CaribbeanGreen

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What was it like tailgating on the alumni side? I realized after the game I never so much as saw the main facade of the stadium, as I spent the day between the Hill and the lot at Victory below that (which was all completely awesome).

I have no problem with Thompson as the starter, but I do wish McNulty would get a series or two occasionally. One play at a time is great, but I'd like to see him able to get into even a tiny rhythm and have maybe one drive a half (plus situational use)..... assuming he can throw even a little bit (which i think he can). Coming in for one play and then right back out would seem to mess with both OB's tempo (and that of the entire offense), but who knows. Either way, I would like to see us go vertical even once in a blue moon.... we hardly even TRIED to look deep, even just to give UH a different look. If we want to free up Lance and the short passing game, even a mild threat of a deep ball would sure be nice. Even if we just send Chancellor on a straight fly and overthrow him by 5 yards, the effect is there.

I just like that the "Evening with Pat Boone" today starts at 4pm. You know, after dinner.

VERY happy with G1 to G2. And since we've been talking about it (wink wink), I'd say I'm as happy with OL as much as anything - at least in pass protection. Still concerned we can't get Dunbar going even a little bit and don't even TRY to go vertical at all, but thought the OL played 100% better. Just all around great attitude from the team... they all seemed into it the whole way, lots of emotion, lots of pride. A welcome sight. I just hope Alabama doesn't knock the starch out of that... hopefully coming back to Apogee for a winnable IU game gets the energy back up.

I just don't get how the parking/walking in was that hard for so many. CoogFans is just tearing into the experience because of that. I parked where I always did for games at Fouts, and just walked a little farther over the 35 bridge. Five more minutes of walking isn't often a bad thing, you know. Friends were parked in the lot down by Victory, tailgated there, awesome time. Leaving the game, no problem. Strolled out with a big group back that way, Police managing traffic well, no problems at all.

Fair point. I wonder how many total yards Brelan ran on the opening return...

The link is to a thread about SMU's lighting sucking at Ford, right?

Great time tonight. Apogee is awesome, and any expected opening night kinks were limited at best. I can't wait for Indiana. The first half was fantastic in a lot of ways, but I can't stop wondering what would have happened if we hadn't turned the thing over horribly THREE times in the first quarter. - Thompson throws a bad interception as we're moving into the UH red zone. Houston blitzed, and he was clearly rattled and made a bad, rushed decision, hitting a Cougar DB in the numbers. - Chancellor muffs a UH punt (fair catch, no less) after the D had stopped the Cougar offense yet again. We had all the momentum and a 7-0 lead, and suddenly we've given Houston the ball inside our 20. Amazingly, the D guys up again and holds them to 3. - Dunbar just flat drops an option pitch as we're driving near midfield with no defenders close and daylight ahead. It's odd, he didn't even slow down as it clanged to the ground and UH had an easy recovery. 3 turnovers in 1 quarter, and we're still 17-20 at half. If things go the other way, and we get scores/don't give up field position, I wonder what might have happened. Not saying we win, but I'd like to have seen it. Speaking of the 1st quarter, anyone have a clue on why we took a time out before running our first play?? Awful flashbacks, that one. This post has been promoted to an article

Years of futility + a non-competitive ass whipping by FIU in week 1 + a strong opponent coming off a win over a name program = this. Still, it felt a heck of a lot bigger than some of those Fouts crowds. I know the capacity is about the same, but Fouts felt so much more cavernous. I wish we could have opened against a cupcake (or even a conference foe), but it was still an awesome time - head stomping aside.

Maybe they were just waiting for the eagle screech to give them a cue.

In the first half, I feel like the line (and occasional blitz) got at least some pressure. Keenum was forced to run around a few times, and we forced him to fumble early. I agree that we got NO pressure in the second half... possibly just got worn down. the DBs were probably a C-... I'd give them lower if not for the fact that Houston was held relatively in check the first half (points were mostly the result of bad, bad turnovers). Like Green p1 said, Keenum missed a few early throws when his WR was a good 6-7 YARDS behind our deepest guy. Our safety (didn't catch who) played an early UH TD horribly, and there were times the DB would just be unable to "find" the ball. As the game went on, UH receivers got wider and wider open... and we gave up 500+ yards passing.

While I agree with most of what you say, bear in mind that when you say "with the coaching staff we had" Mac took more than 5 years to begin the turnaround at Iowa St. I'm not saying it will take that long here, and I know the circumstances are very different (plus he's a more experienced coach now), but the one bit of evidence we have on record for Mac is a slow turnaround. * this isn't always a bad thing - it's still impressive as hell, and it is usually more sustainable long run. Just be careful with the timeframe.

C'mon, Emmitt. All you have to do is connect the dots.

Got my info from a USU depth chart, which listed the (most importantly) true freshman QB, 3 Sophs, 1 Jr. and 1 Sr..... and according to you, its actually.... one less sophomore lineman, replaced by a JUCO transfer making his first start?!? Seriously?!? Wow. That really IS a totally different scenario. I guess I shouldn't be surprised they ran all over Auburn. Nope. It's a young team with a terrible track record the past decade starting a true Freshman QB. Sorry, still gives me some hope.

A couple of other interesting early scores: Indiana 14, Ball State 14, mid 2nd. (Still think that game is winnable.) Texas State 10, Texas Tech 9, mid 2nd. (Fran, who was rumored to be our second choice, with Dickey running the offense) (as of this post, TSU-SM has 100 yards rushing and 19 passing. Hello, Darrell, you chain smokin' sumbitch!)

That's absolutely true. Dickey's defenses were monstrous. But as far as "production" at the QB position, I don't just mean in terms of big numbers. Hall and Smith were leaders, didn't make big mistakes, and were efficient. They had skill sets perfectly suited for that offense. From Wilburn to Galbreath to Cobbs to Thomas (and others in between), Dickey had some great backs.... but it's a long road from Attaway & Bridges to Hall & Smith. Production is measured a lot of ways. In Mac's case, Rosenfels and Wallace were pretty darn productive... and so was Ennis Haywood at RB. Troy Davis was more productive than any of them (as Dunbar might be), but without a viable QB, his offenses didn't generate wins. I don't know enough about McCarney's ISU defenses to make an intelligent comment.

...and Luck actually provides a decent threat to run the ball as well.

Sure, of course it's not a direct and perfect comparison. I DO, however, feel like it further emphasizes the importance of the QB position. Both Dickey and McCarney won and lost with top flight RBs.... but both really started winning when they got that leadership and production at the QB position. I wonder when the "culture change" at ISU really began.... with the winning Rosenfels season, or was there a slow shift going on during the first five losing seasons?

Bruins storming back behind the backup QB. UH lead down to 31-28. The Cougar secondary can be had. Yes, UCLA has more horses than we do, but this isn't a worldbeating defense. Now, I expect the Cougar offense to come out of a shell and put a drive together... great game..

I really thought Price would do more at UTEP, especially after the initial success. Also, what makes the FIU game even harder to fairly evaluate is how quickly it got out of hand. It was such a quick knockout blow that the entire game was affected by that variable on both sides. Were the calls the same? Was the intensity? I find it really hard to make any judgments on this team or its expectations given the speed at which FIU took control... part of why I just chalk things up to a bad, bad night.

(NOTE: the following is unrelated ... but fun.) Let's look at two coaches in their first HC gigs over 9 seasons... Coach 1: 3-8 2-9 1-10 3-8 4-7 9-3 7-5 7-7 2-10 Overall: 38 - 67 Coach 2: 3-8 2-9 3-8 5-7 8-5 9-4 7-5 2-9 3-9 Overall: 42 - 64 Coach A? Dan McCarney's first 9 years at Iowa State. Coach B? Darrell Dickey's 9 year run at North Texas. I KNOW THERE A MILLION VARIABLES. It's just a list of records. Note: Coming from me this isn't a slam at McCarney at all. I'm an admitted Dickey apologist. I like the hire, think he'll do good things here. I just thought this was an interesting comparison as to different eras, different standards, and different expectations.

I'm not saying I expect it to take 5 years here, mind you. I'm just curious as to what exactly his reclamation process looked like at ISU,

I hope we're able to break out Lance more than against FIU. We need to control the ball, protect the defense, and SHORTEN THE GAME AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. I keep clutching the Central Florida Effect... O'Leary's gang gave Texas everything they wanted on the "new stadium" high a few years ago. Just have to hope for that kind of special day.