5 things I learned from being at the game last night.

[mstatefan88]

1) Relf can do the things necessary to win these games in the future. He did fumble, but damn did he make some solid throws last night, and he ran the ball a ton of times. Relf threw or ran 61 times, and that is his most by far of his career. Great effort by him.

2) Special Teams throughout the season has gotten progressively better, and didn't do anything last night to make us lose the game. No big returns on kickoff, no punt return yards allowed again, and Big D came through at the end of regulation having to run out and just kick it. Dan has done a good job working with them as the year has gone on and they are greatly improved.

3) Broomfield is not a good corner, and is probably the biggest weakness on our team right now. Jermaine Whitehead may come in here next year andget significant PTfor us, especially with Langston graduating. He had an awful night, and they picked on him the entire game.

4) The crowd was the best I've ever seen.It was amazing sitting in the student section ofthe awareness of exactly how long you could ring the cowbell, then everyone putting them down at the same time and yelling as loud as they could was fantastic. Great job by the fans last night.

5) Most importantly, last night showed me we are exactly where we should be at this point in Dan's tenure. We got beat by the most points by perenially strong teams in the SEC, whichare Bama and LSU. We hung with the mid to upper teams like Auburn and Arkansas, and beatGeorgia, and Florida, who both are rebuilding and would usually be in the top category. And we beat all the teams, so far, that we should have beaten. This team is right on schedule. 7 wins with the chance at 8, and a solid bowl game possibly. This team is improving, and we have a ton of young talent. I'm really excited at the direction this team is headed.

 

[dawgstudent]

I say South Carolina - who will probably be a top tier team next year - would be a good start.

 

[mstatefan88]

Fantastic slate of games, and I think all winnable. No Ingram, Dareus, orJulio most likely, no Barron, no Hightower. Gonna be a different Bama team next year. LSU will be very winnable at home next year. SC will be tough. Lattimore is an absolute beast. OM we should win at home no questions.

But our road schedule is what I like so much. We go to Auburn, which will be a shell of what it is this year. Probably no Newton, no Darvin Adams, they lose 3 starting secondary, Bynes at MLB, probably Fairley at DT,and 4 OL. Thats huge. They may not make a bowl game next year because they will start a QB thats never started a game before. We go to UK that will have no Randall Cobb and no Hartline. We go to Arkansas with no Mallett. Their backup is good, but Mallett is very big to their success. Should at least help. We also go to Athens, which will be a more experienced version of what we saw this year. Another winnable game. Then 4 OOC games we should win. I see no reason why we can't get 8 games out of next year.

 

[FlabLoser]

...this is why I have been saying we are a decent but not good team. A good team will beat a top team once on a while.

However as I said last night here, I'm declaring moral victory - yes, a moral victory. Last night we put up the kind of effort and playmaking I had longed to see.

 

[aTotal360]

He said he was not physical at all, butdefinitelythe fastest and quickest person he's ever seen on the field. Matter of fact, he said heavoidscontact as much as possible. For those bitching about thephysicalityof our corners, he might not be your answer.

 

[Germans.sixpack]

1) We are now 0-4 vs. SEC West
2) I agree on Broomfield, why doesn't Langston see more PT @ corner?

 

[rugbdawg]

his athletic advantage? When he faces people that are as quick and faster than him, he will learn to be physical. If you have an advantage you use it, you don't try to outphysical someone when you can run circles around him.

 

[mdm209]

1.) I agree Relf played a heck of a game last night. He ran hard and threw some great passes.And I'm sure that he is pretty sore this morning.

2.) Ballard is really good. He fights for every inch on every play. I'd look for him to get no less than 20-25 touches every game this year and next year. And like Relf, I'm sure heis pretty sore today too.

3.) Elliott and Corey Broomfield are not good. In fact, they stink. I cringe every time Elliott touches the ball, likewise when opposing QB's throw it in the direction of #25.

4.) Our defense played reallywell for the most part. Last night we played one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. And with the exception of giving up two big plays (one, of which, was an obvious hold), we really held them in check.

5.)Excellent crowd last night. We were loud and for the most part we "respected the bell" (although I did haveone dumbass sitting beside me that didnt give a **** about "rest the bell, just yell").After going to several other SEC stadiums, I beleive we have one of the most enthusiastic, energeticfanbases and overall gameday atmospheresin the SEC. We yell at the right times andas of late,we ring at the right times.I would think that crowds like last nightspeeds upthe stadium expansion process.

 

[cps36]

Relf was huffing and puffing and looked too tired to throw the ball much less scramble and extend plays for most of the game. Looking back i appreciate Tebow that much more after seeing Relf try to duplicate it. Tebow was trucking folks all night long and still sprinkled in great accurate throws down field, screen passes, slants, posts, whatever. Also Tebow never fumbled and rarely threw pics(well except those two awesome pic6s against us last year).

Reminds me of when stansbury would talk about Wesley Morgan just not being physically able to play more minutes. I kinda wondered what that meant at the time. Now i understand.

 

[mstatefan88]

One thing I've thought about since the game last night is what do I know about our team that is fact since Mullen has gotten here. One fact is that there is no question that there is an emphasis placed on beating teams at home, and Mullen mentioned that last night in the post game interview. Were we more talented or better than LSU last year? No. Florida last year? No.Arkansas this year? No.But we sure as hell put up a fight at home, and we never quit at home.That got me to thinking about something else.

How many of you would have traded a loss to UK for a win against Arkansas? I don't think I would have. Dan Mullen may potentially be the 1st coach here in a long time to win all of the games we were supposed to win.We weren't supposed to beat LSU, Auburn, Arkansas, or Bama, and we didn't. But we were supposed to beat all non conference opponents, UK, and Georgia I believe. We are putting up good fights against the big teams, but I think more importantly, we are finding ways to beat the teams even or below us in the pecking order. That is how you build a program. You build the base around wins against teams equal with you, then in a few years, you start taking down a few of the giants. Mullen is doing that.

We've played the big boys tough, and are beating the teams equal with us. If we can consistently beat those equal with us and get to 7 and 8 wins, the recruits come in, and then we challenge the Bama's and the LSU's of the conference. Mullen is doing this the right way, and I love where we are headed right now.

 

[KurtRambis4]

his point was that those who think our current CBs aren't very physical & are expecting Whitehead to come in and be physical, may be disappointed. For the record, I have no verification on his tackling ability.

 

[Boomerdog15]

He said he's not physical at all, they had a receiver block him to the track on play early in the game and he was a non-factor on defense the rest of the game. He doesn't think he can play defense in the SEC. Put the ball in his hands and it's a different story though.

 

[silvercowbells]

nt

 

[HammerOfTheDogs]

Yes. In 2006 with South Carolina.

 

[Mjoelner]

**

</p>

 

[cpa07]

He said he's not physical at all, they had a receiver block him to the track on play early in the game and he was a non-factor on defense the rest of the game. He doesn't think he can play defense in the SEC. Put the ball in his hands and it's a different story though.

Two words: Darius Slay. He's big, fast, juco, and will get to go through the spring.

 

[Todd4State]

He said he's not physical at all, they had a receiver block him to the track on play early in the game and he was a non-factor on defense the rest of the game. He doesn't think he can play defense in the SEC. Put the ball in his hands and it's a different story though.

Proved that you don't need to be physical to be a good corner. The catch is you better be able to cover like Deion Sanders if you're not going to be physical. Much easier said than done. And no, I'm not saying that Whitehead is going to be the next Deion Sanders.