First Impressions

[sadderbudweiser]

It is mind blowing that anyone could be anything but excited after this game when compared to last year. We have tons of major problems, but far fewer than we all expected.

We all think you all is close. Excited….meh. Encouraged…yep.

Relieved? yep.

I chuckled seeing the line of late arrivers outside the stadium as the scoreboard rolled over in the first quarter. Was that last Bud Lite really worth it?

[stc9]

First Impressions:

1) Holy Crap, We Are Young!: Hearing Mack Brown say, "(Insert name) another true Freshman/Redshirt Freshman involved in that play". I would agree with Stallion that it was a great first game for all of those young guys. I think Xavier Jones has a very bright future. My anal retentive side is already worried about late season fatigue, but that is a late October problem.

2) Offensive Line: They were not stellar, but they were significantly better than last year. I don't know if that is because of schemes, coaching or offseason S&C work (or all of the above). Even with the suspensions, Baylor's front 6 or 7 (depending on their set) is still formidable. There were sporadic plays in the first half and early third where they were getting a solid push well into the second level. I also really liked how fast they were off the ball in the power running game - really jumped on Baylor's DL. I look forward to their continued development.

3) Defensive Line: When our offense had the three and outs in the 3rd quarter they got spent. There was an entire drive when these guys couldn't even get back in their stances before the next play was started. At that point they were just getting blown out. It was clear at that point the depth differential.

4) Special Teams: For the first time in maybe 10 years there wasn't an impending sense of doom when they trotted out onto the field. I thought their coverage was good, kickers putting the ball deep into the end zone on KOs and not running the ball out from 7 yards deep. West can fly. Deon still runs too much east and west.

5) QBs: The downside to having a great athlete as your QB is they try to do too much - end of first half and Davis's late int. Throw the ball away and keep fighting on the next play. It felt like Colbert gave up on the routes quickly to take off. Don't get me wrong, I think both guys played well. I think Davis is going to have a special season in this offense.

Usually after getting a shellacking I'm grumpy all day following the game. Today, I'm strangely optimistic. I know we are going to be better. Maybe I'm just a sunshiner at heart, but the dark anger the past several years seems to be lifted.

[PonySnob]

Seems like coaches and announcers have been mentioning how young our team is ever since 1989. At a Mustang Club breakfast one time, somebody asked the coach (don't remember if it was Bennett or Cavan) if we kill our seniors.

[friarwolf]

It is mind blowing that anyone could be anything but excited after this game when compared to last year. We have tons of major problems, but far fewer than we all expected.

We all think you all is close. Excited….meh. Encouraged…yep.

Relieved? yep.

I chuckled seeing the line of late arrivers outside the stadium as the scoreboard rolled over in the first quarter. Was that last Bud Lite really worth it?

It wasn't the last bud light that kept people from getting to their seats, it was the new bag check procedures.....gotta get that fixed.

[Roach]

Got to get post-game traffic fixed, too. Until we know that it is fixed, GET TO THE GAME EXTRA EARLY. Would be great to see fans pouring into the stadium in time to see the players warm up.

[MustangStealth]

Offensively it was night and day compared to last year. My biggest concern is teaching Davis some pocket composure. I realize it was Baylor, but he needs to hang in there for a second before running. We don't want him getting killed.

Defense was not much better than last year. Lots of missed tackles. Lots of ... let's call it "pokeyness". But at least now we can have hope for the young guys, versus last year when our D looked like a bunch of random guys rounded up around campus.

Attitude was clearly better, and it was reflected in the crowd. All together, lots of signs pointing in the right direction.

[ponyboy]

I saw what I wanted to see.

[PerunasHoof]

I saw what I wanted to see.

I agree, the Cheer and Pom squads have stepped up their games.

[Nedward]

It is mind blowing that anyone could be anything but excited after this game when compared to last year. We have tons of major problems, but far fewer than we all expected.

We all think you all is close. Excited….meh. Encouraged…yep.

Relieved? yep.

I chuckled seeing the line of late arrivers outside the stadium as the scoreboard rolled over in the first quarter. Was that last Bud Lite really worth it?

It wasn't the last bud light that kept people from getting to their seats, it was the new bag check procedures.....gotta get that fixed.

They were tearing off printed tickets instead of scanning them. Was there a scanning failure? And plenty of women had clear bags. Excuses for a terrible breakdown. I guess we will see next week.

[PerunasHoof]

We all think you all is close. Excited….meh. Encouraged…yep.

Relieved? yep.

I chuckled seeing the line of late arrivers outside the stadium as the scoreboard rolled over in the first quarter. Was that last Bud Lite really worth it?[/quote]

It wasn't the last bud light that kept people from getting to their seats, it was the new bag check procedures.....gotta get that fixed.[/quote]

They were tearing off printed tickets instead of scanning them. Was there a scanning failure? And plenty of women had clear bags. Excuses for a terrible breakdown. I guess we will see next week.[/quote]

It was the fact they had three people per entrance VERY SLOWLY scanning people. SMU expected people to comply with an NFL standard without providing the manpower to get everyone in.

[mrydel]

My tickets were scanned

[mathman]

Mine were scanned as well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Hoop Fan]

full game stats and participation are up on smumustangs.com. We ran 78 plays. I guess it helps when baylor strikes fast but we got alot of quality reps in and good work for the offense. Hope the experience and improvement shows up against NTSU.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Mine were scanned (thankfully because those points are getting more and more precious)

[ojaipony]

full game stats and participation are up on smumustangs.com. We ran 78 plays. I guess it helps when baylor strikes fast but we got alot of quality reps in and good work for the offense. Hope the experience and improvement shows up against NTSU.

Thanks for the heads up. I can't remember what HCCM said he wanted to run in terms of number of plays to be successful (what they ran at Clemson) - can't find that presser now. I think was it 85 plays?