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Just got back from a most enjoyable trip. No doubt in my mind that the game ball goes to Haywood. He totally dominated his man. It has been a long time since I have seen a DT chase down and tackle an option QB for a loss before being able to pitch. And he did it several times. He put a lot of pressure on the pass rush and was deeper in the backfield after 2 steps than the Rice fullback. Very impressive. The only major defensive breakdowns I saw were 2 plays where Cory Muse lost containment. Once he got sucked in and the QB went around him for a large gain. They pulled Muse and did a little chewing. When he went back in, he stayed outside but got too wide and deep allowing the QB to step inside and avoid him. That allowed the QB to run to the sidelines and then hit a long TD pass. I say all of this because the next series. Muse played the position perfectly and did so until the end of the game. That is on the job training and he learned very well.

Must say I was glad to see they put the blocked punt played back in. Mentzel has to stop staring at the ball before he kicks it. Apparently he has to introduce it to his foot.

Serioulsy, it was nice to see us run the option agian for a few plays. Banging Martin inside is great but we need to get some respect for the outside and we have the speed to do it.

I am officially forgiving Givens for his previous drops after last game and the catch he made this week.

Congrats to the defense for finally learning how to stop the option and to the offense for not totally giving it away.

Mentzel without a doubt is slow as molasses on a Wisconsin winter, but it's not ALL his fault. Rice's players were pouring through our line, like Mexican's over the walls of the Alamo! or (the border)

Why after 9 games is our punter still slow getting the ball off??

You know, I was thinking about game balls, or a player of the game, when I was walking out of Ford. The easy answer was DeMyron Martin, but upon further review, I would say he's third on the food chain. Haywood was absolutely magnificent -- were they even trying to block him? I thought he was going to take a handoff from Armstrong/Clement before the game was over. The close #2 was Joe Sturdivant. He seemed like he was in on every tackle. And his interception was really good, but the INT that was wiped out because he fell out of bounds .... who knew he could get up that high? I sure didn't. He looked like .... Columbus Givens going up there. (And if I'm not mistaken, that fumble he recovered was caused by Haywood.)

That block doesn't go on Mentzel. Someone blew an assignment there.

I've got two game balls: Eric Roark and Joe Sawyer.

OK, maybe they deserve the game balls more for their work for the entire season, but it really showed Saturday. In the past, Coach Roark (defensive ends) and Coach Sawyer (defensive tackles) the defensive line has not always been a strength. And frankly, when we lost Adami and Desmond Jones and Kendall Mouton, I thought we were in deep trouble on the line this year, too. But under their tutelage, the defensive line has been terrific this year. Part of it is the arrival of Adrian Haywood, to be sure. But Brandon Bonds and Justin Rogers have been dramatically better than they were the last two years -- they look like different players (and not just because Bonds is a little lighter and Rogers is stronger .... although that certainly helps). Cory Muse has been very good, especially in the last few weeks after he took over for Don Ieremia-Stansbury. Charlie Berry and Randy Denman are valuable players now. Patrick Handy -- a true freshman -- has made plays at two positions. (And Desmond Jones was on the cusp of becoming a real monster before he got hurt -- and subsequently left -- at the end of last season.)

Anyway, I just wanted to throw that out there. Assistant coaches rarely get any attention, and these two guys, in my opinion, have done a terrific job this season.