Oct 15: #7 NW Bearcats vs Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds

Opening Thoughts:

            Great Googily Moogily the drive across South Dakota is BORING! Once you get into the western half, you can see the Badlands from time to time, and that’s kind of cool, and the Black Hills are nice – but overall South Dakota is a bore. I highly recommend driving at night, or taking the opportunity to sleep while someone else drives. We did take the opportunity to get a free glass of ice water at Wall Drug, and I just about purchased the world’s largest flask, but I didn’t have any pockets big enough for it. I heard that Warrensburg was kind of a SNAFU when it came to parking and tailgating. Glad I missed that, I don’t handle those situations well.

Last Weeks Recap:

            NW came. NW saw. NW conquered.

This Week’s Match up:

            Eastern New Mexico is kind of like UCM in that they love to throw the ball. They are currently ranked #11 in the nation in passing offense. They average throwing 311 yards per game. They have a very fast paced offense. This historically has been a weakness of NW.  Their offensive line is rather old school. They aren’t the quick strong guys, they are some big boys – but they don’t block so well. They kind of waterfall block. What I mean by that is that rather than fighting for their own ground, they backpeddle and surround the QB. The QB plays mostly in the pistol or shotgun formation, and throws quick. However, from what I’ve seen on film, the QB telegraphs his throws. So NW should be able to pick off one or two if they get there in time. Like I said, the Greyhounds are a very fast paced offense. NW has not had very many sacks or much of pass rush this year. Which is very frustrating. NW is actually dead last in the MIAA in sacks. It almost seems to me like a complete change in philosophy – dropping more into coverage rather than getting tackles for losses. That being said, the sack opportunities have been there and NW just didn’t get the job done. NW has done a good job of flushing the QB out of the pocket and making him throw on the run. The Dline has had some injuries this year that haven’t helped – Meinert went out in the Arrowhead game and didn’t play against UCM – and those are the two games that NW gave up the most yards in the air. Coincidence? I don’t think so – the best way to help out your secondary is to have a good pass rush. NW hasn’t had that the past week and a half. But I think NW can adapt and overcome. NW still held UCM to half of their normal points. Two weeks ago at this point, every Bearcat fan was convinced that NW had an amazing D. Now it seems like the sky is falling to most of them. I still have faith. There have been a lot of injuries, and I know that the flu has been going around the team. That takes a LOT out of a person. I know when I have the flu, or even are getting over having the flu – I barely want to stand up and watch a game, let alone play in one! I’m going to give the D the benefit of the doubt that they will still get it together.

            From an offensive point of view, I think that we will probably see a repeat of last week. As far as I know, Blake Christopher is still out this game, as well as Jake Soy. Considering that ENMU has a pretty poor rush defense, my guess is that this will be a lot like last game. But NW will need to have some of the other WR’s step up. Pierce seemed to be great in the first couple of games, but has kind of disappeared lately. Shaw is super fast, but they have CB that is just as fast and will be covering him all day. Without Soy to draw attention away, all of the WR’s will need to find that extra gear. I don’t know what the deal is with Miller not getting any attention. He was a highly touted transfer, I know that he got into some trouble before the season began with some wacky tabacky, but that ship has sailed. He was projected to be a starter at one time, I would love to see him step up and have a big game. Whenever I think of him, I can’t help but remember that game a few years ago where he ate the NW defense for breakfast. I’d like to see that kind of play making resume! I wouldn’t be surprised to see Simmons and JF3 have another big day.

            Overall, I think that NW blows this one out of the water. NW 66 ENMU 14

           

Interesting Facts/Statistics:  

·        A cubic foot of water weighs 62.43 pounds.

·        A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

Quotes:

           

o       “Sit down Douchbag”

o       “Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.”