Good stuff

[OttoMets]

Good stuff:

Ervin. Did those of you who follow recruiting know how talented he was? This was just one game, but he looks fast and elusive.

Ishmael. He had two very nice blocks on the outside in the first half. He also caught a pass in a tight window, but he's expected to do that. The blocking was a surprise -- rare for a freshman -- and it'll help keep him on the field.

Offensive line. Better with the full complement of starters. And while I didn't watch him closely, I didn't notice Miller getting blasted off the ball on every snap.

Bullough and the defense. Did what they needed to win.

Turnovers. We were careful with the ball and they were not. I believe we'll continue to need to force turnovers to score points (and we could do even better here).

 

[longislandcuse]

Announcers even highlighted Miller for his play. He was def solid.

 

[OttoMets]

A couple for the "not so good" column, too:

East-west football. We're not fast enough to gain yards on those plays against ACC teams. Heck, they weren't even successful against MAC and Colonial teams. I don't know what George McDonald is trying to do, and -- with this bubble screen fixation, goal-line play-calling struggles, and mistakes like the end-of-half debacle piling up -- I fear that he doesn't, either.

Ron Thompson woofing at the Central Michigan players after the opening kick. It doesn't seem so important after our good game, but that was dopey behavior after our vocal but clumsy opening game, especially so in a road game against a MAC team. Where's the coach whose job is to say "Shut up, kid"?

Ritchy Desir has spent two years as an exceedingly safe special teams player; he's probably had fewer five-yard punt returns than you could count on one hand, but he doesn't do anything wrong. Not the case today. Dumb penalty, bad attempt at a return (for a loss, I think), and a goofy slap at the ball as a gunner that I've seen penalized before.

 

[timkay99]

A couple for the "not so good" column, too:

East-west football. We're not fast enough to gain yards on those plays against ACC teams. Heck, they weren't even successful against MAC and Colonial teams. I don't know what George McDonald is trying to do, and -- with this bubble screen fixation, goal-line play-calling struggles, and mistakes like the end-of-half debacle piling up -- I fear that he doesn't, either.

Ron Thompson woofing at the Central Michigan players after the opening kick. It doesn't seem so important after our good game, but that was dopey behavior after our vocal but clumsy opening game, especially so in a road game against a MAC team. Where's the coach whose job is to say "Shut up, kid"?

Ritchy Desir has spent two years as an exceedingly safe special teams player; he's probably had fewer five-yard punt returns than you could count on one hand, but he doesn't do anything wrong. Not the case today. Dumb penalty, bad attempt at a return (for a loss, I think), and a goofy slap at the ball as a gunner that I've seen penalized before.

I don't understand why our fan base is so angry about bubble screens. It sets up the offense by making the defense cover East-West as well. It opens up the middle of the field (even just a little bit) and makes it easier for the running plays with the read option. We run a lot early so the LB's start to drift out there and we can hit them for the intermediate routes.

I also am of the opinion we have some things we haven't shown yet that will be shown against Maryland (probably would have used them against Nova if Hunt was still in)

Will the screens work against FSU? No, but we don't really have anything that will.

I personally think goal-line struggles are on the OL getting beat (I liked his adjustment then to just use Hunt on designed QB runs) and Moore can't run over 5 guys.

 

[orangeinohio]

A couple for the "not so good" column, too:

Ritchy Desir has spent two years as an exceedingly safe special teams player; he's probably had fewer five-yard punt returns than you could count on one hand, but he doesn't do anything wrong. Not the case today. Dumb penalty, bad attempt at a return (for a loss, I think), and a goofy slap at the ball as a gunner that I've seen penalized before.

That slap of the ball was so bad, I think the refs were probably laughing at him.

 

[OttoMets]

That slap of the ball was so bad, I think the refs were probably laughing at him.

I think they were, too, and so was Desir - context matters, and it sure didn't deserve a penalty (in my opinion). He was just having fun. Still, you never know when there's going to be a stickler on the officiating crew.

 

[SWFLCUSE]

That slap of the ball was so bad, I think the refs were probably laughing at him.

I honestly thought it was pretty funny. The game wasn't really on the line anymore and I'm sure he knew the ref was right there, so I think he was just doing it to get a chuckle or two.