Opening Thoughts:
Well, if you get the chance to go to Edmond for a football
game – I would definitely say take it. Wantland Stadium is easily one of the
nicest stadiums that I’ve been to in D2. It has been completely refurbished in
the past 10 years which includes a beautiful home side grandstand. The only sad part to it, was there weren’t
any UCO fans there to appreciate it. The official attendance was at 1200. I
think that included the band, cheerleaders, players, coaches, GA’s, as well as
the security staff (bunch of them for some reason) concession workers, press,
and officials. The Bearcats travelled probably 250 fans, and I’m not kidding
when I say that is about the same amount of fans that the Broncos had. I
remember looking over to the home side and the cheerleaders were doing a
routine for the fans in that section (I can says fans because there were 2 of
them.) Which is sad –but when UCO returns to winning, the fans will come. UCO
is just coming off of NCAA sanctions, and I believe that this is their first
year without them. They also have a new head coach. Needless to say, UCO has
all the potential to be a power in D2. They are the 3rd largest
university in Oklahoma, sit in fertile recruiting ground, and have great
facilities. Even though it is a bit of a
drive, I like this addition to the MIAA.
We are now in Arrowhead week. I love this week. I love the rivalry that these two programs have. It is built out of respect for one another. I love the game being at Arrowhead. It is a great opportunity for the players, fans, and programs. I think its a win win for everybody involved - but unless something happens, next year will be the last. NW and PSU are not scheduled to play each other in 2014. I've heard people from both teams argue against having the game at Arrowhead. And I understand where they are coming from. My experience last year was horrible - and it had nothing to do with the football game. Last year the attendance was terrible - just over 15,000 people. Most of those were lethargic NW fans who were not into the game at all. I get it, there are all kinds of sparkly bright lights and magical sounds going on - but we are there to watch a game people. Do me a favor and watch the game and get involved!
We are now in Arrowhead week. I love this week. I love the rivalry that these two programs have. It is built out of respect for one another. I love the game being at Arrowhead. It is a great opportunity for the players, fans, and programs. I think its a win win for everybody involved - but unless something happens, next year will be the last. NW and PSU are not scheduled to play each other in 2014. I've heard people from both teams argue against having the game at Arrowhead. And I understand where they are coming from. My experience last year was horrible - and it had nothing to do with the football game. Last year the attendance was terrible - just over 15,000 people. Most of those were lethargic NW fans who were not into the game at all. I get it, there are all kinds of sparkly bright lights and magical sounds going on - but we are there to watch a game people. Do me a favor and watch the game and get involved!
Last Week's Recap:
Wow. That is all that I have to say. The Bearcats have
beaten the three Oklahoma schools by a total of 169-16. I think that the
offense in finally coming into their stride. But I don’t want to sugar coat it.
The problems that we saw just a few weeks ago are still there, they have just
been masked by playing teams with not very good defenses. I could do some
comparative scores and show how NW dominated the past couple of teams, when
those teams held their own with some of the other powers in the conference. But
I know that the Transitive Property of Equality does not apply to the GridIron.
When it came to passing the ball – it was like NW was
playing a game of catch out there on Saturday. Because UCO was selling out to
stop the run, Adams was 10-12 passing with half of those going to TD’s. Adams
did have one interception though.
Granted the DB did make a very athletic play, but in hindsight (which is
always 20/20) Adams should have just thrown the ball away. But I can understand why he threw it the way that
he did – up to that point Adams had the Midas touch and the Bronco’s D looked like
a giant pile of poo out there. NW was up
21-0 at that point and got the ball back :14 later with their own interception.
But when NW faces better competition (like
this week) those things can’t happen.
The thing about this game that excited me the most, but also left me the most worried was the OL. The OLine did an amazing job containing the UCO pass rush. I think on almost every TD pass there was at least one OLineman who made a great block – and not just made the block but sustained it. On the first TD pass I know I noticed Rod Williams made a great block, and on another one Jake Scarbo made the block and sustained it for what seemed like forever. Great job guys. But for as good as they did against the pass rush, they did poorly trying to open up a hole. Granted UCO was stacking the box, but you would think that every once in a while they would make a hole for the backs to run thru. AD said it best on the sideline – "we’re getting our ass kicked out there running the ball." The OL is going to have to do a MUCH better job next week, otherwise NW is in for a rude awakening. JF3 and Simmons combined for a total of 87 yards on 18 attempts – which works out to 4.8 yards per carry – but I don’t think many (if any) of those came between the tackles. I think all of those were to the side or if it was up the middle, the runner bounced off the pile and went outside. They aren't going to be able to do that next week.
Well, I’ve been wanting to see the ball fed to Shaw more on
that deep route – and they delivered big time. Three deep balls, three balls
delivered right on the money. I would
have to say that this was probably the best throwing that I’ve seen TA do since
the second half of the Midwestern game last year. He hit all of his receivers
in stride. It’s nice showcasing that deep ball threat, because that means that
upcoming opponents have to respect that and that helps to draw a safety over to
cover Shaw deep. That should help to open up the short routes and the run game.
Special teams: what can I say. Goodburn had a great punt and
Simmons broke the MIAA record for career KO returns for a TD- 4.
This Week's Match-Up:
Last week I told some people that the games this past weekend were going to be very telling. I said if NW comes out and dominates UCO like they did to NSU and if Pitt St struggles with UCM, Arrowhead could be very interesting. Well, both of those things happened. I have stated multiple times that despite the fact that NW lost to UCM – I was not impressed with them at all. NW played the worst football that I’ve seen them play (and coached) in that game and NW still only lost by 10. In that game, the NW Oline was a cluster of guys that were thrown together – still trying to figure out the five best guys out there, and two of the starters got injured in that game. In that game the Oline and QB play was terrible – and I think that both have improved quite a bit. The game this week is going to come down to those two things again – Oline and QB play.
Normally when I prepare these reports I spend a lot of time reading over the stats of the upcoming opponent. But that really doesn’t tell me much this week. Other than UCM (and we already know my thoughts on them) PSU has not played anyone. And I mean no one. They’ve played NSU, UCO, SBU, and Lincoln. Those teams are little more that scrimmages to a team like Pitt State. It is really no surprise that they struggled against UCM. They hadn’t been tested up to that point. And they struggled – heck they dang near lost. It was much closer than any Gorilla fan would have liked to see. So I’m not going to look at the stats and just shoot from the hip on this one.
On offense, it’s all going to come down to the Oline and QB play. If the Oline can hold off the pass rush and open up a few holes for the RB’s I will be ecstatic! The other part of that equation is the QB play. Adams is going to have to limit the turnovers. If he plays like he did against UCO/NSU the Bearcats win – but if he plays like he did against ECO/UCM it will be a LONG day for Northwest. I would not be surprised to see Bolles put in a few times to run a wildcat. I would love to see him take off running, just to pull up and connect with Shaw 40 yards down field! But NW has to do more than just hit that long ball. I would love to see some of the 8-12 yard slant routes – granted going against a D that includes Nate Dreiling at LB, those are a little difficult to come about. But NW is the underdog in this fight. I would not be surprised to see the offense throw out everything and the kitchen sink. I wouldn’t be surprised if both teams have some stuff in their playbook that they haven’t utilized in any game yet. This game will be won or lost in the trenches. I can not stress it enough that the Oline is going to need to have the game of their lives on Saturday. I would like to see a combination of what happened in the NSU and UCO games. Against NSU they were able to open up holes that Moe Dampeer could run thru, and against UCO they gave TA all day to throw. Hopefully this weekend we will see a meeting of both of those. If the Oline can open up some holes, I think we might see a coming out party for JF3. So far this year, Franklin has yet to break the century mark. This would be a great game to do that in. We’ve seen flashes of what we all witnessed last year – but it hasn’t been there all game yet. If given the opportunity, I believe that he still has it in him! I am hoping to see a lot of different WR’s with catches. There have been games where TA seems to focus on one or two receivers (usually Shaw and Young) – which if they do that, all the PSU D needs to do is focus on those two guys and they can effectively shut down the NW offense. But if they spread the ball around, the Gorilla D could have a LONG day!
For the umpteenth week in a row – all I’ve got to say for the D is to continue to do what you’ve been doing. When NW is on D – we will see a much different Pitt St offense than we are used to seeing. With the graduation of Zac Dickey – we are seeing the true passing offense that OC Rampy wants to run. Pitt St has always been a power run option football team, not so much anymore. They have gained 1537 yards thru the air, and only 888 on the ground. The key is going to be getting some pressure on their quarterback Anthony Abenoja who is setting all kinds of program records for passing. Rich Wright was overhead on the sidelines last week talking about how the UCO offense was all out of whack and had no idea where the coverage was coming from. The NW D doesn’t necessarily need to sack AA – just put pressure on him and get him out of his comfort zone. AA’s primary targets are John Brown, Luke Rampy, and Andrew Castanada. All three have 14 or more receptions on the year, and are averaging 16.5+ yards per reception. Obviously their deadly weapon is John Brown – but their other WR’s are very dangerous too. It will be very interesting to see what kind of game plan Rich Wright and Kenny Gordon come up with to minimize their weapons. The LB’s need to keep doing what they are doing. I wish that there was some way that I could magically heal DJ Gnader, just seeing him walk/jog off the field makes my hip hurt. I can’t imagine what kind of pain he is in!
Like all big games, Special Teams may very well play a major role in this game. Heck, PSU won last year on a last second FG. Kyle Goodburn is currently ranked #3 in the nation for punting averaging 45 yards per punt (5 more than PSU’s) – and Todd Adolf has hit some great FG’s and his kick offs are nice and high allowing NW to get down and defend the KO. Both teams are dangerous in the return game – whether that be punt or KO return. John Brown fields most of those duties for PSU and we all know about him.
Overall, IF the Bearcats play like I think that they can play – NW will win this one. If they don’t, we could see a rehash of the meltdown in the Jungle. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. The Bearcats want revenge and should be playing loose since they are the underdogs. I think both teams are going to be able to score, but NW ends up scoring more. NW 34 – PSU 24
This Week's Match-Up:
Last week I told some people that the games this past weekend were going to be very telling. I said if NW comes out and dominates UCO like they did to NSU and if Pitt St struggles with UCM, Arrowhead could be very interesting. Well, both of those things happened. I have stated multiple times that despite the fact that NW lost to UCM – I was not impressed with them at all. NW played the worst football that I’ve seen them play (and coached) in that game and NW still only lost by 10. In that game, the NW Oline was a cluster of guys that were thrown together – still trying to figure out the five best guys out there, and two of the starters got injured in that game. In that game the Oline and QB play was terrible – and I think that both have improved quite a bit. The game this week is going to come down to those two things again – Oline and QB play.
Normally when I prepare these reports I spend a lot of time reading over the stats of the upcoming opponent. But that really doesn’t tell me much this week. Other than UCM (and we already know my thoughts on them) PSU has not played anyone. And I mean no one. They’ve played NSU, UCO, SBU, and Lincoln. Those teams are little more that scrimmages to a team like Pitt State. It is really no surprise that they struggled against UCM. They hadn’t been tested up to that point. And they struggled – heck they dang near lost. It was much closer than any Gorilla fan would have liked to see. So I’m not going to look at the stats and just shoot from the hip on this one.
On offense, it’s all going to come down to the Oline and QB play. If the Oline can hold off the pass rush and open up a few holes for the RB’s I will be ecstatic! The other part of that equation is the QB play. Adams is going to have to limit the turnovers. If he plays like he did against UCO/NSU the Bearcats win – but if he plays like he did against ECO/UCM it will be a LONG day for Northwest. I would not be surprised to see Bolles put in a few times to run a wildcat. I would love to see him take off running, just to pull up and connect with Shaw 40 yards down field! But NW has to do more than just hit that long ball. I would love to see some of the 8-12 yard slant routes – granted going against a D that includes Nate Dreiling at LB, those are a little difficult to come about. But NW is the underdog in this fight. I would not be surprised to see the offense throw out everything and the kitchen sink. I wouldn’t be surprised if both teams have some stuff in their playbook that they haven’t utilized in any game yet. This game will be won or lost in the trenches. I can not stress it enough that the Oline is going to need to have the game of their lives on Saturday. I would like to see a combination of what happened in the NSU and UCO games. Against NSU they were able to open up holes that Moe Dampeer could run thru, and against UCO they gave TA all day to throw. Hopefully this weekend we will see a meeting of both of those. If the Oline can open up some holes, I think we might see a coming out party for JF3. So far this year, Franklin has yet to break the century mark. This would be a great game to do that in. We’ve seen flashes of what we all witnessed last year – but it hasn’t been there all game yet. If given the opportunity, I believe that he still has it in him! I am hoping to see a lot of different WR’s with catches. There have been games where TA seems to focus on one or two receivers (usually Shaw and Young) – which if they do that, all the PSU D needs to do is focus on those two guys and they can effectively shut down the NW offense. But if they spread the ball around, the Gorilla D could have a LONG day!
For the umpteenth week in a row – all I’ve got to say for the D is to continue to do what you’ve been doing. When NW is on D – we will see a much different Pitt St offense than we are used to seeing. With the graduation of Zac Dickey – we are seeing the true passing offense that OC Rampy wants to run. Pitt St has always been a power run option football team, not so much anymore. They have gained 1537 yards thru the air, and only 888 on the ground. The key is going to be getting some pressure on their quarterback Anthony Abenoja who is setting all kinds of program records for passing. Rich Wright was overhead on the sidelines last week talking about how the UCO offense was all out of whack and had no idea where the coverage was coming from. The NW D doesn’t necessarily need to sack AA – just put pressure on him and get him out of his comfort zone. AA’s primary targets are John Brown, Luke Rampy, and Andrew Castanada. All three have 14 or more receptions on the year, and are averaging 16.5+ yards per reception. Obviously their deadly weapon is John Brown – but their other WR’s are very dangerous too. It will be very interesting to see what kind of game plan Rich Wright and Kenny Gordon come up with to minimize their weapons. The LB’s need to keep doing what they are doing. I wish that there was some way that I could magically heal DJ Gnader, just seeing him walk/jog off the field makes my hip hurt. I can’t imagine what kind of pain he is in!
Like all big games, Special Teams may very well play a major role in this game. Heck, PSU won last year on a last second FG. Kyle Goodburn is currently ranked #3 in the nation for punting averaging 45 yards per punt (5 more than PSU’s) – and Todd Adolf has hit some great FG’s and his kick offs are nice and high allowing NW to get down and defend the KO. Both teams are dangerous in the return game – whether that be punt or KO return. John Brown fields most of those duties for PSU and we all know about him.
Overall, IF the Bearcats play like I think that they can play – NW will win this one. If they don’t, we could see a rehash of the meltdown in the Jungle. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. The Bearcats want revenge and should be playing loose since they are the underdogs. I think both teams are going to be able to score, but NW ends up scoring more. NW 34 – PSU 24
"...but NW ends up scoring more. NW 34 - PSU 24"
ReplyDeleteReed, I >so< hope you're right!
Go BEARCATS