Thoughts on the game

[JasonB]

- Remember when the JJ teams would come out and get smoked at the start of a season because we didn't hit in practice and the practice tempo was nowhere close to game tempo? That is what the first half looked like to me. Covid-avoidance induced for sure, but I was afraid of it coming in.
- I thought the offensive playcalling in the first half was pretty bad. Second half was much better, we started to open it up deep and also spread it wide. Looked more like last year. They run blitzed in the first half and our playcalling fell right into what they were doing.
- when you don't practice at full speed, it can be hard to evaluate players. One of the trademarkes of the JJ era, the fog of war, whatever you want to call it. It is a concern that the coaches couldn't see Bentley as the top RB coming out of Fall, it indicates the lack of game speed at practice. And it is a concern that they rated 13 good enough to start at safety, because Clay and Cromartie were both way better in the game. Clay looked fantastic I thought. 13 missed two plays on the first drive alone.
- we don't have the defensive players for a 3-4. In a 3-4, if you are going to have super wide splits, you better have really physical MLB. We have one. That killed us on the run and QB scramble in the first half. If you are going to pull those three in, you better have athletic LBs to play off the edge. We don't have those either. Again, not noticing this in fall camp is another indicator that they haven't been able to practice at a normal level. We have good DEs - Nbuike, Coxe, Paul, Wiley. Playing them off the line in space is playing them away from their strength. Playing Delano inside instead of outside is not playing to his strength. We finally switched to a down 4 on the last play and got a big sack instantly. If we would have played with a 4 man line, we would have mauled their oline the entire game. Instead, we just created a problem for ourselves.
- Crossley is great. I want to see some nickel.
- I mentioned in an earlier thread that I was concerned about the Fox position, and that was the big spot to keep an eye on. We got nothing from the Fox. Compare that to everything we got from Nelson last year. This is a big problem, and will keep the defense from reaching full potential unless someone really steps up.

Like I said before the game, I am happy with a win. But I would expect Sonny to get on them pretty hard and the pace of practice to really be amped up the next two weeks before UNT.

[PNW_Stang]

Was hoping we would get a writeup from you. I assume they didn’t play 4 man fronts because of depth at DT?

[Charleston Pony]

Agree that Crossley appears to have been a nice addition for the D. Not a big guy, but he was around the ball a lot. I like both he and Stephens in the defensive backfield. I thought Chatman was pretty stout, but we really miss not having Williams out there. Need another DT to step up or it's going to be another long year defensively. We gave up more than 400 yards yesterday and UNT rolled up more than 700 yards against SFA in their opener

[indianmustang]

UNT played HBU

[Arkpony]

What were our final stats for the game?

[JasonB]

Was hoping we would get a writeup from you. I assume they didn’t play 4 man fronts because of depth at DT?

I've seen that mentioned, but I don't think it is a legit excuse. For the most part, the down three was at least two DTs. So we weren't saving a DT anyway. It isn't like our front three was Wiley, Coxe, and one DT.

Chatman, Newman, Aho, Loveless, Dotson, Jones, Brown, Levelson, Pugh. Even if some didn't travel it seems like a lot of options.

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

Thoughts on the game

worried...

but hey...it will probably be a weird season

[leopold]

Anybody who took a three TD favorite in the first game between 2 G5 schools in a time of Covid was asking for his money to be taken. That, and I guarantee you TSU had that game circled on their calander.

We don't have anybody sick, won the game, and avoided injuries at a time when we weren't in great shape because of circumstances.

Nice job by Sonny and the team.

[HubbaHubba]

MVP has to be Naggar. With last years special teams at least 3 kickoffs would have been returned to mid field and we would have lost this game. Only 1 kick returned all game. Most were out of or at least deep into the end zone.

[leopold]

MVP has to be Naggar. With last years special teams at least 3 kickoffs would have been returned to mid field and we would have lost this game. Only 1 kick returned all game. Most were out of or at least deep into the end zone.

Definitely was an upgrade. When he took the field for the FG I wasn't even worried.

[crazy horse]

Agree that Crossley appears to have been a nice addition for the D. Not a big guy, but he was around the ball a lot. I like both he and Stephens in the defensive backfield. I thought Chatman was pretty stout, but we really miss not having Williams out there. Need another DT to step up or it's going to be another long year defensively. We gave up more than 400 yards yesterday and UNT rolled up more than 700 yards against SFA in their opener

HBU moved the ball freely against NT, missed out on multiple scoring opportunities - missed FGs (3), dominated TOP (31 min), and totaled 569 yards of offense.

And yes, NT put up 700 yards, SMU put up 650 and 63 points in 2018. I think, especially after a game and another week of work, SMUs defense will be much better than what we watched, even against a potentially better opponent. And I am truly excited seeing how SMUs offense improves against what "looks like" a weaker defense.

BTW - I think TS is better than most folks think. The infusion of talent was evident.

[Ponyboy215]

This recap says we won but weren't impressive. Doesn't sound like they were too impressed with Brady McBride, either (mentioned he had less than 6 ypa). I agree we gotta play better than this...

https://cfbsaturdays.com/college-footba ... ep-7-2020/

[PonyPride]

For the most part, the down three was at least two DTs. So we weren't saving a DT anyway.

There was some movement as far as how wide players lined up in various formations, but for what it's worth, Loveless was listed in the starting lineup as a defensive end.

[JasonB]

For the most part, the down three was at least two DTs. So we weren't saving a DT anyway.

There was some movement as far as how wide players lined up in various formations, but for what it's worth, Loveless was listed in the starting lineup as a defensive end.

He is a DE in a 3-4, but in a 4-3, he is a DT... same with Dotson...

[BleedingRed+Blue]

Impressed by:
McDaniel and Bentley -- and I didn't expect to say that, at least not this early in the season.
Offensive line
Chevin Calloway
Brandon Crossley
Danny Gray
Chris Naggar

Concerns/unanswered questions:
Conditioning -- lot of guys getting treated for cramps
Punting
Linebacker depth -- sure would like to get Richard Moore back soon
Return game -- not crazy about seeing Gray or Roberson back there