The D shows some life

[SmooBoy]

After being on pace to give up 62 points and 598 yards, it showed some spunk in the 2nd half. Tulane is no juggernaut but we gotta start somewhere.

[SmooBoy]

Oh and Yenga is my hero.

[MrMustang1965]

Never give up... and never surrender. - The Mustang Militia motto

[ThadFilms]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI5hi4c4y9k

[jimhagle]

Yenga has an unbelievable motor-he was giving Tulane's best lineman fits.

[JasonB]

I hate to be a downer, because I really enjoyed the second half, but out D stopped Tulane as much because of their mistakes than anything else. The improvement in BLM was the most important thing to come out of the game. Two fantastic TD passes.

[Mustangs35SMU]

I honestly thought Tulane would score 50 on us. Maybe even 60.

Way to go D. 3 points in the 2nd half, as said above, gotta start somewhere.

[StallionsModelT]

The 2nd half of this football game gives me at least a modicum of hope that we can field a competitive team for the rest of the season. We played hard and the kids never quit. Bo Levi still made some bad throws but he's a freshman. He also made some throws that were quite impressive. That was a very good defense that we hung 27 points on so that's improvement. That should be the battlecry for the rest of the year. IMPROVEMENT. I'm not so much concerned about wins-losses, but I want us to be a better team each week. This week we accomplished that.

[EastStang]

First, our tackling still needs improvement, but it was better in the second half. Again, that's probably size and athleticism more than fundamentals or schemes. If you're a step slow, you're only going to get to arm tackle and not paste the guy. But when you have the guy, don't let him go. Second, I thought Smart's interception was promising. He was in the right place and caught the ball where he had to jump to get it. Third, BLM while still very inconsistent at least got up to his second and third reads once or twice and made some nice TD passes. The OL had a trying first half, but seemed to settle down some in the second. Moorstead hit that long field goal to wake the team up a bit. I do think this was an improvement. Hopefully as the season continues, they'll be able to pull of a few wins. BLM is showing signs of getting the offense.

[redpony]

SMT- well said. I am also beginning to believe that there is possible light at the end of the tunnel.

GO PONIES!!!

[HB Pony Dad]

Although I was pleased with the improvements shown in the second half there are still many issues to address:

1. Why did the team basically quit on JJ in the First Half?

2. Why all the dropped Passes? Receivers? BLM's passes inaccurate and/or too fast/hard?

3. Why the "D" doesn't tackle low? Arm tackles? Arrrgh!

4. Why is the "D" so easily out of position on play action? Bad Reads? Lack of Skill?

5. Why is everyone so sloooow?

6. Tulane let up in the 2nd half and JJ out coached Toledo in the 2nd half.

Overall Great 2nd Half improvements


Still


NO EXPECTATIONS for the remainder of this year as this is going to be a Training Camp without a doubt!

[mrydel]

Most of our good prospects signed with Oregon State.

[SmooBoy]

Most of our good prospects signed with Oregon State.

Zing!

[HB Pony Dad]

Most of our good prospects signed with Oregon State.

Thanks mrydel I needed that!

[Cadillac]

Overall Great 2nd Half improvements

So far this is the only game of the season where we seem to have come out better in the second half. I imagine some of it was the result of Tulane taking their foot off of our throat, but still, it was encouraging.

There was one BLM play that torqued me off quite a bit though. I don't recall how far into the game it was, but there was a handoff to Butler where he hit a pile of green in the middle, and as he was being pushed back, you could see Bo already walking off to the sideline. On the replay, the second he handed the ball off and got "out of the way" he just turned around and started walking to the sideline. I guess he didn't have a post handoff assignment, but it really seemed to me that he should have been doing something with his time, and turning your back on the play before the whistle seems like a pretty bad idea for a tactical and safety point of view.

I'm not saying it is anything more than it is (the end of a single play), but it just bugged me. It didn't help that this was not long after the announcers were going ga-ga over the Tulane QB palming the ball behind his back on play action.

-CoS