2 weeks from gameday...what has to happen for a victory?

[roaringsince96]

No surprise the defense looks like a varsity squad playing a JV squad in fall camp and both scrimmages thus far.  The defense was basically all set with players returning from a solid squad last year that hopes to improve. The offense entering fall camp had quite an extensive list of questions.....so far some of those questions appear to be getting answered. The oline seems to be better at run blocking this year, which is good news for our running backs. The pass blocking and adjusting to the blitz in the scrimmages has not been great.  I hope we spend a lot more time on assignments the next couple of weeks.  Everything looks correctable, will it be?

I hope some of the young oline guys show they belong and are ready for the challenge.  The oline does not look good so far, still some time, but not sure the chemistry is right? 

I also hope "Panchi" is ready to lead his new team, has learned this new offense, and has wheels to run.  He also is around all new coaching and people, hopefully has some chemistry with teammates.

Cam Turner is a name you will learn this year as a receiver.  He was on track last year to contribute as a true freshman, then the injury bug got him.

I hope our linebackers, who are very talented, learn to play with better maturity and control on the field.  We cannot afford the selfish 15 yard penalties.

Our kicking must be a strength this year.  We need to be able to play low scoring games and manager field position on the road in D1. 

Cox seems to be having a good fall camp...he is not going to break a long one, he may be our plow back in short yardage.  Howell and Price both look very good in fall camp, hoping one of them can win the starting job and give us a much needed splash play or two a game. 

Concerns? 

[brandon]

Sometimes practice is just practice. Meaning, I have been part of some teams, that while in practice, looked horrible, like they couldn't beat their way out of a wet paper sack. Just to go on an have incredible seasons. On the flip side, I have seen teams look so sharp in practice, but could not beat a team in a game to save their lives. I was a D-lineman, and I can say this, if the OL is bad in practice, it's from a couple of things, 1st, (and hopefully not the case) laziness. 2nd, heat effects the biggest men first, we have had a very hot summer, it will cause them to mentally tire before others and that will make you look bad. 3rd, I if they are lacking in depth, they may just be trying not to kill their knees before the game happens. Picking up blitzes requires some steps that can end up twisting or getting rolled on the knee. The number 1 injuries for OLinemen.


I'm not as worried about the QB situation as some are, I'll just leave it at that.

All in all, I think we will be fine.....

[tuna85]

Hoping the struggles on offense are a result of facing an exceptional defense in practice. Possibly, when game time is here, the O will find they faced tougher D in practice and can well manage the task at hand.

[unafied]

I’ve read up some on Southern Utah. They lost a lot of pieces from last year’s team, which won the Big Sky. Their QB is gone, and one article I saw said they lost 7 of their top 11 tacklers from last season. To add to that last fact, their defense was pretty mediocre overall - 80th nationally. On the flip side, they return some all-conference offensive lineman, and some good running backs. But QB sounds like a question mark for them, as well.

So it sounds like this game will be strength on strength (their O and our D) and weakness vs. weakness (our O and their D). Those types of games are always hard to predict. I lean towards saying it will be low-scoring, especially since I’m not ready to trust our offense to put points on the board. If our guys can hang with them through the 4th quarter, and not get behind the eight ball early due to the long road trip, first game jitters, etc., I think we’ll have a shot. But I do think SUU is a decent team and it won’t be an easy win. I’m more concerned with beating A&M. We can afford starting 1-2, but 0-3 would be pretty disappointing to me.

[1949lions]

O-line and QB play is important but our defense having a stellar day is the key to winning.

[roaringsince96]

I am not sure the coaching staff could afford an 0-3 start unless we lost two of three late in the 4th quarter. We may not be the grind it out type of offense, maybe we will be more of a quick strike offense. I like our chances if we can grab some early leads....our defense has depth and is capable of creating turnovers, scoring some points on it's own. In two weeks we will discussing what we watched in the first game. Exciting.