Painful loss boys, I know it's been talked about ad nauseum, but there were a lot of positive points.
-Pregame tributes to Nick Bell were incredible. From FMB spellingout "36" to the "36" logos on the field to Nick's mom breaking the moment of silence by ringing her bell, it was all very touching and I applaud the athletic dept for that.
-Crowd was great in general and hyped the entire game. The fourth quarter and both OTs were the loudest continuous 45 minutes I've ever heard it at DWS. It was electric and, obviously, and incredible roller coaster of ups and downs. I thought everyone save for the dozen or so students did great with the cowbells and yelling on defense truly is louder than bells. I think we made huge leaps the past two home games toward keeping the bells.
-Special Teams: Still need some work on kick off coverage; we make it tough on our defense when they get to the 30 and beyond each time. Hutchins had another solid game. The kid can boot it. The field goal at the end of regulation was absolute magic. No timeouts, rushing out there with time experiencing but knowing you have enough time to take a deep breath and nail it. Crowd went nuts for that one.
-Defense: We held Ryan Mallett to 31 points in about 4 1/2 quarters. Weak on the corners pass coverage wise; we're not fast/big enough there to not put pressure on a pocket passer like Mallett and hope for a "coverage sack". He picked us apart when we didn't send KJ or Chris White. Running defense was solid. Pernell finally had a good game and the LBs played really well on that front.
-Offense: Sigh. Shelf the 5-wide play. Bench Robert Elliot after he has his obligatory 1 good play for the game. Run Perkins in the flat more, and leave Bumphis back returning kicks (unless he's banged up). Relf had the game of his career and looked comfortable back there. He even scrambled efficiently and made a few good throws on the run. Vick was a monster.
-Overall that was the best game I've ever seen live and a heartbreaker to be at. So many up and down moments in the 4Q and OT, but our fans stuck it out til the end I'm proud of the Bulldogs' effort. They cut to a camera-view of the locker room postgame showing the Egg Bowl countdown clock. I think this team will be focused and hyped for that game with a clear vision of what they'll have to do to get a W in Oxford. Both teams have been looking forward to this game since November 28 of last year.
-Pregame tributes to Nick Bell were incredible. From FMB spellingout "36" to the "36" logos on the field to Nick's mom breaking the moment of silence by ringing her bell, it was all very touching and I applaud the athletic dept for that.
-Crowd was great in general and hyped the entire game. The fourth quarter and both OTs were the loudest continuous 45 minutes I've ever heard it at DWS. It was electric and, obviously, and incredible roller coaster of ups and downs. I thought everyone save for the dozen or so students did great with the cowbells and yelling on defense truly is louder than bells. I think we made huge leaps the past two home games toward keeping the bells.
-Special Teams: Still need some work on kick off coverage; we make it tough on our defense when they get to the 30 and beyond each time. Hutchins had another solid game. The kid can boot it. The field goal at the end of regulation was absolute magic. No timeouts, rushing out there with time experiencing but knowing you have enough time to take a deep breath and nail it. Crowd went nuts for that one.
-Defense: We held Ryan Mallett to 31 points in about 4 1/2 quarters. Weak on the corners pass coverage wise; we're not fast/big enough there to not put pressure on a pocket passer like Mallett and hope for a "coverage sack". He picked us apart when we didn't send KJ or Chris White. Running defense was solid. Pernell finally had a good game and the LBs played really well on that front.
-Offense: Sigh. Shelf the 5-wide play. Bench Robert Elliot after he has his obligatory 1 good play for the game. Run Perkins in the flat more, and leave Bumphis back returning kicks (unless he's banged up). Relf had the game of his career and looked comfortable back there. He even scrambled efficiently and made a few good throws on the run. Vick was a monster.
-Overall that was the best game I've ever seen live and a heartbreaker to be at. So many up and down moments in the 4Q and OT, but our fans stuck it out til the end I'm proud of the Bulldogs' effort. They cut to a camera-view of the locker room postgame showing the Egg Bowl countdown clock. I think this team will be focused and hyped for that game with a clear vision of what they'll have to do to get a W in Oxford. Both teams have been looking forward to this game since November 28 of last year.