Opening Thoughts:
I saw something on Thursday night that I’ve never seen before, as long as I’ve been watching Bearcat football. Prior to this game, I had never seen them win a season opener. Well, that’s done now – one less thing to worry about. This was probably the best tailgating experience that I have had in Kirksville. Campus Safety had designated an area in the parking lot for the NW fans. I was there super early, and had a lot of Truman fans come up and talk to me and thank me for coming over. I was a great way to start off the football season!
When it was announced that Scott Bostwick was going to be the new coach – I started an event on Facebook to get people to wear a Red Hat at his first home game to show our support for him. When Coach passed, the meaning behind the even changed – but it is now all the more important. There are currently over 2,100 people who have RSVP’ed on Facebook that they were going to wear a Red Hat at this game. I know that Jocks Nitch is making them like crazy. If you don’t have yours yet, make sure to get down there and pick yourself up one! What a tribute to see a sea of Green all wearing a red hat in tribute to coach Bostwick.
Last Weeks Recap:
Well, the Hickory Stick is staying green for a couple more years – since with the new scheduling and the conference expansion, NW won’t meet again until 2014. Thanks Powers that Be!! Oh well – that’s a rant for a different time. Back to last weeks game. NW beat the snot out of the Bulldogs 65-3. But what does that mean? Is Northwest that good? Is Truman that bad? I wish I could say that I knew the answer for sure. But I would venture a guess that both have some truth to it. I can tell you that the Bulldogs did not look nearly as bad as they did a few years ago.
Well, what is there to say about the NW offense? It appears that they are in mid-season form. I would venture a guess that Coach Dorrel’s strategy of starting out with a simplified play book is paying off. My fear going into the season opener was Blake Christopher’s arm. What I had seen in the spring game and in the scrimmage the week before, made his arm look weak and like he was throwing ducks out there. In the actual game, he did not look very good passing the ball. He honestly reminded me a lot of Joel Osborn. Well, I’m not afraid to say that I was wrong. He still doesn’t have the arm strength of Bolles (but who does) but he is a smart qb. At the beginning of the game, his throws were a little off – maybe a half step behind where the receivers would really like them to be. This allowed them to be batted down by the defender. But it didn’t take long for Christopher to be hitting his receivers in stride. And boy did he! He ended the night completing 12 out of 17 for 247 yards. There had been some worries about Shaw not being able to catch those deep balls – since he dropped several last year, but he was able to haul them all in that were thrown to him – the longest was a 49 yard TD pass. He ended the night with 3 catches, 1 TD and 114 yards. I think going into this game, there was a lot of anticipation to see what the backfield would do. And they didn’t disappoint. Simmons and Franklin joined to have just 65 yards, but 4 TD’s. There is no need to pound the ball, when you a having so much success in the air!
On the defensive side of the ball I think the Bearcats look pretty darn good and fast. They were able to stop the run pretty good – with the exception of one long 49 yard run. Even with that run, NW was able to catch the runner and prevent them from being able to score. From the secondary, I think that once again the flats is the weakness. It seemed like if the Bulldogs got yardage thru the air, it came from throwing it out to the flats. NW’s cornerback Caleb Decius got lined up against Trumans returning stud Anthony Brown – and for the first series or two, kind of got eaten alive. But after a few adjustments were made, Brown became no more effective than anyone else. Northwest’s Dline is small but mighty. They were putting tons of pressure on Truman’s QB all night. They only got 2 sacks, but there were a ton of hurries. I think the stat that impressed me most by the Bearcats, was that they only allowed 3 out of 16 third down conversions. That is huge!
As far as the special teams go, there was some good, bad, and ugly. Shaw had one return that almost went for a TD – I think that the kicker finally brought him down. I was not really impressed with NW”s kickoffs, I thought that Truman was getting way yards on returns – they averaged over 18 yards per return. But I do want to give a shout out to Todd Adolf. He hit a 48 yard field goal and split the uprights. For the first time in several years, it looks like the Bearcats actually have a FG threat on the field.
This Week’s Match up:
So how much do you know about the Sioux Falls Cougars? As for me, I don’t know a whole lot about them. Other than the fact that they have been an NAIA powerhouse for several years and they are in the process of converting to D2, and Washburn beat them last week 33-17. Which sounds like a lot, but when you realize that WU got up 27-0 in the first 1 ½ quarters, that is quite impressive. I know that this has all the potential of being a trap game. Coming off of a big emotional game last week, playing a ‘lesser’ NAIA opponent, etc. But I do know that Coach Dorrel has said that this team reminds him a lot of UMD. They are a tough, disciplined team that won’t be intimidated by walking onto Tjeerdsma Field.
I know that the Cou like to throw the ball – almost twice as much as they run. Sioux Falls quarterback, Carrington Hanna, will definitely test the secondary more than Truman did. Northwest’s cornerbacks will have to do a better job covering the flats than they did last week, otherwise the Cou will be able to drive on the Bearcats. Last week, Hanna was able to connect with his receivers on a couple of deep passes, including one pass that went for 48 yards. The secondary is going to need the help of the defensive line to put some pressure on the QB. Last week Hanna was sacked three times, and I for one would like to see the Bearcats plant him on his butt all night long! I think that Dline is up to the challenge – they are small, but they are mighty!
I for one can’t wait to see the Bearcat offense take the field again. Last week Dane Simoneau was able to put up big numbers – like over 450 yards in the air. I have no doubt that with the stable of receivers that NW has, that Blake Christopher will be able to put up some big numbers as well. Historically, the Cougars have had a pretty good rush defense. But last week, Washburns top rusher was able to average 5.7 yards per carry on 15 attempts. I’m hoping that Simmons and Franklin will have as much success. There were some names that didn’t get called last week that I expect to see get more action this week – such as Kilgore. None of the TE’s got much action last week, I am thinking that that is going to change this week. From what I understand, Miller is still suspended for this game, and I don’t know if Creason is going to be back yet or not. I know that Rod Williams is back to practicing, not sure if he will be cleared to play in the game.
Overall, I am looking forward to this game. I foresee this game being close for most of the game, with the defense coming up big on a couple of series and wouldn’t be surprised to see them score once or twice again in this game. Bearcats win this one 38-17.
Quotes:
“Mrs Kilgore, do you want to see my lucky boxers?”
“T... R… U… C..K..S!”
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