A Very Ugly Win

Well I guess it is still a W no matter how ugly it was. Here is some of my thoughts from the game.

1. RB- the “pistol” offense didn’t really show us anything. We averaged 2.4 yards per carry which against a D1-AA school is extremely disappointing. The first showing of Darius Willis left me disappointed as well. I know it’s still 1 game and there is a ton more football to play but I was very unimpressed. Willis unfortunately fumbled on his first touch and didn’t get much of an opportunity after that. Lynch later said that Willis had a bruised shin the day before and it kind of flared up during the game. Hopefully he can get back 100% healthy next week. I think the running back by committee is preventing our backs from getting into a groove. Mccray didn’t run particularly well but had a few back to back runs in late in the game that were impressive. I think that by giving someone a few carries then switching backs constantly it won’t allow a particular runner to emerge. The running game was overall a pretty big disappointment.

2. QB- Chappell did a few things that were OK and a few that weren’t. When he had time in the pocket and could step into his throws he played fine. He threw for 326 yards which was good. When he had to throw off of his back foot or was pressured, his throws were not accurate at all. He threw 2 INT’s which hurt us, especially when we were marching down the field. That will have to be something that Ben has to improve on. I was hoping Ben would have had a bit more zip of some of his balls.

3. O-line- in the passing game the o-line seemed to give Ben plenty of time in the pocket to make decisions. This was many players first career starts which is always a learning experience. A few false start penalties need to be corrected. A few more holes in the running game would’ve helped out a lot but in the passing game they were pretty solid.

4. WR– probably one of the few spots that made me happy. Doss had a heck of a first half showing off his good route running, catching ability and he was able to get a bunch of yards after the catch. Everybody contributed pretty well. Belcher had a big second half and him and Tandon really blocked very well down the field. Evans had a few nice catches and Turner looked good as well. Overall I think the receivers played very well. Tandon had one dropped pass on third down but other than that I liked what I see from the receiving core. (Doss 8 catches 125 yds, Belcher 6 catches 97 yds TD, Turner 5 catches 57 yds, Evans 3 catches 25 yds)

5. TE- Dedmond didn’t get a ton of balls thrown his way but it looked much better than last year. In 3rd and short he was wide open in the flat and got the first down. He ended up with 2 catches for 14 yards but he only had 6 catches all last year. I think the TE’s did their job and played fine.

Defense

1. D-line- for the most part the D-line provided pressure but sometimes couldn’t finish the job. I thought one of the bigger surprises was how well Darius Johnson played. He is a converted linebacker and seems on the smaller side but he did a good job giving Kirlew and Middleton a break. There were times where it looked like our DT’s had EKU’s RB in the backfield and he slipped through to get a few yards. The redshirt freshman and true-freshman played solid I thought. Larry Black had a sack and another TFL. I would’ve liked a little more from Kirlew and Middleton but they didn’t play bad by any means. Adam Replogle did some good things as well.

2. LB- Overall I thought the LB’s did alright. Mayberry had a big 15 yard sack and Patterson had a 10 yard sack. They looked a little better than last year getting to the ball carrier quick and being able to shed a block here and there. It was a good start for the linebackers.

3. Secondary- Ray Fisher didn’t play the first half because of a suspension. It was believed he was involved in a shouting match of some kind but Lynch assured everyone that everything is fine now. When Ray was in I thought he played really well. He made 5 tackles and forced a huge fumble when our backs were against the wall. He didn’t get tested in coverage a whole bunch but I thought he played well. The safeties played alright as well. Austin Thomas made some pretty big hits in the game. Polk was kind of quiet but also registered 3 tackles with 2 assists. With Donnell Jones not playing this made the staff move Adkins back to corner. I didn’t think he played too well. His coverage was spotty and gave up some big plays. Council played a little better but I couldn’t believe he didn’t intercept that ball down the sideline. It looks like the EKU receiver just made a fantastic play on the ball. Hopefully next week Donnell can come back from injury and him and Ray start out at the corners. I think the secondary need to make the largest improvement from this past week to next week’s game.

Closing notes- Like Coach Lynch said “it is easier to make adjustments after a win than it is to make them after a loss”. I did like the fireworks during the pre-game and the red light special towards the end of the game. I was very pleased with the student’s attendance to the game. We still only had a little over 36k at the game but that was the largest first game crowd we have had in something like 12 years. I think the students did a good job filling the seats now it was more so the non-students who need to make there presence felt. I realize it was a school night and it is difficult to make the trip down so late, but hopefully more adults show up to next Saturday’s game. Now we get a few more days to prepare for Western Michigan. Overall I was happy with the WR’s and thought the D-line and LB’s played alright and the O-line passed block just fine. I was very unhappy with the running game and our coverage in the secondary. I expect to see much more improvement next week because we cannot play like we did yesterday and expect to have very many wins this year. But in the end at least we still got the win.

Any thoughts on th
e game?