re: SLU 41 McNeese 7, yet McNeese is ranked higher?

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Running Game


I have not read any post on the SLU game, so I do not know what is being said. I have been on this site since day one, so I have a pretty good idea of the negativity, and probably some people posting that come around only to kick dirt on the grave. But independent of any of those comments, I have one little comment to bring to those with sound minds that actually like to make non -emotional observations.

First of all, there is enough blame to go around for everyone to get in line for. I had a bad feeling from the start, beginning with the poor job our captains made in losing the flip. LOL I actually thought with the wind and all, this was an important flip in order to get the ball to start the second half and to have the wind in the fourth quarter. But, that is when I thought it was going to be a close game. Oh well, the kicking, punting, covering, everything in the book was subpar. But this comment goes to a comment someone emailed about why our OL was so bad and couldnot block SLU on the running game. I kind of thought that we ran the ball pretty good, but just not enough. Of course, down and distance and when you run are important as well. I always filled out an autopsy report when coaching a stinker, so I thought I would look inside the numbers. I didn't get into all of the keys to victory last week, but in my mind I felt that the key was moving the chains at least 23-25 times. When you are playing a balanced offense like SLU, one that was putting up big numbers, you have to either score with big plays, or you have to win the clock. Instead, MSU allowed SLU to have 26 FDs and a 16 minute advantage with the clock. It is one thing to have less minutes in a game like UCA when you are returning kickoffs, interceptions , and having several plays over 40 yards. But in a game in which you should be just moving the chains, you have absolutely ZERO chance to win giving up the ball an entire quarter plus a minute(15min quarter plus 1 min.). For a team hitting 66% of it's passes in 8 games, 33% is unbelievable.

But here is the point, don't tell me the Cowboys could not run the ball against SLU. It may have looked it because once you are behind, most of the fans want the QB to throw it every down.
Play callers have bad nights too. When coaches say "we played behind the sticks all-night", they are basically saying they put the DC game plan on a silver platter for him. Just too many times facing 2nd and 10, etc. I give credit to SLU for doing their thing, but somenights you get frustrated and you try to get too much too soon. Sometimes the playcaller also gets thrown under the bus when he has given the QB the option to checkout of plays. Dallas Cowboys saw two different sceneros the past two weeks. They lost to Detroit with zero time left when QB Matt Stafford didn't listen to his coach to spike the ball on the one inch line as the clock approached 3 seconds. He ran to the line , slapped the center's butt and made the QB sneak TD by a couple of inches. Had he failed, game over. This week everyone was pulling for SD to beat Washington. So SD hits a pass with 30 seconds to go that was a TD, but was over-ruled at being down at the one inch line. So the play caller had two plays to make 1 inch. The QB threw two fades that were incomplete, so they kicked a game tying FG that ultimately cost them the game in OT. Was it the QB or OC, I don't know, but one inch with 30 seconds. Common on!

MSU 1st Possession
+9 pass, +5 run ending in lost fumble
2nd Possession
+7 run, 2nd and 3, Incomple, incomplete, punt
3rd Possession
+8 run, +3 run, FD,......1-10 incomplete pass, +11 pass FD,.....-1 run, incomplete, interception
4th Possession
+4 run, +4 run, 2nd and 2, five yard penalty, 3rd and 7, sack
5th possession
+3 pass, -2 pass, incomplete, punt
6th Possession
+1 run, incomplete, +13 pass, FD......+2 pass, +10 pass FD......1st-10 incomplete, +21 rush, 1st -10, pass incomplete, +24 TD pass
7th Possession
+7 run, +3 FD whipped out by 10 yrd holding. incomplete pass, incomplete pass, punt
8th Possession
Incomplete pass, +18 pass, missed FG

As bad as people may have thought the defense was, SLU had 192 yds of offense at half and that is with more plays. In my head, we hold this team to 400 or less yards, we WILL win. Sam Houston had 400 rds, SLU ended up with 430 and that is with an outragious number of plays(86) to our 60. Sam Houston ran 55 plays against our defense and we all applauded when we held them to 400 yards. Our offense was controlling the chains and we ran 76 plays. So SLU got 30 more yards with 31 more plays. HUM

I am not saying the defense is All-World, but you have expectations from your strenghts and your weaknesses. A powerhitting baseball team averaging 8 runs per game and a pitching staff giving up 5.5 per game, I cannot piss on the pitchers when you lose 4-1.
The second half numbers are similiar.
1st Possession
+11 rush, +4 rush, +5 rush, 1-10 on the 50, incomplete, incomplete, incomplete
2nd Possession
+6 pass, +7 rush,1st-10.......... incomplete, incomplete, interception
3rd Possession
+7 rush, +2 rush, +5 rush, FD.......incomplete, incomplete, incomplete
4th Possession
Incomplete, incomplete, sack

5th Possession
+10 run, -1 run, incomplete, interception.

Yea, SLU stuffed the run. MSU ran the ball only 21 times with their tailbacks and collected 117 yards for an average of 5.6 yards, equal to even our best games. Passing was 12-36 and we lost 19 yards of acquired yardaged through QB sacks which if you read closely , that is why I said our running backs had only 21 carries. We averaged 4.6 per carry against Sam, but we ran it 26 more times. None of these stats mean anything, just pointing out that staying ahead of the chains, and staying even or ahead in a game does alter play calling. As I said, it is not time to play finger pointing in a season that is 7-2 with three games to go. EVERYONE didnot have a good night, even the kickers were less than their A+ we have become accustomed to.

Zem2

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So the run was allowed to get yards because it eat up clock and never really was going to hurt SLU being up so much.

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