catdaddyp

Should have been ruled a fumble. Terrible miss by the officiating crew. Not only did it swing points on the score board, but the long run caused Terry to be taken out of the game. That led to poor edge contain the next play and a TD for EMU.

Any other notable seniors that did not walk last night? I’d like to think that means Bubba will be back next year. I think the offense we saw last night is more in line of what JoeMo wants to run on a regular basis. An effective run game opens up all kinds of options in the passing game. Our safety play has been solid and the tandom of Thompson, Martin, and Woods have really come on strong. It’s like night and day at that position from the beginning of the year. Cornerback has been the beast of burden. I’m disappointed that Hooks, Golden-Nelson, and Threatt did not fulfill their potential this year. Golden-Nelson and Threatt should be back next year, so I’d think an offseason with this staff will help. It’s telling that 5 2023 JUCO CBs have been offered in about a month’s time. I’m not as high on Jennings as others. I think he’s a great athlete but it remains to be seen how much QB he’ll play here. Of course, I’ve only watched his film and have never seen him play live. I expect we will take a bigger step forward than most expect next year. The fact this team has been competitive in conference play with the current roster leads me to believe another influx of talent will not only get us over the hump, but send us tumbling down the hill (in a good way).

OFFENSE - Great to actually see an effective ground game by the running backs. Part of that was due to the over aggressiveness by EMU’s front, part was due to alignment, part play-calling, and credit needs to go to the OL, Wiley, and the QBs. I throw the QBs in there because they didn’t goof any of the handoffs and 99% of the time made the right read to give (or keep). - Although Undercuffler did throw one nice deep ball, we witnessed the difference in arm strength and accuracy between the two QBs. Irons gets away with a number of those tight window and cross field throws, Undercuffler not so much. - I can’t heap enough praise on the OL after that performance. For a unit that has struggled all year in the run game, they looked confident and decisive. Even in pass pro they looked well prepared. Landers is going to be a monster by the time he graduates. Watching Williams block down and role up EMU’s LBs was fun. DEFENSE - Couldn’t always see what was happening in the secondary with the camera angles, but it looked like Hence and Durant played most of the snaps at CB. Thompson and Martin at S. Lewis at nickel. Woods may have been working in at both S and nickel, but I’m not sure. - I can’t say what the issue was with all the edge busts because I haven’t rewatched the game, but the TD play after we had Terry’s TD called back was a mixup with Jones and Boateng. Boateng was blitzing on the edge but took an inside angle and Jones looped over almost like he thought he was running a stunt. If I recall correctly, we were in Cover 3 and the CB was run off by the WR and one S was in the middle of the field. I believe the other S was lined up underneath on the opposite side. - At this point, any time a LB is in the game not named Bubba, Terry, or McCoy I think to myself “oh ****” Sometimes we get away with it, but often the other guys seem lost. - Despite giving up 155 yards rushing, that was probably the best game our DL has played in 2022.

I’d have to go back and rewatch, but on a number of those plays we trapped the DT and gave the DE free release. The entire OL would block down, while the OG and OT would work up to the LBs. The TE would pull across and chip the DT. The edge players were usually lined out so far they could only make it to where the QB originally was by handoff. *Editing and adding* that often due to their alignment so far out, the DEs essentially took themselves out of the play. So our OL & TE only had 5 guys to block in the box. We also had Whigan pulling on a number of plays and had some success there. That’s nothing new, but on first watch, it seemed we pulled him more than usual last night. Wiley breaking a few tackles helped too. He’s been brought down by first contact the majority of the year, but he kicked it into another gear in the second half. I was not impressed by EMU’s front. However, I was impressed with the talent they had in the secondary. I know they have the nation’s leading sacker, but I wouldn’t have even known it had it not been brought up before the game.

Nope. One nice deep ball and a few short underneath ones. Outside of that, pretty rough.

We were lucky there. Both Fish and Boateng were lost.

Another sack?!

Beautiful ball by Undercuffler. I didn’t know he had that in him.

Terrible the way all that just played out. That’s been this season in a nutshell.

I’ll add to offer list, but we offered 2023 ATH Melvin Spriggs tonight.

A sack and an INT on the same drive?? When was the last time that happened?

Terrible spot.

Oh man, Wiley had a chance to take that one to the house but missed the last cutback.

A good number of recruits are at the game according to twitter accounts.

If we win, we better not have to forfeit this game due to Undercuffler playing this half. I hope the ejection rules have changed.

New offer out to JUCO OT Caleb Barajas. Check his twitter feed and he has a clip pinned doing a standing backflip. Impressive for a guy his size.

I’ve yet to figure out how to watch certain games on CBSSN. When I check, it does not show Akron as an upcoming game. Supposedly, I can watch it on Hulu but Hulu brings up past ESPN+ games. Any thoughts or ideas?

Hope he decides to come back. Would be nice to see what he can do when fully healthy and an off-season with this staff.

I really like Kyle Thomas. He seems to fire out of his stance quicker than any other DT we have. He also may be our best interior pass rusher, but is not as strong against the run as Holt and Harper. I’m excited to see how he develops with a full offseason in the program. I haven’t heard anything about Holt receiving a medical redshirt. I hope it happens, but not counting on it. I’m excited about Murphy too. He has unusually quick feet for a defensive lineman and certainly has the size and strength to contribute. I think he’s played in one game on special teams, so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets any playing time at DT in these last few games. We may take a few lumps early next year, but I think the combo of Thomas and Murphy have a much higher upside than our current DTs. And that’s not a knock on Harper or Holt.

Not sure how I missed this one, but JUCO CB Jett Elad was recently offered.

3 star CB Jameel Croft committed to Kansas.

Adding him to the transfer portal thread.

JUCO CB Reggie Neely was offered today.

Still working on this list, but bump for update.

I’ll add him. I slowed my roll on the updates with the portal picking up steam. I realized there will be a ton of connections this year, plus some players checking us out due to SJL’s success. Awesome to have a player up for best WR even when the team only has one win. Shows the kids will get recognized here regardless of the record.