Whew, That Was A Close One

Ok, ok, it was scary. I was as scared as a little girl about to pee her pants. But I held it and made it to the bathroom just in time. No I'm not talking about the latest Saw movie, but the Hogs performance against Football Subdivision foe Western Illinois. It took the Hogs all of 3 full quarters and a little over 13 minutes of the fourth to take the lead for good and put the Leathernecks away. They gave us quite a scare, but what was more scary was the fact that our run defense got shredded by their talented running back Herb Donaldson. We couldn't stop him for most of the game. They held onto the ball to the tune of almost 37 minutes as compared to a little over 23 minutes for the Hogs.



While the Hog's run defense looked pretty bad for much of the night, the pass defense looked pretty good against a not so good passing offense. In fact the Hogs had a chance at at least 4 interceptions, but dropped them all. The only players that dropped more balls were Hog wide receivers who dropped 5 balls on the night. But at least they came through when it mattered most. There was a lot of bad that came out of this game, most of which was to be expected. There also was some good, and even a bit of flat out ugly. Lets start out with the ugly and move towards the good.


THE UGLY



1. The run defense: This was definitely to be expected, although not so much from a team on the lower level that Western Illinois resides on. They have some talent in Donaldson and a veteran offensive line, but we're talking about an SEC team in Arkansas that should be able to push it's way around with a teams such as this. That did not happen except for a few key series when it had to step up. At least it did that, or this definitely would have been a loss. The only consolation I can take at this point is that and the fact that we have a few linebackers that should be returning in the next couple of weeks from suspension and injuries. Lord knows they need the help. The lack of push by our defensive line and filling the gaps was the biggest problem overall on the night. This has to be fixed if the Hogs hope to become bowl eligible let alone win any more games period.



2. The opening kickoff return by Elton Ford: He fumbled it giving the Leathernecks the ball in great field position. The Hog D did step it up on the opening drive holding them to a field goal try that ended in no points thanks to a bobbled snap. But that was an ominous sign of things to come the rest of the night. Bobby Petrino said that they will look into replacing Ford so that he can focus on his defensive duties. Let's hope the next guy holds onto the ball a bit better in pressure situations.



The Bad



1. Our Wide Receiver's Hands: At least early on they cost the Hogs hugely. There were two drops that would have been first downs to keep drives going that were in the hands of the receivers. There also was a dropped pass that popped into the air and was intercepted by W. Illinois. Then in the third quarter we had a receiver make a nice catch and run only to lose the ball without being touched because he didn't tuck the ball properly. This resulted in a turnover which led to a touchdown giving the Leathernecks a 10 point lead.



2. The DWRRS Crowd: I have to mention this because it was not only frustrating for me, but also typical of a Fayetteville crowd. It was very quiet for the most part until the 4th quarter when the Hogs had to have them. It seems that it wasn't just the Hogs playing down to their competition but the fans as well. They sat on their hands unless there was a huge play on the field, which there weren't many until the last quarter. I know, I know, there wasn't much to cheer for. But guess what, maybe if you cheered when your team was on defense, it would make it more difficult for the opposition to just run unimpeded up and down the field. That's the thought anyway. I will say that when the game was on the line in the 4th it sounded like we may have actually been playing a BCS team, maybe even a good one. Yes the Fayetteville crowd can be loud, but usually only when Texass or Bama come around.



3. The Running Game: It was almost a complete reverse of what we've seen for the last 8 years. Rather than all running and little passing, we saw all passing with a little running thrown in there. Part of it may have been due to the suspension of Michael Smith, and part of it may have been the fact that both the starter and the backup were true freshmen. Probably the play of the offensive line deserves some blame as well, but this is not a long term problem in my opinion. Despite the lack of a running game, there were signs from DeAnthony Curtis, that this problem will be fixed and soon. He looks like a playmaker waiting to break out. He is not 100% yet, but once he is, watch out. He and Smith should be a great tandem, with the other three tailbacks bringing up the rear. I can see Curtis starting before the year is out if he gets healthy.



The Good



1. Casey Dick: Casey had the best game of his career bar none. This was one of the biggest question marks coming in for me and many others, as to would he be able to handle some actual quarterback duties other than handing it off to superstars. Well we may have seen a picture of what he can do as he showed, poise, leadership, and all the moxie in the world leading the Hogs back from a 10 point deficit in the 4th quarter with less than 8 minutes to go. The question remains if he will be able to do this against SEC competition, and we should find out in two weeks when the Hogs go to Asstin to play the Steers. For now I am very impressed with his improvement and am in wonderment why this type of play had never been seen under the previous coaching staff. Maybe coaching and practice really do matter. And I haven't even mentioned his two TD runs, one of which was a spectacular, Matt Jonesesque run. It was a thing of beauty that kept the Hogs in the game.



2. The Wide Receivers: I know the wide receiver's hands are up there in the bad category, but that was only for a few plays, five to be exact. But when you consider that they had 41 chances at catching balls as compared to 25, 5 doesn't sound so bad. Especially when they come back and make some great plays in the passing game. I was most impressed with a couple of freshmen, Greg Childs as well as Joe Adams. They both made some very nice catches, as well as the all important yards-after-catch, which we rarely saw in the previous regime. That is a huge stat in this offense and I expect it to get better and better as the receivers mature. Don't forget about D.J. Williams. He probably has some of the best hands on the team, and he proved it by catching as many passes in this game as he did all of last season. That would be pretty impressive except for the fact that the passing offense has been non-existent for the last several years. I'd bet you won't ever see another game where they throw to him on the first drive of the game for a completion only to never see him touch the ball the rest of the game. He is a weapon. And he will be used.......A lot. Don't forget about Petrino's motto of feeding the studs. We saw plenty of that Saturday night. And I'm sure we'll see much more of it as the season goes on. 8 different players caught passes on Saturday night.



3. Coaching: If you couldn't see the differences in the philosophies just from this game alone, then you weren't looking. That or you're blind. While we have seen time and time again under the previous regime, that they were happy to hang around until the 4th quarter and the pray for something good to happen, no matter who it was against, under this staff, you can just see an air of confidence. Confidence in the players, in the system, in each other. Things were not going well at all going into the 4th quarter. The defense couldn't stop the run, the offense was just now starting to move the ball, and the pall of a possible upset hung in the air. But did the staff choke up, start folding up it's tents? Nope, it kept doing what they knew would work if the players would just do their jobs. And they trusted those players to do them and the players came through in a major way. The coaches made adjustments and they clearly worked. Going to a no back set almost exclusively in the 4th proved to be huge for the offense. With a few runs sprinkled in, Casey Dick marched the Hog offense down the field twice under extreme pressure situations. The defense stepped it up and did what they had to do, what they hadn't done consistently all night. They stopped the Leathernecks. The O-line blocked, and the Hogs scored just enough to come back and win 28-24. It wasn't pretty, but it was a W. And right now, I will take it. I'm sure the coaches will as well.

There were some negatives, but to me, the positives outweigh those and the potential that only the surface of has been scratched will pour out of these youngsters more and more each week. It should be an exciting rest of the year. Hold on because it'll certainly be a roller coaster ride.

NEXT UP

Now we move onto Louisiana-Monroe, and they are sure to give these Hogs more of a challenge. Even so I'm looking forward to a big win as the Hogs are sure to be improved as is usually the case between week 1 and week 2. They are coming to the Rock where the crowd is sure to be pumped looking forward to some "Bobby" ball. I know I am. It should be a blast. Hope I see you there.


GO HOGS!!!!! BEAT LA MONROE!!!!