In a game with so few positives to pull from, I figure I will go ahead and get those out of the way before I dive into the negatives.
Going into the game knowing CJ Baskerville wasn’t 100 percent, I was expecting to see a lot of Brenden Jordan and a little bit of Baskerville. What we were shown instead is that Baskerville is a dude and will certainly be a big piece of this defense. He and Bralyn Lux were making plays all over the field.
There late in the game, the connection between Bradley and Shough looked solid and it is just flat out disappointing that we had to see that in desperation mode.
Those first few drives on both sides of the ball we saw the defense shedding blocks and rallying to the ball. The offense had that tempo that we have heard so much about and it all clicked.
The turning point of this game was, in my eyes, the fumble that Jacob Rodriguez caused and recovered. It feels really weird to call this the turning point in favor of Wyoming considering it was 1.) a big turnover, and 2.) resulted in Tech points. But after Gino’s field goal, you went INT PUNT PUNT FGA PUNT FGA FGA before finally getting the field goal that tied the game.
There is definitely something that needs to be said about the pass rush tonight. Pressure was applied for sure, but when it came to wrapping up Peasley and forcing a sack that was where the story ended in that regard. Quincy Ledet and Dooda Banks played great in depth roles but those two alone were not going to be enough. The play on 4th down in 2OT where Dadrion Taylor-Demerson blitzed through the middle was a great play call and was just one example from last night’s game where they “almost” did it.
I was a bit taken aback by how much Steve Linton was dropped into coverage, something that Justin also mentioned last night. It is not entirely uncommon to see outside linebackers get put into pass coverage scenarios, but with all we heard about Linton’s ability off the line it was really confusing seeing him so much in the flats.
A lot of you are going to look at playcalling as a major factor in this loss. Defensively, I thought the schemes and plays called put the guys in situations for them to make plays, they just were unable to. Goes back to the “almost” did it conclusion. Offensively, after the first 11 minutes of the game, it went super conservative, almost as if they were playing just to not lose the lead, rather than trying to go full pedal on the gas.
A stunner, for sure. There is no real way around it given the hype that we all saw and created surrounding this team over the summer. I’ll look back to a point last season where I remember Joey talking about the team needing to learn to handle success and then in the offseason about handling expectations. You and I will learn a lot more about this team based on how they respond against Oregon. It has been said already but we will have to wait and see if the team lets this game define them.
I struggled with writing this because there were so many negatives and I do not want to be consumed by them knowing it was week one of the season. We go again Saturday, folks.
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
Going into the game knowing CJ Baskerville wasn’t 100 percent, I was expecting to see a lot of Brenden Jordan and a little bit of Baskerville. What we were shown instead is that Baskerville is a dude and will certainly be a big piece of this defense. He and Bralyn Lux were making plays all over the field.
There late in the game, the connection between Bradley and Shough looked solid and it is just flat out disappointing that we had to see that in desperation mode.
Those first few drives on both sides of the ball we saw the defense shedding blocks and rallying to the ball. The offense had that tempo that we have heard so much about and it all clicked.
The turning point of this game was, in my eyes, the fumble that Jacob Rodriguez caused and recovered. It feels really weird to call this the turning point in favor of Wyoming considering it was 1.) a big turnover, and 2.) resulted in Tech points. But after Gino’s field goal, you went INT PUNT PUNT FGA PUNT FGA FGA before finally getting the field goal that tied the game.
There is definitely something that needs to be said about the pass rush tonight. Pressure was applied for sure, but when it came to wrapping up Peasley and forcing a sack that was where the story ended in that regard. Quincy Ledet and Dooda Banks played great in depth roles but those two alone were not going to be enough. The play on 4th down in 2OT where Dadrion Taylor-Demerson blitzed through the middle was a great play call and was just one example from last night’s game where they “almost” did it.
I was a bit taken aback by how much Steve Linton was dropped into coverage, something that Justin also mentioned last night. It is not entirely uncommon to see outside linebackers get put into pass coverage scenarios, but with all we heard about Linton’s ability off the line it was really confusing seeing him so much in the flats.
A lot of you are going to look at playcalling as a major factor in this loss. Defensively, I thought the schemes and plays called put the guys in situations for them to make plays, they just were unable to. Goes back to the “almost” did it conclusion. Offensively, after the first 11 minutes of the game, it went super conservative, almost as if they were playing just to not lose the lead, rather than trying to go full pedal on the gas.
A stunner, for sure. There is no real way around it given the hype that we all saw and created surrounding this team over the summer. I’ll look back to a point last season where I remember Joey talking about the team needing to learn to handle success and then in the offseason about handling expectations. You and I will learn a lot more about this team based on how they respond against Oregon. It has been said already but we will have to wait and see if the team lets this game define them.
I struggled with writing this because there were so many negatives and I do not want to be consumed by them knowing it was week one of the season. We go again Saturday, folks.
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
