Good win for the Tigers last night! Another game, though, I’m glad I didn’t post in the in-game thread and look foolish with some hot takes. I’ll be honest, for a minute I was panicking that we were regressing back to last year’s squad! Some quick thoughts:
1. We needed a game like this. Most of the time, the game isn’t going to come as easily as it has the last couple weeks. During the six-year playoff run we often felt invincible. The last couple years have scarred the fans and, I’d guess, the team a bit. I think it was really good to have a tight, weird game where things weren’t clicking and be able to fight through it.
2. Cade needed a game like this. As above, things have been easy for Cade the last couple weeks. He had a couple moments in the third quarter where it looked like maybe he was panicking a bit and going back to last year’s bad habits. But he settled down and threw three TDs in a row to finish the game. That’ll pay dividends down the road.
3. Speaking of which, Sammy Brown is growing up before our eyes. The first few weeks he’s looked like a puppy running around looking for something to chew. But last night he made some big time plays. The third down stop in the red zone where it looked like Daniels was going to have space to run for a first down but Sammy knifed through to make a big stop showed not only his athleticism but also a good understanding of where he was supposed to be. Hell of a play. He’s coming.
4. The defense as a whole needs to grow up a good bit. Yes we all have thoughts on portal players and last night showed we probably needed to try to grab a DE and a LB if only for depth purposes. (Though not too many guys are transferring to be a depth guy). The alternative is growing up your young guys quickly. Fortunately, the last few weeks has allowed us to get a bunch of snaps for them. It has been ugly but it’ll pay off. The defensive ends, in particular, have been pretty rough around the edges (pun INTENDED). They were getting washed out all night long by that big Stanford OL. We need Woods back badly against the best teams…but for now, the experience will be helpful.
5. Really pleased how the defense RESPONDED. The tackling was poor. Setting the edges was poor. Leverage was poor. Eyes were poor. For most of the game. I think Stanford threw some things at us we weren’t expecting. That said, they made plays when we needed them. Made fourth down stops. Got turnovers. Stiffened up in the second half. That’s a good sign. We have a lot to tighten up but it’s easier to do when you know you have players with some dog in them. I think we do.
6. Which brings me to Wes. Not too many topics are as big of a lightning rod around here. I was not a believer in Wes at the beginning but I came around. I think we are so used to the Venables’ Way of relentless pressure, aggression and tenacity (think Remember the Titans “don’t let them gain another inch” mentality), that we judge Wes harshly. He has more of an NFL-style, don’t let them have a big play and stiffen in the red zone mentality. The yards can sometimes pile up but the points usually don’t under Wes. And that’s really the name of the game. It’s taken me a while to get used to that style, but it’s effective. (As noted above though, there’s still a LOT to clean up).
7. Offensive Line was brought down to earth a bit last night but, again, I really liked the way they responded in the second half. We had more creases in the running game and better protection. Stanford’s DL was no joke though.
8. Which brings me to my next point - Stanford had some dudes, especially on the lines of scrimmage. That was a battle last night on both lines of scrimmage and a good test for the boys. Stanford will give a lot of teams problems this year. Proud of the Tigers for gutting out a hard-fought victory.
9. More OPH, TJ Moore, Bryant Wesco and Jay Haynes please. We have some talented young playmakers.
10. Go Tigers! Should have a nice three game stretch of victories before the bye week and a big showdown with Louisville. Let’s get it done!
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