Fire up for D Days!

[sd4ever]

I could not get any audio from the KVHT Yankton website all day. No pregame, no postgame, no call in show, no nothing. Was it just me?

Thank goodness CoyoteVision worked pretty well today. Good video with consistent camera angles. Good audio with no static and the announcers on top of things. Good Job. I will look forward to next week's production.

Go South Dakota!

[gorabbits]

Congrats on the win. May the breaks start going your way (except against SDSU) now that you have gotten the big win.

[obc]

Oct 5, 2013 18:14:43 GMT -6 gorabbits said:

Congrats on the win. May the breaks start going your way (except against SDSU) now that you have gotten the big win.

Classy comment. The Jacks should pound the Leathernecks next week. The new facilities for both schools are going to help our schools improve and grow.

Best of luck with the rest of the season except for Nov16th.

[Coyote Fan]

It's very nice to get the win. I will admit that as the game went on I was nervous every time the Yotes took the field that Earl would get pulled so I was happy that he remained in the whole game. Overall I thought Earl played well and I was glad that JVM was used in creative ways so that is a good all the way around. I heard that JVM took the switch in stride and wasn't pouting about it or anything like that. I don't know much about Earl but he brought a sense of hope to me that this season could still be salvaged.

The good news is that the Yotes won despite a lot of sloppy and foolish penalties and special teams play. The bad news is that these same things seem to not be getting corrected. If the Yotes play the way they did today minus many of the bad mistakes I think the Indiana State game is winnable. It seems as if Earl is quicker to see the open receiver. I like the little screen pass that is used to the runningback in the middle of the field between the D-Line and the open area between the linebackers. That is a very safe play and nets good yards.

I am probably the happiest I have been after a game in a long time.

[94grad]

Here are my observations on the game:

To state the obvious, the Defense played great again. You could make the argument they pitched a shutout- surrendering only the one 8 yard TD drive after the sack/fumble.

The Missouri State coaches must not have watched much film on Starr. He was everywhere, and often single teamed- maybe as much a credit to our coaches getting him into those situations. 2 sacks, tackle for loss, great open field tackle on their somewhat-mobile QB. There were even some Holding Penalties on him that weren't called. All in all, the penalties seemed very lopsided.

For as good as our defense played , Missouri St missed a couple of very open receivers on some long passes. We will probably not be as fortunate against better teams.

The long snapping plague seems to have now infested the place-kicking game as well. The holder made some nice recoveries, especially on the game winner.

The long snapping situation on punts is not getting any better, and I believe we used our 3rd long snapper of the year today. We're basically spotting teams 7 points every week because of this.

This was a great gut check game in my opinion. We were pi**ing this one down our leg for about 10 minutes in the 3rd quarter (punt fumble TD the other way, sack/fumble leading to TD, penalties), but did not fold. That shows heart.

Was it just me, or was the alumni side crowd a bit lethargic? There were lots of people (sellout or near sellout), I just didn't think we were too loud. We were way over on the right (looking at the field). I've never sat over there before so maybe just couldn't hear things as well. 90% of the students stayed for the whole game and they were very vocal in my opinion- good job student side! And why can we not figure out that you don't start roaring when you're on offense and it's 4th and inches?!?!

After the first drive, we didn't get to see Earl passing us up and down the field like we all kind of hoped. The guy on the 106.3 postgame show- forget his name- made a good point. It was Earl's first college start and it was D-Days. Hopefully those nerves will be settled going forward.

Maybe there were others, but the only drop I remember was JVM on a long throw in which he somehow ended up on his back. The ball hit him in the hands and he probably could've caught it, but it would've been tough. No drops going forward would be huge!

Someone is going to have to explain to me why we keep running the WR screen play for 1-2 yards at a pop.

All in all, it was kind of a disjointed game. I don't know what the storyline would be if I was writing the recap: I guess it would be that the Defense played great, again, and basically won the game for us.

Great to see the first MVFC win- GO YOTES!!!

[Coyote Fan]

I failed to mention how great the defense was on Saturday. Missouri State scored 37 points last week so were coming in on an offensive roll of sorts. 170 plus yards given up on a perfect indoor surface with no weather conditions. That is some stingy D. Right now all the offense has to do is about what they did today and victory is possible. Based on what happened today and so far in the conference here is my outlook.

Winnable Games

Indiana State
at Illinois State (might be on the fringe)
Youngstown State (another fringe game)
South Dakota State

Probably not wins

at Northern Iowa
Montana
at North Dakota State

Before this week I would have excluded close to or all of the above as winnable games. It's going to take some more improvement as the schedule toughens but with some progression things just got a bit more interesting after today.

[sd4ever]

Good takes Mr. CF and 94grad! Where is everybody else on this? The Yotes just won a game for pete's sake. A conference one at that. The jackies have probably got almost a hundred comments by now on their loss which I predict is just part of the beginning of a downward trend for that over-rated program. Three thousand people is gonna look real nice in their fancy new stadium down the road a ways.

Let's get fired up here. Indiana State is coming in next week to get shut out by The Big Red Missile Defense.

Let's go Coyotes, let's go!

I'm tired.

[94grad]

Where is everybody? Still celebrating or passed out perhaps! So, I'll add a bit more....

CF mentioned the screens over the middle. Yep, I forgot to comment on those. Lots o yards there. The bruise brothers had a good game on the ground and proved themselves apt pass catchers too!

Earl is sneaky quick. Very good at dodging the first wave of pass rushers and buying himself a few seconds- if you want proof, go watch the 2 pt conversion that I'm sure you all DVRed! And, in a pinch, he can run a bit too.

Big Red Missile Defense. Nice!

[teamsd]

How about that quick save by Saeger (Sp?) on the game winning field goal? You could almost here a pin drop in the dome for a split second.

[Coyote Fan]

Kevin Earl has a fairly nice ability to stay cool in the pocket while scanning for receivers. He has just enough mobility to keep the play alive to look downfield for a late opening receiver. The offense did about what they have done but I came away with the impression that the unit at least has some hope and upside for the future. For as little PT as Earl had coming into the game he looked poised if nothing else. He didn't get happy feet like one may think would be the case.

I can't understand how the special teams hasn't been able to get things together. That has got to change or one of those units are going to end up costing the Yotes in a big game. Can't we just take the center and have him take about 100 reps a day simply practicing the various lengths required for the job. It's easy to not make a big deal about the mistakes after a win but if the Yotes would have lost that blocked punt for a TD would have loomed very large. What exactly do special team works on in practice because it certainly doesn't seem like it is snapping the football.

All in all a lot to look forward to next week. Hopefully we can sustain the good D and some of the things done on offense. There is enough film to get the players attention on what needs to be improved. If half of the mistakes get corrected the Sycamores could just end up leaving Vermillion with their trunks twisted too tight.

[Iceman]

That was a great first win for the conference. I was very happy to see that we could make the comeback in the fourth quarter.

A few things to bring up about the game. First thing is the first drive, we looked really good. We drive all the way down and get a touchdown, then who knows what happened on the PAT. After that first drive, we went back to the same old boring play calling. There were no huge pass plays in the first series, but we looked pretty good. We actually mixed up the play calling a little bit. Then we completely get away from it again and run, run, little wide receiver screen for maybe a yard or two. Finally in the fourth quarter, we get down and have to step up and the play calling gets a little better again. As everyone could see, we mix a few passes in there and it opened up the run game again for some nice gains. It's like a chess match. You run the ball, they pack the box. You throw. Then they start taking guys out of the box to defend pass better, opens up the run game. IT WORKS!

Why can we not throw down the field a little more? All we hear the last two years is how Earl is a great passer. If this is true, which I don't doubt, why are we not trying much of anything over 5 yards? This also opens up the run game more if they have to respect your big play capabilities.

Anyway, moving on, it was a great win for homecoming and first conference win. Defense is still looking pretty good and keeps improving. Wish kicking and punting were a little more consistent.

[Yotes]

Did not play the prettiest game today, but we got the win! Big weight off the chest, lots of pressure taken off the team. Plenty of good to take away from today too.

Earl didn't look too bad at QB. Looks like he makes us more dangerous passing, but we didn't go downfield with any of the passes. I'd really like to see us go deeper next week. I thought it was interesting that they burnt Donovan's redshirt last week, perhaps he can take some attention away from Terry.

Vander Maten looks to have some dangerous potential in the WR role. If he can catch the ball, he will be killer. The end around he had today was amazing. Once he gets more acclimated to his new role I think we'll see him really contribute.

That defense though. I don't think we can say enough about how good our defense is. The top ranked pass defense in the FCS! Tyler Starr is going to be playing on Sundays. Loving what I see. Defense looks like it can keep us in a game with about anyone.

Running game continues to be strong, sure to benefit from a better passing game.

Special team issues are still, STILL a massive problem. Every time Bergner is back to punt I have to watch through my fingers. Such a great kicker, but somehow missing such a basic piece that is the long snapper.

Improved our record to 2-3, remain undefeated at home! Things looked like they might be pretty bleak after last week, but optimism is abound again. Coyotes face a buzz saw of a schedule and need any wins they can get. Only two teams are above us in the conference standings!  (and only one team sits at 0-2 )

[88grad]

I hope the win yesterday didn't come at too high of a price. Three starters went down and two of them might not be back. FB Tom Manning spent a lot of time on the trainers table with ice strapped to his knee. Marc Murtha looked like he took another leg injury and was pretty mad about it. Aaron Swift didn't even make it to the sidelines but was taken directly to the trainers room but I did see him run back onto the Yotes sidelines later in the fourth. We'll see how things shake out this week but I hope we didn't lose more to the injury bug.

[yoteforever]

There isn't anything I can add that hasn't been said. First, it was a much needed win. I will be curious to see if there is a new found confidence now that the 800 gorilla is off our back, or they still play somewhat guarded. I can't say enough about our defense. Coach Petrino and those with him have done a masterful job of turning this around. I have said many times a good defense can keep us in games no matter how atrocious the offense can be at times. Last year we didn't have that, this year we do.

We have to get special teams fixed. I am shocked out kicker got the ball off the ground but I will give him all the kudos he deserves because that couldn't have been easy, and once again the snap was disruptive. I sure wished he would have hit the earlier field goal, by but maybe this in the end might give him the confidence he needs to elevate his game. I do feel sorry for him because no matter whether he's kicking or punting, he has to be thinking to himself where the hell is the ball going to be snapped to? I will tell you it takes a certain skill to be a long snapper and hours and hours of practice to perfect the art. We either have to develop one through intense coaching, or give a scholarship to one for next year. I know, I've heard we recruited one and decoded to not come, but then like all good staffs, one has to develop a back up plan, just like you do if the injury bug hits. We will get pulverized against better skilled teams if e don't fix it. I can see it costing us up to 14 points a game.

Lastly, we have to extend the field in order to be a more complete offensive ball team. I was pleased overall with Earls play at QB, but after the first series, all we did was run 2-3 out patterns, split end screens, etc. You have to throw the ball vertically to loosen the defense. When we did that, we were more effective running the ball. It was an improvement, and when you are building up a program from the ground up, that's what you are looking for. Mission accomplished in that regard.

Here is what I liked. Our guys DID NOT quit yesterday. Not once. That fumble that we recovered was huge, and gave us the chance to redeem ourselves. And that's exactly what we did. Other than UNI and NDSU, there isn't a dominate team in the league. I said at the beginning of the year, if we won 4 games we were on our way. I still believe that, and now it's feasible to do. Indiana State is a winnable game if we play defense like we have. So is Illinois State, Youngstown, and yes, even SDSU. They are showing they aren't as great as they billed themselves. Anything can happen in the confines of the Dome, and usually does. I'm not saying we will win all those games, but it could be done.

In the end, happy ending to D Days. It's always great to win. Congrats guys and coaches on a game you got, that could have gotten away. I'm proud of ya.

[usdlaw]

What a great day to be a Yote. DDays win, VB beats SDSU! Haven't read through everything yet but not very classy of Miss St to trash the locker room. Also saw a close up picture of T Star hit on QB and did not look head to head or even should have drawn a penalty to me.