AM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(10-26-2026 02:10 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 08:34 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 05:23 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 09:48 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  As usual, in a close game it came down a few plays. The ones that contributed most to the defeat:

1. blocked punt. Looked like the guy was unblocked.

2. Punt return for a TD.

3. Missed FG. Yes, it was a long one - but he has made longer in HS. Should we have tried to get closer on 4th? Maybe.

4. Failure on 4th down and very short. Instead of McGuffie up the middle, I thought we should have gone wide.

Top three all ST. Add the now infamous onside kick in a previous game, and we have a clear indication of a problem.

Ochoa sure impressed with his running and somewhat with his passing. However, what evidence do we have that Brown would not have had 4 long TDs also. Or 5 or 3. At least on the first two, the lanes were there.

Crayton looked good. Still excited about Wilhelm.

I thought the defense was good. Their passer is elite, and he was ON yesterday.

the offense that can't come back kept coming back. Several times. Who the heck thought we could give up 7 TDs and be kicking for the win?

A lot of people want Abell fired, some immediately if not sooner. Most don't have a plan for what to do next, or why. Some want to transition to even more gimmicky offenses. that we don't currently have the personnel for. Some want to revert to standard stuff like Generic State runs, may even hire an assistant from Same Old State.

I am OK with another year of Abell. I want to see who he can bring in from the portal. i want to see if he can develop a stouter defense. Brown will be gone, but we should have Ochoa/Crayton/Wilhelm. Should be interesting, if the impatient ones here don't get their way.

My only change to your summary would be for point #3. The Owls should have tried to get closer on 3rd down and 5 by running the option vs passing. A couple of yards could have made a difference on the long FG attempt.

makes sense to me. the only thing can think is that Abell thought we were already in Bauchiero's range, so he went for the first down rather than just a little bit closer, which, as you note, would have made all the difference.

Tomball, upon further reflection, I think a first down there would have iced the game for us, as we could then both run clock and get closer, and so I am OK with him going for the FD.

I think a better play call would have been an option play to the wide side of the field. If it makes the FD, great, but if it only gets us 2 or 3, then we would have at least gotten a bit closer.

I think we should go for the 1st down on every play. I just wish on 3rd down they had gone for it with an option run. Hopefully gets the 1st, but if not, it hopefully gets a few yards for a shorter FG attempt on 4th down ... and the clock keeps running. Don't remember how many TOs FAU's had left, but it would have forced them to use one if they had any. An incomplete pass does none of those.

We are in complete agreement.

Unlike some other offenses, in the option every play is an attempt for a first down.

(10-25-2026 09:48 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  As usual, in a close game it came down a few plays. The ones that contributed most to the defeat:

1. blocked punt. Looked like the guy was unblocked.

2. Punt return for a TD.

3. Missed FG. Yes, it was a long one - but he has made longer in HS. Should we have tried to get closer on 4th? Maybe.

4. Failure on 4th down and very short. Instead of McGuffie up the middle, I thought we should have gone wide.

Top three all ST. Add the now infamous onside kick in a previous game, and we have a clear indication of a problem.

Ochoa sure impressed with his running and somewhat with his passing. However, what evidence do we have that Brown would not have had 4 long TDs also. Or 5 or 3. At least on the first two, the lanes were there.

Crayton looked good. Still excited about Wilhelm.

I thought the defense was good. Their passer is elite, and he was ON yesterday.

the offense that can't come back kept coming back. Several times. Who the heck thought we could give up 7 TDs and be kicking for the win?

A lot of people want Abell fired, some immediately if not sooner. Most don't have a plan for what to do next, or why. Some want to transition to even more gimmicky offenses. that we don't currently have the personnel for. Some want to revert to standard stuff like Generic State runs, may even hire an assistant from Same Old State.

I am OK with another year of Abell. I want to see who he can bring in from the portal. i want to see if he can develop a stouter defense. Brown will be gone, but we should have Ochoa/Crayton/Wilhelm. Should be interesting, if the impatient ones here don't get their way.

Time to start developing the 26’ class athletes in game in preparation for next years te.

(10-25-2026 12:13 AM)TheOwl84 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 11:19 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 08:00 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  Abel is out of his league. Go back to Davidson.

Abell is a very nice guy, but he can’t be the coach here past this season.

I don't really see the point in saying this. There's zero chance he gets fired this year. Next year maybe if this keeps up but the offense and defense have individually shown flashes of potentially being good despite being plagued by injuries in a way we weren't last year. He got a backup QB to play better than Jacurri and a third string QB came in absolutely ready to play too. If he's developing all his players the way it seems like he's developing Crayton Jr. I want to see what he does next year with a roster nearly full of players that have been here 2+ years.

I'd rather see a change in special teams.

As long as there's meaningful progress, he's our coach, and as you state, this team is much better than last year's. We may even be on the precipice of taking a giant step forward with Ochoa at QB.

I'm not concerned at all about the direction of the program. We're only in our infancy. McClelland found a darn good coach.

(10-25-2026 11:49 AM)Texasowl Wrote:  I dont understand why the quarterback is not under center when it is 4th and one.? Just run a quick count and quarterback keeper with big lineman in the back field to push the runner across.

If we only did that on 4th and short, it likely shows our hand. We can run anything we want out of the shotgun, not so much under center.

(10-24-2026 12:58 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 12:54 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 12:53 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 12:51 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 12:31 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Fluke busts? Seriously? Really nice blocking to set Ocha free. Clearly, we scouted the Army-FAU game in which the Army QB ran wild on keepers.

Yeah. When It keeps happening, it's not a fluke.

IAC, isn't the point of the option to make defenders make mistakes?

Irrespective of how the final score ends up, Ochoa has seemed to show he's the better option for the option...as long as he's the one taking the option himself...to the house...because, really, what's our other option at this point?

Brown at wingback - if he's willing.

That'd be at the top of my list, yeah....

Yep. I've been wanting to see more of Ochoa and have been suggesting it. That said, I think given the Army game that Brown too would have had a great game if healthy. Better or not, who knows... I think they are very close and Brown undeniably had more experience. I think Brown in the wing makes vastly more sense than Ochoa, and opens up all sorts of gimmicks that would widen the field even more.

(10-24-2026 02:22 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 02:18 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  Hey you option fans - 3:37 to score twice. Let's see how effective it is.

Touchdown! Getting nervous?

1) 337 for ANY team to score twice, especially when there haven't been many stops all game is a challenge
2) they certainly had one and a second attempt.

Offense didn't cost us this game... and it showed an ability to score quickly on the ground AND in the air.

(10-25-2026 12:38 AM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  The fact that the second and third string QBs performed better than Jacurri is an indictment on both Abells’ ability to evaluate talent

They all played earlier in the season and showed the opposite. Today, you certainly saw what I had seen from Ochoa in practice... but while Jr is absolutely better than he was last year, he didn't show especially well earlier in the year and this game was against a team that isn't good at defending QBs and he only took a few snaps. I don't think your comment has enough data points.

Abell had already shown a willingness to use Ochoa and Brown in the same backfield last week... somewhat out of necessity, but still he put the ball in Ochoa's hands when Brown was at least healthy enough to be on the field. If you're building a program, you can't throw your future stars to the wolves when they aren't obviously better than the seniors... you give them opportunities before you give them the reins. I'd certainly start Ochoa this week... If JB is healthy, I'd have him in the backfield again as well as snaps at QB. He too has been electric at times.

(10-25-2026 12:38 AM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-25-2026 12:13 AM)TheOwl84 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 11:19 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(10-24-2026 08:00 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  Abel is out of his league. Go back to Davidson.

Abell is a very nice guy, but he can’t be the coach here past this season.

I don't really see the point in saying this. There's zero chance he gets fired this year. Next year maybe if this keeps up but the offense and defense have individually shown flashes of potentially being good despite being plagued by injuries in a way we weren't last year. He got a backup QB to play better than Jacurri and a third string QB came in absolutely ready to play too. If he's developing all his players the way it seems like he's developing Crayton Jr. I want to see what he does next year with a roster nearly full of players that have been here 2+ years.

I'd rather see a change in special teams.

The fact that the second and third string QBs performed better than Jacurri is an indictment on both Abells’ ability to evaluate talent

Am I the only one who thinks Brown could have set an NCAA rushing record if he played vs FAU? Don't want to take anything away from Ochoa, he showed a special ability to knife through the defense into the open, and maybe ran the outside option better than Jacurri has, but Jacurri's talent is obvious. Maybe Ochoa is a better overall fit/QB but I think any of the 3 QB's would've looked good vs FAU. Let's see how Ochoa does against another D.