For the first time in a long, long, time I left a game with time still on the clock and as I was walking out, I though to myself - "Is this the first time we've ever played a FBS opponent and were better at all 22 positions?"
Building on that thought, here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Herd's complete domination of Southern Miss on Saturday.
The Good -
• No holds barred – Huff, Doege, and the rest of the coaches did what you should do when the talent gap is so wide its glaring. They coached with the total disrespect for the opponent we've all been longing for. We were better, they knew it, and they coached like it didn't matter what happened on a given play because we were going to roll.
• D-Fence – With the exception of about 5 plays, USM looked like a bad FCS team on offense. Turnovers, penalties, absolutely awful line play. They were bad and our guys looked like the 85 Bears.
• Skill position depth – I think everyone who brought a jersey and plays WR, TE, or RB saw the field at some point. A lot of guys contributed and made plays when they had their opportunities. Being able to run 4-5 RB's, 5-6 WR's, and 2-3 TE's is valuable both in the present tense and for the future.
The Bad -
• One throw – Really not a lot to criticize, the only really terrible play was when Braxton hit the CB in the chest (throwing into double coverage). Looked like a straight up mis-read, which happens. Luckily it didn't cost us anything before the half.
• Not taking the points – I have no problem with being aggressive early in the game, but again better teams we need to be able to score when we have first and goal situations.
The Ugly -
• Officiating – It was pretty terrible all night, and even though we got the two most glaring calls our way (a muffled punt where they called interference despite no one touching Montgomery, and what looked like a good catch, called a catch on the field, and then overturned by blurry video) it was overall awful.
• Southern Miss gameday – Its a good thing the NCAA dropped the whole "You have to have X amount of fans to be an FBS program" thing, because USM would be getting ready to join the SWAC next year. I didn't hear an announced attendance (I wouldn't announce it either) but in reality there weren't 6,000 fans in the building. It's pretty sad how far that program has fallen in two decades.
Onward and upward to next week where we host a Coastal Carolina team coming off a win over App State and they will have a couple extra days rest having played on Thursday. Should be a pretty good matchup and of course the anniversary game is always a big one at home.
Building on that thought, here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Herd's complete domination of Southern Miss on Saturday.
The Good -
• No holds barred – Huff, Doege, and the rest of the coaches did what you should do when the talent gap is so wide its glaring. They coached with the total disrespect for the opponent we've all been longing for. We were better, they knew it, and they coached like it didn't matter what happened on a given play because we were going to roll.
• D-Fence – With the exception of about 5 plays, USM looked like a bad FCS team on offense. Turnovers, penalties, absolutely awful line play. They were bad and our guys looked like the 85 Bears.
• Skill position depth – I think everyone who brought a jersey and plays WR, TE, or RB saw the field at some point. A lot of guys contributed and made plays when they had their opportunities. Being able to run 4-5 RB's, 5-6 WR's, and 2-3 TE's is valuable both in the present tense and for the future.
The Bad -
• One throw – Really not a lot to criticize, the only really terrible play was when Braxton hit the CB in the chest (throwing into double coverage). Looked like a straight up mis-read, which happens. Luckily it didn't cost us anything before the half.
• Not taking the points – I have no problem with being aggressive early in the game, but again better teams we need to be able to score when we have first and goal situations.
The Ugly -
• Officiating – It was pretty terrible all night, and even though we got the two most glaring calls our way (a muffled punt where they called interference despite no one touching Montgomery, and what looked like a good catch, called a catch on the field, and then overturned by blurry video) it was overall awful.
• Southern Miss gameday – Its a good thing the NCAA dropped the whole "You have to have X amount of fans to be an FBS program" thing, because USM would be getting ready to join the SWAC next year. I didn't hear an announced attendance (I wouldn't announce it either) but in reality there weren't 6,000 fans in the building. It's pretty sad how far that program has fallen in two decades.
Onward and upward to next week where we host a Coastal Carolina team coming off a win over App State and they will have a couple extra days rest having played on Thursday. Should be a pretty good matchup and of course the anniversary game is always a big one at home.
