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Post by aldewitt on Sept 8, 2018 4:40:01 GMT -6
Several FCS Twitter and blog sites are calling this a “trap game” for USD or their upset pick of the week. Go ahead, keep underestimating the yotes and face the consequences. It really is somewhat amazing the lack of respect USD gets on the national scene, even within our own conference really. I get NDSU obviously and even the bunnies for that matter, but some of the others that are consistently and highly ranked... no. Just for one example: our old friend Nichols State. We beat them last year at their place, they come out rated way higher than we are this fall and then in OT squeak by a ridiculously sad Kansas team that won't win a game . We take Kansas State to the brink and are lucky to make it into one poll and some don't even have us ranked. I wonder how the KU vs KSU game will go? How are we behind New Hampshire? or UNI and Western for that matter? I realize everything sorts itself out in the end, but still, the seed is planted and I think the playoff committee uses these polls to any degree we get a short shrift. I hope I'm wrong. End rant. It’s the win that counts. Your talking about a quality loss. UND is the FCS expert on quality losses but they don’t count much. USD lost a close one to a good Kansas State team. Keep playing well and winning is the only way to build on it. That game will gain respect if the Yotes have a great season. It means less and less with each loss. More and more with each win. This is is an important game. A win today is a positive statement about last week and a clear message to the league. |
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Post by kiyoat on Sept 8, 2018 14:56:21 GMT -6
Simmons is putting on a CLINIC
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Post by fightsd on Sept 8, 2018 17:17:07 GMT -6
Austin Simmons. 31 for 40. For 450+ and 4TDs. No picks. Another 80 on the ground plus a rushing TD.
Wow.
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Post by yotebewithyou on Sept 8, 2018 17:52:48 GMT -6
Austin Simmons. 31 for 40. For 450+ and 4TDs. No picks. Another 80 on the ground plus a rushing TD. Wow. And that was pretty much all in the first half!! |
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Post by howlingyote on Sept 8, 2018 18:26:51 GMT -6
This game was the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good: Simmons had a phenomenal game running and throwing the football. The DL had 4-5 sacks
The bad: our secondary, specifically our CB play. Credit to the UNC QB who despite getting lit up all day had a great game
The ugly: the unsportsmanlike penalties were horrific.
Bottom line - a win.
QB for UNC was much better than both KSU QBs’. The might surprise a few teams this year.
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Post by burbankbob on Sept 8, 2018 20:03:34 GMT -6
How was the attendance?
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Post by yotebewithyou on Sept 8, 2018 20:30:55 GMT -6
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Post by sdyotefan on Sept 8, 2018 21:27:09 GMT -6
Austin was just short of 80% passing with 31 of 40!! WOW!! And 3rd highest yards passing for a game in USD history in 129 years of football!! Not bad for a 2nd collegiate start!! Great job too by a variety of receivers! And we're still missing some players with injuries.
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Post by easmus on Sept 9, 2018 7:47:28 GMT -6
Have to find a running game. I liked Klett, wish he would have gotten more carries.
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Post by 88grad on Sept 9, 2018 8:22:09 GMT -6
Yes, it did seem that both Klett and Brooks found some yards where Henry could not.
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obc
Senior Member
Posts: 784
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Post by obc on Sept 9, 2018 8:44:09 GMT -6
A few post-game thoughts:
Austin Simmons accounted for the second most yards in program history. It was the third most passing yards in program history. He distributed the ball to multiple receivers and appeared to make several good reads. A few of his passes were under duress and he placed the ball perfectly. He also ran effectively when needed, including a big run to open the game.
OL pass protected well - zero sacks says a lot, however Simmons pocket presence and mobility certainly contributed to that result. Run blocking was not good enough. Coach Bob mentioned in the press conference that the lack of the running game had to do with needing to block better and missing some reads. He also mentioned in reference to the running game that: "I think it is there." I agree with that. Frequently when USD had success running the ball it came when the RB hit the hole fast and got north and south versus trying to take a little slower approach and find a hole to hit. When Henry had success, he hit the hole fast and when he did not he was frequently stopped for no gain or a loss. They need this area to be productive for balance as well as to close out games when a lead has been established. This has also hurt USD in short-yardage situations on 3rd and 4th downs. Not converting on the 4th and 1 in the second half was a crucial missed opportunity to extend a drive that had potential to put the game out of reach. I still believe Henry is going to have a big year - Klett and Brooks look very promising as well.
WR's caught the ball well today and made explosive plays after the catch. Was great to see Jackson and Ducker have huge days. Coach mentioned that Case should be back next week. That will be another weapon on the edge.
Coach Bob also talked about how UNC came out in the second half with a different defensive look and did not feel the team adjusted well to that. Was he referring to coaching adjustments, player adjustments on the field? both? Regardless the 3rd quarter was a nonproductive quarter offensively for USD.
No turnovers by the USD offense today, just like last week. The defense had two take-aways. +6 in the turnover department after two games is impressive and has been a factor in keeping the KSU game as close as it was as well as allowing USD to close out UNC yesterday.
On the defensive side of the ball it was a fairly inconsistent performance. Part of that is a credit to a veteran UNC offense - the QB was very poised under pressure, had decent mobility which helped them extend drives, and he was able to hit his star WR several times for big gains along with several other receivers. Teams that watch this tape, will know where to attack the USD defense. We will see more of the same from our opponents until we prove we can stop the bleeding. Pressure at times was good - the team obviously ended up with 4 QB sacks, several good hits on the QB and QB hurries. There were too many times however that USD did not get any pressure and UNC made the defense pay. Coach Bob said after the game: "thought we got vanilla on defense in the second half and UNC capitalized." I agree with that completely. Our best defense shows up when they find ways to send pressure from multiple positions on the field. When USD sits back and tries to rush with the DEs and DL, dropping the rest into coverage, UNC gashed them for long completions.
Coach Bob also referenced that the defense really did some good things getting UNC off-schedule on 1st and 2nd downs, but allowed UNC to convert way to frequently on 3rd and 4th downs.
Special teams continues to concern me. Had one punt inside the 20. Ended up with a pretty low punt average, but at least they were good hang-time punts preventing a return. The protection on the punts needs to tighten up - UNC was close to getting to our punter on at least one occasion. Kickoffs seemed very good this week and coverage was good most of the time. They did allow one long return to the 50. Wish we had a kicker that could get us a touchback every time, but that is just not the case. Weber St has an all-American return specialist - USD has to be disciplined in their coverage, or he will be a factor next week. The USD return game was not very productive when they had a chance. With all the speed USD has on the field this is perplexing to me.
FG/Xtra point: Obvious statement, but this is a glaring weakness right now. Unless corrected, USD will lose a game due to this one factor alone. There are too many close games in MVFC play. A missed xtra point or a short FG is a recipe for disaster. Unless USD is inside the 25 yard line, I have little confidence in the merit of lining up for a FG at this point.
Penalties: UNC was a team that played antagonistically and with a big chip on their shoulder. They were frequently pushing our players, tugging their jerseys, stepping on them in piles, after the whistle. I was disappointed with how USD responded to that. We all know it is a fine line between being aggressive and being stupid. I also hope that Coach Bob is able to tell the players that it is ok to celebrate and have fun, but that they cannot cross the line to taunting. Yesterday it didn't end up hurting to have Allen get tossed out of the game, but in a closer game, it could really impact the outcome. In my opinion it was not a good look for the program. Hope that gets tightened up.
USD is a young team and the UNC game will give the players and coaches the opportunity to watch the tape and hopefully improve in several areas. It is a great thing when a young team has a game like this: a win that still affords the coaches the opportunity to help the players grow and improve. They can look at the tape and see what happens when they execute. The offense has the potential to be a top unit in the FCS when they do. The defense has the opportunity to be a much improved unit year over year when they do that as well. If handled right, I think this game will produce perhaps more improvement than any other they play this year.
Weber St will be a tremendous challenge next week. 2-1 seems miles ahead of 1-2 heading into the bye week before the conference season. Need the win.
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Post by gopheryote on Sept 9, 2018 10:39:00 GMT -6
Fun game/atmosphere yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the crowd and student sections (1st half, anyway). However, what was the deal with the slightly-above-a-whisper music? Huge contrast from K-State where fairly loud, energizing music seemed to never stop.
I didn't know much about UNC other than they almost beat a ranked team in week 1, but this tweet makes a lot of sense to me now:
Their QB is legit and the fast receiver is too. Great early test/learning for the young secondary. Bob The Builder has noted it a few times - with this young of a team they will make pretty big jumps each week, and they got a great education yesterday. Excited to see how they perform at Weber St. next week.
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Post by yotefbfan on Sept 9, 2018 17:38:10 GMT -6
Just got a chance to watch some of the game again and write some reflections. Overall, let's face it there is nothing better than a win! At times we looked fantastic at other times we almost looked uninterested. In the end, we won, but like Coach Nielson says, this is a young team that will grow with each game. If that is true and we continue to get better each week, look out to the poor saps we face at the end of the season (bunnies??).
On the offensive side, any questions regarding Simmons should have been answered. UNC played a lot of press coverage, especially in the second half, in an attempt to limit our outside screen game. Simmons made them pay with nice passes in the seams upfield. I wanted to see better timing and touch after the K-State game and He delivered. Once again, nice job by the receivers, our depth is tremendous and Case should return soon, only making us better. The running game still needs to come around. It was great to have Simmons add to that part of the game and I liked how he wisely slide or stepped out of bounds before taking an extra hit (Loved Streveler, but I was nervous every time he lowered that shoulder). Henry had a tough game, and we saw some nice runs from Klett and Brooks. Did anyone else see on the 4th quarter drive where we turned the ball over on downs that Klett made the first down twice and Brooks also gained a first, but the official's spots seemed awful short? Either way, we need to convert those first downs. Overall, the O-line looked good.
On Defence, more of the same. The D-line totaled 4 sacks and helped hold their rushing attack to limited gains. With the number of players we have rotating in on the line with no drop in production, this unit is becoming a real strength. The linebackers played well at times, but they need to do a better job of filling the running lanes. Make me nervous to see our two safeties leading the team in tackles, when we should see a LB lead that stat. As far as the defensive backs, there were a few breaks in coverage and some missed tackles, but in all fairness, Knipp is one of the better FCS Quarterbacks and Wesley was one of the better WR we will see all year. We seemed to not have the same energy coming out of the half and that hurt us, but in the end, the D played well.
Hopefully, Godfrey is back soon because the snaps for the freshman Morrison were average at best and this is hurting our already marginal kicking game. It will be good to get Fredrick back next week to provide depth at CB and hopefully we get Armstead back as well during the season. The thin air, long travel, and a good Weber St team will make next week a challenge, but a win there will set up a solid MVFC schedule.
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Post by Yotes on Sept 9, 2018 19:07:13 GMT -6
That was a good throw.
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Post by aldewitt on Sept 10, 2018 2:54:30 GMT -6
UNC @ USD
PREDICTED WINNER: USD
SPREAD: -8 USD
OVER/UNDER: 48
MYTHICAL SCORE: USD 23 - UNC 15This one has route written all over it. It assumes 132 yards rushing & 216 in the air for USD. They can do better than 348 yds. It also assumes 261 yards rushing for UNC. I dont think thats happening. I'm taking USD to cover and the over. Actual score 43-28. USD. Just shy of 500 yds passing and 635 total yds what a day for the The USD offense. Neither team rushed the ball particularly well. The 300+ yds passing given up by the defense is concerning. USD is explosive yet vulnerable. The rout was on but UNC was able to pull within 21. Unfortunately I was unable to watch this weekend. All I saw was a little of the SHSU game. It was KSU with the letdown game. I’m pretty sure they had a bruised ego this Saturday and lost some of that old college try. Best news: USD is building on the KSU game like a good team should. 9143 is a good crowd Was it sold out? |
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