Like I did after the Baylor game, I’m writing this pretty late so this may ramble, so bear with me.
I echoed this throughout the game on the live thread, but this game sucked to watch and there were some really ugly moments from both teams.
There’s a few topics I want to hit on after a win that gets a first-year head coach bowl eligible.
Joey’s first season at the helm:
This team is so fun to watch and follow, I’m so excited to be around the program for the next few years. There is so much to love about the effort that Joey can get from his guys, they play extremely hard for a guy who is so genuine.
The future seems to be bright and there’s reason to be excited with one of the best classes for the program in a while along yet to get to campus.
The Red Raiders are bowl eligible, once again, and are one win away from the best regular season in quite a few years.
Joey did that, exceeding, certainly my expectations, this season. I thought the ceiling was 6-6 and a bowl game, and they’re there with another to play.
The defensive effort & Tim DeRuyter’s impact:
Last night’s defensive effort was very good. Guys were flying around, and the secondary did a good job covering for the absence of Malik Dunlap.
I thought the D-Line played pretty well and Joseph Adedire played well despite sort of struggling on the stat sheet.
However, the absence of Tyree Wilson was certainly noticeable, there were times when the D-Line couldn’t get the push they needed but ended up making seven tackles for loss and had two sacks against a decent Cyclone O-Line.
Krishon Merriweather once again led the team in tackles and made a couple plays in the backfield. Man, he’s going to be missed next year. He’s been a rock in the middle of the defense.
Hopefully Jacob Rodriguez’s ankle isn’t too hurt, I really like what I’ve seen from him this season.
Variable Offensive Production & Tyler Shough:
This offensive stat sheet is ugly. Only 246 yards of offense, 14-points, and seven punts will do that.
The Myles Price fumble on the first possession put extreme doubt in my mind, but the defense bailed them out, not allowing points (Iowa State’s special teams sucked, I’ll get to that shortly).
Kittley went through a stint where he abandoned the run game, but that Cyclone front was pretty stout, but it coincided with the five straight punts in between touchdowns. Tahj didn’t full up the stat sheet but had some key runs in the fourth quarter. I would’ve liked to see Cam’ron Valdez a bit more, but it is what it is.
Shough looked good, he didn’t put you in a bad place, which can be his best quality when he does it. I really think it’s why he won the job out of camp. He wins some games and definitely has that ‘go-to-war mentality’ that some need to pick up those yards on the ground. He’s put some good stuff on tape in the past two weeks and it’ll be interesting what his situation looks like after the bowl game.
Special Teams and the missed kicks from the Cyclones:
If Iowa State hits those two field goals, this is a completely different game and I’m not certain Tech had the offense to win last night if they were made. Credit to Myles Cole for getting a hand on the ball on the second miss, but that was ugly for Iowa State.
Tech played a pretty good game on special teams, despite the continued desire to return the kick. McNamara was solid considering the conditions and Wolff didn’t cause any problems.
Matt Campell’s decision to punt with 3 minutes left:
I thought this was egregious when it happened, and I still don’t agree with it.
You’re in a really tough situation, down four, on your own half of the field, facing a 4th & 15 with around three minutes on the clock, only having one timeout left (hell of a job using the late-sub rule, Joey).
As I shared in the postgame wrap, the public model thought it was a toss-up, but I think you have to assume this possession is going to be your last and it’s questionable to me to just punt it away. I would’ve coached it differently, but I’m just some guy on a message board.
I echoed this throughout the game on the live thread, but this game sucked to watch and there were some really ugly moments from both teams.
There’s a few topics I want to hit on after a win that gets a first-year head coach bowl eligible.
Joey’s first season at the helm:
This team is so fun to watch and follow, I’m so excited to be around the program for the next few years. There is so much to love about the effort that Joey can get from his guys, they play extremely hard for a guy who is so genuine.
The future seems to be bright and there’s reason to be excited with one of the best classes for the program in a while along yet to get to campus.
The Red Raiders are bowl eligible, once again, and are one win away from the best regular season in quite a few years.
Joey did that, exceeding, certainly my expectations, this season. I thought the ceiling was 6-6 and a bowl game, and they’re there with another to play.
The defensive effort & Tim DeRuyter’s impact:
Last night’s defensive effort was very good. Guys were flying around, and the secondary did a good job covering for the absence of Malik Dunlap.
I thought the D-Line played pretty well and Joseph Adedire played well despite sort of struggling on the stat sheet.
However, the absence of Tyree Wilson was certainly noticeable, there were times when the D-Line couldn’t get the push they needed but ended up making seven tackles for loss and had two sacks against a decent Cyclone O-Line.
Krishon Merriweather once again led the team in tackles and made a couple plays in the backfield. Man, he’s going to be missed next year. He’s been a rock in the middle of the defense.
Hopefully Jacob Rodriguez’s ankle isn’t too hurt, I really like what I’ve seen from him this season.
Variable Offensive Production & Tyler Shough:
This offensive stat sheet is ugly. Only 246 yards of offense, 14-points, and seven punts will do that.
The Myles Price fumble on the first possession put extreme doubt in my mind, but the defense bailed them out, not allowing points (Iowa State’s special teams sucked, I’ll get to that shortly).
Kittley went through a stint where he abandoned the run game, but that Cyclone front was pretty stout, but it coincided with the five straight punts in between touchdowns. Tahj didn’t full up the stat sheet but had some key runs in the fourth quarter. I would’ve liked to see Cam’ron Valdez a bit more, but it is what it is.
Shough looked good, he didn’t put you in a bad place, which can be his best quality when he does it. I really think it’s why he won the job out of camp. He wins some games and definitely has that ‘go-to-war mentality’ that some need to pick up those yards on the ground. He’s put some good stuff on tape in the past two weeks and it’ll be interesting what his situation looks like after the bowl game.
Special Teams and the missed kicks from the Cyclones:
If Iowa State hits those two field goals, this is a completely different game and I’m not certain Tech had the offense to win last night if they were made. Credit to Myles Cole for getting a hand on the ball on the second miss, but that was ugly for Iowa State.
Tech played a pretty good game on special teams, despite the continued desire to return the kick. McNamara was solid considering the conditions and Wolff didn’t cause any problems.
Matt Campell’s decision to punt with 3 minutes left:
I thought this was egregious when it happened, and I still don’t agree with it.
You’re in a really tough situation, down four, on your own half of the field, facing a 4th & 15 with around three minutes on the clock, only having one timeout left (hell of a job using the late-sub rule, Joey).
As I shared in the postgame wrap, the public model thought it was a toss-up, but I think you have to assume this possession is going to be your last and it’s questionable to me to just punt it away. I would’ve coached it differently, but I’m just some guy on a message board.
