Smaug's $0.02
My shoes are still wet.
That will be one of those nights we'll talk about at tailgates for a while. It was certainly a personal first for me. I've been to a lot of football games before, but that's the first time I was in my seat at kickoff at 6pm and at home, showered, and in my recliner watching at the final horn, sometime after midnight.
Kudos to you diehards who gutted it out to the end. You are the true heros. I bailed at the second delay. I'd had a long day and was very tired. Getting old is not one of my favorite things.
We hadn't gotten any rain in what seems like months, and then that. Life's a funny old dog, isn't it?
You know, 0-6 record notwithstanding, Rice is arguably the best team we've played to date. They might not get to .500, but I predict that the back half of their season will be more successful than the first half. I hope so, anyway. I like the Owls.
Anywho, on to the observations:
Spell "Blazers" with a D
We held Rice to right at 300 total yards, (64 of those on the second play from scrimmage) and forced 4 turnovers. We held them 0 for 7 on third down in that neverending second half. I don't know if you've noticed but we are getting hellacious play from our linebackers, a position many thought might be a weakness entering the season. Kris Moll and Noah Wilder have been tackling machines in the middle, and Jordan Smith has been a nice surprise on the outside. Big, tall guy wreaking havoc on the edge.
Luuuuuuuuuuuuucious!
Lucious Stanley, Sophomore Running Back, Fort Myers, Florida. Stanley spelled Spencer Brown quite nicely, particularly in the second half. 88 yards and 2 TDs on 19 carries. Particularly useful in the rain. It's a good thing, too, because we had all but abandoned the running game in the first half. Without looking it up, I think we only had 7 or 8 ATTEMPTS in the first half. As an indicator of how the game has changed, we definitely threw first to open up the run last night. Also, kudos to the offensive line for opening up some holes in the middle, the best they've done that all year.
Fair Weather
Tony Fair, Junior Defensive Lineman, South Bend, Indiana. Big 90 found the weather quite agreeable last night, with 6 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble. Have yourself a night, young man! You know, Garrett Marino got all the preseason hype (understandable) but Fair, McWilliams, Fairbanks, and Moultrie, along with Manimal have turned our front wall into a real murderer's row. This is what frees up our linebackers to make all those tackles. This is the way it's supposed to work.
23.4
That's how many yards per catch our three-headed monster at wideouts (Parham/Watkins/Mitchell) averaged last night. We just haven't seen too many defenses that can run with these guys so far. Myron Mitchell is rapidly becoming one of my favorite players. He's got some electric moves to be sure, but what I really like is that he'll swap some paint to make a catch. Fast and tough. I'll take that in a wideout all day long.
The Good
Our offensive line took over the game in the third quarter. It was good to watch. Rice had the ball for 7 more minutes than us in the first half. It was pretty much even at the end of the game. It was clear which staff made the better adjustments during the extended halftime.
The Bad
Spencer Brown on the sideline in a boot.
The Ugly
13 penalties for 174 yards. Most of them of the 15 yard variety. These don't bother me as much as it does some people, because those are mostly penalties of aggression, but Lord, the laundry truck explosion contributed significantly to the length of the game, and seemed to always occur when Rice needed one most.
Funniest weather comment
I think it was Evan Dudley (though it may have been somebody else), "College kids dream of playing on Sunday. Well, here we are."
So, what does this mean, Barbara?
It means we came back strong after the WKU loss, which is important. It means we are 4-1 and 1-1 in conference play. It means we still hold our destiny in our hands. It means I'm getting used to playing meaningful football in October, and I like it.
That's all I got. For now. I think.
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Smaug's $0.02
