Knowing the outcome and having the magical remote in hand (play, pause, stop, slow forward, etc.), I have a few additional impressions.
1. Outstanding work by the OL. Special props to JT Brooks who overpowered his man consistently. The only notable breakdown in the OL was the play where Josh got shoved back into Padron and one play where the center, who had nobody lined up over him at the snap, failed to pick up a defender who rolled off the left guard and ran right by. Otherwise, pretty damn solid effort.
2. Everybody gets pretty worked up about Margus, and justifiably so. But Taylor Thompson IMHO is the most disruptive defensive player. He was terrific! Margus needs to finish off every play. There were several instances when he stopped before the whistle blew, and as it turned out, may have had an opportunity to make a play.
3. The other thing I noticed was the distinct drop in production in the second half. As you're probably aware, we usually suck in the third quarter, and in the bowl game, our offensive production definitely fell off. But it was interesting to note, HOW CLOSE this game was to a 59-3 domination. In two of the second half drives, we just missed connecting on two other LONG completions. So while this was clearly a breakout performance by the Mustangs, they still have a ways to go, which gave me an inkling of just how far this team can go.
By the way, the second viewing was every bit as entertaining as the first.
