A few (long) thoughts on the game:
Overall, a really fun time watching ISU FB rather than the stressful stuff we'd seen for years now. Not that stressful games can't be fun, but it sure is nice to be celebrating a win before the final minute. Crowd was good other than 1/3 the students not showing up. But then, I can't really fault anyone for not wanting to attend another rain storm like last weekend's marathon. Luckily, the heavy rain stayed away. Honestly, this game is what the first game should have been. Campbell talks about getting into a groove, complementary football, etc. It's tough to do that starting out with two rivalry games. The first two games, we would drive and then usually self-destruct. Penalty, turnover, sack, missed FG. This is why I've always been a proponent of starting with a BAD 1AA team. Work out the kinks, see how everyone plays under the lights, see what works and what doesn't when there's no real chance of losing. Yeah, ISU should beat UNI every time, but you're never going to see our 3rd team in there vs UNI. For us recruiting and roster geeks, this game was better than the spring game or CGC scrimmage that they're not doing any more.
Overall, great offensive game. We still struggle running the ball, but the depth at WR and TE really showed up and Purdy's running/scrambling was devastating. Defensively, our main issues continue to be QB run and late developing passing plays. Baylor is a team that will capitalize on this, as Brewer is probably the most slippery QB in the league. Also, OSU is going to feast on this defense. Hopefully Heacock makes some adjustments there. We absolutely need to bring down the QB when we get to him, because those escapes are killing us. Our overall depth showed big time on Saturday and by the end of the game it was a total mismatch.
QB: Purdy played a hell of a game. They let him run unlike the UNI game. ULM keyed on the run a lot and it ended up in long pass plays if there was a slip or missed tackle. I thought the roll out pass to Pettway down the sideline may have been Purdy's best pass so far at ISU. That was pretty. He did get hit a few more times that you'd like, but for the most part it wasn't vicious hits like he got at times last year. Purdy was the best player on the field and in total control out there. I thought Mitchell played really well and it makes me feel a little better about our depth there. He's fast for sure, but that TD pass to Shaw was nice. If he's forced to play for stretches, I don't think that the offense changes a ton other than maybe a little more QB run heavy. It was good to see Kolar get the last snap, but I hope that's the last time we see him.
RB: Honestly, I see the reason for the indecision here. Your best two RBs are TRFR and then Nwangwu, who can't stay healthy. I really thought that Brock looked like our best RB, although that was against backups and I have no idea on his pass protection. Hall had some nice runs late too. I'm not all that impressed with Lang or Croney. Both seem to go down too easy and run into the back of the OL rather than seeing a hole and bouncing to it. Nwangwu has earned playing time, but if he is always hurt, it's tough to play him a lot. With Baylor being Game 4, the staff is going to have to make a decision soon on Hall.
WR: So much depth here. Pettway looked good, Jones we know what we have, Milton is a TD threat every time he gets it. I really liked Shaw's blocking and catch range. He's a nice addition and probably deserves more playing time. Akers is a nice backup in the slot. Still not much from Wilson or Scates, but I have a feeling they'll show up at some point. It's tough to displace some of the guys ahead of them.
TE: Kolar is a weapon. He's constantly picking up first downs and is a major security blanket for Purdy. Soehner had some nice catches. Allen seems like he's one missed tackle from breaking off a big run, but he can't seem to get by that one guy. Still, he has solid hands and moves the chains. I didn't notice if Dean or Loving-Black got in.
OL: Nice game all around. I would have liked to see some bigger running holes, but this is a game where Montgomery would have had 150+, so maybe some of that is on the RBs. Downing had a good game. Pass protection was good not great. I do wonder what they'll do when Newell is back. Who goes to the bench? Second team OL did really well.
DL: They did a nice job. Kind of wore down that OL. First major playing time for Josh Bailey, Lee, Robertson, Greene. Didn't see if any TRFR got in. I thought Zach Peterson looked like a stud. The dropoff between him and JaQuan Bailey is pretty much zero at this point. I do wonder what has happened with Bailey, as he's still looking for his first sack. Overall, I thought that they held their ground OK even though the QB got loose a few times. Seems to me that McDonald has settled into more of a 4-3 pass rusher than a LB. I'm happy that there were no injuries, but if we are going to stop the next few offenses that we play, this group is going to need to improve.
LB: Not the best game from this group, but not terrible. Rose missed some tackles and took some bad angles. They struggled with the QB run, which was pretty much the only way ULM was moving the ball. Spears and Vance made some plays here and there, but disappeared at times. I think that they really miss Willie Harvey and his ability to both cover and cause havoc in the backfield. Rose probably has too much on his plate, because they don't trust anyone else there. I liked our depth better last year with Rose and Vance rotating at MIKE. Hummel is a great backup at WILL and I don't think that we'll miss Spears as much next year as we do Harvey this year just because Hummel is that good. McMillan is at least serviceable, but not really a playmaker.
DB: I thought that Johnson played a good game. Azunna stepped in for Eisworth and played pretty well. The one reason why I don't think that Eisworth will declare is that he's not great in coverage and that showed a little. I'm not a big Datrone Young fan...he misses too many tackles and gets beat at times. Lewis did OK and Bingham at least didn't make any huge errors. We still struggle some at the backup CB spots.
ST: No punts from Rivera, which is great. Assalley made his FGs. Kickoffs were OK and coverage was really good. Peterson on kick coverage is a truck. Seeing Porter on KOR was a surprise. I wonder if they are pulling his RS for that. First PRs of the year for Milton...that's a welcome sight, as was no Lang on KOR.
Overall, a really fun time watching ISU FB rather than the stressful stuff we'd seen for years now. Not that stressful games can't be fun, but it sure is nice to be celebrating a win before the final minute. Crowd was good other than 1/3 the students not showing up. But then, I can't really fault anyone for not wanting to attend another rain storm like last weekend's marathon. Luckily, the heavy rain stayed away. Honestly, this game is what the first game should have been. Campbell talks about getting into a groove, complementary football, etc. It's tough to do that starting out with two rivalry games. The first two games, we would drive and then usually self-destruct. Penalty, turnover, sack, missed FG. This is why I've always been a proponent of starting with a BAD 1AA team. Work out the kinks, see how everyone plays under the lights, see what works and what doesn't when there's no real chance of losing. Yeah, ISU should beat UNI every time, but you're never going to see our 3rd team in there vs UNI. For us recruiting and roster geeks, this game was better than the spring game or CGC scrimmage that they're not doing any more.
Overall, great offensive game. We still struggle running the ball, but the depth at WR and TE really showed up and Purdy's running/scrambling was devastating. Defensively, our main issues continue to be QB run and late developing passing plays. Baylor is a team that will capitalize on this, as Brewer is probably the most slippery QB in the league. Also, OSU is going to feast on this defense. Hopefully Heacock makes some adjustments there. We absolutely need to bring down the QB when we get to him, because those escapes are killing us. Our overall depth showed big time on Saturday and by the end of the game it was a total mismatch.
QB: Purdy played a hell of a game. They let him run unlike the UNI game. ULM keyed on the run a lot and it ended up in long pass plays if there was a slip or missed tackle. I thought the roll out pass to Pettway down the sideline may have been Purdy's best pass so far at ISU. That was pretty. He did get hit a few more times that you'd like, but for the most part it wasn't vicious hits like he got at times last year. Purdy was the best player on the field and in total control out there. I thought Mitchell played really well and it makes me feel a little better about our depth there. He's fast for sure, but that TD pass to Shaw was nice. If he's forced to play for stretches, I don't think that the offense changes a ton other than maybe a little more QB run heavy. It was good to see Kolar get the last snap, but I hope that's the last time we see him.
RB: Honestly, I see the reason for the indecision here. Your best two RBs are TRFR and then Nwangwu, who can't stay healthy. I really thought that Brock looked like our best RB, although that was against backups and I have no idea on his pass protection. Hall had some nice runs late too. I'm not all that impressed with Lang or Croney. Both seem to go down too easy and run into the back of the OL rather than seeing a hole and bouncing to it. Nwangwu has earned playing time, but if he is always hurt, it's tough to play him a lot. With Baylor being Game 4, the staff is going to have to make a decision soon on Hall.
WR: So much depth here. Pettway looked good, Jones we know what we have, Milton is a TD threat every time he gets it. I really liked Shaw's blocking and catch range. He's a nice addition and probably deserves more playing time. Akers is a nice backup in the slot. Still not much from Wilson or Scates, but I have a feeling they'll show up at some point. It's tough to displace some of the guys ahead of them.
TE: Kolar is a weapon. He's constantly picking up first downs and is a major security blanket for Purdy. Soehner had some nice catches. Allen seems like he's one missed tackle from breaking off a big run, but he can't seem to get by that one guy. Still, he has solid hands and moves the chains. I didn't notice if Dean or Loving-Black got in.
OL: Nice game all around. I would have liked to see some bigger running holes, but this is a game where Montgomery would have had 150+, so maybe some of that is on the RBs. Downing had a good game. Pass protection was good not great. I do wonder what they'll do when Newell is back. Who goes to the bench? Second team OL did really well.
DL: They did a nice job. Kind of wore down that OL. First major playing time for Josh Bailey, Lee, Robertson, Greene. Didn't see if any TRFR got in. I thought Zach Peterson looked like a stud. The dropoff between him and JaQuan Bailey is pretty much zero at this point. I do wonder what has happened with Bailey, as he's still looking for his first sack. Overall, I thought that they held their ground OK even though the QB got loose a few times. Seems to me that McDonald has settled into more of a 4-3 pass rusher than a LB. I'm happy that there were no injuries, but if we are going to stop the next few offenses that we play, this group is going to need to improve.
LB: Not the best game from this group, but not terrible. Rose missed some tackles and took some bad angles. They struggled with the QB run, which was pretty much the only way ULM was moving the ball. Spears and Vance made some plays here and there, but disappeared at times. I think that they really miss Willie Harvey and his ability to both cover and cause havoc in the backfield. Rose probably has too much on his plate, because they don't trust anyone else there. I liked our depth better last year with Rose and Vance rotating at MIKE. Hummel is a great backup at WILL and I don't think that we'll miss Spears as much next year as we do Harvey this year just because Hummel is that good. McMillan is at least serviceable, but not really a playmaker.
DB: I thought that Johnson played a good game. Azunna stepped in for Eisworth and played pretty well. The one reason why I don't think that Eisworth will declare is that he's not great in coverage and that showed a little. I'm not a big Datrone Young fan...he misses too many tackles and gets beat at times. Lewis did OK and Bingham at least didn't make any huge errors. We still struggle some at the backup CB spots.
ST: No punts from Rivera, which is great. Assalley made his FGs. Kickoffs were OK and coverage was really good. Peterson on kick coverage is a truck. Seeing Porter on KOR was a surprise. I wonder if they are pulling his RS for that. First PRs of the year for Milton...that's a welcome sight, as was no Lang on KOR.
