Guys, I have said this before and will continue to do so. I want home games. No other way to say it. Don't care who, just get them in the Ice Castle. I want to play no one that is top-tier until we have had some string of success; so yes it will be for some time to come even if success begins this year. Just live with it. Enjoy tailgating and all the festivities & pageantry that is Penguin football. We are a DI football team, we schedule out quite a few years.
As to the game:
1. Is it just me or did that game seem to go on forever?
2. QB situation is still open. I found it interesting that Hosick passed (did not run) the entire first series. Then he was in hand-off clock churning mode his second and final series. He does have more velocity on the ball than Davis, but not as much as Wells. He is being evaluated by coach M & may yet be a starter for us.
3. Ruiz is our #1 back, no question. I love Webb, but he is a speed back, not a bread & butter back. Ruiz has more ability to make a hole. Having him come in at reserve, we made Ruiz a target, but once he was in for awhile he took over. McCaster was awesome and Alessi showed off his skills as well. Very happy to see that. That second run by Alessi (the one over the left), showed off some really good footwork; he got down low and leaped over a would-be tackler and stayed in stride.
4. Defense really has some questions, no matter what you read. We give up WAY too many yards on first-down still, then tighten up. That QB for Duquesne is a better passer than most we will see in the MVFC, but not all of them. I am not sure what game Moss was playing in, but we really did not pressure the way he indicated. I am happy the way the D-line played, but they were far from dominant.
5. Improved Dline play made life easier for the LB's, but late in the first half Duquesne mixed-up the passes inside and out ...we looked silly ...made mistakes and gave up a TD. Look for that style of offense against us all game next week ..we were exposed. As Go states, Corners need work.
6. Aside from some nice ground work. Offensively it looks like we are going back to more balance ...which is what we all hoped for after last year. Until we see some solid opposition we will not know. I would like to see more option calls. Ruiz was looking good at receiving and Webb looked like a WR out there at times ...nice job.
7. Special teams, special teams special teams. After adding a coordinator I expected something, but our coverage is terrible. We brought on some REALLY nice pressure on the punting game though. We need more height on the kick-offs. MVFC teams will take it to the house against us. Either that or we need about 10-more yards of distance to carry the ball out of the back of the end-zone. On a positive note, our speed getting down field is exceptional. Connor does not seem to have the leg strength, but I have not seen him kick-off since he began wearing a shoe ...I would have liked to see more rotation yesterday ...maybe will will in 2-weeks. Schuler took some flack yesterday, but his punt up close was very good, no matter what the announcer said. It hit flat, so it did not roll very far, but it was just what we needed. I still have a couple of questions in that position, but I like what I am seeing.
8. Nice visiting crowd. Very vocal. Remember that for all the bi***ing people do around here, we will be forced to schedule home & home against these guys in just a couple of years. They are full-scholarship before long. YSU student section ...THANK YOU!! They left early, but that is to be expected at a night game.
