Big Dawg's Thoughts...

BIG DAWG · September 4, 2009

1) It was nice to see, that may be an understatement, the d-line be able to control the line and let the LB'ers make plays

2) Riley is as advertised...he made some mistakes, but this was his first D1 game and he was awesome...passing and running

3) Defense...WOW...I will not ever again doubt Mile Nelson and his player personel decisions...the defense was AWESOME tonight...granted not the defense that won us a bowl game, but WOW...much better than we have seen the last two years...another understatement

This team looks totally different...TOTALLY! I am so excited to see what this team can do this year.

A couple of questions...

1) When was the last time we were able to be cheering after halftime?

2) When was the last time we came close to dominating on field...Ball St. did not do a whole lot to us

3) When was the last time we went 2-0 to start the season?

I am still holding strong to my 6-6 0r 7-5 prediction, but good things are definitely happening...enjoyed talking to Emmitt and Medpilot at the Pourhouse and Riprocks...love talking NT football in person with NT enthusiasts! Haven't talked to either one of you in a long time

Great things are happening with this program.

Quote of the night...and it is a paraphrase..."If our defense plays like this all season long...tell me we can't win 7."

Edited September 4, 2009 by BIG DAWG

NT80 · September 4, 2009

How many were at the Pourhouse?

Shuke-D · September 4, 2009

3) Defense...WOW...I will not ever again doubt Mile Nelson and his player personel decisions...the defense was AWESOME tonight...granted not the defense that won us a bowl game, but WOW...much better than we have seen the last two years...another understatement

Just an observation based on that assessment. I did notice that on BSU's first drive, on third down, that Eddrick Gilmore mad a heckuva play to disrupt the quarterback. After the snap, the O-line began to break into their pass-blocking assignments. There was a split second where the center and guard were shifting to their assignments, and Eddrick shifted his body and blew completely through the small crease between them. He got to the qb, wrapped him up, but the QB squirted out at the last second. Robertson got the sack, and EG seemed to be pissed at himself for not bringing the guy down (Page did have good feet tonight). Nonetheless, it was a big play to stomp their momentum, and it was EG's quickness and vision that made it happen even though he didn't get the sack. Maybe playing him in the rotation at DT wasn't the worst idea in the world?

untlynchka · September 4, 2009

How many were at the Pourhouse?

A lot. The entire game room was full and overflowing. Everytime I went out to the bathroom, it looked like the entire dining room was packed with unt fans as well. I have always been a Tavern fan, but that was far and away the best game watching experience I have ever had. I was sitting next to ADLER, and got the oppurtunity to meet SUMG as well.

Great, Great Time.

I loved the guy that kept asking where everyone was at when he would try to start the defense chant. For what its worth, I was to nervous to talk. Even my GF kept asking me what was wrong.

FireFightnJoey · September 4, 2009

I purposely didn't get on the internet until the end of this game. I hardly moved because I didn't want to jinx us, but all I gotta say is wow! The team really suprised me and took it to Ball State! There were some mistakes on both sides of the ball which kinda even out. But the team stuck to it and pulled out the win.

The offense handled their defense which was suppose to be their great strength. I thought our defense did a great job and was consistent through the game. Ofcourse you can find areas we can improve like still killing ourselves with some stupid penalites. But, I can't believe the difference a year makes. Riley was a general on that field. Cam and Dunbar are a powerful duo. Jamal Jackson, legit D1 speed who made one really great run after catch. Special teams were night and day from last year. Drake, Robertson, Nwigwe and Hill were great. Good to see the defense getting to the QB late in the game wth some hits forcing some throws. WR corp had some hard hands, but I thought were pretty consistent on all those short plays.

We should have been up atleast 24-0 by half. Riley's overthrown ball in blown coverage and a holding penalty bringing back that kick-a return after the INT. We kept Ball State in this game. But this is a team with promise.

Wish I could have made the trip to Muncie with those faithful that did.