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Result obviously was massively disappointing but have calmed myself down and reflecting on the game here are what I view as some silver linings to the game:

1) I didn’t see an athlete gap. Our skill position guys were able to make plays and our defense was able to make open field tackles consistently. Indiana looked completely mismatched against ND and that wasn’t the case for us. We execute better that’s a 4the quarter game.

2) the defense is a legit power 5 defense. Holding a team like penn state to 24 points under those circumstances is good. We got more than enough pressure on the qb and we could cover their skill guys.

3) gained some needed experience. This game and the ACC championship game showed me that we have the talent but felt overwhelmed by the moment. All the players will be better prepared the next time they get into environments like that.

Agree the D was impressive but was once again put in too many tough spots by the offense's performance today. Replacing all the experience this year's D had is going to be a huge challenge but it appears the staff is off to a good start in the portal and hopefully we can retain the guys who are ready to step up next year

Oh...and it's basketball season and we are off to a 2-0 start in ACC play after a blowout road win at BC today! Reality hits when Duke comes to town on the 4th. Not sure when classes resume but if I was a student I would sure want to get back early for that game.

We are 2-3 years ahead of schedule so me and SMU alum wife are enjoying the ride..we live far from Big D and made 7 games this year, to include two away games.

Wow! It’s December & just seeing a silver linings thread. What a change this is! I’d say another sign of very good season.

Grateful to be a on this ride. I bet we get better for years. I hope lashlee is old,bald and chubby as he was successful and happy here!

Some people say there’s no such thing as bad publicity but I would gladly avoid the things being published and said about our performance today.

Spot light and environment were too big for our Offense (particularly Jennings and the O line).

Mustangs_Maroons wrote:Some people say there’s no such thing as bad publicity but I would gladly avoid the things being published and said about our performance today.

Spot light and environment were too big for our Offense (particularly Jennings and the O line).

What’s being said and published is correct. We weren’t ready. So what? It’s essentially year one in the big leagues, I mean come on.

PonyME wrote:

Mustangs_Maroons wrote:Some people say there’s no such thing as bad publicity but I would gladly avoid the things being published and said about our performance today.

Spot light and environment were too big for our Offense (particularly Jennings and the O line).

What’s being said and published is correct. We weren’t ready. So what? It’s essentially year one in the big leagues, I mean come on.

Come on? How about come on expect to compete. How about not throw three interceptions? How about not have a bunch of false starts in the goal line. I mean have some respect. This isn’t JV time. It’s big boy time and these mistakes are uncalled for. The fact you think it’s acceptable says something about your own expectations. I expect a team that does not shoot itself in the foot multiple times to the point you just come across and embarrass the football program and the university as a whole.

Sitting in the stands at the game I’ve never heard a stadium that loud. That includes Redskin games at old RFK. Each of those false starts came as Jennings tried to audible. KJ learned a lot today. He was running for his life most of the day. We need help at left tackle. Take away the picks and it’s 24-17. Who knows?

KJ takes 2 additional steps instead of throwing an incomplete pass to Hibner and who knows.

MV pony wrote:KJ takes 2 additional steps instead of throwing an incomplete pass to Hibner and who knows.

Or he throws a halfway decent pass to Hibner who walks in for a TD. 7-0 Mustangs.

I like KJs decision there because Hibner was wide open. KJ just threw it to the left of Hibner where the defender was.

highlander wrote:

MV pony wrote:KJ takes 2 additional steps instead of throwing an incomplete pass to Hibner and who knows.

Or he throws a halfway decent pass to Hibner who walks in for a TD. 7-0 Mustangs.

I like KJs decision there because Hibner was wide open. KJ just threw it to the left of Hibner where the defender was.

Very true, Hibner was wide open, KJ just threw a terrible pass, if he would have put it anywhere between the receiver and the pylon, easy touchdown.

In the end, did not matter, and even if we did complete that for a TD, result would have still been the same.

No sliver lining here, we got our butts handed to us, they were bigger, stronger, more disciplined, better coached.

Play that game twenty times, and we would lose every one.

Keep the check books open, we need better players to compete at that level.

Was a reality check.

highlander wrote:

MV pony wrote:KJ takes 2 additional steps instead of throwing an incomplete pass to Hibner and who knows.

Or he throws a halfway decent pass to Hibner who walks in for a TD. 7-0 Mustangs.

I like KJs decision there because Hibner was wide open. KJ just threw it to the left of Hibner where the defender was.

How bout he learns to take the 100% first down instead of the ramblin gamblin approach pass. I think he ruined his psyche for the rest of the day on that one.

shadowman wrote:No sliver lining here, we got our butts handed to us, they were bigger, stronger, more disciplined, better coached.

Play that game twenty times, and we would lose every one.

Keep the check books open, we need better players to compete at that level.

Was a reality check.

That's a little harsh, don't ya think?

Any objective follower of this team should acknowledge the flaws and the fact that the Mustangs were punching waaaaay over their weight class. Saturday was not the result we were hoping for, but a team that was picked to finish in 7th in the ACC preseason poll going to the show is beyond amazing! The fact that they did as well as they did is a testament to the team's character and coaching.