Week 1 is in the books for the Belt and with the exception of USA and Idaho all Belt teams have now played a game. Tell me what your think your team did well in game one? Was there any surprises? What are your concerns going forward?

I'll start for Georgia Southern-
The Good: I was very impressed with Georgia Southern's improved passing performance. GS passed only 17 times but gained almost 200 yards through the air plus a touchdown. GS also played a near penalty free game which if you had followed our program for the past few years you would see as a big improvement. Also for much of the game the defense seemed to better especially at getting pressure on the quarterback.

The Surprise: The kicking game was the biggest surprise to me after losing a half dozen games in the past two years because of missed field goals that was not a problem Saturday.

The Concerns: Depth is a big concern especially at running back. Breida is good looking running back but considering he would have been 3rd on the depth chart this year had we not lost the other two I can't imagine we can stand to lose him. Of course as many have pointed out depth in general is a concern because with a little more depth I don't think that game would have been close enough for us to lose at the end. Other concerns - Fumbles we have always had them but losing the ball on the 1 was a killer and dropping two kick returns did not give me confidence in our return team. I also am a bit concerned about our conservative play calling; Monken had his faults but being too conservative he was not. I am sure he would have gone for it on that last 4th and 2 instead of taking the three. At that point GS was up 20-17 and had we made it and got into the end zone we go up by two scores and NC St just didn't have enough time to catch up but we took the conservative 3 which kept the game a one score contest and the rest is history.

Cajuns were sloppy, and vanilla, but that part was totally expected.

Robinson, our no. 1 receiver is a beast. Elijah, the Prophet, is still quick as a cat and much bigger. Cajun defense is rock solid except when we go mentally blank.

Texas State

Positives: Offense was nearly flawless. Racked up a school record of 697 yards. Yes the competition was weak, but the Bobcats are known to play down to their competition and this was a departure from that. The new hurry up offense clicked and didn't show any signs of a learning curve that I feared. Penalties were low. Defense was strong as well. Defensive line was an expected weakness and look great against UAPB and got the shutout.

Negatives: We played UAPB. It was hard to learn anything from the game. They never challenged the Bobcats and no adjustments had to be made. The Bobcats will have a ton of confidence going forward, which is good, but can also be dangerous. I was also surprised for how much control they had, that there weren't more turnovers.

Next week is a bye and the Bobcats have two weeks to prepare for Navy who looked good against Ohio St.

stAte has to work on run blocking. The Oline is full of young guys and they need to grow up quick. We are playing alot of true freshmen this year. These guys will need to step up in a big way to give us depth. I'm worried ASU will have some growing pains this year.

I've given myself some time to digest this thing a bit. I'll be the first to admit I've enjoyed the whole Michigan deal. It was a source of great pride to the university and football program, and STILL is. In all honesty I wish we had never scheduled the second game. But since we did and with what (predictably) happened yesterday I'm kind of glad it can now be laid to rest. Put the newspaper headlines and the SI covers in the trophy case. It's time to move on. Anyone expecting a similar outcome yesterday to '07 wasn't dealing in reality. Two completely different teams.

The ASU faithful are now embroiled in a heated QB debate. At this point it is pointless. If things remain unchanged through the Ga Southern game there may be some motivation to shake things up, but not after yesterday. I wonder how Lamb would have performed in the face of the pressure Kam was hit with. The game was won up front. While I was generally pleased with the OL, especially how Kendal Lamm handled their stud DE, we were overwhelmed by their blitzing. I think our staff was caught off guard by the constant pressure and tight man coverage. We were not prepared for how physical they were with our young WR's. They simply out athleted (if there is such a word) us in the passing game. After all the pre season talk about emphasising the run I was disappointed we didn't give it more of a chance, especially after being successful on several attempts early in the game.

I'm having a hard time figuring out what to think about the defense. On one hand I understand the soft coverage not wanting to give up big plays. On the other hand I think we should have challenged their receivers a little. Then again starting a true freshman at SS (who I was really impressed with in run support) being backed up by a walk on who had not made a game tackle since high school 4 years ago is a little unnerving. Thought the line and LB's did a decent job, we just made it too easy for them to pitch and catch. Our guys were on the field a long time and were out of gas at end of the half. The offense was as much at fault for the defense's demise as anything. Quick 3 and out's on passing plays extending the game wasn't kind to those defensive guys.

Although the score was a little more than I expected the game evolved about way I thought it would. Giving up the big runs and the 3 quick scores at the end of the half were killer. The second half was all about getting game experience on our part and getting it over and exorcising the demons of '07 on their part. The bottom line is Michigan's D is much better than in '07 and their offense is more diverse. Our team is a long way away from the '07 bunch. I think we have potential and are heading in the right direction. Encouraged by how we played against their second team, which in all honesty is more inline with the talent level we'll be seeing on out. We are just now catching up on the horrible O& D line recruiting gaffes by Moore's staff. That as much as anything else has put this program behind.

USA didn't embarrass themselves on Week 1 for the first time in 3 years.

I was very let down by USA's performance. They did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to show why they are getting third place votes.

(08-31-2014 09:47 AM)statefanatic Wrote:  stAte has to work on run blocking. The Oline is full of young guys and they need to grow up quick. We are playing alot of true freshmen this year. These guys will need to step up in a big way to give us depth. I'm worried ASU will have some growing pains this year.

They averaged 6.1 yards per rushing attempt, using mostly backups.

You just manhandled a team that you weret 8 points favorite's over and who are better than most SBC teams. Most on the national scene expected this game to be a dogfight to the end.

Really don't think your have a clue what you are talking about.

Everybody was talking about the Cajuns sandbagging the first game. Well, it looked like it.

Still, at times they looked fantastic on both sides of the ball. Others, well, let's hope those were kinks that are or will be worked out.

(08-31-2014 10:47 AM)TheRevSWT Wrote:  I was very let down by USA's performance. They did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to show why they are getting third place votes.

LOL. Hey this week one was much better than the 2012 collapse against UTSA at home. Or last years collapse against Southern Utah

NMSU

Played well against an FCS school that has given some other FBS schools problems. Good sign. Nice halftime adjustments against the wishbone/option. I think an adjustment on the sideline BEFORE halftime would should have been implemented. QB play was pretty good. A few mistakes, but all-in-all, pretty good. 3 RB's all did a great job. Limited penalties/turnovers and not any back-breaking huge plays that killed us in the past. Stadium/field/crowd was good. Overall good job. Need to clean up the passing game some before next week.

GSU:

We won a game. Can't ask for much more than that right now. We also seem to have a QB we can trust. I'll take it.

Secondary might be really shaky, which none of us really expected. Looking forward to seeing how they come out next week vs. NMSU.

(08-31-2014 11:05 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(08-31-2014 10:47 AM)TheRevSWT Wrote:  I was very let down by USA's performance. They did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to show why they are getting third place votes.

LOL. Hey this week one was much better than the 2012 collapse against UTSA at home. Or last years collapse against Southern Utah

UTSA is scary. They're going to destroy a lot of people.

I think I'll have a beer.

For ULM, I would give the offense a C+. Started pretty bad but played better as game went on. Timing between QB and receivers was off. Hopefully will see an improvement next week. We should have a very good running game throughout the year with Donaldson and Cain providing a different look (power vs speed and agility). Our biggest drawback is our OC who loves to go to the outside, which opposing defenses have been sitting on for the last year and seems to forget that there is a whole section of the field between the hash marks. When we attack there, good things happen. He also remembered that we have TEs on the team and finally used one of them in the last drive to success. Thomas looked to be more relaxed in the second half and looked pretty good when the moved him out of the pocket.

Defense was an A+. Gave up less than 100 yards of total offense. Five sacks and first pick 6 of the college football year. DC was not as conservative as last year and brought pressure. I especially liked that our DBs were more aggressive and even when there were passes completed for some yardage, the DBs were right there and quite a few of those were just because of great throws and catches. If what I saw was the standard for the year, this could be one of the best defenses in conference. Now how much of that game was due to the youth and poor play of Wake Forest is yet to be seen. Always the case after one game....are you that good or was the competition that bad....not sure if Idaho will tell us any more as I didn't get to see them play due to the weather.

(08-31-2014 10:47 AM)TheRevSWT Wrote:  I was very let down by USA's performance. They did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to show why they are getting third place votes.

But you have to be impressed with USA's defense, which didn't allow a single yard or point.

TROY was underwhelming, to say the least. Totally dislike going away from pass-first, but hey, what do I know, really? So, it's said that the most improvement is generally between weeks one and two...? TROY's gonna need that.

Much respect to the blazers for an even better performance against TROY than I could have imagined.

(08-31-2014 10:53 AM)Seminole Indian Wrote:  

(08-31-2014 09:47 AM)statefanatic Wrote:  stAte has to work on run blocking. The Oline is full of young guys and they need to grow up quick. We are playing alot of true freshmen this year. These guys will need to step up in a big way to give us depth. I'm worried ASU will have some growing pains this year.

They averaged 6.1 yards per rushing attempt, using mostly backups.

You just manhandled a team that you weret 8 points favorite's over and who are better than most SBC teams. Most on the national scene expected this game to be a dogfight to the end.

Really don't think your have a clue what you are talking about.

I have no clue what I'm talking about? How about not being able to gain one yard on a QB sneak on 4th and 1. How about all the runs up the middle that were stuffed. That 6 yard average came from the one long run by Gordon on the third play of the game and the other times Knighten has to run to keep from being sacked. Our run game was awful most of the game. I was at the game and watched the replay this morning on ESPN3. I believe I saw enough of the game to know we need work on the Oline.

How many times did we need less than 2 yards to get a first down the first three quarters and couldn't get it? If I recall we only had one TD until 3 minutes left in the 3rd. I was there in person and saw our Oline get pushed back several times.

Offense
Quarterback:(B+) Nick was asked in the presser last Monday what he brings to the position. Basically said he isn't the tallest, fastest or have the strongest arm but brings the other 90% of the on the field part you need to play the position. We saw that on display Wed.

Offensive Line: (B) Would be an A except for Garrett Gorringe's THREE false starts. Run and pass blocking was otherwise outstanding.

Running Backs: (C+) Freshman Krysten Hammon was a revelation. But he isn't an every down back at 180 lbs. Serious question marks with the others.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends: (A-) WR Robert Davis and TE Joel Ruiz are next level players. WR Avery Sweeting has finally matured and is faster than a speeding bullet. Lynquez Blair isn't Albert but he will more than do.


Defense

Defensive Line:(A-) They finally played like a stout run stopping line and plugged holes and freed up the LBs.

Linebackers:(B+) Outstanding game overall especially by MLBs.

Defensive Backs: (D) Oi! What a mess. TURN AROUND! Allowing 400 yards passing to ACU doesn't bode well for the pass happy SBC.

Idaho went to the Swamp and refused to lose.