Observations about Nevada
Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 9:45 amFirst, there were some happy Mustangs on the sideline. A lot of life. After the first fumble recovery that went for an SMU TD, one could see the Ponies perk up and the Nevada players slump. If was good to see the young men excited and energized. Nevada came back and one could see that our young team (that doesn't know how to put an opponent away) started to slump. The second fumble recovery ended that and one can't imagine how critical it was to return that fumble. A key play in the teams attitude.
Romo looked sharp both passing and running. The O line had a decent night. We still had some weak pass blocking at times and Romo seemed to look to run if he got a little pressure. If he learns to throw the ball away we will improve immensely.
The Special teams were finally special. Kick off coverage had some wild-eyed Stangs flying around. And one super hit! Punt return and Kick off return also had some stellar moments. Punt coverage needs to wrap up people better.
The D bent but didn't break and made some strong 4th down stands. We also gave Nevada the ball way too many times on the short end of the field yet our D rose to the occasion and held Nevada. An outstanding job by the D given the field position they were put in.
Pellerin was open several times for TDs and we simply overthrew him. He also many several outstanding down field blocks. At least early it looked like we went after there corners and we had the better athletes.
We played primarily zone on D and Nevada found the soft spots all day long. We particular were vulnerable to the bootleg. We only kept contain on one bootleg. The others were pretty much Nevada most effective play. Our pass rush simply was weak. Nevada did a great job protecting the passer and picking up blitzes. Give Nevada’s O-line a lot of credit.
And finally, FINALLY, we got some turnover breaks. We have all witnessed too many SMU turnovers turned into TDs. For once we got to witness the Ponies doing that to the other team.
We also show a little discipline with only 3 penalties. We didn’t keep Nevada drives alive with stupid penalties and we didn’t kill ourselves on O with stupid penalties. Much improvement over previous efforts.
All in all, it was a good effort. This team has improved. Less penalties, improved special team performance, a consistent offense and bend but don't break defense. All improvements from earlier in the year. We have almost everyone returning so next year has the promise of better things to come.
Romo looked sharp both passing and running. The O line had a decent night. We still had some weak pass blocking at times and Romo seemed to look to run if he got a little pressure. If he learns to throw the ball away we will improve immensely.
The Special teams were finally special. Kick off coverage had some wild-eyed Stangs flying around. And one super hit! Punt return and Kick off return also had some stellar moments. Punt coverage needs to wrap up people better.
The D bent but didn't break and made some strong 4th down stands. We also gave Nevada the ball way too many times on the short end of the field yet our D rose to the occasion and held Nevada. An outstanding job by the D given the field position they were put in.
Pellerin was open several times for TDs and we simply overthrew him. He also many several outstanding down field blocks. At least early it looked like we went after there corners and we had the better athletes.
We played primarily zone on D and Nevada found the soft spots all day long. We particular were vulnerable to the bootleg. We only kept contain on one bootleg. The others were pretty much Nevada most effective play. Our pass rush simply was weak. Nevada did a great job protecting the passer and picking up blitzes. Give Nevada’s O-line a lot of credit.
And finally, FINALLY, we got some turnover breaks. We have all witnessed too many SMU turnovers turned into TDs. For once we got to witness the Ponies doing that to the other team.
We also show a little discipline with only 3 penalties. We didn’t keep Nevada drives alive with stupid penalties and we didn’t kill ourselves on O with stupid penalties. Much improvement over previous efforts.
All in all, it was a good effort. This team has improved. Less penalties, improved special team performance, a consistent offense and bend but don't break defense. All improvements from earlier in the year. We have almost everyone returning so next year has the promise of better things to come.