I had to work Saturday, so I missed much of the game live. I know I’m late with all of this but here it is. After watching it on DVR, I have a few thoughts

O-line:

O-line started out slow. Early on, the running game was a little sluggish, and the rams got some pressure on Hall. As the game wore on, however, the line stepped up, gave protection, and created some holes for Unga.

Hall

Other than turnovers (ouch), Hall had a nice game! He made some good throws and moved the ball down the field. The Cougs should have won with some breathing room if it wasn’t for those turnovers. I will still take Hall as my QB almost any day. I love that he doesn’t get rattled by mistakes, but just bounces back and makes the next play. Hall put up 389 yards passing and 5TD’s

Receivers:

Receivers took some big hits but still held on to balls. Reed is starting to look comfortable in the offense again; Collie, Pitta and George all had great catches. Even Reed White had a nice catch. Great outing from all of them. Pitta: 175 yards, 2 TD’s. Collie: 156 yards, 3 TD’s. Wow!

Running Backs:

Harvey got a chance to get things rolling, including a bust through the line and out run the DBs for 40 yards and a touchdown. Harvey got more effective later in the game, as he clearly adapted to the CSU defense. Fui blocked well and had a couple of nice runs himself. He is still hard to bring down. Even though they stacked the box and brought a lot of safety help on the run game, Unga had 143 yards rushing plus a 14 yard catch.

Defense:

OK, I know some of you would say, there was no defense. And this was not our best defensive outing, but there are a couple of things of note.

D-Line

D-line struggled more than just a bit in this game, especially early on. I think that ever since our secondary and middle linebackers have been exposed (TCU game), there has been more pressure for the rush to come from the front 3. Jan Jorgensen seems to be most effective when he is left on the outside and not flanked by a LB on the line. They have to find a NEW way to get some pressure on opposing QB’s

Linebackers:

Linebackers had maybe their worst game this year. Clawson disappeared and was getting beat on his corner. Even our favorite LB, Nixon, was not as effective as he usually has been. I hope I never have to say “has been” about Nixon again. That guy’s got talent.

Secondary:

One thing that gives me some hope for our secondary is that they seem to be in coverage more to make plays. CSU ran a lot of comeback routes that are hard to defend, but our secondary is contesting more passes and occasionally making some noteworthy plays. The loss of Johnson will really hurt us though, especially now that we’re late into the season. Too bad we lost G Pittman!

Overall:

An exciting game for fans. A character building experience for the team. (I love that they have the confidence to march down the field and score at the end of games…..just wish they didn’t have the need.) Let’s just get back to blowing people out and shutting them down. That was fun too!

Nov 06th by Jim