-OSU is a really good football team. I don't think TCU is as good as they made them look. I think that was their let-down, or re-focus game.
-We gave up a lot of yards on offense, but I really felt our defense made them work. I thought this was the best game our corners as a group have played in a long, long time. Even though Washington had a lot of catches, he was not able to get behind our defense, which is his specialty. And even when their receivers did make catches, our guys were right there in position.
-This is also a defense that buckles up in the red zone. That is nice to see, and is starting to resemble the Ruffin McNeil defenses in that manner.
-I feel like we need to run more tempo, especially early in the game. I feel like the way we've slowed down has really affected our rhythm on offense. I think giving time for the opposing defense to settle in hurts our young offensive line.
-Shimonek came back to earth a bit in this game, but I think that it will be a good game for him to learn from going forward. If you are going to lose to arguably the top team in the league, it's nice to get that out of the way early so you can learn from it. One thing I think he needs to learn is to trust his receivers more. We have guys who can make one on one plays, so throw the ball up and let them fight for it. We saw Rudolph do this and it worked seemingly every time. We aren't as talented as OSU at receiver, but we have guys who will out-battle defenders.
As far as underutilizing the middle of the field, I don't think it's a play calling issue as much as it is Nic not being comfortable throwing it there. Throughout the years with the air raid, we've had quarterbacks who didn't see parts of the field as well as others. Cody Hodges did not throw many passes over the middle at the intermediate range. Kliff lacked the arm strength for the deep middle passes. Cumbie was best at short middle and outside fade passes. Mahomes largely ignored the check down receivers. Potts heavily favored the right side of the field (as does Mason Rudolph, I've noticed). Graham Harrell and BJ Symons were really the only guys who consistently and comfortably made throws to every part of the field, whether it was based on choice or on ability.
Still, I am not concerned with Nic going forward.
-Our offensive line really got abused this past weekend. However, I think this is the best line we'll see the rest of the season, save maybe OU with Okoronkwo. OSU didn't have an Ed Oliver, but they had four Nick Thurmans. It was very solid, and they didn't move.
-I am curious to see how things stand with Coutee's injury. The fact that he came back out on the field and gave another couple of plays a try is encouraging to me. The nice thing is that we are through four games, and we are still largely injury free at this point. That is huge! It sure would be nice to have a bye week in October to let some of our dings heal though.
-The crowd was amazing Saturday. We are just waiting for that big win so we can blow the roof off of that place. I think that first big win comes when TCU comes to town.
-Let's go take care of business in Lawrence this weekend!
-We gave up a lot of yards on offense, but I really felt our defense made them work. I thought this was the best game our corners as a group have played in a long, long time. Even though Washington had a lot of catches, he was not able to get behind our defense, which is his specialty. And even when their receivers did make catches, our guys were right there in position.
-This is also a defense that buckles up in the red zone. That is nice to see, and is starting to resemble the Ruffin McNeil defenses in that manner.
-I feel like we need to run more tempo, especially early in the game. I feel like the way we've slowed down has really affected our rhythm on offense. I think giving time for the opposing defense to settle in hurts our young offensive line.
-Shimonek came back to earth a bit in this game, but I think that it will be a good game for him to learn from going forward. If you are going to lose to arguably the top team in the league, it's nice to get that out of the way early so you can learn from it. One thing I think he needs to learn is to trust his receivers more. We have guys who can make one on one plays, so throw the ball up and let them fight for it. We saw Rudolph do this and it worked seemingly every time. We aren't as talented as OSU at receiver, but we have guys who will out-battle defenders.
As far as underutilizing the middle of the field, I don't think it's a play calling issue as much as it is Nic not being comfortable throwing it there. Throughout the years with the air raid, we've had quarterbacks who didn't see parts of the field as well as others. Cody Hodges did not throw many passes over the middle at the intermediate range. Kliff lacked the arm strength for the deep middle passes. Cumbie was best at short middle and outside fade passes. Mahomes largely ignored the check down receivers. Potts heavily favored the right side of the field (as does Mason Rudolph, I've noticed). Graham Harrell and BJ Symons were really the only guys who consistently and comfortably made throws to every part of the field, whether it was based on choice or on ability.
Still, I am not concerned with Nic going forward.
-Our offensive line really got abused this past weekend. However, I think this is the best line we'll see the rest of the season, save maybe OU with Okoronkwo. OSU didn't have an Ed Oliver, but they had four Nick Thurmans. It was very solid, and they didn't move.
-I am curious to see how things stand with Coutee's injury. The fact that he came back out on the field and gave another couple of plays a try is encouraging to me. The nice thing is that we are through four games, and we are still largely injury free at this point. That is huge! It sure would be nice to have a bye week in October to let some of our dings heal though.
-The crowd was amazing Saturday. We are just waiting for that big win so we can blow the roof off of that place. I think that first big win comes when TCU comes to town.
-Let's go take care of business in Lawrence this weekend!
Last edited:
