Last night

[GoSU96]

Was the highest 3rd down conversion percentage ever for a Babers team.

in only five other games has it been 50% or higher, no games above 60% until last night.

Fifth best yds per carry

sixth highest rush total

7th lowest points allowed

2nd best points per play

specials were excellent, kicking, coverage, and converting

su dominated field position start to finish, a very rare thing under Babers

it wasnt exciting, but it was solid, in all three phases, which is a good foundation to build on.

it was a very good sign coming off of last year

 

[CuseCactus]

Always happy to see more rushing than passing. That bodes well.

 

[rrlbees]

“2nd best points per play”.

that’s counter to a lot of people complaining about the offense. We just didn’t have the ball much. 7 drives total.

 

[SUskibum]

I’ll add one.

7 possessions, 5 trips to the red zone (3TDs, 2FGs) & 2 punts

Probably shoulda/coulda had 5 TDs but 4 points per possession and 70% of drives ending up in red zone is a pretty good start.

 

[djorange1989]

I will take last night’s numbers with an extra 75-80 yards of passing every week and this team will be bowl bound

 

[Jake]

I’ll add one.

7 possessions, 5 trips to the red zone (3TDs, 2FGs) & 2 punts

Probably shoulda/coulda had 5 TDs but 4 points per possession and 70% of drives ending up in red zone is a pretty good start.

7 possessions. That’s the real reason why Shrader didn’t get in. There never was a spot that wasn’t risky til it was too late.

 

[JeremyCuse]

It's mazing what happens when you get upper level P5 linemen. Bleich was destroying guys out there. Early in the game he pushed a linebacker back to Akron. The difference from last seasons Dumpster fire to today was night and day. Ohio DL and lbs were just getting cleaned out.

 

[Chip]

“2nd best points per play”.

that’s counter to a lot of people complaining about the offense. We just didn’t have the ball much. 7 drives total.

Yeah, Ohio seemed to have a the ball for awhile. Credit the D for their stops in the red zone. And in the 4th Q we milked that clock for all it was worth.

It’s the first game, it will improve. Good place to build from.

 

[Eric15]

7 possessions. That’s the real reason why Shrader didn’t get in. There never was a spot that wasn’t risky til it was too late.

I agree. I'm glad Dino stuck with Tommy. We needed a steady game manager last night and that's what he provided. That missed TD throw in the upper right corner was the only "bad" play I remember him making last night.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

It's mazing what happens when you get upper level P5 linemen. Bleich was destroying guys out there. Early in the game he pushed a linebacker back to Akron. The difference from last seasons Dumpster fire to today was night and day. Ohio DL and lbs were just getting cleaned out.

Bleich was as advertised. Road grader.

 

[Millhouse]

7 possessions. That’s the real reason why Shrader didn’t get in. There never was a spot that wasn’t risky til it was too late.

Three hour games are so much better than four

 

[GoSU96]

“2nd best points per play”.

that’s counter to a lot of people complaining about the offense. We just didn’t have the ball much. 7 drives total.

They ran 62 plays.

7 possessions is 1/2 of what they used to generate, and four of those would be three and outs.

 

[GoSU96]

It's mazing what happens when you get upper level P5 linemen. Bleich was destroying guys out there. Early in the game he pushed a linebacker back to Akron. The difference from last seasons Dumpster fire to today was night and day. Ohio DL and lbs were just getting cleaned out.

And that was without Davis and Elmore

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

Three hour games are so much better than four

Got us back an hour earlier than expected. Crucial upgrade for my buddy, who had a 630 flight.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

No penalties - no 3rd and longs.

 

[hoopsupstate]

The best surprise was no holds or motion penalties. That’s a very good sign.

 

[OrangeinDC]

7 possessions. That’s the real reason why Shrader didn’t get in. There never was a spot that wasn’t risky til it was too late.

I see that now... Putting Shrader in would have done more to hurt TD confidence than help Shrader. TD kinda needed to close that game out at that point and not have Shrader come in and save it.

TD did not play bad at all and the lack of the deep ball this game didn't hurt us, and when Tuck is hungry, feed him! There are some things I wanted to see from TD, specifically his footwork, reading the defense and going through his progressions without getting happy feet.

It's going to be a delicate balance for coach managing expectations, opportunities and feelings here, at least until someone shows the clear edge based on the results in a game.

Nice way to kick off the season, very solid game all around.

 

[Ozone!]

Your offensive world changes with good OL play.
They need to continually develop in order to send us bowling!

 

[texascpa]

The best surprise was no holds or motion penalties. That’s a very good sign.

See I'll take the occasional emotional unsportsmanlike penalty over motion and holding penalties. The former is usually because you're amped up or defending a teammate, the latter because you're lazy, unfocused or slow.

 

[orangemass]

Your offensive world changes with good OL play.
They need to continually develop in order to send us bowling!

Second string line looked like d1 players also. Bodes well for the future

 

[sufandu]

“2nd best points per play”.

that’s counter to a lot of people complaining about the offense. We just didn’t have the ball much. 7 drives total.

Yeah, it would've been nice if we could've stopped them a little quicker in the first half. I think one of the commentators said at one point they got the ball to the 10 yard line 4 times before we made the stop in the first half.

Had we used more of the defensive playbook, maybe we make some quicker stops, score more points, and the offense looks more impressive.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

7 possessions. That’s the real reason why Shrader didn’t get in. There never was a spot that wasn’t risky til it was too late.

I would have put him in after Pena's punt return. We took over at the Ohio 26 yard line up 12-6. It wasn't a high risk moment. The previous three drives before that we went Punt, FG (missed Taj TD), Punt. Even the next drive made sense. We were up 15-6 and had done very little on O since the 1st drive. Then TD and the O woke up and had two really nice drives, so it worked out.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

See I'll take the occasional emotional unsportsmanlike penalty over motion and holding penalties. The former is usually because you're amped up or defending a teammate, the latter because you're lazy, unfocused or slow.

If your defense gets flagged it's usually because you were too aggressive. If your offense gets flagged it's usually because you were too sloppy.

 

[texascpa]

If your defense gets flagged it's usually because you were too aggressive. If your offense gets flagged it's usually because you were too sloppy.

And I'd rather bee too aggressive than too sloppy.

 

[Cuseregular]

It's mazing what happens when you get upper level P5 linemen. Bleich was destroying guys out there. Early in the game he pushed a linebacker back to Akron. The difference from last seasons Dumpster fire to today was night and day. Ohio DL and lbs were just getting cleaned out.

Totally agree And do think they will be up to the task against greater teams, BUT, we need to temper the enthusiasm again, while given them kudos, that that was the smallest division one front seven I’ve ever seen.

My Division III team back in the day was bigger, that said Bleiches fundamentals were so solid, I think that translates to the same performance against greater competition or at the very least he holds his own, as well the rest of the guys to give us a chance and every game.