Will be the first to admit, I was surprised by how well we played overall. The D played just good enough (barely) and the offense played amazing. Good to see that there was margin where some huge mistakes could happen (the couple long TD's and the roughing the punter) and still have a two score victory.
A couple guys stood out to me on D. AJ Latu was playing more of a traditional LB or at least appeared to be. He was faster than I thought and made some very good plays in space. Two good games for him so far to start the season. The two picks stand out for Hayes but I thought overall he played a nice game. Had a couple pass defenses and a couple nice tackles. I am sure we need to be patient and he will have some bad plays but after two games he seems a servicable Pac-12 CB. That is good news. Kareem Orr seems to be struggling to me. Maybe it is because he is on an island but he seems to be the shakier of the two. Going into the season I thought he would start at a higher level and we would just be waiting for someone to fill the void at the other CB spot. Hopefully he continues to improve. Thought DJ Calhoun played a nice game. I know it is hard against an Air Raid team but would still like to see better penetration from the DL. Good job defending the run though.
The offensive confidence was really impressive. Great game plan and play calling. Manny looked like a completely different guy from last week. Love that we can pound the ball. This is what CTG has been talking about since he got here. Tonight it really feels like we mean it. Loved getting Kohl open in the first half. Nice to see him make the plays. Don't think Cam Smith is completely in the groove yet but hopefully we can get him some long throws as the season goes on. I was surprised by how big he is. He looks very similar size wise to Jalen Harvey. Great game by the Oline. Do we keep Bailey at tackle when Robertson can go again? McCollum seemed to do fine at center and McCray played well at G. I bet Sparky is sore tomorrow!!!!
Really excited now. Felt like the program really needed this win. I kept thinking to myself, "how did we get here" with all the 5-7 predictions and the way the first 3 quarters of NAU went. Who knows, in two weeks it may feel that way again but I don't think so.
A couple guys stood out to me on D. AJ Latu was playing more of a traditional LB or at least appeared to be. He was faster than I thought and made some very good plays in space. Two good games for him so far to start the season. The two picks stand out for Hayes but I thought overall he played a nice game. Had a couple pass defenses and a couple nice tackles. I am sure we need to be patient and he will have some bad plays but after two games he seems a servicable Pac-12 CB. That is good news. Kareem Orr seems to be struggling to me. Maybe it is because he is on an island but he seems to be the shakier of the two. Going into the season I thought he would start at a higher level and we would just be waiting for someone to fill the void at the other CB spot. Hopefully he continues to improve. Thought DJ Calhoun played a nice game. I know it is hard against an Air Raid team but would still like to see better penetration from the DL. Good job defending the run though.
The offensive confidence was really impressive. Great game plan and play calling. Manny looked like a completely different guy from last week. Love that we can pound the ball. This is what CTG has been talking about since he got here. Tonight it really feels like we mean it. Loved getting Kohl open in the first half. Nice to see him make the plays. Don't think Cam Smith is completely in the groove yet but hopefully we can get him some long throws as the season goes on. I was surprised by how big he is. He looks very similar size wise to Jalen Harvey. Great game by the Oline. Do we keep Bailey at tackle when Robertson can go again? McCollum seemed to do fine at center and McCray played well at G. I bet Sparky is sore tomorrow!!!!
Really excited now. Felt like the program really needed this win. I kept thinking to myself, "how did we get here" with all the 5-7 predictions and the way the first 3 quarters of NAU went. Who knows, in two weeks it may feel that way again but I don't think so.
